I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 133: Giftgiver

"Levinas's ice cream!"

Levinas stretched her hand towards the unreachable sky.

A blue bird circled triumphantly above us.

"Tweety! Enjoy your meal!"

Levinas waved her hand towards the bird.

She giggled behind her hand and swayed her legs back and forth.

Despite having her precious ice cream taken away, she didn't seem particularly sad.

"Levinas, are you okay with not having much ice cream?"

"Yes! It tastes better when shared!"

She wasn't throwing a tantrum, just kindly telling it to eat well.

Her uniquely gentle mindset was enough to inspire admiration.

"If you want more, just pick up another empty bottle!"

"Right. There are plenty of empty bottles."

It was a relief that Levinas wasn't upset or crying.

Just as I was about to pat her head in praise, she pulled out a carrot stick from her pocket.

"I actually have something even tastier for Levinas!"

A carrot snack made in the midst of Summer.

Levinas held her favorite snack up towards the sky.

The seasoning on the stick glittered in the sunlight.

It was enough to make it a target for the flying bird.

Crack!

A bird swooped down aggressively towards the stick.

Although it was fast, to me it seemed like slow motion, giving me time to think many thoughts.

Levinas is kind, but being tricked twice in a row could make anyone angry.

For her sake, I decided to catch the bird.

"Make sure no one gets hurt..."

I gripped the bow I had brought for practice.

In a flash, I calculated the bird's trajectory.

It will try to grab the carrot stick and soar past me.

I calculated when it would pass in front of me and swung the bow with all my strength.

Whoosh! Thud!

"Peep!"

The solid impact and the bird's cry.

My wrist tingled from the strike.

"Yikes?!"

"......?"

Startled by my sudden action, Levinas trembled slightly.

Saebyeok, who had been sleeping on my thigh, rubbed her eyes and woke up.

"The bird tried to steal the carrot."

"Is that so?! What a greedy bird!"

"Peep, peep..."

The fallen bird was still alive and wriggling.

Clearly, it was no ordinary bird.

"Yaaaah!"

Saebyeok stretched like a cat and jumped down from the bench.

Holding the wriggling bird, she approached us.

"Shall we eat it?"

"I'm not sure..."

I had subdued it, but being a bird of an unknown species, I wasn't sure if it was edible.

It could be a protected species, so I decided to ask Sophia first.

What to do with the bird would come later.

It might even be considered a delicacy.

---

---

"Peep, peep..."

Holding the frightened bird by the nape, I headed to the mana stone exchange where Sophia was.

Sophia was nowhere to be seen, so I looked around for a while until I spotted a tuft of blue hair peeking out from behind a table.

She was just short and hard to see.

"Sophia."

I ran towards Sophia with the bird.

Sophia, who was working on documents, looked up at us.

"What's the matter?"

"I caught this bird, but I don't know what kind it is."

"Hmm...?"

As I showed her the limp, blue bird, Sophia's eyes widened slightly.

If she was that surprised, it definitely wasn't an ordinary bird.

"Do you know what it is?"

"Yes, it's a Giftgiver."

"A Giftgiver?"

"It plays tricks and then gives gifts. It's a creature from our world, but how it ended up on Earth..."

A gleam of excitement circled Sophia's eyes.

Seeing a creature from her homeland seemed to make her happy.

"It seems the bird meat is the gift."

Saebyeok shot a fierce glare at the bird.

The blue bird trembled slightly.

"Do not eat it unless absolutely necessary. It's a rare creature that only appears before beast-kin children. It's a miracle to even see it."

"I see."

Since the bird wasn't meant to be eaten, there was no need to kill it.

I placed the bird on the windowsill of the open window.

"Tweety, from now on, you can't just steal food! If you're hungry, ask Levinas first, okay?!"

Levinas waved her hand at the bird.

As it flapped its wings, a seed the size of a fingernail fell from its breast.

"Huh?"

It was a seed.

Was this the gift Sophia mentioned?

Levinas picked up the seed in my stead.

"You plant it in the ground!"

"Right. It seems to be a gift for Levinas."

At the mention of a gift, Levinas's ears perked up.

Unable to contain her excitement, she bounced on the spot and then dashed toward the exchange's exit.

"King! Levinas wants to plant this!"

"Okay. I'll stay here and talk more with Sophia."

"Got it!"

Saebyeok chased after the departing Levinas.

I knew she did it to protect Levinas.

'I wonder what kind of seed that is.'

It reminded me of a folktale Levinas had read about a swallow that gave seeds which spawned monsters.

Surely, it wouldn't give us a seed that spawns monsters in return for striking it?

I looked anxiously toward the exit Levinas had taken.

"Gyeoul, aren't you going to plant the seed? A Giftgiver's seed is quite valuable."

"I prefer Sophia to gifts."

"Huh, really."

Sophia blushed.

She kicked at the ground, her head bowed.

"But the seed won't produce something dangerous, will it?"

"That shouldn't happen. Giftgivers are a kind of spiritual creature, after all."

"That's reassuring."

I scanned the surroundings.

The familiar sight of the exchange, a place I always visit after hunting, filled my view.

'Hmm...'

It dawned on me that I didn't really know what Sophia actually does here.

I've always just received help without asking.

Feeling somewhat ashamed as her 'family,' I spoke up.

"Sophia, can I watch you work?"

"It's okay, as long as you don't cause any trouble... but you wouldn't, right?"

"Yes. I'll be quiet."

"Alright, consider this a learning experience."

"Yes."

With Sophia's permission, I decided to stay by her side today and observe what she does.

---

---

A white beast-kin child sat in a corner of the mana stone exchange.

People selling mana stones and those working at the exchange had their eyes fixed on the child.

'Really cute.'

Seated in an oversized chair, she was intently watching Sophia's profile.

Just watching Sophia seemed to make her happy.

She must really like her sister shark.

People unaware of Sophia's true identity assumed that much.

"Oh my, Gyeoul. You're here today?"

Yoo Sang-ah, returning from her break, noticed Gyeoul in her chair and addressed her.

"Yes. I'm on a field trip."

"Is that so?"

Yoo Sang-ah sat down and lifted Gyeoul onto her lap.

The doll-like child's tail perked up.

"......!"

"There are no spare chairs."

"But, I could just stand..."

"No, I can't bear to see someone in discomfort. I would just end up crying."

"Yes, yes..."

It was somewhat embarrassing.

Gyeoul rubbed her white thighs.

'Yay.'

Gyeoul's perked tail touched her chin.

Yoo Sang-ah silently cheered inside.

'I'm truly happy.'

With this adorable child in her arms, she could work non-stop all year long.

Proving her thoughts true, Yoo Sang-ah immersed herself in her work without breaks.

She was delighted by Gyeoul's occasional questions.

"What kind of mana stone is this?"

"This is a Giant Ogre mana stone."

"Ah..."

She made sure to ask his questions only during downtimes to avoid disturbing her.

How can someone be so kind and adorable?

Yoo Sang-ah smiled warmly and gently stroked Gyeoul's hair.

Just then, the doors of the exchange opened and a group of adventurers entered.

"Wow, hit the jackpot today, huh?!"

"Indeed."

The adventurers were carrying two heavy pouches.

One headed towards Sophia, and the other approached Yoo Sang-ah.

Noticing Gyeoul on her lap, one adventurer chuckled and extended his pouch.

"Miss Yoo, could you exchange this for me?"

"Yes. What kind of mana stone is it?"

"It's a Blue Liger mana stone."

Blue Liger.

A hybrid monster, a mix between a typical tiger and lion.

The adventurer proudly shook the mana stone from the pouch as if boasting about the monster he had captured.

A shimmering blue mana stone rolled out and stopped in front of Yoo Sang-ah.

"The quality is quite remarkable...?"

They were all top-grade.

While examining the stones, Yoo Sang-ah noticed something was off with Gyeoul.

Her ears and tail were sticking out.

Her body trembled, and she began to sweat profusely.

Is she sick? Why all of a sudden?

Yoo Sang-ah then realized her oversight.

She shouldn't have shown mana stones of the same species to a beast-kin child.

'...I forgot.'

The exchange was bustling with hundreds of types of mana stones coming in daily.

With the child sitting there, it was inevitable that eventually she would see a mana stone from the cat family.

"Ah..."

Yoo Sang-ah and the adventurer's eyes met in mid-air.

Given that the Yeomyeong Guild is famous for its numerous beast-kin children, the adventurers frequenting the guild generally knew better.

They should never show mana stones of the same species to beast-kin children.

It was like showing them a pile of corpses.

Did I just do that...?

A belated realization choked the adventurer.

Gyeoul's drooping ears and tail quivered.

---

Bonus! This one is thanks to gel. Thanks matey! 4 bonus chaps left. Slow and steady!

3 (+2)/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.