Sitting on the laps of two women, I ate the tuna they offered me.

I kept my mouth open as they eagerly fed me, barely needing to move.

Nom nom-

It was just canned tuna, nothing special, but eating together made it taste much better. My tail wagged so hard it accidentally brushed against the women’s cheeks.

I shouldn’t act like this while being fed for free. I grabbed my tail to hold it still.

“Aw.”

A disappointed sound came from behind me.

“...?”

Why are they disappointed?

I turned around, and as if they had been waiting for this moment, another spoonful of tuna entered my mouth.

The tuna was delicious, but it felt wrong to only receive without giving back. In return, I dug up some carrots from the garden and handed them to the two women.

“Wow, a gift?”

“Yes. These are our carrots; they’re really good.”

It wasn’t a lie. The carrots Levinas grew with so much care were something special, far superior to the ordinary kind.

“Thank you! I’ll make some curry with these.”

“Thank you, too.”

I bowed slightly and left the two women with their carrots, heading back to the guild building.

When I got to the elevator, ready to go home, I heard the sound of a piano playing clumsily from somewhere.

It must be the piano in the first-floor dining area. Curious, I followed the sound.

Plonk, plonk-

Even I, who didn’t know much about instruments, could tell this was a high-quality grand piano. Its lid was open, and in front of it, Levinas and Saebyeok were pressing random keys.

Plink plonk plonk-

Levinas used one finger to poke at the keys, while Saebyeok, hands in her pockets, used her tail to press them.

They shouldn’t disturb people while they’re eating.

I glanced around, but instead of being annoyed, the diners watched the kids with warm smiles.

“Hey, you two.”

Saebyeok’s ears and tail perked up, and the piano sounds stopped. Levinas turned to look at me, her eyes sparkling.

“Wang-ah! Can you play the piano?”

“Uh… just a little?”

I knew a few simple songs, nothing worth showing off.

“Really?! Levinas is great at playing piano!”

Levinas demonstrated by pressing two keys with her fingers.

Plink plonk-

The notes were out of tune and offbeat, but she didn’t care and began singing.

“The mighty hero, the strongest horned rabbit…”

It was the Animal King

theme song. Her piano playing might have been awful, but her singing was surprisingly good. Saebyeok and I clapped as soon as she finished.

“Wow, amazing.”

“Was it amazing?!”

“Yeah. Playing and singing at the same time is hard, but you did it so easily.”

Unable to hold back her joy at the compliment, Levinas jumped into my arms. Poor Saebyeok, who was sitting between us, got squished in the process.

“Wang-ah, play the piano too!”

“Me…?”

“Yeah! Levinas will sing for you!”

“Hmm…”

I wasn’t very good, though.

I hesitantly pressed one key.

Ding-

The sound rang out, and my beastfolk hearing instinctively analyzed it.

“Hm…”

If I press this key, it makes that sound. What happens if I press three keys at once?

Ding dong dang-

I predicted the sound and pressed the keys. It came out just as I expected.

“...!”

My ability to analyze sounds was exceptional. Combining that with my reflexes, which could slow down my perception of time, made it easy to play an entire song, even if not as perfectly as a professional pianist.

So my abilities can shine in music too, huh?

Recalling the Animal King song in my head, I analyzed it in real time and began playing.

“Gasp!”

Levinas, her eyes wide, started singing along. The melody and her voice blended surprisingly well.

“Wow.”

When the performance ended, Saebyeok patted both Levinas and me on the head, looking prouder than anyone else.

“Wang-ah! What’s this?! How can you play so well?!”

“Well… uh… I don’t really know either.”

“As expected, Wang-ah is amazing!”

“Hmm…”

It felt like I had cheated by using a bug in a game. Embarrassed, I randomly poked at the piano keys.

“Gyeoul, play another song,” Saebyeok requested.

“Uh, okay.”

Following her request, I played another piece. I could feel myself improving with each note.

“Wow! Wang-ah is a piano genius!”

“You’re really good.”

Clap, clap, clap-

The two kids clapped for me. Their praise made me feel both happy and shy. I lowered my head and swung my dangling legs back and forth.

“Should we head home now?”

“Yeah! Play for us again later!”

“...Okay.”

As awkward as it was, playing the piano with them was fun. I thought it would be nice to play together again sometime.

Back home, we washed our hands and feet together. After drying off with towels and drinking water in the kitchen, I noticed the lights in the living room flickering on and off.

“Hm?”

Was the light broken?

Carrying my cup, I peeked into the living room and saw the kids playing with the light switch.

Click-

When Saebyeok turned off the lights, Levinas quickly darted forward.

Click-

When the lights came back on, Levinas froze in a “roar” pose.

What kind of fun game is this?

Intrigued, I walked over to stand beside Saebyeok.

Click click-

As light and darkness alternated, Levinas moved closer and froze midway in her roar stance.

Beastfolk eyes could see everything in the dark, but for added fun, we closed our eyes and covered our ears when the lights went out, pretending not to see or hear anything.

Click click-

Levinas was halfway to us when the lights flicked on, and a smiling Midsummer appeared right in front of us.

“...!”

Saebyeok and I jumped in shock, our ears and tails standing upright. We were so startled we couldn’t even scream.

“Ah, sorry! Did I scare you?”

“Y-yeah… We didn’t know you were home.”

“Hehe, I just dropped by to donate blood. You must’ve been playing and didn’t hear me.”

Did she come in while our eyes and ears were covered? I stroked my still-raised ears to calm them down.

“Why donate blood when there are potions?” I asked.

“Potions are made from adventurers’ blood,” she explained.

“Oh… I didn’t know that.”

So potions are made with adventurers’ blood? Then can’t they make endless potions by just drawing more blood? My question was answered by Midsummer.

“The higher the rank of the adventurer, the better the potion, but high-ranking adventurers rarely donate.”

“Why not?”

“If you donate blood, you can’t go to a dungeon for three days. It’s a big loss.”

“Oh…”

Dungeon earnings must outweigh potion production. High demand but low supply naturally makes potions expensive.

“So it’s mandatory by law to donate once every quarter.”

“Every quarter? Do all adventurers have to do it?”

“Yes. Anyone with an adventurer license must donate.”

“...Do I have to donate too?”

I was half the weight of an adult woman. Losing that much blood would probably kill me.

“...Gyeoul, donating would be a disaster for you.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. Where would we even get enough blood from you?”

It was a relief that even Midsummer understood this.

Just then, Levinas jumped up behind Midsummer.

“Midsummer! Are you donating blood? Is there a vampire?!”

“Yup. I’m going to let a vampire take my blood.”@@novelbin@@

“Gasp…! Levinas will protect you!”

“No, it’s fine. They promised to use the blood carefully.”

“Carefully?”

Levinas tilted her head, then furrowed her brows.

“That’s a vampire’s lie!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes! Vampires are liars! Levinas will watch over you!”

“You’ll watch? But aren’t you scared?”

“No! Levinas is brave…!”

Despite her words, Levinas’s body trembled. No one mocked the child’s forced bravery.

“Hmm… Okay, watching the donation might be educational.”

So we were going to observe a blood donation this afternoon. With nothing else to do, I decided to join.

At the blood donation van, we peeked through the partitions to avoid interfering.

“...Are you a vampire?” Levinas asked a nurse holding a blood bag.

The nurse chuckled at Levinas’s question.

“Yes, I am.”

“Gasp…!”

Levinas shivered.

In the silence that followed, the nurse inserted a thick needle into Midsummer’s

arm.

“...!”

The long needle went deep into her arm, and I shuddered like Levinas. There wasn’t a specific reason—I was just scared of the needle.

Maybe because I was small, the needle looked even larger, and my ears drooped in fear.

“Ah.”

Midsummer’s heart sank as she looked at me.

I had almost died, skewered by a horned rabbit. Showing me something as sharp as this needle wasn’t a good idea.

She quickly waved her free hand.

“Gyeoul, look away.”

“...?”

Why look away?

Confused, I stood still, blinking. Midsummer thought I was frozen in panic.

“Saebyeok, can you take Gyeoul outside? This must be too scary for her.”

“Okay.”

Saebyeok picked me up, carrying me away. Even as I left, I kept staring, puzzled.

‘Why are they making me leave?’

My confused expression made Midsummer misinterpret my thoughts.

She thought I was asking, Why are you showing me this?