Chapter 95
A story from Gyeoul's past recorded in history.
Yeoreum, Jung Yu-na, and Choi Jinhyuk watched Gyeoul's past.
Cornered, Gyeoul trembled, only looking down at the ground.
Realizing there was nowhere left to run, she tightly gripped the hem of her worn clothes.
In front of Gyeoul, Park Min-kyu stood with a sneering smile.
The video of similar harassment began at some point.
"Hey, long time no see?"
Tap, tap-
Park Min-kyu pushed Gyeoul's forehead with his fingertips.
Without mana, Gyeoul's head snapped back, and she fell.
"Long time no see, won't you greet me?"
Smack-!
When Park Min-kyu hit Gyeoul's cheek, she collapsed on the spot, slumping down.
Leaning against the wall, Gyeoul awkwardly laughed.
"Ah, hello..."
Even though he didn't hit her hard, blood flowed from Gyeoul's nose.
Everyone watching the video knew it was because the child had no mana.
Yeoreum couldn't even imagine the extent of pain the mana-less child felt.
"Why does her nose bleed when I hit her cheek?"
"Well, I guess..."
A child, not even eight years old, smiles to survive in the face of violence.
Convinced that she had no allies in the world, she didn't even try to look around for help.
Her head shook from being hit, her eyes half-closed, trying to focus occasionally as if desperately trying to hold onto consciousness.
But Park Min-kyu only laughed at the child's pitiful state.
"This kid is so fun to tease because she overreacts."
Overreaction.
The horror the child experienced is dismissed with just the word "overreaction."
Yet, Yeoreum found it hard to blame Park Min-kyu.
After all, she had been looking at Gyeoul strangely herself.
How scared must she have been? How much pain did she endure?
Yeoreum felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
Even when she experienced the death of a colleague, it wasn't as miserable as the video before her eyes.
At least her colleague had faced death on a path they chose.
"Yeoreum, let's stop watching."
"Uh, okay..."
Just one video had Yeoreum's heart racing wildly.
She knew the guilt she felt was so revolting it made her nauseous.
"...Yu-na."
"Yeah."
"I'm worried about Gyeoul. What if Park Min-kyu goes after her...? And then there's the radical beast-kin..."
Park Min-kyu received his just punishment.
He was expelled from the guild, stripped of his adventurer status, and fined.
He received some leniency because he didn't know the child lacked mana.
"Hmm... If we take turns being by her side, wouldn't it be okay?"
"But still, she's alone right now. It kills me with anxiety whenever this happens."
"Yeah. I wish I could split myself in two."
Sigh.
As Yeoreum sighed, Choi Jinhyuk, who had been quietly watching the conversation, spoke up.
"Don't worry about that part. Didn't the Master hold a meeting in the guild to protect Gyeoul?"
"Was the meeting about Gyeoul?"
"No, not exactly, but it did give off the vibe that messing with Gyeoul would mean trouble. If necessary, other guilds will protect her too."
"Ah..."
The Master was making efforts in various ways.
Yeoreum felt a bit relieved.
Although there were few adventurers, their nature meant they were spread across the country.
Any one of them could provide help if Gyeoul was in danger.
"And today, Gyeoul is practically invincible."
"Invincible?"
"Yeah. She went out to dinner with the Guild Masters who attended the meeting."
"Oh..."
If she was with them, there was nothing to worry about.
She would be safer than any bunker in the world.
Each person who attended the meeting was a Master of a top guild.
If someone dared to mess with Gyeoul under their protection...
"Hmm..."
There wouldn't be such fools in the world.
Yeoreum realized she was being silly and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.
She was just grateful that Gyeoul was now even safer.
<+>
"Hey! The one who jumps higher wins, right?!"
"Yeah."
Hop.
When Levinas jumped, I followed suit.
Maybe because she was a horned rabbit beast-kin, her jumping ability was superior to that of an average basketball player.
"How about that? Levinas jumps really high."
"Yeah. Levinas..."
Amazing.
Just as I was about to praise her, I felt a murderous intent and quickly looked to the side.
"Son of a b*tch..."
It was Park Min-kyu.
His bloodshot eyes were filled with malice.
Having been bullied by him for a long time, I froze in place, unable to do anything.
"I, I'm sorry..."
I apologized instinctively, but Park Min-kyu just scowled and approached me.
Just as his brutish hand was about to grab my collar, someone grabbed Park Min-kyu's wrist.
"I thought I told you not to come near."
It was the Master.
As soon as I saw his face, I hid behind him without even realizing it.
Levinas followed suit and hid behind me.
"You, what-!"
Park Min-kyu tried to shake off the hand, but the Master didn't budge.
Park Min-kyu's face turned to shock as he recognized the Master's face.
And then.
"You damn bastard!"
Crash-!
Someone smashed through the glass wall of the pork cutlet restaurant and ran out.
It was a man, bigger than Park Min-kyu, who introduced himself as the Master of Taesan Guild.
It was said that only those who laughed happily and used their fists could join the guild, suggesting they had a violent disposition to match their punch.
"Children are here, could you refrain from swearing?"
"Sorry! This guy was emitting a killing intent towards the kids, couldn't help it!"
"Hmm..."
The Master's gaze turned towards the shattered glass wall.
Walking over the broken glass, the Masters from other guilds emerged.
"Oh, were you trying to mess with our kids just now?"
"Since when did they become your kids, Chae Juyeon?"
"From today. Mess with them, and I won't let it slide."
"Well, as adults, we can't just stand by in such situations..."
A man with deep dark circles looked into Master Kang Jinho's eyes.
After staring at the Master for a while, he sighed deeply.
"Okay, I get it..."
The Masters approached us with slow steps.
Just that was enough to make Park Min-kyu start trembling.
"You, what the..."
Park Min-kyu looked down at me with fear-filled eyes.
I never thought I'd see Park Min-kyu, who seemed like a giant, in such a state.
It was surprising to see a side of Park Min-kyu I had never seen before.
"I'll take care of this guy!"
"Do it where we can't see."
"Make it so he can't see?!"
"Do whatever you want."
Despite the horrifying conversation between the two Masters, Park Min-kyu was frozen in place.
The criminal conversation was so shocking that I, too, was frozen.
What the hell was happening?
As I looked up at Kang Jinho in shock, Chae Juyeon from the Sacred Guild took my and Levinas's hand and led us away.
"Shall we go play over there?"
"Uh, okay. Levinas doesn't want to be here..."
"Yeah..."
Surely they wouldn't actually kill someone.
The Masters were beyond my ability to intervene.
I glanced at Park Min-kyu before following Chae Juyeon, hoping nothing too terrible would happen to him.
After all, he was still a human being.
<+>
Chae Juyeon knew too.
That just Kang Jinho's moving was enough to deal with Park Min-kyu.
Yet, Chae Juyeon and the other Masters had no choice but to act together.
They knew what Kang Jinho wanted.
'Was he trying to show everyone who the kids were under the protection of?'
They were Guild Masters who could be considered the rulers of their respective regions.
Rumors of their protection would make it hard for anyone to mess with them.
With many witnesses around, the incident would spread quickly on the internet.
'This settles it...'
We're protecting the kids, so the Daybreak Guild should provide a suitable reward, right?
Unless someone was a fool, they wouldn't dare.
Protecting children was a Guild's natural duty.
Even without a reward, if a child needed help, they would assist.
They just paid a little more attention to the children from Daybreak.
'It's not easy.'
But maybe it doesn't matter.
Kang Jinho would be grateful, after all.
And the kids were incredibly cute too.
Chae Juyeon smiled with her eyes and stroked the children's heads.
Shocked by what happened, the two kids looked terrified.
"What will happen to that man just now...?"
Worrying about someone who harbored malice towards them.
How could they have such angelic hearts?
Chae Juyeon decided to lie for the child's sake.
"Since he tried to harm Gyeoul, he will receive an appropriate punishment."
"Punishment...?"
"Yes. Only within the limits set by the law."
"Ah..."
Gyeoul seemed relieved to hear that the punishment would be according to the law.
Chae Juyeon didn't explicitly mention that Kang Jinho could manipulate that law at will.
<+>
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