I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 228: You'll Misunderstand

After eating snacks with everyone, I headed home.

As I rested on the sofa, my mind kept drifting back to the woman who had said those mean things to us.

She was truly awful.

Did she really need to say those things before leaving?

While I was quietly grumbling, Sophia, who had just finished work, sat down next to me.

"Gyeoul, why are you so upset?"

"I ran into an anti-fan earlier."

"An anti-fan?"

"Yeah. Do you know what an anti-fan is?"

"I do, but... What did this anti-fan say to you?"

Sophia placed her hand on my shoulder.

Her gentle touch improved my mood considerably.

"I'm not sure who they were targeting. They said mean things without singling anyone out."

"My, what a nasty person."

"Yeah... I wish they'd directed it at me instead..."

Sophia's fingertips trembled at my words.

She let out a long sigh before speaking again.

"Why would you think that?"

"I'm used to being insulted."

"...You've gotten used to something you shouldn't have."

"Still, it's better than my family being insulted."

I'd rather take the insults myself than see the children crying.

Expressing this sentiment made Sophia cross her arms in displeasure.

"I feel the same way."

"You do?"

"Yes, how do you think I'd feel if you were the one being insulted?"

"Oh..."

I wondered if she'd feel the same as I did now?

I hadn't considered that aspect.

Feeling apologetic, I fidgeted with my fingers.

Watching me, Sophia let out a small chuckle.

"Isn't it frustrating to feel upset over insults when you've done nothing wrong?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Then don't act as they want you to. The anti-fan's goal is probably to see you struggle."

"Ah..."

I knew all too well about the type of people who find joy in others' suffering.

And how despicably they behave.

"Don't pay them any mind. They'll self-destruct on their own."

"Self-destruct?"

"Yes, haven't you seen what happens to those who act rudely?"

"I have, many times."

The fate of malicious people was never good.

I didn't want to be involved in their downfall.

I decided not to worry about it, as Sophia suggested.

"Now that you're famous, Gyeoul, all sorts of characters are showing up."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"What are you sorry for? It's a good thing."

"It is?"

Why would she say it's good?

I hoped for an answer, but for some reason, Sophia didn't explain.

She just wore a faint smile.

'What's going on?'

I didn't understand why Sophia was smiling.

But her smile made me feel good, even if I didn't know the reason.

My tail wagged gently.

---

---

The next day.

The anti-fan came to find us again.

"I heard there are disgusting people with animal ears and tails?"

She spat out those words with a frown and left.

Saebyeok growled, baring her teeth at the woman.

"Saebyeok, there's no need to react to everything."

"Okay..."

Saebyeok's mouth turned down at the corners.

It seemed she hadn't fully calmed down.

I wondered if Levinas was okay?

I glanced at Levinas beside me.

Levinas was just giggling.

"She said tails are disgusting! Tails are the seventh coolest thing in the world!"

"Yeah."

I wondered what the six things ahead of tails could be.

I felt curious to know.

"She must be jealous of Levinas's tail!"

"Yeah. Rabbit tails are really cool."

"Hehe, should Levinas give you a tail?"

"Huh? You can give tails too?"

Levinas's magic was amazing.

As I gaped in awe, Levinas pulled out some colored paper from her pocket.

"We can cut this and stick it on!"

"Ah, I see."

So she meant a paper tail.

But with Levinas's magic, couldn't she make a real tail?

As I was seriously considering this,

The anti-fan woman, who we thought had left, came back.

"Do you think you're cute?"

The woman spat out another comment and left again.

The children and I watched her retreating figure.

Why did she keep doing this?

Just as I was about to shrug my shoulders at the children,

Someone shouted at the woman.

"Hey! What's your problem?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Who do you think you are, coming back and forth picking on these kids?!"

Another woman was yelling at the anti-fan.

It was a woman whose face I recognized.

"When did I pick on them?"

"You crazy..."

The woman who was about to curse at the anti-fan looked at us and shut her mouth.

It seemed she was trying to refrain from cursing in front of the children.

Huff, huff.

Unable to contain her anger, she exhaled sharply through her nose.

The anti-fan looked the woman up and down.

It was a gaze so unpleasant that even I felt uncomfortable watching.

"You look ridiculous."

"You're the one who's ridiculous!"

The response came from yet another person.

It was a man who regularly came to the park to drink beer.

"I saw everything you said to those kids."

"That's right. Why are you bothering kids who aren't doing anything?"

People from around the park started gathering one by one.

There were so many that I could no longer see the anti-fan.

'What's going on?'

Suddenly, the park people were stepping in.

There was no need for this.

Bewildered by the situation, I watched them blankly.

A man in a suit bent down to our eye level.

"Kids, want to play outside for a bit?"

"Um, you shouldn't hit her..."

"We won't hit her, just make sure she doesn't bother you again."

"O-Okay..."

It was our guild's park after all.

They probably wouldn't fight too much.

I led the children out of the park.

I'm not sure what they did, but after that day, the anti-fan never came back.

---

---

The people in the park were really kind.

They helped us even though they didn't need to.

They didn't even want anything in return.

I wondered why they acted this way.

Sophia resolved my doubts.

"This country values children unusually highly."

"Aren't children always valued?"

"...That's true."

Sophia nodded.

From my perspective, Sophia, who came from another world, seemed to value children just as much as the people of this country.

I valued children too.

It didn't seem like a unique characteristic of this country.

'Maybe they helped because the kids were being insulted?'

I would have gotten angry too if someone kept insulting Levinas and Saebyeok.

I scratched my cheek and got up from the sofa.

"Where are you going?"

"I was planning to go to the dungeon."

Sophia grabbed my wrist as I was about to pick up my bag.

With a gentle touch, she sat me back down on the sofa.

"Gyeoul, just rest today."

"Why?"

"Today is... a day off."

Sophia avoided my gaze as she spoke.

I had a feeling she was hiding something.

What could it be?

Was today a public holiday?

I didn't remember it being one.

I reached out to Levinas nearby.

"Levinas, can I borrow your smartphone?"

"Sure!"

Levinas handed me her smartphone.

I opened the calendar to check today's date.

It wasn't a public holiday.

"Today isn't a holiday though?"

"...Didn't something unpleasant happen in the dungeon recently?"

"That..."

"To gather your thoughts, I'd like you to take a week off from the dungeon."

Sophia was worried about me.

Grateful for her concern, my tail wagged.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

"Good, that's well thought out."

Pat, pat.

Sophia patted my back.

With nothing to do, I sat on the sofa, looking around.

'What should I do today?'

Maybe I'd do some fieldwork, collect empty bottles, and then play with the kids.

Just as I was about to hand the smartphone back to Levinas,

I noticed several anniversaries written in the calendar.

Curious, I flipped through the calendar, looking at the anniversaries.

'Tomorrow is Animal Protection Day.'

The week after was Adventurer's Day.

The week after that was Child Abu...

"Child Abu?"

The calendar was small, so the end was cut off with '...'.

I had no choice but to click on the calendar.

-Child Abuse Prevention Day.

I see.

So it was Child Abuse Prevention Day.

There were so many interesting days.

I continued to check the anniversaries in this world.

Among them, one shocking day caught my attention.

-World Suici...

"Suici...?"

Again, the calendar was small, so the end was cut off.

Even though I knew it wasn't a terrible day, the word 'suicide' bothered me.

I hurriedly checked the calendar.

October 9th was World Suicide Prevention Day.

Right.

As if there would be a Suicide Day.

Feeling relieved, I put down the smartphone.

"Gyeoul, why are you suddenly saying scary things?"

"Ah... I was just reading the calendar."

I showed Sophia the calendar where only 'World Suici...' was visible.

After checking the calendar, Sophia let out a sigh of relief.

"The text is cut off, making it look strange."

"Yeah. It gave me quite a shock."

Hehe.

I smiled at Sophia.

However, for some reason, Sophia's expression wasn't good.

"I was startled too when you said something scary."

"I'm sorry. I was just reading what was written on the calendar..."

World Suici.

Just reading this part did sound weird.

As I stared at the suicide part, Sophia snatched the smartphone away.

"Stop talking about suicide. It's not a topic worth discussing."

"Okay."

It certainly wasn't a good topic of conversation.

Let's change the subject.

As I was wondering what to talk about,

Clang-

Yeoreum, who was in the kitchen, dropped her ladle and came running.

"W-What were you two just talking about...?"

Yeoreum's pupils were shaking.

She must have been shocked by the strange conversation.

It was all my fault.

---

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