I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 181: Don't Fight

In this world, people were really casual about physical contact.

They hugged at every opportunity, patted each other on the back and head, and even stroked each other's hair.

It was quite embarrassing for me, but I couldn't keep being embarrassed forever.

It felt strange to be the only one uncomfortable with something everyone else seemed fine with.

Maybe I needed to change my mindset about physical contact.

After all, it did provide a sense of psychological comfort.

I seriously contemplated this while squirming in Yeoreum's embrace.

I couldn't breathe, but her grip was too strong for me to escape.

"You have no idea how happy I am to have met you, Gyeoul."

"Huh? What did you say?"

Yeoreum pulled me back.

My blocked nose was freed, but I didn't gasp for breath.

I knew from various experiences that I could hold my breath for about ten minutes without a problem.

Even though my body was small and delicate, it was far superior to an average human's.

"...Me too."

"Really, Gyeoul?"

"Yes. I'm also happy to have met everyone."

Instead of complaining about the suffocation, I gave a positive response about being together.

I always wanted to say good things to my family.

"Oh, you're so sweet."

Pat-pat.

As Yeoreum patted my back, Levinas jumped onto us.

"Me too! Me too!"

I lay on Yeoreum's lap, and Levinas lay on top of me.

In my previous life, I had played a similar game.

It was called the hamburger game, where people stacked on top of each other.

The difference now was that it wasn't hard; it was just fun.

"Levinas, are you happy too?"

"Yes! Every day is happy for Levinas!"

Levinas rubbed her cheek against mine.

Her soft, squishy cheek felt pleasant.

I wished Saebyeok could join us too.

What was Saebyeok doing?

I turned to see Saebyeok sitting at the table.

She was diligently scribbling in a notebook.

'Is that...'

Was she studying math?

After the hug ended, I approached Saebyeok.

"Saebyeok, are you studying?"

"Yes."

Saebyeok showed me her book.

It was a fourth-grade math book.

"Huh? Is Saebyeok in fourth grade?"

"...If you exclude the time I was asleep, yes."

"Hmm... Excluding the time you were asleep makes sense."

Saebyeok had been asleep for at least eight years.

Including that time, she was close to an adult's age.

Of course, I didn't consider that time part of her actual age.

Waking up to find yourself an adult was unfair.

Since Saebyeok was young both physically and mentally, treating her as a fourth grader was appropriate.

"So, Saebyeok is older than Levinas."

"Yes, I'm the oldest."

"The oldest?"

"Yes."

Saebyeok only had Levinas as a younger sibling, yet she emphasized being the oldest.

Maybe she took pride in being an older sister.

Since she seemed to like it, I decided not to correct her.

"Okay, since you're the oldest, you have to take good care of your younger sibling."

"I will. I'll try my best."

Rustle-rustle.

Saebyeok patted my head.

This world was really generous with physical affection.

I patted Saebyeok's head and looked at her math book.

"Is there anything you don't understand? I can help."

"This might be too difficult for you, Gyeoul."

"That can't be."

It was just fourth-grade math.

I thought there was no way I wouldn't understand, having received regular education.

That was until I encountered a completely new math problem.

"You don't know mana calculation formulas, do you?"

"M-Mana calculation formulas...?"

"Yes, it's a problem about calculating the amount of mana needed for a magic item."

"..."

What in the world was that?

I stared at Saebyeok in silence.

I was shocked that I didn't even know fourth-grade math problems.

"Gyeoul, you come from a world without mana. You probably wouldn't know."

"Y-Yeah..."

Living in a different world meant encountering situations like this.

I fiddled with my fingers, staring down at the book in embarrassment.

It was a problem I couldn't solve, something entirely new to me.

I didn't know elementary math.

My ears and tail drooped in shame.

Seeing my tail lying limply on the ground, Saebyeok wrapped hers around it.

"It's a formula you've never seen before. Don't be too upset."

"Okay..."

"I'll show you how to solve it."

Saebyeok handed me a pen.

She held my hand awkwardly as I grasped the pen.

"The formula goes like this..."

Scratch-scratch.

As she moved my hand, the pen moved along.

We quickly solved the problem together.

"See, it's easy once you know the method, right?"

"Yeah. It's easy once you know how."

"I knew you'd get it quickly, Gyeoul. You're smart."

"Hmm..."

It wasn't that I was smart; it was just an elementary problem.

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment.

"Why don't you teach me the next unit? You're good at everything except the mana problems."

"Should I...?"

Saebyeok was considerate, trying to make me feel less embarrassed.

She truly deserved to call herself the oldest sister.

I appreciated her kindness and taught her math.

Excluding the mana problems, everything else was easy, helping me regain my confidence.

"Thanks for teaching me math. Let's study together again sometime."

"Okay."

Saebyeok's tail wagged.

My tail, still entwined with hers, wagged along.

Studying together wasn't too bad.

We decided to study together more in the future.

---

---

The next morning.

We went down to the training center in the guild's basement.

Today, I decided to try some simple strength training.

'This is...'

A bench press.

I found an empty spot and lay down.

When I tried to lift the bar, it was too heavy.

"Ugh..."

The bar didn't budge.

My slender arms just trembled.

My body, focused on agility, lacked strength.

"Huff..."

I checked the weights on the bar.

There were five large plates on each side, ten in total.

No wonder I couldn't lift it.

Accepting the reality, I removed one plate.

"Ugh!"

Holding the plate, I stumbled backward, unable to stop due to its weight.

"Ahh."

I was about to fall when someone caught my back.

Carefully opening my eyes, I saw a muscular man holding the plate I had removed with one hand.

He was a guild adventurer I often saw at the training center.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yes..."

"This is heavy. Don't remove it alone. Ask for help."

"Okay... I'm sorry..."

"No need to apologize."

He approached the bench press.

In one go, he removed all five plates from the bar.

Wow.

I could barely remove one.

My eyes widened in surprise.

"Just use the bar without the plates, okay?"

"Yes. Thank you."

I thanked him and lay back on the bench press.

The bar without the plates was manageable.

Even so, after lifting it three times, my arms trembled.

'It's heavy...'

Though I had mana, I wished I had more strength.

Next, I decided to try deadlifts.

I approached the nearby equipment.

A woman exercising nearby reached out to stop me.

"Wait a minute, Gyeoul."

"Yes...?"

She approached and removed all the plates from the barbell.

Then she smiled and patted my head, telling me to try now.

She helped me without me even asking. Everyone in our guild was so considerate.

"Huff..."

I mimicked a deadlift a couple of times.

It was too hard, and I ended up lying flat on the floor.

The training area was so spacious that lying down wasn't a bother.

'I need to try something else.'

Every time I used a machine, people appeared to help.

They adjusted the weights to the minimum or helped with my posture.

"Hmm..."

Was I just being a burden?

Feeling self-conscious, I left the training area.

I decided to practice archery instead.

"Did you see? Gyeoul lifted the bar twice."

"Yeah. It was impressive."

"I honestly thought even once would be difficult."

"Gyeoul has a lot of determination."

I overheard people in the training room talking.

These were people who could lift hundreds of kilos without breaking a sweat.

True, lifting the bar twice was a miracle for me.

Rationalizing it in my mind, I returned to the training area.

Inside the training area.

Kwon Arin was holding Encia's arm.

She was trying to use a technique she had learned.

"So, I just need to twist the joint like this?"

"No, like this..."

Crack-!

Encia demonstrated by twisting Kwon Arin's arm.

Kwon Arin's arm twisted in an impossible direction.

"Agh!"

Unable to endure the pain, Kwon Arin fell to the floor.

She rolled around, not caring about the dust, writhing in pain.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to use that much force..."

"Your 'gentle' is different from mine..."

Haah.

Kwon Arin, massaging her arm, reached out to Encia from the floor.

She beckoned Encia to come closer.

"Come here. Let's try what we learned in grappling."

"Yes."

Encia lunged at the prone Kwon Arin.

Gyeoul watched from a distance.

"Ah."

Encia choked Kwon Arin.

She twisted her limbs too.

Kwon Arin screamed in pain, but Encia didn't stop.

It must be training... right?

Encia wasn't the type to bully someone needlessly.

Kwon Arin was becoming kinder since their first meeting.

It had to be training.

But Kwon Arin's screams were too loud.

The training seemed excessive.

Gyeoul, trembling and unable to stand it, ran towards them.

How should she stop Encia?

If she pushed her, she might get hurt.

Gyeoul, after some hesitation, chose to lie down.

She laid down right on top of Kwon Arin's face.

"Gyeoul...?"

"Encia..."

Friends shouldn't treat each other like this.

Gyeoul showed an awkward smile, her tail wagging weakly.

---

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