Meanwhile, having received a call from the helicopter, Yamaoka Shun nodded and spoke.
["Let us be on our way now. We shall escort you to the airport."]
"I wanted to finish the bicycle for you before I left. Master is sorry, Gru-chan."
[Emergency! Detecting danger to caregiver 'Amakusa Kazuki'!]
Shake, shake.
Gru shook her head and tugged on Kazuki's sleeve.
"Master, you can't go."
Kazuki, who had been turning away, smiled awkwardly.
Gru squeezed the hand gripping Kazuki's sleeve tightly.
Now, even without a caregiver danger signal, she knew. She couldn't send Master away with that look on his face.
Whump, whump, whump, whump, whump—
The helicopter descended into the courtyard in front of the Main Hall to take Kazuki away.
Thud, thud, thud.
Her heart pounded fiercely, as if she had just finished a footrace.
Gru already knew what she had to do to keep him from leaving.
Her proficiency and her level had both risen.
'Getting scolded is scary but….'
I'll do what I can.
"Beii!"
[Activating skill 'Knead-Knead'.]
"Don't let Master go."
Swoosh—
In an instant, a child with shark teeth revealed itself.
Stars were engraved in the child's eyes, and sharp teeth peeked past its smiling lips.
Its right arm was dyed pitch-black, transformed like the arm of a demonic beast. A black sphere the size of a baseball formed in its hand, surging with a chilling power.
Swooooo—
The bleak air emanating from Vailark instantly sparked tension.
Even a small tremor accompanied it, as though space-time itself was distorting.
["What is that?!"]
["It's a monster!"]
Sensing danger, the special forces aimed their weapons at the child.
Yamaoka Shun also took a sword-drawing stance.
If it became a danger, he would cut down even a child!
At that sight, the vassal seemed to find the struggles of a worthless insect most enjoyable—
—as you command, my liege.
It spat out in a voice laced with laughter.
Boom—!
Crunch—!
The helicopter was compressed paper-thin in an instant, as though flattened by a hydraulic press.
A circular crater was carved into the ground around it.
The special forces agents, pinned to the floor, couldn't move, frozen stiff like stone statues.
Kazuki looked at Yamaoka Shun, who was sitting there dumbfounded, and opened his mouth.
Just what in the world was happening…….
Meanwhile, Gru turned Vailark back into a hamster.
Vailark, returned to an ugly hamster, climbed onto Gru's shoulder.
"Myuuu…."
It seemed regretful that it had only used its power for a moment.
Gru continuously stroked that Vailark's head.
"You did great, Beii."
"Myut?"
Perhaps unaccustomed to praise, Vailark hesitantly accepted the child's hand.
Then, Kazuki turned to Gru with a stiff face.
A pang!
Am I going to get scolded?
Now that she had actually gone through with it, she felt a prick of guilt.
She had smashed the helicopter on her own and slammed the bad villains (probably) into the ground.
Behind them, Monk Hyeongak was ushering inside the people who were muttering about what had suddenly happened.
"……."
Gru, pouting, hung her head low in preparation for a scolding.
"Wow! Gru-chan, you can do that too?!"
A flood of tears!
"Master!"
Gru came running with big, teary eyes and—plop!—was drawn into Kazuki's broad embrace.
Kazuki knelt down and patted the whimpering Gru.
It was a somewhat amusing situation.
Because the child who had subdued the special forces members in an instant was worrying with tear-filled eyes about Kazuki, perfectly fine without a single scratch.
"That's really terrifying……. Master broke out in a cold sweat. Feel it?!"
"Uung……? It's damp. Sniff!"
"Right? I was super surprised!"
"……Sowwy for doing what Gwu wanted, Master. But to the bad people—hic!—don't go. Hup!"
"It's okay, good girl. Why are you crying."
"Cuz, sniff! ……Gwu did what Gwu wanted and smashed the helicopter too…… Sob!"
Kazuki cupped Gru's cheeks with both hands. And he repeatedly wiped away her falling tears.
"Why are you crying, Gru-chan. You did great. Don't cry. If your overbearing dad sees, he'll think I made you cry."
"Hieung, hup!"
It was at that moment.
"Isn't it?"
Jolt!
At the suddenly familiar voice, Kazuki tensed up sharply and turned around.
"……On-chyan?"
"Sorry for being the overbearing dad."
Jurim checked Gru with a fixed gaze, then turned his eyes to the destroyed helicopter and let out a sigh.
"Haa…."
As he brushed his hair back.
Yamaoka Shun, who had been stupidly watching the situation unfold, finally rose with a shiver.
["On Jurim?"]
["Is it really On Jurim?"]
Because his name began spreading among the unit members like wildfire.
Fear and awe coexisted in their voices. A danger signal.
"Ahem, Guild Master On Jurim…."
Yamaoka Shun cleared his throat and spoke in broken Korean.
He had to confront On Jurim. No, to be precise, he had to calm the man down and send him back.
Jurim, checking his wristwatch, turned his head slowly.
Yamaoka Shun, suddenly meeting his eyes, gulped dryly.
An immeasurable, colossal magical power constricted his breath.
The premonition that the slightest movement would shatter his body into pieces.
Unlike him, who was so tense that the blood drained from his face, Jurim spoke with a composed demeanor.
"Answer it."
What?
Before he could even voice his question, his cell phone rang.
Riiiiiiing—
Yamaoka Shun bit his lip at the number of the Prime Minister's Office displayed on the phone screen.
*
"What in the world…."
In front of Jurim, who sat cross-legged in the center of the main hall, Kazuki and Gru hung their heads.
"You cause accidents the moment I step away for a bit."
Yamaoka Shun, having received contact from the Prime Minister's Office, had withdrawn with the special forces, but those who remained had to face Jurim's wrath.
Because Gru had already mastered the fastest way to escape a scolding at times like this, she immediately knelt down without delay.
"……?"
Following her, Kazuki knelt with a bewildered face, and under Gru's pressure, he unknowingly hung his head and confessed his wrongdoing.
"Since things turned out this way, sumimasen…."
And Gru, watching, opened her mouth in shock.
It's not 'I'm sorry'?
"Sumii……?"
When Gru rolled her big eyes round and quietly followed along, Kazuki smirked and whispered.
"Sumimasen."
Ha.
"Sumimangshe…."
At her pill-bug-like round little body and her flowing baby pronunciation, Kazuki pressed his lips together tightly.
"Why are you so cute? Gru-chan, can't I raise you now?"
"Nuh-uh."
Gru shook her head no, but Kazuki hugged her shoulders.
"Your new daddy will teach you Japanese too, make lots of bicycles for you, and treat you well."
"Should I really kill that guy…."
Jurim, clenching his jaw, muttered under his breath.
"It'll really be big trouble if you keep going."
Kazuki raised both hands as if surrendering and stood up, dusting off his knees.
"But On-chyan. How did you send them back? Did you threaten Takahashi or something?"
He had said it as a joke.
However, Jurim answered confidently.
"Yeah."
"……Yeah?"
Jurim rested his chin on his folded knees and curled up the corners of his mouth.
"I called and said I'd tell you who placed the debuff on you. The reaction was quite amusing?"
For someone claiming to have threatened a prime minister, his tone was rather teasing.
Kazuki couldn't help but be surprised.
"On-chyan, you really don't discriminate between people!"
Though it came out more sarcastic than he had intended, Jurim himself didn't seem to care much.
"So, will you?"