It was a situation where the guild could receive serious complaints and have no defense.

“Hmm.”

This was all probably the guild’s karma.

Kang Jinho decided to accept the situation.

Even if it meant getting criticized, it was better to have the child in sight.

For now, he chose to just watch.

✱✱✱

There was a wooded thicket in the guild’s backyard.

I set up my tent in the most secluded part of the thicket.

“Wow.”

I now had a home in the middle of the city.

I was happy, but I couldn’t relax yet.

I hadn’t finished organizing everything.

I secretly hid the piggy bank in a place only I knew and placed it at the very end of the tent.

It took quite a long time to make a fire, as I had to ensure it wouldn’t catch flame.

“Leader! Where should we put the grill for cooking meat?”

“Over here.”

“What about this broken mirror?”

“The mirror goes inside the tent!”

Was it because we were organizing together?

The moving preparations were progressing faster than I had thought.

“Leader! I’ll go and bring more heavy stuff!”

“I’ll go too.”

The wolf girl grabbed the old handcart.

I felt sorry for making them do all the hard work.

“Wait a moment, I’ll come with you.”

“It’s okay. Dividing roles will make it faster.”

“Yes, yes…”

Why were they helping me?

I didn’t know the reason, but they might not be as bad as I had thought.

‘This will finish earlier than I expected.’

When someone receives help, they should repay it.

As I was thinking about what I could do for them, someone appeared, stepping into the nearby thicket.

“Huh?”

Is it the girl?

Had she already returned from checking the items for the pond?

I naturally turned towards the direction of the sound and was startled.

There stood a beast-kin I had never seen before.

“A whale…?”

It was a girl with blue hair and a whale’s tail.

She looked quite young, but older than I was.

“Hey, it’s a shark, not a whale.”

“A shark?”

“Yes.”

The girl, leaning on a cane, approached me.

The sudden contact was scary, but she looked frail, so I didn’t run away.

“What does a shark want with me…?”

“Hmm… before that, I’ll have a look around.”

The girl, leaning on her cane, circled around me.

She slowly turned, scanning left and right, up and down.

I didn’t feel comfortable being observed for such a long time.

“Who are you?”

“I am Sophia.”

“Sophia?”

“Yes, an elder of the beast-kin.”

Ahem

Sophia, after clearing her throat, tapped the ground with her cane.

The clear sound seemed to clear my mind.

“What’s a beast-kin elder?”

“You can think of me as in charge of educating a prospective king. For now, I am superior, so show some respect.”

“A prospective king…?”

There were mana and monsters, sure, but this was South Korea, right?

Why would a king be mentioned in a democratic country?

In the puzzling situation, I just blinked, remaining seated.

“Clearly lived in the wild…”

The girl who introduced herself as Sophia examined my tent.

She poked the tent with her cane and even pressed down on the old pot.

“Stop, please. The pot will get more dented.”

“Isn’t it already dented?”

“Well, yes, but I don’t want it to get worse.”

There was a difference between being dented enough to still be usable and being so dented that it’s difficult to use.

Ordinary people didn’t understand this difference, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Hmm…”

Putting away her cane, the girl settled down on a nearby chair.

Sitting there with both hands on her cane, she looked similar to an elderly person.

Why was someone so young acting like an old person?

It was curious, but not important to me at the moment.

“So, this is my land now…”

“Wildness…”

Ignoring my words, the girl closed her eyes while sitting on the chair.

She seemed to be contemplating something, occasionally tapping the top of her cane with her fingers.

It was a while before she opened her eyes again.

“Just a poor kid, aren’t you…?”