Chapter 20
“Chicken skewers for sale—cheap, cheap! Five Coopers each!”
‘Well, I guess we can at least get a chicken skewer.’
I tapped Ian lightly. Surely he wouldn’t refuse to buy this too.
“One chicken skewer.”
After receiving the skewer, Ian brought it up to my mouth. I opened my mouth wide, trying to fit an entire piece of chicken in at once. Sadly, one piece wouldn’t fit entirely.
“Your mouth opens wider than a hippo’s.”
“The other animals are threatening anyone who touches this skewer.”
After a few failed attempts, I finally heard Ian and Allen talking and ended up splitting a piece of chicken in half and chewing it slowly.
Ian snickered at the sight.
‘Hey, is that funny?’
I glared at him while chewing the skewer. Seeing me chew diligently, Ian took a bite of his own skewer.
‘Interesting. I didn’t think he’d eat something like this.’
I looked at him again, surprised that he could enjoy street food, then focused back on my own eating. The chicken skewer slid down easily.
‘Ah, that flavor.’
The taste of chicken skewers from Korean street food stalls—just like back home. The stall in my neighborhood made them so delicious that I used to eat them whenever I could.
‘If I think about it this way, it would’ve been disastrous if I had been reincarnated as a chicken instead of a cat…’
I wouldn’t have been able to eat chicken skewers or fried chicken. I probably would’ve been pecked to death by other chickens long before that. Always eating chicken skewers, eating fried chicken…
If I were born a chicken, the brutal cycle of eating my own kind would have been horrifying. Cutting up fellow chickens into pieces, roasting them, frying them—it’s no wonder chickens might hold grudges.
“Arie—l?”
Lost in thought, I realized he was holding the skewer out in front of me. The skewer had been cut so perfectly, without a single jagged edge.
There was a dagger sheath on his hand. A high-quality dagger that seemed to have been used to cut the skewer.
‘…Isn’t that a serious waste of talent?’
I stared at the impeccably cut skewer, then turned to Allen, who had the same uneasy expression while looking at Ian.
Anyway, with the top of the skewer cut so cleanly, it was easy to pull out pieces and eat.
I took another piece and shook my head, looking around.
In front of me was a stall selling dolls.
Cute and charming animal dolls—puppies, kittens, tigers, lions—stood hand in hand in a row. There were also dolls of heroes, princes, and princesses seated neatly.
The quality looked good for street dolls, which other beastmen seemed to notice, as the stall was crowded.
“The coolest dad in the world! Buy this for me!”
A little girl held a princess doll high, tugging at her father’s hand.
‘That kid knows how to flatter.’
“That princess doll looks just like your daughter! Hehe. What a pretty girl.”
The elderly stall owner laughed warmly, like a grandfather showing off his granddaughter.
“Did you hear that, Dad?”
The girl winked at her father. The old man spoke humorously and kindly, not just to her but to other customers too, like a friendly neighbor.
“This one looks like you.”
Seeing this, Ian shook a doll in his hand.
‘Huh…?’
Was he joking? His eyes narrowed. In his hand, the head of a frowning caterpillar doll wobbled back and forth.
“Hehe. That one was inspired by a worm after the rain.”
‘It’s a worm, not a caterpillar.’
I could see it as a caterpillar if I wanted, whatever. After that comment, even the witty stall owner, who had entertained the other beastmen, ignored me.
Understandably, he couldn’t say no if he wanted to sell the doll. He also couldn’t say it looked good on me, or that I looked the same. A person holding a caterpillar doll couldn’t exactly claim to have a keen eye.
‘Then you look like this one.’
I pointed to the caterpillar doll next to me, sticking its tongue out mockingly. It was just as annoying as Ian. Anyone would think it was a doppelgänger.
Of course, only I could look at Ian Kadelion’s inhuman face and think of a worm.
We each grabbed a caterpillar doll and walked the streets together.
I looked at the mocking caterpillar in my hand and thought:
‘I’ll probably have to hit this doll every time something annoying happens.’
At this rate, it wouldn’t last long.
We wandered through the streets, holding our chosen dolls.
The streets were full of delicious and fascinating things. By the time we noticed, the little clock on the tower had gone from 8 to nearly 12.
“Ian, the fireworks are about to start.”
“Let’s go.”
He moved quickly. Before I knew it, we were on a hill.
From there, the night view of the free city, where the festival was happening, stretched out before us.
Sitting under a huge zelkova tree, I stared blankly at the sight.
‘Wow…’
The city lights below glowed like stars scattered across the ground. The tree with wishes hung on it sparkled, and the streetlights and vendor lights formed what looked like a galaxy.
Excited voices and announcements came faintly from afar.
“Three seconds to fireworks start!”
Everyone counted together. My heart pounded with excitement and anticipation.
“3.”
“2.”
“1.”
The regular day party ended, and the new year approached.
“0.”
The old year ended, the new year began.
Bang! Pop!
Vivid, colorful fireworks decorated the night sky. Fiery flowers bloomed in the sky, and lights sparkled on the ground.
It was as if two universes met on this hill.
Bang! Bang!
Flowers in every color bloomed. From red camellias to purple hydrangeas.
‘Wow. Rudbeckia.’
One of the few flowers I knew. The sky was like a blossoming garden.
The falling sparks looked like countless petals drifting down, like innumerable shooting stars.
I stared, mesmerized.
‘Beautiful.’
The fiery flowers bloomed across the night sky.
Bang! Bang!
It felt dreamlike, vivid. Hard to believe this world was from a book.
After the eventful regular day, everything returned to normal.
Now, I was at a townhouse in the central city, not the northern mansion. Both were huge.
I was first given a lecture on the house by the new head butler. Both the head butler at the main house and here were die-hard enthusiasts of the mansion. Rumor said they were twins.
Ah, and my daily routine changed a lot. From the moment I woke up, I was in Ian’s office, and I stayed there until I went to sleep. Nearly all day.
Apparently, Ian took me along to his office when he went to work.
It sounded terrible, but since I had nothing to do, life wasn’t bad. I mostly lounged on a hot pink cushion, eating desserts and resting. The only annoyance was the tigers.
‘Still, I can eat better desserts, so whatever…’
“You don’t eat much, only desserts.”
Ian removed his glasses while working.
‘No! I do eat properly.’
Compared to before, I ate more now, though I still ate more desserts than meals. Eating food brought back old memories, making it hard. But it was better than avoiding food entirely.
I subtly avoided his gaze.
‘…Probably.’
“You’ll get cavities at this rate.”
He checked my teeth meticulously, like a dentist inspecting for cavities.
“Meowwww! (Let go.)”
Hey! I’m uncomfortable!
I narrowed my eyes at him, speaking through my open mouth. My words slurred slightly. I tried to sound annoyed, but it came out as a soft laugh, irritating me further.
Kahak!
Let go!
I swatted his wrist.
Ignoring me, Ian continued examining my mouth and firmly declared:
“No more desserts.”
‘You evil…!’
My eyes narrowed. No desserts? Then in the office, the only fun was gone. What else could I do to relieve stress besides hitting the caterpillar doll?
Desserts were banned.
The thought made me sad.
Thunder rumbled in my chest despite the clear sky.
Bam. Bam.
Fuming, I grabbed the caterpillar doll resembling Ian, bought at the festival, and beat it. Its mocking tongue made it look just like that annoying tiger.
The poor doll’s face crumpled instantly.
“Is that the famous Nyang Nyang Punch?”
Allen, working nearby, stared at me. The other assistants paused, curious, all eyes on me.
‘What, you’ve never seen a kitten beat up a doll before?’
I glared at everyone, then resumed hitting the doll. Without desserts, the world looked twisted again. Clearly, my late adolescence had arrived.
“It’s got some real power. One hit like that would leave a handprint red.”
He examined the battered caterpillar.
“And Arie—l, you’re hurting the doll with your steel-like cotton fists.”
Ian casually propped his chin with one hand while blocking the doll with the other.
“Oh dear, the caterpillar’s shedding tears already.”
“Yes.”
He patted me. The split fur on his hand felt oddly comforting.
After finishing the paperwork, he smiled and added:
“Could be tears of joy, though. You hit it, after all.”
“Maybe.”
‘What are these people…’
Dolls don’t cry. And if they did, joy from being hit?
Ridiculous.
Enough. I stopped hitting the doll and turned to the paperwork.
‘Delion Miscellaneous Purchase Final Approval…?’
As the name suggested, the Delion merchant guild was run by the Kadelion family. They handled items and jewels made from monster loot.
‘They’re especially famous for products made from monster byproducts.’
Only available from Delion.
I got up from the cushion and moved to Ian’s desk, scanning the papers quickly.
‘Huh? Something’s off with these calculations…’
