I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 423: Showing Off the House

Bom's evil pranks continued without pause.

Though they were somewhat clumsy evil pranks.

"Look at this!"

Bom picked up a stone from the park's grass.

She placed the stone on the park's path.

As I wondered about the meaning of this supposedly evil act, Han Yeoreum clapped.

"Wow, are you trying to make people trip on the stone?"

"N-no..."

Startled, Bom quickly picked up the stone from the path.

Clutching the small stone tightly with both hands, she watched Han Yeoreum nervously.

"Wasn't the stone meant to make people trip?"

"I just wanted to make the clean path messy..."

Bom looked up at Han Yeoreum with frightened eyes.

Realizing she'd said something scary, Han Yeoreum quickly waved her hands.

"Well, I heard you were playing bad pranks..."

"Hurting people isn't a prank..."

"R-right! That's just bullying."

"Yeah. I don't like violence..."

Bom cautiously backed away from Han Yeoreum.

Seeing Bom's frightened appearance, Han Yeoreum gave an awkward smile.

"He-hehe, what's your next prank going to be?"

"...House!"

"Huh?"

"I'm going to mess up your house!"

Bom ran to the tent carrying stones and branches.

She started placing stones and branches all around the tent.

She even put a stone in the newly restored pot.

"Hmm..."

This place was more of a storage area than a house now.

Seeing Bom laughing "hahaha" with joy, it was hard to say anything.

The others seemed to feel the same, just looking around awkwardly.

Maybe thinking we were shocked by her actions?

Bang bang bang-

Bom started hitting the pot with branches.

It sounded like hitting a gong.

It seemed Bom's pranks would continue for a while.

**

When Bom took the children to find new pranks.

Sophia called Han Yeoreum.

"Yeoreum, how long do you plan to just laugh things off?"

"What?"

"When children play bad pranks, they need to be scolded sometimes."

At Sophia's serious tone, Han Yeoreum hesitated briefly.

Then, seeming to organize her thoughts, Han Yeoreum spoke again.

"But her pranks aren't that bad..."

"The size of the wrongdoing doesn't matter. They're still pranks with bad intentions."

"That's..."

"Left unchecked, they'll eventually escalate. Like stealing the artifact."

"Ah..."

The theft of a multi-billion won artifact.

Though it was just a prank to Bom, it must have felt devastating to the owner.

Han Yeoreum, who'd been trying to defend Bom, could only close her mouth.

"It's also an adult's job to guide children who are going down the wrong path."

"Yes. That's true."

"Remember this. Passing the child's test isn't just about being accepting."

Did she mean you need to know how to scold to pass the test?

Curious, Han Yeoreum asked Sophia:

"Sophia, can you pass the test even while scolding?"

"Yes. Sometimes a guardian who shows strength is more trustworthy than one who's just blindly kind."

"Ah..."

So she should show how strong and dependable she was through scolding Bom, directly or indirectly.

Having realized this, Han Yeoreum nodded.

"Just don't scold too harshly - be gentle but firm when you reason with her."

"Yes... though I'm not sure if I can do it well."

"Hmm... weren't you good at it? Surely when you first met Gyeoul..."

"So-Sophia!"

Han Yeoreum urgently called out Sophia's name.

Only after shouting did she realize Sophia was teasing her.

She was trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

Sometimes Sophia showed this mischievous side.

Maybe it was remnants of shark beast-kin sharpness.

A-ahem.

Han Yeoreum laughed awkwardly and looked toward where the children had gone.

Just then, she spotted the children running back from far away.

Bom was carrying a snack bag, though what prank she planned was unclear.

"Here! Eat this!"

Bom held out the opened snack bag.

Han Yeoreum ignored the snack bag and just looked at Bom.

"Bom, can you sit here for a moment?"

Tap tap-

Han Yeoreum patted the log near the tent.

The sideways log had room for all the children to sit.

"...Why?"

Though hesitant, Bom sat down as told.

Perhaps her wariness had decreased somewhat.

Han Yeoreum put on a firm expression and started reasoning with Bom.

"Bom, are you going to keep playing bad pranks?"

At the serious voice, all the children including Bom tensed up.

Gyeoul, who had been sitting comfortably on the log, straightened her back and placed her hands politely on her knees.

Gaeul's wagging tail stopped abruptly, and startled Levinas put her carrot back in her bag.

Even Saebyeok gaped, but Bom just blinked her eyes.

"Yeah. I'll keep doing it."

"...Then I might end up disliking you?"

"...Isn't that how all adults are?"

Though Bom's attitude was shockingly different from normal children, Han Yeoreum didn't show it on her face.

It was one of the life skills she'd learned from living with children.

"That's not true? I really like you Bom?"

"Wh-what?!"

"You're getting along with our children, and you're pretty too."

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

"No? But you are pretty? So pretty I want to hug you?"

At Han Yeoreum's firm tone, Bom stood up from the log.

She spread her arms with an angry expression.

"Then try hugging me! You won't last ten seconds because it's so unpleasant!"

"Hmm..."

Han Yeoreum stood up and approached Bom.

Then without hesitation, she hugged her tight.

"Eh-eh?"

Bom froze with her arms still spread.

Had she not expected a real hug?

Han Yeoreum gently patted Bom's back.

"Bom is really pretty and kind, but if you keep playing bad pranks, I might end up disliking you. You saw earlier? I can be pretty scary when I'm angry?"

"B-but the Dragon King..."

"Forget the Dragon King, follow your heart. Do you really want to play bad pranks on people who like you?"

"......"

Bom stayed silent for a while.

In the silence, Bom's stiff arms wrapped around Han Yeoreum.

"Then is it okay if I play pranks that aren't bad...?"

"Hmm... pranks that make everyone have fun are welcome."

"...Okay. Then I won't do it to people here."

"...Just people here?"

"Yeah."

She could push more, but maybe that was enough for today.

Pat pat-

Han Yeoreum stroked Bom's back as she hugged her.

Realizing it was over, the children ran to join Bom and Han Yeoreum.

To join the hug.

**

"I'm going to move here!"

"Move?"

"Yeah! Wait a bit while I bring my house!"

Bom ran outside the park.

What kind of house could she bring?

Was she going to live in a tent?

While we waited curiously, Bom returned shortly after.

"Ta-da! This is my house!"

Bom proudly held out a cardboard box.

We could only stare in confusion at the box that looked like it would blow away in the wind.

"Y-you live here?"

"Yeah. Want to sleep together at my house tonight?"

"Well, it seems too small for everyone..."

An ordinary cardboard box.

When folded up, it barely reached my knees.

"No, I can make it bigger."

"Bigger?"

"Yeah. Watch."

Black mana rose from Bom's hands.

As the mana wrapped around the box, it started growing larger.

"Heuk!"

"Shuin!"

The cardboard box grew large enough to fit all of us, capturing the children's imagination.

Like a secret base, you could say?

There was something that touched people's hearts about it.

"How is it? My house is amazing."

"Yeah. I've never seen such a cool house."

I ran around inside the cardboard box with the children.

However, there was no furniture anywhere in the box.

"Don't you have blankets?"

"No. Just lie down like this to sleep."

Bom flopped down on the floor.

Without hesitation, I reached out to her.

"Then want to sleep at our house? We have soft blankets. Let's sleep under them together."

"Oh! Yes!"

Bom got up and ran toward the tent.

She looked around the house with sparkling eyes.

"Gyeoul's house is really cool."

"Uh, yeah. But this isn't really our house anymore."

"...Don't tell me that metal building?"

"No, that's not our house either. More like a place to rest after playing or working."

"...Then where is your house?"

As Bom looked confused, Gaeul spoke up instead.

"Building!"

Gaeul pointed at the Yeomyeong Guild building.

Bom froze seeing the building that rose high enough to pierce the clouds.

"C-can't play bad pranks on friends..."

She couldn't believe we lived in that towering building.