"Eugh."
As the thought of food waste lingered in my mind, Han Yeoreum sat down next to me, a gentle smile on her face.
"Gyeoul, from now on, let’s only eat delicious food together, alright?"
"Delicious food?"
"Yes. We’ll have your favorite fish, cotton candy, and other treats."
Fish. That really was something I loved now. I nodded eagerly at her.
"Yes. Let’s eat lots of fish."
"Of course."
Yeoreum smiled, patting my head, and just that touch made my tail start wagging on its own.
Talking casually with someone like this was really nice. As I pondered what else I could talk about with her, Levinas, who had been playing with a stuffed toy, looked over with curiosity.
"Yeoreum, what’s cotton candy?"
"Oh…so you don’t know what cotton candy is?"
Yeoreum looked back and forth between Levinas and me, as if realizing neither of us knew what she meant.
"Yep! Levinas doesn’t know what cotton candy is!"
"Well, should I make some for you?"
"What?! You can make it?"
"Yes, anyone can make it if they have the machine."
The thought of making cotton candy seemed to thrill Levinas, and she hopped off the couch, gently setting the borrowed stuffed toy in her place before running toward the door.
"I want cotton candy! Wang, have you had cotton candy before?!"
Cotton candy… As far as I could remember, I hadn’t had it in this life. A simple fluffy snack made from sugar that cost thousands of won—a luxury beyond my reach.
"I haven’t tried it. Cotton candy is for rich people."
"R-really? Then Levinas won’t eat it either…"
Levinas’s shoulders drooped. I realized I’d made a thoughtless comment, dashing her hopes.
Cotton candy might be a bit luxurious, but it wasn’t unattainable. And I did want her to experience something delicious.
As I moved to reassure her, Yeoreum quickly waved her hands at us.
"Hey, guys, cotton candy isn’t that expensive."
"It’s not?"
"No. One piece only costs about 3,000 won."
Three thousand won. That was the amount we’d have to earn by selling dozens of empty bottles. Levinas let out a gasp.
"T-that’s expensive…"
"But if we make it ourselves, it won’t cost much at all."
"Really?"
"Yep. It would probably be less than 100 won."
That made sense. All you needed was a stick and some sugar, so the cost was minimal.
"Since we’ll be making it ourselves, all you have to do is pay 100 won each."
"R-right! Just 100 won each!"
One hundred won. Even Levinas and I could afford that easily.
"Levinas has lots of 100-won coins! I have four of them! Wang, do you have a lot of 100-won coins?"
"Yeah, I have plenty too."
"Yay! Then we can eat cotton candy!"
Levinas jumped up and down in excitement. I was happy that I could treat her to something nice without worrying about money.
All thanks to Yeoreum, who was kind enough to make the cotton candy at cost.
---
Back at the park, we spread a mat by the pond and sat down. Levinas and I watched as Yeoreum set up a cotton candy machine she had brought along.
"So this is the machine that makes cotton candy?"
"Yes."
When Yeoreum put sugar into the machine, the sugary threads started spinning out, and she began to twirl them around a stick she’d brought.
"Wow."
It was the first time I’d seen cotton candy being made up close. As I leaned closer in awe, some of the fluffy candy stuck to my nose.
"Winter, maybe step back a bit, or your face might get sticky."
"O-okay…"
Just as Yeoreum was brushing the cotton candy off my nose, someone approached us. It was Jung Yu-na, the guild’s mage, clad in her familiar red robe.
"Oh, that’s adorable! Making cotton candy, huh?"
"Yeah. The kids hadn’t tried it before, so I thought I’d make some."
Yeoreum held out the finished cotton candy. Levinas looked at me for approval, and I nodded, motioning for her to take it.
"Co-cotton…!"
She gazed at the soft cotton candy, seemingly captivated by how pretty it looked. Yu-na chuckled at the sight of Levinas’s wide-eyed wonder.
"Levinas."
"Huh?"
"Fresh cotton candy is dirty, so you should wash it in water first."
"R-really?"
Levinas looked over at the park pond, and Yeoreum grabbed Yu-na’s cheek, pulling it with a reproachful look.
"They believe everything you say."
Children, she said. Why did I feel lumped into that category, too? I glanced up at Yeoreum with a touch of indignation, but she was too focused on Yu-na and the cotton candy to notice.
"It’s cute, though."
"I guess so, but…"
As Yeoreum and Yu-na playfully bantered, I noticed Levinas had already reached the pond. Being a horned rabbit beast-kin, she moved without making a sound.
'Levinas?'
Was she actually planning to wash the cotton candy in the pond? Not knowing what it was, she could very well do that. I hurried over to stop her.
"Levinas."
Just as I reached out to touch her shoulder, she dunked the cotton candy in the pond, swishing it around.
"Why’d you call me?"
Levinas looked up at me, holding the stick that had once held cotton candy. It was now completely bare.
"Oh dear."
I was too late, but it wasn’t exactly a catastrophe. I crouched down beside her to explain that cotton candy dissolves in water.
"Levinas, the cotton candy is gone."
"What?!"
Levinas blinked at the empty stick, clearly not understanding where the candy had gone.
"Did a fish eat it…?"
Did she think a fish had eaten the cotton candy? Her innocent assumption made me chuckle.
"Yes, a fish ate it. I saw it myself."
"R-really? I guess fish like cotton candy too?"
"Yep, seems that way."
I could understand why Yu-na had fibbed to Levinas. Her pure-hearted reaction was simply adorable.
But I couldn’t let her believe the lie forever. Just as I was about to explain the truth, Yeoreum and Yu-na approached us.
"Our little adventurer sure is quick. How did you get to the pond so fast?"
"She’s got quite the stealth… Oh?"
Yeoreum and Yu-na looked at the empty stick in Levinas’s hand, quickly realizing what had happened.
"Oh, Yu-na…"
"M-my bad…"
Yu-na scratched her cheek and crouched down next to us. Levinas held the stick out toward her.
"Hey, mage lady, the fish ate all the cotton candy."
"The fish?"
"Yeah, I put the cotton candy in the water, and it disappeared right away. Wang saw it with me."
"Ah, well…"
Yu-na glanced at me and awkwardly chuckled, then gently poked our cheeks before she carefully explained.
"The fish didn’t eat it, Levinas. It just dissolved in the water."
"It dissolved? I’m not supposed to wash it?"
"Sorry, Levinas and Gyeoul, I just thought I’d play a little prank since it was your first time trying cotton candy."
"What?"
Levinas turned her wide eyes to me. Embarrassed, I looked down at the pond.
"Um…"
I was about to apologize for not stopping her sooner, but Yu-na beat me to it.
"Gyeoul didn’t know either. It’s his first time too, right?"
"I-I… well…"
"Cotton candy is made from sugar, so it dissolves in water."
"I… see…"
Since I’d just watched as she dunked it in the water, I couldn’t exactly deny my ignorance.
"Sorry, but I’ll make you an extra big one this time to make up for it."
"Y-yes…"
I hung my head in embarrassment. Yeoreum patted my shoulder in consolation.
"Gyeoul, it’s okay to not know something the first time. If it were my first time, I’d be clueless, too."
"R-right…"
"Yep. So, no need to feel embarrassed, and we’d never make fun of you for something like that. You understand?"
"Yes…"
Were they trying to comfort me? They were really kind people. If only this whole situation wasn’t just one big misunderstanding.
Even though I felt a bit wronged, I decided to accept the situation. Trying to claim that I actually knew everything while Levinas didn’t would only make me feel even more embarrassed.
"Mage lady, since this was your mistake, you have to make a huge cotton candy! Levinas spent 100 won, you know!"
"Alright, I’ll make you a gigantic cotton candy. Can you forgive me just this once?"
"Hehe, then Levinas will forgive you just this once."
Levinas jumped around excitedly before running back to the cotton candy machine, completely unbothered by what had just happened.
'There’s no shame in not knowing.'
I knew almost nothing about this world. I couldn’t feel embarrassed every time I learned something new.
Today, I’d take a lesson from Levinas. Shaking off my embarrassment, I ran to catch up with her.
When we got back to the cotton candy machine, Levinas stared at it, muttering something strange.
"If Wang used his tail to make cotton candy, he’d be able to make so much more…"
"Excuse me?"
Her unexpected comment left me frozen in place.