Became a Health Boosting Elf

[“Minari” donated 1,000 won!]

– Have you appeared on another broadcast before? Your voice sounds familiar…

Oops! It seemed like you were talking about the video Bora filmed of me before. There was a time when my video was uploaded on the official Starlight Research Institute YouTube channel…

It’s been a long time since it was taken down, so I couldn’t find it. I wonder if the singing part is still there? It was a relief that my face wasn’t shown.

“I don’t know!”

In situations like this, it’s best to play dumb. Feeling good as the number of viewers increased, I chatted a lot with the audience before starting the queue. It was fun, probably because the conversations were more raw and primal compared to Bora and Haru.

As I chatted, it was already time to wrap up. I stopped the queue and prepared to end the broadcast.

“I’ll be going now!!!”

– Bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye bye

– Will you stream tomorrow too?

“I’ll try to stream tomorrow too!”

After saying that, I coolly ended the broadcast. There were still people crying out in the chat, but it doesn’t matter since I’ll be streaming tomorrow too.

I slid down from my chair. Then, I headed towards the cherry tomatoes on my desk, basking in the sunlight. They grew with so much love from me. That’s why the branch was bending under the weight of the cherry tomatoes.

I plucked the cherry tomatoes from the branch and put them in a side dish container. I occasionally brought them to the office. It’s strange for the fruit to ripen so quickly, but who cares?

If I didn’t pick the cherry tomatoes, the branch would break from the weight, so it was important to keep picking a certain amount.

After carefully placing each precious cherry tomato into the container, I rushed to the office. There was a way to solve dinner by eating cherry tomatoes, but I couldn’t give up the joy of gourmet food.

Who on earth lives on energy bars alone? If efficiency was the goal, everyone would eat high-calorie foods.

But as long as taste buds exist, no one would live on cherry tomatoes alone. Of course, I might eat one when busy, but there was something lacking to make it a staple.

“Haru!”

Today, Haru was in the office. I showed her the container full of cherry tomatoes. They were like my offspring from my tooth.

“You brought a lot today?”

“Yeah. There were so many hanging, so I brought them!”

It was enough to cover the entire Starlight Research Institute. Even though hundreds of people worked here, since they didn’t eat cherry tomatoes much, bringing them every 2-3 days was enough to cover the demand.

Haru took my cherry tomatoes and headed somewhere. Probably to the department that distributes them.

After confirming Haru was gone, I headed to the pantry. Recently, there were so many delicious things in the pantry. After they found out I visited the pantry, the variety of snacks and chocolates increased.

I didn’t eat in secret like before but ate openly. It was a bit burdensome when there were many people in the office, but the snacks in the pantry were so delicious that I could handle the attention.

Standing in front of the pantry desk, I moved my hands busily. Delicious snacks disappear quickly if you don’t grab them. After picking enough snacks, I headed to my room. I planned to hide these snacks in my secret stash.

“Hehe.”

I couldn’t help but laugh seeing the snacks piling up like a treasure trove. I think I understand why dragons in fantasy novels hoard treasures in their lairs. Just looking at this was satisfying.

But even after all this, Haru hadn’t returned. Maybe she wasn’t just delivering cherry tomatoes but doing other tasks too?

I quietly moved my steps. I hadn’t explored other floors much besides the one I lived on. My adventurous spirit was ignited. I left a note for Haru.

[I’ll go play!]

Hmm, good.

I zigzagged through the hallway, heading towards the elevator. I didn’t forget to spread my arms like airplane wings. Inside the elevator, I pondered which floor to go to. They say 7 is a lucky number, so I tried to press the 7th floor button. But my hand couldn’t reach it.

“Huh…?”

The elevator doors closed, and I was trapped inside. Cold sweat poured down. I could have just pressed the open button, but in a moment of panic, I couldn’t think straight.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Tears welled up in my eyes, probably from the fear of being trapped in a small space. But then, someone must have pressed a button on another floor, and the elevator started moving. What a relief.

As the elevator doors opened, I quickly dashed out.

I stepped out. Thinking about it, I could have just stepped on the elevator panel and pressed the floor button. I guess I panicked too much.

Looking around, people were bustling past. I walked down the hallway, glancing here and there. It felt like a new adventure since there were still many places I hadn’t explored.

I hadn’t walked for long when I started to feel out of breath. Maybe it was because I’d been carried around by Bora and Haru, but my stamina had really dropped. They say kids have infinite energy, but since I had an adult’s mindset, that didn’t apply to me.

I spotted a resting area and sat down gently. While I was fiddling with my phone, I felt someone sit down on either side of me. There were plenty of seats, so why right next to me?

“Hi, Hana!”

A beautiful woman smiled brightly and greeted me. I nodded slightly in response.

“You’re so cute~”

“Say hi to me too, Hana!”

As they said that, one of them gently patted my head. Of course, the feeling was nice, so I quietly let them do it.

“I’ve always wanted to pat Hana’s head~ But the staff in charge of Hana are so strict about keeping people away…”

“Did you get lost? There’s no reason for Hana to be on this floor…”

Being in a child’s body definitely had its perks. Pure goodwill came easily. If I were in a man’s body, they wouldn’t have even glanced at me.

But I couldn’t stand them looking at me like I was some lost kid. I shook my head and said, “No! I came to this floor for an adventure!”

The two women exchanged glances and then took my hands. “Then, shall we go on an adventure with us?”

“Okay!”

I was all for a new adventure with new companions. There was no reason to refuse. Feeling refreshed, I held their hands and walked with them. But they were heading toward the elevator.

Were they planning to go to another floor? New adventures always made my heart race. My heart started pounding again. I bounced around in the elevator and asked, “Where are we going?”

“Hmm… wherever Hana wants to go?”

The way they trailed off made it seem like we were heading somewhere amazing. I couldn’t wait to see what kind of world would unfold.

Ding dong!

The elevator doors opened with a chime. I dashed outside. Was this the spot for my new adventure? But when I stepped out, I was stunned by the all-too-familiar scenery.

“Wh-where is this?”

By the time I realized something was wrong, the women had already grabbed me and were taking me back to the office. They held me tightly so I couldn’t escape.

“No… no!”

I struggled to break free, but it was no use. I was helplessly dragged back to the original office.

Sigh…

I had tried to go on an adventure, but alas, I was back where I started. And just in time, Haru walked into the office.

“We thought Hana got lost, so we brought her here.”

“Ah! Thank you!”

I wasn’t lost—I was on an adventure! But the women who brought me here misunderstood and thought I had wandered off.

“No! I wasn’t lost…”

But they didn’t believe me. The two women waved goodbye and left the office. I unconsciously waved back.

“Shall we go get dinner, Hana?”

“Okay!”

The adventure ended in disappointment, but there was still plenty of time. I could always try again later. For now, I held Haru’s hand and headed to the restaurant. After all, food is more important than adventures!

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