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I took the last sip of my corn water, savoring the taste of it in my mouth.
Feeling reluctant to swallow this delicious morsel all at once, I took my time to relish its flavor.
"Delicious." I mumbled out quietly.
The taste of the corn was overwhelming.
Each spoonful of corn that I put inside my mouth tastes better than the last.
Perhaps as I aged, my taste buds had become more sensitive, or maybe the girl in front of me had also changed my sense of taste, just so that I can be a better pet for some nasty VIP who only wants me to feed on their waste.
Whatever the reason, at this moment, I was happy.
I decided to enjoy this as much as I could.
'Should I add just one more spoonful when making corn water in the future?'
I pondered seriously before shaking my head.
Such luxury was not something I could afford now.
"Uh... is that enough for you?"
The girl approached me as I was enjoying my corn water.
I wanted to keep it in my mouth as long as possible, but I needed to answer, so I swallowed it.
I had no intention of indulging in pleasure in front of this young girl.
"Yes. After drinking this, I don't need to eat anything else for the whole day."
Well, that's a lie, I still need to eat at lunch and dinner, but rather than this delicacy, what I eat is vegetables.
I'm not rich, so rather than buying it in the market, the one that I eat is vegetables that I grew myself.
Nevertheless, I didn't tell this girl any of this, simply saying such a lie, implying that I was full and didn't want to be forced to eat.
Unless she was a mad witch who enjoyed torturing with food, she wouldn't force me to eat here.
"You can have more, like bread or soup. Shall I order a steak?"
"Ah."
She really was a mad witch.
Feeling frightened, I cast my eyes down.
She was more dangerous than I imagined.
"Don't be scared. You look like you need more than just what you drank."
"No, it's not that. Corn is nutritious and rich in flavor..."
"Really? Can I try it?"
The girl reached out her hand, asking for my corn water.
I was sad to see my meal disappear, but I decided to give it to her here.
"How much flour do you put in it?"
"Just as much as you saw."
Cough
I added an extra spoonful so she wouldn't take me for a fool.
The thought of wasting precious corn flour almost brought me to tears.
✱✱✱
Han Yeoreum looked at the corn water in her hand, and began to think sadly.
How could someone live on such a nutritionless drink?
With such thought in her head, Yeoreum took a sip.
Gulp—
"Ah."
The taste of ground corn mixed in water.
After one sip, she couldn't bring herself to drink more and set the bottle down.
It was bland, lacking in taste and nutrition compared to real corn.
'It tastes horrible.'
A child, who should have been loved, had only received adults' curses and criticisms.
After fighting for her life against horned rabbits, her meal was water mixed with corn flour.
It was a life no eight-year-old should have to endure.
Yeoreum couldn't even begin to imagine how horrific and hellish the child's life had been.
'What have I done?'
What had she said to the child, bleeding and begging for help?
Yeoreum felt nauseous, almost fainting.
She had become the kind of person she detest the most.
'How did it come to this?'
The child's body lacked mana, something essential for life.
This might have led to early puberty as a side effect.
It was reason enough to be abandoned by her parents.
A body that couldn't be healed by potions or recovery magic due to the lack of mana.
In an uncommon situation, Yeoreum had no choice but to use a last resort to save the child.
— Beast King Benediction —
A unique high level consumable item that bestowed the power of the Beast King upon its user.
It was a powerful item, but nobody in the guild had used it due to its drawback of making those who use it to 'start everything from scratch'.
It was the perfect item for the physically impaired girl.
The item would reconstruct the eater body from scratch, regardless of whether they have mana or not.
It was an item that couldn't be bought for any amount of money, yet no one in the guild opposed its use.
They were well aware that they were the ones who had tormented the eight-year-old child to the brink of death.
'I'm glad it worked out.'
At first, I was worried about turning an adult into a child, but looking at how she knew neither her name, age, nor school, I was certain.
She was indeed a young child.
'If she had died that day...'
She doesn't even dare to think about it.
Yeoreum repeatedly shook her head and then gave the child a smile.
"Thank you for the delicious food. Do you want to try some of mine?"
"No, it's okay. I don't want to eat..."
The girl's white ears drooped.
Her eyes only stared at the ground.
Everywhere she looked, she saw a child scared stiff.
What had she endured to be so wary of other people?
Yeoreum suppressed the urge to sign in front of the child.
She couldn't show any negative emotions, lest the child think of it as her having bad intentions.
"Ummm.. Your name…."
Ah.
I realized I had never introduced myself to her all this time.
Yeoreum decided to give her name to the girl, who didn't even know who she was.
"—My name is Yeoreum, Han Yeoreum. What's yours?"
The child fell silent for a moment, before speaking up.
"I don't have one."
I stared sadly at the child.
"I see…. In that case, may I name you?"
"A name?"
"Yes."
"....Um, okay."
Let's see…..
A girl as white as a snowflake.
A girl who would only receive love from now on.
Yeoreum decided to give her a beautiful name.
✱✱✱
Han Gyeoul.
That was the name the girl had given me.
'This is crazy.'
Not only had she modified my body, but now she arbitrarily named me.
Anger surged within me at her attitude of treating me like a possession.
It was my fault for lying about not knowing my name.
From now on, I resolved not to say anything that could cause problems.
Just then, a spoonful of soup approached my lips.
"My arm's going to fall off. Just eat one spoonful, okay?"
The girl pressed the spoon against my lips.
Refusing to eat, I kept my mouth tightly shut, and soup smeared all over my lips.
Even the scent was tempting enough to make me want to lick it off.
"No, I don't want to—!"
The moment I opened my mouth to refuse the soup...
The girl pushed the spoon into my mouth.
"Ah—!"
The intense flavor of the soup made my eyes widen.
I could feel my ears perk up.
The soup was so much thicker and had big chunks compared to it.
It was undoubtedly the best thing I had eaten in the last eight years.
"Wow..."
Was there really such amazing food in the world?
Even after the soup was gone, I found myself smacking my lips several times in delight.
"How is it? Tasty, right?"
The girl scooped another spoonful of soup, smiling.
Instinctively, I opened my mouth, then realized the predicament I was in.
"I said no..."
I had fallen into her trap, I had eaten her soup!
I couldn't have been more stupid.
Ignoring the girl pretending to be surprised, I calculated the cost of the soup in my mind.
My daily income was between two and three thousand won. (1.45 USD to 2,17 USD)
The price of soup at a fancy restaurant would surely exceed ten thousand won. (7,23 USD)
It was an amount I could only afford after several days of hard work.
'I'm ruined.'
With ten thousand won, there's a lot of things I could do.
I could buy thread and needles to mend my torn clothes and bags, and tape to patch up my worn tent.
All of it was lost due to the girl's trickery.
Sigh
How much more did she intend to torment me?
Unable to bear the absurdity any longer, I spoke curtly.
"I want to go home."
"Home? Do you have a family or something?"
She always took the opportunity to ask about my personal details.
In a way, she was quite extraordinary.
"I don't know. I'm not going to tell you."
"Ah, okay. That's fine."
Despite my fierce response, the girl remained unexpectedly calm.
Maybe she was the kind of psycho who didn't get angry easily.
Scared but determined, I pushed back a bit more.
"I have to go home to water my tomatoes."
"Hmm... Can I come with you then?"
"Why...?"
"I just want to see how Gyeoul lives."
It sounded like she wanted to know where I live to keep me under her thumb forever.
"It's really dirty there. Even centipedes come out."
"That's okay. I can handle that."
Her smile was awkward.
She didn't like bugs and dirt but forced a smile to find out where I live.
I decided to scare her a bit more.
"Sometimes wild boars come out. And stray dogs at night?"
"Really? Where do you live exactly?"
She seemed scared of wild boars and stray dogs.
I felt triumphant, having found her weakness.
"I live in a tent in the woods. There are poisonous mushrooms near it, so it'll be tough for you."
"Oh my..."
Her gaping mouth revealed her shock, and I couldn't help but smile triumphantly.
Now that I knew her weakness, there was no need to act humbly.
"How about it? Can't come, right? Should I just go alone?"
"No, let's go together. I like dangerous places more."
"Really...? Why...?"
"Because I'm a high level adventurer?"
Ah.
Right.
She was indeed a high level adventurer, capable of managing beginner hunting grounds.
I couldn't understand why I had forgotten such an important fact.
It was quite strange, but for now, I decided to focus on the girl in front of me.
"Are you really going to come? There are cockroaches too."
"Yes. I'm curious about how Gyeoul lives."
She seemed determined to follow no matter what.
That's some serious obsession.
Feeling defeated, I closed my eyes tightly.
'I lost.'
There was no way to make her back down anymore.