I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 197: Fish-shaped Bread

The delinquent student I thought had left returned. It was the large girl who had slapped Yoon Chaerin's cheek.

Saebyeok growled, baring her teeth at the delinquent.

I quickly raised my hand to cover Saebyeok's mouth. It wasn't that I feared the delinquent student. The problem was that I was an adventurer and she was an ordinary student.

An adventurer fighting an ordinary girl? It was obvious whose side people would take. The girl was still a minor under society's protection.

Even if she had been an adventurer, I wouldn't have fought her anyway. It's best to avoid fights in any situation.

"Um, excuse me..." I fidgeted in front of the girl, twiddling my fingers.

Thanks to that, Saebyeok's mouth was freed, but she no longer growled.

"You're..." The girl's mouth gaped open when she saw me. The unlit cigarette in her mouth fell to the ground.

It seemed I wasn't the only one surprised. The girl looked as bewildered as I felt. From her perspective, I was the one who had suddenly barged in.

Maybe we could pass by without incident. I had that hopeful thought, but it was quickly shattered by the voices of the delinquents fading into the alley.

"Damn, no one has a lighter?"

"Tell Yoon Chaerin to go buy one."

"That broke b*tch probably has no money."

"Ugh... I don't want to break a bill."

"Don't you use a card?"

"If I use a card, it'll leave a record."

A mix of male and female voices and footsteps approached. The first man to appear spoke irritably.

"Hey, do any of you all have money?"

Not 'you' but 'you all'. It was directed at everyone here. I wasn't sure if he meant just Yoon Chaerin and the delinquent girl, or if we were included too.

So I decided to take out all the money I had. It would be best to avoid a fight over a few coins. I also wanted to help Yoon Chaerin.

"Th-this is all I have..." Two thousand seven hundred won in total.

The male student's eyes lit up at the sight of the coins. The name on his nametag was Jo Yuchan.

"Oh, you're giving it to me?"

"Y-yes..."

"Thanks, I'll put it to good use." As Jo Yuchan reached out with a snicker, the large girl stopped him. Her eyes held a hint of unease.

"Hey, wait a second."

"What? She said she'd give it to me."

"No..."

The girl looked around nervously. Beside her, Levinas made a whimpering sound.

"Levinas's fish-shaped bread..."

"S-sorry... We'll eat fish-shaped bread later..."

It was money we'd set aside to buy fish-shaped bread after the field trip, but defusing the situation took priority now.

As I held out my palm with the money, urging them to take it, the male student picked up a thousand won bill.

"How much is a lighter..."

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

A booming voice rang out from afar. Despite the distance, the sound felt like it was tearing my ears. Startled, I pressed down on my ears. The coins I failed to grab clattered as they spilled onto the ground.

"W-wow..."

That voice is really loud.

Trembling, I turned towards the source of the sound. The art teacher's face we had seen earlier was red as an ogre's.

"High school students stealing money from kids?!"

"Come on, it's just a thousand won." Jo Yuchan waved his hand dismissively. It wasn't an appropriate attitude towards a teacher.

'Good grief.'

They say kids these days are scary, but this is really something.

The teacher frowned, apparently angered by Jo Yuchan's attitude. "You, come here for a second."

"Ugh, seriously."

Jo Yuchan was dragged away.

We just stared blankly at his retreating figure. Though far away, my beast-kin ears could hear their entire conversation.

"Yuchan, how long are you going to live without realizing how scary the world is? You'll get in real trouble one day."

"Me?" Jo Yuchan let out a scornful laugh. It was a laugh brimming with confidence.

'He must have some serious backing.' And a very powerful one at that. He seemed like someone not to be messed with carelessly.

"Riding on your father's coattails will only get you in deep trouble, kid."

"Oh, just leave me alone. I'll handle it myself."

"You... No, forget it. It's better if you learn the hard way."

The teacher turned to look at us, exhaling deeply. He approached us while rubbing his face wearily.

"We'll have to end today's field trip here."

"Y-yes..."

"I'm sorry you had to experience something frightening."

The incident was more or less resolved with the teacher's appearance. I decided to comfort the terrified Levinas.

"Levinas, we can still eat fish-shaped bread."

"Okay..." Levinas's heart was pounding.

Just as I was about to hug her tightly to calm her down...

"Um, excuse me..."

Yoon Chaerin tapped my shoulder. Despite her swollen cheek, she wore an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry for getting you involved. We sell fish-shaped bread at my house. Would you like to eat some?"

"Fish-shaped bread...!"

Levinas's ears perked up. Saebyeok had a similar reaction.

She was a good person, able to lift the children's spirits with just a word.

"Is it okay during class hours?"

"Y-yeah... I'm going to leave early and go home to apply medicine."

"Ah..." So it's medicine, not a potion. I quietly nodded.

"Do you... want to come with me?"

"Yes."

Forming connections with good people was always a positive thing. I decided to follow her to eat fish-shaped bread.

---

---

Yeomyeong Guild conference room.

Yeoreum's smartphone vibrated while she was in the middle of a meeting with her team members.

'It's Sang-ah?'

She's calling even though she knows we're in a meeting. Something must have happened.

"Hello?"

"Ah...! Yeoreum...!"

She sounded urgent. Despite being in a meeting, Yeoreum had no choice but to listen intently.

"What's the matter?"

"It's, it's about Gyeoul! The kids had money stolen from them at school!"

"What...?"

What on earth was this about? They even gave the kids money to prevent this kind of thing from happening at school. Yeoreum unconsciously bit her lip.

"A student who tried to help the kids got hurt too."

"Do you know where the kids are now?"

"Yes. They went to the house of the student who helped them. The kids must have been really scared."

"Ah... Thank you. I'll look into it myself for now."

As she ended the call, the other guild members turned to look at Yeoreum. Among them was the guild master, Kang Jinho.

"What happened?"

"It seems Gyeoul was robbed at school?"

"...What?"

What the hell are those teachers doing? Blood vessels popped up on Kang Jinho's forehead.

And seeing that, everyone in the conference room could sense it. Today's meeting was over. There was nothing more important in the Yeomyeong Guild than matters concerning Gyeoul.

---

---

A food cart set up in a deserted alley.

In front of it, Yoon Chaerin blushed as she smiled.

"It's a bit old, right? But the inside is clean. I clean it every day."

"Hmm..."

It wasn't particularly old. My tent had dozens of patched-up spots.

Levinas seemed to have similar thoughts, as she didn't pay much attention and dashed inside the food cart.

"Fish-shaped bread!"

Inside the food cart, an elderly woman with white hair was running the business. The old woman's face turned pale when she saw Yoon Chaerin.

"Oh my, Chaerin, what happened to your face..."

"I got hit by a ball during PE class. You know I'm not good at sports."

"Oh dear, you should be more careful..."

Was she lying to avoid worrying the grandmother? We decided to pretend not to notice as we observed the situation.

"Grandma, these kids helped me walk home."

"Is that so? How kind of them."

The grandmother smiled kindly and handed each of us a fish-shaped bread.

Levinas's horned rabbit eyes widened as she received hers.

"Why isn't there any fish inside?!"

"Levinas, fish-shaped bread doesn't actually contain fish."

"Really?!"

She looked thoroughly disappointed. It wasn't an appropriate expression to show in front of the grandmother who had given us the bread.

"Are you disappointed there's no fish?"

"Yeah... The king likes fish..."

Ah. So she wanted to eat fish-shaped bread for me and Saebyeok.

We were crazy about fish after all. It was natural to be disappointed upon learning there was no fish.

"It's okay. Fish-shaped bread is delicious even without fish."

"Really...?"

"Yeah. Try it."

At my urging, Levinas bit into the fish-shaped bread. Her ears perked up as she chewed.

"It's delicious!"

Levinas bounced around the cramped food cart. Saebyeok was wagging her tail vigorously too.

Fish-shaped bread is tasty, after all. But they sell other things here besides fish-shaped bread.

Just as I was about to bite into my fish-shaped bread while looking at the other food items, I heard footsteps approaching from outside the food cart.

A customer?

With the fish-shaped bread in my mouth, I looked outside the food cart. The one who opened the vinyl door and entered was none other than Jo Yuchan.

"So this is where you were?"

His lips curled up mischievously.

Did he think it was our fault he got scolded by the teacher and came for revenge? What a truly unpleasant person.

"Student, are you friends with our Chaerin?"

"Yeah, we're friends, friends." Jo Yuchan waved his hand at the grandmother as if annoyed. It was rude behavior, but the grandmother expressed joy at the fact they were friends.

"It's the first time our Chaerin has brought a friend."

"Well, Chaerin doesn't have many friends, does she?"

How could he say such things in front of the person in question? I couldn't even eat the fish-shaped bread in my mouth, just watching Chaerin's reaction. Her clenched fist was trembling.

And then. I could sense it. Familiar presences far away. The Master, Yeoreum, Choi Jinhyuk, Jung Yu-na... Quite a lot of them.

Did they come to meet us? But why are they just lingering in the distance instead of coming?

I fiddled with the tail of my fish-shaped bread, unable to understand the situation. The once-warm bread was starting to cool.

---

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