I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 416: Big or Small Doesn't Matter

Gaeul slid across the ice.

At the end of her slide was a metal pole.

"Oh no."

Gaeul was in danger.

But with skates on, it was hard to help her.

Feeling helpless, all I could do was reach out.

"Wheee!"

Gaeul slid right into the metal pole.

I expected a loud crash and cries of pain, but what happened next surprised me.

Instead of crashing, Gaeul bounced off the pole and came flying back toward me.

It seemed they had cast special magic on the equipment to prevent injuries from collisions.

"Shuin!"

Gaeul slid toward me with a bright smile.

I caught her with both hands.

"Gaeul, the ground is really slippery."

"Nyeng."

Lick lick-

After licking my cheek a couple times, Gaeul tried to stand up.

She managed to get halfway up before wobbling and falling back down.

"Shuin help Gaelik."

"Can't get up?"

"Heuk..."

Gaeul nodded and tried standing again.

She kept falling down and getting back up, over and over.

But she didn't give up trying to stand.

"Wheek...!"

Her limbs trembled as she struggled to her feet.

Just then, Levinas came sliding toward her at high speed.

"Gaeul puppyyyy!"

Levinas's voice got closer and closer.

Had she already figured out how to skate?

Looking over, I saw Levinas approaching on an ice sled.

Poke- poke-

She was using a pick to propel herself across the ice.

Thanks to her digging strength, she moved quite fast.

"Horned bunny."

Unable to move on the ice, Gaeul just reached out her hands.

Levinas circled around her.

She seemed quite skilled at sledding.

"Gaeul puppy, ride this too!"

Levinas handed Gaeul a sled set.

But Gaeul was only interested in the pick, not the sled.

Poke- poke-

Gaeul moved forward by stabbing the ice with the pick.

Even without riding the sled, she glided forward easily on the slippery ice.

"Wow."

Sitting and sliding on ice - how amazing.

So I skated standing up while Gaeul and Levinas rode sleds.

'I wonder why Saebyeok isn't coming...'

Just as I thought about Saebyeok:

Thud!

A loud crash came from nearby.

Looking over, I saw Saebyeok lying spread-eagled on the ice.

"Saebyeok, did you fall?"

"No, I was lying down because the ice feels nice."

"Really?"

"I'm lying. I actually fell."

Ah, she fell.

Was skating difficult for Saebyeok too?

I went over and helped her up.

"Then today let's practice skating together..."

Ting ting ting ting-

Bouncing sounds came from where the playground equipment was.

Gaeul and Levinas were bouncing back and forth between the equipment.

My tail perked up seeing how much fun they were having.

"That looks fun."

"Yeah. Let's do it too."

Playing at the amusement park, then sledding at home.

Though we played all day, it didn't feel like wasted time.

No, it felt satisfying.

**

"Was skating fun?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Call me if you want to skate again."

"Okay, let's go skating together again."

After playing at the skating rink Jung Yu-na made for us, we headed home.

After a quick shower, I came back to the living room where the children were doing something.

"Yah!"

"Yak!"

The children were throwing punches in the air.

Levinas and Gaeul were clumsy at it, but Saebyeok looked quite good.

'That's...'

I wondered what they were doing until I saw the TV.

A man on TV was teaching martial arts.

-Next is a technique for breaking your opponent's balance.

The man on TV grabbed his practice partner's waist.

He hooked the partner's leg and broke their balance, making them fall instantly.

"Wow!"

Clapping her hands, Levinas came over to me.

Her eyes were fixed on the TV.

"King, that thing they're doing..."

"Want to try it?"

"Yeah...! But what if it hurts..."

"How about we put blankets on the floor?"

"Oh...! What a great idea!"

Levinas brought thick blankets from the bedroom.

She laid two blankets down to cushion falls, then came and grabbed my waist.

I wondered if Levinas could actually throw me.

I watched her expectantly.

"King, ready?!"

"Yeah."

Levinas bent her waist to the right.

When I didn't fall despite her bending almost 90 degrees, she bent to the left.

Again, almost 90 degrees.

Left right left right.

Without hooking my leg, Levinas just kept bending side to side.

While holding my waist.

"Levinas, you need to hook the leg."

"Leg?"

"Yeah. Put your foot behind the leg like this and throw."

I put my foot behind Levinas's leg.

Then broke her balance and threw her.

I made sure she landed softly on the blankets.

"Heuk...!"

Lying on the blankets, Levinas threw both hands up.

Then she started giggling.

"King is amazing! This is really hard for Levinas!"

"No, you'll be able to do it with practice."

"Yeah! Levinas will practice hard!"

Levinas kept practicing different throws while holding my waist.

Behind her, Gaeul and Saebyeok were practicing the same technique.

Gaeul was clinging to Saebyeok like a cicada.

Though Gaeul twisted and turned while hanging on, Saebyeok didn't fall.

Saebyeok just walked to our blankets and laid Gaeul down.

"Whing?!"

Gaeul seemed startled at first, then started laughing when she saw us.

Win or lose, Gaeul was always happy just being with us.

"King, Levinas will practice this to help when you're in danger!"

"Gaelik too."

"Yeah. Thank you everyone, let's work hard and get stronger."

We practiced techniques until bedtime.

Though we didn't make much progress, it didn't feel disappointing.

Because we all worked hard and had fun together.

**

Factions tend to form anywhere.

This was true even among pet owners.

Small Animal Society.

A group for people who love small animals.

Even within this group, smaller factions formed based on what animals people kept.

"Don't you think dogs are the best though? They've been with humans for tens of thousands of years."

"Dogs are nice, but Mi-yeon's dog isn't really what I'd call a small animal..."

A large dog in a small animal group?

Park Ju-hye narrowed her eyes, but the woman called Mi-yeon didn't seem to mind.

"It's smaller than me."

"...Well, it is lovable."

Though there were minor disagreements in the group, they never turned into real fights.

They were all animal lovers by nature after all.

No one could dislike a dog that wagged its tail with such a gentle face, even if it was a bit large.

My pet is prettier.

Though everyone wanted to say that, all the animals were equally cute.

"Dogs are nice, but look at our little hopper."

A white horned rabbit.

It had recently become a popular pet.

Young women especially liked them for their uniqueness and affectionate nature.

"Horned rabbits are really cute."

"Yes. So adorable."

"But these horns are a bit of a shame."

When the horned rabbit nuzzled her, its horns poked a bit painfully.

It was somewhat disappointing, you could say.

Just as Park Ju-hye was tapping the horned rabbit's horns:

A familiar child's voice came from behind.

"What's wrong with the horns?!"

"Oh, um?"

Turning around, they saw the one responsible for horned rabbits' explosive popularity.

They'd avoided meeting at Yeomyeong Park to prevent issues with the children, but why...?

While Park Ju-hye hesitated, Levinas's gaze went to the horned rabbits.

There must have been around fifteen of them.

The group members were petting the horned rabbits' bodies and heads.

"Well, their horns aren't as cool as Levinas's..."

"That's right! No horned rabbit has cooler horns than Levinas!"

Ahem.

Puffing out her chest, Levinas sat among the horned rabbits.

She turned her head this way and that, as if asking to be petted.

"Oh."

"Hmm..."

A chance to pet Levinas?

The group members' hands naturally reached for Levinas's head.

Levinas smiled brightly at their gentle, pleasant touches.

Gyeoul approached the smiling Levinas.

"Levinas, what are you doing?"

"King! Come sit here too! They pet you when you sit here!"

"Um... we shouldn't let just anyone pet us..."

"It's okay, they're horned rabbit people!"

"Uh, okay...?"

Is it okay if they're with horned rabbits?

Watching the group members nervously, Gyeoul sat next to Levinas.

Seeing their awkward mannerisms, the group members' jaws dropped.

"..."

Though they were much larger than the members' horned rabbits, dogs, and cats, they were twice as lovable.

Size had nothing to do with cuteness.

Park Ju-hye seriously considered changing the group's name.