*
Serhi completed his onboarding at Hyeonak under the status of a trainee.
The conditions were that, while he remained a trainee, he would assist the work of Raid Team 1 as their probationary member, and Gidan would have to accompany him as his mentor.
And when Geuru heard the news about Serhi, she was slightly shocked.
‘Geuru doesn’t have a team……!’
Until now, there had been no new recruits besides Geuru, so she had never noticed.
It felt like being the only one in kindergarten without a class. It was almost like…….
‘A loner?!’
Stunned by the sudden realization, Geuru clung to Jurim’s leg and asked in a trembling voice.
“What about Geuru? Why doesn’t Geuru have a team? Why is only Geuru a loner?”
And Jurim, who had been looking especially busy lately, wore an expression that said she couldn’t even be bothered to make up an excuse……
“You’re a parachute hire.”
……That was what she said.
“Me, pa’chute?”
At that point, the only parachute Geuru knew was the device used when jumping down from somewhere.
“What’s a pa’chute?”
“An amazing person whom no one can mess with lightly.”
“Hat!”
“That’s why you don’t have a team. Because no one’s allowed to mess with you.”
Jurim patted Geuru’s back and comforted her, telling her not to worry.
Geuru covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes sparkling.
‘Geuru is amazing! I’m a parachute!’
After that, Geuru wandered round and round the company, proudly telling everyone that, in truth, she was a parachute hire.
“Team Leader. Geuru is, actually…… a pa’chute.”
The strange thing was that everyone reacted the same way. Every person who heard it burst into laughter, hugged Geuru, and patted her.
‘Is being a parachute really that amazing?’
Just how amazing did a person have to be for everyone to dote on Geuru the moment they heard she was a parachute?
‘I shouldn’t reveal it carelessly.’
The riper the rice, the lower it bows its head. As a parachute, Geuru decided to become humble.
In any case.
As Hyeonak’s parachute, Geuru set herself a goal.
It began like this.
A new school year would soon begin, and whenever that happened, there was a lesson they always received in kindergarten.
‘Welcoming new friends!’
When a new school year began, many new friends entered kindergarten.
Friends who moved up from the same kindergarten could continue getting along, but completely new faces might end up on the outside if one wasn’t careful.
In Hyeonak terms……
‘New friend = Serhi!’
Geuru had to look after the new recruit so he wouldn’t feel left out.
Geuru huffed through her nose.
Right now, Serhi occupied an odd position within Hyeonak.
There was absolutely nothing good about revealing that he was Gnosis, yet he had boldly shouted, “I am Gnosis,” in the lobby.
To smooth things over, Jurim took extraordinary measures……
“Tell them it’s eighth-grader syndrome.”
She explained that Serhi was indeed exceptional, but because of that, he had developed delusions.
The people of Hyeonak accepted this excuse, which barely even qualified as one, surprisingly easily.
Rather than Gnosis coming to Hyeonak, they seemed to find it more believable that a sixteen-year-old who had suddenly obtained great power had fallen into qi deviation and contracted eighth-grader syndrome.
For that reason, within Hyeonak, Serhi became a foreign boy deeply afflicted with eighth-grader syndrome.
Afterward, whenever the guild members saw Serhi, they either couldn’t hold back their laughter or clicked their tongues in pity.
“He looks perfectly normal, too……”
“That sort of thing is just a phase.”
And Serhi……
“Why do the humans in your guild grin every time they see me?”
He had absolutely no idea why they were reacting like that.
“What the hell is eighth-grader supposed to mean?”
Gidan was too busy laughing to explain, and Geuru didn’t know what eighth-grader meant either, so Serhi had no choice but to hear the full story from Jurim.
Jurim explained in a rather gentle tone.
“Oh, it’s nothing much. It means you’re delusional.”
“What?! How is that nothing much!”
After belatedly learning the truth, Serhi was furious, but what could he do? He had no choice but to accept it.
Even if he insisted again that he was Gnosis, they would only think his eighth-grader syndrome had flared up.
Besides, he seemed to think there was no need to correct the misunderstanding either.
Serhi didn’t particularly want to get along with other people.
But Geuru couldn’t leave him like that! She wanted to help Serhi adjust well to Hyeonak.
As if responding to that, a quest window appeared.
[Caregiver Quest: Welcome Ceremony for the New Caregiver!]
[Let’s welcome the new caregiver! Let’s make a friend for the caregiver, who may not be used to an unfamiliar environment, to rely on.]
[Reward: Filial Piety Points 5,000]
And so……
Squeak-squeak, squeak-squeak, squeeeeak—
A toddler’s tricycle stopped in front of the break room.
From inside came the sound of Serhi and Gidan chatting quietly.
“I’ve never gone into a dungeon as part of a team.”
“What? Why? Does Gnosis not enter dungeons?”
“Why would I go in to raid one? I’m not a Hunter…… hm?”
Serhi spotted Geuru and furrowed his brow. His face seemed to say, What in the world is that bizarre thing?
Geuru smiled contentedly.
‘Still, he talks to Brother Dan.’
At first, he had been horrified, asking whether he really had to share the same lodging as Gidan too, but after about a week, the two seemed to be getting along reasonably well.
—New S-rank Hunter, Serhi.
“It talks too?”
When Serhi looked startled, Gidan snickered.
—Congratulations on joining Hyeonak. Then now, let us conduct your ini-tiation.
“What is this?”
Serhi pulled off the bear head.
At that, Geuru stretched out both arms and wriggled, trying to grab the bear head.
“Eeeeeeeeng—”
“Don’t take that off. She gets mad.”
At Gidan’s words, Serhi put the head back on her. He turned to Gidan and asked,
“Did you do this initiation thing too?”
“Dan is already on Geuru’s team.”
When Gidan held out his fist, Geuru tapped it with a bear paw.
—On the same team.
Seeing the one person and one bear(?) so perfectly in sync, Serhi narrowed his eyes.
“You really gathered up nothing but losers here. Ow!”
A duck clamp that had appeared at some point struck Serhi’s thigh.
—Bad words will be punished.
“You were the one who called yourself a hidden-power loser first!”
—Hmph! That is that, and this is this.
With an utterly aggrieved expression, Serhi rubbed his stinging thigh.
At that moment, Gidan spoke as if he had a good idea.
“Hidden-power loser? Nice. This initiation’s concept will be hidden-power losers.”
—Oh, that piques my interest. I approve!
“Let’s go to a guerrilla dungeon! The S-rank hidden-power loser minors!”
—Yay—!
“Ugh.”
Serhi shook his head, then suddenly had a question mark appear over it.
“Don’t tell me she’s going too?”
The face of the Half-Made Bear tilted to the side.
—Of course I am going with you.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Hmph! Half-Made Bear Mk.1 twitched her eyebrows as if he were ridiculous.
—Serhi, Geuru is also S-rank.
Since the caregiver registration was complete, Geuru comfortably revealed her secret.
“Is S-rank some dog’s name?”
But Serhi merely snorted.
It was close to the look and sneer he himself had been receiving all this time as someone with eighth-grader syndrome.
—……!
Geuru’s shoulders trembled with humiliation, and Gidan burst out laughing with a pfft.
Geuru whimpered and pouted.
—It is true! Geuru does not speak falsehoods!
“Right, right. Geuru doesn’t lie.”
Unable to just watch, Gidan backed her up.
Serhi answered with, “Yeah, sure,” then turned to look at Gidan and frowned.
“What’s with that weird expression?”
“I’m telling you, Geuru really is S-rank.”
“What the hell are you talking about!”
Gidan went around behind Geuru and patted her shoulder.
“Allow me to introduce her. S-rank crafting type, Miss Han Geuru!”
—Pleased to meet you! I am S-rank Hunter Han Geuru.
The Half-Made Bear raised one hand high in greeting.
Serhi opened his mouth with a stunned expression.
Then did that mean the excavator and sprinklers he had seen at that RP dungeon farm had all been Geuru’s work?
Like a poorly oiled robot, Serhi creakily turned his head toward Gidan.
“Why?!”