Chapter 91
“I’m going to kill the boss.”
The low mutter was about the most resistance Renea could manage.
It was a rather chilling thing to say while lying face down, but I had my own side of the story too.
“You suddenly shoved your face right in front of me, so I couldn’t help it.”
“How annoying.”
Though she was grumbling, Renea didn’t move an inch. She even looked like an Indian with his ear pressed to the ground, counting how many wagons were approaching.
“Queen Renea!”
A handsome elf approached.
Though he was a man, he had a slender build and a sharp jawline.
Normally, I would have called him a handsome young man, but maybe because he was an elf—
When someone was that slender, they just looked malnourished, as if they couldn’t afford to eat properly.
Despite the elf’s call as he approached, his blond hair swaying, Renea remained completely still.
She didn’t move at all.
“She’s not dead, is she?”
“Do you really want to die?”
“Sorry... It’s just that you’re at an age where it wouldn’t be strange for you to pass away at any moment.”
At her age, if she suddenly passed away here, shouldn’t we just accept it?
“You really are Her Majesty the Queen, aren’t you?!”
Even in this situation, the elf was unbelievably oblivious.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say he simply didn’t care what other people thought.
That was probably why he was planning to camp out on someone else’s lawn like that.
“Boss, do something.”
Renea was passing the problem off to me.
I couldn’t let her stay face down forever, so I stepped forward and blocked the elf’s path.
“Who are you?”
“Huh?”
He looked flustered, as if he hadn’t expected me to get in his way. It was striking how he flinched and reached toward his waist.
Even the clothes he was wearing, all from third-floor brands, were extremely expensive.
“I don’t know anyone named Renea, but there’s no one like that here.”
“But isn’t there someone lying over there?”
He casually turned his head toward Renea, then answered matter-of-factly.
“She’s a dog we keep at home.”
“......”
“......”
I could feel everyone staring at me, but I didn’t know what else to say. With her lying face down like that, it was the only thing I could think of.
“Woof.”
Look at her even playing along.
That was just like an elf who shamelessly claimed, at 1,902 years old, that she wanted to marry a man who looked like Park Bugyeom.
More importantly, she’d said she was good at imitating animal noises, and she really did sound convincing.
“See? She’s barking.”
“......”
“Woof.”
“Hey! Stop that! There’s a guest right here. And you just ate a dog treat earlier.”
“C-crazy.”
Kim Yang immediately tried to record it with her phone, so I hurriedly covered the camera lens with my hand.
“What are you doing?”
“A-abuse of power. B-boss’s weakness. B-blackmail material.”
“Hey.”
“F-forming a union. S-salary negotiation.”
Despite saying that, Kim Yang thankfully put her phone away.
I had nearly given her leverage over me.
“Ahem. Anyway, see? Our dog doesn’t bite, so just go.”
“Grrrrrrrr!”
Her acting range was getting wider by the day.
While I was slightly impressed, the elf placed a hand over his chest and cried out urgently.
“Your Majesty! It’s me! Loes, the little boy who carried arrows when we drove out the gods!”
If he had been around when they drove out the gods, that meant he was at least 1,500 years old too.
As expected, things were different from how they looked on the surface.
“Loes?”
Renea slowly raised her head.
She quietly stood up, rendering all her acting so far completely pointless.
“Are you really Loes?”
“Your Majesty! Yes, that’s right! It’s me!”
The moment their eyes met, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head like a loyal knight.
“Sob! It is an honor to see you again! Master of the Thousand-Year Throne, Queen of all forests, the one who stands at the roots of the World Tree—!”
Those titles were brutal.
As I stared at Renea in disbelief, she glanced at me with a bright-red face before clearing her throat.
“Ahem, Loes. Surely the World Tree must have guided our reunion.”
What the hell?
Kim Yang and I simultaneously looked at each other with startled expressions.
Meanwhile, Renea approached Loes with a gentle smile.
“I thought you had died in the inter-floor war and gone into the embrace of the World Tree. How are you alive?”
“I was fortunate. I thought I had died too. However—”
His expression darkened.
The sunset in the distance slowly sank lower.
“I was fortunate. I met a benefactor and survived. I intended to return to the forest, but it turned out my funeral had already been held.”
“Many mourned you.”
“...... It would have been all right to return, but I had spent 1,500 years in the forest. I wanted to see a little more of the world.”
Renea nodded as if she deeply understood him.
The stifling confines of the forest, and curiosity about the world. She must have felt as if she had met a kindred spirit.
“Did I do wrong, my queen?”
Loes’s question, asked while looking up at her from his knees, carried more weight than I expected.
It held the deep anguish and soul-searching that had continued through many nights.
Seeing through it, Renea shook her head with a faint smile.
“The forest remembers your sacrifice, child.”
“Your Majesty......!”
“Go on and live your own life.”
“Sob, Your Majesty—! Th-thank you!”
It seemed the burden he had carried ever since leaving the forest had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
Loes rose lightly, his face covered in tears, but he wore a radiant smile.
“I, too, shall pretend not to have seen you. You should pretend not to have seen me as well.”
“Yes! I understand!”
“Yes, yes.”
After patting his shoulder, Renea looked over at Loes’s companions, who were watching from nearby.
Most of them were elves.
“These are faces I’ve never seen before.”
“Ah, they’re my children. I came out with them to have some fun after welcoming my tenth wife.”
“Y-your tenth?!”
Renea flinched and took a step back.
I suddenly felt as if she had lost somehow.
“If I get the chance to see you again later... I’ll introduce them properly then.”
“Y-yes, right. I understand.”
Loes bowed deeply and left.
Pretending not to notice the faint sense of defeat, Renea smiled and looked at me.
“Haha, I’m so glad you’re doing well!”
“Indeed. It seems you’re doing quite well.”
I added this while recalling the watch gleaming on his wrist.
“That watch he’s wearing? It costs more than we could get by selling everything in Meracle.”
“......”
You made it, Loes.
* * *
A few days after fully returning to everyday life.
Meracle was open for business as usual today.
I was seeing a customer in Consultation Room 1.
“Ah, so even if you get married, you have no intention of quitting your job?”
“Yes, of course. How could I in this day and age? It would derail my career.”
A tail swayed gently, and cat ears poked up from the top of her head.
Female cat beastkin were particularly popular.
There was certainly enough there to satisfy human fantasies.
The occupation written on the tablet was ‘taekwondo studio instructor.’
Her monthly salary was 2.5 million won.
There were a few shortcomings, but her looks were excellent.
Her eyes were a little too catlike, making them somewhat unsettling, though.
“The special notes say your eyes shine in the dark. Like a cat?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Let me turn off the lights for a moment.”
I drew the curtains and turned off the lights, and her eyes really did shine.
“Strictly speaking, they’re reflecting light. It’s exactly the same trait cats have.”
“Ah-ha.”
“So, actually...... some people are a little afraid of it at night. You know, people usually turn off the lights when they do it at night, right?”
“Ah.”
When you worked at a matchmaking agency, you encountered all sorts of hardships.
“I understand for now. Your salary and stability are somewhat lacking, to be honest. But your appearance is good, and you take excellent care of your body, so you might be matched with someone from a slightly higher grade.”
Her young age also helped.
After finishing the consultation and returning to my seat, I felt strangely chilly.
“Whew, why does the office feel so cold?”
“H-hot.”
I glanced at what Kim Yang was doing on her computer and saw her watching an idol dance.
“What are you doing?”
“R-resting.”
“......”
“T-there’s no work.”
She wasn’t wrong.
The aftereffects of receiving the Yeoeumhoe still hadn’t completely worn off, so it seemed we’d be twiddling our thumbs for a while.
“What do you mean there’s no work? At least hand out flyers.”
“O-old fogey.”
One thing I’d learned from running a company was that it felt like playing a real-time strategy game.
The SCV in front of me was sitting around instead of mining minerals. How could I just watch that happen?
By comparison, look at her.
“Wipe! Wipe!”
Look at our 1,902-year-old granny, diligently cleaning the desk.
“Shine! Shine!”
She even added a chant in case dementia made her forget that she was cleaning.
After entering the customer’s information, I got a little bored myself, so I spoke to Renea.
“Since you clean so diligently, it truly reassures me as your ruler.”
“......”
Renea flinched, then went rigid.
Then she forced an awkward smile.
The trembling at the corners of her mouth was comedy in real time.
“Y-your manner of speaking is a little strange. Hahaha—Boss, you really are something—.”
“What do you mean, my manner of speaking is strange? It would feel awkward if I didn’t speak this way, so I’m graciously matching your manner of speech.”
“D-don’t.”
Her trembling was adorable.
As I held back my laughter, Kim Yang nudged me from the side in warning.
“D-don’t tease her.”
“Kim Yang!”
“Y-yes, Y-yes, M-my Queen.”
“......”
Renea had spread both arms as if she were about to hug me, but her movement abruptly stopped.
She looked like a wary cat that had thought I was on her side.
“T-the m-master of the T-Thousand-Year Throne. Q-queen of a-all the fo-forests—W-what was the rest?”
“The one who stands at the roots of the World Tree!”
“R-right.”
“I said stop ittt!”
I burst out laughing as Renea lunged at me and began lightly pounding me with her fists.
“Meracle remembers the sacrifice you made when you unclogged the toilet!”
“S-shut up! I said shut up! D-don’t tease meee!”
The story continues off the page
Floaties for Everyone
Swim lesson at the water park, and she's demonstrating on you