I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 240: The Child Isn't Helpful

I sensed Master's presence near the park.

I grabbed my phone and ran towards him.

"Mister."

Master was walking through the park, on a call.

I was going to wait for it to end, but he hung up abruptly upon noticing me.

"What?"

His tone was gruff, but his actions weren't.

He patted my head affectionately, as if glad to see me.

It was gentle enough to make my tail wag.

I explained everything that had just happened to Master.

After listening intently, Master's reply was:

"Handle it yourself."

"M-me? But I don't know anything..."

"It's fine. The calls coming to you are from carefully screened people."

"So it's okay to accept them?"

"That's right."

What's this about?

If they're all fine to accept, couldn't Master just handle it himself?

I was walking through the park with Master when I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

"People...plural?"

"...Probably."

Probably?

Does that mean there are more, but he's not sure how many?

Either way, if only approved people were calling, it shouldn't be a problem.

"I'll do my best."

"Alright."

My business with Master was concluded.

I took out my phone and messaged Kim Hyun-chul from the Monster Academic Association.

-Master says it's okay.

-Thank you!! I'll make sure to be helpful!

-Okay!!!!

He seemed polite yet passionate.

Feeling awkward being the only one so calm, I added four exclamation points too.

'The important issue is settled.'

Now what?

I put the smartphone back in my bag and looked up.

Master was waiting for me to finish texting, his expression impassive.

"Um, are you very busy?"

"Why?"

"I just thought it'd be nice to take a walk together."

"...Not particularly."

Just as Master finished speaking, his phone vibrated.

Master frowned slightly and turned it off completely.

"Wasn't that a call just now?"

"Probably spam."

"Ah...?"

Probably?

So he's not certain?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Master held out his hand to me.

I knew he meant for me to take it.

So I took Master's hand and we walked around the park.

We looked at flowers and fish in the pond.

"Seems like we're a few mackerel short..."

"Seol ate some last time."

"I see."

Impressive, catching fish can't be easy.

I wondered how they'd replace the missing fish?

Lost in these thoughts, I followed Master deeper into the park.

"There are still a lot of beer bottles here. Lots of people drink here."

"Any drunks?"

"No. I haven't seen any yet."

The smell of alcohol wafted from behind the bushes.

We could hear the laughter of people in high spirits.

It seemed someone was drinking again.

Since we'd come this far, maybe we should pick up some bottles.

As we passed through the tall bushes towards them, we heard:

"Hey, which do you think has a higher survival rate: hitting Gyeoul in front of Kang Jinho, or hitting Kang Jinho in front of Gyeoul?"

Someone drunkenly giggled as they posed this debate topic.

I froze in place.

"You'd die either way."

"The former's better though. If Gyeoul hits us, our lives are over."

"Right. There probably wouldn't even be a body left?"

The drunk people snickered.

They kept laughing, clearly in good spirits.

"But could any of you actually beat Gyeoul?"

"No way."

"Gyeoul's surprisingly strong. I bet we couldn't win even if we all ganged up on her?"

What nonsense is this?

If three of them attacked me at once, I wouldn't stand a chance.

They were overestimating me, probably because of my Adventurer title.

'What should I do?'

I glanced up at Master, only moving my eyes.

His usual impassive expression didn't seem particularly angry.

They weren't exactly badmouthing us.

It wasn't malicious gossip either.

I only felt a vague sense of "Oh, so that's how it is."

I shot Master a look that said 'What should we do?'

Master shrugged lightly and approached them.

Still holding my hand, I had no choice but to move with him.

"But if Gyeoul hits me, I really won't let it slide."

"How would you not let it sli-- Huh?"

"I'm telling you! I'd flick her forehead twelve times!"

"...Hey, behind you."

"Behind? What--"

The drinkers turned to look at us.

Their drunken swaying and slurred speech vanished the moment they spotted us.

"You shouldn't hit children."

Master gestured for a paper cup.

One of them, face flushed red as a hongeo, handed over a cup with both hands.

"Y-yes. We shouldn't."

"Children are the hope of humanity."

Glug glug glug-

Someone else poured Master a drink.

It was the most expensive-looking whiskey on their picnic mat.

"We weren't really going to hit her, sir. We were just debating which scenario had a higher survival rate."

"Th-that's right, boss."

An uncomfortable atmosphere settled over us.

I wondered what Master would say next.

Even I, who had done nothing wrong, held my breath.

But surprisingly, Master spoke calmly:

"You know the correct answer, don't you?"

"O-of course. We'd deserve to die if we didn't know that."

"If anyone picks the wrong answer, I'll kill them myself, boss."

"...As long as you know."

Master downed his drink in one gulp.

What on earth is the correct answer?

I looked back and forth between the drunk men and Master.

It didn't seem like he was going to explain the answer.

---

---

After a brief walk with Master, I started working.

My job was to write the names of participants on the back of the poster Levinas had drawn.

'The number of people keeps growing.'

Calls came in sporadically.

On Yeoreum's phone, not ours.

Some wanted to participate, others just had questions.

There were even reporters wanting to cover the seminar.

'I'll have to write the names as small as possible.'

As I wrote down the participants' names, I glanced to the side.

Yeoreum was working on something.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm preparing that thing."

"That thing...?"

I looked over Yeoreum's work.

The word "zombie" caught my eye.

It required a whopping thirty intermediate-grade mana stones to set up the event.

"W-why do we need so many mana stones...?"

"We can't build an actual city."

"Ah..."

Are they planning to make everything out of mana stones?

Certainly, mana stones are expensive, but compared to constructing real buildings, it's practically free.

"When will you start accepting participants?"

"I'm about to start soon."

Soon, huh.

My tail started wagging with anticipation.

"Is there an age limit?"

"Yeah. Since people could get hurt, we should probably limit it to adults."

I see.

I felt a bit disappointed.

"Then I guess all the children will be dead in the setting?"

"...Huh?"

"Children are usually the least likely to survive anyway."

"W-why is that...?"

Yeoreum put down her pen.

She stopped working and scooted closer until our thighs touched.

"Children are just a hindrance. They only eat food, and if they cry, the noise attracts monsters. Unless it's your own family, there's no reason to keep them around."

"B-but I think I'd keep them."

"Yeah..."

Yeoreum probably would.

She's kind and strong.

But most people likely wouldn't.

Yeoreum seemed to know this too, as she didn't say anything more.

"Hmm... Then I'll have to change the rules a bit."

"The rules?"

"Yeah. It'd be sad if the game had no dreams or hope."

Yeoreum started writing something on a piece of paper.

I watched her for a moment, then stood up.

"I'm going to promote the lecture."

"Okay! Good luck, Gyeoul!"

"Alright."

I left the house with the kids.

I decided to promote at the mana stone exchange, where many adventurers gather.

---

---

Click-!

The door closed, and the three kids left.

Confirming this, Yeoreum let out a long sigh.

"Haah..."

That must have come from personal experience, right?

Just when you think you've gotten used to Gyeoul's circumstances, something even more horrifying comes up.

'...Was she abandoned by her group?'

Gyeoul is still only eight years old.

In that world, she must have been much younger.

'I heard all her family and friends died.'

In a world with scarce resources, a child with no connections would inevitably be abandoned.

Even the tiniest morsel of food going into a child's mouth would have been begrudged.

Get out and die, we don't need you.

Gyeoul had essentially received a death sentence from the only people she could rely on.

Despite having done nothing wrong.

'...Saebyeok didn't erase her memories for nothing.'

How must Gyeoul have felt when she was abandoned?

Did she wail and beg to be saved?

But crying would attract monsters with the noise, wouldn't it?

She probably just stared blankly at those abandoning her, holding back her tears.

With empty eyes, as if her world had crumbled.

'...Now I understand why Gyeoul doesn't cry.'

Yeoreum knew all of this was just her imagination.

But it was imagination with a very high probability of having actually happened.

'...Gyeoul said she wanted to participate in the game too.'

Originally, she was going to do everything she could to stop her.

But if things were like this, it might be better to let her participate in the game.

Yeoreum wanted to show Gyeoul.

That real adults never abandon children, no matter what.

At least the people of this world, this country, were like that.

'They won't let Gyeoul get eliminated in the game, right?'

Yeoreum began changing the rules anew.

---

[Hongeo is a type of fermented fish btw ]

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