I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 426: I'll Be Gentle

Two beast-kin were staring blankly at me and Gaeul.

One had ram horns, the other deer antlers.

"You two..."

The ram-horned beast-kin holding a staff approached us.

To them, we were sudden intruders, so I hurried to introduce myself.

"Ah, hello. I'm Han Gyeoul..."

"Gaeri."

Gaeul bowed following my lead.

Seemingly pleased by our polite manners, the female ram-horned beast-kin smiled.

"Welcome to the beast-kin village. Miss Han Gyeoul, and Miss Gaeri."

"Not Gaeri."

"Hm?"

"Gae. Lik."

Perhaps because the ram beast-kin called her Gaeri?

Gaeul pronounced each syllable of her name carefully.

Unfortunately, she still couldn't quite say it properly.

"I apologize Miss Gaelik, the name is still unfamiliar to me..."

"No! Ga! Euk! Lik!"

"Gaenklik...?"

Between Gaeul struggling with pronunciation and the ram beast-kin struggling with Korean names.

Caught between them, I couldn't help but laugh.

Starting our visit to the beast-kin village with laughter felt somehow right.

"Shuin!"

Giving up on explaining, Gaeul turned to me.

She seemed to decide asking for my help would be quicker.

"This is Gaeul."

"Oh my, the season of harvest...!"

Clap! The ram beast-kin clapped her hands.

Her drooping ears quivered.

"Um, but who are you?"

"Ah, pardon my late introduction. I am Flora, an elder of the beast-kin village."

"Hello, Flora."

After greeting her casually, I looked at the deer-antlered beast-kin beside her.

Though she appeared to be a young girl, she had antlers for some reason.

Her face showed displeasure when she saw me.

"Hmph."

The deer beast-kin turned her head sharply.

Her hostility was obvious to anyone.

"Heily, where did you learn such manners?"

"But Master...!"

"Apologize at once."

"...Sorry."

The child called Heily apologized.

Not understanding why she was angry or apologizing, I just stood there blankly.

"I'm sorry, that child was also a king candidate, so she's a bit upset."

"King candidate?"

"Yes. Though Sophia insisted we withdraw our candidate, we'll step aside willingly if we confirm your qualifications."

"Hmm..."

I didn't have even one percent of the qualities needed for a king.

But since it was Sophia's request, it wasn't easy to refuse.

"Most withdrew their candidacy at Sophia's request... but be careful, some still aim for the throne."

"H-how many?"

"About three from the moderate faction, and the radical faction... too many to count."

"Oh my."

Among so many candidates, could I really do well?

In this troubling situation, Gaeul brought in the others waiting outside the barrier.

Seeing Gaeul leading the children by hand, the deer girl called Heily's face showed bewilderment.

'Why is she so surprised?'

I wasn't sure.

Scratching my cheek, I ran to Sophia who was following behind Gaeul.

"Sophia, we've got trouble."

"What's wrong?"

"Flora told me there are lots of king candidates."

"They're all nobodies, so don't worry too much."

Sophia's response was completely nonchalant.

Seeing her maintain perfect composure, I fidgeted with my fingers.

"But I'm not that special either..."

"Hmm...?"

Sophia's gaze fell on me.

Then she chuckled.

"You're more than qualified, Gyeoul, so don't worry."

"Okay..."

Though my worries hadn't disappeared, Sophia said it would be fine.

I decided to trust her words for now.

**

Following Flora's guidance, we entered the beast-kin village.

The village was even more mystical than I'd imagined.

Enormous trees that dozens of people couldn't fill.

Houses built up in those trees.

The beast-kin village's harmony with nature was enough to move the hearts of city dwellers.

"Wow..."

"It's so beautiful."

Those who came with us also looked amazed at the sight.

Among them was Master Chae Juyeon.

"Thanks to Gyeoul, we get to experience something like this."

"Hehe."

Pat pat-

As Master Chae Juyeon patted me, we moved to a large circular council chamber.

One strange thing was that we hadn't seen any villagers until we reached the council.

"Sophia, does nobody live in the village?"

"No, they're just being cautious. We're still untrusted visitors after all."

"Ah... I thought we'd at least get some hospitality or welcome."

"That will come after you're acknowledged."

"I see."

They said the village was closed off, but this much?

Feeling somewhat like a bad person, I walked toward the beast-kin council chamber.

Just before entering, Sophia turned to us and said:

"We must choose our words carefully here."

"Yes."

"Understood."

Gulp- someone swallowed as we sat down in order.

Despite the massive chamber, only a few beast-kin were inside.

There was a bearded elderly beast-kin, and one with bronze skin.

Some gave kind looks, others fierce ones.

Though each had their own character, they shared one thing in common:

They all exuded tremendous presence.

'These must be the moderate faction's representatives.'

Though nervous, I tried my best to appear calm.

I was used to expressionless faces from Sophia and Saebyeok.

As I put on my best poker face, the bearded elderly beast-kin spoke first:

"Sophia, is this the king candidate you mentioned?"

"Yes."

Huh.

The elderly beast-kin used honorifics while Sophia spoke casually.

This revealed that our Sophia was actually the elder one.

"In what aspects did you see royal qualities?"

"All aspects."

"When you say all aspects..."

"Character, personality, and ability too. There are no flaws in any aspect."

At Sophia's firmness, the council chamber stirred.

After murmuring among themselves for a while, the bronze-skinned male beast-kin raised his hand to speak.

"Granny Sophia, by ability do you mean combat strength?"

"Didn't I say all aspects? Their combat ability is quite exceptional too."

"Really...?"

The bronze-skinned beast-kin's eyes flashed.

His fighting spirit was obvious to anyone.

"Then I'd like to see those skills. We wolf-kin value strength above all. If we confirm their strength, we'll acknowledge them."

So the bronze man was a wolf beast-kin.

At his sneering attitude, Encia, who had been quiet until now, bared her teeth.

"Wilder, have you forgotten that I have authority over wolf-kin decisions?"

"Everyone's curious anyway."

The wolf beast-kin, Wilder, shrugged and looked around.

Indeed, many beast-kin seemed to agree with his statement.

"Perhaps it would be good to verify their abilities first."

"You think so?"

The meeting leaned toward testing my combat abilities.

For the first time, my composure cracked.

"I have to fight?"

"...Wilder, though you've absorbed the water god's blessing, still..."

"I know, I'll go easy. I'm not stupid enough to fight all-out against a young king candidate."

Going easy meant he must be incredibly strong.

Was he on Encia's level?

As I licked my dry lips from tension, Sophia dropped a shocking statement:

"No need to hold back. Fight with full power."

"...Granny Sophia, I know they've absorbed the blessing, but surely they can't use it properly yet?"

"If anything, they'll be the one holding back."

Veins bulged on Sophia's forehead as she smiled kindly.

I knew why Sophia was angry.

She probably didn't like being called "granny."

"Sophia..."

I tugged at Sophia's clothes under the chair, out of sight.

I worried she might have lost her composure.

Fortunately, she just stroked the back of my hand.

She didn't seem to have lost her cool.

"Are you serious, granny?"

"Yes, I'm serious. I'll give you five minutes. This child will only dodge your attacks for five minutes. Land even one hit and you win."

Just dodge attacks without fighting back?

Wasn't this actually advantageous for me?

For someone like me with all stats focused on speed and reflexes, there couldn't be a better match.

'Amazing.'

I finally realized that Sophia had played a masterful psychological game.

Pretending to lose her temper, she'd arranged a match that favored me while making the opponent think I'd be holding back.

As always, Sophia was incredible.

"Granny, if you lose this you could lose your elder position, not just the candidacy."

"Do I look like someone who cares about an elder position?"

"...No."

Scratch scratch scratch-

Wilder rapidly scratched the back of his head.

Though he'd been taunting, he seemed genuinely concerned for Sophia.

"Well, let's do this then."

As Wilder stood up, everyone else in the council rose too.

It seemed my first test was about to begin.