chapter 20
“Grilled chicken skewers for sale—! Cheap, cheap! One for 5 coppers!”
‘Might as well eat chicken skewers at least.’
I tapped Ian.
There was no way he wouldn’t buy this too, right?
“One chicken skewer.”
Ian took the skewer and held it up to my mouth.
I opened wide, trying to shove an entire chunk of chicken into my mouth at once. Unfortunately, it didn’t all fit.
“You’re opening your mouth wider than a hippo.”
“You’re basically issuing a threatening warning that other animals shouldn’t even touch this skewer.”
After a few failed attempts, Ian and Allen’s conversation reached my ears, and I finally had no choice but to split the piece in half and chew it slowly.
Ian snickered at the sight.
‘Hey. Is that funny?’
I glared at him while chewing.
Watching me struggle, Ian took a bite of his own skewer.
‘Huh. Surprising. I didn’t think he’d eat street food like this.’
I glanced at him again, oddly impressed, then returned to my food.
The skewer went down easily.
‘Wow… that taste.’
It was exactly the taste of Korean street food chicken skewers from a pojangmacha stall.
There used to be a stall in my neighborhood that made these so well that I’d buy them whenever I could.
‘Come to think of it… if I’d been reincarnated as a chicken instead of a cat, I’d be doomed.’
No chicken skewers, no fried chicken.
I’d probably be pecked to death by other chickens before that anyway. Eating chicken skewers, eating fried chicken…
If I’d been born a chicken, it would’ve been the cruelest form of cannibalism. Parts of your own species skewered, grilled, and deep-fried.
Thinking about it that way, it wasn’t strange for chickens to hold grudges against humans.
“Ariael?”
While I was lost in thought, he suddenly held out another skewer in front of me.
The way it was cut was so clean there wasn’t a single jagged edge.
Ian’s sheath with a dagger was visible at his side.
And that high-quality dagger—apparently used to cut the skewer.
‘…Isn’t that an insane waste of talent?’
I stared at the perfectly sliced skewer, then turned to look at Allen. He was also making an uncomfortable face while looking at Ian.
In any case, regardless of how it was cut, the top part was easy to pull apart and eat.
I took another piece and looked around.
Nearby was a stall selling plush toys.
There were cute stuffed animals lined up in rows—dogs, cats, tigers, lions—holding hands as if they were friends.
In front of them were even more plushies: heroes, princes, princesses—adorable dolls sitting together.
For street stall quality, they looked surprisingly well-made. Maybe that’s why beastfolk crowded around it.
“My dad is the coolest in the world! Buy me this!”
A little girl was tugging her father’s hand, holding up a princess doll.
‘That kid sure knows how to flatter.’
“That princess doll really looks like your daughter! Haha. She’s very pretty.”
The stall owner, an old man, laughed warmly. He felt like a kindly grandfather watching his granddaughter.
“Dad, you heard that, right?”
The girl winked at her father.
The old man chatted cheerfully not only with that customer but others too, like a neighborly grandfather.
“This one looks like you.”
Watching that, Ian picked up a doll and shook it.
‘What is that…?’
I narrowed my eyes.
In his hand was a caterpillar plush toy with a grumpy expression, its head being shaken side to side.
“Haha. That was made after seeing earthworms after rain.”
‘That’s not a caterpillar, it’s a worm.’
Well, if I see it as a caterpillar, then it’s a caterpillar.
After that, even the stall owner—who had been so talkative—avoided my gaze in silence.
Well, if he wanted to sell things, he couldn’t exactly deny it. And he couldn’t say it suited me either. Morally, he couldn’t claim he had good judgment while pointing at me with a caterpillar plush.
‘Then you look like this.’
I pointed at another plushie sticking its tongue out.
It looked just as annoying as him. If anyone saw it, they’d think it was his clone.
Of course, the only person who would think of a worm when seeing Ian Cardelion’s face was Ariael.
And so, we each ended up holding a caterpillar plush and walking through the streets together.
I looked at mine, sticking its tongue out.
‘I should punch this thing every time I get annoyed.’
It probably wouldn’t last long.
We wandered the lively streets, each hugging the plush the other had chosen.
There were many delicious and fascinating things everywhere.
We had arrived when the clock tower’s small hand pointed to 8, but before we knew it, it was nearly 12.
“Lord Ian, it’s almost time for the fireworks.”
“Let’s go.”
At his words, Ian moved quickly. Before I knew it, we were on top of a hill.
From there, the night view of the festival city spread out below us.
I sat under a large zelkova tree and stared blankly.
‘Wow…’
In the dark night, the city lights below glittered like stars in the sky.
Roofs, glowing wishes tied to a sacred tree said to grant them, streetlights, and stalls—all of it looked like a galaxy spread across the land.
Distant voices of excited people and announcements drifted faintly.
“3 seconds until fireworks begin!”
Everyone began counting together.
I waited too, filled with anticipation.
“3.”
“2.”
“1.”
“0.”
The old year ended, and a new year began.
BOOM—! BOOM!
Fireworks exploded into the sky, painting it with brilliant colors. Flowers of fire bloomed overhead while stars of light shimmered on the ground.
It felt like two universes were meeting on this hill.
BOOM—! BOOM!
Multicolored blossoms filled the sky.
From deep red camellias to violet hydrangeas.
‘Wow. That’s rudbeckia.’
One of the few flowers I actually recognized.
The sky looked like a garden in full bloom.
Falling fireworks looked like petals drifting down, or countless shooting stars pouring to the earth.
I watched, entranced.
‘It’s beautiful.’
Fire flowers bloomed endlessly across the night sky.
BOOM—! BOOM!
It felt like a dream—yet vividly real.
So real it was hard to believe this world was inside a book.
*****—
After the chaotic Festival Day ended, everything returned to normal.
Now I wasn’t in the northern mansion anymore, but in a townhouse in the central city.
Both places were absurdly large.
As soon as I arrived, I received a lecture from the head butler about the differences between here and the estate.
Apparently, both head butlers—here and at home—were equally obsessed with mansions. Rumor said they were twins.
And my routine changed a lot too.
When I opened my eyes, I was in Ian’s office. When I closed them, I was still in Ian’s office.
Basically, I spent all day there.
It seemed Ian brought me along when he came to work.
It sounded terrible, but since I had no duties, it wasn’t bad at all. I mostly lay or sat on a hot pink cushion and ate desserts.
The only annoying thing was those tigers.
‘Still… I can eat better desserts now, so whatever.’
“You don’t really eat meals, do you? Only desserts.”
Ian, working, removed his glasses.
‘No! I eat meals too!’
Compared to before, I did eat more these days. Just… more desserts than meals.
Eating proper meals made me think of the past, so it was still a bit difficult.
But it was better than before when I avoided food entirely.
I looked away slightly.
‘…probably.’
“You’ll get cavities like this.”
He grabbed my mouth and checked my teeth carefully like a dentist.
“Meowwww (let go).”
Hey! That’s uncomfortable!
I glared at him as my words came out distorted with my mouth open.
Clack!
Let go!
Despite my resistance, Ian calmly examined my mouth.
Then he said firmly:
“No more desserts from now on.”
‘You horrible…!’
My eyes narrowed. No desserts? Then what was I supposed to do in this boring office?
There was nothing left but to punch that caterpillar plush.
“No desserts.”
“No desserts.”
The thought made me miserable.
BOOM—.
Even though the sky was clear, it felt like thunder was striking my heart.
Thud. Thump.
In frustration, I grabbed the caterpillar plush—who looked exactly like Ian—and started beating it.
“Is that the famous kitty punch?”
Allen muttered while watching me. Everyone in the office stopped working and looked at me.
‘What are you looking at? Never seen a kitten punch a plush before?’
I lifted my head and glared at them, then resumed hitting the plush.
Without desserts, the world felt twisted again.
“This has quite the force. A direct hit would leave a mark.”
Allen examined the crushed plush.
“And Ariael, stop hitting it with those steel-like soft paws. The caterpillar says it hurts.”
Ian lazily rested his chin on one hand while blocking the plush from me with the other.
“Oh dear. It seems the caterpillar is already crying.”
“Indeed.”
He patted me casually while replying.
Ian neatly organized his documents and smiled lazily.
“Still… maybe they’re tears of joy. Being hit by a cat and all.”
“Could be.”
‘What are these people even saying…’
How could a plush cry? Tears of joy?
What nonsense.
Forget it. I’m done.
I stopped hitting it and looked at the documents in front of me.
“Delion Trade Goods Purchase Approval Final Document…?”
As expected, the Delion Merchant Guild was a trading company run by the Cardelion family. It dealt with monster byproducts, jewels, and various goods made from monster materials.
‘Especially famous for monster-derived items.’
Only available through Delion.
Ariael got up from the cushion and moved toward Ian’s desk.
I flipped through the document quickly.
‘Huh? These calculations are wrong…’
