I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 425: Beast-Folk Village

We all decided to go to the beast-kin village together.

Though it wasn't just for fun, Saebyeok and Gaeul seemed quite excited.

"Let's bring lots of anchovies."

"Milk?"

"Yes. We'll bring milk too..."

Unlike Saebyeok and Gaeul who were busy deciding what to bring, Levinas and Bom looked restless.

Of course they would, since they had escaped from the beast-kin village.

Naturally, they wouldn't want to return.

"King, are you really going to the beast-kin village...?"

Levinas tugged at my clothes.

She pulled at them pleadingly, begging me not to go.

Instead of me, Sophia stepped in to reassure the two children.

"We're going to the moderate faction, so don't worry too much."

"Moderate faction?!"

"Yes, those who dislike harming others are the moderate faction."

"...!"

None of us had any reason to doubt Sophia's words.

Thanks to her, Levinas sighed in relief.

"Snake, we're not going to the bad beast-kin, but to the kind ones!"

"R-really?"

"Yeah!"

After somehow convincing Bom too, we began preparing for our trip to the beast-kin village.

Quite a large group was going to the village.

Most of what people called "Han Yeoreum's unit" was coming along.

"Beast-kin are quite a closed society. This is true even for the moderate faction. So from now on, you'll need to become beast-kin."

At Sophia's brief explanation, Yoon Chaerin raised her hand.

While distributing the fish-shaped bread she'd brought, she asked:

"Um, are we going too...? All I know how to do is make snacks..."

Yoon Chaerin, Yoo Sang-ah, Momoa, and Im Sehee too.

Among those heading to the beast-kin village, some weren't combat personnel.

"Yes, I'd like you to help reform the beast-kin village's system."

"Reform..."

"You'll understand when you see it. The beast-kin's social system is quite old-fashioned... or rather, traditional."

"Ah, okay."

After everyone received their roles, they pondered what kind of beast-kin to become.

Surprisingly, this part took quite a long time to decide.

"Gyeoul, what kind of beast-kin should sister become?"

"Um... elephant...?"

"Elephant...?!"

"Yes. Elephants are really strong."

"Hmm... elephants are nice, but something cuter would suit sister better."

A cute beast-kin.

As we were thinking about it, Levinas joined our discussion.

Levinas puffed out her chest with an "ahem" and tapped it with her fist.

"How about a horned rabbit?!"

"Horned rabbit?"

"Yeah! Horned rabbits are cute and strong!"

"Oh... horned rabbit sounds good? Should sister be a horned rabbit?"

Seeing Han Yeoreum leaning toward becoming a horned rabbit, Levinas's eyes sparkled.

Though she wouldn't be a real beast-kin, Levinas was overjoyed at the thought of seeing someone like herself.

"Yeah! Be a horned rabbit! Horned rabbit!"

"Okay, I'll be a horned rabbit then."

Yahoo!

Levinas jumped so high she nearly hit the ceiling.

For Levinas, who had been longing for her own kind, this was wonderful news.

**

The journey to the beast-kin village involved more people than I'd expected.

We had to charter an entire bus.

Among those joining us was Chae Juyeon, the Sacred Guild Master.

She was coming because her healing magic might be needed.

"Master, I'm so happy you could come with us today."

"Yes, I'm happy I could come with Gyeoul too."

Master Chae Juyeon had become a swan beast-kin.

Her appearance had changed slightly, with white hair and wings on her back.

She looked almost like an angel - all she needed was a halo.

"Master, can you fly with those wings?"

"Hmm... I can't actually fly, but I could probably pretend to with levitation magic."

"Ah."

Was it because she wasn't a real beast-kin that she couldn't fly?

I wasn't sure of the reason.

After chatting with Master Chae Juyeon, I turned around in my bus seat to look behind me.

In the seat behind me were Han Yeoreum, now a horned rabbit beast-kin, and Levinas looking up at her.

"Levinas, you've got a new companion now."

"Yeah...!"

Her appearance had changed slightly, with white horned rabbit ears sprouting from her head.

Without thinking, I reached out to touch her long ears.

Squish squish-

As I played with her rabbit ears, Han Yeoreum gave an awkward smile.

"...This sensation is hard to get used to. The sounds come from above now."

"Can you hear better?"

"No, my hearing hasn't improved."

"Ah."

So only appearance changes, not abilities?

Having their original abilities might actually be better.

"Let's get off here."

While we were chatting, the bus stopped somewhere in the Taebaek Mountains.

The non-adventurers' faces stiffened at the sight of the clearly challenging mountain path.

"D-do we have to climb up there...?"

"Yes, it should take about two hours at your pace."

"Eek."

Momoa and Yoon Chaerin looked dismayed.

But they didn't hesitate to start climbing.

They knew how important this mission was.

'This will be tough for them.'

Before I got this body, climbing mountains every day was torture for me too.

Remembering the days I used to tumble down mountain slopes, I could somewhat understand how difficult this would be for them.

Feeling a bit sorry, I decided to encourage them.

"Let's all do our best climbing together."

"Y-yeah. With Gyeoul's buff magic, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Okay."

After getting ready, we set out toward the pathless mountain.

Despite the rough terrain, our children were just having fun.

"King! There are pretty flowers over there!"

"Yeah, they're really pretty."

"If we take these flowers to the guild, will the bees like them?!"

"They'll love them!"

The children and I ran all over the mountain.

We went down and back up, and spun around in circles.

The mountain wasn't too challenging for beast-kin, since it was like home to us.

"Woah!"

Happy to be on the mountain with her family, Gaeul started running up the path.

As she ran quickly upward, she suddenly fell backward with a thump.

"Gaeul, are you okay?"

"Heuk..."

With a blank expression, Gaeul reached toward the air.

Her palm pressed against something as if pushing against a wall.

"Is something there?"

"It's a barrier protecting the beast-kin village."

"A barrier?"

"Yes, a barrier that even the Wizards Association president would struggle to break. I've contacted those inside, so let's wait a moment."

Just as we were about to wait following Sophia's explanation, Gaeul raised her eyebrows fiercely and charged toward the barrier with a shout.

"Gaeul."

Despite hearing it was a barrier even the association president would struggle with, Gaeul ran at it without hesitation.

Our Gaeul had quite the challenging spirit.

I reached out my hands to catch her when she bounced back.

Woong-

"Huh?"

Gaeul passed through the barrier, and my hand went through after her.

My hand became transparent beyond the barrier, looking as if it had been cut off.

'Did the barrier come down?'

I hesitated for a moment, but we needed to go in anyway.

I slowly pushed my body through the barrier.

Once through, we found ourselves in a completely different place.

Before we could take in the mysterious space, we spotted two beast-kin staring at us with shocked expressions.

"H-how..."

"...?"

Why were they suddenly so surprised?

Looking around, I realized when I saw Gaeul puffing out her chest with an "ahem."

Gaeul had the ability to enter any space.

It seemed she had broken through the barrier with her own power.

**

Flora, an elder and mage of the moderate faction beast-kin.

She recalled her conversation with her disciple from ten minutes ago.

-Master, are we really going to support someone who was human as our king?

-Since Elder Sophia strongly recommended it, let's at least check them out.

-But...

-Sophia said they're a child with incredible abilities and potential. Sophia is a trustworthy elder, so shouldn't we at least observe?

-......

Sophia had led the moderate faction beast-kin for a long time.

Though they were unhappy about a human-born beast-kin king, those who followed Sophia like a parent couldn't easily speak up.

-Disciple, shouldn't we check what kind of person they are before expressing dissatisfaction?

-Well, if they're so great, they'll get through the barrier on their own.

Flora's disciple Heily grumbled but began working on lowering the barrier.

Since it was a high-level barrier hiding the beast-kin village, even letting a few people through required considerable work.

-Delete the third Almai formula.

-Okay, what's next?

-Next is...

Woong-!

As Flora and Heily were working, someone suddenly broke through the barrier without warning.

"...?"

Two beast-kin children with blank expressions.

Children she'd heard about through Sophia before.

'Surely that child is...'

The king candidate.

The one who was practically confirmed as king?

Flora couldn't help being shocked when she confirmed the child's identity.

After all, even great mages couldn't easily break through the beast-kin village's barrier.

Sophia had boasted about what an exceptional child they were.

At least their abilities seemed to live up to the claims.

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