060
With new toys, dolls, books, and snacks, the children’s daycare was buzzing with excitement.
Leaving my happy friends behind, I went to the teachers’ office with the teacher from the Carrot Class.
“You did amazing! Weren’t you scared?”
“Nope! Not even a little bit.”
As I nestled into the teacher’s arms, I began recounting all the big events that had happened. Then, I glanced outside and realized the sun had completely set.
‘It’s gotten dark.’
Would the Admiral be worried?
I didn’t tell him I’d be coming home late.
Even though I loved being back at daycare after so long, strangely, I wanted to go home.
Lina was probably waiting for me. And before bed, brother Elzen would come and read me a story.
He read so vividly that every time he mimicked a monster’s voice, it made my hands sweaty with excitement.
I didn’t want to miss even a single night of that.
‘What if brother Elzen comes while I’m still here?’
What time was it now?
I wasn’t hungry, but maybe it was already really late at night.
I needed to get back quickly!
“Chuu.”
At that moment, the teacher gave me a warm hug.
“You want to go home, don’t you?”
“Gasp! How did you know?”
“Because teachers know everything.”
As expected—so amazing!
When I looked up at her with shining eyes, she smiled and patted my head.
“Before you go, is there anything on your mind? If there’s something bothering you, I can listen.”
“Hmm… actually, there is.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a secret…”
I glanced around nervously, then cupped my hands over my mouth and whispered.
“I still haven’t called him ‘Dad’ yet.”
“…….…!”
“I like the Admiral. I want to call him Dad, but… I just can’t.”
“Oh, I see.”
I liked it when teachers said, ‘Oh, I see.’
It made me feel like the problem was already solved.
“Teacher, what if I can never say it?”
That was my biggest worry.
What if I turn five, then six, and still can’t call him Dad?
I should say it soon.
“What if I keep calling him Admiral, and he gets disappointed…?”
Even though I had a quest to do it, I wasn’t confident.
It felt like something sticky was holding my mouth shut.
I fidgeted with my fingers, feeling a bit down.
“Hmm, then how about thinking of it this way?”
“What way?”
“Instead of doing it for yourself, what if you muster courage just once—for the Admiral’s sake?”
For the Admiral?
“It’s okay if you can’t call him Dad. He won’t be disappointed—I can promise you that.”
“Really? Okay…”
“But if you do say it, the Admiral will be incredibly happy. And remember? I told you that when someone you love is happy, you feel happy too.”
I nodded at the teacher’s calm words.
That’s right. I want the Admiral to be happy.
I want him to always be happy.
And I’m going to make that happen.
“Chuu, the reason why calling him ‘Dad’ doesn’t come easily to you is because change can be scary.”
“..…….”
“Calling him ‘Dad’ might be difficult, but our Chuu is very brave, so I know you can do it.”
I quietly reflected on the teacher’s words.
“But I’m not scared of anything…”
“Well, when you call him ‘Dad,’ you’re not just receiving love anymore—you’re also giving it. When you call him ‘Admiral,’ you’re only receiving. But if he becomes ‘Dad,’ things change.”
“Oh…”
“In short, you’re afraid because you don’t know just how much you’ll end up loving your family. Once you open your heart, that love will grow immensely.”
[The Earth Spirit King ‘■’ is pleased, saying the teacher is quite good.]
[The Emotion Spirit King ‘■■■’ passionately declares that only love can save the world.]
[The Fire Spirit King ‘■■■■■’ advises that overcoming fear leads to new horizons.]
I took the teacher’s and the Spirit Kings’ words to heart.
‘I don’t want to just receive.’
I want to give too.
When you share what you have, it makes everyone even happier—together.
“But Chuu, don’t worry too much. When the time is right, the words will come naturally. There will be a moment when you want to return the love you’ve received.”
“Yes.”
“And… for now, it’s okay to just receive. You’re still young.”
I nodded, then hopped down from the teacher’s lap.
Just as I did, the office door swung open, and a tired-looking brother Mikard appeared.
“Let’s go home, Chubby! I can’t play anymore… Ughh…”
He must’ve exhausted himself playing tag with the daycare kids!
Seeing a leaf stuck in his hair made me giggle as I walked up to him without hesitation.
“Teacher, you know what?”
I tightly held brother Mikard’s big, warm hand and turned to smile at the teacher.
Because I had something important to say.
“From now on, I’m Shupetty.”
Shupetty Pashayen.
The youngest of the Pashayen family.
That’s me!
***
The sky was so dark that I thought it was really late, but we made it home just in time for dinner.
As soon as I sat at the table, hunger hit me all at once, and I ended up eating three meat pies!
“Whew! I feel like I could roll around because I’m so full.”
“Bap!”
“You too?”
Podong could appear whenever it wanted and hide whenever it didn’t feel like being seen.
As a spirit, it didn’t need to eat, but maybe because it took after me, it always showed up at mealtime.
After gobbling up all the little crumbs of meat pie, Podong had become even rounder.
“Wanna go for a walk in the garden?”
“Bap!”
Outside the mansion, I always had to go with someone, but inside, it didn’t matter.
Still, walking alone would be lonely, so I had to take Lina with me!
“My lady, the lavender in the garden is in full bloom. Would you like to go see it?”
“Yes! But… what’s lavender?”
“It’s a purple flower. It’s long and has a lovely scent.”
I like purple. It reminds me of Lacifer’s eyes.
Excited, I stepped into the garden—only to see someone standing between the lavender fields.
“Huh? Aunt Cecilia…?”
“………!”
At the sound of my voice, Aunt Cecilia quickly turned around.
Just then, the clouds parted, and the moonlight illuminated her face.
I flinched and stopped in my tracks.
Something… something felt off.
Auntie never looked at me with particularly warm eyes, but she had never glared at me like that before.
“…….….”
Without a word, she brushed past me, her demeanor as cold as the wind.
That wasn’t unusual for her, but what caught my eye was…
‘Her shadow looked strange!’
Did I see it wrong?
I blinked rapidly and focused again.
But her shadow remained unchanged, as if nothing was wrong.
“Lina, did you see that?”
“See what?”
“The shadow. It looked weird.”
I tugged on Lina’s sleeve, but all she said was that she hadn’t noticed anything.
‘Suspicious!’
For some reason, that night left me deep in thought.
***
“This is getting interesting.”
A golden river flowed like a waterfall, not with water, but with honeyed liquor.
Peaches, so ripe their juices dripped with every bite, bobbed along the stream.
Water spirits and earth spirits joined hands, dancing in harmony.
A land of abundance, bathed in shimmering light.
Where rising flames burned nothing and the wind bent nothing.
A place where thousands of plants stretched their vines, bearing endless fruit.
This was—
Eden.
The homeland of spirits.
“At first, I didn’t get what was so entertaining about watching a human grow up.”
Shaparsi leaned lazily against a warm rock and stretched out a hand.
At that motion, grapevines crept up their arm, instantly bearing a cluster of perfectly ripe grapes.
“But these days, there’s nothing more entertaining in this dull life.”
“I agree.”
As Shaparsi plucked a grape and popped it into their mouth, someone approached.
A being who could summon a bountiful harvest with a mere gesture—or bring about a drought just as effortlessly.
The King of Earth Spirits.
“Still, Shaparsi, you were the least interested in that child… Who would’ve thought you’d be the first to form a contract with her?”
