I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 448: Nora

Woodcalibur struck the back of the snake beast-kin's head.

Though the damage wasn't severe, it was enough to sour his mood.

"You...!"

The evil snake beast-kin ground his teeth.

Startled, I instinctively hid behind Han Yeoreum.

Gaeul, who had been puffing out her chest, also ran to hide behind Han Yeoreum.

Was he angry because she threw Woodcalibur without warning?

This could be bad if they attacked us while we were unarmed.

I peeked out from behind Han Yeoreum.

The radical beast-kin woman at the front started chuckling.

"Landen, you're not in a position to be angry."

"...My apologies."

The evil snake beast-kin backed away, suppressing his angry expression.

To make him back down with just a few words.

She must be quite high-ranking.

"Nice to meet you, future king."

"......"

I quietly nodded while looking her up and down.

From head to toe, including her clothes, she was pure white.

Her ears and tail were similar to mine - I might look like her when I grew up.

"My name is..."

"Josephine."

Bom, hiding behind Han Yeoreum with me, spoke up.

Unlike me, she didn't peek out.

"It's good to see you too, Bom. That's what you're called now, right?"

Huhu.

Though Josephine showed a gentle smile, I wasn't fooled.

It wasn't the snake beast-kin who had terrified Levinas and Bom - it was Josephine.

"My, why so wary?"

"...Because Josephine is a bad person."

"True. But isn't wariness for the weak?"

A meaningful statement.

Did she mean we were stronger than them even without weapons?

I wondered what Josephine meant by declaring themselves weak.

"...I'm still weak. It's just that the people around me are strong."

"If those around you are strong, then you're strong too. As long as you don't lose them all overnight."

Josephine glanced at Nora behind her while speaking.

She didn't hide her sinister smile.

What a strange person.

I'd expected radical beast-kin to be fierce, but I couldn't figure out her personality at all.

Since things had come to this, I decided to try understanding her personality through conversation.

"Josephine, why did you call us here?"

"To struggle."

"...Struggle?"

"Yes. Struggling is the privilege of the weak."

Again Josephine called herself weak.

I couldn't help but question this.

"Why are you weak, Josephine?"

"Because our king candidate is too strong. That makes us relatively weak."

"That's..."

"We came to make a proposal since we can't think of any way to defeat our candidate."

"A proposal?"

What kind of proposal?

My eyes widened at this unexpected development.

"Did you see the well-tended fields and village on your way here?"

"Yes... but..."

Looking around, I saw the run-down shantytown.

This was the reality for the radical beast-kin's lower class.

"We'll move everyone here to the village you just saw. They can eat their fill from the crops from those wide fields."

"What...?"

"In exchange, could you let us keep our positions?"

Her attitude was like begging for just one chance.

Yet Josephine was giggling as if amused.

"Are you really..."

"Ah, wait..."

I stopped Han Yeoreum as she jumped up to voice her objection.

I stopped her because Josephine started grinning widely just as Yeoreum was about to refuse.

There was definitely something here.

This wasn't something we could decide on our own.

"What happens if we refuse?"

"Who knows? We have our position to consider, so we won't just sit quietly."

"Then... give us some time. This isn't something we can decide here by ourselves."

Josephine called herself weak.

It sounded like she meant they'd use any means necessary if refused, as the weak party.

'Will they retaliate if things go wrong?'

That retaliation might fall on their lower class, not us.

If they were going to lose everything anyway, they might destroy both the village and its people.

As radical beast-kin nobles, they likely had preparations for such measures.

"Of course. It's not an easy decision."

"Yes, so..."

"Alright. Take your time and let us know when you decide."

She'd been begging for consideration earlier.

Now her attitude was like she was doing us a favor.

I really couldn't figure out her personality.

We decided to hurry back and discuss with everyone.

**

"Gaeul puppy is amazing!"

"Gaeul went yah! and hit his head, pak!"

"Heuk...!"

Bom and Levinas were praising Gaeul.

Gaeul puffed out her chest while holding out Woodcalibur.

Gaeul, who had shown such bravery before the snake beast-kin, had become Levinas and Bom's pride.

I glanced at the children before turning back to look at Sophia in front.

Though chatting with the children was nice, it was time for a serious discussion.

"So that's what happened."

"Yes. Something felt strange so I said we'd discuss it."

"You did well. Deciding there would surely have caused problems."

"Problems?"

"Yes, people you shouldn't take lightly were deliberately making themselves appear that way."

My ears perked up at Sophia's explanation.

Woodcalibur hitting the snake beast-kin's head, Josephine calling themselves weak and asking for consideration.

Our tension had definitely eased a bit.

"...That could have been bad."

"Indeed. If you refuse their proposal, they'll have justification to resist. If that happened while we weren't prepared, it would have been quite troublesome. And if you'd accepted, that would have suited them."

"Ah..."

So Josephine tried to gain advantage by calling herself weak?

What a frightening person.

"It's fortunate we bought time to prepare, but I'm worried."

"Why?"

"If they're giving us time to prepare..."

"...That means they have their own preparations ready."

"Exactly."

Paha.

I sighed in frustration.

Whether we accepted or refused, we couldn't avoid conflict large or small.

I really hated this.

As my ears drooped, Choi Jinhyuk's reliable hand patted my head.

"We still have plenty of time. Let's think it through carefully."

"Right, if we all think about it together, we'll come up with something."

"If anything happens, we will be by your side."

Choi Jinhyuk, Jung Yu-na, and Han Yeoreum.

Having everyone on my side was reassuring.

Right, like everyone said, we still had time.

We decided to think of the best solution together.

**

Ung.

While I was thinking with my arms crossed.

Levinas drummed on the desk like typing on a keyboard.

"Information warfare!"

"Information warfare?"

"Yeah! To make the right decision, we need to know about our opponent."

"That's..."

She wasn't wrong.

We needed information to make a decision, but we lacked information about the radical beast-kin.

"Should we look around the village then?"

"Yeah!"

I moved to the shantytown with the children.

Saebyeok took the lead to protect us.

"Gyeoul, where should we go?"

"Where Nora is."

"Where's that?"

"Maybe that way?"

I perked up my ears and moved to find Nora.

Having remembered her voice, I could quickly find her with beast-kin hearing.

"Here, I'll give you a doll."

Nora handed a straw doll to a beast-kin child.

Though clumsily made, the child was happy just to receive it.

"Thank you Lady Nora!"

"Don't mention it."

Suk suk-

After patting the child's head, Nora turned to look at us.

The smile she'd shown the children was gone from her face as she looked at us.

"...You've come."

"Yes..."

Nora genuinely cared about the shantytown's people.

Since her actions were opposite to the radical nobles, we might be able to learn information about this place from her.

Of course, we needed to get to know each other first.

"What do you want?"

For an instant, contempt flashed in Nora's eyes.

The same look she'd given Josephine.

Without beast-kin reflexes, I might not have caught it.

"...Nora, I have a request."

"What kind of request?"

"I'd like you to be honest with me."

"......"

Nora pressed her lips shut.

Then, as if she'd been waiting for this, she narrowed her eyes.

Her proud, contemptuous gaze was definitely not that of a weak person.

My body trembled at that look of someone looking down from above.

"Shuin...!"

"It's okay, nothing will happen."

While comforting the startled Gaeul, I approached Nora.

Though my tail drooped at her contemptuous gaze, I didn't back down.

"Why do you dislike me, Nora?"

"Because looking at a leader who doesn't fulfill their duties makes me sick."

She switched from polite speech to informal.

But since I wanted to see Nora's honest feelings, I was grateful.

"You see me as a leader that makes you sick?"

"That's right."

Though the children bristled at Nora's answer, they didn't speak up.

They were respecting my conversation with Nora.

"Why do I make you sick?"

"Look around and you'll understand."

"......"

Looking around, I saw the starving people of the shantytown.

Nora was expressing her dissatisfaction that I cared more about her than the shantytown's people.

"Having lived in luxury your whole life, you probably can't understand their suffering."

"......"

As Sophia said, Nora truly was a noble being.

A saint who wouldn't abandon those suffering.

"...Do you have any other business, Gyeoul?"

Just like that, Nora hid her expression as if nothing had happened.

This was her protest against me.

A protest against an incompetent leader.

But there was one thing Nora didn't know.

I hadn't exactly lived in luxury either.

I could proudly say I understood the hardships of those at the bottom better than anyone.

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