I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 401: My Precious Money

"Shuin! Shuin!"

"Shuin! Shuin!"

The two Gaeuls circled around me. Their clothes were identical, making it impossible to tell them apart without pheromones.

"Gaeul."

"Nyeng."

"Nyeng."

"No, I meant that Gaeul, not this one."

Both Gaeuls looked at me with blank expressions. They seemed confused about which one I was calling.

"Um... I meant the Gaeul who came through the portal."

"Yeah. Having two Gaeuls might be strange, so let's wear a hood or something."

"Nyeng."

We went into the container house and I put a hood on Gaeul that fit her perfectly. The Gaeul from the other world seemed to take the hood as a gift, because she offered something in return - a round white orb whose purpose I couldn't determine.

"Gaeul, what's this?"

"Muki pyupyu."

Gaeul made a motion like shooting a bow into the air. Was it a magic item to use with weapons?

I picked up the bow stored in the corner of the container.

"Gaeul, how do I..."

Just as I approached the other world's Gaeul with the bow and orb, a bright light emerged from the orb and began seeping into the bow.

"Wow."

Clap clap clap-

Both Gaeuls applauded. Though I wasn't sure what had happened, the flashy display made it feel like the bow had been enhanced.

"Gaeul, what just happened?"

"Heuk...?"

The Gaeul from the other world tilted her head. She seemed unsure herself.

"Um..."

I wanted to try it at the training grounds, but with the other world's Gaeul visiting, there was no need to go there, right? Today I decided to just play with the two Gaeuls.

"Other Gaeul."

"Nyeng."

"Nyeng."

I'd called for the Gaeul from the other world, but our Gaeul responded too. The concept of "other" didn't seem to mean much to them.

So I decided to just call them together.

"Kids, should we go see Sophia?"

I pointed to Sophia walking in the park in the distance. Both Gaeuls smiled brightly when they spotted her.

"Good."

"Heuk..."

"Want to try wearing this and follow me?"

I draped cloth over both Gaeuls - the same kind Gaeul used for her teleportation magic, which the other world's Gaeul now carried too.

After covering their heads with the cloth, I ran toward Sophia.

"Sophia, want to make a bet?"

"A bet, you say?"

"Yes. The loser has to give a hug."

"A hug... no, wait. Alright, let's try it."

"Then..."

At her expression asking what the bet was, I pointed to the two Gaeuls following behind. They were following us with cloth covering them, but seemed unable to see properly as they bumped into things.

Bonk-

They collided with each other and hit their heads on trees. But they seemed to find it fun, giggling as they approached.

"Sophia, guess which is the real Gaeul."

"Hmm?"

At my question, Sophia crossed her arms. Her eyebrows twitched, suggesting she was finding it difficult to tell them apart.

Understandably so - they were both Gaeul after all.

"I thought this would be easy, but it's harder than expected. I thought I knew our family well..."

After contemplating, Sophia picked our world's Gaeul. When she tapped the cloth, Gaeul threw it off to reveal herself.

"Kakkku!"

"...Thankfully I was right."

Sophia showed a slight look of relief. I giggled at her reaction.

"No, you were only half right."

"Half, you say?"

"Yes. This one is actually Gaeul too."

"What?"

Tap tap.

I patted the back of the other world's Gaeul, who was still covered in cloth. She confidently threw off the cloth.

"Kakkku!"

"Oh?"

Sophia's tail tip fluttered at the sight of Gaeul wearing a hood. I couldn't help smiling at her rare show of surprise.

"Since Sophia lost, you have to give a hug."

"True, but this Gaeul is..."

"She's the Gaeul from the other world I mentioned before."

"I see."

Sophia hugged me tight and patted both Gaeuls' heads. At her characteristically pleasant touch, the Gaeuls stuck out their tongues slightly.

Watching them, I whispered in Sophia's ear:

"Sophia, it seems Gaeul has the ability to cross portals."

"She did demonstrate such an ability."

"Yes. So I was wondering..."

I looked up at Sophia hesitantly. Though I wanted to stay with her, I had to ask this.

"Have you never thought about going back to your original world?"

"You mean my homeland?"

"Yes. Maybe with Gaeul's ability..."

"No."

"What?"

Sophia was trapped in this world by its will. I thought she must have desperately wanted to return home, but was that not the case?

I looked up at her with confused eyes.

"At first I did want to return home, but that changed after meeting all of you."

"Because of family?"

"Yes, now this world with you, Gyeoul, feels like home. And..."

"...And?"

At my question, Sophia cleared her throat. Then, seeming embarrassed, she averted her gaze as she spoke.

"...I don't want to live somewhere without modern infrastructure. The massage chair is nice, you know."

"Ah, right."

The beast-kin lived like naturalists in forests and seas. It made perfect sense that Sophia, having experienced modern comforts, wouldn't want to return.

"And maybe... no, never mind."

"Okay."

Sophia trailed off. Though curious, I decided not to press further.

"Anyway, welcome. Have fun while you're here."

"Nyeng."

As Sophia and the other world's Gaeul exchanged greetings, we heard Han Yeoreum's voice from the guild building.

"Ahh."

Han Yeoreum was sighing heavily while looking at her smartphone. Had something gone wrong?

I ran toward her with both Gaeuls.

**

Haah. Oh dear.

Han Yeoreum kept muttering to herself in a lamenting tone. She looked quite serious.

As I stood blankly in front of her, her eyes rolled toward me.

"Oh? Gyeoul, how long have you been there?"

"Since you said 'ahh.'"

"O-oh, really?"

Hehe.

Han Yeoreum awkwardly laughed while scratching her cheek.

"Did something happen?"

"Ah, it's nothing, just that the stocks I bought yesterday fell."

"Stocks? You invest in stocks?"

"Yeah. I'm learning with some spare money... Oh! Want to try investing too, Gyeoul?"

Stocks? The suggestion came completely out of nowhere.

I quickly waved my hands at Han Yeoreum.

"N-no. I don't know how to invest..."

"That's why you study from now. It never hurts to learn about financial management."

"Hmm..."

That's true. Though I'd never tried it myself, I had heard that losing money in stocks could be a valuable learning experience.

"I have a spare stock account, I'll put a million won in it for you to use."

"A m-million won?!"

"Yeah. Don't worry if you lose it all. A million won is cheap tuition for learning."

"Y-yes..."

It was a bit scary, but not bad if I thought of it as studying for the future.

I sat on Han Yeoreum's lap on the bench and got a quick lesson about stocks.

"Which stocks do you think will go up, Gyeoul?"

"Um... sn-snacks...?"

"Snacks?"

"Yes... because snacks are delicious..."

"Okay. Then let's buy these snack company stocks..."

Han Yeoreum bought me stocks in snack companies. She diversified across several companies rather than just one.

"Now let's check later how these do. When they fall, analyze why they fell, and when they rise, analyze why they rose."

"Okay."

Me investing in stocks? And a whole million won at that?

Somehow, it made me feel like a proper modern person working hard at life.

"What should we do now?"

"Let's play with our Gaeuls."

"Gaeuls?"

"Yes. We have two Gaeuls."

"Oh my?"

Han Yeoreum covered her mouth seeing the Gaeuls sticking out their tongues. If she had a tail, it probably would have been wagging rapidly.

Actually, I was just as excited about having two Gaeuls.

**

Back home, Han Yeoreum spent a fun time playing with the children. They played with dolls, hide and seek, and more - time flew by.

"Where could my babies be?"

Han Yeoreum walked around the house speaking in a playful voice. They usually hid in their favorite spots.

Maybe she should check their room first?

Han Yeoreum opened the children's room door.

"Oh..."

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Gyeoul lying face down on the floor with the children looking down at her - Saebyeok, Levinas, and both Gaeuls watching with worried eyes.

"Gyeoul?"

Gyeoul was lying face down formally on the hard floor. What could have happened in such a short time?

Han Yeoreum quickly ran to Gyeoul and put a hand on her back.

"Gyeoul, what's wrong?"

"Money..."

"Money?"

The smartphone in Gyeoul's hand showed the stock account Han Yeoreum had given her.

Return rate: -2%

A loss of about 20,000 won.

"My precious moneeeeey."

20,000 won. Though not an enormous amount for Gyeoul now, she felt devastated.

It felt like throwing money into thin air. No snacks, no daily necessities, no pots bought - yet 20,000 won had vanished.

Money that could have bought drinks with the children or let them play at the arcade all day...!

Gyeoul couldn't help but despair at this first-time experience. Watching money disappear without being able to use it for anything was absolutely horrifying.