I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 157: Master Gyeoul

Ring-

The phone rang, echoing through the large space.

I hesitated, unable to pick up the receiver.

Was I supposed to answer this?

While I was pondering, the phone stopped its loud ringing.

"Whew..."

I was relieved it had stopped so quickly.

Just as I was feeling relieved, the phone started ringing again.

Ring-

Was there some urgent matter? The phone wouldn't stop ringing.

Ignoring it once might be fine, but ignoring it twice could cause problems.

If I stayed here without answering, I'd have no excuse if questioned later.

'The Master instructed me...'

I didn't understand why he gave me this task, but I had to do it.

Taking a deep breath, I picked up the receiver.

"Hello..."

With ears positioned on top of my head, I couldn't hold the receiver like an ordinary person.

So, I just held the receiver with both hands.

Even from a distance, I could hear the sound from the receiver clearly enough.

"Hello? Is this Gyeoul?"

"Yes..."

It was a familiar voice.

Relieved and happy, my tail wagged.

"I knew it was you, Gyeoul! Do you remember who I am?"

"You're the Master of the Sacred Guild, right?"

"You remember? I'm pleased."

I could hear Chae Juyeon's laughter through the receiver.

Even the faint sound of her breath was caught by my sharp ears.

"We picked up empty bottles together."

"Yes, that was fun."

"It was for me too."

Chae Juyeon and I exchanged light greetings.

We asked if we'd eaten, how we'd been doing.

The small talk erased any remaining tension I had.

"Gyeoul, is the Master not there?"

"Yes. He went out."

"Oh... So, you're alone in the Master's office?"

"Yes. I'm sorry I didn't answer earlier. I wasn't sure if I should."

Given the same number called again, it must have been Chae Juyeon who called twice.

Feeling uneasy about ignoring her kind call, I apologized.

"It's okay. You were worried about whether you should answer the Master's phone, right?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry too much. Just answer the calls. The Master must trust you for a reason."

"Okay..."

Why did the Master trust me with this?

Chae Juyeon seemed to know something but didn't reveal the truth.

"Oh! If you get a strange call, hang up right away, okay?"

"Like a phishing call?"

"Yes. You're smart, Gyeoul, you know what to do, right?"

"I have a sense of it."

I knew about con artists from my past life.

I didn't know much about scammers in this world.

I thought I should ask others later.

"Alright, the Master is busy, so I'll hang up now. Let's pick up bottles together again later, okay?"

"Yes, let's definitely do that."

"Take care, Gyeoul."

"You too, Master."

Click-

The call ended, and I put down the receiver.

Surprisingly, taking the Master's calls wasn't that hard.

It was probably easier because it was someone I knew.

The Master isn't here.

Handling future calls with this much information should be enough.

I wondered when the next call would come.

As I stared at the phone aimlessly, the elevator doors opened, and a group of people entered the hallway.

Though the wall blocked my view, I could tell everything by the sound.

"Hello. Is the Master inside?"

"The Master isn't here, but there is an acting Master."

"An acting Master? Did our guild have an acting Master?"

"Just for today... that's how it is."

The guards stumbled over their words, and the people murmured at the unexpected situation.

I naturally felt intimidated.

Not because of the heavy responsibility of acting as Master, but because I knew it was just a prank.

"Who could the acting Master be?"

"I don't know. The Master wouldn't do this without consulting us."

"Shouldn't the acting Master be chosen from among us...?"

My heart pounded as I listened to their disgruntled conversation.

I wanted to hide in a hole.

Someone insignificant like me, acting as Master.

They must feel like an outsider had pushed them out of their place.

The only person I could rely on now was Yeoreum.

I could only hope she would stand by me.

"May we go inside?"

"Yes, go ahead. I think you all know who it is."

"...Excuse us."

Knock, knock-

Someone knocked on the door, but I couldn't respond.

I just stood there with my ears and tail drooping, staring at the door.

"No answer?"

"Just go in. Seems like they're too scared to answer because someone came looking for them."

"...Acting Master?"

"...It's not my place to say. Even as an acting Master, matters concerning the Master need to be handled carefully."

"Right. Sorry about that."

With an apology, a man opened the door.

He entered with a slightly displeased look, but his expression softened as soon as he saw me.

I recognized him as a guild member I'd seen in passing, but I hadn't known he was important enough to visit the Master's office.

"Oh..."

"Who is it?"

Yeoreum peeked her head around the door.

Seeing me, she widened her eyes and rushed over.

"Gyeoul, what are you doing here?"

"The Master told me to stay here..."

"Wow, really? Even I haven't sat here. That's impressive."

This was the seat of power allowed only to the Master of the Yeomyeong Guild.

Perhaps the strongest person in the country, maybe even the world.

"S-sorry..."

I quickly stood up from the chair.

As I stepped aside, Yeoreum pressed my shoulder down.

"It's okay, sit down."

"But, I don't think I deserve it..."

Half-standing, I looked around at everyone.

It must have been a prank by the Master, but passing the acting position to someone not in the core group would naturally cause discontent.

"Wow, so the acting Master is Gyeoul?"

"If it's Gyeoul, it's fine. She's a guild member."

"Right, I thought the acting position went to someone else."

"Gyeoul has sacrificed more for our guild than anyone, giving buffs cheaply and fortifiers for free."

The ones who had complained before seeing me now smiled.

Their smiles were genuine, with no hidden motives.

"Gyeoul, sit down."

"O-okay..."

Were they reassured because it was someone they knew?

I cautiously sat back in the chair, relieved I wasn't heavily criticized.

---

---

"Gyeoul, what did you do here?"

"I answered phone calls."

Gyeoul fidgeted in the chair.

The backrest was two heads taller than Gyeoul.

A small child in a big chair—it was almost unfairly cute.

Yeoreum laughed and patted Gyeoul's head.

'The Master must really care about Gyeoul.'

Yeoreum knew why the Master had put Gyeoul in the chair.

So did the other key members who had come in with her.

The people who called the Yeomyeong Guild Master's office directly were mostly high-ranking officials.

Therefore, the phone in the Master's office was meant to be handled only by the Master.

Gyeoul had just broken that precedent.

The reason was simple.

The Yeomyeong Guild's Master wanted to show how much he cherished Gyeoul.

Given the recent troubles with the beast-kin, it wasn't surprising he was being overly protective.

It was a request to treat the child well and a warning not to mess with her.

To the high-ranking officials of the country.

Of course, it didn't matter if it was just to have her sit there.

Gyeoul was a child beloved by the Yeomyeong Guild.

As someone said, she had made many sacrifices for the guild.

The unlimited supply of buffs and fortifiers significantly increased the adventurers' survival rates and profits.

Thanks to that, the guild's income also increased.

At least in the Yeomyeong Guild, there was no one dissatisfied with Gyeoul.

Even if Gyeoul grew up to lead the Yeomyeong Guild one day, it would be fine.

Yeoreum had such proud thoughts.

"Hehe, today Gyeoul is the Master?"

"Th-that's, I'm just the acting Master..."

"Isn't that the same as being the Master?"

"Um, uh..."

Gyeoul hesitated, tugging at her clothes.

In front of the shy Gyeoul, a document was placed.

"Master Gyeoul, please issue the dungeon permit."

"P-permit? Me...?"

"Yes. To enter a level five or higher dungeon, you need the Guild Master's approval."

"I-I see..."

Isn't this something the Master should do?

Gyeoul, sitting in the chair, fidgeted with the edge of the document.

"It's just a formality. It's okay if you do it. Unless it's unreasonable, it rarely gets rejected."

"Won't there be a problem if I do it?"

"Not at all. All mistakes in the dungeon are the adventurer's responsibility. You know that, right?"

"Yes."

Permits were issued by civil servants, but even if adventurers were harmed, the civil servants were not at fault.

Adventurers were expected to get injured or die, after all.

"Alright, Master Gyeoul, please issue the permit."

"Y-yes..."

Since Yeoreum said it was okay, I believed her.

But I didn't have a signature or a seal, so I wrote my name.

-Han Gyeoul

This was the name she gave me in this world.

It was the first time using this name in an official capacity.

It felt strange.

Good, yet confusing.

Seeing my tail wag, I knew I didn't dislike it.

My name, Han Gyeoul.

At first, I really hated it.

I was nervous about this at first, but it seemed it would end up being quite fun.

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