Chapter 77
“…Here. Thirty Rainbow Stones. Please check.”
I took out the Rainbow Stones I’d collected in my inventory and handed them to Cassie.
I’d wanted a pet that could pick up dropped items for ages. It was one of the items on my wishlist. And yet… why did this purchase feel so unsettling?
I frowned, trying to hide my interest, and asked in a flat voice:
“Um… is it okay to keep something like this in such a hot place? Penguins are supposed to live in cold climates.”
“Ahh, is that what you’re worried about? Don’t be. This little one isn’t a real penguin—just a magical creature shaped like one.”
I had suspected something like that ever since he called it a “familiar.” But hearing Cassie say outright that it wasn’t an ordinary penguin made the whole thing feel even stranger.
“Then… what do I feed it?”
“Hm? You’re the first customer I’ve seen who wants to feed their familiar. Magical creatures don’t get energy from food. Still, anything humans eat won’t harm it.”
Cassie looked at me like I was asking some truly bizarre questions.
But as a proud Korean who takes food VERY seriously at every meal, I couldn’t help being annoyed.
Hey—what kind of person doesn’t feed someone who works for them? Even if it doesn’t need food, there’s a thing called feelings, right?
If I’m going to make it do labor—collecting loot from monsters—then the least I can do is provide three meals a day! That’s basic decency!
Well… since it can just eat human food, I guess that’s one less thing to worry about. I was actually wondering for a moment if I’d have to catch fish for it every meal like a real penguin.
I was just about to ask if there were any other things I needed to be careful about, when Cassie suddenly panicked.
“Ahem. I should be going now. I hope the trade was satisfactory. If you ever need something else, please seek out me—Cassie—again!”
“…What? Why the sudden goodbye speech?”
I still had so much to ask him about Pengsooni.
“I’m not done talking—”
But just as I reached out to stop him, Cassie—and his entire stall—vanished like scattered dust.
“…?”
I looked around, dazed.
No trace of him remained.
The people who’d been frozen as if time had stopped were back to chatting and laughing like normal.
What even was that?
Was I dreaming?
Did a dream demon hit me with some hallucination spell?
But the adorable penguin waddling around beside me—making squeaky noises and leaving tiny patches of snow with each step—made it abundantly clear that it had all been real.
Snow.
In the desert.
Even in the game, the Emperor Penguin pet left behind this same visual effect—but I never thought I’d see it in reality.
And with it walking next to me, the air around us even felt a little cooler.
A portable air-conditioner and an auto-looting pet, all for just 30 Rainbow Stones?
Honestly, it was a fantastic purchase.
I had plenty of complaints about the goddess and Cassie—who loved playing with my heart—but none of this was Pengsooni’s fault.
If reviews existed in this world, I’d give a perfect 5 stars.
Just as I was basking in that satisfaction—
“Elain!”
I heard a familiar voice calling me.
Looking around, I spotted Lena, Leo, Darren—and even Adrian. All my party members were gathered in one spot.
“What the—why are you all together? Weren’t we supposed to be gathering info separately?”
“Well, we just happened to run into each other on the way. And then—running into you like this too! What a coincidence!”
Leo’s face flushed with excitement.
I mean… considering the odds of everyone running into each other in the middle of a bustling street, it was pretty surprising.
“Boss, what are you doing here? And what’s that tiny waddling thing?”
Darren pointed at Pengsooni with obvious curiosity.
I proudly lifted my penguin with both hands.
“Cute, right? It’s a familiar that picks up dropped items and puts them in my subspace inventory. I finally got one.”
“Ohh, that exists?”
Darren leaned in, fascinated.
Lena, meanwhile, flushed bright red and stuttered:
“So—so cute… C-could I… maybe touch it?”
“Of course!”
I mean, who on earth hates fluffy animal companions? Whoever they are, they must be a cold, heartless monster.
Lena trembled with excitement as she reached out, and Pengsooni closed its eyes slightly, enjoying her touch.
“But where did you even buy it? I didn’t think this town sold magical creatures of this quality.”
She asked with wide-eyed curiosity, and everyone else turned their attention to me.
How on earth was I supposed to explain that?
I didn’t trust myself to talk about Cassie without sounding suspicious, so I opted for vague nonsense.
“I dunno… He didn’t seem like a local merchant. More like a wandering peddler?”
Not technically a lie.
Cassie’s pale skin, white hair, and lilac eyes were definitely distinct from the locals. And since I’d met him in Silvagrove Forest before, calling him a wanderer wasn’t wrong either.
“…Are you sure this is safe? This sounds really shady.”
Darren frowned in concern.
I shoved the goddess’s mark on my hand right in his face.
“Oh please. Have you ever been scammed? I, the goddess’s chosen hero, guarantee its quality!”
I’d already tested Pengsooni’s performance in the game.
This wasn’t blind faith—it was proven data.
“Anyway! No more slandering my Pengsooni!”
I declared.
Darren just shrugged like I was ridiculous.
“Pengsooni? Seriously? What kind of name is—well, I guess it fits someone who used to be ‘StrongestShooterElai—’”
“Oh you little—!! Don’t you dare bring up my dark history!!”
I slapped my hand over his mouth before he could finish.
You don’t go throwing stones at someone who has painstakingly erased their embarrassing old username! I truly thought that changing my name would magically delete the past.
In the game, changing your nickname did work like that—your record was wiped clean, and you could pretend your old identity never existed.
But I’d forgotten one small detail:
People in this world are real.
They remember.
Which is why the ghosts of my past kept popping up to torment me.
I’m gonna cry… seriously…
I wiped Darren’s saliva off on his sleeve and continued walking with the group.
We eventually reached the palace, chatting loudly the whole way. The conversation naturally shifted to the clues everyone had gathered—and the topic of Pengsooni died out.
Or so I thought.
“…Elain.”
Adrian, who had been silently listening, suddenly spoke.
“Yes, Sir Adrian?”
“The familiar… I believe it may be dangerous. You bought it from a vendor with an unknown identity.”
Why was he suddenly bringing this up?
I rubbed my cheek awkwardly.
“Oh—actually I didn’t tell you, but he wasn’t a stranger. I’ve met that merchant before. So… no need to worry.”
I wasn’t sure if Cassie counted as a person, but he was clearly something planned specifically for me.
But Adrian’s next words made my stomach twist.
“Was it the day you went to Silvagrove Forest? The day I said I smelled something unfamiliar on you?”
“…Well, yeah…”
Now that he mentioned it, he did say that.
“Hm. Then it’s even more suspicious. Where exactly did you meet him? Please be honest—you’re definitely hiding something.”
He tapped the table nervously with his finger, eyes sharp.
The vibe was straight-up interrogation.
I frowned slightly.
“Sir Adrian, don’t you have things you’re hiding from me? Everyone has secrets. You… kinda…”
That was NOT what I meant to say.
The words just slipped out—sharp, prickly, and unfair.
“….”
Adrian froze, stunned that I would say something like that.
“I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just…”
When I apologized, he gave a faint, bitter smile.
“No, it’s fine. You’re right. Everyone has secrets. I overstepped. I won’t comment on the familiar anymore.”
No—this wasn’t what I wanted.
I hadn’t meant to hurt him.
But the exhaustion I’d been suppressing must have finally caught up to me—the abandoned hero’s ruins, the tears I’d seen him shed there… all of that lingered in my mind and twisted my words.
He rose quietly.
“…I’ll take a walk outside for a bit.”
Adrian left.
And the atmosphere in the annex froze over completely.
