♢ ♢ ♢ ♢ ♢
Rogi is busy cleaning and organizing her belongings in her new room.
When she opens a pale pink bundle, a family photo appears. Her healthy mother is holding Rogi, smiling brightly...
At the thought of her sick mother, tears begin to well up in Rogi's eyes. Just as her sadness starts to rise—
[Bzzzz~] Bermuda vibrates.
"Hm?"
Rogi quickly wipes her tears and looks at Bermuda.
By now, the children who had finished dinner were gathered in the group chat, talking.
But Rogi couldn't tell who was who. Everyone was using different nicknames as their IDs.
King of the Prairie: Dabi probably delivered it~
Space Warrior: Yeah, I gave it to Rogi's dad~ She wasn't there.
Choco : Why wasn't she there?
Cheese Burger: Huh? That's not good?
King of the Prairie: Why wasn't she there?
Yo! : Wait...
Yo! : Rogi doesn't know the village yet. She just moved in today.
Choco : Dabi, didn't you go look for Rogi?
Space Warrior: Ah..... oh!
Choco : "Oh" isn't enough!! Seriously~
Space Warrior: Ah.... should I go out now?
Cheese Burger: Let's all go look together. If we all go, we'll find her faster.
White Stone Princess: You idiot brother!
Yo! : Let's all go out first.
While everyone was worrying about Rogi, she was watching the chat and smiling.
Just as she was about to join before things escalated, a prompt appeared on Bermuda asking her to set a chat name.
Flustered, Rogi quickly typed "Hotteok Witch" and posted immediately.
Hotteok Witch: Stop—
A brief silence followed.
But there was only one person who could have just entered the chat, and everyone could guess who it was.
Hotteok Witch: I got home safely. Thank you for worrying.
Yo! : That's a relief, Rogi~
White Stone Princess: Unni~ I was worried~
Choco : Rogi~
Space Warrior: Wow, that's good.
The children all rushed to express that they had been worried about her.
Soon, everyone learned that although Rogi had gotten lost, she had safely returned home thanks to a kind grandmother.
Hotteok Witch: Hmm... I think I know who's who now, but who are "King of the Prairie" and "Cheese Burger"?
Choco : Prairie is Leo, and Cheese is Ellie, Rogi~
Hotteok Witch: Thanks, Pai~ Then why is Eti "White Stone Princess"?
Cheese Burger: Eti doesn't know how to write well yet~ It got typed as "Baekseok," and even when I tried to fix it, she said she likes it!
White Stone Princess: I like this one, yeah! [STONE WHITE]
Hotteok Witch: Got it! Then one last question! Where did you get this device? Did you buy it?
King of the Prairie: No, Ellie made all of them.
Even at a young age, Ellie was very intelligent. He gathered parts from discarded junk and created communication devices so the friends could talk to each other.
Of course, for the more complicated parts, he received help from the study room teacher.
Hotteok Witch: That's amazing, Ellie. You must be a genius.
Cheese Burger: No~ I don't really know. The teacher helped me~
The children chatted endlessly, losing track of time, sharing their roles for tomorrow.
They also talked about how to finish the story play.
Yo! : Rogi, you should read the story summary before tomorrow~
Hotteok Witch: Yeah~ I'm already reading it.
Yo! : And Rogi, you have to make a story too.
Hotteok Witch: Make a story?
Yo! : Yeah, what kind of genre do you like?
Hotteok Witch: A genre I like...
Rogi thought for a long time, but nothing came to mind right away.
Even after that, the children continued chatting, laughing, and enjoying themselves.
From their separate homes, they were connected through small devices into another shared space.
To them, it felt like a dream.
And that space quickly brought them closer together.
But at that time, the children did not yet know—
how precious these moments would become, and how much comfort and courage they would bring to their lives in the future.
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Under the moonlight, Polun is being grabbed by the collar and shaken by EAT...
EAT is not actually an Olpin, but someone who was close to them.
Polun is doing his best to calm EAT, who cannot easily settle down.
EAT: "Polun! Do you know how long I was held captive?! Why didn't you come even once, you bastard!"
Polun: "I!... I really didn't know. You didn't contact me, so I thought you were still angry."
Polun: "So I waited... I'm sorry, I really didn't know~" [He was very sorry, but needed to clear the misunderstanding first.]
EAT: "Do you know how many times those insects beat me and humiliated me?!"
Polun: "I'm sorry!! I was wrong!! ......"
Polun: "Ah... right! Red Rooster!! The insects... should I wipe them all out for you?"
EAT: "What!? ...Let's start with you. I'll kill you first!"
Polun: "Ah... I'm sorry." [>.<]
EAT continues shaking Polun by the collar.
Rotor and Pad watch them, sincerely feeling that the Red Rooster, EAT, is truly great.
[Polun is the Supreme Commander, the highest-ranking among all Olpin.
It is said that there are very few beings in the universe who can stand on equal footing with him.
However, no Olpin has ever actually seen such beings.]
And yet, EAT is grabbing him by the collar and shaking him...
And Polun is struggling in that situation!
Watching them, Rotor speaks.
"Pad, come to think of it, why is Lord Polun called the Golden Owl? There's nothing golden about him. No matter how I look at it, he's just yellow."
Pad, after thinking for a while, answers seriously.
"Come to think of it, 'Yellow Owl Polun' would be more accurate! That's strange! Really strange~ Should we ask him?"
Polun, already in a difficult situation, cannot tolerate his subordinates chatting behind him.
Polun: "Hey— you two! Go catch some insects or something and get out of here! Scram!"
Polun: "Hurry up! Aren't you leaving?!"
Polun vents his frustration on his subordinates, though he is still being shaken by the collar.
Rotor & Pad: "Yes, sir! Understood!"
Fearing trouble might fall on them, Rotor and Pad quickly leave the area.
Pad runs with force, while Rotor flies with his cloak fluttering—
Then Pad notices something.
The massive unconscious Ugu...
And Mond, holding him tightly, unable to leave.
Pad watches them silently for a moment, then slowly walks toward them.
Mond, focused entirely on Ugu, suddenly senses an approaching Olpin and panics.
He tries to cover Ugu's huge body with his small body—an impossible effort.
Then he looks around, grabs branches, and desperately tries to hide Ugu with leaves.
But there is no way to conceal such a massive body.
In the end, his choice—
He throws himself at Pad's feet and bows.
He cannot even beg for mercy.
As the lowest of the Barak, if Mond speaks before an Olpin, he could be killed instantly.
It is like the relationship between an insect and a powerful bird.
Pad: "Why did you not run?"
Mond: "...What? Ah—!"
In that instant, Mond covers his mouth with both hands.
He knows he could die.
His whole body trembles.
Pad raises his palm upward and gathers energy, forming several energy spheres.
Seeing the spheres, Mond thinks:
"This is the end."
But at that moment—
Pad is startled again.
Even while trembling in fear, Mond spreads his arms to protect Ugu with his own body.
As if he intends to die in his place.
Mond's legs shake so violently they might collapse.
Waiting for the pain to come—
he begins to cry.
Mond: "Ugh... ugh... sob... sob..."
Pad watches him for a long moment, then tries to calm him.
Pad: "You're crying? Don't cry."
Pad: "You... want to save him that badly? Then push this into his body."
[Pad hands him one of the spheres.]
But Mond cannot move, trembling like a broken machine.
Pad: "Honestly... don't worry and do it! If you don't, he will die!"
Pad: "...If you do as I say, I'll even restore his arm."
After a long hesitation, Mond finally gathers himself.
He carefully takes the sphere and slowly pushes it into Ugu's body.
Gradually, Ugu's consciousness begins to return.
After a moment, Ugu slowly opens his eyes.
He sees Mond trembling in fear—and the purple Olpin.
Immediately, he judges that Mond is in danger.
With all his strength, he forces his damaged body to rise.
He stretches out his arm to attack Pad—
but one of his arms is already gone.
He cannot harm Pad.
And then, Ugu loses consciousness again.
His body is not yet fully recovered.
Pad, watching this, falls into deep thought.
Pad: "Answer me. What are you? Why?"
Mond: "...What?"
Pad: "Why didn't you run? And that one—why did he do that?"
Pad: "...Could it be?"
From afar, Rotor watches.
To him, Pad's curiosity is trivial—and boring.
But still, he waits for him.
"Let's go home already..."
-3 A END