I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 256: Horned Cat-Dog

The golden-haired dog beast-kin girl.

She was somehow different from other beast-kin I'd seen.

Rather than having strong animal instincts like other beast-kin, she felt more like a real animal.

She seemed just like a dog that had become human.

"Master."

Lick lick-

She kept licking my cheek.

Even as I held her hand and moved, she continued licking.

"Oh my, who's that child?"

People in the park and guild turned their attention to us.

They were showing interest in the appearance of a new beast-kin child.

"Let's go home for now."

I led the child into the house.

Sensing my presence, Levinas and Saebyeok came running from the living room.

"King! Cerberus! Let's play Cerberus!"

"Cerberus?"

"Yeah! Cerberus!"

Levinas and Saebyeok were wearing one large shirt together.

They poked their heads out through the neck of the shirt.

They seemed to want to play Cerberus.

"King, come in too..."

Belatedly noticing the dog girl, Levinas jumped up.

She couldn't jump high because she was wearing the shirt with Saebyeok.

"Master."

Lick lick-

Even then, the girl was licking my cheek.

Although I was used to grooming, I wasn't accustomed to having my skin licked so openly.

"Grr!"

Levinas's eyebrows rose fiercely.

Was she wary of this unfamiliar child?

Just as I was about to reassure Levinas that the child didn't seem bad, Levinas approached and bit my tail.

Chomp chomp-

Levinas kept glancing at the dog beast-kin child while biting my tail.

It looked like she was competing with the girl for grooming.

"Um..."

Saebyeok, who had been watching the two children's competition, or rather Levinas's one-sided competition, approached me.

Then she started licking my head diligently.

"What's going on."

Being groomed by three children surrounding me.

It was a strange situation, but it didn't feel bad.

'I should ask who she is.'

But being like this made me feel happy, or maybe not.

I stood there absent-mindedly, receiving the children's grooming.

After a while of silently receiving grooming, Sophia appeared from the living room.

She was walking with her cane but stopped when she saw the new child.

"Who's this little one?"

At Sophia's question, Levinas, who had been glancing around nervously, took my tail out of her mouth.

She was a good child who didn't ignore adults' words even in the midst of competition.

"It's a doggy beast-kin!"

"I can see that, but..."

Anyone could see her appearance was that of a dog beast-kin.

I decided to add a bit more explanation.

"Well, she suddenly came out of the portal, you know?"

"From the portal?"

"Yes. From the portal we blocked in the park."

"Hmm..."

Just as Sophia was crossing her arms, the girl who had been silently licking my cheek opened her mouth as if to explain something.

"Doggy, Master."

When saying "doggy" she pointed to herself, and when saying "master" she pointed at me.

Two words and some body language.

It was minimal communication, but we could understand what the child was trying to say.

It meant that she was the dog, and I was the master.

"N-No, I'm not your master..."

How could a person be another person's master?

I waved my hands at everyone, saying it wasn't true.

The girl showed a shocked expression for the first time.

"M-Master..."

Her tail, which had been wagging quickly, stopped in an instant.

Just from the movement of her tail, I could tell how shocked she was.

"Well, I'm not your master, but your friend."

"Friend...!"

The girl's eyes shone.

Her tail started wagging even faster than before.

"Hmm..."

Seeing this, Sophia's eyebrows twitched.

She looked deep in thought.

"Sophia, why are you like that?"

"It's nothing. Go play."

"Okay..."

Sophia left the house, saying she had something to do.

I was the only adult left in the house.

'Hmm...'

I decided to try to find out who this dog beast-kin girl was.

I took the children into the living room.

As an adult, I decided to take good care of the children.

---

---

In the deep forest of the guild park.

There, Sophia, Yeoreum, and Jung Yu-na were watching the portal.

'Master, huh...'

A child who looked like a beast-kin but definitely wasn't one.

She was closer to a beast than an intelligent life form.

After examining the child, Sophia hurried back to the portal.

She thought the girl might be the dog Gyeoul used to keep.

"So, were there any traces?"

"Yes. It's on the CCTV here. Would you like to see?"

"Yes..."

A video played on the smartphone screen Yeoreum held out.

It showed the child breaking through the barrier and coming out of the portal.

"My goodness."

Jung Yu-na was surprised to see the child.

The barrier she had spent days creating was so easily broken by the child.

"It's fascinating. There are traces of the barrier being broken, but the barrier itself is completely intact..."

"This one has never seen anything like this before."

After watching the video, Sophia was somewhat certain.

She was convinced that this dog might be the one Gyeoul used to keep.

Sophia shared her thoughts with Yeoreum and Jung Yu-na.

She also shared her unresolved questions.

"This one doesn't know why she's in the form of a beast-kin."

"Hmm... I think I might know."

Hehe, Yeoreum laughed awkwardly and scratched her cheek.

Everyone's attention focused on Yeoreum's confident attitude.

"Do you have any ideas?"

"Yes. You know how we said worlds open portals to get help from other worlds, right?"

"Saebyeok did mention something like that."

"Yes. So wouldn't the byproducts coming out of the dungeon in the portal be like gifts the world gives as a token of gratitude?"

"...That could be possible."

So, what are you trying to say?

Sophia's eyes spoke for her.

"What if that dog friend was Gyeoul's survival partner?"

"You mean the other world sent her as a thank you? Like, thanks for your efforts?"

"Maybe...?"

"Hmm..."

It seemed plausible, but also not.

Sophia raised a question that was still unresolved.

"So, why she's in the form of a beast-kin is still not explained, but?"

"It's joyful, isn't it?"

"Joyful?"

"Yes. Wouldn't it be really joyful if the dog, who was the only family and long-time survival partner, could communicate like a person? It's cuter too."

Yeoreum was smiling brightly.

Sophia knew the meaning of that smile.

The appearance of family from the other side, which they thought no one remained.

It could alleviate Gyeoul's sense of despair and burden when she eventually learns the truth.

'So it's not a bad situation?'

If that's the case, let's just watch for now.

We should observe what kind of child this new family member is.

That was the conclusion Sophia reached.

---

---

The dog beast-kin child who came through the portal.

What's her name, and how old is she?

As I was organizing questions about the child, Levinas started stomping on the floor.

Thankfully, the house was well soundproofed.

"King, let's play Cerberus!"

"Cerberus?"

"Yeah! Cerberus!"

Levinas held up a large shirt.

It meant for me to come inside.

"O-Okay..."

I followed Levinas into the shirt.

Thanks to the large size of the shirt, it was roomy even with three of us inside.

We could poke out three heads through the neck of the shirt.

Where on earth did they get a shirt like this?

As I was looking over the shirt with curious eyes, Levinas waddled towards the dog girl.

"How's this! We're a very scary Cerberus!"

"...?"

The girl watched us with a blank expression.

Her tail was wagging gently.

"King, growl! We're becoming a scary Cerberus!"

"G-Growl?"

I should have shown my claws, but I couldn't because my hands were inside the shirt.

So I had no choice but to do it verbally.

Very softly, in a non-threatening way.

"...!"

It was truly a trivial threat.

But for some reason, the girl's eyes widened.

She flopped down on the floor.

She even lifted her shirt to show her belly button.

I think I heard that showing the belly is a sign of submission.

She seemed to have less resistance to fear than Levinas.

"Levinas, she looks really scared..."

"S-Sorry... Even Levinas thinks it was too scary..."

Mumbling, Levinas lifted the shirt.

She gestured for the girl to come inside.

"Does doggy want to play Cerberus too?"

"...!"

The girl jumped up from her spot and ran towards us on all fours.

With four of us in the shirt, it was a bit cramped.

The neck of the shirt was stretched out a lot.

"This isn't really Cerberus anymore."

"It's okay! It's even stronger! It's a horned cat-dog!"

"Wow."

That's amazing.

But how long do we have to wear this?

Just as I was pulling at the neck of the shirt, feeling stuffy, Levinas sat in front of the TV with a remote control.

We had become one body, so we all had to move together.

"Are we watching TV?"

"Yeah! We're gonna watch a monster movie!"

Click click-

Levinas turned on the TV's OTT platform with the remote.

It was a movie with monsters that looked like people.

Since it was a children's movie, it wasn't too scary.

Kio kio-!

A monster appeared on the TV screen.

The girl's ears perked up when she saw the monster.

"Grr...!"

The girl bared her teeth at the monster on TV.

Wasn't she a timid child?

Why is she so aggressive?

Levinas and Saebyeok seemed surprised too and were watching the girl.

And then.

The girl lunged at the TV.

Her strength was so great that she tore through the shirt.

"King!"

The girl jumped at the TV.

She hit the screen with her head with a thud.

"Yelp!"

The girl yelped like a dog and collapsed, and the TV panel...

It was completely shattered.

"Levinas's TV!"

Levinas got up and ran towards the girl.

I thought she might be angry, but Levinas was just checking the girl's condition.

"Are you okay?!"

It sounded like a scream.

The shock of the TV being shattered must have been big.

It must have been quite a shock for Levinas, who loves children's programs.

'That was really expensive...'

I was quite shocked too.

Still, I was glad the girl was okay.

3/6 Enjoy the chappy!

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