<Chapter 21>

We ate curry in the midst of a cheerful, noisy atmosphere. The curry, made with milk instead of water, had a light color and a soft, creamy texture.

“It’s delicious!”

“There’s plenty, so you can have more if you want.”

Even though the pot had held a generous amount, it was scraped clean in no time.

With full bellies, we bundled up in warm clothes for the next part of the day and stepped outside.

Just as we opened the front door, perfect timing—

Pop!

Fireworks burst across the night sky, painted black with darkness. Though crude, the dazzling lights instantly captured the children’s attention.

“Wow…”

“W-what is that?”

Ardishu and Paul stared, wide-eyed, at the fireworks. Their eyes, reflecting the sparks, sparkled like precious gems.

“T-Teacher…”

Only Valentin seemed frightened by the sound, gripping my hand tightly. I scooped him up into my arms to reassure him.

“It’s okay. These fireworks are here to welcome you.”

“I thought it was the kind of bomb humans use.”

Valentin mumbled in a trembling voice.

‘So there were bombs in this world too.’

Well, of course. Humans, being the weakest race, would’ve needed weapons to protect themselves from the others.

“Teacher, is that magic?”

Paul tugged on my sleeve as he asked.

“Nope. Humans use science instead of magic. Through countless experiments, they developed technology that anyone can use, even without magical power.”

“What? That sounds super complicated. Humans don’t even live that long, and they waste time doing all that? They might die before figuring it out.”

“They actually do.”

Paul glanced at me, startled by my blunt response, as if expecting me to deny it.

“But they leave behind records, pass things down through words, and keep researching. Human history is like one endless relay race.”

At that moment, a firework burst into a flower shape. It scattered like it was crumbling apart, glowing brilliantly.

“To me, that kind of ‘continuity’ is humanity’s true strength.”

I looked at Paul as I said it, not the fireworks.

“……”

Paul gave a small nod, then lowered his gaze, lost in thought.

I couldn’t tell what he really thought about my answer. Maybe it was a bit too difficult for someone his age.

Still, seeing him seriously pondering it made me happy. It felt like Paul had taken one small step closer to adulthood.

Pop!

The last firework fizzled out.

It didn’t go off. Just a dud.

Not that surprising, since the students had made them without proper equipment.

“What a shame.”

Ardishu’s eyebrows drooped.

Of all things, the final firework being a dud would definitely be a letdown.

“You’ll see prettier ones next time you come.”

“Because you’ll experiment more?”

“Yep.”

A smile returned to Ardishu’s face.

“Alright, that’s it for today. It’s late. Time to get some sleep.”

“No way! Who said that? I’m still playing!”

“Little dragon, you need to sleep early to grow taller. Unless you want to stay a stubby dragon.”

“Ugh…”

Watching Paul get persuaded by Jiho’s silly teasing, I had to stifle my laughter.

“Teacher, we’re heading in too.”

“Shall we?”

“Your house is cozy and nice.”

And just like that, the first night of the group stay ended…

“Hey!”

“Teacher! Paul threw a pillow at me!”

…Actually, maybe it was just beginning?

* * *

Sunday morning.

When I woke up, my body felt oddly heavy.

“Mmm…”

I forced my eyelids open and glanced around, then flinched in surprise.

Why are all of you in my blanket?

Ardishu was using my left arm as a pillow, Paul’s legs were sprawled over my stomach, and Valentin had snuggled fully under the blanket.

Thanks to last night’s wild pillow fight, everyone’s hair and clothes were a complete mess.

For the record, the winner of the pillow fight was Jiho.

‘Paul grumbled that it wasn’t fair for an adult to play.’

But Jiho just threw another pillow, saying it didn’t matter since he was also an assistant teacher.

“Pfft…”

Just sitting there, replaying last night’s memories, made me giggle.

“Alright, up and at ’em. The morning sun is out.”

They were probably exhausted after last night’s fun, but they couldn’t stay in bed forever. There was more fun to be had today.

“Just five more minutes…”

“Moooom…”

Well then. It’s time for the ultimate technique: the ‘Pick-up-and-Lift’ move!

“Ahhh!”

“Moooom!”

And just like that, our busy morning began.

While I braided Ardishu’s hair, Jiho applied mousse to style Paul and Valentin’s hair.

“Why are you spiking it up like this? What even is this?”

“It’s called making you stylish, obviously.”

Jiho had some skill. He gave them all pretty trendy hairstyles…

‘But they all look exactly the same!’

Watching Jiho, Paul, and Valentin walk side-by-side with matching hair was kind of hilarious.

They didn’t resemble each other at all… but they weirdly looked like a family?

Because it took us a while to get ready, we got outside a bit late. By then, the plaza was already full of festive energy. Several booths were lined up, but the first thing that caught our eye was the snack stand.

“A snack booth? When did you set that up?”

“I got up a little early.”

Jiho shrugged and handed me a cup of tteokbokki along with a slushie.

He’d made a special soy sauce version just for the kids.

“Wow! It’s so good!”

“So chewy!”

The kids devoured the tteokbokki happily. I filled up a cup for myself, too.

The sweet and salty soy sauce tteokbokki brought back warm memories, but for some reason, my heart felt a bit empty.

“Sigh… I want some yeop-tteok…”

“I’ll make you a spicy version next time. Today’s all about the kids.”

Jiho responded to my mumbling. Back in the real world, yeopddeok was too expensive to eat often, but here he was, ready to whip it up in a snap.

People who feed you are the best. With a touched expression, I said,

“Then if you ever need anything from me, just ask.”

“Really? Then I’ll save that for later. Gotta use this kind of chance wisely.”

What was he planning to ask? I started to feel a little uneasy, but then Jiho’s face turned serious.

“Anyway, Sora. Just be careful today, just in case. Got it?”

“Yup.”

I didn’t think anything would go wrong, but it never hurt to be cautious.

We went booth to booth, knocking each one out in order. Throwing darts at balloons, playing hopscotch…

“Looks like nothing happened after all.”

“Yeah. Maybe we worried for nothing. Should we go get our caricatures drawn next? Ari’s probably waiting.”

While the kids laughed and played, Jiho and I kept our nerves sharp. But as we looked up at the sky glowing with sunset hues, we finally relaxed.

It was a perfect day.

* * *

But there was one thing Sora didn’t know.

“Hmph.”

Not everyone enjoyed the cheerful festival atmosphere. One of them was Cho Pilhyuk, the loner from the Human Special Autonomous District.

He was the only one still struggling to adjust to life in this world. Anger festered within him, largely because he, the most “qualified” person here, wasn’t being treated with the respect he thought he deserved.

Even worse, the girlfriend he loved… had left him.

‘All I did was tell her to wear some makeup a few times and she sulked!’

She’d yelled, asking if makeup was even necessary in another world.

Pilhyuk had been baffled. So what if they were in a different world? How could she walk around barefaced in front of her boyfriend?

‘So she picks a fight and then she breaks up with me?’

Now, she was helping out with festival preparations, hanging around with some other group.

“So they all love this dump of a place now, huh?”

Seething with bitterness, Pilhyuk holed himself up in his room, stewing in rage and wishing everyone else would suffer just like he had.

‘The kids. I’ll go after the kids.’

He didn’t need an elaborate plan. Just messing with the children would be enough to ruin the festival.

That alone would pour cold water on everyone’s fun.

And that wasn’t all. Once the children told their parents, the humans would once again be forced to tiptoe around the other races. Living happily here would be a thing of the past.

‘Serves them right for ignoring me.’

Conveniently, today’s festival included people in costumes who were there to entertain the children.

Pilhyuk had overheard the news when he’d snuck outside late at night. He’d been waiting for this day.

If he showed up as himself, people would immediately be wary. But in costume, no one would recognize him.

Throwing on a shabby disguise, Pilhyuk headed toward the plaza.

His first target? The dragon hatchling.

He stalked the kids from a distance, hiding behind the dart game booth. He’d secretly slipped a few powder-filled balloons into the ones meant to be popped.

If one burst, scattering unknown powder everywhere, it would definitely cause a scene.

‘They say dragons are hot-headed and competitive. He’ll definitely be the first to throw a dart.’

Just as expected, Paul rushed forward and grabbed a dart. Pilhyuk grinned as he watched him.

But then…

“Paul! You can’t just blow the balloons away!”

“I don’t like that one.”

Paul flapped his wings and blew away the balloons Pilhyuk had tampered with!

‘That damn dragon brat!’

Peeking out from behind the booth, Pilhyuk scowled just in time to lock eyes with Paul. The dragon’s vertical pupils struck a chill into his bones.

‘I’d better not mess with that one…’

Pilhyuk decided to change targets. This time, he chose the skinny little vampire.

He looked spaced out, easy to bait.

‘Vampires’ weakness is the cross, right?’

He’d secretly swiped a silver cross from a devout believer.

‘Just get it close to him and…’

…Just like in the movies, the vampire would shriek in pain.

Pilhyuk slipped it into Valentin’s pocket as he passed by. The effect should kick in immediately…

“Teacher. A gift for you.”

“You should say ‘this is for you’ in this case.”

Valentin calmly pulled out the cross necklace from his pocket and handed it to Sora.

“What?”

What Pilhyuk didn’t know… was that vampires in this world were devout followers of Almighty God Serenity.

“Damn it!”

He spat a curse, frustrated by the unexpected failure.

And then Valentin glanced at him. As if… he knew.

When his sharp fangs peeked out, Pilhyuk bolted.

‘He’s gonna bite my neck with those!’

Just imagining it made his body tremble. He was slowly realizing who he’d picked a fight with, but he still refused to give up.

The more his plans failed, the more stubborn he became. That tenacity clouded his judgment.

‘This time for sure!’

He waited patiently for the right moment.

His final target was the weakest-looking of them all. The elf girl.

Peeking out from behind the caricature tent, Pilhyuk’s eyes gleamed.

The elf wasn’t interested in the drawings. She was hooked on her slushie. Her cup was empty, so she’d be heading back to the snack stand soon.

Perfect. The others were distracted getting their caricatures drawn. She’d be alone.

“Teacher, I want more slushie.”

“Really? Let’s go together then.”

“But you’re drawing right now. I’ll be quick. It’s nearby.”

Just as Pilhyuk predicted, Ardishu darted outside on her own. No one else was around.

He gauged the distance between them. It was the perfect time and place. A hunting team had captured a beast and caged it nearby. Pilhyuk was standing right next to the cage.

‘Just a bit closer. One more step…’

As Ardishu drew near, Pilhyuk yanked off the heavy tarp covering the cage.

Screeeech!

The bird-like monster let out a piercing shriek. Ardishu shrieked too and fell on her butt in shock.

“W-why is there a monster here…?”

Looking into her terrified eyes, Pilhyuk felt victorious. This was the answer. He should’ve done this from the start.

‘Take that.’

He unlatched the cage and slipped away to watch.

The starving bird-beast lunged at Ardishu. Its razor-sharp beak looked big enough to swallow her whole.

“M-momm!”

It wouldn’t go far, though. The beast’s legs were chained down. It’d just scare her.

‘She’ll be too traumatized to come near here again.’

Pilhyuk smirked. Humans would argue, blaming each other. All this chaos, from just a few little tricks…

“…Huh?”

But then he rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The beast was flying way too high.

Its ankle restraint had snapped. The stake couldn’t hold it.

‘If that thing actually kills her… I’m really screwed.’
 

<To be continued>

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