I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 451: Regaining Confidence

Through Nora's smile, I realized we'd chosen a pretty good answer.

Even as happiness welled up inside me, shame quickly followed for my arrogance.

The shantytown's population was about three hundred people.

The total number of radical beast-kin exceeded twelve hundred.

To discuss the nobles' fate without asking the opinion of those people...

Was it because I'd become an adventurer and grown stronger, or because strong people protected me?

Without realizing it, I'd become too haughty.

"Ah..."

A sigh escaped me from the shame.

Surprised by my sudden sigh, Han Yeoreum placed her hand on my head.

"Gyeoul, what's wrong?"

"I'm ashamed we tried to decide the beast-kin's future by ourselves."

"If we did that, we'd be no different from the nobles..."

I had to stop mid-sentence as realization dawned on me.

I finally understood why Josephine had made her proposal.

'I almost acted like the radical nobles.'

Whether accepting or rejecting Josephine's proposal, it would've been a decision we made by ourselves.

The future of the radical beast-kin would have been determined by our choice alone.

That was no different from what the radical nobles had been doing all along.

"We almost fell for it."

"Yes..."

Had Sophia seen through Josephine's scheme from the beginning?

I looked at her with admiration.

As always, having Sophia with us was incredibly reassuring.

I climbed down from Yeoreum's lap and looked around at everyone.

"Should we ask the village people to vote then?"

"Hmm... yes, voting would be good."

"Right. Let's decide together."

Making decisions with everyone, not just ourselves.

Though nothing was resolved yet, somehow my heart felt lighter.

**

The next day.

We headed to the shantytown early in the morning.

Our purpose was to prepare for the vote.

As we all moved to the shantytown, Josephine appeared as if she'd been expecting us.

"Hello there."

"Hello."

"Huhu, you have such good manners."

"Yes..."

She seemed incredibly gentle on the surface.

But I knew the true nature she was hiding.

"Well, have you thought about it for a day? Should I give you more time?"

"Um... we've reached our own conclusion."

"Oh, really?"

A smile spread across Josephine's face.

She looked expectant.

Naturally, we had no intention of fulfilling her expectations.

"We've decided to hold a vote."

"A vote?"

"Yes. It's not something we should decide by ourselves. We're going to ask the shantytown people for their opinions."

"My goodness?"

Josephine showed a surprised expression.

She widened her eyes, but didn't seem particularly shocked or flustered.

"We came here to help these people, not to become new rulers."

"How admirable."

Josephine glanced around the shantytown and gently tapped my shoulder.

I couldn't sense any tension or hostility in that gesture.

"Aren't you worried, Josephine?"

"No, not at all."

"...Do you think the villagers will choose you?"

"No, given what's happened so far, the villagers won't choose me."

"...?"

Despite speaking of her own defeat, Josephine's attitude remained incredibly confident.

Did she have some hidden trick up her sleeve?

Josephine's smile made me tense up for no reason.

"I'll look forward to the results."

"..."

There was no mockery mixed in.

It genuinely felt like she was looking forward to it.

What kind of secret move did she have to act this way?

I looked up at Josephine with confusion, but she was only watching the children in the distance.

A smile spread across Josephine's face as she watched Bom and Levinas.

A different smile than the one she showed me, filled with some other emotion.

I couldn't understand why she was smiling at the children like that.

"...I'm busy, so I'll be going now. Don't interfere from behind the scenes."

"We won't interfere."

Josephine waved goodbye.

Leaving her behind, I ran toward the children.

"Kids."

"King!"

The children's innocent appearance calmed my anxious heart.

I felt my still tail begin to move as I asked them:

"What are you all doing?"

"Exploring!"

"I see you're exploring."

Maybe the maze-like village felt like an exciting playground to the children?

Each child was holding a branch, walking around the village.

"There's a dog hole here."

Saebyeok pointed to a hole in a shanty house.

Seeing the large hole, Gaeul perked up her tail.

"Gaeuri?!"

"Yes. This is Gaeul's hole."

"..."

Staring blankly at the hole, Gaeul suddenly lay down on the ground.

She tried to crawl into the hole, but I stopped her by grabbing her tail.

"Gaeul, you can't go in there."

"Heuk...?"

"This is someone's private property. You'll be in big trouble if you enter without permission."

As I spoke, I examined the hole in the shanty house.

It looked quite vulnerable, both for security and hygiene.

We needed to patch it up somehow.

"We should probably seal this hole..."

"Should Levinas block it with plants?!"

"Ah..."

That was a good idea.

Just as I was about to nod, Gaeul proudly puffed out her chest.

"Gaeul block it?"

"Heuk..."

Plop.

Gaeul sat down on the ground and gathered a bunch of soil from near the house.

She patted the soil, building a small fort, and suddenly began to sing.

"Dukubi~ Dukubi~"

"Dukubi?"

Was she talking about a toad?

Wait, is this...

Gaeul looked back while singing and building her soil fort.

At the hole in the shanty house.

After staring at the hole, she started patting her soil fort again.

"Dukubi~ Dukubi~"

I knew the song Gaeul was singing.

It was a folk song about a toad giving a new house.

Toad, toad, I'll give you an old house, give me a new one.

Gaeul seemed unable to sing the whole song, so she just repeated the toad part.

It looked like Gaeul truly believed a toad would give a new house.

"Dukubi~ Dukubi~"

She sang, looked back, then sang again and looked back, repeating the cycle.

"Hmm..."

Should I tell Gaeul that the folk song was just a song, and explain the cruel reality?

While I hesitated, Bom displayed a mischievous smile.

The smile she only showed when playing tricks.

"Dukubi~ Dukubi~"

While Gaeul was singing and patting the soil, Bom raised black mana.

Bom's mana seeped into the hole in the shanty house.

The broken boards regenerated, filling the hole.

It was an amazing restoration magic, no matter how many times I saw it.

"Gaeul! The toad gave a new house!"

Bom stomped her feet excitedly, pointing at the house she had restored.

Gaeul, who had been patting the soil fort, turned around with wide eyes.

"Wooing?"

Getting up from her spot, Gaeul circled the renewed shanty house.

She crouched near the house, examining various spots on the ground.

"Where toad go?"

Ah.

Gaeul was looking for the toad.

Seeing innocent Gaeul, Bom covered her mouth and giggled.

"The toad left right after giving the new house. It said it had to give new houses elsewhere too."

"...!"

Gaeul smiled brightly and wagged her tail.

She even waved goodbye to the invisible toad with a "babah."

"Gaeul is amazing. Gaeul called the toad and made a new house."

Saebyeok joined Bom's prank.

It wasn't teasing, but rather a prank meant to preserve Gaeul's innocence.

Not knowing the truth, Gaeul just puffed out her chest with an "ahem."

"King..."

"Yes?"

When I turned, I saw Levinas looking somewhat dejected.

Her horned rabbit ears were drooping lifelessly.

"What's wrong, Levinas?"

"Levinas didn't see the toad either... Levinas wanted to see the toad giving a new house...! Boo hoo...!"

Thump-

Levinas lay face down on the ground, pounding it with her palms.

I realized belatedly that our Levinas was just as innocent as Gaeul.

"I think you'll be able to see it next time."

"Yeah! Levinas will definitely see it next time!"

As Levinas clenched her fists in determination, someone approached from behind.

It was Choi Jinhyuk with his sturdy build.

"We should head back now."

"Yes."

Following Choi Jinhyuk, we arrived at a place where the shantytown beast-kin had gathered.

I saw squirrel beast-kin and raccoon beast-kin among them.

The disappointing thing was that not all of the shantytown people had gathered.

They were probably afraid of the sudden summons and preferred to stay home.

I didn't blame those who didn't come.

'I suppose this is a good turnout.'

About a hundred beast-kin had gathered in the not-so-spacious clearing.

This many had probably gathered thanks to the dandelion honey tea and edible plants.

It wasn't many, but enough for a vote.

"Hello everyone."

"..."

None of the hundred or so beast-kin spoke up.

They seemed to be cautiously reading the atmosphere in the heavy silence.

"Today I wanted to hear your opinions."

"...Our opinions?"

The oldest-looking beast-kin among them asked.

He appeared to be the representative of the shantytown beast-kin.

"Yes. Are there any urgent matters that need to be addressed in the village, or things you need?"

I didn't ask them about how to deal with the nobles.

Starting with such a heavy topic right away would only frighten them.

So we decided to help the shantytown beast-kin regain their confidence first.

Confidence that they could improve their village through their own discussions.

It would also help build their trust in us.

"We need many things, but..."

"Then please discuss among yourselves and let us know. We'll try to help with as much as we can."

"...Really?"

Doubt rose in the eyes of the beast-kin representative.

Some beast-kin at the edge of the village even spat on the ground.

It was someone who had received tea from Nora, not me.

They still didn't trust us at all.

It would have been disastrous if we'd asked about the nobles' fate from the beginning.

I was grateful to Sophia for foreseeing all this.