I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 209: You Wouldn't Know, Would You?

The woman who introduced herself as Momoa sat down and started picking up broken glass shards.

It didn't sit well with me to just watch someone bleeding from their knee pick up glass pieces.

I figured I should probably step in and help.

I crouched down near Momoa and picked up a large shard of glass.

Slap-

Momoa struck the back of my hand.

It didn't particularly hurt.

"Put that down," she snapped.

"W-Why...?"

"What if you cut yourself? Don't pick things up carelessly."

Her piercing glare made me put the glass shard down without even realizing it.

Left with nothing to do, I just stood there like an idiot.

"Do you live around here?" Momoa asked, glancing at me as she cleaned up the glass.

The question came just as I was thinking about heading home.

"No, I live in Yeomyeong."

"Yeomyeong? You came from far away."

"Um... isn't it close?"

About a 30-minute drive.

It wasn't that far of a distance.

When I questioned this, Momoa's face turned red.

She seemed embarrassed about something.

"Th-Thirty minutes is far!" she insisted.

"Yeah... I guess it's both close and far."

Everyone has their own standards, after all.

Momoa's expression softened when I agreed.

"So, why did you come all the way here from Yeomyeong?"

"I came to sell fish-shaped bread."

"Fish-shaped bread? That's food service, isn't it?"

Momoa looked me up and down.

She frowned slightly, then suddenly grabbed my wrist.

"U-Um..."

She led me towards her house.

This was definitely not normal for complete strangers.

My tail bristled involuntarily.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I don't have anything valuable..."

"W-Wait a second! This isn't a kidnapping!" Momoa shouted.

I flinched, shrinking back.

"S-Sorry..."

"...No, you learned well. You know not to follow strangers, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

And that stranger is you, Momoa.

I looked up at her with anxious eyes.

"I'm telling you, it's really not like that," she grumbled quietly.

Momoa led me into the bathroom.

Her slender hand moved towards my eyes.

It was warm and wet.

"...!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking they might get poked.

But her touch was surprisingly gentle.

"You haven't washed your face yet, have you?"

"No..."

"Geez! If you're going to sell food, you need to keep yourself clean!"

"That's..."

I had just woken up and hadn't had a chance to wash yet.

I wanted to explain, but her hands covering my face prevented me from speaking.

Thanks to that, only Momoa kept talking.

"Is there no water at your house? If you don't have a proper place to wash up, you can use our bathroom."

"Pfft."

"Don't tell me you don't even have a home? Should I buy you a house?"

Momoa kept firing questions at me.

I was only able to speak after wiping off all the soap on my face.

"I have a house... I'm just staying next door for a bit right now."

"Next door... you mean at Juyeon place?"

"Yeah..."

So they knew each other.

Being neighbors in a rich area, it made sense they'd be connected.

"Juyeon does take good care of kids."

Hmph.

Momoa put on a smug expression.

It was similar to the look Levinas sometimes showed.

"You seem to admire the Master," I observed.

"Yes! Very much!"

Momoa flashed a pure smile.

And here I thought she had a fierce personality.

Maybe she wasn't such a scary person after all.

'Since she even washed my face.'

Perhaps she wanted to imitate Chae Juyeon's kindness.

The process and result were both clumsy, but her intentions weren't bad.

It felt like a layer had been peeled away between us.

"Um, I have a favor to ask you, Gyeoul," she said.

"Me?"

"Yes. Can I help you with the fish-shaped bread business?"

Suddenly selling fish-shaped bread here?

My eyes widened at the unexpected situation.

"Why do you want to help with the fish-shaped bread business?"

"I-I want to be like sister..."

She wants to become someone who helps others, is that it?

It was a good intention, but selling fish-shaped bread didn't quite fit.

"I don't mind, but wouldn't it be better to help other people in need?"

"W-Well..."

Momoa hesitated, then hung her head.

Her tightly closed lips and clasped hands trembled slightly.

She clearly had some circumstances she couldn't talk about.

It wasn't something I needed to pry into.

I decided to help her in her efforts to become a better person.

"I was actually short-handed, so would you like to help? I'll pay you."

"Th-Thank you! And don't worry about payment!"

Hehe.

Momoa laughed like a noble young lady.

She really did look like one when she smiled.

'Is she a foreigner?'

She seemed to be around middle or high school age.

With blonde hair and features that made it hard to pinpoint her nationality.

She might even be mixed-race.

Her name was exotic too.

I decided to teach my new friend about the fish-shaped bread business today.

---

---

A new day began.

Gyeoul stood next to Momoa with her eyes downcast.

"You... you tricked me..." Momoa accused.

Her hands trembled in front of the fish-shaped bread machine.

Her fierce gaze turned towards Gyeoul.

Gyeoul's ears twitched nervously.

"W-Why...?" she stammered.

"You said it was a fish-shaped bread business..."

The fish-shaped bread business Momoa had in mind was like this:

Helping the occasional customer who came to a food cart.

But what appeared before Momoa's eyes was an endless line of people.

'I hate this kind of thing!'

Momoa was what you'd call a hikikomori.

She despised building relationships with people.

Her wealth allowed her to manage, but Momoa knew best that she couldn't live like this forever.

Then Gyeoul appeared to Momoa like a miracle.

A child she felt comfortable having around.

She thought it would be good to fix her personality by helping the child and dealing with occasional customers.

But contrary to her expectations, the child's shop was packed with people.

It was maximum difficulty from the start.

Tears welled up in Momoa's eyes.

Not from being busy, but from the pressure of so many people.

"You, I'll get my revenge. I really won't let this go," she threatened.

"I-I'm sorry... it's busier than yesterday..." Gyeoul apologized.

Gyeoul bustled about here and there.

A child not even ten years old was living more diligently than her.

Momoa, who had been wasting her days at home, felt ashamed.

Enough to bite her lip hard.

'I'm jealous.'

Gyeoul was clearly a child loved by everyone.

The shop staff and customers in line were watching the child with affectionate gazes.

Maybe she could work so hard because she'd been loved by people all her life?

Gyeoul was a child who started from a different place than Momoa, who had only received criticism.

If I had been loved by everyone too, I would have lived diligently like that.

No, I didn't even need to go as far as love.

If I had just been a normal person, I would have lived diligently.

Momoa felt an immense inferiority complex towards Gyeoul.

She was incredibly envious of a child who didn't even know the concept of being criticized.

And she felt miserable for feeling such emotions.

"...If you're sorry, go outside and take a break," Momoa sighed.

There was no point in getting angry at a tiny kid who hadn't lived even half her life.

"I-It's okay. Momoa, you should take a break," Gyeoul offered.

"Hurry up and take a break already!"

Zap-

Momoa glared at Gyeoul.

Gyeoul nodded reflexively.

"Th-Then I'll take a short break..."

"Take a long break. I'll really get mad if you don't."

"Y-Yes..."

"Take the other kids with you too."

Momoa glanced at the other beast-kin children.

A horned rabbit beast-kin child fumbled and dropped a fish-shaped bread on the floor.

Heeeng.

The horned rabbit child made a tearful face.

"Won't it be hard if everyone leaves?" Gyeoul asked.

"It's fine, so go take a break. I'm pretty good at this."

Not that I've done it before.

Momoa swallowed her words.

Despite having just learned, she was making fish-shaped bread with one hand and packaging with the other.

"Then I'll take a short break with the kids."

"What did I say earlier?"

"...I'll take a long break."

"Take a break until you're fully rested!"

It was Momoa's unilateral decision, despite working for less than a day.

But no one criticized her decision.

Rather, they were just grateful that she was helping the children well.

"That's right, Gyeoul take a good rest," one of the adults said.

"We'll watch the shop ourselves," another added.

"Okay..." Gyeoul reluctantly agreed.

Pushed out by the adults, Gyeoul left the shop with the children.

As she left, she glanced back, seeming to feel guilty, so Momoa glared at Gyeoul.

Startled, Gyeoul ran off into the distance.

"Momoa, thank you for looking after the children," Yoo Sang-ah said.

"...They're just kids."

Yoo Sang-ah approached and thanked her, but Momoa didn't even look at her.

Adults were uncomfortable beings to her.

"You're also really good at the work. I didn't know our Gyeoul had someone like you around."

"Yeah, whatever."

"I guess our Gyeoul really does have amazing luck with people."

Hehe.

Momoa lowered her head as she watched Yoo Sang-ah praise Gyeoul.

What does it feel like to be loved by someone?

I could tell you well how it feels to be a person who only receives criticism.

Tsk.

Momoa clicked her tongue.

She came to improve, but only tasted misery instead.

It was truly a bitter day.

---

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