I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 452: Josephine's True Heart

The young people of the shantytown didn't trust outsiders.

If that outsider had noble status, their suspicion grew even deeper.

Their naive acceptance of the nobles' goodwill had resulted in despair.

It was only natural that they would be suspicious of Gyeoul's group of outsiders.

"Elder, what should we do?"

"Hmm... they don't seem to have bad intentions, but..."

"Josephine seemed that way at first too."

"..."

The shantytown beast-kin shared their opinions with each other.

One beast-kin held up the tea Gyeoul had given them as evidence of her goodwill.

"She gave us such rare tea... shouldn't we trust her?"

"The noble bastards were like that at first too, weren't they? We trusted them like idiots, and that's how we ended up like this."

"Mmm..."

They suddenly appeared offering kindness, and now they were asking what the village needed to operate properly.

Some innocent ones showed goodwill toward the outsiders, but the young adults who formed the backbone of the village did not.

These young people, unable to accept goodwill at face value anymore, were simply bewildered.

"What should we do? Does anyone have any thoughts?"

"I do. I have a good idea."

"What is it...?"

"Let's ask them for something that would make them uncomfortable. If they feel burdened, they might reveal their true colors."

"...That's good?"

The shantytown youth put their heads together and came up with a proposal that would make the other side feel burdened.

Among the various opinions, the one with the most plausible idea approached Gyeoul as their representative.

"Um... we discussed among the village youth..."

"Yes. Have you decided on something?"

"Uh... we concluded that what the village needs most is vitality."

"Vitality..."

Vitality is important, that's true.

Gyeoul nodded.

Then a man with triangular dog-like ears opened his mouth, glancing nervously between his companion and Gyeoul.

"The village has been on a downward slope for so long that our unity has weakened..."

"Yes..."

Gyeoul listened patiently to his hesitant words.

Perhaps gaining courage from her kindness, he squeezed his eyes shut and exclaimed:

"I think the village needs a festival...!"

"A festival?"

"Yes...! We could eat lots of food...! Drink plenty of alcohol...!"

As he spoke, he kept glancing at Gyeoul.

Festivals typically required enormous expenses.

Preparing enough food and drink to satisfy around three hundred people would be a burden even for someone of high status.

"Um... a festival..."

Gyeoul thought about it.

A festival could raise the morale of the villagers and wouldn't give the nobles any reason to cause trouble.

Formally, we were honored guests after all.

Having honored guests hold a festival shouldn't be problematic.

"It's, it's been years since we last had a festival..."

"Okay. Let's have a festival then."

"...Really?"

"Yes. I'll look into it. Please wait a moment."

Gyeoul went to the portal with Choi Jinhyuk.

They ran with the characteristic speed of beast-kin legs, arriving quickly.

"Gyeoul came out."

"Oh? Really?"

Outside the portal, the guild's mages were standing guard to prevent it from closing.

Gyeoul greeted them.

"Hello. Do you know where Uncl— I mean, Master is?"

"Master is in his office."

"I see. Thank you."

Gyeoul immediately ran to the Master's office.

As always, the security guard opened the door, and she found Master sitting at his desk.

"Back already?"

"Yes, but I need to go back again."

"Hmm...?"

Perhaps she came with something specific to discuss.

Kang Jinho leaned back in his chair, signaling her to speak freely.

Gyeoul briefly explained to Kang Jinho what had happened in the beast-kin village.

"So I'd like to hold a festival..."

"Hmm."

A festival where everyone could eat and drink their fill.

This wasn't particularly difficult for Kang Jinho.

**

Alcohol and meat were being transported through Jung Yu-na and Levinas's levitation magic, along with Han Yeoreum and Choi Jinhyuk's strength.

It was quite a spectacle watching the food and cooking equipment for three hundred people being moved.

"Festival!"

"Feshtibal!"

The children ran through the village in the typical bustling festival atmosphere.

The shantytown children, delighted by the abundant incoming food, joined in the running.

"I've never seen this much meat in this world before."

"How many years has it been since we had proper alcohol?"

"Uh, umm..."

Some were pleased with the alcohol and meat, while others still couldn't let go of their wariness.

But even those with suspicions enjoyed the festival.

Sizzle sizzle-

They grilled meat and drank alcohol.

The beast-kin forgot their troubles as they ate meat and drank.

It was wonderful to see the downcast village regaining its vitality.

"Gyeoul, Gyeoul."

Nom nom nom-

Bom approached with a large piece of meat in her mouth.

Another piece of meat was stuck to the fork in her hand.

"Gyeoul, come with me to the lake."

"Lake?"

"Yeah. There's a lake over there. My friend lives in the lake."

"Huh?"

I tilted my head as I walked through the village with Bom.

We left the shantytown and returned to the empty village.

Bom led me to another corner of the uninhabited village.

"It should be around here..."

As Bom reached out her hand, it disappeared and the space distorted.

Had the radical faction divided the entire village with spatial magic?

I followed behind Bom with that thought in mind.

We left the village and walked through a suddenly appearing forest.

When we arrived with Bom, there was a small lake.

It was even smaller than the pond at our guild.

"Why the lake?"

"An Imugi used to live here."

"An Imugi?"

"Yeah. But it doesn't live here anymore, and instead..."

As Bom spoke, ripples formed on the lake.

I looked down at the small lake, curious about this strange phenomenon, when someone suddenly popped their head out of the water.

"Nyaaaahh!"

"Ahhh!"

I never expected someone to emerge from the lake.

The sudden situation made me jump up without thinking.

Seeing my surprise, the other person seemed startled too and let out a short scream.

"Um..."

Bom giggled as she watched us both being startled.

After laughing for a while, Bom handed the meat she'd brought to the figure in the lake.

"Marin, eat this."

The woman called Marin didn't take the meat Bom offered.

She just stared at Bom with an astonished expression.

"H-have you come back?"

"Yeah. I wanted to see Marin."

"I told you not to come back...!"

Hop-

Marin's lower body, now out of the water, had a fish tail attached to it.

So Marin was a mermaid.

My mouth fell open at the sight of a mermaid for the first time.

"It's okay, I didn't come alone. I brought lots of strong people with me."

"Strong...?"

Marin looked me up and down.

Her eyebrows twitched subtly as she examined me.

"Marin, let's leave the village together."

"...I'm sorry, but with my lower body like this, I'd just be a burden."

"...Hmph."

Bom plopped down on the ground.

Then, as if venting her frustration, she threw a pebble toward the lake.

"The Imugi doesn't even live here anymore."

Bom's grumbling voice made me curious.

Curious about the disappeared Imugi.

"Bom, where did the Imugi go?"

"...Don't know. They said it suddenly disappeared one day. I've never actually seen it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But Marin probably has?"

Naturally, both of us turned to look at Marin.

For some reason, Marin rolled her eyes away from our gaze.

She looked like she was hiding something.

"...The Imugi became angry and went out to torment humans."

"Humans?"

"Yes. So, Bom... is that what you're called outside?"

"Yes. Our Bom's name is Bom."

That's a nice name.

Marin nodded and continued.

"...Bom should go to the human world to find the Imugi. If you play naughty tricks outside, the Imugi will come to get you."

"..."

Was it because she was telling Bom to leave her behind?

Bom's eyes drooped in dejection.

Despite seeing Bom like this, Marin's expression remained resolute.

'What's going on...'

Marin kept trying to send Bom away from the beast-kin village.

Was it to save Bom? Or was Bom not supposed to be in the beast-kin village?

"Go outside quickly. Before you get scolded."

Splash-!

Marin splashed water at Bom's feet.

The harsh water made Bom's face turn to an expression on the verge of tears.

"Marin is sashimi!"

Pitter-patter-!

As Bom ran far away, I chased after her.

Looking back as I ran, I could see Marin with a tender expression.

What was going on between those two?

Just as my head was becoming a jumble of confusion, I suddenly skidded to a stop because Josephine appeared out of nowhere.

"My, there's a festival in the village, yet the king candidate is here?"

"Josephine..."

Had she been following us?

Or was it just a coincidence?

As I raised my guard, Josephine started chuckling.

"At this rate, you'll really be driven out."

"...Josephine, your position is being threatened, yet you don't seem bothered at all?"

Was she just pretending to be unbothered, or did she have something hidden up her sleeve?

I tried to read Josephine, but her expression was completely inscrutable.

"Hmm... shall I tell you honestly?"

"...You'll tell me?"

"Yes. If you want."

Josephine shrugged her shoulders.

She probably wouldn't tell me anything proper even if I asked, but I decided to ask anyway.

"Tell me. Why aren't you bothered at all, Josephine?"

"Actually, I don't care about the village. Or leading them."

"What?"

"I may be leading the beast-kin, but I'm not a leader. More precisely... I could be called a scholar."

Not a leader but a scholar?

What kind of scholar would she be?

I couldn't even begin to grasp it.

"What kind of scholar are you, Josephine?"

"Divine beasts."

"Divine beasts?"

"Yes. I'm researching how to control divine beasts at will."

Divine beasts.

I knew what those were.

Levinas's divine beast was the Long-lived Horned Rabbit.

And Bom's divine beast was the Imugi.

My ears shot up as the puzzle pieces started fitting together.

"T-then, why make the village like this?"

"No, it's necessary. We need to create dungeons to summon divine beasts. Do you know the principle behind dungeon creation?"

"...!"

Dungeons are born from someone's wish.

If a dungeon were created from the desperate wishes of the shantytown beast-kin...

There was a high probability it would be a dungeon that summoned their divine beasts.

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