The two men, who looked quite menacing, put their arms around each other’s shoulders, grinning together as if they had never been at odds. I was genuinely surprised—I thought they might lunge at each other any moment.
Did I misjudge them just by their appearance?
I carefully looked up at them and asked, “Are you...friends?”
“Yep, we're friends.”
“We're like brothers, bonded by life and death.”
The two men laughed in a harmless way that put me at ease. As I looked around, I realized that the two groups, which I thought were about to fight, were actually laughing together. Maybe I’d been judging people too quickly based on appearances.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were going to start a fight, so I got worried.”
“Hahaha, as if! We’d never fight.”
“Right, we’re way too close for that.”
The two men laughed heartily, and I felt safe enough that my tail began to wag happily.
“So, what are you kids doing in a place like this?”
“We’re adventuring! Levinas and I are exploring!”
Levinas, still nestled in my arms, peeked out to speak. She clung to me like a cicada, clearly not opposed to being held.
“Adventuring?”
“Yep! Levinas is super brave!”
“Wow, that’s impressive!”
Clap, clap, clap—the man who had been leaning on his friend’s shoulder came over to us, and I couldn't help but notice a koi tattoo on his forearm.
“But you know, this alley isn’t really safe.”
“S-safe?”
“Yep. The guys here are fine, but not everyone in this alley is as nice. Lots of bad people come around here.”
“Oh…”
The alley did feel unusually dark and eerie…was it actually a dangerous place?
I quickly glanced back in the direction we came from. But after weaving through this maze of alleys, I couldn't remember the way out.
“Um, I don’t know the way out…”
“Lost your way?”
“Yes. We were trying to get to the department store, but we got lost.”
“Is that so? Want us to take you there?”
Take us there? Yeoreum has told me countless times never to go anywhere with strangers. This wouldn’t set a good example for Levinas.
But we had no other way out, and these people didn’t seem dangerous. So, we had no choice but to accept their help.
“I’d really appreciate it if you could help, but...isn’t it too much trouble?”
Feeling guilty, I fiddled with my fingers as I looked up at the man with the koi tattoo.
“Haha, no trouble at all! We love a good adventure, too.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
The man with the dragon tattoo hoisted Levinas up, lifting her into the air. Levinas flailed her arms and legs as she floated in his grip.
“Eek!”
“Huh?”
Why was he lifting Levinas up all of a sudden? I looked up at him in surprise, but he was only giving Levinas a shoulder ride.
“Look! I’m taller now!”
Satisfied with her higher vantage point, Levinas swayed back and forth, looking around with wide eyes.
Relieved that she didn’t seem scared, I suddenly felt myself lifted from behind. The other man was giving me a shoulder ride just like Levinas.
“Shall we go?”
“Uh... yes.”
At my age, a shoulder ride… I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. Soon, a crowd of rough-looking men formed behind us, following along. Although they looked intimidating, I knew they were kind-hearted people, here to help me and Levinas. I felt grateful.
Finally, we arrived at the department store. People stared as we passed, some even stepping aside in alarm.
“Why are there…?”
“I think I should report this to the guild.”
“Nah, they’re probably okay. These guys never bother civilians.”
“Really? Now that you mention it, the kids do seem happy…”
It seemed they were misunderstood because of their scary looks. These were genuinely nice people.
Just then, the man carrying me set me down on the ground.
“We’re here.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
I bowed to them in gratitude. It was entirely thanks to them that we’d made it safely from that dangerous alley to the department store.
“Go on, have fun, but make sure you’re home before dark, okay? And avoid that alley from now on.”
“Yes, I’ll be home before dark.”
Their parting advice warmed my heart. As I waved to them, Levinas hopped beside me, turning to wave too.
“Mr. Koi, remember to get along with your friends and not fight, okay?”
“Huh, uh… sure… I won’t fight today…”
The man with the koi tattoo scratched his head, glancing at the friend beside him. The two men sighed, shrugged, and started back the way they came.
“Levinas, Mr. Koi is a really nice person.”
“Yeah.”
“And Mr. Dragon is a nice person too.”
“Uh-huh…”
So, one of them had a dragon tattoo too? People here seemed so open-minded about tattoos, I thought as we entered the department store.
“Hey, Levinas, shall we go to the basement first?”
“The basement? That’s just the parking lot.”
“Yeah! It’s dark and spooky, but it’s full of cars, so it’s fun!”
“Oh…”
So to Levinas, the parking lot was an exciting adventure spot. I supposed it would seem that way to a child. Today was meant to be a day for her, so I decided to follow her lead.
“Just make sure to stay away from cars when they’re moving, okay?”
“Yep! Levinas is really good at dodging!”
Of course, being a beast-kin, her reflexes were sharp. Though I still worried a bit, I decided to trust her as we made our way to the parking lot.
“Hi-yah!”
Levinas darted between the parked cars, waving a twig she found like a sword. Thanks to her beast-kin reflexes, she managed to avoid touching any of the cars.
“Levinas, do you smell something weird?”
“Yeah. There’s a weird smell.”
In the furthest corner of the parking lot, a familiar yet unpleasant odor was in the air. As if on cue, Levinas and I ran toward the smell.
“Ah…”
It was food waste. This must be the area where they store the department store’s food waste. The smell was bad, but surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.
'Wait…'
As I sniffed curiously, I realized something—I could tolerate the smell more easily now. My sense of smell was stronger than when I was human, allowing me to separate out different odors rather than just smelling one overwhelming stench.
‘This is... amazing.’
It felt like a valuable skill. Maybe I could practice enhancing my sense of smell here? Glancing around, I confirmed that no one was watching and moved closer to the trash bins.
At that moment, a department store worker named Min Chaewon, in charge of handling food waste, pulled a cart filled with waste bins into the area.
'Oh, the smell...'
It was always awful here, no matter how many times she came. She wanted to quickly replace the bin and leave.
However, as she entered the waste area, she was stunned by the sight in front of her: two young beast-kin children peering into the trash bins.
“Levinas, there’s pizza in here!”
“Yeah, someone must’ve thrown it away after barely eating it.”
“Wow… throwing away pizza, that’s insane!”
“Yeah. Pizza is a once-in-a-lifetime thing…”
Once-in-a-lifetime? From their words and actions, it seemed like they were about to start picking through the trash for food. Min Chaewon was so shocked she forgot about the stench.
‘They’re from Yeomyeong Guild…’
She’d heard rumors, but seeing it in person confirmed they didn’t receive much financial support.
Seeing the kids staring down at the trash with hungry expressions, Min Chaewon could only stop and stare.
“Levinas, I’m hungry! We can’t eat this, right?”
“Nope, if we eat this, we’ll get a stomachache.”
“Then should we buy something to eat?”
“Yeah, since we’re here, let’s buy something.”
Both Gyeoul and Levinas pulled out their coin pouches at the same time, emptying them into their hands in unison, looking like twins.
“I’ve got two thousand won!”
“I have six thousand won.”
“Wow! That’s a lot of money! What can we buy with this?”
“Hm… if we put it together, we could buy something…”
But what could they afford to buy? Just as Gyeoul was deep in thought, Levinas tugged on her sleeve.
“Only one? We can only buy one thing?”
“Yeah, only one. But it’s fine—Levinas, you can have it. I’m actually not that hungry.”
But just then, Gyeoul’s stomach grumbled loudly in the quiet space, loud enough for Min Chaewon to hear too.
“Aww… I don’t want to eat something delicious all by myself…”
“Oh, uh… sorry, I didn’t manage to collect more money…”
“No, it’s my fault for not picking up more empty bottles. If I hadn’t been playing, we could have bought something nice to eat together…”
“No, no, it’s okay! You’re still young, Levinas—you’re supposed to play more.”
As Gyeoul hurriedly waved her hand to reassure her, Min Chaewon found herself covering her mouth in
surprise, momentarily forgetting how dirty her hands were.
Levinas was young? The way Gyeoul spoke, it was as if she didn’t consider herself a child.
“Goodness.”
Watching these kids, staring hungrily at food waste because they couldn’t afford a meal, made her feel a pang of sadness and concern.