It had been ten days since Bunny set up a stall in a corner of the Mansion Of Trials entrance to sell food.
In that time, one minor commotion had broken out.
A boy had shouted “unlucky beast brat” at Alan, who was helping Bunny manage the swelling queue. Bunny, looking flustered by the chaos, had immediately slapped the boy with a refusal-of-service notice.
“Not selling to you.”
“What? Why? I have the money!”
“Aaron, Bunny oppa. I don’t sell to trash with a black heart who says nasty things.”
“Where does that even exist? It’s a fact that she’s a beast. She’s not human, she’s not a beast either—”
Bunny faced the boy, whose frame was two or three times the size of hers. She stared at him blankly, gave a scoffing snort, shrugged, and turned her head away.
“You’re ugly, so I don’t like you. Ugly things aren’t human. Aaron is handsome.”
“Ha! Do you think you’re smart just because you can talk?”
“You said Bunny oppa isn’t human. You’re ugly, so you aren’t human either. Get lost, ugly pig. Bunny only looks at pretty and handsome things.”
“Who are you to decide who’s pretty? You’re as ugly as a piece of torn dough!”
“Yup. Bunny is super-duper cute. Your face is a total disaster.”
A guy ranked around 20th in the Mansion Of Trials—someone much bigger than her—had been completely shredded by Bunny, who didn’t even have a perfect grasp of vocabulary or sentence structure. After that, no one dared speak roughly to Alan again. They might curse behind his back, but they never opened their mouths to do so to his face.
Ever since, Alan had called Bunny “my little sister,” holding his head higher and speaking with a newfound confidence.
It was extreme overprotection, going far beyond the standard variety.
“Maximum of three per person. There are more people now, so I have no choice.”
At Alan’s decree, complaints erupted here and there. Still, it was better to be able to eat a little bit every day than not at all. It was only natural; the “Swirly Potatoes” Bunny sold were truly, incredibly delicious.
Not to mention the “Sweet Potato Honey Preserves” she had sold for the two days prior were already the talk of the children. Rumors even circulated that the boy who had fought so loudly with Bunny was currently suffering because he kept thinking about the Swirly Potatoes and was debating whether he should apologize.
Every day around 5 PM, more children lingered at the entrance, hoping for a change in the menu.
Swirly Potatoes were made by peeling the tuber into a continuous, thin ribbon, threading it onto a long wooden skewer, frying it, and dusting it with sugar or sweet corn powder.
*It’s a secret dish that Luri taught me.*
Bunny had learned how to slice the potatoes round and round without breaking them from Luriel. Bunny was a genius among geniuses—she could grasp ten things after seeing just one. She had a keen eye for imitation, so even for a dish she had only seen Luriel make a few times, she was a natural.
Of course, a little baby couldn’t handle the fire herself—lest a red dragon appear—so she had help.
After the crowd finally dispersed, Bunny let out a deep sigh.
“Could I have one too, young lady?”
“Jessie!”
“Is it 10 Lostro here?”
“Yeees!”
Bunny grabbed one of the Swirly Potatoes and handed it over. She giggled as she looked at the basket full of jingling coins. Only three left now.
*Bunny’s, Melissa’s, and Alan’s….*
Should she stop here for today? Bunny felt drained; it had already been 40 minutes since she started business.
*Hwa-am.*
As Bunny yawned and rubbed her eyelids, she prepared to pack up.
“Hello, cousin. Can you give me three too?”
“Yeees.”
Bunny tilted her head at the visitor.
“Cousin?”
“Yeah. You’re the branch family kids that our uncle adopted this time, right?”
He had darkish skin, silver hair, and blue eyes. He was tall, with a large build that towered a full head over Alan.
“I came to greet you. There were lots of rumors that you were selling something delicious. It’s actually quite fascinating to see that you look even stupider than I imagined.”
“Hmm?”
Bunny’s head tilted. Did she mishear him? She rubbed her ear vigorously.
*Crunch.*
The boy’s eyes widened slightly as he took a bite of the potato.
“Oh, it’s tastier than I thought. I expected low-level food, so this is a surprise. Nice to meet you. I’m Calvad Yudia. I’m the son of the Holy Knight Captain, Kline Yudia. That makes us cousins, doesn’t it?”
Bunny blinked. Why did she feel oddly offended?
As Bunny stood with her arms crossed, Alan stepped one pace forward.
“Why did you come all the way here? Get lost without saying useless things.”
“A beast raised by the family can even talk? Honestly, I didn’t think you’d be adopted… The uncle is quite eccentric. You’ve grown, though. You’re even looking me straight in the eyes. Perhaps the beating during the ranking battle didn’t educate you enough.”
His voice remained soft, but it felt as though thorns were sprouting from every word.
“I told you, I just came to see your faces. I wanted to see my youngest cousin, too.”
Calvad lowered himself, patted Bunny’s hair, and smirked.
Bunny’s eyebrows arched sharply upward. *Bunny, I don’t like him.*
“Anyway, are you selling this shoddy food because you’re a bastard? It suits you. Sitting on the ground. The Divine Beast Summoning Ceremony is over, so the ranking determination match is coming up soon, right? You’ll be participating?”
A ranking determination match? Bunny stared blankly at Calvad, then turned to tug on the hem of Alan’s clothes.
“What is it, Bunny?”
Alan saw Bunny standing stiff as a board and knelt to match her eye level, asking with a bright smile.
Calvad hesitated, frowning. *What is this guy? He was the one who used to walk around with his head bowed while pretending to be strong…*
When had he gained the confidence to stand tall with such a smile? Calvad clenched his fists, bit his lip, and scoffed.
“I’m leaving now. Bunny has human language study time.”
“Yeah! Let’s go. Are you going to see Dad?”
“Hmm. No, Bunny’s room.”
“Sure, I’ll take you.”
Alan packed up the stall like a doting servant and followed at Bunny’s side.
“Are you ignoring me?”
“Yup.”
Bunny replied shortly and shook her finger from side to side. *Tsk, tsk, tsk.*
“Bunny doesn’t talk to fools who say bad things. Because I’m an adult!”
*Hmph.*
Bunny laughed in an annoying tone and spun around. Seeing Alan rush to follow her and hold her small hand, Calvad’s face crumpled.