The thought of warm water pouring out endlessly made my tail sway with joy.

I wanted to take a long shower in warm water to my heart's content.  
But this wasn’t my home.  
I couldn’t afford to be wasteful.

"Levinas."

I called Levinas in a more serious tone than usual.  
Sensing something was different, Levinas, still dripping wet, glanced at me nervously.

"Why are you calling me?"

"Even if warm water comes out, you can’t just use it recklessly."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. If you’re freezing to death from cold water, only then should you use warm water sparingly."

Warm water was precious compared to cold water.  
This had to be the right way to do things.

I looked up at Yeoreum to confirm, but she just gave me an awkward smile.

"Gyeoul, it’s okay to use as much warm water as you want at the guild."

"R-really?"

"Yes, the guild uses mana stones for heating, so it’s very efficient."

How efficient could heating with mana stones be?  
I’d never tried it, so I had no idea.  
I just kept my mouth shut.

"Then I’m going to take a warm shower for a hundred hours!"

Levinas dashed back into the shower, leaving puddles all over the luxurious marble floor.

"Gasp."

Getting that expensive marble floor all wet.  
Panicking, I crouched down and started wiping the floor with my hands.  
But all I managed to do was spread the water around even more.

"Gyeoul, don’t worry. I’ll clean it up," Yeoreum said.

"It’s okay. I’m a guest here."

Maybe I could use my tail to wipe the water?  
I twisted my body slightly and started rubbing the floor with my tail.

"Gyeoul! Today’s your trial day! Let me be your servant for today!"

"Servant...?"

"Yes! I’ll handle all the chores for you today!"

Yeoreum pulled out a dry cloth from somewhere and started wiping the floor.  
It absorbed water just as well as my tail.

"Um... should we do it together?"

"No, no, I’ll do it! It makes me sad to see you working like this."

"...?"

Why would wiping the floor make someone sad?  
It was something everyone had to do.  
I started to feel a bit rebellious, thinking this must be something only the rich would say, until I realized she was staring at my tail.

"You don’t have to wipe the floor with your body..."

"Oh."

Now that I thought about it, my tail was part of my body.  
Using it to clean the floor did feel a little strange.

"How about we just focus on learning the comforts of a home today? What do you think?"

"Um... okay, I guess."

"Great! Is there anything you wanted to do when you finally got a home?"

Something I wanted to do?  
There wasn’t anything.  
I tried to think of something, but nothing came to mind.

"Nothing."

"Nothing...?"

"Yes. I don’t really want to do anything."

I could already do everything I wanted in the container home.  
I could plant crops, collect bottles, and pick up discarded furniture.  
A better house wouldn’t suddenly make me want to do more.  
To be honest, I wasn’t even sure what to do in such a large home.

"I... see..."

Yeoreum, looking a little dazed, sat down on the floor and lowered her head.  
Seeing her sitting there, quietly wiping the water, made her seem a little pitiful.

"Hmm..."

I should probably help, even if she told me not to.  
I pulled out a piece of clothing from my pocket.  
It was meant to be a change of clothes, but I decided to use it as a rag instead.

Yeoreum absentmindedly wiped the floor.  
Her hands, moving like a machine, kept scrubbing an already clean spot.

‘Nothing I want to do.’

A child who should be full of dreams and excitement was saying they had nothing they wanted.  
How should she take this?  
Though it was a shocking realization, Yeoreum managed to stay composed.  
She had figured out why Gyeoul didn’t seem to have a desire for life.

‘There’s nothing she wants, so she doesn’t have much of a reason to live.’

In that case, the solution was simple: help her experience as many things as possible so she could discover what she wanted.  
There were countless joys and adventures the world had to offer.

As Yeoreum clenched her fist with determination, Gyeoul tapped her hand.

"You shouldn’t wring it out here."

"Oh... right."

Without realizing it, Yeoreum had been squeezing the cloth in her hand.  
She scratched her cheek, embarrassed.

Watching Yeoreum, Gyeoul thought to herself.  
She must be from a rich family if she doesn’t even know how to clean properly.

---

After a long, warm shower that left me feeling refreshed, I stepped out of the bathroom.  
Looking around for the others, I spotted Levinas and Sophia standing by the large glass wall.

For some reason, both of them were standing on their toes, looking outside.  
Even though they didn’t need to.

"Sophia, what are you doing?"

"We’re just looking outside."

"Oh."

With nothing else to do, I pressed myself against the glass wall and looked down as well.  
Immediately, I found myself standing on my toes.  
Even my tail shot straight up, just like Sophia’s.

‘Oh.’

This must be automatic.  
Maybe it was an instinctive balance mechanism unique to beast-kin, ensuring we didn’t fall from high places.

"It’s really high."

People looked like ants below us.  
Without thinking, I pressed my finger against the glass, pretending to poke the tiny figures.  
My fingerprints smudged the spotless window.

"This is Levinas’s first time seeing something so high!"

"This is also the first time I’ve been up this high..."

Levinas, I could understand, but Sophia too?  
I was about to turn to look at her when I heard the sound of a camera shutter behind us.

"...Did you take a picture?"

"Yes, it was such a heartwarming scene."

"Heartwarming?"

Curious, I walked over to Yeoreum to see the picture.  
And that’s when I realized something shocking.

‘When my tail goes up, my shirt lifts too, showing my back!’

No wonder I sometimes felt a little chilly.  
It was because my clothes were riding up.  
Embarrassed, I quickly reached back to cover my back and tail, while Sophia leaned in to look at the photo.

"I really do look like a child here."

"Looking young is a good thing. It’s what all women dream of."

"Hmm..."

Was it Yeoreum’s compliment that made Sophia blush slightly?  
Her face turned a little pink.

"You take good pictures."

From an outsider’s perspective, it must have looked like three young beast-kin happily gazing out the window.  
It was probably a heartwarming scene, even though one of us was from an enemy faction and two of us were actually adults.

"Um, I have a favor to ask."

Though she was being polite because of Sophia’s presence, Yeoreum’s gaze was fixed on the three of us.

"A favor?"

"Yes. Can I post this picture on my personal social media?"

In a world full of cameras, what harm could one photo on the internet do?  
I didn’t really mind.  
It wasn’t like our faces were clearly visible.

"I’m fine with it."

"I don’t mind either, but there seems to be a reason."

Sophia’s question made Yeoreum chuckle awkwardly.  
Scratching the back of her head, she carefully explained.

"Lately, the guild has been getting a lot of criticism. People are saying we’re neglecting the beast-kin children in the park..."

"You want to show them that we’re all getting along well?"

"Yes. Hehe."

Maybe she felt guilty for needing to use us?  
Yeoreum avoided my gaze.

"It’s fine, post it if it helps. The guild shouldn’t be criticized when it’s helping us."

"Are you sure? What about the extremists...?"

"They already know where I am. They’re just hesitant to make a move because of the guild’s presence."

"Oh, because of the guild..."

Apparently, Sophia’s enemies were afraid of the Yeomyeong Guild.  
Yeoreum nodded, processing this new information as she started typing on her smartphone.

───  
Beast-kin children’s first time in a high-rise building.  
───

The picture was uploaded online with a simple caption.  
It wasn’t long before comments started flooding in, likely because Yeoreum had many followers.

[Those are the kids from Yeomyeong Park, right? I thought they lived outside.]  
[Look at how they’re balancing themselves, haha.]  
[So cute... I want a daughter like that...]

Seeing the comments, Yeoreum sighed with relief and sat down next to me.  
She looked like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Ah, thank goodness."

"Was it that serious?"

"Yes. People have been talking a lot recently."

"...Then I’ll forgive you for calling me a child."

Thank you for understanding.  
Yeoreum turned to me, her eyes thoughtful.

"Gyeoul, there’s something I’d like to ask of you."

"A favor?"

"Yes. This is a request directly from the guild."

A direct request from the Yeomyeong Guild?  
What could they possibly want me to do?  
I looked at Yeore

um, wide-eyed with surprise.

"I want to post photos taken by you on my social media."

"Photos taken by me?"

"Yes. They don’t need to show your face or anyone else’s. Just things like the pond, the tomatoes—pictures you take yourself."

Ah, I see.  
It was probably because the police had questioned why the kids were living outside.  
If even regular citizens were wondering the same thing, then her request made sense.

I didn’t see any reason to refuse.  
Though I wasn’t sure if I was any good at taking pictures.