FVN Chapter 86
Chapter 86
The two men, who looked quite menacing, put their arms around each other’s shoulders, grinning together as if they had never been at odds. I was genuinely surprised—I thought they might lunge at each other any moment.
Did I misjudge them just by their appearance?
I carefully looked up at them and asked, “Are you...friends?”
“Yep, we're friends.”
“We're like brothers, bonded by life and death.”
The two men laughed in a harmless way that put me at ease. As I looked around, I realized that the two groups, which I thought were about to fight, were actually laughing together. Maybe I’d been judging people too quickly based on appearances.
“I’m sorry. I thought you were going to start a fight, so I got worried.”
“Hahaha, as if! We’d never fight.”
“Right, we’re way too close for that.”
The two men laughed heartily, and I felt safe enough that my tail began to wag happily.
“So, what are you kids doing in a place like this?”
“We’re adventuring! Levinas and I are exploring!”
Levinas, still nestled in my arms, peeked out to speak. She clung to me like a cicada, clearly not opposed to being held.
“Adventuring?”
“Yep! Levinas is super brave!”
“Wow, that’s impressive!”
Clap, clap, clap—the man who had been leaning on his friend’s shoulder came over to us, and I couldn't help but notice a koi tattoo on his forearm.
“But you know, this alley isn’t really safe.”
“S-safe?”
“Yep. The guys here are fine, but not everyone in this alley is as nice. Lots of bad people come around here.”
“Oh...”
The alley did feel unusually dark and eerie...was it actually a dangerous place?
I quickly glanced back in the direction we came from. But after weaving through this maze of alleys, I couldn't remember the way out.
“Um, I don’t know the way out...”
“Lost your way?”
“Yes. We were trying to get to the department store, but we got lost.”
“Is that so? Want us to take you there?”
Take us there? Yeoreum has told me countless times never to go anywhere with strangers. This wouldn’t set a good example for Levinas.
But we had no other way out, and these people didn’t seem dangerous. So, we had no choice but to accept their help.
“I’d really appreciate it if you could help, but...isn’t it too much trouble?”
Feeling guilty, I fiddled with my fingers as I looked up at the man with the koi tattoo.
“Haha, no trouble at all! We love a good adventure, too.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
The man with the dragon tattoo hoisted Levinas up, lifting her into the air. Levinas flailed her arms and legs as she floated in his grip.
“Eek!”
“Huh?”
Why was he lifting Levinas up all of a sudden? I looked up at him in surprise, but he was only giving Levinas a shoulder ride.
“Look! I’m taller now!”
It was food waste. This must be the area where they store the department store’s food waste. The smell was bad, but surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would.
'Wait...'
As I sniffed curiously, I realized something—I could tolerate the smell more easily now. My sense of smell was stronger than when I was human, allowing me to separate out different odors rather than just smelling one overwhelming stench.
‘This is... amazing.’
It felt like a valuable skill. Maybe I could practice enhancing my sense of smell here? Glancing around, I confirmed that no one was watching and moved closer to the trash bins.
At that moment, a department store worker named Min Chaewon, in charge of handling food waste, pulled a cart filled with waste bins into the area.
'Oh, the smell...'
It was always awful here, no matter how many times she came. She wanted to quickly replace the bin and leave.
However, as she entered the waste area, she was stunned by the sight in front of her: two young beast-kin children peering into the trash bins.
“Levinas, there’s pizza in here!”
“Yeah, someone must’ve thrown it away after barely eating it.”
“Wow... throwing away pizza, that’s insane!”
“Yeah. Pizza is a once-in-a-lifetime thing...”
Once-in-a-lifetime? From their words and actions, it seemed like they were about to start picking through the trash for food. Min Chaewon was so shocked she forgot about the stench.
‘They’re from Yeomyeong Guild...’
She’d heard rumors, but seeing it in person confirmed they didn’t receive much financial support.
Seeing the kids staring down at the trash with hungry expressions, Min Chaewon could only stop and stare.
“Levinas, I’m hungry! We can’t eat this, right?”
“Nope, if we eat this, we’ll get a stomachache.”
“Then should we buy something to eat?”
“Yeah, since we’re here, let’s buy something.”
Both Gyeoul and Levinas pulled out their coin pouches at the same time, emptying them into their hands in unison, looking like twins.
“I’ve got two thousand won!”
“I have six thousand won.”
“Wow! That’s a lot of money! What can we buy with this?”
“Hm... if we put it together, we could buy something...”
But what could they afford to buy? Just as Gyeoul was deep in thought, Levinas tugged on her sleeve.
“Only one? We can only buy one thing?”
“Yeah, only one. But it’s fine—Levinas, you can have it. I’m actually not that hungry.”
But just then, Gyeoul’s stomach grumbled loudly in the quiet space, loud enough for Min Chaewon to hear too.
“Aww... I don’t want to eat something delicious all by myself...”
“Oh, uh... sorry, I didn’t manage to collect more money...”
“No, it’s my fault for not picking up more empty bottles. If I hadn’t been playing, we could have bought something nice to eat together...”
“No, no, it’s okay! You’re still young, Levinas—you’re supposed to play more.”
As Gyeoul hurriedly waved her hand to reassure her, Min Chaewon found herself covering her mouth in
surprise, momentarily forgetting how dirty her hands were.
Levinas was young? The way Gyeoul spoke, it was as if she didn’t consider herself a child.
“Goodness.”
Watching these kids, staring hungrily at food waste because they couldn’t afford a meal, made her feel a pang of sadness and concern.