Yeoreum was able to find Jung Yu-na near the pond.

Jung Yu-na was staring down at a flattened sandwich with a gloomy expression, her face devoid of color as if her spirit had left her.

“Yu-na.”

Even when her name was called from right beside her, there was no response.

‘So, something had happened, after all?’

Yeoreum gently tapped on Jung Yu-na’s shoulder.

“Yu-na?”

“Ah—!”

Startled, Jung Yu-na trembled, and at the same time, focus began returning to her pupils, like someone just waking up from sleep.

“Yu-na, did you meet Gyeoul earlier?”

“Uh, yes.”

What had happened to make Gyeoul wet and Yu-na seem so spiritless?

Before Yeoreum could even ask, Jung Yu-na began to speak.

“I, I accidentally dropped the child into the water…”

“What?”

Dropped into the water?

While Yu-na could be prickly, she wasn’t the kind to drop a child into the water.

Yeoreum’s mind was filled with questions, but she kept silent, allowing Jung Yu-na to continue at her own pace.

“We suddenly ran into each other by the pond… The child panicked seeing me and fell into the water…”

“Ah…”

An accidental encounter that led to an unexpected accident.

It was hard to blame Jung Yu-na entirely for the situation.

“I reached out my hand to help, but the child didn’t take it and climbed out on their own.”

“She must still be afraid of people.”

“Yeah. I tried to apologize right away, but when I approached, the child lay down and shivered, covering their ears as if she didn’t even want to hear my voice…”

Jung Yu-na brushed down her forearm.

Her usual confidence was missing, replaced by a pitiable look.

‘The children were especially afraid of Yu-na.’

Maybe Gyeoul was frightened by Yu-na’s sharp appearance.

Haaa~

After a long sigh, Yeoreum looked towards the tent where Gyeoul might be.

“Yu-na, why don’t you try apologizing?”

“But, won’t she just run away again…?”

“Hmm…”

It was a valid point.

Forcing an apology on a terrified child didn’t seem right.

‘What should I do?’

How could she facilitate a meeting between the two?

As Yeoreum pondered, she noticed the minnows swimming around in the pond.

“Ah, how about we use a fish.”

“Fish?”

“Yes. Gyeoul really liked fish.”

Since they had decided to introduce various fish to the pond.

Assigning this task to Yu-na could naturally lead to their meeting.

If they met through Gyeoul’s fondness for fish, it might help alleviate some of the fear.

“You want me to approach her with something she likes?”

“Yes.”

True to her status as a mage, her ability to comprehend the suggestion was quick, and thus, Yeoreum decided to inform Jung Yu-na about the plan to introduce fish to the pond tomorrow.

✱✱✱

I dried my wet hair in front of a campfire, while Shark Girl Sophia helped me by dabbing a towel on my head.

“Doesn’t your ear get heavy with water?”

“Yes, it’s so heavy that I can hardly lift my ears.”

The touch of human hands on my body would usually provoke hostility and fear, but the kind touch, like that of a grandmother, made those feelings disappear.

Feeling peace through human contact was a truly rare experience for me.

Perhaps it was because she wasn’t entirely human.

“Leader! What are you doing?!”

A lizard man approached me as I was drying my hair.

His loud intrusion, once disturbing, now felt familiar.

“I’m drying my hair.”

“Hair?!”

“Yes. I fell into the water earlier.”

“Oh no!”

Thump thump!

The lizard man slammed his large tail onto the grassy ground.

Deep grooves formed in the green grass, revealing the soil underneath.

“Leader! Did you get water in your ears?!”

“Yes. I did earlier, but…”

I was about to say I was fine now, but he suddenly lifted me off the ground.

“Then Argo will get it out for you!”

The lizard man turned me upside down.

Dangling helplessly by my ankles, I swayed in mid-air.

“Wait a mome—”

“Don’t worry! This is the best way to get water out of your ears!”

Shake shake shake!

He shook me vigorously up and down.

It was so rough it felt like I might vomit everything I had eaten.

“Ugh.”

In my topsy-turvy view, I saw Sophia looking resigned.

Instinctively, I reached out towards her.

“Hel.. hel… help me…”

“How about it, Leader? The water’s coming out, isn’t it?!”

“Ugh…”

My brain was rattled, making it hard to think clearly.

All I could do was grasp at my sliding shirt while upside down.

Then Sophia, the Shark Girl, raised her cane.

“You brute.”

Crack!

With a light strike, the shaking stopped.

The girl had intervened on my behalf to stop the crazed lizard.

“Elder! Why hit me?”