<Chapter 30>

‘There just so happens to be a wetland near the daycare.’

Even though it was called a wetland, the ground was firm with packed mud, so our feet didn’t sink much. There weren’t any dangerous animals either, just the occasional frog.

We set off toward the wetland cheerfully, singing as we went.

“Teacher! There are so many frogs!”

“Right?”

“T-T-Teacher! That frog’s bigger than me! It’s super gross!”

Ardishu, having spotted a giant frog, shrieked and hid behind me.

“The frog keeps staring at me. I’m scared.”

“The surface world really is full of bizarre and grotesque creatures.”

Valentin and Brix also stuck close to me as we walked.

“It’s okay. Frogs around here are harmless.”

“Hah. Freaking out over a frog, seriously…”

“Teacher! The frog’s going after Paul!”

“Aaaahhh!”

At Ardishu’s warning, Paul screamed like a banshee and bolted.

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake.’

They were harmless, sure, but their appearance wasn’t great for anyone’s nerves.

In the end, we found a quiet corner away from the giant frogs and settled down.

“Alright, scoop up a bunch of mud with your shovel and fill the jars.”

I demonstrated for the kids.

“I’m gonna fill the most!”

“What are you talking about? I’ve already filled half of mine!”

Valentin and Paul were locked in fierce competition. Those two definitely had an unspoken rivalry.

“This is curry. Wanna try some, Brix?”

“Elf. Have some dignity.”

Brix grimaced and refused to play house with Ardishu. Then, as if he couldn’t take it anymore, Valentin suddenly wedged himself between them and took a bite of mud.

“It tastes bad.”

“Teacher, he just ate dirt!”

“Valentin!”

I gently wiped the mud-covered Valentin’s face with a soft towel.

“Kyaa! Teacher, Paul’s flicking mud with his tail! He’s doing it on purpose!”

“Paaaul!”

The moment I looked away, chaos broke out. Paul’s violet tail was caked in mud and now looked pitch black.

SPLAT!

A flying clump of mud Paul flicked sailed straight at me. It hit me square in the face and started dripping from under my chin.

‘I just wanted a peaceful, ordinary class like mushroom hunting…’

I guess things never go quite as planned.

“Uh, I wasn’t aiming for your face or anything…”

Paul trailed off, flustered and unsure what to do.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. Grinning, I scooped up a handful of mud and hurled it at him.

“Take this!”

“Ugh! Like I’m gonna lose!”

Paul whipped his tail around wildly, splattering mud in every direction.

“I-I’m on Teacher’s side!”

“A mermaid never forgives!”

“Then I shall support Paul!”

Mud flew from every direction.

We completely forgot about the inflatable pool and everything else and launched into an all-out mud war.

And the result?

What else. Five mud monsters were born that day.

The plastic protective suits we’d prepared were absolutely useless. Looking like a bunch of defeated soldiers, we trudged back the way we came.

As we neared the daycare, I heard Jiho’s voice.

“You were supposed to be back by lunchtime. The food’s all co… Whoa! Sora, what happened to you?!”

“H-Haha. One thing led to another…”

Jiho’s jaw dropped when he saw us. Quickly assessing the situation, he scooped up Paul and Valentin under each arm and headed off to wash them.

Ardishu and Brix were taken care of by Youngja-unnie.

“My pretty babies, I’ll scrub every bit of that gunk off you.”

“Unnie—I mean, Teacher! Mermaids have delicate skin, so don’t scrub too hard!”

“Alright, alright. Just trust me.”

After leaving the kids with Youngja-unnie, I washed up too. I was covered in mud from head to toe. Getting clean wasn’t easy.

‘If someone saw me now, they’d say I’m too old to act like this…’

But honestly, it was fun. When else would I ever get to play without a care in the world?

I thought about the rare blush I’d seen on Valentin’s usually pale face. Even if we ended up a mess, it was proof he’d really gotten into it.

After lunch, we loaded the jars of mud onto a cart and headed toward the Human Special Autonomous District.

A kiln had recently been completed, so we’d started baking our own simple tools like jars and bowls.

‘Feels like we’ve gone back to the Stone Age.’

It was still a work in progress and we lacked many facilities, but being able to make our own items out of clay had definitely improved our quality of life.

“This place is toasty.”

“Ugh. I hate the heat. Elf? Fan me.”

“Brix. You shouldn’t order your friends around.”

I dumped a bucket of ice into Brix’s crystal bathtub. The merfolk, who had been whining about his scales drying out, immediately fell silent.

“We’re going to bake this mud into tiles to finish the pool. Then we’ll be able to swim in clean water.”

“Wow! We’re really making our own pool!”

“Of course we are.”

We shaped the mud into tiles and drew simple patterns on them. In just a few more days, the pool would be ready.

‘That should make it easier for Brix to get along with the other kids.’

It would also open up new class activities.

Once they got used to swimming, maybe we could even hold a mini-Olympics with gold medals. Water aerobics would be fun too.

“Oh, Valentin. That’s enough for now. Time to come out.”

“I want to finish the drawing on this tile.”

“How about finishing it tomorrow? From what I can tell, our Valentin looks about ready to drop.”

I gently guided the fading vampire away. I’d grown used to managing Valentin’s energy levels.

‘He used to faint so often in the beginning…’

There were countless nights I’d stayed up watching over his coffin.

His stamina was still worryingly low, but at least we’d settled into a rhythm.

“Alright, everyone. That’s a wrap. Let’s head back. If we’re late for afternoon snack after lunch, Chef Jiho will be growling.”

“Is the cooking teacher a tiger or something? Why would he growl?”

“How did you know? You’ve got sharp eyes, Paul. Actually, Jiho was born in the Year of the Tiger!”

“Is he a real tiger?!”

As I exaggerated my reaction, Paul’s voice grew louder. The younger kids, unfamiliar with the Chinese zodiac, started murmuring with curiosity.

They might have actually thought Jiho was some kind of tiger beastman. He was definitely going to be bombarded with questions later.

‘I should tell them about the zodiac next time.’

If they reacted this well to Jiho being a “tiger,” they’d probably enjoy the whole zodiac story too.

That thought was still on my mind when we returned to the daycare…

“Lian?”

Lian was waiting for us in the classroom. He’d even prepared the kids’ snacks.

“Oh my. We’re late again… Thank you so much.”

“You did well.”

Afternoon snack was butter-grilled glow mushrooms. Sautéed in melted butter and simmered in soy sauce, they were seasoned just right for the kids’ taste buds.

Even though Jiho had put in all that effort, under normal circumstances the kids wouldn’t have even looked at mushrooms.

“These are the ones I picked!”

Paul puffed his chest and popped one into his mouth. He wasn’t the only one. The kids scarfed them down, forgetting they’d ever disliked mushrooms.

These weren’t just any mushrooms. They were ones the kids had picked themselves. That made all the difference.

“You should have some too, Lian.”

“I already ate. Jiho was desperate to get rid of the stock.”

“…Haha. We gathered so many that he was threatening to put them in everything, even rice.”

I shook my head, remembering the mountain of mushrooms we’d collected.

“I came because there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

I looked at Lian. Today, he wore a deep violet shirt with a black vest, making him look elegant and refined. Seeing him, I could understand why purple was once considered a noble color.

“The merfolk have requested an open class.”

“An open class?”

It was about that time. Open classes were a standard event at the end of the adjustment period.

‘But will anyone actually come? Everyone’s so busy.’

With so few kids, even one absence would stand out.

“Think it’ll be a problem? If it’s too much trouble, I can come up with a reason to cancel.”

Even though I hadn’t said anything outright, Lian instantly picked up on my hesitation.

“No, I can do it. Um… I’ll write up a lesson plan. Could you review it for me? I’m not that familiar with the other races, so I’m worried I might mess something up.”

“Of course.”

Lian’s calm response put me at ease. I realized there was no need to be so nervous.

“Do you think everyone will show up? If a guardian doesn’t come, the child might feel hurt.”

That was a deeply rooted wound from my own childhood.

I suddenly remembered my seatmate in fourth grade, who whined about being upset that only his dad came and not his mom.

I was envious. I didn’t have anyone who’d come to see my class.

“They’ll come.”

“Really? Some of them didn’t even care when their kid passed out…”

I lowered my voice.

“If I must, I’ll make sure every single one of them shows up.”

“Why would you take responsibility for that?”

“Because I’m the director?”

“Well then, I’m counting on you. It’s nice having someone to offload responsibility onto.”

“I’d prefer if you said I’m someone you can rely on.”

True. One word could change the whole nuance.

‘Someone I can rely on…’

Yeah. I had someone I could rely on now. Someone who accepted my complaints and helped with my work from time to time.

‘I wonder… Am I someone Lian can rely on too?’

I wasn’t sure. I just hoped I wasn’t someone unreliable in his eyes.

“If you don’t believe it yourself, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Gasp! No, no! Lian, you’re totally dependable!”

I flailed to explain, and Lian’s lips curled faintly in amusement.

He really was a hard person to deal with… yet somehow also weirdly easy.

“Enough small talk. As for you…”

Lian scanned me from head to toe. What now? Did I miss a spot while cleaning off the mud?

“You’ll need a proper outfit.”

“An outfit?”

I tilted my head. Sure, I wasn’t dressed to impress, but I looked clean and tidy.

I had on simple jeans, a white T-shirt made by our sewing lead, and an apron over it. It was a textbook daycare teacher look.

“It’s a formal occasion.”

“For a parent open class?”

It was an adult-attended event, so some attention to appearance made sense. But didn’t clean and neat suffice? The stars of the day were the kids, after all.

“The merfolk wouldn’t have requested it for no reason. Best to treat it seriously.”

“I see…”

I must’ve taken it too lightly. If Lian hadn’t said anything, I might’ve ended up criticized.

“Then let’s think about where to get your outfit.”

“Teacher, elf dresses are pretty. You’d look even prettier in one.”

Ardishu ran over and whispered to me. That did sound like a good idea.

‘Not like there are many other options anyway.’

Vampire clothes were too antique-looking for me. Dragon outfits would have holes for tails and wings, which would be awkward. Merfolk clothing barely covered the upper body, so that was out.

“I’ll bring one of my mom’s dresses! She’ll say yes, I know she will!”

“That’s too much to ask of your mother. But I’ll definitely consider an elf dress.”

“If you tell me which one, I’ll wear the same dress too!”

Ardishu’s eyes sparkled. Matching outfits? Just imagining it was adorable. We might look like family.

“And big brother will wear the same one—”

“That’s not happening.”

Apparently, Ardishu still hadn’t given up on her wild dream of marrying me off to Eldic.

‘If we matched outfits, Eldic would definitely be in trouble.’

He’s surprisingly shy. If Ardishu brought up matching couple looks, he’d probably be flustered. If another parent saw that…

Wait, hold on.

“I guess I’ll have to go with something neutral.”
 

<To be continued>

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