LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 19 - Help Me Find My House!
Chapter 19 – Help Me Find My House!
“My stomach hurts so much that I’m hearing nonsense.”
Sunal let out a long sigh and, with a dazed expression, reached for the cup of coffee he’d set aside to drink.
“So tired…”
Squish.
Instead of grabbing the coffee, he felt something soft and moist in his hand and glanced down.
“Ta-da!”
“…!”
Sunal immediately jumped up from his seat in a hurry.
Crash.
The chair fell over with a loud noise, but Sunal’s gaze was fixed in one direction.
The slime with the floral pattern, Tutoon, had somehow squeezed itself into the mug.
Though slimes could reduce their size, he hadn’t expected it to be inside there.
“Helloo!”
Tutoon squirmed a little, waving a hand. The number tag, slightly melted, dangled from its body.
Number 15.
“The coffee is really bitter. It’d be great if you could add a ton of sugar. I like it sweet.”
Sunal frowned deeply at the absurdity of it all.
Twinge.
His stomach ached. He suddenly remembered the medicine he had skipped taking that morning.
What was this situation even?
The bitter memory of that day kept resurfacing, making him feel as though he had destroyed the slime’s home, driven it out, and even gotten scolded by Terisha over it.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“I took a number and waited. Wasn’t I good? I got so bored while waiting that I wandered around, but no one noticed me.”
Tutoon crawled out of the cup and wriggled toward the table, eventually heading for the chair again.
Meanwhile, Sunal looked around.
The place was bustling with people.
Among the many diverse species, the ones who stood out the most were the giants, naturally. Their sheer size combined with their innocent faces made them impossible to miss.
“I’m a visitor here.”
Tutoon transformed into the shape of a child, swinging its legs.
“I’ve even managed to take on a proper form. I did everything I was supposed to. Now, can I talk?”
Tutoon beamed widely.
“…Hah.”
Sunal let out a light sigh, swallowing the irritation bubbling up inside him, and forced a smile.
“Hello.”
“Helloo!”
Tutoon responded as if seeing Sunal for the first time.
“What brings you here?”
Though Sunal already knew the reason, he followed protocol.
“Help me find my home.”
Tutoon innocently opened its mouth.
“Could you take a look at this?”
• We do not provide personal consultations unrelated to species characteristics. (Examples: “I’m sad because I had a falling out with a friend,” “I have a crush,” etc., matters related to personal emotions.)
Sunal pointed to the guideline he had referenced the most.
“This isn’t a personal matter. I’m not that stupid.”
“How is finding a home not a personal matter?”
Sunal’s stomach twisted in response to Tutoon’s shameless words.
Twinge, twinge.
‘I should’ve taken my medicine properly,’ he thought, regretting it a little.
“Well, that’s because…”
Tutoon, following Sunal’s gaze, hesitated as it tried to continue speaking.
For reasons unknown, its once round eyes began trembling.
As if some inexplicable fear had settled in, Tutoon even stopped swinging its legs.
Glancing briefly at his wristwatch, Sunal noticed the subtle change in Tutoon’s behavior and moved his eyes.
Since it was a slime, it was hard to notice typical signs like cold sweat, but Sunal knew.
When slimes felt fear, their once glossy surface lost its smoothness and became rougher.
Though this change was faint, Sunal could see it.
“Still, my home is originally here.”
Oddly, Tutoon’s words from earlier, right before leaving the residents’ center, lingered in his mind.
From the moment he started working in the Interethnic Grievance Resolution Special Unit, he had always reminded himself not to get emotionally involved, something Edina Ross had also emphasized repeatedly.
But this didn’t feel like he was getting swept up by emotions.
“Are you alright?”
Sunal leaned forward slightly, cautiously asking.
“…Can you trust me?”
For the first time, Sunal sensed the essence of a case in the desperate way the slime was looking at him.
Should he take it on or not?
Weighing the situation, Sunal hesitated.
He was tired.
It was troublesome.
He had worked overtime yesterday and the day before, so all he wanted was to leave on time today, but he couldn’t just ignore this.
As bothersome as it was, and despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t neglect his sense of responsibility now that the matter was in front of him.
“I trust you.”
Sunal responded firmly, his voice unwavering.
Seeing the certainty in Sunal’s gaze, Tutoon’s eyes lit up.
“Thank you!”
A bright smile spread across its face.
“Instead of thanking me, could you explain a bit more?”
“Got it.”
Tutoon leaned forward, almost lying down on the table.
“I’ve never hurt anyone. But I was chased out of here.”
Despite the sleepy tone, a deep sadness could be seen in Tutoon’s eyes.
However, Sunal couldn’t understand what it was talking about at all.
“When were you kicked out?”
He asked calmly, trying to stay composed.
“A few months ago? They said I was a bad slime.”
‘Was it driven out just for being a slime?’
Though the situation felt a bit ambiguous, Sunal thought it might be difficult to gather clear information from Tutoon.
It seemed more accurate to ask Edina Ross, who had been around a few months ago.
“Please wait for a moment.”
“I can keep waiting. I got fired from all my jobs too.”
Tutoon waved its hand as if this was nothing significant.
Sunal turned away.
“I’ll ask about that too later—the reason you were fired, that is.”
Why didn’t more people realize that the unemployment rate among slimes was so high?
As Sunal got up, Terisha, who had been standing nearby, looked at him in surprise.
Since she wasn’t currently assisting the next person in line, she quickly flew over to Sunal’s side and asked in a low voice,
“…What’s going on?”
“I’ve only been working here for a month, right?”
“Yes. Exactly 39 days.”
Sunal flinched at her precise mention of the date.
He glanced over at Lee Rang.
‘One gives me energy drinks out of nowhere, and another remembers exactly when I started? …This is kind of scary.’
Turning his head back to Terisha, Sunal met her dignified gaze.
“Am I wrong?”
“Well, I don’t really keep track of dates. But I think I’m having a bit of a crisis today.”
Even Sunal found his own words amusing and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Considering the situation didn’t even involve something that had happened while he was working here, maybe a “crisis” wasn’t that far off.
In truth, he wasn’t sure where to start.
“I’ll ask the team leader, so Terisha, could you—”
“No.”
Terisha cut him off firmly, her face, which had appeared slightly cold, now showed signs of urgency.
“I’ll help you.”
“No. It’s fine. I’ll just ask the team leader.”
“It’s okay. I’ll help.”
Terisha stepped closer, and Sunal instinctively took a step back.
Why was she acting like this all of a sudden?
Though it was true that Terisha had helped him adjust to this place, her actions were starting to feel overwhelming to Sunal.
“…Haah. Today’s been exhausting… What’s going on?”
Lee Rang, who had been pushing his chair back to grab a coffee, looked at the two of them in confusion.
His curiosity was piqued, especially since Terisha had moved.
“It’s Sunal.”
At Terisha’s anxious look, the smile faded slowly from Lee Rang’s lips.
What could have happened to make Terisha react like this?
“There’s a crisis.”
At Terisha’s heavy words, Lee Rang’s eyes widened in shock.
How could there be an additional crisis when they had just brought in more staff?
“I’ll help too.”
Lee Rang suddenly spoke, directing his words toward Sunal.
“No.”
Sunal now felt incredibly burdened by the way they were looking at him.
It was as if they were stubborn children refusing to give up a prized possession.
Twinge.
His stomach ached again.
“Look, I’ll just go talk to the team leader…”
“Why’s everyone gathered? What’s going on?”
Hearing the commotion, Edina Ross opened the door slightly and looked at them.
It was clear just from her expression that something serious was going on.
“Team leader.”
Terisha called out to Edina with a more serious expression than usual.
“Y-yes, Terisha.”
If even Terisha was making that deep of a face, something was definitely up.
“It’s Sunal.”
“Sunal?”
Edina’s gaze shifted to Sunal.
Her face was filled with an unmistakable air of exasperation, almost as if the weight of the world was plastered across her features.
He seemed fine.
Didn’t he look the same as usual?
“…He’s in crisis.”
“Everyone, come inside.”
Edina’s smile faded as she spoke. It was time to bring everyone together.
“You guys really… have no intention of listening to me.”
As Sunal watched them solemnly heading toward the team leader’s office, all he truly wanted was to go home.
“…No.”
As soon as Sunal sat down, Edina opened her mouth with a grave expression.
“Sunal. You absolutely, absolutely cannot leave the Interethnic Grievance Resolution Special Unit.”
Sunal didn’t even bother to stop the wild thoughts spreading everywhere anymore.
He just enjoyed a brief moment of peace, savoring the coffee placed in front of him by Terisha, who was gazing at him with desperate eyes.
“How could I ever find someone as talented as you again? I can’t. Sunal, you are the gem of this unit, you know that? Is this because of the work hours? I can’t help with that. There’s just not enough people applying for this unit, so we’re always busy. Honestly, the qualifications to join are too difficult. You have to be good at combat, good with words, good at working overtime…”
Edina briefly expressed her frustration.
But she quickly realized this wasn’t the priority and continued trying to convince Sunal.
“Or maybe I can do better? No, I’m already doing well, but… I’ll request more new hires. They’ve been pushing me from above to get more done, it’s like they’re telling me to just die from overwork. But I’ll push back harder.”
Please.
No.
Her desperation was clear.
“That’s right, Sunal,” Lee Rang chimed in, nodding along to Edina’s relentless speech.
“Is there something you can’t talk about related to the job or some external pressure? If so, I’ll deal with it.”
Lee Rang forced a smile, but there was a strange coldness in his eyes.
“Or is it something I taught you that went wrong? If so, I’m sorry.”
Terisha, fiddling with the horn-shaped headband she wore, lowered her hand and apologized.
Sluurp.
Sunal calmly sipped his coffee.
‘They’re really digging deep, huh? Well, a wizard is definitely useful.’
Being a wizard in itself was a massive advantage.
Leaving specifics aside, the overall work became much easier and insanely efficient.
‘It was the same in my previous department. They begged me not to leave. Even grabbed my pants to stop me.’
Sluurp.
As the bitter taste of the coffee spread in his mouth, Sunal smirked.
He wondered how far they’d misinterpret things, and decided to leave it alone for now.
“I don’t plan on quitting.”
“Right, so if you quit—wait, what?”
Edina, who had been in the middle of her passionate persuasion, widened her eyes in surprise before breaking into a huge grin.
“You made the right choice, Sunal! Tonight, hmm? We should order some chicken to celebrate. I’ll send it to you.”
“Team Leader.”
“Yes, Sunal?”
“Make sure you send that chicken, no matter what.”
Sunal couldn’t help but smile as the mention of chicken tickled his lips.
After all, chicken was the ultimate truth.
“I just wanted to ask about a case brought to me by a visitor.”
“A case?”
“Yes, something that happened a few months ago. I wasn’t here at the time.”
“You mentioned a crisis,” Terisha interrupted, her face showing surprise.
“It is a crisis. I don’t know what happened a few months ago. If things don’t run smoothly, even if I can’t achieve perfect results, I’d at least like to avoid unnecessary overtime… So, yes, I’d say it’s a crisis, right?”
Sunal chuckled and took another sip of coffee, which suddenly tasted much sweeter.
“…I’m sorry, Team Leader.”
Terisha bowed her head apologetically toward Edina, then turned to Lee Rang and did the same.
“Sorry for causing a commotion, Lee Rang.”
“No, there’s no need to apologize. This matter was important to me too.”
Lee Rang, surprised, waved his hands in reassurance. All the while, he snuck a glance at Sunal.
Sunal remained unbothered.
It was almost fascinating how he could maintain his composure even now.
“Sunal.”
Terisha let out a short breath and looked at him.
“Yes?”
“This was my fault. I made a small issue bigger than it needed to be, and I’m sure it put you in an uncomfortable position. I’ll be more composed next time.”
With that, she bowed her head toward Sunal.
‘I thought she’d be angry.’
Hadn’t he seen that frustrated expression on her face just moments ago?
But instead of blaming others, Terisha was blaming herself.
You reap what you sow.
“No, actually, I appreciate your concern. This isn’t easy after all.”
This time, Sunal didn’t respond sarcastically.
Since the misunderstanding wasn’t anyone’s fault, he genuinely expressed his gratitude to Terisha.
“I was only doing what I should. After all, we’re a team.”
As she spoke the word “team,” Terisha seemed resolute, like an unyielding fortress.
Her love for the unit was clear.
‘A team, huh…’
As Sunal’s gaze drifted between the others, he finally turned to Edina.
“Team Leader. I wanted to ask if there was a slime living here a few months ago.”
“…Are you talking about the slime you met this morning, Sunal?”
“Yes. They said someone kicked them out, they lost their home, and now they’ve lost their job too.”
Lee Rang raised his hand slightly, offering his opinion.
“I don’t know about the job, but if they really were here and someone drove them out, it does fall under our jurisdiction. People often get evicted because there’s this perception that slimes just squat wherever they want, even when it’s actually their residence.”
“I personally haven’t seen any slimes around.”
Terisha, lifting her hands slightly to gesture, soon realized her height difference and raised both arms higher.
‘Wasn’t Terisha supposed to be the second longest here, after Edina?’
Sunal felt a bit puzzled by her unexpected response.
“Ah, that’s the same for me,” Lee Rang agreed, adding his thoughts again.
‘Hasn’t Lee Rang been here for years too?’
Sunal calmly drank his coffee, watching them all.
Naturally, both Terisha and Lee Rang’s eyes turned to Edina next.
After all, she was the laid-back yet surprisingly sharp team leader who always seemed to know everything.
Edina kept brushing her hair back, looking like she was deep in thought, dragging out her words.
“Hmmmm…”
Just when it seemed like she might swallow her own lips from all the thinking, her eyes suddenly widened.
“I remember!”