I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 285: Graduation Ceremony

The middle-aged man held out his smartphone, playing a video of the children.

Someone must have secretly filmed them from behind, as only their backs were visible.

The giant bottle, encased in a soap bubble, floated up, with Levinas and Gaeul marching confidently in front of it.

Their energetic steps were enough to lift anyone's spirits just by watching.

"Gaeul puppy! We did it!"

"We did!"

Yay!

Levinas and Gaeul threw their hands up in the air.

They were so excited about bringing the empty bottle that they kept glancing at it.

"Rich?"

"Yeah! Being rich means... being able to play happily with family every day!"

"Oh?"

Gaeul tilted her head.

She seemed to sense something off about Levinas's explanation.

"What's wrong?!"

"Gaeul already rich."

Ahem.

Gaeul puffed out her chest.

Levinas's horned rabbit eyes widened at this.

"That's right! We're already rich! We're very happy!"

"Right!"

"Can we be even happier by selling empty bottles?!"

"Heh!"

Gaeul's waist and tail swayed from side to side.

Everyone watching the video could understand why the children were so joyful.

It was because Levinas had defined being rich as 'someone who can play happily with family every day'.

By that definition, the children were indeed already rich.

"Hehe."

It was such an adorable conversation that it warmed the hearts of those watching.

The comments I glimpsed showed similar reactions to mine.

[These children have such beautiful hearts. Being happy with family is true wealth.]

[The kids are wiser than adults...]

[*sniff* Big sis feels rich just being able to see these little ones ㅠ.ㅜ]

[Is Gyeoul not there?!]

[└No... I saw it by chance passing by, but Gyeoul wasn't there...]

[Them trying to sell that empty bottle is cracking me up ㅋㅋ]

[└The beast-kin kids are always collecting empty bottles ㅋㅋ]

I'd been worried about people's reactions to the children taking the bottle.

Thankfully, everyone viewed the children positively.

"You see? With such a positive response, we have no reason to be angry."

"Y-yes..."

"I almost feel like we should be paying you for the advertising..."

"Oh, no, it's fine. Your forgiveness is more than enough."

It would've been nice to receive advertising fees, but I declined for various reasons.

The children were forgiven for taking the giant bottle because of their inherent innocence.

The story of children collecting a huge bottle for their family was like a fairy tale.

If beer company advertising fees were involved, it would destroy that childlike innocence.

People might find it unpleasant.

Moreover, our children hadn't reached puberty yet.

The mere fact of young children receiving money from a beer company could be problematic.

"...I suppose it would cause issues?"

"Yes. We'll just accept your forgiveness."

"Haha, I'd heard you were mature, but I didn't realize to this extent."

The middle-aged man let out a hearty laugh.

He even gave me a look of admiration for some reason.

"Um... yes... But how do we move the bottle back? Levinas, can you return it to where it was?"

"Yeah! Levinas can do it!"

"Gaeul can't."

Levinas nodded, while Gaeul shook her head.

It did seem too much for Gaeul right now.

"Then we'll..."

"No, I'll take care of moving it."

The middle-aged man pulled a paper from his pocket.

It had some kind of magic formula drawn on it.

I could sense mana from it, so it must be a magical item.

Swish-

As he stuck the paper to the surface of the giant bottle, it began to float.

Gaeul's eyes, inside the bottle, widened in surprise.

"Master...!"

The bottle rose, increasing the distance between Gaeul and us.

Startled, Gaeul pressed her cheek against the inside of the bottle.

"Um, what about Gaeul..."

"Haha, no need to worry."

As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, Gaeul's body began to float.

Slowly and safely, she descended right in front of us.

"Master!"

Lick lick-

Gaeul licked my cheek.

Even though we'd only been apart for a moment, her tail was wagging furiously.

"It was nice chatting with you. I'll be going now."

"Yes. Take care."

"Bye-bye! Take care, big bottle!"

"Bye-bye!"

The children waved to the middle-aged man.

They also waved to the giant bottle.

And so, we were able to end this small incident.

"By the way, Gaeul, why did you go inside the bottle?"

I turned to Gaeul and asked.

It was Levinas who answered my question, not Gaeul.

"The bottle looks prettier with Gaeul puppy inside!"

"I-I see..."

So it was to decorate the empty bottle.

It would indeed look much prettier with Gaeul inside.

Something felt off, but I couldn't quite argue with that logic.

Now that the problem was solved, it was time to play with the children.

**

Since starting the Academy classes, my days had been flowing by in an ordinary yet happy manner.

Attending classes, playing with the children, then repeating the cycle the next day.

These days repeated for several days.

The classes were quite useful and fun.

Thanks to them, I could now handle Level 1 dungeon monsters with my eyes closed.

Even though Level 1 dungeon monsters were considered easy, the difference between knowing the theory and not knowing it was like night and day.

The only issue was that I could never aim for first place.

'...But it was fun anyway.'

This short, intensive course lasting two weeks and three days.

My rank was an impressive 6th place.

If it weren't for the teams at the top manipulating the rankings, I could have been as high as 3rd place.

1st and 2nd place would have been split between Yoon Hyunseo and Han Taehwi.

'It's a shame, but I learned a lot.'

I looked around.

Many people who had grown since the beginning were encouraging each other.

"Good work everyone, let's meet again in a good guild."

"Are you applying to guilds right away?"

"No, I'm going to focus on growth by clearing some dungeons with what I've learned here."

Maybe it was because they had cleared multiple Level 1 dungeons?

People seemed much more confident than at the start.

I understood now why people said to try the Academy if you couldn't get into a guild.

'I'm glad everyone's grown.'

I felt a sense of camaraderie with my classmates.

As I waited for the simple graduation ceremony with a slight smile, my party members Yoon Hyunseo and Han Taehwi approached me.

"Harang, do you have a moment? Our master wants to meet you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. I praised you a lot to my master."

Yoon Hyunseo glanced at the middle-aged woman standing beside her.

She was a woman with a kind face and a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you, Harang. I'm Im Mi-young from the White Snow Guild."

"Hello. Nice to meet you."

"I've heard a lot about you from Hyunseo and Taehwi. They say your tracking abilities are far beyond a beginner's level."

"Hehe..."

I felt a bit shy receiving such praise.

As I awkwardly rubbed the back of my head, she held out a business card to me.

"If you haven't decided on a guild yet, would you like to join ours? We're still a small guild, but we have enormous potential for growth. With you on board, we could develop even further."

"Um... I..."

I already have a guild.

But that's a fact I'm supposed to keep secret.

Not knowing how to respond, I just held the card hesitantly.

Unexpectedly, it was Baek Ihyeon who came to my rescue.

"Haha, good work everyone."

Baek Ihyeon approached us with a smile, offering handshakes.

Everyone's face twisted, except for the White Snow Guild master who kept smiling.

"Our children are quite exceptional, but Baek Ihyeon is even more impressive."

"Yes, I look forward to working with you in the future."

Baek Ihyeon grasped Im Mi-young's hand.

Pat pat, he even lightly tapped the back of her hand.

It sounded like a veiled threat to keep quiet.

"Indeed. You truly are an exceptional person."

Hoho, Im Mi-young laughed behind her hand.

Her repeated emphasis on 'exceptional person' felt like some kind of psychological warfare.

"...I have to give the graduation speech, so I'll be going now."

Baek Ihyeon left with a smirk.

The graduation speech, allowed only for the first-place student.

It was a chance to receive the first-place award and prize, and give a brief impression.

'Originally, we should have been giving that speech.'

Well, it would have been Yoon Hyunseo or Han Taehwi, not me.

I could never go up somewhere that would draw everyone's attention.

'Still, we did come in second.'

I should be satisfied with that.

As I was thinking this and sipping the drink provided at the graduation ceremony, people at the back started murmuring.

Even Im Mi-young, who was in front of me, lost her composure and gulped when she looked back.

She had been smiling even in front of Baek Ihyeon, so why suddenly?

I naturally turned to look behind me as well.

"Master, you're really doting on her."

"Hmm..."

"Haha! Doting? Of course I'd come when my brother's daughter is graduating!"

At the entrance to the auditorium, I saw the guild masters.

Our Master, Chae Juyeon from the Sacred Guild, and even Park Taesan from the Taesan Guild were there.

"Ah!"

My tail wagged with joy.

I was about to wave my hand to show I was here, but the Master glanced at me and pretended not to see me.

'Oh.'

I was supposed to be hiding my identity right now.

I wanted to run over and hug him tight, but I had to hold back.

My shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"You called all the masters here to brag about your daughter graduating, didn't you?"

Chae Juyeon chuckled at our Master.

He just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"If I hadn't invited you, you'd have been angry about not being invited, right?"

"...That's true."

Hehe, Chae Juyeon laughed awkwardly.

Someone quickly ran towards them.

It was one of the higher-ranking Academy instructors.

"W-what brings you here?"

"We came to watch the graduation. Someone we know is graduating here."

"Ah...!"

The instructor turned to look at the stage.

That's where Baek Ihyeon was.

For some reason, a bright smile spread across his face.

---

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