I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 362: City Hall

I could only watch with concern as Gaeul took a submissive posture.

This was the same Gaeul who had promised not to show her belly carelessly.

For her to expose it without even thinking meant whatever was behind that door must be truly threatening.

'It's definitely a dragon...'

Just how terrifying must this dragon be to make Gaeul flip over like that?

Gulp. I swallowed hard and peeked through the small gap in the door.

From left to right.

I slowly scanned the massive space.

Then my eyes met the dragon's gaping maw.

I let out an involuntary yelp and my body jerked backward.

I leaped away from the dragon, landing perfectly in Han Yeoreum's arms.

"Wow, Gyeoul, that was really agile just now."

Han Yeoreum spoke to me, but I couldn't respond.

My startled heart was pounding too hard.

'It looks really scary.'

Sharp teeth visible between its wide-open jaws.

Its long, thick tongue lolled out to the left, and its eyes were rolled back showing only whites.

Did they position it like this specifically to frighten viewers?

As a beast-kin with strong instincts, I couldn't help but be startled.

"Are you little ones okay?"

"Y-yes..."

"Yeah."

I could feel my fur standing on end.

My drooping tail wrapped around Han Yeoreum's leg.

'Why does this dragon have to be so scary?'

I hid my face against Han Yeoreum's chest, then slowly raised my head.

Then I slid down her body to the floor.

"King, is the dragon really scary?"

"Yeah. But I think it might not be as scary the second time."

I gathered my courage and approached the door again.

Though my fur was still bristling all over, I didn't leap away this time.

Even this much progress was remarkable.

"Gyeoul, should you wait outside if it's too scary?"

"No, I'm only a little scared, so I'm fine."

"Really?"

Han Yeoreum looked behind her.

Following her gaze, I saw Gaeul and Levinas standing far back.

"King, should Gaeul puppy and Levinas wait outside?"

"Yeah. You can play outside. I'll just quickly get the meat."

"Okay! Got it!"

"Master...!"

Gaeul threw something from her pocket toward me.

Whoosh-

The object flying in an arc was none other than a lemon.

I caught the lemon Gaeul threw and waved it in thanks.

Both Gaeul and Levinas visibly relaxed at this.

"I'll be right back. Don't worry too much."

"Yeah."

"Got it!"

Though I said that to reassure the children, honestly the fear hadn't completely faded.

I tugged gently at Han Yeoreum's clothes beside me.

"Let's hold hands."

"Hmm... but I don't want to hold hands..."

"Huh...?"

Why not?

I was more shocked by this than when I'd met the dragon's eyes.

I couldn't believe she was refusing to hold my hand.

"...Instead of holding hands, I want to carry you like this."

Han Yeoreum lifted me into her arms.

My drooping tail perked right up.

Ah.

She wanted to hug instead.

This was actually much better than holding hands.

When I gave her a happy eye-smile, she returned it with a smile of her own.

Then we stepped through the door where the dragon waited.

"Wow..."

I hid in Han Yeoreum's arms when the dragon scared me, then peeked out again.

I even gathered the courage to take pictures next to its head.

Its teeth were nearly as big as my torso.

Though my body trembled, I couldn't help it.

This was just beast-kin instinct.

Maybe if I worked hard to grow stronger, there would come a day when dragons weren't scary?

Hoping for that day, I grabbed the meat and headed back to the children.

They were playing with rocks near the parking lot.

Thanks to Saebyeok watching over them, nothing had gone wrong.

"Kids."

"King's back?!"

"Master!"

The children dropped their rocks and ran to me.

Levinas's eyes were sparkling with interest.

"King, did you get the dragon meat?!"

"Yeah. I got the most delicious cut."

I pointed to the ice box Master was holding.

Even though we only took a small portion of the dragon meat, its unique aura was leaking out.

Though not scary, just a faint energy.

"Wow..."

As Levinas stared at the meat with shining eyes, Han Yeoreum checked the time and patted each of our heads.

"Should we go home and eat the dragon now? I'll cook it deliciously for you."

"Oh! Yes!"

"I'd like that too."

**

The next morning.

I rubbed my eyes as I got up.

As I carefully opened the door trying not to wake the children, Levinas caught the small sound and woke up.

"Rawr."

"Huh?"

She sat bolt upright with a fierce sound.

My eyes went wide at the sight.

"King, the dragon's energy makes Levinas feel energetic."

"Yeah. I feel really energetic too. I'm half dragon now."

That dragon we ate yesterday was really delicious.

Maybe it wasn't just my imagination, but my whole body felt more vigorous.

I usually went to bed before 10 PM, but last night I didn't sleep until 10:15.

Maybe there really was something to this dragon vitality.

'I should thank Master again.'

Though Master deliberately hid the price from me, I knew.

I knew dragon meat was quite expensive.

I took the elevator to the top floor of the guild.

Levinas was with me today.

As always, the security guard opened the door, revealing Master's office.

We ran toward Master through the open door.

"Rawr."

"R... Uncle."

I almost growled "rawr" along with Levinas without thinking.

Instincts really were scary things.

Quickly correcting myself, I approached Master as if nothing had happened.

"Uncle, where are you going?"

"Just need to take care of something quickly."

"Oh..."

It would have been nice to chat for a while.

But he was leaving already.

My shoulders drooped in disappointment.

"You can come along."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Okay. Then let's all go together."

**

We got in Master's car with the now-awake children.

I wondered where Master was going - it turned out to be City Hall.

"Master, what are we doing at City Hall?"

"I have a brief meeting with the mayor."

"Wow..."

Someone of Master's status would meet with the mayor, of course.

We probably shouldn't go in and disturb them though?

Though I'd like to stay together, I didn't want to interfere with Master's official business.

"Then we'll wait outside."

"You can come along if you want?"

"No, we'll look around and play here."

"Hmm..."

After Master nodded in acknowledgment, we split up and explored the City Hall building.

Inside were many city workers and people there for personal business.

"Wow."

Though ordinary and boring for some, it was fascinating to me.

So this was how the world worked.

As I looked around with interest-

"Master!"

Gaeul smiled brightly and held out a paper to me.

What's this?

I examined the paper Gaeul gave me.

It was a waiting number for the civil service counter.

"Oh."

"King, people were all taking one of these. Looks like you need one to go in there!"

"Um... only people with civil service business take these..."

"Civil service?! What's that?!"

"Well, um... only people who have business with those workers take them..."

How should I explain civil service exactly?

As I hesitated, our number kept getting closer.

"What do we do...? Can't we cancel it...?"

"Umm... I'm not sure...?"

Beep-

Beep-

The next number alert kept sounding.

Then.

Beep-

The alert for our number sounded.

"Number 137, is number 137 here?"

What should I do about this?

Ignoring it felt too rude.

After brief consideration, I slowly approached the counter where the civil servant was looking around.

"Um, here..."

I placed the ticket on the counter.

The female civil servant stared at me for a moment before collecting herself and continuing her work.

"...What brings you here today?"

Of course I had no actual business.

So I decided to just submit a compliment.

"I'm here with a compliment..."

"A compliment?"

"Yes... the flowers planted along the way here were really pretty..."

"Oh my, really?"

She gave me a bright smile.

Probably because it wasn't a complaint.

"The building is really pretty too. I was so excited to come in that I ran here."

"Yes, our City Hall building is quite beautiful."

"It must be really wonderful working in a place like this. That must be why everyone is so kind."

"Hehe, you've made me even happier by saying that."

My tail started wagging at the civil servant's gentle voice.

I was glad the sudden visit had gone well.

"Thank you so much. I'll be going now."

"Yes. Have a nice day."

I bowed politely and walked away slowly.

Behind me, I could hear the civil servants talking.

"Aww, this makes me want to work harder."

"I'm jealous. I want to help Gyeoul too."

"If all visits were like this, I'd happily do this forever."

Maybe because it was a compliment?

No one seemed upset.

I ran outside the building, listening to their conversation.

Of course, I didn't forget to bring the children with me.

Even though the civil service visit went well, the tension from earlier didn't just disappear.

At times like this, I needed to rest somewhere with lots of grass and trees.

"Phew."

We were resting on a bench in the small park in front of City Hall.

That's when-

"Gyeoul?"

I turned at the familiar voice.

It was Han Yeoreum, whom I loved so much.