The Strongest Guild Kidnapped Me

Grrr

Levinas kept making threatening gestures towards Kwon Arin, rolling her feet in agitation or biting into carrots as if they were mere snacks.

Watching Levinas’s behavior, Sophia tapped my shoulder.

“Gyeoul, why is the baby angry again?”

“She thinks she’s being bullied.”

“…I see.”

Sophia looked at Kwon Arin, understanding something, and Levinas glared at Kwon Arin with a wary look in her eyes.

There was a faint, yet noticeable wildness in her demeanor.

“Have you ever eaten chocolate?!”

“Uh, yeah. I’ve had it before.”

“Really?! How many have you eaten?!”

Was she trying to establish superiority based on the number of chocolates one has eaten?

I felt sorry for Levinas for making such a poor choice.

Any average person would surely have eaten more chocolates than us.

“Well…? It might be too many to count…?”

“Too many?”

“Yeah…”

As Kwon Arin nodded, Levinas showed a surprised expression.

After freezing for a moment, Levinas gulped down her saliva and then spoke up.

“Then, have you ever been to a department store?”

“Yeah. I’ve been to department stores.”

“…How many times?”

“Well…? That might also be hard to count…?”

Having visited department stores more times than one could count seemed to shock Levinas, who then rushed over to whisper in my ear.

“Oh king, we’re in big trouble…! Levinas can’t win at anything…!”

“Seems like she’s incredibly wealthy.”

To think she has been to department stores more times than one could count, let alone chocolates.

It was unimaginable for me at the moment.

“Sniff… Levinas wanted to win against SupremeMasterKwonArin at least…”

Levinas shook her shoulders in despair.

I felt sorry for her powerless figure.

“Levinas is still young. It’s hard for kids to beat adults with experience.”

“Is that so…? But can’t the king beat adults too…?”

“Well, maybe…?”

I’m an adult too, after all.

There might be areas where I could win.

But I didn’t necessarily want to fight and win against someone.

“King, can’t you win against SupremeMasterKwonArin for me?”

Levinas looked up at me with pleading eyes.

I turned my gaze away, unable to refuse those difficult-to-resist eyes.

“I don’t like fighting…”

“…Well, if the king fights, SupremeMasterKwonArin might die.”

Kwon Arin flinched, trembling at the mention of death.

Her gaze was fixed on the main bow on my back.

“Um, it’s all my fault, so…”

As Kwon Arin slowly approached us, Levinas stepped back.

Held back by Levinas, I also stepped back.

“SupremeMasterKwonArin, Levinas hates you.”

“Just Kwon Arin is fine…”

Whine

Kwon Arin let out a whimpering cry.

I started to wonder if Levinas had actually won.

‘I wish they would stop fighting now.’

I liked Levinas when she was kind and gentle.

I didn’t want to see Levinas so full of anger like this.

To calm Levinas’s wildness, I would have to show her Kwon Arin’s defeat.

Of course, I didn’t plan to really fight, but to compete in terms of numbers, just like Levinas wanted.

I knew it was childish, but since Levinas wanted to win that way.

Having made up my mind, I cautiously approached Kwon Arin.

Each time I moved closer, Kwon Arin looked terrified.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes…?”

“I’ve read over ten comic books…”

I showed Kwon Arin ten fingers to indicate the number.

Just over ten comic books were all I had read in this life.

I mentioned comic books specifically to boast about having so much free time.

It was embarrassing, but it was all for Levinas.

Since I couldn’t really fight someone in front of Levinas.

This kind of ‘light quarrel’ was better for Levinas’s education.

“Wow, I like comics too.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. They’re webtoons, but I probably read hundreds of them a month.”

“Hundreds…!”

Hundreds a month.

I wasn’t sure, but it was clear she had read more than me.

Who is this person?

Having enough money to go to department stores frequently and enough time to read hundreds of webtoons?

She was an entity I could never defeat as I am now.

“Don’t you work or anything…?”

“Oh, I didn’t…?”

“Wow… How could you read so many comics without working?”

Did she inherit a fortune?

Or maybe she had real estate income?

I listened eagerly for a glimpse into the life of the wealthy, but Kwon Arin just avoided my gaze.

“That, that’s…”

“How can you read so many comics and still play games?”

“That… sob…”

Did I say something strange?

Tears started to form in Kwon Arin’s eyes.

As I was puzzled by her sudden tears, Sophia abruptly grabbed the hem of my clothes.

“Gyeoul, let’s just stop.”

“Wh-why…?”

“Sometimes, a child’s innocence can hurt adults.”

A child’s innocence.

Did Levinas do something?

I looked at Sophia, hoping for an explanation, but her gaze was on Kwon Arin.

“I hope you don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t to tease but genuinely out of curiosity.”

“Yes, I know that…”

Kwon Arin wiped away her falling tears.

Not knowing why she was crying, Levinas and I just stared at her blankly.

<+>

After Sophia went to console Kwon Arin, Levinas and I returned to the burrow.

Even then, Levinas was expressing her anger.

“Someday, Levinas will defeat SupremeMasterKwonArin!”

“Right. But you can’t hit her, okay?”

“Yes! Levinas won’t use violence anymore!”

That was a relief.

The adults had taught her well.

Just as I was happy and stroked Levinas’s head, someone approached the burrow.

By the sound of their footsteps, I could tell it was Yeoreum.

“Knock knock, is anyone there?”

Since she couldn’t actually knock, Yeoreum made a knocking sound with her mouth.

Her voice made my tail wag happily.

“Yes, I’m here with Levinas.”

“Ah, can unni come in?”

“It’s too cramped here for you to come in.”

“I see. Then I’ll just peek through the ceiling.”

Crunch-

After clearing some branches and leaves from the ceiling, Yeoreum appeared.

She looked a bit tired for some reason.

“What’s the matter?”

“I have something to discuss about income.”

“Income?”

“Yes. I asked Arin to call Gyeoul, but she was crying over there for some reason.”

“Ah, well…”

Whatever it was, we made her cry.

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly.

“Gyeoul, could you and I have a quick chat outside the building?”

“Yes. Okay.”

I reached out my hand towards Yeoreum from below the burrow.

It was too deep to climb out on my own, so I was asking for a lift.

“Hehe, did you dig this tunnel too deep?”

Yeoreum pulled me up, asking this question.

She pulled so hard that I ended up in her arms.

“Well, I just don’t like having dirt above my head… It kind of gives me the creeps.”

“Oh, yes. Sorry. Unni shouldn’t have said that.”

Pat pat

Yeoreum patted my back.

It was a very warm touch.

Was hugging a person supposed to feel this happy?

Not sure how to react, I just wagged my tail vigorously.

Then, Yeoreum put me down and reached out to Levinas.

I felt a bit sad.

“Yeoreum, Levinas is going to dig a very deep and wide hole, so let’s definitely live together later?”

“Uh, sure. Shall we?”

“Yes!”

And so, we walked side by side towards the guild building.

Along the way, Yeoreum looked so tired that I glanced up at her.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“You look very tired.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Unni recently started doing office work.”

Office work?

Wasn’t Yeoreum more of a physical type?

I tilted my head in confusion.

“Since Unni usually uses her body, she’s not that smart. So, she’s learning and gradually getting used to office work.”

“I see.”

Certainly.

Office work involves using your brain.

It was likely to have some effect on activating the brain to some extent.

“And, haaah…”

Mid-conversation, Yeoreum, apparently tired, let out a long yawn.

A mere yawn startled me so much that my ears and tail shot up.

“Gasp!”

Fear washed over me.

I was so scared that I ran away without looking back.

Just facing a yawn, but why was my heart pounding so hard?

As I put my hand over my heart and looked back at the path I had run, Yeoreum was slowly approaching me.

“Gy-Gyeoul…?”

“I’m sorry. I got scared because the yawn was so terrifying…”

“The yawn?”

“Yes. Seeing the yawn, I suddenly thought I was going to be attacked…”

My scared ears and tail drooped down.

I was so afraid of looking at Yeoreum that I looked down.

“Ah… Could it be that?”

“Do you know what it is?”

“Uh, yeah. It might be because a yawn looks similar to a snarl…”

A snarl?

What’s that?

Puzzled, I just stared blankly at Yeoreum.