I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 422: Bom's Test

"Hiiieek!"

The mischievous Bom came running with a bright red face.

She seemed so flustered I worried she might trip.

"Bom, what's wrong?"

"That weird woman...! Quick, hide...!"

"Weird woman...?"

She just patted her head - why call her weird?

What could have caused this reaction?

I couldn't understand it at all.

I looked back and forth between Bom hiding behind the tree and Han Yeoreum scratching her cheek on the bench.

After a while, Bom reached out and pulled me.

She seemed to want me to hide behind the tree too.

"Gyeoul, did you see that? Even though I teased her, she said it was fine and patted my head?!"

"Yeah. Because Bom is pretty."

"N-no...! I'm not pretty at all...!"

Bom waved her hands denying she was pretty.

I could only stare in confusion.

Bom was undeniably pretty and lovable by anyone's standards.

Her black bob haircut contrasted with her pale skin.

Though her face was as prim as Encia's, it held a child's pure innocence.

Her black hanbok gave off an elegant feeling.

"But Bom is pretty everywhere I look?"

"D-don't say that...!"

"Huh?"

"Friends who lie are bad friends so you shouldn't do that!"

"...?"

This angel-like child was insisting she wasn't pretty at all.

What could have happened to Bom?

As I watched her with concern, Han Yeoreum approached us.

"Bom."

"...!"

Bom's black snake tail shot straight up.

Her snake tail seemed to react like our mammalian tails.

"Bom, I'm sorry. Was I too forward?"

"......"

Though Han Yeoreum spoke to her, Bom just fidgeted silently.

She only glanced around nervously, watching my reaction.

She really did seem afraid of adults.

"Am I still too intimidating? Should I step back a bit?"

When Han Yeoreum quietly stepped back, Bom came closer to me.

She looked at Han Yeoreum with a sulky yet wary expression.

"Gyeoul, looks like she's trying to trick me by pretending to be nice."

"No, everyone in our family is genuinely nice."

"Family? How can beast-kin and humans be family?"

"Well... because we treasure and trust each other...?"

Despite my explanation, Bom's expression remained full of doubt.

It was sad seeing her maintain such wariness toward Han Yeoreum.

"I don't know about that. I've never seen an adult act this nice from the start."

"R-really? Aren't most adults usually kind?"

Was it because Bom was mischievous?

Or had she had other conflicts with adults?

Her distrust showed no signs of fading.

"Was that adult nice to Gyeoul from the start too?"

"Well, with me..."

I recalled when I first met Han Yeoreum.

Truth be told, she hadn't been particularly kind that first day we talked.

She'd had an angry face and spoke curtly.

Should I tell her this honestly?

Not wanting to lie to Bom, I decided to tell the truth.

"Actually our first meeting wasn't great. But misunderstandings cleared up and we got closer over time."

"...Really? What was it like when you first met?"

"Well, I was homeless-!"

Just as I was about to tell Bom what happened back then.

Han Yeoreum moved at lightning speed to cover my mouth.

"Aw, isn't Gyeoul just so cute."

Han Yeoreum lifted and lowered my body repeatedly.

Though I didn't understand why, I didn't mind her show of affection.

"Hehe."

Seeing me smile brightly, Bom stepped backward.

She pointed at Han Yeoreum accusingly.

"You just tried to hide something!"

"N-no, I'm not hiding anything..."

"Liar! I know when adults are lying! I'll tear off your mask!"

Bom ran far away with a hardened expression.

Han Yeoreum just scratched her cheek in response.

**

It didn't take long for us to understand what she meant about tearing off masks.

Bom herself declared it clearly.

"If I play really persistent and horrible pranks, the mask will definitely come off."

Persistent and horrible pranks.

Worry showed on the children's faces.

Still, Bom wouldn't stop her "horrible pranks."

"Gaeul, do you know any really scary and gross insects?"

"...Ant?"

"Right. Ants are pretty scary and gross."

Bom crouched in the grass, searching for ants.

Thinking it was an ant-finding game, Gaeul also sat down to look.

"Ant! Big ant!"

Being common insects, they found ants quickly.

Holding two ants she'd found, Bom approached Han Yeoreum who was resting near the tent.

"King, what's the snake going to do with those ants?"

"I wonder..."

Was it even possible to bother someone with ants?

Curious, we followed behind Bom.

We didn't stop her because we knew her pranks weren't really dangerous.

"Here. This is a gift for you."

Bom held out her closed fist toward Han Yeoreum.

Two ants were held inside.

"A gift?"

"Yeah."

Han Yeoreum held out her hand.

Bom placed the two ants on Han Yeoreum's palm.

Though we couldn't identify the species, they were smaller than normal ants.

Pat pat pat-

The two tiny ants, smaller than grains, crawled across Han Yeoreum's palm.

Seeing this, Han Yeoreum smiled.

"Oh my, what cute little ants?"

"C-cute...?"

"Yeah. Are you giving them to me?"

The tiny ants were cute.

Though with beast-kin vision magnifying them, they did look scary.

"N-not giving them. Just showing you."

"Not giving them?"

"Y-yeah... ants need freedom too... we should put them back in the grass when we're done looking..."

Bom whispered softly with a red face.

Seeing her like this, Han Yeoreum looked moved.

"Wow, our Bom is so kind?"

"N-no I'm not...! I'm not kind at all!"

Bom ran away in agitation.

Watching her go, Han Yeoreum gave an awkward smile.

"Seems Bom really dislikes me."

"Hmm... I don't think she dislikes you."

Huh?

Everyone turned to look at Sophia.

It certainly seemed like dislike from every angle.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked Sophia:

"She doesn't dislike her?"

"No, rather than dislike, she's testing her."

"Testing...?"

Bom was testing Han Yeoreum?

I couldn't understand what she meant at all.

"Children sometimes test adults. They test if someone is truly trustworthy, if they'll protect them in dangerous situations."

"Ah..."

I started to understand.

Bom was evaluating Han Yeoreum through her pranks.

"So I'm being tested...?"

"Yes, though I'm not sure what the right answer is."

"Hmm... maybe affection...?"

While Han Yeoreum pondered this, Bom came running back from far away.

She grabbed hands or pushed the backs of all of us - me, Levinas, Gaeul, and Saebyeok.

"Friends, let's go over there."

"Why?"

"Let's all plan our next operation."

"Operation..."

Another of Bom's mischievous pranks?

I looked back at where Han Yeoreum and Sophia sat.

-Go ahead.

Han Yeoreum nodded, answering with her eyes.

So we should keep going with this?

Just as I was following Bom, understanding this.

Bom, who was leading us, reached out toward Sophia sitting on a log in the distance.

"Shark beast-kin, you come too."

"...Wasn't this just for children?"

"Yeah. We're planning operations with just children."

"Unfortunately, I'm well past the age of being called a child."

"Huh?"

Bom raised her black snake tail and looked Sophia up and down.

She seemed to have mistaken Sophia for a child.

Though everyone, including me, did mistake Sophia for a child at first.

"I'm 9 years old, how old are you?"

"Probably much older than you think."

"Double digits? I'll be double digits next year too."

"...Much more than that. I stopped counting after 100."

"What!"

Sophia had lived more than ten times longer than Bom.

Startled, Bom started counting on her fingers.

After repeatedly opening and closing her fingers, she ran to us.

"L-liar! Total frog! A shark but actually a frog!"

Bom hid behind me to express her anger.

Thump thump thump, she just patted my shoulders like a massage - that was the extent of her anger.

"...Sorry for surprising you. This body just stopped growing."

"Were you pretending to be small just to make fun of me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"......"

Press press-

This time Bom actually massaged my shoulders.

Her soothing touch made me let out an "ahh."

"...There are so many bad adults in the world."

Bom walked toward the far side of the park, grumbling.

But this time she didn't run away.

It felt like Bom's real test was just beginning.