I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 127: Dog Grass

"I'll teach you how to throw a birthday party."

Following the guidance of a man who introduced himself as Kim Hyunwoo, we were able to hold a birthday party.

I didn't particularly care to have one, but I did it for Levinas.

"Yum yum."

Levinas ate the food someone handed her.

Since I hated accepting anything for free, I pulled out some pocket money.

Twenty thousand won.

It was money I could personally spend.

As soon as I offered the crumpled bill to Kim Hyunwoo, he grimaced and waved his hand dismissively.

"But the food—"

"It's fine. Just being here for the birthday is enough to be thankful for."

I understood what he meant, but I thought that was supposed to only apply to those who brought gifts.

It felt odd that we, who hadn't brought any gifts, were welcomed so warmly.

'Is money a burden?'

It would be burdensome if birthday gifts were given in cash.

I took out a new roll of tape from my bag.

An essential item of life that could fix anything broken.

"Then I'll give this as a gift."

"Tape?"

"Yes. It's useful for when something like clothes tear."

"That's nice. Thank you."

Kim Hyunwoo received the tape.

I was relieved that he liked it.

"King, king."

Tap tap—

Levinas, sitting next to me, tapped my shoulder.

As I turned to her, Levinas stuffed salad into my mouth.

"It's tasty greens! King, you eat too!"

"Okay."

Being an herbivorousBeing herbivorous beast-kin, she liked vegetables the most.

Although I was a carnivorouswas carnivorous beast-kin, the vegetables Levinas gave were delicious.

"King, but why do we eat tasty things on birthdays?"

"It's to commemorate the day we were born."

"I see."

Crunch crunch—

Levinas nibbled on chicory like playing the Pepero game[1], pushing the green leaves fully into her mouth and then tilting her head.

"But why do we commemorate the day we were born?"

"Because it's special...?"

"Eh? Why is the day we were born special?"

Why the day of birth is considered special…...

It was too profound a question.

I, not well-versed in philosophy, couldn't solve this problem.

"I'm not sure either. Why is the day we were born special?"

I wonder if others know the answer.

Looking around, strangely, everyone avoided my gaze.

The only one who spoke up was Kim Hyunwoo, the star of the birthday party.

"Levinas, what do you think it would be like if Gyeoul wasn't around?"

"Wha—!"

A cherry tomato dropped from Levinas' hand.

Her face, filled with despair, seemed ready to burst into tears.

"The king disappears...?!"

"No, not actually disappear, just hypothetically."

Kim Hyunwoo quickly clarified.

"It would be very sad! Tears of sorrow would flow inside Levinas!"

"Right? That's why we thank and celebrate you for being born."

"......!"

Levinas' eyes widened more than ever before.

She looked as if she had gained a great enlightenment.

"King! Thank you for being born!"

"Yeah. You too, Levinas."

Hehe.

As always, her tail wagged.

It seemed like a bad idea to start celebrating the birthdays of the people around me.

---

---

After the birthday party, we returned home.

Yeoreum was stroking Saebyeok's head, who was lying sprawled on the couch.

"Are you back?"

"Yes."

I washed my hands and feet and sat next to Yeoreum.

Levinas jumped and sat on Yeoreum's lap.

"What did you two do outside?"

"We were going to plant carrots but ended up having a birthday party instead."

"A birthday party...?"

Yeoreum's hand, stroking Saebyeok, stopped.

Her brown pupils wavered.

"Yes. We ate cake together."

"That, that so? But whose birthday was it today...?"

Thump thump.

I can hear Yeoreum's heartbeat.

It was rougher than usual, perhaps because she was startled.

"It wasn't anyone's birthday. We just joined in with some people having a birthday party at the park."

"Ah..."

Phew.

With a sigh of relief, Yeoreum's body slid down limply.

Because of this, Levinas, who had been sitting on her lap, tumbled onto the floor below the sofa.

"Hehe."

Fun. Fun.

Levinas, asking for it to be done again, sprang back onto Yeoreum's lap.

"Gyeoul, when exactly is your birthday?"

"I don't have a birthday."

"Really?"

"Yes, I don't know when I was born."

Specifically, I didn't know when 'this body' was born, so I couldn't celebrate its birthday.

"Hmm... How about we make the day we became close your birthday?"

"The day we became close?"

"Yes."

When was that again?

I tried to recall.

It was definitely the day I got stabbed by the horned rabbit.

"Are you talking about the day I got gutted?"

"No, no! Not that day!"

Yeoreum shouted louder than necessary.

Startled, my ears and tail drooped.

"Then when?"

"Do you remember the day you first woke up in the guild, Gyeoul?"

"Ah..."

Was she referring to the day I transformed into a beast-kin?

It was a monumental day, almost like a rebirth.

It wouldn't be bad to designate that as my birthday.

"Will it be hard to wait until next year?"

"No, it's fine. I'm good at waiting."

"Yes, that's right."

Hehe.

Yeoreum smiled happily.

Seeing everyone in the house happy made me feel good too.

"Yeoreum! Stretch your leg forward!"

Chop chop—

Levinas tapped Yeoreum's thigh.

Yeoreum stretched her leg diagonally.

"Like this?"

"Yes!"

Levinas slid down her leg as if it were a slide.

I was proud of Levinas for always finding something to play with, no matter the situation.

"Is it fun?"

"Yes! Yeoreum is like a complete playground! She even becomes a slide!"

"How did you know? Actually, Sister is a human playground."

"What! Does Yeoreum's playground have a swing too?!"

"Of course."

Yeoreum stood up from the sofa and lifted Levinas high, swinging her back and forth like a swing as they moved around the house.

This caused Saebyeok to cling to the side.

Purr purr—

Saebyeok crouched down and lay making cat-like noises.

With Yeoreum gone, I stroked Saebyeok's head in her place.

"Saebyeok, you're more like a cat than I am."

"The adults made me this way."

"The adults?"

Which adults had changed Saebyeok's body?

I was quite curious but felt it would be rude to ask.

"The adults gave me a body similar to Gyeoul's, but they didn't understand all the beast-kin traits. So, they just added cat instincts."

"Ah..."

They had added cat instincts thinking it wouldn't be too different.

It was the moment I understood why she was more cat-like than I am.

"Sometimes I feel like I've actually become a cat."

"Isn't it uncomfortable to have something you didn't have before?"

"It's okay. Everyone likes it."

That was true. Saebyeok's cat-like aloofness was her charm.

If she was okay with it, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Saebyeok, shall we do an experiment?"

"An experiment?"

"Yes. I think we need to see how much cat instinct you have."

It's important to understand the instincts to prevent accidents.

Saebyeok seemed to realize this and nodded in agreement.

"But what kind of experiment will we do?"

"First, this."

I took out a piece of foxtail grass from my bag.

It was one of several stalks of foxtail grass I had pulled up to eat.

Gently swaying—

I shook a blade of foxtail grass in front of Saebyeok.

Her vertical pupils began to widen into perfect circles.

'Wow.'

Do my pupils also change like that?

I'll have to try it with a mirror later.

With that thought in mind, I kept shaking the foxtail grass.

"......!"

Saebyeok's head tracked the foxtail grass, swinging rapidly from side to side.

The movement was so quick it was almost dizzying.

She lay prone, her arms pressed tightly to her chest and her legs tensed, ready to pounce at any moment.

If the physically strong Saebyeok suddenly charged, it would be quite something.

Although I was worried, fortunately, Saebyeok didn't pounce.

Instead, she merely tapped at the foxtail grass with her fists clenched like a cat.

"Hehe."

She really seems like a cat.

No, is she actually a cat?

Amused by the thought, I playfully touched Saebyeok's forehead with the foxtail grass.

That was when Yeoreum, who had been to the kitchen, returned.

"What are you two doing?"

"We're conducting an experiment."

"An experiment?"

"Yes. We're testing if Saebyeok has cat instincts."

"Is that so...?"

Yeoreum paused and glanced at my tail.

It was standing erect, swaying gently—just like a real cat's tail.

"···I have instincts too, but Saebyeok's is bigger."

"Really? Aren't the two of you similar?"

"I don't think so...?"

Do others see me as similar to Saebyeok?

I love fish, but I'm not drawn to moving objects like she is.

Feeling slightly wronged, I just looked up at Yeoreum.

Levinas, held in her arms, began swaying her legs back and forth.

"Levinas too! Levinas too!"

"Levinas too?"

"Yes! Levinas wants foxtail grass too!"

Was she asking for the foxtail grass to be shaken in front of her?

Since I had brought plenty, I took out another and waved it in front of her eyes.

Levinas, held under Yeoreum's armpits, swung her head from side to side following the foxtail grass.

"Levinas is a horned rabbit but acts like a cat."

"Maybe she's just playing."

Tap tap—

I tapped Levinas' nose with the foxtail grass.

Just as I was about to touch her lips, Levinas bit the foxtail grass.

Nom nom nom—

The whole stalk of foxtail grass disappeared into Levinas' mouth, leaves and all.

She wasn't playing; she wanted to eat it.

Yeoreum and I stared blankly as Levinas chewed contentedly.

---

[1. raei: it's a game where you put one end of food in your mouth and the other end in the other's mouth and you have to eat enough of it without kissing the other. Uh Levinas is doing it alone just eating in that style.]

This one is thanks to Avarco, Kliten, and Waffle!

5(+3)/5 Enjoy the chappy!

Please give the book a rating and a review on NovelUpdates.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.