I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 456: Everyone's Following?

We headed to the shantytown with the tightly bound Josephine and the divine beasts.

Monster corpses were piled high around the shantytown.

"Sophia!"

Sophia was standing guard on top of a cyclops monster.

I ran over to check on her condition, but she didn't appear to be injured anywhere.

"Sophia, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, and so is everyone else, so don't worry."

All the guild members and beast-kin villagers were unharmed.

The only ones injured were the divine beasts that had been beaten by our Master.

I showed her the turtle divine beast.

When I tapped on the turtle's shell, its hidden face popped out.

"So this is a divine beast."

"Yes. It's the turtle divine beast called the Guardian."

It's natural to want to show off when you find a rare creature.

Sophia seemed fascinated by the Guardian and examined it with curious eyes.

"It seems things have worked out well."

"Yes. It's a happy ending."

Sophia and I watched as Josephine was dragged over in the distance, completely tied up.

Spider silk was wrapped around Josephine's body, and Seol was pulling it with her mouth.

Her stately walking posture seemed somewhat proud.

"I'm glad things worked out, but the village is a mess."

"Hmm... should we all clean up together?"

"Yes, let's do that."

We entered the shantytown with Sophia.

Though the beast-kin villagers weren't visible, I could sense their presence as they hid around the village, holding their breath.

Meat and alcohol were scattered across the ground.

All that effort to set up a party.

Seeing it like this was quite disappointing.

"Kids, let's pick up all the trash from the ground."

"Yes...!"

Levinas picked up a wooden splinter from the ground.

Seeing this, the other children started collecting wooden debris too.

"Hmm..."

The trash was one thing.

But how would we move the monster corpses?

They must weigh hundreds of tons combined.

Would Levinas's soap bubble magic work?

Just as I was wondering how to move the monster corpses:

Peeee-!

A clear bird sound echoed from the sky.

The corpses responded to the sound, rising like zombies.

Startled, I gripped my bow, but the revived monsters showed no signs of aggression.

Peeee- Peeee-

I'll help you.

The Forest Keeper's intention was conveyed.

With the Forest Keeper's ability to move corpses, we could quickly clean up the village...

"Ahhh!"

"The monsters...!"

Screams from the villagers echoed from the other side of the shantytown.

They must have been frightened by the suddenly rising monster corpses.

I quickly ran toward the source of the screams.

"Everyone, please calm down. The Forest Keeper is helping us clear away the monster corpses."

Young men were confronting the monsters with wooden clubs.

Behind them, the elderly and children were hiding.

At the mention of the Forest Keeper, people began murmuring to each other.

"The Forest Keeper... do you mean the divine beast?"

"Is the divine beast in our village?"

"That can't be, the divine beast..."

I showed them the Guardian to ease their wariness.

The beast-kin villagers' eyes grew as large as saucers at the sight of the small turtle Guardian.

It was the first time I'd seen the shantytown beast-kin display such strong emotion.

"The, the Guardian! It's the Guardian!"

"It's really the divine beast!"

Children who had been hiding peeked out, and elderly people who had been sitting down rose with their canes.

This was a truly hopeful sight that couldn't be shown at the festival.

"Wow...!"

The eyes of the shantytown beast-kin gleamed with light.

That light was directed not at the divine beasts, but at me.

Divine beasts truly were special beings to the beast-kin.

I was glad they seemed to have regained their lost hope.

**

We explained everything Josephine had done to the shantytown beast-kin.

Even though we had only retrieved their divine beasts, the beast-kin people's eyes were filled with trust.

"You're saying we've been living like this because of an experiment?"

"Yes..."

"......"

While the beast-kin villagers were silent with shock, the guild members who had briefly left returned.

Master, Han Yeoreum, Jung Yu-na, and Choi Jinhyuk were all back.

Alongside them were other beast-kin who looked different from those in the shantytown.

"Ugh..."

The radical faction's nobles.

Though they weren't bound like Josephine, they seemed to sense their fate and kept their eyes on the ground.

Yeoreum didn't mind them and just kept smiling.

"Gyeoul, there are so many beast-kin living on the other side too."

"Yes. They said there are over a thousand beast-kin in the village."

"Right. The areas are divided by magic, but it's actually quite spacious."

After chatting with Yeoreum about various things, I turned to look at the shantytown beast-kin.

It was up to them now to decide how to deal with the radical faction nobles.

"What would you like to do with them?"

"Obviously, we should...!"

Nora blocked a beast-kin who approached with flaring nostrils.

Though he looked full of resentment, he didn't press further since Nora, their patron, had stopped him.

"I understand your desire for revenge, but punishment must follow beast-kin law. A community can only sustain itself by following rules."

"...You're right."

The beast-kin backed away, cooling their anger.

It was surprising that they still maintained their reason despite all the suffering they had endured.

"Nora, what happens according to beast-kin law?"

"...If they had killed their own kind, it would be execution, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

"Yes. It really does seem the goal was experimentation."

"Then it will probably be labor punishment. Beast-kin law is about returning what was given."

So it was labor punishment.

I didn't know how severe this punishment would be.

I could only sense from Nora's cold gaze that it wouldn't be ordinary.

"They will experience the same suffering they inflicted on others."

"I see..."

I glanced at Josephine.

She was smiling while dripping with sweat.

**

Together, we decided the future of the radical beast-kin.

The first thing we did was abandon the name "radical faction."

After all, being radical wasn't what they had wanted.

"If we sell the monsters that appeared, we can rebuild the village."

"And education facilities for the children..."

"Creating a portal connecting the two villages would be good too."

The two beast-kin groups that were once divided into moderate and radical factions shared a moment of reconciliation.

They determined the future of the beast-kin without hatred.

"We'll sell the monsters and send you building materials. Nora and Mino, please protect the village well."

"Yes. Leave it to us."

"We'll do our best."

After the positive meeting concluded, we all moved toward the portal.

On the way, we spotted Josephine carrying a pile of trash from the shantytown on her back.

"Huff, huff..."

The trash must have been heavy, as she was sweating profusely, yet still smiling.

She seemed to be naturally cheerful by nature.

"Hmm..."

Several "former nobles" were with Josephine.

These were the ones who had been especially cruel to people.

Would Josephine and the nobles repent their wrongdoings through labor?

It was something I couldn't know.

'...This isn't my business anymore.'

I paused in front of the portal back to the guild.

Our group had grown considerably larger.

"Um..."

A dozen or so divine beasts including the Guardian and the Forest Keeper.

And even Marin the mermaid.

Marin was one thing, but why were the divine beasts following me?

Confused, I turned to Sophia.

"Sophia, the divine beasts are following me. Is that okay?"

"It should be fine. It's the divine beasts' will."

"Hmm..."

If Sophia said so, then it must be right.

Without further hesitation, I stepped toward the portal.

"So this is the village where Bom lives...!"

Marin clasped her hands together as if in prayer at the sight of the modern city, so different from the beast-kin village.

Bom giggled watching Marin's reaction.

"Marin! I know a place where you could live!"

Bom ran ahead, and I followed her with the children.

The place Bom arrived at was the swimming pool playground next to the park pond.

"Bom, wouldn't the pond be better for Marin...?"

"Really?! I think this playground is better!"

Kekeke.

Bom covered her mouth as she laughed.

It was her characteristic mischievous laugh.

"Hmm... actually, I prefer the playground to the pond as well."

"R-really?"

"Yes. I was feeling lonely being by myself."

Marin's soap bubble popped above the swimming pool playground.

She swam around the playground very naturally.

"Ah! A mermaid!"

"Why is there a mermaid he— Ahhhh!"

Children playing at the playground were startled, but their eyes followed Marin.

A beautiful mermaid was enough to captivate the children's innocent attention.

"A mermaid!"

A young girl at the playground approached Marin.

Suddenly, waves formed in the previously calm playground, lifting and moving the girl around.

It seemed Marin was using water magic.

"Waaahh!"

The girl, now riding the water currents, let out a scream of joy.

Marin seemed to enjoy playing with the girl too, as she smiled with her eyes.

I was glad she looked genuinely happy.

'That's settled for Marin, now for the divine beasts...'

What should we do with the divine beasts?

Would it be okay to just let them live in the park?

As I was pondering this, someone in the park screamed.

"The, the sky...! In the sky...!"

"What is that?!"

Peeee-!

A bird the size of a house was flying above the park.

Its clear, melodious cry sounded quite pleasant.

"It looks like a monster..."

"I've never seen such a beautiful monster before."

The Forest Keeper flapping its wings was truly jewel-like.

After enjoying the sky for a few minutes, the divine beast suddenly began descending toward me.

"...!"

People were surprised but didn't move away.

The Forest Keeper's gem-like body was too beautiful to run from.

"...Do you like it here too, Forest Keeper?"

"Peep peep."

The enormous Forest Keeper nuzzled its head against me.

Just one of the Forest Keeper's heads was as big as my torso.

Pat pat-

As I gently stroked the Forest Keeper's head, I realized.

Silence had fallen over the park.

Looking around, I saw park visitors watching with their mouths firmly shut.

"Um..."

What's going on?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Gaeul suddenly poked her head forward.

Her bright smile suggested she wanted her head patted too.