I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 259: Splat Blah

The rotten mouse that Gaeul readily handed over.

This object, which seemed worthless to us, might have been precious to Gaeul.

"Yum yum yum."

Gaeul pointed at the mouse and smacked her lips, urging me to eat it.

Even for me, eating a rotten mouse was too much.

I just held the mouse, unable to eat it or throw it away.

"No yum yum?"

Gaeul tilted her head, seemingly confused that I wasn't eating the mouse.

In that awkward situation, Yeoreum stood by my side.

"Mouse tasty?"

"Y-Yeah... but this mouse has gone bad because it's too old."

"Gone bad?"

Gaeul made an expression that showed she didn't understand.

She seemed unfamiliar with the concept of food going bad.

Looks like there's a lot to teach her.

But I wasn't worried because she seemed to be a quick learner.

"When you don't eat tasty things for too long, they go bad."

"Mouse gone bad?"

"Yeah. But I'll make you lots of tasty things instead, so let's eat those."

Yeoreum patted Gaeul's head.

It was a touch that looked mood-lifting, but Gaeul just maintained her blank expression.

I could tell Gaeul's mood from her drooping tail.

She seemed disappointed that she couldn't eat the mouse meat.

"Gyeoul, can you give that, that mouse to me?"

Tremble tremble.

Yeoreum reached out with a shaking hand.

From past experiences of having my face washed, I knew how much she disliked mice.

Even so, she was asking for the mouse, probably for Gaeul's sake.

It seemed like she wanted to dispose of the mouse somewhere Gaeul couldn't see.

"It's okay. I'll take care of this."

"Will you be alright? Mice are really scary."

"Yeah. Maybe because I'm a cat beast-kin, I'm not scared at all."

The dried and rotten mouse meat.

Even though its appearance was horrifying enough to surprise even someone with a strong stomach like me, strangely, I wasn't scared.

It could only be explained by the fact that I was a cat beast-kin.

"Um, well..."

Yeoreum trailed off.

She looked like she had something she wanted to say.

"What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing. Then I'll prepare some snacks, so why don't you send the mouse off to a nice place?"

"Okay."

"You know you have to wash up thoroughly, right? I'll wash Gaeul."

"Oh..."

Poor Gaeul.

That's going to be really scary.

Unfortunately, it was a fear I couldn't shield her from.

I ran away with the mouse.

---

---

The mouse meat that had been preciously kept for a long time.

Her master didn't eat it.

With her improved intelligence, Gaeul analyzed the conversation between her master and the big master.

It seemed her masters didn't like mouse meat.

"Master... mouse..."

Gaeul reached out towards the departing mouse meat and her master.

The disappointment was greater because she had put so much effort into preserving the meat for so long.

"Gaeul, shall we go wash up with me?"

"Ugh..."

Gaeul moved to the house, holding Yeoreum's hand.

As she went, she kept her gaze on Gyeoul.

"Master..."

Gaeul remembered the past.

The past from the previous world, before her body changed like this.

A pitch-dark indoor space where not even light entered.

Grumble, the sound of a stomach rumbling echoed.

The stomach noise wasn't her master's, but her own.

-Are you very hungry?

-Heh...

If she barked, the monsters would hear and come chasing.

So Gaeul of that time just wagged her tail.

It meant she was hungry.

-I'll go check the mouse traps I set. Wait here quietly.

That was the last voice of her master that Gaeul remembered.

The master who had patted her head never returned after that.

-Heh heh?

A day passed, then two, but he didn't come.

Was he not coming back because he couldn't find food?

Even without food, being together would be better.

Gaeul, who had moistened her throat with stagnant water, moved to find her master.

-Heh?

Gaeul checked the mouse trap she had set with her master.

There was a squeaking creature caught in it.

She was so hungry she wanted to eat it right away, but all food had to be shared with her master.

Gaeul forcefully swallowed her rising desire.

Chomp-!

She carried the mouse in her mouth and wandered the city.

Her bones were visible from starvation, and it was hard to take even one step, but she absolutely didn't eat the mouse.

Because she thought her master had gone very, very far away to find food.

If he realized she had delicious food, he would surely come back.

-Heh heh...

Gaeul filled her stomach by eating unknown grass.

By then, the first mouse she had caught started to dry up and shrivel.

The mouse is getting smaller and smaller.

This means there will be less for her master to eat.

Gaeul thought this as she endlessly wandered her territory.

-Heh heh...

As more time passed, a strange smell came from the mouse.

But it would still taste good, right?

She wanted to eat it with her master soon.

Gaeul thought this as she carefully closed her eyes.

It was because her body wouldn't move anymore.

-Heh...

Why won't her body move?

Should she sleep and wake up?

At that time, Gaeul didn't understand death, but she had some intuition.

That if she slept this time, she might not wake up again.

-He...

She lay down and looked around.

At some point, she had come to the space where she lived with her master.

She wanted to eat the mouse meat together.

Gaeul carefully closed her eyes.

And so.

A very long time passed.

In that flow of time, Gaeul opened her eyes again.

"Master...?"

Looking around, Gaeul realized many things had changed.

Her hands and feet resembled those of her master.

Her head seemed smarter, and she could stand on two feet.

She could even speak like her master, albeit clumsily.

A lot of time must have passed, as dust had piled up thickly.

Her mouse had already lost its original form.

And the most surprising thing among all these changes was the ripple in space.

A passage that looked like it had torn through space was right in front of her.

"Master?"

Only her master could do something this amazing, right?

It seemed like she could smell her master's scent from inside?

"Heh."

Gaeul ran towards the portal, forgetting even her precious mouse meat.

And there, she found her master.

Although his appearance had changed a lot, she couldn't mistake him.

That he was her master.

Gaeul enjoyed the reunion with her master, now Gyeoul.

She licked his cheeks and rubbed her face against him, her intelligence had improved but her behavior was no different from her puppy days.

While Gaeul was enjoying her reunion with her master, her eyes lit up at the word 'snack' from the big master.

Mouse.

The snack for her master was still inside there.

Gaeul hurriedly brought the mouse from inside the portal.

The mouse had changed a lot, but surely her master...

After finishing all her reminiscing, Gaeul watched Gyeoul's back as he walked away in the distance.

He doesn't eat mouse meat.

How disappointing.

Gaeul's shoulders drooped.

There was no strength in her steps.

It felt like that day when she thought she would never get up again.

---

---

I buried the mouse in the ground and returned home.

At home, there were frightened children and a sad-looking Gaeul.

"Master..."

"G-Gaeul..."

A fragrant soap smell was coming from Gaeul's body.

Looks like she fell victim to Yeoreum's thorough washing.

I approached Gaeul and patted her back.

"No eat mouse?"

"Uh, yeah..."

At my answer, Gaeul slumped over the table.

She looked drained, perhaps because I didn't eat the mouse.

"Haah..."

Gaeul let out a long sigh.

Her eyes looked somewhat empty.

"Gaeul, I'm sorry."

Was she disappointed that I didn't eat the mouse?

I apologized to Gaeul.

Then Gaeul put her hand on my stomach.

"Master's tummy rumble."

"Rumble, ah..."

She was worried I might be hungry.

She was such a kind child, it was touching.

"I'm okay. There are many more delicious foods."

"Many food?"

"Yeah. Want to wait a bit?"

After sitting at the table for a few minutes, Yeoreum appeared with food.

There were lots of snacks that children like on a large tray.

"...!"

Gaeul's ears and tail perked up at the sight of the snacks.

Sniff sniff, she smelled each one and then looked back at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Master get many food?"

Many food?

Does she mean if we have enough food to live without worry?

We don't have to starve anymore, so...

I could say we had plenty.

"Yeah. We have lots of food."

"Gaeuli's too?"

"Yeah. There's plenty for Gaeul too. You can eat until you're full."

"Take long time get many?!"

Gaeul's tail wagged.

It sounded like she was asking if it took a long time to get this much food.

'It did take a long time to get to this point.'

It took about eight years until we didn't have to starve.

It really took a very long time.

Gaeul had me, so she wouldn't need to wander for as long as I did.

"Yeah. It took a really long time. All of this is tastier than mouse, okay?"

"Mouse...?!"

Gaeul's eyes sparkled as she took an anchovy in her mouth from the table.

She bit it using only her face, without using her hands.

Nom nom-

She swallowed the anchovy after barely chewing it.

The anchovy must have been delicious, as Gaeul's tail wagged faster.

"Is it tasty?"

"Tasty! Mouse bleh bleh."

Mouse bleh.

It sounded like she meant mouse meat was so bad compared to anchovy that it made her want to throw up.

I thought it might be because she had been carrying around a rotten mouse.

"From now on, let's eat lots of delicious things like this. Okay?"

"Master...!"

Gaeul jumped into my arms.

Then she started licking my cheeks relentlessly.

Is it good to eat lots of delicious food?

How much must Gaeul have starved...

From now on, I'll make sure she never has to starve, no matter what happens.

I made this promise while holding Gaeul in my arms.

From today, Gaeul was our family.

No, maybe we had been family since the moment we first met.

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