At that moment, the bag began to wriggle.
Startled, Geuru quickly flung the bag open, and Beilak popped out, transformed into a child.
“My lord, your proficiency has gone up.”
“Uuung… a little.”
Apparently proficiency didn’t rise as easily as she had expected; it had only increased by a tiny bit.
“You’ve been becoming human often. Your form and how long you can maintain it are more stable than before, too.”
“Um, don’t you hafta become a hamster often?”
“……”
Beilak made a look of utter disgust.
“A skill is activated by its master’s will. Whether I become a hamster or take on a human form, it means my appearance is determined and maintained according to my master’s will and need. Right now, it means my lord needs my protection.”
Geuru, who had not understood a single thing, pressed her lips shut with a solemn expression.
Beilak helped her to her feet, brushed off her knees, and said calmly,
“I am my lord’s retainer, and your guardian.”
“Um.”
Geuru nodded.
What does that mean?
“It means you may order me to do anything.”
As if he had expected this, Beilak calmly went into explanation mode once again.
“I seee……”
“So I shall handle anything that upsets my lord.”
“Beii will do that for Geuru?”
Was Beilak going to be her partner for the sports day?
She had wanted to do it with Uju…
Feeling miserable again, Geuru stuck out her lower lip, her chin crumpling like a walnut.
“Huuung… okay.”
“Then I shall go kill him.”
Geuru’s mouth fell open.
“Wh-what all of a sudden?”
“That delicious-looking—no, the child who upset my lord.”
Grabbing Beilak’s wrist, Geuru furrowed her brow.
“Beii, stop drooling.”
“……”
Beilak wiped his drool-soaked mouth with the back of his hand.
“Ehyoo.”
It was a serious problem that Beilak kept wanting to eat Uju.
“Beii, you be sports day partners with Geuru.”
“……”
Beilak’s face crumpled at once. It was an expression that said he truly hated the idea.
Since he had heard the explanation from inside the bag, he roughly knew what a sports day was and what a partner had to do.
His lord was asking him to play with her while doing physical activities together.
“I am Beilak Shados. The first star of Shados and Sheier’s first retainer. For me to go along with such children’s games would be a marked difference in status……”
As Beilak spoke pompously like an old fogey, Geuru cut him off.
“B-but! If we work weally hard, we might get something Beii likes.”
“Something I like?”
“A tablet PC.”
Geuru searched for a tablet PC on her phone and showed it to him.
“What is this?”
“It’s like a phone, but grown-ups usually watch things like YouTube on it. And with this…”
Geuru paused, the corners of her lips twisting upward.
“You can watch that.”
At that villainous expression, Beilak sucked in a breath.
“…Don’t tell me!”
“Yep, you can watch ‘Zombie Hunter.’”
Geuru’s phone and tablet had “Kids Lock” on them, so she couldn’t watch whatever she wanted.
These days, there were all sorts of apps, so parents could monitor every single thing a child did on a phone or tablet.
But what if Beilak received a tablet?
They could avoid Kids Lock and watch “Zombie Hunter” as much as they wanted.
Mephisto, who caught on, also made his eyes gleam.
Before they knew it, Geuru, Beilak, and Mephisto had put their hurt feelings about Uju behind them and were exchanging deep looks as one.
Even without putting it into words, the three of them shared the same goal.
‘We win at the sports day. We win and get the tablet PC!’
*
And then, the day of the sports day.
Since this was a special school for Awakened and drew a great deal of attention from the media and guilds, many students in the high school division, in particular, had prepared quite seriously for the sake of their future employment.
Because of that, people strolled around the campus full of excitement, looking forward to the athletic meet.
“Is Serhi coming today?”
“How would I know? But I’m looking forward to it.”
“Is there anyone who can go up against Serhi? Gidan?”
“Gidan slacked off during the last sports day too, didn’t he?”
Amid the bustle of families, the press, and guild personnel moving about, behind a tree in the park—
Geuru, with Mephisto perched on her head, whispered with Beilak.
“This. We’re on the blue team, so we hafta tie this on.”
Beilak took the cord Geuru offered and tied it around his forehead.
Geuru tied a tiny blue ribbon around Mephi’s head as well.
When Uju ended up not participating in the athletic meet, the Chick Class teacher had specially allowed Geuru, who was feeling down, to bring a different friend.
With her hair tied high in a ponytail, Geuru fastened the blue team’s cord around her forehead.
The required events for the kindergarten Chick Class were “piñata smashing” and the “three-legged race.”
The Chick Class teacher had recommended doing the three-legged race with family, but Geuru had deliberately not called Jurim.
Because Beilak’s participation in the sports day was a secret!
If Jurim found out that the prize was a tablet PC, and that Beilak had received one?
‘Beii will get caught by Kids Lock too!’
If that happened, the three of them’s “Zombie Hunter plan” would go up in smoke.
…Though, in truth, that wasn’t the only reason.
‘Dad’s in the way.’
If the number one ranker was standing in front of them, there was no way the other side would face them properly.
Sports were meant to be enjoyed fair and square, and Jurim’s very existence was cheating.
In a children’s sports day, he was in exactly the kind of position that would draw boos.
No matter how often Hyeonak was cursed as a guild, she couldn’t let them get cursed even on a day like this.
Though Dad had seemed uncharacteristically disappointed.
‘Sorry, Dad.’
Geuru looked up at the sky, apologized briefly, and then rose to her feet.
‘But I can’t hold back when it comes to Zombie Hunter!’
Beilak, who had tied the blue cord firmly around his forehead, solemnly extended his hand.
“Are you ready, my lord?”
“Of course, Beii.”
Clap! Geuru gripped his hand fiercely.
“Peep!”
Mephi raised one leg and spread his wings wide.
Let’s go. For Zombie Hunter!
*
[Blue 0:0 Red]
Once the athletic meet officially began, a hologram was projected into the sky.
The hologram showed the scores of the blue team and the red team.
From now on, the points from every event would be recorded there.
“Hung.”
The blue team’s first victory had to be brought by Geuru.
Geuru snorted determinedly, steeling herself.
The first event was ball rolling.
Set to face off against the kindergarten Giraffe Class of the red team, Geuru entered the field with a large number 3 tag stuck to her back.
In front of a ball so large it could barely be rolled by two kindergartners, Geuru loosened her neck left and right.
She was so nervous that both her hands were slick with sweat.
‘Geuru’s stats are all 2, except for mana.’
On the other hand, her opponents were…
Geuru glanced at Giraffe Class’s number 3.
Six-year-olds, a whole year older than Geuru. Their gross motor skills would be more developed, and both of them were at least ten centimeters taller too.
“I don’t think this’ll be easy.”
Sensing the momentum of the other kindergartners, Geuru whispered to Beilak.
Then Beilak whispered back,
“Do not worry, my lord.”
Beilak drew up a very small amount of mana.
“I am your retainer and your guardian.”
Along with that, the ball rose slightly.
“Huh?”
He had slightly adjusted gravity and floated the ball upward.
Beilak bared his shark-like teeth and snickered.
“There is no need to roll the ball with such frail bodies.”
Tweet—
The whistle sounded.
There was no time to be surprised.
Geuru placed her hands on the floating ball and pushed it, steering its direction.
Light as a feather, smooth handling that didn’t even feel like rolling!
“A-amazing!”
Geuru let out a cry of admiration, and the athletic meet’s announcer widened his eyes, pointing at Geuru’s team’s ball.
“What is that over there! The ball is floating! Is this superconducting ball rolling?”
Geuru narrowed her brow.
“Su-super condiment?”
What was he talking about?
But Beilak likewise had no idea what a superconductor was.
“Super condiment?”
What was he talking about?
In any case, while Geuru and Beilak were diligently following the ball—
“Blue team number 3 over there!”
Eek! Geuru, who had been called out, whipped her head around.
“It seems you’re an Awakened team, but!”
Geuru hurriedly nodded.
“In ball rolling, the rule is that you roll the ball! Team number 3! Eliminated!”