I wandered outside in search of Levinas.  

She was busy harvesting carrots from the field we had worked on together.

"Levinas, what are you doing?"

"Pulling up carrots! I’m going to put them in the shabu-shabu!"

"I see."  

Putting in carrots she had grown herself—  

It wasn’t a bad idea at all.  

I crouched down beside her to help.

"What are you going to put in the shabu-shabu, Your Highness?"

"Well, I’m not really sure… Maybe I’ll just eat whatever’s prepared."  

Yeoreum probably had everything ready.  

It didn’t seem necessary to gather anything myself, but just then, Levinas patted my back eagerly.

"It’s a dish where you can put anything in! Opportunities like this don’t come often!"

"Uh…"  

What exactly did Levinas think shabu-shabu was?  

You can’t just put absolutely everything in there.  

I, an adult, couldn’t quite grasp her childish thought process, so I stayed silent and continued helping her pull up carrots.

"Aren’t you going to put in anything special?"

"Well, I don’t really know what to put in. And it doesn’t seem like the kind of dish where you throw in just anything."

"Really? What kind of food did you eat before?"

The food I used to eat...  

None of it seemed suitable for shabu-shabu, but since Levinas seemed curious, I started listing things off.

"Well, I ate things like minnows, dandelions, cornmeal… Sometimes, when there was nothing else, I caught and ate grasshoppers."

"Then let’s put those in!"

"Uh, no…"  

At least not grasshoppers—Yeoreum would definitely hate that.  

Just as I was about to refuse, Levinas’s eyes sparkled, and she dashed toward the bushes.

"Grasshoppers!"

"Huh?"  

A grasshopper was resting on the grass.  

Its wings and the placement of the spines on its legs matched exactly with the one I’d caught that morning.  

Oh, so it was you from this morning.  

I marveled for a moment at my ability to recognize it, just as Levinas leapt toward it.

Whoosh!  

She lunged at the grasshopper with both hands, but it hopped away before she could grab it, springing far into the distance.  

Levinas had jumped too high, giving it the perfect opportunity to escape.

"Huh?"  

She looked down at her empty hands, disappointed that she hadn’t caught it.  

It seemed I needed to teach her the proper way to catch grasshoppers.

"You shouldn’t jump so high."

"Really?"

"Yeah."  

I demonstrated by walking over to the grasshopper.  

With a quick movement of my hands, I easily captured it.  

Years of catching insects, particularly grasshoppers, had honed my skills.

"You caught it!"

"Yeah. You’ve got to pounce like this…"  

I was about to give her a lesson on catching grasshoppers when I heard footsteps approaching.

Looking to my side, I saw the middle-aged man who had helped catch the thieves earlier, accompanied by a group of people I hadn’t seen before.  

Actually, I had seen them around the guild building, just never up close.

"Oh! It’s the Master!"

"...What are you two up to?"

"I’m finding things to put in the shabu-shabu with the King!"

"Shabu-shabu…?"  

The Master’s gaze shifted to the carrot in Levinas’s hand, and he gave a small nod.  

But when he saw the grasshopper in my hand, he flinched.

"I’m putting carrots in, and the King is going to put in grasshoppers!"

"Grasshoppers…?"  

The Master and the others gaped, mouths open.  

I could hear them murmuring, but I decided not to pay it much attention.  

It was strange enough that the Master seemed so surprised.

"Ah, um…"  

Of course, I knew better than to put grasshoppers in shabu-shabu.  

It wasn’t that it was impossible, but Yeoreum was horrified by insect-based dishes, so I wasn’t going to do it.  

If she didn’t like it, I wouldn’t make her deal with it.

"Do you normally eat bugs and stuff?"

"Y-Yes… When I’m really hungry, but I’m not putting them in the shabu-shabu. People don’t seem to like that."

"I see."  

The Master, with his lips pressed tightly together, nodded, then pulled out some chocolate from his pocket.  

It was the same chocolate bar he had given me and Levinas last time.

"Choco!"

"Why don’t you try putting this in the shabu-shabu too?"

"Oh! That’s brilliant!"

Levinas jumped up, eagerly accepting the chocolate.  

I stood there in shock, staring blankly at the Master’s suggestion.

*Is he joking…?*  

No way. Chocolate in shabu-shabu? That was even less likely than grasshoppers.

I wanted to tell Levinas that the Master was just joking, but one thing held me back—  

The common sense of this world didn’t align with that of Earth.

*There wasn’t even gochujang here, and we’ve eaten strange meats like naru beef…*  

Given how different the food culture was, I could embarrass myself by claiming something wasn’t possible.  

It was best to just keep quiet for now. At least half of what I’d said would be right.

"Thank you, Master! I’ll definitely put chocolate in the shabu-shabu!"

"Good. Now, don’t play too long out here. Go on back inside. The adults will be worried."

"Okay!"

With carrots, chocolate, and even a grasshopper,  

we headed back home, carrying our ingredients—if you could call them that.

"I’m back!"  

Levinas burst into the living room with a loud shout.  

The table in the living room was fully set for shabu-shabu.

"Did you bring the ingredients?"

"Yes!"  

Levinas excitedly presented the carrots and chocolate to Yeoreum.  

I stayed behind, watching to see how she would react.

"You can put carrots in, but chocolate might be a bit difficult."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. Let’s save the chocolate for dessert, okay?"@@novelbin@@

"Okay!"  

Yeoreum smiled sweetly at Levinas, then glanced at the grasshopper in my hand.  

Her smile froze in place.

"The King said she’s going to put grasshoppers in the shabu-shabu!"

"Winter… We decided not to eat grasshoppers, remember?"

"Y-Yes, that’s right…"  

It wasn’t fair.  

I only brought the grasshopper because Levinas insisted.  

But I couldn’t blame her, so I just took the blame on myself.

"Normally, people don’t put grasshoppers in shabu-shabu. How about you give it up this time?"

"Okay…"  

I knew it.  

Of course, you don’t put grasshoppers in shabu-shabu.  

I was so disappointed that my shoulders slumped.

"Still, shabu-shabu is really tasty. Have you tried it before, Winter?"

"No, this is my first time."

Anyone who’s had shabu-shabu before wouldn’t even think about adding grasshoppers.  

Today, once again, I was learning everything for the first time.

---

The counselor closed their eyes tightly after hearing Jung Yu-na’s full explanation, shocked by the child’s situation.  

"So you thought the adults who couldn’t catch a single horned rabbit were pathetic?"

"Yes…"  

It must’ve been quite a sight—an adult unable to catch even a horned rabbit.  

Someone with a mean personality could easily have made fun of that.  

The counselor tried to stand by Jung Yu-na’s side, to understand her perspective.  

Though, no matter what, it still seemed unlikely that a person would mock someone like that.

"Were you one of the people who teased the child?"

"I… did laugh when she was chased by a horned rabbit…"  

"Ah…"  

They probably didn’t know the child could actually be killed by the rabbit.  

For someone unaware of her situation, it might have seemed like a funny scene.  

But the truth was far more tragic.

"And there was someone who hit her, right?"

"Yes. In the beginner’s dungeon…"  

Jung Yu-na trailed off, freezing in place.  

Something about their conversation gave her a strange feeling.

*Gyeoul didn’t have mana back then…*

For someone with mana, a blow to the back of the head wouldn’t have hurt much.  

But Gyeoul didn’t have any mana at all.

How much pain must she have felt when she was hit?

Jung Yu-na, with her wizard’s calculation ability, quickly came to a conclusion.  

It would have been like being struck with a hammer.

"Oh."  

A light tap on the head.  

A gentle push.  

Why had they so casually used the word "light"?  

For Gyeoul, who had no mana, those were never "light" touches.

Jung Yu-na, her face pale, covered her face with both hands.

*I judged everything by my own standards.*

Even a slight touch could have been a life-threatening blow for Gyeoul.  

That’s why she had been so terrified of people, why she always avoided them.

To Gyeoul, everyone in her world was a monster capable of killing her.  

And yet…  

She had been slowly opening her heart to them.

Honestly, Jung Yu-na had thought it was because they had done something right, that Gyeoul was

 warming up to them because of their efforts.  

But now, after realizing the true extent of Gyeoul’s suffering, she knew how arrogant her thoughts had been.

Gyeoul had endured unimaginable pain, and yet she had still opened her heart to those who had hurt her.  

It wasn’t because of anything they had done right.  

Gyeoul had simply *forgiven* them first.

"..."

Could I forgive the people who laughed at me while I was dying?  

Without even needing to think, Jung Yu-na shook her head.  

She would’ve become a vengeful spirit, full of distrust.

*Gyeoul is a saint.*

How could there be a kinder soul in the world?  

Jung Yu-na’s guilt swelled larger than ever.