I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 316: Water You Shouldn't Drink

Time passed, and the next week arrived.

On the morning of the festival, Choi Jinhyuk crossed over to our world through a portal.

"You're here."

"I'm hereeeee!"

The children and I ran towards Choi Jinhyuk, who had just emerged from the portal.

Each child expressed their excitement in their own way.

Levinas hopped around, while Gaeul simply wagged her tail happily.

Saebyeok, being thoughtful, helped carry some of Choi Jinhyuk's luggage.

"Getting such a warm welcome right away really lifts my spirits."

Choi Jinhyuk patted each of our heads.

His gentle touch made us smile involuntarily.

"What did you do in the other world?"

"I made a friend."

"A friend...?"

"Yeah. Apparently, she's friends with you too, Gyeoul."

"With me?"

A friend I made in the other world.

Yoon Da-in, who we had traded with, was the only one.

There was also the campsite manager, but he was much older.

It would be a stretch to call him a friend.

"Her name's Yoon Da-in. She was tailing me in the forest. I found out later she thought I was a kidnapper."

"Ah..."

From Yoon Da-in's perspective, we had disappeared without a trace.

Choi Jinhyuk lurking around must have looked suspicious.

"How did you go from kidnapper to friend?"

"The photos I had helped."

Choi Jinhyuk pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.

His gallery was full of photos and videos of me and the children.

There were pictures of us laughing together, which probably helped clear up the misunderstanding.

'That's a relief.'

I thought the smartphone wouldn't work without mana.

Fortunately, it did.

"So what happened? We left without saying goodbye."

"Well... I couldn't tell her the truth, and she seemed to have some misunderstandings, so I lied a bit."

"You lied?"

"Yeah. I told her we were running from bad people and had to move our base regularly."

Running away.

Was that enough to convince Yoon Da-in?

Everything was already fantastical with the existence of beast-kin.

Yoon Da-in probably had no choice but to believe it.

I felt a bit guilty about lying to a friend.

But it couldn't be helped.

"I see..."

"That's right."

"......"

Things got a bit awkward.

I scratched my cheek and tugged on Choi Jinhyuk's clothes.

"Hey, there's a festival today. Want to come with us? If you're too tired, you don't have to-"

"I'll go. But let me wash up first."

"Oh, okay."

I was about to say he could refuse if he was tired.

But he agreed without hesitation.

As expected, his stamina was different from ours.

My tail wagged happily.

**

When people think of a high school festival, they usually imagine a small party for students.

However, Yeomyeong High School's festival went beyond typical high school standards.

It could easily pass for a local festival.

"W-wow..."

There were already lots of people even before we entered the high school.

Looking closely, I saw students selling food even on the streets outside the school.

There was more food and activities than I expected.

I quickly looked at the children.

"How much pocket money do you all have?"

"Levinas has this much!"

"I have this much."

"Master...!"

Levinas pulled out 10,000 won from her pocket, Saebyeok had 500 won.

And Gaeul wagged her tail as she held out a large empty bottle.

You can exchange empty bottles for money, but the bottle itself isn't money.

It was a bit clumsy, but Gaeul had tried hard to prepare.

I patted her head, telling her she did well.

'Hmm...'

Since it's a special day.

Maybe I should spend some money on the children.

Just as I was about to take out my coin purse from my bag,

The Master, who had followed us, pressed down on my head.

"The adults will cover the expenses."

"Oh... okay..."

In the past, I would have refused right away, but things were different now.

I had learned how joyful it is to give and receive among family.

Of course, I still felt a bit uneasy.

"There are a lot of people, so you might get lost. Stay close to the adults."

"It's okay. I've left my pheromones on everyone."

"...Even on Jeffrey?"

"Yes."

"......"

The Master's gaze shifted towards Jeffrey.

Jeffrey, who was walking slowly behind us, shrugged at the Master.

For some reason, our Master was silent for a while.

"King, what should we do first?! Should we play that game first?!"

Excited by the festival atmosphere, Levinas was bouncing up and down.

It would be fun to try various things, but we decided to find Yoon Chaerin first, since she invited us.

"No, let's go to the cafe first."

"Cafe?"

"Yeah. They're selling fish-shaped bread there."

"Fish bread...!"

Levinas's eyes sparkled.

Even though we eat it often, she always reacts with excitement.

'The location is...'

Was it on the second floor of the main building?

We entered the high school where the festival was being held.

**

Yoon Chaerin's booth was ordinary.

Even a multi-million won coffee machine brought by someone in the class was relatively common at Yeomyeong High School.

Nevertheless, Yoon Chaerin's booth was busy.

It was thanks to her fish-shaped bread, which came free with each cup of coffee.

The fish-shaped bread that every adventurer passing through Yeomyeong gets to eat.

People flocked to get it for just the price of a cup of coffee.

"Phew..."

It's busier than working at the guild.

As Yoon Chaerin moved her hands busily, she suddenly noticed the customers dwindling.

'It suddenly got quiet.'

I should rest when I have the chance.

Yoon Chaerin sat on a nearby chair.

A few students gathered around her.

"Chaerin, is Gyeoul coming today?"

"Yeah. She said she'd come today."

"Ah... I really hope she comes soon..."

"I wonder if we can touch her ears?"

Gyeoul's ears.

They are soft and fluffy.

As Yoon Chaerin was recalling Gyeoul rubbing her ears,

"Excuse me..."

Knock knock-

Someone knocked on the closed classroom door.

Hearing a small, adorable child's voice, the students hurried back to their positions.

"She's here...!"

"I-I'll open the door...!"

A female student quickly opened the door.

Expecting to see adorable Gyeoul, she looked down, but all she saw were a man's long legs.

"Huh?"

The student's gaze slowly moved upward.

It was Kang Jinho, the master of Yeomyeong Guild.

Flinch.

The surprised student took a step back.

Then she noticed Gyeoul sitting on Kang Jinho's shoulders.

"K-Kang... Gyeoul?"

"No, I'm Han Gyeoul."

It was the lovable, innocent voice unique to a child.

The student felt her surprise at seeing Kang Jinho subsiding.

"Kang Gyeoul doesn't sound bad either."

"Yes. Kang Gyeoul is nice too."

"Then do you want to be called Kang Gyeoul?"

"Kang Gyeoul?"

Gyeoul's tail started wagging gently.

Just then, an angry-looking Yeoreum stepped out from behind.

"You know that's absolutely not happening, right? Gyeoul belongs to the Han family."

"Then how about combining the two, Kang Han Gyeoul-"

"...Master?"

"Ahem."

Kang Jinho avoided Yeoreum's gaze and entered the cafe.

The rest of the group followed him in.

"Why are you arguing about surnames?"

"That's right. We should just call her Jung Gyeoul... Wow, this cafe looks proper?"

Jeffrey, Jung Yu-na, and Choi Jinhyuk.

All the well-known adventurers entered the cafe one by one.

Wow.

Someone in the cafe let out an exclamation, while others held their breath in surprise.

It was a sight that even people from Yeomyeong, who often see the guild's adventurers, found impressive.

"Um, what brings you here?"

A male student in charge of customer service approached the group.

He asked Kang Jinho out of courtesy, but it was Gyeoul on top who answered.

"We were invited."

"Invited?"

"Yes. We were told to come for fish-shaped bread and coffee."

"Oh..."

At Gyeoul's words, the class students' gazes turned to Yoon Chaerin.

They knew she had invited Gyeoul and the children.

-Chaerin, did you invite Kang Jinho and Jeffrey?

-I thought you said you were nothing in the guild.

-You got rid of Cho Yuchan, and now this? Chaerin, you're really a scary woman, huh?

Yoon Chaerin's smartphone vibrated.

Unable to speak out loud, the class students were sending messages in real-time.

Surprised by the messages, Yoon Chaerin looked around.

The students were looking at her with awe-filled eyes.

"N-no, I'm really nothing special..."

"Lady Chaerin, please forgive this humble one's transgressions..."

Someone in the class bowed deeply to Yoon Chaerin.

Not understanding the situation, Gyeoul just tilted her head.

"But I can't drink coffee because it's bitter. What should I do?"

"Coffee?! Children shouldn't drink coffee!"

"Gaeul too?"

"Yes! Gaeul shouldn't drink it either!"

Gasp.

Gaeul's eyes widened.

To think there was food in the world that couldn't be eaten.

Gaeul couldn't believe it.

"Gaeul eat."

"What?! You're going to drink coffee?!"

"Huh..."

There's no food in the world that can't be eaten.

At least, that's what Gaeul thought.

"W-well... Then Gaeul, how about just one sip?"

"Yeah."

Gaeul wondered how difficult this food must be if she was only allowed one sip.

She held her breath, waiting for the coffee.

And the coffee that arrived was...

Very black.

It was the color of liquid that her master once said should never be drunk.

Didn't they say it would make your stomach hurt?

Tremble tremble.

Gaeul's ears started shaking.

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