“Malicious scoundrels.”
But this dismal haggling would soon come to an end. In the end, the film studio would throw in the towel.
In dungeon raids, ordinary folk were inevitably the underdogs.
“More importantly, Geuru, is everything finished?”
At the manager’s question, Geuru turned around to see the adults nodding. It meant the adults would handle the rest, so the children could go play now.
“Yeth!”
“Then shall we go to the filming set together? You said you’d come play today, right?”
“Yes! I wanna go!”
“Where did you put your things? Let’s tell the adults before we go.”
“Yeth!”
Geuru scampered off, grunting as she lugged her bag over, and On Suhyeong strode up to take it from her.
He shook his head even when his secretaries offered to take it instead.
“Grandpa, can Groo go play at Uju’s house and come back?”
“Alone? Wouldn’t it be dangerous to go around alone?”
Ever since learning that Geuru was an S-rank Hunter, the increasingly worried On Suhyeong had floated the idea of assigning someone to accompany her.
But for whatever reason, Geuru—
“I’m not alone!”
Saying so, Geuru dashed off to the bathroom with her bag.
And lo and behold, she came back leading a boy her age.
“Groo’s going with her fwend.”
A friend?
On Suhyeong and Beillakeu’s eyes met.
“…….”
When Beillakeu smiled, revealing jagged shark teeth, his pupils turned star-shaped.
“……?”
Rather, On Suhyeong began to wonder if it was truly acceptable for their granddaughter to be running around with something like this.
“……Really, a friend?”
When asked, Geuru whispered, “Actually...”
“Groo’s waisin’ him.”
“…….”
He shouldn’t have asked.
Yes, Jurim would have taken care of anything dangerous. I asked something unnecessary.
On Suhyeong avoided Beillakeu’s gaze, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing, and smiled warmly at Geuru.
“Then have fun and be careful.”
“Yeth!”
Geuru grabbed Beillakeu’s hand and ran off toward Uju.
Mepiseuto followed after them, trudging along without flying, head hung low and shoulders slumped.
Beillakeu observed Mepiseuto with a frown.
He nearly got stepped on by the hurried staff several times but only leaned back to avoid them.
Even if it meant getting trodden underfoot, the baby bird refused to spread his wings, as though determined never to fly.
He had flown around to his heart’s content just that morning, so it was unlikely his wings were suddenly hurt.
The only thing that had changed was that he had taken on human form.
‘That bastard… Could it be…’
Beillakeu considered telling Geuru that Mepiseuto wasn’t flying but ultimately clamped his mouth shut.
This wasn’t his problem. It was that unfilial bastard’s problem.
They weren’t that close to begin with.
Just then, while packing her things, Geuru spotted Mepiseuto, grabbed him, and placed him on her head.
Mepiseuto settled onto Geuru’s head, eyes brimming with tears as if he might cry at any moment.
Whether he looked that way because walking while avoiding people had been difficult, or because he was happy Geuru had noticed and found him, no one could tell.
But he looked quite pitiful.
“Mepi, do your wings hurt?”
When Geuru asked worriedly, Mepiseuto spread his wings wide and shook his head.
“Then why’d you walk here?”
“Peep. Pee-peep.” (I’m fine. I can walk.)
His beak trembled as if holding back tears while he said that.
But Geuru didn’t understand and only sported a puzzled look, while Beillakeu turned his head away as if the sight disgusted him.
‘Foolish bastard.’
Fine. I won’t concern myself with it.
Beillakeu had far more serious matters to worry about than that bastard’s affairs.
*
Beillakeu, Geuru, and Uju sat side by side in the very back row of the van.
Geuru, Mepiseuto sitting on her head, and Uju were playing with a push pop (a toy with round bumps like bubble wrap that made popping sounds when pressed).
What on earth was so fun about pressing that thing?
Watching the three children burst into laughter, Beillakeu furrowed his brow.
He seemed to be the only one who thought now was not the time for this.
Beillakeu, looking visibly sullen on his own, casually asked Geuru,
“Is it true that you can’t film Zombie City 2?”
“Uh-huh. That’s what they say.”
“What happens if you fail to clear the dungeon?”
“We can’t film? Uju, what do we do?”
“It’s not that we can’t film, but it might be delayed for a while.”
“That’s what they say~”
“What?!”
Unlike the shocked Beillakeu, the little ones were absorbed in pressing their push pops again.
Then Beillakeu smacked the back of the front seat with a resounding bang, commanding their attention.
“……?”
“Master. Let’s enter the dungeon. If the guild finds it difficult, we shall raid it in their stead.”
“Ehh, us? No way.”
Geuru refused flatly, uncharacteristically.
Because—
“Groo will become a criminal….”
In fact, she already was.
It was only a matter of time before she got caught….
But Beillakeu couldn’t give up despite his master’s firm refusal.
Yes, absolutely not.
Beillakeu glanced at Uju, who wore a bewildered expression.
Because Seo Uju had to safely film Mukbang City 2!
The scene where Seo Uju gets eaten by a zombie? Just imagining it made his mouth water.
Just watching it would provide a vicarious sense of fullness.
To that end, he first needed to gently reel in this little master.
Pondering what Geuru considered important these days, he soon spoke.
“Let’s practice opening the Cradle!”
“Practice…?”
To bait Geuru, Beillakeu wiggled the float on his fishing rod.
“Yes, practice. To handle the real thing skillfully, you need bloody practice beforehand. Think of the protagonist in Zombie Hunter.”
“But that’s just a story….”
Geuru stroked her chin, lost in thought.
Practice was certainly necessary. But hadn’t she learned that she couldn’t just enter a dungeon and clear it as she pleased?
In her head, a two-panned scale with ‘Go to the dungeon’ and ‘Don’t go’ swayed back and forth.
Noticing Geuru’s dilemma, Beillakeu said,
“Master, can you not hear the request?”
“……What request?”
Beillakeu grasped Geuru’s shoulders and met her gaze.
“The wish of the guild struggling to clear the raid… It is a plea for justice.”
“J-Justice…!”
“Yes!”
A weight called justice was added to Geuru’s scale.
With that, ‘Go to the dungeon’ tilted slightly, but—
“But… I might become a criminal….”
For a law-abiding kindergartener, a criminal was a bit….
Then Beillakeu delivered the final blow to the hesitant Geuru.
“One who willingly becomes evil for the sake of ultimate justice. In ‘Zombie Hunter’, they call this a ‘Dark Hero’.”
Ba-dump!
Geuru’s heart reacted before her mind.
“Dark Hero?”
“Yes. Like the Zombie Hunter—a hero who is scorned as a zombie yet carries out a Hunter’s justice. That is precisely a Dark Hero.”
Dark! Hero!
The words Geuru loved became weights that landed with dull thuds on the scale’s arms.
Every honeyed word from Beillakeu sounded perfectly right to Geuru.
“Pee-peep!”
Mepiseuto, who wasn’t much different from Geuru in temperament, fell for Beillakeu’s words hook, line, and sinker and cried out for justice.
Yes, merely watching a struggling guild is not the way of the supreme Hunter.
Besides….
‘Groo can sell out Master’s great villain father.’
If she catches and hands over a tremendous villain, wouldn’t they overlook one or two of her deviations?
With hands trembling from desire, Geuru opened her status window.
Geuru’s level was stuck at a mere 40.
“…….”
Hmph! She snorted. Geuru, having steeled her resolve, invested all the filial piety points she had accumulated into mana.
Name: Ongeuru
Level: LV. 40
Title: ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ (Unavailable)
Strength: 2
Stamina: 2 (+14)
Agility: 2
Defense: 2 (+88)
Mana: 162
[Insufficient filial piety points to raise status!]
[Filial Piety Points: 350]
‘Filial piety points, all gone already!’
Once a stat surpasses 100, the points consumed to raise a single stat increase by more than fivefold.
Because of that, she couldn’t raise as many stats as she’d hoped, but—
‘I can feel the power….’
She could feel the newly surging mana stirring within her body.
Geuru’s mana stat was now 162.
At least in terms of mana, it was a value exceeding that of an A-rank magic-type Hunter.
Usually, even magic-type Hunters never dumped every single stat into mana.
Without basic strength and stamina, one couldn’t endure dangerous raids.
Moreover, strength and stamina were essential even for raising attack power.
But Geuru had aspiration and justice instead of strength and stamina.
“Beill, Mepi. Let’s eat Yopple in the dungeon today.”
Geuru sprang to her feet, spouting a heroic line and fluttering her skirt like a hero.
Today, the strawberry flavor of Yopple would taste all the richer.
It was then.
The manager, checking the children in the rearview mirror, spoke.
“Groo, you can’t stand up in the car. You’ll get hurt~”
“Yeth….”
Geuru sat back down properly.
Groo, embarrassed, placed both hands on her knees and pouted,
and locked eyes with Uju, who was staring blankly at her.
Geuru’s eyes blazed brightly once more.
“Uju, when we arrive, Groo has stuff to do. Wait just a bit, ’kay?”
“O-okay.”
Geuru rested her chin on Uju’s shoulder.
“Groo will help Uju film. Don’t worry.”
“…Ungh.”
Uju shuddered her shoulder as if zapped by electricity, then nodded as if entranced.