I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 353: Doppelganger

"Wooyakryakrakryak!"

-Wooyakryakrakryak!

"Yaeyaknyakmyak!"

-Yaeyaknyakmyak!

Gaeul, who had been speaking rapidly, suddenly clamped her mouth shut.

She seemed to have realized she couldn't beat the microphone and amplifier that copied everything she said.

"Master...!"

In the end, Gaeul decided to ask for help.

After considering what to do, I decided to play along for now.

"Hmm... I think to beat the voice ghost, you need to say even faster and harder words."

"Really?!"

"Yeah. Even faster."

"...!"

Gaeul's eyes went wide as she carefully set the microphone down on the floor.

Then she took one slow step backward.

"Huh? Is Gaeul giving up?"

"Yeah. Too hard."

This was unusual for Gaeul, who rarely gave up on anything.

Speaking quickly must have been particularly challenging for her.

We probably shouldn't take the joke too far.

Just as I was about to tell her the truth, Levinas picked up the microphone from the floor and handed it back to Gaeul.

"You just need to practice! If you practice, Gaeul puppy can speak as fast as Levinas!"

"Practice?!"

"Yeah! Practice!"

Practice?

I wondered what kind of practice she meant.

Curious, I gently poked Levinas's back.

"Levinas, what kind of practice?"

"This!"

Levinas took out her smartphone and opened a video platform site.

She immediately played a video - it was pronunciation practice for aspiring news anchors.

-The soy sauce factory manager Chang from the Chang factory...

The video Levinas showed was quite professional training material.

Gaeul seemed interested in the video, staring intently at the smartphone screen.

"If you can do that, you might be able to beat the microphone ghost."

"Yeah! Levinas can do it!"

"Really? For real?"

"Yeah. Want me to show you?!"

Isn't this too difficult for Levinas?

As I tilted my head questioningly, Levinas cleared her throat with an "ahem" and took a deep breath.

"The soy sauce fac-try man-ger is Chang the man-ger..."

"Wow."

Though not perfect, it was pretty impressive.

Had she been practicing hard by herself?

I applauded to praise her effort.

Saebyeok joined me in clapping.

"Hehe, actually Levinas can't do it properly yet!"

"Yeah, but it was really close. Just a bit more practice and you'll get it."

"That's right."

Was she happy from our praise?

Levinas's expression brightened even more.

Smiling cheerfully, Levinas turned to look at Gaeul.

"Does Gaeul puppy want to try too?!"

"Heuk...!"

Gaeul stuck out her tongue slightly to signal yes.

Levinas showed the video to Gaeul again.

-The soy sauce factory manager Chang from the Chang factory...

When the announcer's rapid speech began, Gaeul's eyes glazed over.

Even after the video ended, Gaeul maintained that blank stare for quite a while.

"......"

We gave her some time to process.

After a while, Gaeul raised her eyebrows high and opened her mouth.

"Myak!"

A short exclamation like a scream.

She looked overwhelmed by the too-difficult challenge.

"Hehe."

This was probably too hard for Gaeul right now.

I patted her head for trying her best.

The others didn't scold Gaeul for failing either.

Success wasn't what mattered to us after all.

"Should we head back now? Though I'd like to stay longer, I still have work to finish."

"Okay."

After checking one last time that the microphone was properly installed, we left the auditorium.

Come to think of it, I never told Gaeul the truth about the microphone and amplifier.

After some thought, I decided to tell her later.

Let her keep believing in the voice-copying ghost for now.

**

We all returned to the guild park together.

Since Sophia had to go to work when we got back, we walked as slowly as possible.

We wanted to spend more time with her.

We deliberately stopped to look at flowers in the garden and watch cars pass by.

When we saw a police car waiting at a traffic light, we used it as an excuse to stand still with Sophia by the road.

Despite walking as slowly as we could, we eventually reached the park.

Though reluctant, it was time to part ways for a bit.

Just as I was about to wave goodbye to Sophia-

"Hmm..."

"I'm so sorry..."

From the direction of the road, we heard Han Yeoreum's breath and the voice of a middle-aged man apologizing profusely.

Why was the man apologizing?

Han Yeoreum wouldn't intimidate someone without reason.

Curious, I found myself moving toward Han Yeoreum's location as if in a trance.

Finding my behavior strange, Sophia called out.

"Gyeoul, where are you going?"

"Something seems to be happening over there."

"Hmm...?"

Sophia, who had been about to return to work, followed behind me.

Naturally, the children came along too.

"The guild will handle the capture. The rest... please take care of it yourself."

"Yes, I'm truly sorry..."

As we walked through the park, we saw Han Yeoreum in the distance, letting out a sigh.

I quickly ran toward her.

"Did something happen?"

"Ah, Gyeoul."

"You look really troubled."

"Not troubled, just a bit annoyed."

Han Yeoreum pointed her thumb toward the road.

A huge truck was parked on the shoulder.

"A truck?"

"Yeah. It's a monster transport vehicle, but there was an accident and one escaped."

"Oh no... isn't that really dangerous?"

"It's fine, we can find it right away."

I see.

That's a relief.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"But what kind of monster is it?"

"A doppelganger. A monster that can mimic nearby creatures."

"...Isn't that really dangerous? If it changes into someone, we won't be able to find it."

"Not really. Doppelgangers aren't very intelligent. It's easy to spot when they transform into humans, and when they change into insects, they become too weak to be threatening."

Ah.

So their strength depends on what they transform into.

As I was processing this new information, my ears perked up as I realized something.

"If it changes into Saebyeok or Master, would it become super strong?"

"No, it can't exceed its own limitations."

"I see."

"Yeah. We can find a doppelganger easily, so don't worry too much."

"Okay."

So it wasn't a major threat.

Still, we should be careful.

For now, I should stay close to the children.

When I turned to look where the children were, Gaeul was nowhere to be seen.

"Gaeul?"

Where did Gaeul suddenly go?

I must have missed her leaving because I was tense about the monster escape.

Just as I was about to check the pheromones I'd left in the morning to track Gaeul-

"Eeeek!"

We heard Gaeul's scream from nearby bushes.

We quickly ran toward where her scream came from.

"Gaeul?!"

When we arrived, there were "two" Gaeuls.

The doppelganger that mimics humans.

It had copied Gaeul.

"My, we have two Gaeuls now?"

Han Yeoreum said playfully.

So this really wasn't a dangerous situation at all.

That helped me feel a bit more at ease.

"One is fake! Is it you?!"

Levinas narrowed her eyes and pointed at the Gaeul on the right.

The right Gaeul quickly shook her head.

"Gaeul! Gaeul!"

The left Gaeul pointed at herself while stomping her feet.

The right Gaeul also pointed at herself while stomping her feet.

"Fake Gaeul!"

This time the left Gaeul shouted while pointing at the right Gaeul.

The right Gaeul mimicked this action perfectly.

"My, which one could be fake?"

"Should I find out?"

"Oh, want to try?"

"Yes."

With the pheromones I'd left earlier, I could find out quickly using mana.

"The real Gaeul is..."

Just as I was about to use mana to read Gaeul's pheromones, the two Gaeuls showed different reactions to my words about finding the real one.

The left Gaeul puffed out her chest with an "ahem."

The right Gaeul stomped her feet insisting she was the real Gaeul.

'Ah.'

From that alone, I could tell without using pheromones.

The left Gaeul was the real one.

Gaeul's trust in me was absolute.

The real Gaeul puffed out her chest with "ahem," completely confident I would identify her.

"The left one is the real Gaeul."

"The left one is real!"

"This one."

The children and I pointed at the left Gaeul simultaneously.

The real Gaeul gave the fake Gaeul a smug look.

"Eheng."

As if to say "how about that?"

She even wagged her tail with that expression.

"Wow, how did you all get it right? Did you read the mana?"

"No, I was going to, but I could just tell."

"You could tell without even reading mana? That's amazing."

Han Yeoreum patted my head with a laugh, then approached behind the fake Gaeul.

The fake Gaeul, sensing Han Yeoreum's shadow, looked up.

Bonk!

Han Yeoreum's fist came down on the doppelganger's head.

Gek.

The doppelganger let out a scream in Gaeul's exact voice as it collapsed.

Even though it was fake, seeing something that looked exactly like Gaeul collapse was quite shocking.

"Got the fake... oh?"

Han Yeoreum stopped mid-sentence and rolled her eyes.

Gaeul and Levinas looked terrified.

Shudder-

I trembled a bit too.

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