*
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
As soon as the gate opened, Yurian, who had been trembling in a corner of the dungeon, dashed outside in one breath.
‘They were even crazier than I thought.’
He had suspected they weren’t ordinary animals, but he truly hadn’t imagined they could subdue an SSS-rank monster so easily.
If On Joorim hadn’t come at the end and stopped them, Yurian might really have had to watch an SSS-rank egg-fry eating stream.
Shudder. Goosebumps rose all over him.
‘They’re no ordinary bunch, so I suppose that’s why they turn me into a Maltese and ride around on me.’
Yurian trembled, then suddenly sniffed the air.
‘Powder…….’
It was the powder of Theodora Vice, whom On Joorim had crushed.
“Grrr…….”
As Yurian growled while thinking of the despicable Theodora, a light bulb suddenly flashed in his head.
Theodora had swallowed the Filial Piety Cookie…….
If so?
[Activating the skill ‘Spectrum Echo’]
The white powder gathered together, turning into dough as it began to take on a round shape.
‘It worked!’
[Filial Piety Cookie mk.2 (S+)]
A round Filial Piety Cookie appeared in the eyes of the ecstatic Maltese.
“Arf!”
Yurian tapped the Filial Piety Cookie with his round paw.
“Sniff sniff!”
It should be okay to eat, right?
Yurian recalled the last time he had eaten the Filial Piety Cookie.
What if he went berserk again and lost consciousness…….
Yurian gripped the Filial Piety Cookie tightly with both paws, hesitating for a moment over whether to eat it.
“You’ll get in trouble if you eat something like that.”
A large hand picked up the Filial Piety Cookie.
Yurian’s eyes went round and his ears perked up when he saw who the hand belonged to.
It was Han Rowoon.
He blew the dust away, then tucked the Filial Piety Cookie into his arms.
“You got something good. Good job.”
Han Rowoon lowered himself and patted Yurian’s head as the Maltese whimpered.
This would be a great help in creating a dungeon to contain Sheyer.
Just as he smiled faintly at the thought, another long shadow fell over Yurian’s head.
“Hello. Excuse me, but are you Director Han Rowoon?”
“Yes. I’m Han Rowoon. What can I do for you?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jin Siwon, team leader of the Awakened Management Bureau. I have a few questions to ask you.”
Jin Siwon smiled and extended his hand.
As Han Rowoon shook it, he murmured,
“……You have quite a fine vessel.”
“Pardon?”
The instant Jin Siwon raised his eyes and asked again, Han Rowoon’s eyes were dyed coral.
At the same time, the Gnosis sigil appeared in his eyes.
*
A dungeon had suddenly appeared at Justitia International School, and all the children holding a bazaar had hurriedly evacuated to the gymnasium building.
With Joorim’s help, Gru had successfully slipped in among the children, but he was pouting.
That was because he had heard an explanation of the “suspension of business” from the homeroom teacher of the Chick Class.
That’s right. Gru had been suspended from business.
The sale of Filial Piety Cookies constituted “the sale of awakened-person goods without a permit.”
‘My reputation……!’
Gru clenched both fists and trembled.
The Chick Class teacher patted the child, making an “Oh dear” sound.
And so the bazaar was canceled, while Gru’s first attempt to build up his reputation vanished into thin air.
Gru recalled the shop that had been operating so successfully and held back tears, but soon shook off his sadness.
Because he had succeeded in making a Filial Piety Cookie this time!
As far as he had found out, there were no edible items besides the Filial Piety Cookie that had effects of S-rank or higher!
With even an S-rank item being rare, an S+?
This would work!
Of course, his successful product had been snatched away!
Gru’s body shriveled up.
“Grugru, you got all shriveled up.”
“The bazaar will be held again next time.”
Not knowing how Gru felt, Gidan and Serhi comforted him.
The newly formed Greater Dungeon was dealt with by Joorim entering and conquering it alone.
Still, while the hunters watched over the children in case anything happened, Joorim was up front talking with the principal.
The bazaar had been canceled, and the children, who had suddenly ended up sitting in rows in the gymnasium, stared curiously at Gru’s group, surrounded by Team 1 of the Hyeonak Raid.
Gidan and Serhi did attend Justitia, but they were in the high school division, so it was difficult for the kindergarten and elementary school children to see them.
“It’s really Hyeonak……”
“Wow, Hyeonak Team 1!”
“Gidan hyung! I have your photo card! It’s an old one, but it got really expensive after you reached third place in the rankings!”
“Oh, take good care of it. I’ll make it worth even more.”
Cheers erupted as Gidan chuckled and joked around.
Soon, the children admiring the hunters began asking Serhi when his photo cards would be released as well.
Serhi looked as though he was listening half-heartedly despite finding it bothersome.
Watching the guild members who were so popular with the children, Gru felt proud on their behalf and struggled to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.
Meanwhile, after finishing his conversation with the principal, Joorim gave a small smile at Gru, whose lips were trembling, and beckoned to him.
It meant that they should go to the hospital later.
Gru’s face brightened at once, and he nodded.
Lately, Gru hadn’t been able to see On Ijo’s face very often. The government was pouring all its energy into preparing even a script for the announcement of On Ijo.
Joorim let out a small laugh as he watched Gru’s expression relax.
It was quite adorable to see him sitting quietly in his chair and following the adults’ instructions.
At that moment, Gru lifted his phone. Then he waved it toward Joorim.
It was a signal that he was going to call the hospital to tell On Ijo that he would be there soon.
Just as Joorim nodded to show that he understood—
Two people entered the gymnasium.
Serhi, who spotted them, straightened his back.
“……Hyung?”
“Looks like Team Leader Jin Siwon came too.”
Jin Siwon seemed not to notice Serhi as he walked past the children.
The principal greeted the two with a bright expression.
“Guild Master On, this is our Director Han Rowoon.”
“Hello.”
Joorim greeted them out of habit, then met Han Rowoon’s eyes and opened his own wide.
“Hello. My name is Han Rowoon.”
He smiled, forming a pretty dimple in his cheek.
Joorim frowned as he studied his face, then briefly shifted his gaze to Jin Siwon.
Jin Siwon was looking down with his face cast in shadow.
It was their first meeting since their last phone call, when they had discussed the possibility that “Director Han Rowoon might be Gnosis.”
‘Did he come to investigate Han Rowoon?’
Thinking nothing of it, Joorim took a step closer to the director as though to shake his hand. He deliberately extended his gloved left hand.
Han Rowoon noticed and gave a small laugh.
After their hands met, Joorim spoke first.
“We’ve met before, haven’t we, Director?”
The man who had dared to chase Hyeonak all the way there in an attempt to steal Sheyer.
Who would have thought that man was Han Rowoon, the one suspected of being Gnosis?
What an extraordinary coincidence.
As Joorim narrowed his eyes, Han Rowoon’s almond-colored eyes curved.
“Well, haha. I’m sorry my answer is ambiguous. Perhaps because I spent time abroad, I’m not very good at recognizing people’s faces.”
“I’m not exactly a face that’s easy to forget.”
At Joorim’s shameless reply, Han Rowoon smiled faintly.
His answer was arrogant, but it wasn’t wrong, either.
“Were you discussing something with Team Leader Jin?”
Joorim glanced at Jin Siwon and raised his mana, ready to subdue this man immediately if necessary.
“Yes. It seemed he hadn’t finished his business yet, so I came along with him.”
At Han Rowoon’s meaningful words, Jin Siwon slowly raised his head.
In the hand he had slipped into his pocket was a round, white core.
“Where did Great-Uncle go?”
Meanwhile, Gru had called the hospital, and his eyes went round when he heard that On Ijo had stepped out.
Was he reading a script again, or preparing for some official function?
The returning hero sure was busy……
Gru fidgeted with his fingers, then tapped in On Ijo’s personal phone number.
‘They said I shouldn’t call this number carelessly.’
Gru pondered, his lips poking out.
The Chick Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety!—Chapter 336
Gru was hesitantly about to press the call button when—
The gymnasium door suddenly flew open with a bang.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward those who had entered through the door.
“……?”
Gru spotted a familiar face, turned around, and clung to the back of his chair.
“Master?”
Kazuki and…… a foreign woman who looked familiar somehow.
Gidan, who recognized her, spoke with a startled expression.
“Alice Cole?”
Alice Cole. The number-one S-rank hunter in the United States.
She was famous enough to cause a stir throughout Korea simply by visiting the country.
Whispers began to grow around them as well. She was such a famous face that many people recognized her despite her being a foreign hunter.
“Alice!”
“Alice Cole!”
As the children chanted her name, Alice smiled brightly and waved at them.
“Wow!”
After looking left and right a few times and greeting them, she turned toward the front and shouted as though using diaphragmatic breathing.
“Homi!!!”
“……?”
Joorim was bewildered.
Why was she looking at him and shouting “Homi”……? For that matter, why had she even come here?
He looked at Kazuki as though asking him for an answer.
Kazuki shook his head with an expression that said there was nothing he could do, either.
Meanwhile, Alice stomped toward On Joorim.
[“Guild Master On Joorim!”]
[“Alice Cole?”]
[“Hi. Long time no see, right? You’re still handsome. Has it been over a year since I last saw you? You haven’t changed at all in all that time? You’re seriously like a frozen human. Is it some genetic trait unique to Asians? Anyway, shall we end the greetings here? As you know, I’m a rather busy person.”]
Alice Cole babbled on without pause as she offered him her hand, then looked around.
[“So, about that—where is Mr. ‘Homi’?”]
Joorim, who had been forced into a handshake, hesitated.
“Mr. Homi?”
“Yes! Homiiii!!!”
She was holding a hand hoe.
Alice swung the clearly brand-new hoe around in the air.
What on earth was she talking about?
‘Because of joint raids and the like, I’ve met Alice Cole from time to time.’
She seemed a little loose in the head, but she had never been this unreasonable before.
[“No, more importantly, you……”]
Joorim reached out. His hand caught Alice’s chin and drew her gaze toward him.
The moment their eyes met, Alice’s eyes wavered.
[“Why do you look so pale?”]
It happened at the exact same moment as his question.
Alice Cole’s body collapsed.
Joorim extended an arm and caught Alice as she fell.
‘What the hell is going on?!’
While Joorim stood there flustered, his eyes happened to meet Han Rowoon’s.
Han Rowoon had also been dazed, but the moment their eyes met, he quickly smiled.
“……”
“……”
When the noisy woman collapsed, silence descended before anyone realized it.
It felt as though a whirlwind had arisen and vanished in an instant.
“Looks like you have some business to attend to.”
“Ah……”
Joorim wanted to say no, but he couldn’t very well abandon the woman in his arms and leave.
He was also concerned about how pale she had looked……
Joorim sighed.
“Well, it seems that way.”
“Ahahaha.”
Han Rowoon laughed as though he found Joorim adorable.
Joorim was frowning deeply at the strange sense of familiarity when a buzzing vibration sounded from Han Rowoon’s chest.
Han Rowoon checked his phone screen and said,
“I think I’ll have to leave in a hurry. It was nice meeting you, Guild Master On.”
“Ah, wait……”
Joorim tried to stop him, but only an empty groan escaped him.
Perhaps because he was in a hurry, Han Rowoon left the gymnasium at a brisk pace.
Holding Alice, Joorim silently watched his departing back.
Jin Siwon had followed after him, so it should be all right to leave the rest to him, right?
‘But what did this woman come all the way here for……?’
Joorim looked down at Alice Cole, who was groaning in his arms.
Alice Cole was the hunter who volunteered more than anyone else to conquer dungeons in third-world countries as part of her social contributions.
Because of that, she was also the hunter with the best public image in the world.
As she herself had said, she must have been quite busy, so she wouldn’t have come all the way to Korea for nothing.
At that moment, the strength seemed to leave Alice’s hand, and the hoe dropped to the floor with a clunk.
“Why…… the hoe?”
Joorim looked at Kazuki as though demanding an explanation.
Alice had gone to Hyeonak to find On Joorim, and Kazuki had just been dragged along from there.
Kazuki wore an equally troubled expression as he spoke.
“Aliseu-jjang…… says she wants to buy a hoe made by Jjapso.”
“A hoe made by Jjapso?”
Jjapso?
Jurim’s gaze shifted to Geuru.
Still seated among the children, Geuru was smiling brightly as she talked to someone on the phone.
Then, when her eyes met Jurim’s, she waved.
‘Looks like she’s done something again…….’
As he hoisted Alice up, he narrowed his eyes.
‘……?!’
Geuru flinched at that expression, then rolled her eyes around as though she had been caught red-handed.
Jurim picked up the hoe and waved it at her.
‘A hoe?’
Geuru tilted her head in confusion.
*
— So today, I’m going to the hospital.
“Really? I wanted to see you, so that’s great.”
On Ijo walked quickly away from Eusticia International School, his phone pressed to his ear.
A car was waiting for him in the parking lot behind the quiet school grounds.
Even as he hurried along, the corners of his mouth stayed lifted, and he kept chuckling.
Jin Siwon continued to follow behind him.
When On Ijo saw the driver gesturing toward him, he went, “Ah.”
Then he placed a finger against Jin Siwon’s forehead.
Thump.
Jin Siwon collapsed to the ground.
He would get up in less than five minutes, but he would remember nothing about On Ijo.
Ijo had left only the bare minimum of memories in Jin Siwon’s mind.
Once he awoke, he would believe that he had exchanged a brief greeting with Ijo before parting ways.
If he had followed the plan he had made at the beginning, he would have used Jin Siwon as a vessel to seize Shayer and built the Tower at once, but…….
Through the phone, he heard Geuru’s dejected voice saying that she had been “banned from doing business.”
The child was so adorable that he felt ticklish inside, as though butterflies were fluttering through him.
“Did you? You must have felt bad.”
— Yeah……. I’m sad.
“The bazaar will be held again. Don’t worry.”
— Will it?
“It will.”
Speaking gently, Ijo climbed into the car and closed his eyes.
He had never imagined that a single phone call from his daughter could derail his plans so easily.
His title was sending warning signals that gave him a headache, but—
‘There’ll be another chance…….’
For now, he simply wanted to comfort his dejected daughter and hold her little body tightly in his arms.
The Chick Class Hunter Is Being a Dutiful Daughter! Chapter 337
*
Alice Cole rummaged through her phone, then pulled up a photograph and showed it to them.
[“Isn’t she pretty?”]
The photograph showed a child.
The child was barely standing while gripping the rail of a hospital bed. The unusual thing was that she was hooked up to a whole array of medical devices.
[“Now she can even stand up as long as she has the rail.”]
Alice said it with a bitter smile.
[“Aliseu-jjang, you had a baby? Since when?”]
[“As you can see, not very long ago. More importantly, can you say she’s incredibly pretty and cute first?”]
[“Of course she’s incredibly cute and pretty. Whose child is she?”]
When Kazuki offered his gentle praise, Alice smiled contentedly.
[“Is the child sick?”]
Jurim asked cautiously, folding his arms.
[“……Yes, she’s sick. Very sick……”]
Alice answered in a low voice, as if in pain, then pulled a dagger from her inventory and sliced open the bandages around her left arm.
Geuru’s eyes went round when she saw Alice’s arm.
[“It’s a magic stone tumor.”]
After the Great Cataclysm.
Just as humans suited to mana had begun appearing in the world, humans with problems absorbing mana had also emerged.
One of those abnormal reactions was a magic stone tumor.
The disease was commonly known as “magic stone sickness.”
Mana accumulated in the body would harden into stone-like magic stones, forming tumors.
The greatest problem with magic stone sickness was that the tumors could not be cut out using any substance currently in existence.
Although they were called magic stones, they were a completely different mutated variety from ordinary magic stones, and the more one attempted to remove them, the harder they became.
As a result, the current treatment was to amputate the entire part of the body where the tumor had formed.
[“They said the tumor had been attached beside her heart since birth. They told me to watch and wait, but the tumor only kept growing.”]
With Alice’s gestures, the photos continued to appear one after another.
The child had grown alongside the magic stone lodged in her heart.
The photographs appeared to be arranged chronologically, because with each turn of the page, the child’s chest became more and more prominently distended.
Kazuki bit his lip.
[“Then the treatment……”]
[“The only treatment is to cut out the entire heart.”]
[“Then she needs a heart transplant?”]
[“That’s impossible. In the end, it’s no different from telling her to just die……”]
Having said that, Alice stroked her arm.
The tumor, shaped like a magic stone, writhed as though it were beating like a heart.
[“That’s why I implanted a tumor in my arm, too. So I could find an item capable of cutting it out.”]
Alice spoke quietly, then smiled brightly.
[“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’ve tried almost every existing S-rank weapon, but they all failed. I’m waiting on an S+-rank weapon because they say getting approval to use it in a clinical trial would take a long time……. And then I saw this.”]
Alice raised her phone and played a short-form video.
On it, Jjapso, wearing a carnation headband, was holding a hoe to lively music.
The moment he saw those familiar drooping eyebrows, Jurim pressed a hand to his forehead.
In the video, Jjapso was mining mutated magic stones with the hoe in time to the rhythm.
[“This might work! This is the only hope I have left. So sell it to me! I’ll pay any amount!”]
[“……”]
While Jurim sank into thought, Kazuki moistened his dry lips, as though something about the situation was bothering him.
Meanwhile.
Geuru opened her mouth wide and went, “Huh.”
She had understood absolutely nothing of the conversation.
‘English is hard!’
But she had caught a few words here and there.
‘Hoe.’
She had definitely heard them talking about a hoe.
Alice had also been swinging a hoe around at the gymnasium.
‘……Could she have come all this way because of the hoe?’
That couldn’t be it, right?
It had better not be…….
Geuru clenched her tiny fists, trying to hide her anxious feelings, when her eyes met Jurim’s.
“……!”
Gasp!
While Geuru stood frozen in surprise, Jurim abruptly turned his gaze to Ijo, and the two nodded to each other.
[“I understand for now. I’ll go talk it over.”]
Alice’s face lit up in an instant, and she raised both arms in a cheer.
[“Really? Thank you! Handsome-guy On Jurim, you’re the best!”]
When Alice tried to hug Jurim, he pushed her away in disgust and said,
[“I haven’t confirmed that I’ll help you yet.”]
[“It’s fine, it’s fine! Go talk to him! I’ll wait right here like a good girl!”]
Alice smiled from ear to ear and clasped her hands together as if in prayer.
Despite her playful attitude, her hands were trembling faintly.
Jurim watched her for a moment, then nodded toward Ijo.
On Ijo carried Geuru out of the hospital room, with Jurim and Kazuki following behind.
After putting up a soundproof barrier, Jurim leaned against the hospital corridor window and folded his arms.
“On Geuru. You know that hoe that mined those magic stones.”
Geuru flinched and opened her eyes wide.
“Th-the hoe?!”
Jurim blinked, startled in turn by her reaction, unable to understand what had caused it.
“Yes, the hoe.”
“Th-the hoe. Why? Can’t I use it? Is Geuru in trouble?”
“What? It’s not like that……”
At that moment, before Jurim could finish speaking, Kazuki carefully called out to Geuru.
“Geuru-jjang.”
“Yes……”
Nod, nod.
Kazuki gently took Geuru’s small hands in his own and asked,
“May I ask what rank the hoe is?”
Flinch!
Geuru’s shoulders stiffened.
Sensing something from her reaction, Jurim rubbed a hand over his mouth.
This was no ordinary hoe.
That had to be why the child was so cowed.
“Why……?”
“We won’t scold you. So could you show it only to us? We’ll keep it a secret between the three of us.”
“A secret……?”
“Yes. Shh!”
When Kazuki mimed zipping his lips shut, Geuru’s eyes rolled from side to side.
Then, hesitantly, she took the hoe out of her bag.
There seemed to be nothing special about it on the outside.
It was simply a child’s toy hoe, with a blunt blade to make it easier for a child to use.
As though she had made a great decision, Geuru puffed out her chin and handed the hoe to Kazuki.
“Thank you, Geuru-jjang.”
And then.
Jurim and Kazuki groaned when they checked its rank.
[Playtime Hoe (S+)]
An item exclusively for farming. Greatly increases the probability of acquiring resources.
The hoe was…… S+ rank.
Only then did the two of them understand why Geuru had been so sensitive about it.
It was probably because of the treaty stating that all equipment above S+ rank had to belong to the state.
If that happened, Geuru’s hoe would no longer be hers.
Having already experienced this with the Chick Drone, the child had hidden its rank for that reason.
At that moment, Jurim asked as though he had just remembered something.
“Back then…… weren’t Gidan and Serhi holding hoes, too? Then those were……”
At that, Geuru glanced around nervously and pursed her lips.
“Those were just toy hoes……”
She had wanted everyone to wear the carnation headbands, ribbons, and hoes as a matching set, so she had handed out toy hoes.
As she explained, Geuru’s eyes grew misty.
“Did they come to catch Geuru because Geuru didn’t say anything?”
The Chick Class Hunter Is Being a Dutiful Daughter! Chapter 338
“Did they come to catch Geuru because Geuru didn’t say anything?”
When Geuru asked worriedly, Jurim, Ijo, and Kazuki each patted her and comforted her.
“No.”
“No, no, princess.”
“That’s not it, Geuru-jjang. Sister Alice only wants to borrow the hoe for a little while.”
“The hoe?”
“Yes. Sister Alice says there’s something she wants to try with it.”
Something she wanted to try? Geuru lowered her eyes and fidgeted with her hands.
“Then if she borrows it…… what happens to Geuru’s hoe?”
“……”
All the adults fell silent at Geuru’s question.
Even if they used the hoe, they would need the medical staff’s assistance to proceed with a full-scale operation.
That meant the fact that the hoe was S+ rank would inevitably be revealed.
And then Geuru’s toy would once again have to become state property. That was what Geuru was worried about.
“……”
“……”
“……”
A brief silence settled over them.
“Hmm. I guess we shouldn’t lend it to her.”
It was On Ijo who broke the silence first.
“I’m taking Geuru and leaving.”
“Wait, wait.”
Kazuki and Jurim stopped him in surprise, but Ijo turned around with Geuru in his arms.
Geuru’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between them.
“Hyung.”
Jurim called out to Ijo and grabbed his arm.
Ijo turned his upper body halfway around and said,
“Geuru doesn’t want to.”
Jurim’s eyebrows twitched. He disliked On Ijo’s indifferent attitude.
“That doesn’t mean this is something we can just end the conversation over.”
Even as he spoke with force, Jurim felt a strange sense of incongruity at himself saying such things.
The reason Jurim, unlike himself, could not tell Geuru that she could keep her hoe. The reason he was stopping Ijo from leaving.
It was because Jurim had a daughter, too.
Alice’s situation did not feel like someone else’s problem.
“Yes. But it isn’t ‘our’ problem.”
And yet Ijo said it in an oddly gentle tone.
Jurim blinked in surprise.
It was a bizarre situation.
Normally, Jurim would have been the one to say that this was none of their concern. And Ijo would have been the one to say that Geuru should make a sacrifice for Alice and her child.
After all, he was a man who had once even chosen to throw away his own life for the sake of humanity.
Yet the two of them were now saying the exact opposite of what they normally would.
Perhaps because of this strange situation, Team Leader Jin’s words suddenly echoed in Jurim’s mind.
“Please ask once again whether he is truly On Ijo.”
For an instant, Jurim felt as though cold water had been poured over his head.
Whoosh!
Jurim grabbed On Ijo’s shoulder as he turned to leave again and spun him around.
“You heard everything Alice said just now.”
“Yes. So?”
“You’ve changed a lot, hyung.”
“……”
On Jurim’s sarcastic words, On Ijo’s expression hardened as he glared at him.
As an ominous atmosphere began to build, Geuru rolled her eyes, nervously watching them.
Kazuki stepped in between them.
“I’ll hold Gru-chan. Come here.”
Before On Ijo could even open his mouth, Gru stretched out her arms and hugged Kazuki.
“Gru-chan, shall we go outside with your uncle for a little while?”
As if asking Jurim for his consent—‘Is that all right?’—Kazuki looked at him.
It was the moment Jurim nodded.
“Master, it’s Gru. Can I talk to Sister Alice, too?”
“Hm? Is it because of Homi? You don’t have to push yourself.”
“But still……”
Gru met Jurim’s eyes.
Her father had said it was a serious matter.
There must have been a reason he said that.
“Then let’s ask Sister Alice to show us pictures of the cute little baby, too!”
“Okaaay~”
At Gru’s delighted reply, Kazuki adjusted the child in his arms and opened the hospital-room door.
At that moment, Ijo, who had been about to stop Kazuki from behind, hesitated. He turned to Jurim, who still had a hand on his shoulder.
“Hyung, Gru says she wants to hear the story.”
Ijo let out a low laugh.
“You know that saying something like that is practically the same as forcing her.”
As he spoke, Ijo removed Jurim’s hand from his shoulder.
Jurim clenched his empty hand into a fist and bit his lower lip.
He knew it, too.
That he had not really given Gru a choice.
He had given Alice an opportunity.
Ijo had seen right through him.
“……”
“……”
A tense standoff between them continued for some time.
How long had passed like that?
Crash-!
The sound of a chair falling came from inside, and the door burst open.
Kazuki stood there with a startled expression, opening and closing his mouth soundlessly.
“What happened?!”
“What’s going on?”
“Well, Gru-chan……”
Jurim and Ijo hurried inside.
Alice, who had climbed down from the bed, was hugging Gru tightly.
“Sniff! Hic!”
Jurim’s eyes trembled as he looked at the crying Alice.
Had Gru ultimately heard Alice’s story and agreed to lend her Homi?
But how could she believe the words of a child who wasn’t even Jjapso and go so far as to do that?
Just as he was thinking this, Gru patted Alice’s back as the woman held her close.
Something was clutched in the child’s little right hand.
It wasn’t Homi.
Her fist held only a small aluminum tube.
When Jurim continued staring at it, Gru smiled broadly and lifted the ointment.
“Daddy! Gru used the Pull-Pull Ointment to pull out Sister’s corn!”
……A corn?
Jurim narrowed his eyes.
*
Five minutes earlier.
“Big Sisser, where does it hurt?”
Gru asked worriedly as she looked at Alice lying in bed.
[“Hm? Come to think of it, who’s this little sweet pie?”]
[“She’s Jurim’s daughter. Cute, right? I think she’s worried about what’s hurting you.”]
Kazuki kindly explained for Alice, who didn’t understand Korean.
[“Wow! You have a daughter? She’s so cute!”]
Gru squirmed shyly as Alice repeatedly exclaimed, “So cute!” at her.
[“Even the way she gets shy is so adorable! I never thought Jurim would ever have a baby like this. How did that happen? What about your wife? I’d like to say hello.”]
[“I adopted her. It’s a bit of a long story.”]
It was while Kazuki was replying with a smile.
Gru, her mouth slightly agape, stared intently at the two of them talking. Since they were speaking in English, it felt as though the words were slipping right past her ears.
Gru alternated her gaze between Kazuki, who was speaking more quietly than usual, and Alice, who used a lot of gestures. Then she noticed the tumor embedded in Alice’s arm and blinked.
‘Sister has a corn on her arm.’
Didn’t it hurt?
Come to think of it, the spot where the corn was had been bandaged at first.
Gru rummaged through her bag.
As it happened, she had the perfect ointment for removing corns.
It was the raw material for Homi, made by extracting Gru’s skill, “Pull It Right Out.”
Rustle, rustle. Gru took out the aluminum tube.
[Pull-Pull Ointment (S)]
An ointment specialized in pulling anything out.
One day, Gru had noticed that her sitter auntie was walking strangely. When she asked about it, she learned that the woman had developed a huge corn on the sole of her foot, and created this item.
‘The sitter auntie’s huge corn came right out as soon as she applied this, too.’
Remembering the refreshing sensation, Gru rubbed her nose and squeezed the ointment into her hand.
[“Did things go well with Mr. Homi? What does he think? Did you tell him you’d pay any amount as compensation?”]
Then she began rubbing the ointment onto Alice’s arm while the woman was speaking with Kazuki.
Smear, smear!
Gasp! Kazuki’s mouth fell open in shock when he saw it.
“Gru-chan, no!”
“Huh?”
Was she not supposed to?!
At Kazuki’s loud voice, Gru’s hand stopped as she applied the ointment. At the same time, the mana-stone tumor firmly embedded in Alice’s arm fell away.
Tap, rumble……
[“Huh……?”]
“……Eh?”
Alice and Kazuki stared blankly at the mana stone that had dropped to the floor, their mouths hanging open.
Thinking she had done something wrong, Gru began stamping her feet.
‘Maybe it was a corn that wasn’t supposed to be removed!’
Her vision began spinning.
With a tearful expression, Gru picked up the mana stone, placed it on both palms, and held it out to Alice.
“Tho…… tho-wy?”
The Kindergarten-Class Hunter Is Doing His Filial Duty! Episode 339
Tap.
At that moment, a tear rolled down from Alice’s eye.
It trickled over the mana stone in Gru’s hands.
“……?!”
Alice sank to the floor and began shedding tears.
‘Did Gru cause another accident?!’
Gru had just begun backing away in alarm when—
Whoosh!
[“Thank you.”]
Alice hugged Gru tightly and burst into tears, repeatedly thanking her.
“Don’t cry, Sister.”
Pat, pat.
[“Thank you. Thank you so much.”]
The sudden tears had confused her, but Gru soon understood the meaning of Alice’s sobbing words.
The child hugged Alice, who was holding her, and gently patted her back.
Meanwhile, after entering the hospital room, Jurim saw Alice crying while hugging Gru and the mana stone in Gru’s hands, and was able to piece together what had happened.
‘She had more than just Homi?’
His daughter was truly impossible to let one’s guard down around.
He wiped his chest in relief, then shifted his gaze to On Ijo.
On Ijo had changed.
His hyung was no longer the person he had been before going to the Tower.
After thinking for a moment, Jurim sent a message to Jin Siwon, but it remained unread, the number 1 still displayed beside it.
*
Alice held up her phone with an excited expression. She was about to make a video call.
A doctor who had just finished the surgery appeared on the screen.
Before the doctor even had time to speak, Alice quickly asked,
[“Did the surgery go well?”]
The doctor thrust his face toward the phone and shouted,
[“Of course!”]
The surgery had been rushed through because of Alice’s boastful declaration that she would take responsibility for anything that happened.
It was a difficult operation that required opening the baby’s chest. And when Alice had suddenly sent over an item and insisted that it be used in the surgery, the doctor must have found it difficult to agree so readily.
Even so, he was a grateful man who had trusted Alice and proceeded with the operation.
[“Oh, my God……”]
Alice gripped the phone tightly with both hands and burst into tears.
The doctor spoke excitedly.
[“The surgery went extremely smoothly, and the surgical site is incredibly clean. It’s a miracle, Cole!”]
The doctor spoke boastfully.
[“I’m glad I trusted you and went ahead with the operation. This Jjapso person really is remarkable. Cole, look at the baby.”]
He turned the camera toward the baby inside the incubator.
The baby was sleeping as peacefully as an angel.
[“It really is a miracle……”]
Alice whispered as she endlessly stroked the screen displaying the sleeping child.
[“Jjapso made a miracle for me.”]
Soon, Alice gave a tearful smile.
Jurim gave a faint smile as he translated Alice’s words for Gru.
A miracle! Gru’s eyes sparkled.
After wiping away her tears, Alice handed the phone to Jurim and Gru and showed them the baby.
Gru stared at the tiny, peacefully sleeping child with her mouth open.
The thought that such a tiny baby had been able to become healthy thanks to an item Gru had made made her chest tingle, as if fluffy clouds were billowing inside it.
‘Amazing!’
Gru was trying to suppress the smile that kept threatening to escape when Alice spoke excitedly.
[“Which brings me to this! Where’s Mask Man? I want to express my gratitude very, very passionately!”]
[“Mask Man?”]
[“You know, the man in the hospital room who was wearing a mask and sunglasses.”]
[“Why do you want to see Mask Man?”]
At Jurim’s question, Alice gave a mischievous chuckle.
[“Why do you think? He’s Jjapso!”]
[“Ah……”]
Jurim narrowed his eyes.
[“How did I know? I knew from the beginning that Mask Man had to be Mr. Homi! Why else would he go to such lengths to hide his face? I got this electric feeling, and it just clicked! Hahaha!”]
Alice became even more talkative in her happiness.
Meanwhile, Gru, who had been staring blankly, heard Jurim explain what Alice was saying and giggled as she averted her gaze.
It seemed Alice had mistaken On Ijo, who had covered his entire face, for Jjapso. That was a good thing for them.
There was nothing good about more people knowing that Gru was Jjapso.
It was a little disappointing, though……
Suddenly, fluffy clouds began to form in her mind.
‘So this tiny little friend was Jjapso!’
She imagined people all over the world chanting, “Supreme Gru!”
The YouTube videos Gru watched would have her face plastered across them in huge letters instead of Jjapso’s, right?
Gru was still standing there with her mouth open when she suddenly came to her senses.
Shake, shake. She mustn’t think like that. What if the villains targeted her?!
It was unfortunate, but a true supreme being also had to know how to conceal their strength.
After all, great power came with great responsibility.
‘Gru just had an awesome thought.’
Gru was rubbing her nose, intoxicated by her own coolness, when—
[“He’s busy.”]
Jurim answered Alice evenly.
[“I’m sure he is, but…… is he so busy that he can’t spare even a moment? I’m only asking because I’m truly grateful.”]
Jurim glanced down at his wristwatch.
[“Yes. He’s busy.”]
It was almost time for the government to announce that On Ijo had returned.
Jurim said this while concealing the inexplicable unease he felt.
Jin Siwon still hadn’t replied to the message he had sent.
Chapter Headlines
[“World’s First Novel Treatment for Rare Tumors Developed—Jjapso Challenges the ‘K-Bio Myth’”]
[“Will a Single Application of Ointment Eradicate Rare Diseases?” Application for Approval Submitted to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety……]
[Jjapso Opens a New Era in the Treatment of Various Malignant Tumors!]
[(News Talk Talk) Can Jjapso, Developer of the New Drug, Help Humanity Conquer Cancer?]
[U.S. Hunter Ranker No. 1 Alice Cole: “Jjapso Is a Treasure of Humanity!”]
*
Jin Siwon suddenly opened his eyes.
‘Where am I?’
He was in a room in an ordinary house.
Judging by the familiar belongings, it seemed to be Serhi’s……
He was drawing a deep breath and trying to sit up when—
“Hyung?”
“Oh? Team Leader, you’re awake?”
Serhi and Gidan’s voices came one after another.
“Yeah.”
Serhi answered lightly, then took Jin Siwon’s face in his hands and turned it this way and that.
“You don’t seem to have anything wrong.”
“The doctor said so, too. It was just accumulated fatigue.”
Gidan chuckled softly as he sat down beside Serhi.
“Team Leader, do you remember collapsing in front of our school parking lot?”
“……I did?”
“Yes, so we picked you up and took you to the hospital. But they said there was nothing wrong and that you’d wake up soon, so we brought you back to our house.”
“Ah……”
Jin Siwon nodded blankly. He thought that might be what had happened.
But whose eyes had he seen in his last memory?
Jin Siwon retraced his hazy recollections.
He had met Chairman Han Ro-un and discussed a few things, but hadn’t found anything particularly unusual. Then he had met Guild Leader On Jurim at the gymnasium, and……
There was no memory after that.
“What kind of work does that thing called the Management Bureau make you do? Quit a place that works people until they collapse. I make plenty of money now, anyway.”
“……”
At Serhi’s grumbling concern, Jin Siwon opened his mouth with a moved expression.
“Damn it, if you start crying again, I’m not looking at your face for a month.”
“……!”
At Serhi’s warning, Jin Siwon snapped his mouth shut, and Gidan began to chuckle.
“Team Leader, the doctor says you need to get some rest.”
“If you’re going to keep going there, take it easy. Don’t make people worry about you.”
“Mm-hmm……”
Jin Siwon scratched his chin shyly.
Just then, Gidan seemed to remember something and lightly thumped his fist into his palm.
“Ah, shouldn’t Team Leader eat something? Hey, I’ll go buy some porridge.”
“Forget it. I’ll go.”
“You stay here.”
“Ah, I said I don’t want to.”
Gidan and Serhi bickered for a moment before soon leaving the room together, saying they would go buy porridge.
In Serhi’s quiet room, Jin Siwon went over his memories once again.
Just overwork?
Could that really be it?
When he checked his phone, he found that several days had passed since that day.
Had he really been out for several days because of overwork?
Jin Siwon was S-rank. There was no way something like mere overwork could have done that to him……
“Barrett.”
When Jin Siwon called the name of his contracted creature, the shadow of a gigantic snake fell across the room.
“Do you remember what happened before I collapsed?”
Barrett nodded.
“Tell me.”
The enormous snake slithered toward him and opened its mouth.
No sound could be heard from the snake as it silently moved its mouth, but Jin Siwon nodded as though he understood everything.
A short while later, Jin Siwon picked up his phone.
Joo Rim’s number was displayed on the screen.
“Guild Leader On, I have something urgent to tell you.”
The Kindergarten Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 340
*
Inside the VIP hospital room.
Gru and On Ijo had pitched a large tent in the center of the room and climbed inside, as if they were at a campsite.
Gru had enjoyed a wonderful time camping with her sisters and wanted to show Ijo the joys of camping as well.
Curled up side by side inside the cozy tent that served as their hideout, Gru and Ijo were fiddling with a toy LEGO set.
Gru pressed down firmly on the final LEGO piece, securing it in place.
“Ta-da! This is Gru’s ‘Ointment Factory B’!”
“B?”
“Beta!”
“Our princess knows some incredible things!”
“Hehehehe.” Gru wiped beneath her nose and chuckled lowly before pressing the start button, infusing it with filial points.
The dolls hurried along their designated routes, squeezing ointment into tiny aluminum tubes.
“So that’s how you operate it? Amazing.”
On Ijo clapped enthusiastically before pulling Gru into his arms.
“Ehehe.” Gru giggled as she was embraced, snuggling herself against On Ijo’s chest.
On Ijo bounced Gru in his arms while patting her bottom.
“How did such a smart, pretty, and amazing baby become my daughter? Daddy is so moved.”
With that, On Ijo showered kisses on Gru’s cheeks, which had flushed bright red.
Gru gave On Ijo a quick kiss on the cheek as well, then toddled over to the other side and lifted the factory.
Several dolls ended up flailing as they clung to the factory.
Gru paid them no mind and held the factory out in both hands.
“Is it really, really okay?”
Though she had received a little help from Grandpa with the design, most of the factory had been made by Gru herself.
Showing her creation to the former world’s greatest crafting Hunter could not help but make her heart pound with excitement.
As if he had noticed how Gru felt, On Ijo gave her a playful smile.
“Hmm, now that I look at it again, there’s a little……”
“A little?!”
“It’s so genius that there’s not even the slightest thing to criticize. I was astonished.”
At On Ijo’s teasing, Gru burst into giggles.
“If you’re happy, give Daddy a hug.”
On Ijo opened his arms.
Gru immediately ran over and threw herself into his embrace.
“Grandpa said that with what I made this time, Gru could save lots and lots of people.”
“Mhm, I see.”
“Yup. That makes me veeeery happy.”
Becoming the Supreme was nice, but becoming someone who saved people was even more wonderful.
Gru wanted to become a hero just like Daddy.
‘I’ll become a hero and earn tons of honor!’
Not honor bought with donations, but real honor!
Joo Rim was a hero too, but since he had failed to attend kindergarten, he lacked proper manners and had consequently failed to earn any honor……
‘But Gru goes to kindergarten, so I’ll be fine!’
Gru clenched her little fists, determined to be filial by bringing Hyeonak a mountain of honor.
Then, she suddenly rolled her eyes and looked up at On Ijo.
“Hmm? What is it?”
On Ijo tilted his head after their eyes met.
Gru wiggled her fingers before opening her mouth.
“……When you were the world’s greatest Supreme Hunter, how was it?”
“Hmm……”
On Ijo’s voice trailed off as though he were recalling the past.
Gru wondered if she had asked an overly sensitive question and was about to withdraw it—
“It was good. Very, very good.”
On Ijo answered first.
Gru’s ears perked up as she asked,
“What part was good?”
“What part? Well…… I was able to save many people, just like our princess?”
“Whoa!”
Gru’s eyes sparkled.
Joo Rim would never have answered like that! If she had asked him, he would have said it was nothing but bothersome.
As expected, people who had attended kindergarten had a completely different attitude.
As Gru continued to marvel, On Ijo smiled and poked her tiny nose with his index finger.
As he did so, old memories came drifting back to him.
There had been a time when his goal was to save humanity. Back then, that was how he had felt.
The intelligent eldest son of a wealthy family. A good personality and looks that stood out wherever he went. And an Awakened with the greatest power in the world.
To On Ijo, who had everything, the world had seemed nothing but kind.
So he had tried to be kind to the world in return.
Though it had all been pointless.
The sound of their laughter filled the tent for some time.
Knock, knock.
“Mr. On Ijo, it’s time.”
His secretary spoke after opening the door slightly.
“Ah, yes. I’ll get ready.”
On Ijo stepped out of the tent, and Gru cautiously poked her head out as well.
Seeing his daughter’s face peeking out, he smiled bashfully.
The fact that he had such an adorable daughter made every day feel new, and the smile never left his lips.
As On Ijo wondered what he could do to make his daughter happy, he put on his suit shirt and asked,
“When I get back, shall we all go real camping and catch some fish?”
“All of us?!”
“Yes. Grandpa, Daddy, and everyone else.”
Gru’s eyes sparkled like stars.
“Gru is suuuper good at catching fish!”
Gru remembered the time she had appeared on a variety show.
She had been so good at catching fish that she had outshone Joo Rim!
Ijo let out a chuckle.
“Really? I’m looking forward to it. Shall we grill what we catch and eat it?”
“Yes!”
“Then see you in a little while!”
“Bye-bye!”
Gru had already slipped out of the tent and was waving both hands energetically.
On Ijo, dressed neatly in his suit, waved both hands as well before stepping out of the hospital room.
Today was the day On Ijo’s return would be officially announced.
*
A black limousine was waiting below the hospital.
It was the official escort arranged to take On Ijo to the press conference venue at the Blue House.
On Ijo was about to get into the car under his secretary’s guidance when On Joo Rim strode over from nearby and blocked his path.
Joo Rim told the person on the phone that he understood, then hung up.
On Ijo smiled warmly.
“What is it? Did you come to see your brother off?”
At On Ijo’s question, Joo Rim nodded.
“How unusual.”
On Ijo spoke with a hint of amusement and was about to walk past Joo Rim when Joo Rim caught him by the shoulder.
“Hyung.”
“Yes?”
“About Chairman Han Rowoon……”
On Ijo asked with a gentle smile,
“Who?”
“Of course you don’t know,” Joo Rim muttered, then lowered his head with a quiet laugh.
“Our Joo Rim seems a little strange today.”
On Ijo patted Joo Rim gently.
Joo Rim lowered his head and let his hand fall.
*
After finishing the call, Jin Siwon grabbed his outer coat and immediately left the room.
Gidan and Serhi, who had just returned with the porridge, opened their eyes wide.
“Team Leader? Where are you going?”
“You only just woke up. Where do you think you’re going?”
“Sorry. There’s somewhere I need to go for a little while.”
“Are you crazy?! Where do you think you’re going in that condition?!”
Serhi shouted at the top of his lungs, but Jin Siwon hurriedly opened the front door.
When he realized he had been controlled before collapsing, every scene he had forgotten came rushing back to him.
The moment he had held the core while being controlled by Han Rowoon.
What had he been planning to do with the core?
It was chilling. The mere thought that he had nearly caused another catastrophe with his own hands sent a shiver down his spine.
‘Han Rowoon is Gnosis.’
The person Irina had hinted at as “Han” must have been referring to him.
But what he had remembered was not limited to the fact that he had been controlled and that Han Rowoon was Gnosis.
Just before Han Rowoon brought him down—
He had activated a skill.
Because he possessed a skill that activated randomly regardless of his will.
[The skill ‘Phantom Time’ is activating.]
—Peeks into the future for ten seconds. Activates unexpectedly regardless of the caster’s will.
The scene from the future that had activated at that very moment.
What he had seen was Han Rowoon transforming into On Ijo, as though shedding his skin.
*
When Joo Rim remained silent for some time as he blocked their path, the secretaries exchanged glances with On Ijo.
They were telling him that he needed to hurry.
On Ijo nodded in response to their looks. He carefully stroked Joo Rim’s arm and asked,
“Joo Rim?”
Joo Rim raised his head and abruptly seized the hand On Ijo had placed on his arm.
“……?”
A golden gleam flashed through Joo Rim’s eyes.
At the same time, everyone nearby began collapsing like puppets whose strings had been cut.
Joo Rim paused and looked around.
He can use his skill?
Had everything been a lie?
Then what exactly……
“What are you trying to do?”
“……”
On Ijo leaned his back against the limousine door.
After a brief silence, he gazed into the distance and spoke calmly.
“I’m going to build a tower.”
“……?”
The question lingered only for a moment before Joo Rim’s face crumpled.
“On Ijo’s completely lost it, hasn’t he? Or are you planning to stage some kind of protest?”
A surge of anger rushed all the way to the top of his head.
Had he been hiding his abilities this whole time just to do something so utterly ridiculous?
Why?
It made no sense.
Why would he rebuild the tower he himself had destroyed?
On Ijo remained silent for a while before speaking with a sorrowful expression.
“Chloe died, Joo Rim.”
“I know. I truly regret that…… But that and this are two different things—”
“There wasn’t a single part of her that was intact.”
“……”
On Ijo had descended from the 100th floor several months after the tower had been conquered, having gained nothing.
When he awoke at the entrance to a back alley, the first thing he saw was his status window.
A reset level.
An empty skill window.
In every respect, he had become nothing more than an ordinary person.
Only one thing remained.
Name: On Ijo
Title: Fallen Hero
When he first discovered the title, he let out a hollow laugh.
It seemed like a curse left behind by the vanished tower in one last act of defiance.
‘Fallen? If anything, it should say incompetent.’
But he did not think much of it.
A world without towers. Humanity in safety.
All of it filled him with a sense of peace and fulfillment.
Did he need to cling to power anymore? He had already saved the world!
The first place On Ijo visited, a broad smile on his face, was the laboratory.
He had promised Chloe that he would seek her out first.
It was a stroke of luck that he found Chloe’s corpse there. Or perhaps even that had been part of the tower’s design.
As he stood dazed before Chloe’s wretched remains—
“On Ijo?!”
“You were alive?”
Several of the remaining researchers were startled when they saw him and tried to flee.
But he could only stand there blankly, unable to do anything. His skills would not activate.
He still did not know how to live as an ordinary person.
As he stared vacantly down at his own hands, the researchers who had been running away came to a stop.
“Don’t tell me… his powers are gone…”
He thought he heard snickering laughter coming from somewhere.
“Well, that makes things boring.”
“Is the experiment really over now?”
“In that state, he’s as good as dead.”
‘As good as dead.’
Someone’s words remained etched in his heart for a long time.
Bill, the head researcher who had remained until the end, explained everything calmly.
After On Ijo’s death was officially announced, the experiment had come to an end.
However, the Company’s remaining laboratory personnel had kept a close watch on Chloe Han. After freeing the young test subjects, they located Chloe, who had gone into hiding, and resumed the experiments.
“She was the woman who stayed with you until the end. We thought she might have been affected somehow as well. I’m sorry things turned out this way.”
While restraining On Ijo, who could no longer use any of his powers, Bill proudly prattled on about all the experiments they had conducted.
As though mocking On Ijo now that his powers were gone.
The experiments had even been performed on innocent children in order to reproduce On Ijo’s powers.
Even after hearing all of it, there was nothing he could do.
On Ijo, once the greatest Awakened in the world, had lost everything on the hundredth floor.
He somehow escaped from the researchers who tried to take even his shell away and experiment on it.
As he ran out in a pitiful state, his ragged breathing grew uneven.
He was experiencing firsthand a powerlessness he had never once felt in his previous life.
He needed help.
He had to recover Chloe’s body and reveal the laboratory’s secrets to the world.
For that, he went in search of his family.
Without realizing that his family, too, was trapped in the worst possible situation.
“Haa… haa… huff…”
That day, rain was falling one or two drops at a time.
Though On Ijo ran through the entire city, no one recognized him in his filthy state.
Home. If he went home and asked for help…
After walking toward his house for a long while, On Ijo looked up as he stood in the damp rain.
News about the Doan Group was playing on an outdoor screen.
“Suspicion of preferentially awarding contracts?”
On Ijo stood motionless, staring at the news as though spellbound.
On Suhyeong, appearing in the news, had become ‘the heartless father who sold his sons to the government and rebuilt a company that had been on the verge of collapse.’
Then his haggard father appeared on the screen. He had gone before the parliamentary audit and was being subjected to questions as sharp as daggers.
‘Father…’
But that was not all.
The target of the public’s anger was not limited to On Suhyeong.
“Doan’s the On Jurim family, right? Like father, like son…”
“He came back alive all by himself and still has the nerve to act shamelessly.”
“He’ll probably keep eating well and living well even after all that.”
Criticism was also pouring down on Jurim, who had climbed the tower with his life on the line.
‘Jurim…’
Plop.
At that moment, a raindrop fell onto his eyelashes and rolled down his cheek.
As he gazed at the stifling, dark sky layered with black clouds, a strange feeling welled up inside him.
What, exactly, had I been trying to protect?
Back then, he had not known that there were things one could only see after falling into ruin and hitting rock bottom.
Suddenly, a title appeared before his eyes.
Title: Fallen Hero
He let out another hollow laugh, but this time, it carried a different meaning.
Fallen? Could there be any description more fitting for him now?
Drip. Drip-drip.
The raindrops began to fall harder.
Standing among the people moving to escape the rain, he savored his own ruin for a long time.
Then, just as rage that made his vision seem to turn crimson filled his heart—
Noise interfered with the word ‘Fallen’ in his title, and the letters began to change.
Title: Corrupted Hero
In an instant, his eyes burned with pain.
After enduring hours of agony in the rain, the eyes he opened once more were coral-colored.
[Skill]
Eyes of Gnosis
-The eyes of one who has seen the truth.
[‘Corrupted Hero’ says that humanity must be tested.]
On Ijo agreed with the title’s whisper.
It was humanity’s turn to prove whether it was worthy of salvation.
That was the moment On Ijo became Gnosis.
After hearing the entire story, Jurim’s lips parted soundlessly.
His heart ached after learning what On Ijo had gone through.
The painful past he himself had endured had also affected On Ijo.
But…
“It’s all… in the past. One of those unfair and frustrating things that, once enough time has passed, you can only think, ‘So that happened.’ The sort of thing everyone goes through in life. It may not be something you’re used to, hyung, but—”
“Jurim.”
On Ijo interrupted Jurim in a gentle voice.
“All of it was unjust.”
“…”
Jurim could not bring himself to speak.
“So it would be troublesome if you got in my way here.”
On Ijo took a round cookie from his pocket and swallowed it in one bite.
*
In front of the hospital tent.
“You know, when it comes to camping~ the location is important!”
Gru seated his familiars in a line, then folded his arms and declared this.
“The scenery has to be nice, there shouldn’t be too many people, and we need to catch fish, so there should be a lake too, right?”
“Kkyu!”
“Ppi!”
Unlike Ruksifer and Mephisto, who answered Gru enthusiastically,
Beilak, sitting atop Yurian’s head, lay on his side and answered without interest.
“Myu…”
“Haaahm…”
Yurian yawned so widely that his mouth seemed to split open.
Gru narrowed his eyes at their disrespectful attitude.
The Chick Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 342
Perhaps sensing Gru’s displeasure, Mephisto slapped Beilak across the cheek with a wing.
“Myu-my!” (What do you think you’re doing?!)
“Ppii!” (Pay attention!)
“Myuu…” (You little…)
While Beilak and Mephisto growled and fought, Yurian watched their expressions and focused on Gru’s words.
“Now we’re gonna go find a place to camp. This way!”
The place Gru pointed toward was a dungeon owned by Gru.
The dungeon, where they grew potatoes, was mainly covered in forest. It had beautiful scenery and was secluded as well.
It was more suitable for a campsite than anywhere else.
Gru pulled a white tricycle from his inventory.
Then he changed it into a two-seater, put Yurian in the back seat, and seated Ruksifer on his knees.
Gru happily ruffled Ruksifer’s head as the creature sniffed with delight.
I should dig up some Cretaito seed potatoes while I’m there, and look around for a place to camp.
[Activating the skill ‘A Dungeon Is an Open Door.’]
Gru opened the door to the hospital room after using the skill.
But in the next instant, the skill abruptly cut out, as though someone had flipped a switch, and its activation was canceled.
The trees before his eyes vanished in an instant, revealing the hospital corridor.
“Hm?”
Why is this happening?
It’s not as though I’m short on mana.
Puzzled, Gru closed the door and used the skill again.
[Activating the skill ‘A Dungeon Is an Open Door.’]
Fwoooosh—
The sound of wind blowing through the leaves could be heard.
Beyond the door, a forest that seemed darker and deeper than usual spread out before him.
Humming a tune, Gru rode his bicycle into the dungeon.
Creak-creak- creak-creak- creak-creak-
Beilak and Mephisto, who had been bickering, followed after him a little later.
Bzzzt!
Once everyone had entered the dungeon, noise interfered with the skill notification window, and its contents changed.
[Danger to the caregiver detected.]
[The coordinates of the skill ‘A Dungeon Is an Open Door’ have changed.]
*
‘What is he trying to do?’
At that moment, Jurim felt the sensation in his left hand begin to sharpen, coming alive unlike usual.
‘Don’t tell me…’
A chill ran down his spine.
Sheyer, the master of the ninety-ninth floor, had been taken from him.
There was no way of knowing what Ijo intended to do with Sheyer now.
Jurim was just reaching out to retrieve Sheyer when—
“……!”
His fingertips slipped into a tear in space.
‘A gate?!’
But it was not a gigantic gate. Unlike the others, the gate before him had opened to less than a quarter of its usual size.
Jurim’s arm began to be sucked into the tiny opening.
“What is th-this?!”
As Jurim panicked, On Ijo smiled faintly. A round core rested in his hand.
“You’re too dangerous. So stay in there.”
He had opened the great dungeon inside the core, reducing it to a minimum size.
Gru was nearby, after all.
It was enough for Jurim to be swept into the dungeon.
The great dungeon he had just opened was an RP dungeon. For Jurim, it would serve as a kind of seal.
An RP dungeon was a dungeon that recreated a civilization where the system existed.
Therefore, if he recreated the dungeon by reviving the moment when Sheyer had been sealed in the snowfield, and made Jurim take Sheyer’s place—
Jurim would be sealed inside and unable to clear the dungeon alone. Unless someone released him, he would have no way of getting out.
That was the picture On Ijo had planned.
“You won’t be able to escape this snowfield.”
With those final words, Jurim was completely sucked into the dungeon.
Before long, Jurim found himself standing in a snowfield so white that it hurt his eyes. Along with the biting cold…
Creak-creak- creak-creak- creak-creak-
…for some reason, the familiar sound of a bicycle could be heard.
As well as a child humming.
Chapter: I Fell into Another World, but Was Mistaken for an Overpowered Witch
Creak-creak- creak-creak- creak-creak-
“Hm~ hmm~ hmmmm~”
Gru entered the dungeon, humming merrily, without noticing that there were many things here different from his intended destination.
“Kkyuuu…?”
Ruksifer, on the other hand, seemed to sense the differences before Gru did. He poked his head out and looked around.
“Kkyu?” (I don’t think this is the right place…)
Ruksifer tapped Gru with his cotton-ball-like hand.
But the driver was too preoccupied with searching for a campsite to look down at him.
“Kkyuung…”
Ruksifer drooped his ears anxiously.
At that moment, Beilak, who had been scampering along behind them, leaped onto Gru’s knees, while Mephisto, who had flown after them, settled on Gru’s head.
Exhausted, Beilak panted heavily and muttered,
“Myu… myu-my?” (But where are we…? Didn’t you say we were going to find a campsite?)
“Ppi?” (Yeah, where are we?)
Mephisto, sensing a strange déjà vu in the dungeon’s mana, rested a wing against his chin.
Then, a huge shadow suddenly sprang out from beside a tree.
The shadow blocked Gru’s path.
“Grrrr.”
[Corrupted Alchert (AAA)]
It was a mutant.
Gru stopped the bicycle with a start.
It examined Gru with bright yellow eyes, then—
“Gwaaaaargh!”
—it let out a loud roar meant to frighten him.
It intended to terrorize its prey with a fear skill, then tear it apart and eat it alive.
At the sound of its roar, its sharp teeth bared, Gru’s hair fluttered wildly.
Gru blinked his large eyes as he looked at the mutant opening its jaws before him.
Just as the mutant was about to swallow Gru in one bite—
Gru suddenly grabbed Beilak and thrust him forward. Then he squeezed Beilak’s belly like a talking doll.
“Myuuut!”
Beilak let out a loud, adorable cry.
At the same time—
Crunch!
The mutant was pressed flat against the ground.
Mephisto hurriedly poked the air, making the gruesome mutant’s corpse look like a flattened piece of glutinous rice cake.
Beilak, still held in Gru’s grasp, twisted his brows.
“Myu?” (Corrupted?)
“Ppi…” (That’s strange…)
It was just as Beilak and Mephisto began to sense that something was wrong.
‘Mutants are appearing in Gru’s dungeon too?!’
Mutants had appeared in Gru’s dungeon, where the only monsters normally found were slimes at most. Gru clenched his fists.
‘I have to protect the seed potatoes!’
The mutants might ruin the Cretaito tubers and make them unusable.
“Ready, Baii?”
With that, Gru used his transformation wand and changed his outfit into the form of Jjapso.
“Myu?”
Meanwhile, a large question mark appeared above Beilak’s head.
Ready? What did he mean by that?
But before long, Beilak learned firsthand what he had never wanted to know.
“Myuuuuuuut!”
Hanging from the front of the tricycle like a scarecrow, Scarecrow-Bai screamed.
At that, the mutants surrounding them began to flee in a panic.
Gru used this to drive away all the mutants around them, clearing a path.
- Vailak! Scream louder! Chant the Defense Invocation to protect the seed potatoes!
Gru shouted excitedly.
“Mwooooooooo!”
Vailak cried out in exasperation.
Behind them, Yurian burst into cackling laughter, while Ruksifer chirped “kyu-kyu,” not knowing what to do.
Meanwhile, Mephisto…
Sitting atop Gru’s head, he was reading the dungeon’s information with the authority of a system administrator.
This was not the dungeon where Gru grew his seed potatoes.
I thought it was strange that contaminated creatures were coming out.
Perhaps he had entered the wrong coordinates when opening the dungeon and ended up in another dungeon…
“Mwooooooooo!”
Mephisto, who had been about to explain this to Gru, glanced once at Vailak, who was clinging to the tricycle like a cross used to exorcise a demon.
“Mwoooooo-!”
As Gru raced along, Mephisto let out a vile chuckle atop his head.
“Pip.” (Shall I tell him a little later?)
After Gru had tormented Vailak to his heart’s content, of course.
“Mwooooooo!”
“Pip-pip-pip-pip!”
Mephisto covered his beak with his wings and laughed.
And so, while Mephisto concealed his sinister intentions and Gru acted out a furious rampage, it happened.
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Doing His Filial Duty!—Chapter 343
‘A potato stem!’
After wandering around for quite some time, Gru finally spotted some potato leaves. He stopped the bicycle and toddled over.
‘There’s only one left!’
Those wicked mutants!
Gru puckered his lips like a duck and took out a child’s trowel, gently trying to dig up the potato, when—
A sharp sword suddenly pointed at him.
The boy looked as though he had just entered elementary school.
Wearing a long, flowing riding outfit, the child stammered,
“Y-you, you, you’re the, the, the master of the fo-fo-forest. The Witch of T-truth, aren’t you?!”
The bear’s paw that had been about to dig up the potato froze.
The bear face, with its strangely infuriating slanted eyebrows, stared fixedly at the boy.
‘Master of the forest? Wiiiitch of truuuth?’
The child was trembling so badly as he spoke that Gru could not understand him properly. The Half-Made Bear’s eyebrows twitched a couple of times.
Why was he stammering like that? And why were his arms shaking so badly? If he was going to be like this, wouldn’t it be better not to hold a sword at all?
His familiars thought the same thing, so they did not bother to intervene. The boy was so likely to cut his own hand that it would be a blessing if he managed not to stab Gru.
“Huff.”
Gru dusted the dirt from his paws with a few brisk pats, then rose and answered.
Was he asking if Gru was the master of the forest? In that case, Gru would answer him.
- That is correct. I am the master of this forest.
Gru proudly declared himself the master of the forest. This dungeon did indeed belong to him.
But at those words, the boy jumped in surprise and took a step back.
Seeing that, Gru stepped forward and said,
- So do not covet the potatoes.
These were the seed potatoes for Gru’s Criteito Reactor, after all.
“I-I have never coveted anything belonging to the forest. I would never do such a thing!”
- Then that is fortunate. Now, who are you?
“I-I-I am… I am Kerun Silverin of the Root Bloodline, a vassal serving Lord Shados of the First Throne.”
Shados? Vailak’s eyes flashed at the sound of his name.
But Gru did not notice. He stuck out his lips and complained,
- That is a long name.
Kerun Silverin’s eyelashes trembled.
He had just revealed that he was a familiar of Vailak Shados, and yet this was the response he received? Could that squat little bear doll really be the witch?
Then again, if she was not a witch, she could never have created the terrifying scene he had witnessed earlier.
Recalling the witch squeezing her own familiar dry while driving away the contaminated monsters, the boy trembled in fear.
While Kerun was lost in his misunderstanding, Gru looked at the boy with an offended expression and thought,
‘That guy has a very long and impressive name, doesn’t he?’
Gru, whose own name was only three syllables long, felt a little intimidated.
But he could not lose.
This was clearly a nickname showdown—the sort children often had.
A nickname showdown was a childish form of self-aggrandizement in which one strung together a bunch of words that sounded impressive and pretended to be important.
Among children, once someone began one, it inevitably turned into a competition.
‘A competition!’
Gru would not lose when it came to impressive names, either! Resolving himself, Gru shouted loudly,
- I am… Grout Criteito of the Famine-Relief Crop Bloodline!
Mephisto and Vailak’s beaks fell open at the utterly nonsensical bloodline name.
“F-Famine-Relief Crop Bloodline…! I’ve never heard of it…”
At Kerun’s mutter, Gru raised his nose even higher.
Of course he had never heard of it. Gru had just made it up using a word he had learned yesterday.
Feeling as though he had won, Gru proudly moved his eyebrows up and down, his face filled with satisfaction.
“Witch, did the plague spread through the domain because someone coveted something belonging to the forest?”
- …?
Jjapso’s slanted eyebrows repeatedly twitched upward and downward.
A plague? Who? Gru?
- I would never commit such a wicked act.
“But, but everyone says this was the witch’s doing…!”
Kerun rolled up his sleeve.
A couple of things resembling magic stones were embedded in the boy’s shoulder.
The witch called the “Witch of All Forests” and the “Witch of Truth” was rumored to turn anyone who looked at her into stone.
Thus, everyone had been saying that this plague, which turned the skin to stone, was surely her doing.
- To be swayed by such idle gossip… What a foolish fellow.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Gru clicked his tongue and took out an ointment. Whatever that was, he ought to be able to draw it out with ointment.
- A corn embedded in your shoulder? What a careless fellow you are. I shall blow on it for you.
Gru squeezed ointment onto his bear paw and rubbed it all over Kerun’s shoulder.
- Hoo-ooh. Pain, fly away.
“What, what are you doing?!”
Kerun jumped and stumbled backward.
Tap, thud. Rattle, rattle…
“……?!”
Startled, Kerun quickly picked up the two pieces of stone that had fallen.
Ore Disease.
A type of plague in which the body slowly transformed into stone.
Those infected with this plague soon died as their entire bodies became covered in lumps of stone.
The patients therefore tried desperately to remove the stones, but it was impossible to completely strip away stones that spread in the blink of an eye.
‘Impossible… It should have been impossible…’
The shoulder where the stones had fallen away was clean and smooth, without even a trace of residue.
Kerun swallowed a gasp.
“H-How… how did they fall off? Am I cured?”
- They fell off because I applied the ointment. I do not know whether you are fully cured, but there is a way. If another corn appears, apply this.
The bear paw held out a tiny tube of ointment.
- I will give it to you. It is your reward for not coveting my potatoes.
Kerun accepted the ointment in both trembling hands.
The thing inside this little tube was a cure for the plague made by the Witch of Truth.
The moment he had contracted the plague, he had done well to risk death and enter the witch’s forest.
Overcome with relief at having survived, Kerun shed large tears before bowing his head deeply.
The ointment was far too little to save the domain. If he could obtain more of it, he would do anything.
“W-W-Witch of Truth…! Please, save our Silverin domain!”
- Huh?
The Half-Made Bear cocked his head.
*
Inside Silverin Castle.
Pitter-patter.
The Half-Made Bear doll toddled after Kerun, the son of the Lord of Silverin.
- Keke Clump, what is a domain?
“I’ve told you several times, but my name is Kerun. A domain is the land ruled by Silverin.”
- Oh-ho, I see.
Perhaps the witch had lived far from the secular world, because there were many things she did not know.
Pitter-patter.
Kerun glanced behind him, then flinched when he met the eyes of the fat bird perched atop the witch’s head and hurriedly turned away.
‘Can I really introduce something like this to Father as the master of the forest, the Witch of Truth?’
She seemed to have many familiars with her.
Here, familiars were symbols of power.
Traveling with four of them was a way of displaying just how tremendous one’s power was.
‘Though every one of them is so small.’
Kerun soon shook his head. Size could not determine whether someone possessed power.
Moreover, the Root Bloodline was not strong, but wise. His father would never be swayed by appearances.
He might even recognize the witch’s sinister aura at first sight!
As Kerun looked forward to that moment, the voice of Romelun Silverin, the lord of the domain, rang out.
“Kerun, what’s this? You’re carrying a doll around. It doesn’t seem to have a wind-up key, so how does it move?”
“F-Father!”
“Yes, are you feeling all right?”
Romelun pulled his son into an embrace and kissed him on the cheek.
Then he carefully examined the Half-Made Bear doll, which had raised its eyebrows, and tilted his head.
“But this doll, perhaps…”
“Yes, Father. This doll is—”
“Has it been cursed or something?”
Did Father recognize the witch’s aura after all?
But contrary to his expectations, his father spoke with concern.
“The doll is terribly ugly.”
The witch, insulted without realizing it, trembled through her small shoulders.
At some point, a giant fork had appeared in the bear doll’s hand.
“……!”
The witch was just about to point the giant fork at the Lord of Silverin when—
“This is the master of all forests, the Witch of Truth, Grout Criteito of the Famine-Relief Crop Bloodline! Father!”
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Doing His Filial Duty!—Chapter 344
“This is the master of all forests, the Witch of Truth, Grout Criteito of the Famine-Relief Crop Bloodline! Father!”
Lord Romelun blinked at the child shouting so seriously, but his gaze soon softened.
“Kerun, the Witch of Truth is a story that only appears in fairy tales…”
Regardless, Gru, dangling from Kerun’s hand, extended his fork toward the lord and said,
- I am not ugly! You are the one wearing a ridiculous outfit despite being an adult… Are you so absorbed in playing prince that you are doing something called cosplay?
“Good grief! Those are my words! You insolent rogue wearing a strange doll costume!”
- This is my armor!
Kerun pressed a hand to his forehead as he watched his father and the witch growl at each other. It felt as though the symbol of the “wise Root Bloodline” was flying far away.
Kerun placed Gru behind him and rolled up his sleeves to his shoulders.
“Father, the witch may be ugly and dressed in ridiculous clothes, but she is truly miraculous and extraordinary. She cured my illness in an instant.”
“What?”
Romelun’s eyes shook as he examined his son’s clean shoulder.
It was the mark of the plague that had made the doctor shake his head helplessly only that morning.
Yet now it had vanished without leaving even a scar, as though it had never existed.
*
“How fascinating. The material seems special, too… You’re saying this medicine is that effective?”
“Yes. The effect appears immediately upon application! Why don’t you try it?”
“Very well, let us do that.”
While the lord and his son conducted experiments with several servants,
Gru sat on a chair, swinging his feet back and forth as he looked around.
Everywhere he looked, he saw the grand interior of a castle built from sturdy stone.
It was the sort of Western-style castle he often imagined when playing princess.
Gru’s dungeon was small. There was certainly no room for such a vast castle.
It was a strange sight he had never once imagined could exist inside a dungeon.
Even Yurian, who rarely lost his composure, seemed a little uneasy and was sitting on Gru’s lap. His large eyes repeatedly scanned the surroundings, as though he were ready to bare his teeth at the first sign of trouble.
“Hmm.”
Gru stroked his chin, then whispered softly toward his shoulder.
- Mephisto, Vailak. Isn’t this strange? This doesn’t seem to be Gru’s dungeon.
“Mwoot?” (Are you only realizing that now?)
Gru could not understand what Vailak was saying, but he felt offended.
He had keenly noticed from Vailak’s scrunched-up expression that the bird was insulting him.
“Pip-!”
Mephisto began punishing Vailak, delivering a dazzling kick with his foot.
Gru narrowed his eyes as he watched the two start fighting again.
While the baby bird and the ugly hamster were bickering, the servants who had been afflicted with the plague watched from behind, unable to contain their astonishment as they recovered in an instant.
“Whoa! My goodness!”
“The stone just fell out!”
“How is this even possible?!”
Gru watched the people busy with their respective tasks, then opened his status window.
As if they had been waiting for that very moment, quest windows began pouring out one after another.
[The Child Protection System has been activated by the title ‘Mom Loves Gru Too Much.’]
[The Caregiver Quest has been changed to the highest-priority quest.]
[Caregiver Quest: The Road to the Primary Caregiver]
[The Child Protection System has detected an environment dangerous to children! Children must return home at once!! Let us meet the emperor and return home!!!]
The increasing number of exclamation marks made it feel as though his mother were scolding him.
Gru drooped his shoulders, looking a little dejected.
It seemed this was no ordinary dungeon after all.
Come to think of it, it said to meet the emperor and return home…? If so, this must be an RP dungeon…
‘Then what is Gru’s role…?’
In the meantime, having confirmed the ointment’s effectiveness, Romelun and Kerun approached Gru and bowed their heads.
“Witch of Truth! How can we obtain more of this medicine?”
“Witch, please save our territory. We will never forget this kindness.”
Gru’s mouth fell open.
A witch?
Was Gru’s role in this RP dungeon a witch?
‘The Witch…’
Gru pursed his lips primly and rolled his eyes as he thought.
‘It might not be so bad!’
When he pictured the little witches from animation, his face flushed slightly with excitement.
‘Maybe I should make a flying broomstick while I’m at it.’
Hee-hee-hee. Gru soon broke into a grin and said,
- There happens to be an ointment factory, so I can make as much as you need.
“R-Really?”
“Thank you, thank you!”
- In exchange, will you grant me one thing I desire?
“Of course! Just say the word, and we’ll do anything!”
They would probably have gladly handed over half the territory’s wealth if he asked.
As Romelun hurriedly replied, Deolmandeun-gom’s oddly infuriating drooping eyebrows twitched.
- First, apologize for saying that this body is ugly.
“……”
Gru the Critator was a witch who held a grudge.
When Romelun stood there dumbfounded with his mouth open, Kerun jabbed him in the side.
“I-I’m sorry. I failed to recognize your noble personage and spoke out of turn. Please forgive me.”
Gru nodded in satisfaction. That was how he should have started.
- And one more thing. This body wishes to meet the emperor. Guide me.
Because Gru had to meet the emperor and go home!
At that, the faces of Romelun and Kerun turned deathly pale.
“M-My lady Witch. If you give us another order, we will do anything.”
- Why? This body has to meet the emperor.
Romelun looked as if he had many things to say, but wisely gathered his words.
“Er… We are terribly sorry, but there is no way for us to arrange an audience with His Majesty the Emperor using our own power, my lady Witch.”
Gru nodded readily.
- So your levels are too low for you to meet the emperor.
At the blunt remark, Romelun’s shoulders stiffened.
“Yes… Well, that is more or less what we mean…”
In that case, there was nothing to be done. Gru snorted heavily.
- Then guide this body to someone above you with sufficient authority.
It was something he had learned from the guests who occasionally visited Hyeonak.
What should one do when told that a problem could not be resolved? Call for someone higher up!
“That is…”
Romelun trailed off, lost in thought.
- What is it?
Surely they were not going to say even that was impossible?
Gru was about to scrunch up his face and become the unreasonable customer of this district when Kerun, apparently finding his reaction strange as well, looked at Romelun.
“The person I serve is currently leading the campaign to subjugate the Contaminated Zone.”
- And?
“It is an extremely dangerous place, so I do not think we could safely escort you there, my lady Witch.”
- Hmm…
“We are truly sorry that we cannot be of assistance, my lady Witch.”
Was the Contaminated Zone really that dangerous?
When Gru tilted his head, Kerun suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke in haste.
“F-Father, it’s all right! The witch has a wondrous familiar that even the Contaminants cannot withstand and flee from.”
As he said this, he poked a finger toward Gru’s left shoulder—the side where the white, ugly hamster sat.
“Mueot?!”
Vaylak, singled out without warning, took a startled step back.
Gru turned his gaze toward Vaylak.
A wondrous familiar that even the Contaminants could not withstand and fled from = Vaylak?
He must have been referring to the Fury Road from earlier.
Gru had joyfully run around with Vaylak at the front in order to subdue the mutants.
Gru gave one big nod.
- Good. Then this body will take the lead, so guide me to your superior.
He meant to use Vaylak as a decoy for another Fury Road.
“Mueeot!”
Vaylak realized this and protested, but Gru lightly ignored him and brought up another subject.
- By the way, who did you say the person you serve was? Sha… Shaibi?
Romelun bowed his head and replied,
“Lord Vaylak of Shados.”
Gru glanced at the hamster perched on his shoulder and asked,
- …Vaylak Shados?
“Mue?!”
Starlight shimmered in the hamster’s eyes.
**The Kindergarten Hunter Is Being Filial! — Episode 345**
*
Their departure for the Contaminated Zone was set for the following day.
After dazzling everyone by demonstrating how he made ointment at the ointment factory, and receiving all manner of praise and applause, Gru entered the room the lord had prepared for him.
“Rest well, and call for us if you need anything, my lady Witch.”
- Thank you.
Once all the servants who had escorted him to the room had left, Gru immediately changed his clothes with his magic wand.
Then he placed three cushions in a circle on the floor.
After setting Mephisto and Vaylak down on separate cushions, Gru sat on one himself and said,
“Now, tell Gru.”
The fat bird and ugly hamster simultaneously transformed into human forms and took their places on the cushions.
“This isn’t Gru’s dungeon.”
“This is a memory dungeon.”
Mephisto and Vaylak, now in human form, spoke in turn.
Nod, nod.
“Mm, Gru knows that too.”
“As expected, Gru is smart.”
Mephisto grinned and praised Gru, and Gru was just about to giggle happily in return when Vaylak added primly,
“And you must not go meet Vaylak.”
Gru blinked as he held Yulian and Lucipher in his arms; the two had belatedly found their seats.
“Why?”
“Why, you ask?”
Vaylak patted his knee as though frustrated, lowered his voice, and spoke solemnly.
“I, Vaylak Shados, am a man without blood or tears.”
When Mephisto let out a snort of laughter, Vaylak glared at him with narrowed, slanted eyes.
“They called me a cold-blooded knight, one whose veins flowed with frost instead of blood. Do you really think someone like me would obediently heed the words of some fake witch brat? You should be grateful if I don’t simply cut off your head.”
As Vaylak grumbled, Gru lowered his head as if deep in thought.
Mephisto then took Gru’s hand and laced their fingers together.
“It’s all right, Gru. We can open the Cradle and subjugate him.”
“Are you an idiot?! Do you think that little master can subjugate me in my prime? He’ll try to kill her for using divine power instead!”
“…Is that so?”
Mephisto narrowed his eyes, apparently agreeing with him on that point.
Indeed, Vaylak had only been able to become Gru’s familiar through sheer luck. Vaylak had been almost completely resigned to his fate and had accepted it without resistance.
But the Vaylak of now, with his former master still alive and well, would never submit.
Just as he had not yielded even to Mephisto, who had sealed away his former master.
At that moment, Gru, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“Gru has something to ask Bay.”
“Go ahead.”
“If Gru is really the Witch of Truth, what happens?”
“Hmm?”
“Will you grant Gru’s request?”
Vaylak furrowed his brow. What if the Witch of Truth appeared before his past self? Well…
“If you were truly the Witch of Truth, I might grant it, but…”
“Gru isn’t the Witch of Truth.”
“That is correct. The master is not the Witch of Truth.”
Mephisto and Vaylak stared blankly ahead and spoke at the same time.
Gru pushed his lips out like a duck.
“Gru isn’t a witch?”
Everyone called Gru “my lady Witch,” didn’t they?
“The Witch of Truth is a legendary being said to possess eyes that see through everything. You are a false impersonator.”
At Vaylak’s cold words, lightning crashed down upon Gru’s head.
“A-A false impersonatoooor?!”
“Impostor.”
Gru pondered for a moment, whether or not Vaylak corrected his pronunciation.
“Can’t Gru be an impersonatoooor?”
“I said impostor.”
Mephisto then seemed to understand what Gru meant and clapped his hands.
“That’ll work!”
“…?”
What were the two of them talking about? Vaylak raised a question mark over his head, his expression displeased.
*
And so, at noon the following day.
The group heading to the Contaminated Zone was kept small and composed of only the elite.
They looked out at the territory’s residents, who had gathered since the previous night to receive their ointment.
People stood in line in front of the temporary barracks.
Inside, dolls resembling witches were presumably bustling about as they made medicine.
Soon, when Lord Romelun appeared, the people erupted in cheers.
“Long live our lord!”
“Long live!”
“Long live! May Silverin last forever!”
Romelun gestured for the excited residents to calm down, then said,
“Everyone. I was not the one who bestowed this medicine upon you. It was this person here, the Witch of Truth.”
“T-The Witch of Truth?”
The residents stammered as they looked at the bear doll swaggering forward.
‘That thing?’
But when they saw the lord’s unusually serious expression, they thought they ought to play along. One after another, the residents began to shout.
“L-Long live the Witch of Truth!”
“Long live the witch!”
“May the Witch of Truth last forever!”
The bear doll did not appear at all flustered by the sudden worship. It even waved toward the crowd.
Romelun smiled in satisfaction at the sight, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Of course, there were still suspicious eyes scattered throughout the crowd, wondering whether she truly was the Witch of Truth.
He himself still could not believe it.
But it remained an undeniable fact that she had saved the territory.
Whether she was the Witch of Truth or not was not particularly important to him.
And soon after entering the Contaminated Zone, Romelun changed his mind.
“Mueeeeeeeot-!”
Seeing the Contaminants retreat at the hamster’s bizarre cry, he decided that the ridiculous bear doll really must be the Witch of Truth after all.
*
Shraaaang-!
A bastard sword wrapped in chains cleaved through the battlefield.
The Contaminants swarming together were split in half by a single strike, then vanished into dust.
Clink, clink—
When the black-haired man, his cloak fluttering, drove his sword into the ground, the chains wound back around the bastard sword.
He sheathed the weapon and turned his gaze toward one place.
Soldiers carrying a note were hurriedly running toward him.
He had instructed them not to approach the vicinity lest they be caught up in his power, so it was clearly an urgent matter.
“Captain!”
“What is it?”
“Captain, we’ve received word from the reconnaissance unit! An urgent report says that a strange Contaminant has broken through the horde and is heading for the main camp!”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“A strange Contaminant?”
At his question, the soldier wet his lips and spoke.
“Y-Yes, sir! They say it’s neither human nor beast. It has the shape of a bear, with colors like poisonous mushrooms, and it stirs the emotions of anyone who sees it. It rides around in a bizarre carriage with three iron wheels, and whenever it lets out a grotesque cry, the Contaminants clear a path for it.”
“They clear a path?”
“Yes. They say they saw it clearly through the eyes of a bird.”
The man wiped the Contaminant’s fluid from his cheek and let out a low groan.
…Could it be a new kind of Contaminant?
“I’ll go see for myself—”
But he could not continue.
Krrrriiiik, krrrriiiik, krrrriiiik.
A sound like hinges meshing one after another rang out.
The soldiers hesitated and began taking one step backward at a time.
So that was it.
Everyone instinctively knew at a glance.
A bear in a bright pink color like a poisonous mushroom, with a shape that somehow made people want to lose their temper. And as if that were not enough, there was even that bizarre three-wheeled cart it rode around on.
Krrr- screeech!
When its short legs touched the ground, the tricycle came to a stop in front of him.
Beilak swallowed a groan at the sight, which he was seeing for the first time in his life.
What in the world was that bizarre thing?
And what was that ugly hamster mounted on the front?
The unpleasant-looking hamster was staring at him with sparkling eyes. It was so unpleasant that it sent chills down his spine.
- Beilak Shados.
At that moment, a solemn, hoarse voice completely unsuited to the teddy bear burst from it.
“Do you know me?”
- I do.
Twitch, twitch.
The unfinished bear’s drooping eyebrows moved up and down.
For some reason, Beilak felt his heart stir as he asked,
“Who are you?”
- I am Groot Criteito, Witch of Truth and scion of the root crops.
“……”
A brief silence passed.
Then an uproar erupted among the soldiers.
“Witch of Truth?”
“A witch? That?”
“Wasn’t she just a legend?”
“The Witch of Truth was a contaminated entity that looked like a poisonous mushroom?”
“This can’t be happening…… How are we supposed to face a witch who exists only in legends……!”
The soldiers’ morale began to waver.
“……”
He could not let that happen.
Thinking that, for all its otherworldliness, the creature was truly witchlike, Beilak Shados strode toward it.
The teddy bear’s round ears kept flapping.
“A witch…….”
Murmuring softly, he stretched out his arm.
And before anyone could stop him, he placed his hand on the teddy bear’s head.
Pop!
“Eeeeeeng~”
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 346
“……You’re just a little brat?”
Raising one eyebrow, Beilak looked the bear costume up and down.
From beside Beilak’s legs, Groot stretched both arms upward.
“I, I-I am the Witch of Truuuth—”
With tears welling up and her body flailing, Groot swung both arms back and forth, struggling to grab the bear costume somehow.
To the right.
“I, I-I am—”
To the left.
The soldiers who had been frozen with fear smiled at Groot as though they had never been frightened at all.
Back to the right.
“—a great wiiitch!”
Flail, flail. Her desperate struggle to reclaim the bear costume failed again and again.
They had said there was no blood or tears, and it really was true. Groot was absolutely furious.
“You’re a witch?”
“That’s right!”
“Well, what a delicious-looking witch.”
The man’s sharklike teeth flashed.
‘What?!’
Gulp.
Groot swallowed. Her eyes wavered aimlessly.
Seeing the child suddenly grow frightened, Beilak regarded her with a bored look.
Some witch.
He had nearly lowered the army’s morale over this one mischievous brat for nothing.
Come to think of it, she was rather insolent. Should he just eat her?
He was thinking that when—
“Lord Beilak!”
Beilak raised his head.
Romelun, who had arrived late, was hurriedly shouting as he dismounted.
“Lord Beilak! That person truly is the Witch of Truth!”
It seemed he had witnessed everything that had happened while coming this way.
Romelun panted for breath as he explained on Groot’s behalf.
“The Witch saved our territory with a cure for the epidemic.”
Ah, he had said that an epidemic was spreading through the Silverin Territory.
But—
“How foolish. How does that prove she is a witch? She may simply have possessed medicine that happened to work well.”
“T-That’s…… But the Witch also possesses wondrous familiars that can disrupt the contaminated entities.”
While Romelun fumbled to defend her, Groot snatched the bear costume from Beilak’s hand and put it back on her head. Then she spoke again in a solemn voice.
- Beilak Shados.
Clatter!
Chains instantly wound around Groot’s body.
“How dare you utter this lord’s name so carelessly.”
Though she was bound tightly, Groot’s confidence had increased a hundredfold with the bear costume on her head. She called his name once more, as if to show him.
- Beilak Shados!
It was Beilak who fell silent at that shout.
- Listen, Beilak. If you do not believe in me, then I shall personally uncover your truth.
Beilak seemed to take a little interest in her at last. A strange light glimmered in his star-patterned eyes.
“Very well.”
Beilak grinned.
“Prove that you are a witch from the legends handed down through the ages, not some petty child swindler. Then I will let you live.”
The teddy bear mask trembled slightly.
It did not seem to be trembling with fear. Rather, it felt as though it were mocking him, and his expression darkened with displeasure.
- If you acknowledge this body as the Witch of Truth, then you shall not merely let this body live. You must grant this body’s request.
Beilak gave a short laugh. He was clearly telling her to try if she could.
After that laugh, tension settled over the surroundings.
Those who believed the child was a witch and those who did not all fell silent, watching the situation unfold.
After all, the life of a young child was at stake.
But the tiny witch walked over without a trace of tension and lifted the white hamster sitting on the bicycle.
- Behold. This body has grasped the nature of your ability.
The bear’s hand pressed firmly against the hamster’s belly.
- If you do not believe me, I shall show you directly.
“Mewwwww—!”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The contaminated entities within a certain radius around them were flattened at once, as though something had crushed them.
“Good heavens!”
“How did she do that……?”
But that was not what astonished the soldiers and Beilak.
“It’s…… impossible…….”
Beilak’s voice came out like a groan.
What that ugly hamster had just unleashed—
It was unmistakably his own power: the power to manipulate gravity.
Groot looked Beilak straight in the eye, triumphant.
Twitch, twitch.
Those maddening eyebrows moved up and down.
Meanwhile, the real Beilak, held in Groot’s hand, was anxiously stamping his feet on his own.
‘I’m telling you, I won’t fall for something like this!’
The Beilak of the past could never be fooled by the tricks of a little child like this.
‘Who do you think I am?’
No. This was no time to act triumphant.
If Beilak did not fall for it, shouldn’t he use his power now and flee with his master?
The real Beilak was pondering how to escape when the Beilak of the past stared intently at Groot. Then he muttered as though he could not believe it.
“……I never thought the Witch of Truth truly existed.”
The real Beilak was aghast.
“Mew! Mewww!” (That’s a lie! Don’t believe the words of a little brat like this!)
But Beilak gazed down at Groot seriously, as if this were no longer a joke.
- Will you grant my request now?
“……We’ll go to the castle first.”
If this child really was the Witch of Truth…… perhaps she could make what he desired possible.
Thinking of his mad lord, Beilak casually lifted the child into his arms.
*
On Joorim blinked at his fading vision.
He had long since forgotten the passage of time on the snowfield, and he no longer knew how long he had been there.
The only way he could gauge how much time had passed was by looking at his hair, which had grown long and hung down his back.
For some reason, the only thing left in him now was the urge to purge the contamination from the snowfield.
“Your Majesty, it is time for your medicine.”
Someone whispered into his hazy mind.
As if bewitched, Joorim approached them and swallowed the decoction they held out to him in a single gulp.
Wiping his mouth, Joorim once again stepped barefoot across the snowfield in search of contamination.
When he found a sprout that had broken through somewhere in the snowfield, he frantically dug at it with his bare hands.
As he staggered to his feet, sprouts were emerging all around him.
Contamination. Here, there, everywhere—contamination.
He stamped through the snow, uprooting and destroying every sprout.
“Haa…….”
His breath stretched out in a long white plume.
Now, standing in a snowfield so white that not a speck of dust remained, he gazed up at the sky.
There was something he had been searching for. Surely……
Joorim hummed along with the murmuring tune that had been circling endlessly in his head.
“Hmm…… hm…… hmm…….”
The humming spread slowly across the vast white snowfield.
There had definitely been something he was desperately searching for.
What had it been?
*
The child had been lingering before the door leading to the snowfield, repeatedly reaching for the handle only to stop.
Snow-white, graying hair spilled down with the child’s movements.
Then, with a creak, the door opened.
“Mephisto.”
“Big Brother.”
“You were waiting again.”
He stepped gently outside with a smile.
He was Kabaron, the second scion created by Sheier.
“How is Father—no, how is His Majesty?”
“He is as he has always been. He is wholly occupied with eradicating the contamination from the snowfield.”
“……”
Mephisto furrowed his brow.
It had already been several years since the emperor had ceased looking after the world. With each passing day, the world grew filled with chaos and calamity worse than the contamination, so why would he not leave the snowfield?
He was both emperor and god—the only one with the power to watch over all creation.
Could someone like that truly not know that the world’s despair summoned the contamination?
“More importantly, I have a gift for you.”
Kabaron spoke as he led Mephisto along.
“A gift?”
Mephisto blinked as he entered the room Kabaron had guided him to.
It was filled with the branches and roots of trees.
A sword hung in the center.
Kabaron strode forward and drew it.
Then he held out the sword, clear as ice, to the child.
“It’s a gift.”
“This is……”
The man smiled kindly and stroked Mephisto’s head.
“I hope this will allow you to do what you must.”
Kabaron was both the scion who had taught him the concept of family and his teacher.
……What does that mean, Big Brother?
Because of that, Mephisto could only nod, unable to voice the words that had risen to his throat.
*
“Wash this child and dress her up so that she looks more like a witch.”
Having returned to his castle, Beilak held out the teddy bear he had brought back dangling in one hand.
The servants there looked puzzled.
“A witch?”
It was just a teddy bear, wasn’t it?
Reading their expressions, Beilak popped off the bear mask.
A small, delicate white face appeared.
“Oh my…….”
“How cute.”
Several servants let out exclamations of admiration, while Groot, wearing a wounded expression, reached her arms this way and that.
But the heartless Beilak did not return the bear mask. Instead, he lightly tapped her head as if telling her to try again.
Groot raised her nose and shouted,
“Behold! I am Groot Criteito, the Witch of Truth!”
“You mean, ‘How insolent.’”
“Mew—” (You mean, ‘How insolent.’)
Beilak and Beilak spoke at the same time, then stared at each other.
“……?”
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 347
*
After being thoroughly washed by the maids who asked her to call them Nors, Shy, and Lyla, Groot found her vision spinning from the endless stream of demands coming at her.
“Witch, please raise both hands.”
“Witch, please turn your head this way.”
“Witch, shall we raise your arm halfway again?”
“Witch…….”
“Witch…….”
‘Ugh!’
Groot was dragged around by ceaseless instructions until the title “Witch!” rang in her ears.
After quite some time,
they dressed her in a black dress embroidered with constellations in gold thread over pumpkin shorts,
hung countless star-like ornaments from her,
and finally placed a witch’s hat with a star dangling from its tip on her head.
Only then did the maids release Groot.
“How do you like it, Witch?”
“Are you pleased with it?”
The maids stood Groot in front of a mirror.
Groot’s mouth fell open at the sight of herself looking so much like a real witch.
Seeing her adorable face, the maids broke into bright, birdlike laughter.
“Wait here just a little longer, and we’ll escort you to the master.”
“Please wait just a moment~ Witch.”
The maids filed out of the room in a group.
Only then did Groot let both arms droop and release a small sigh.
“Phew.”
At that moment,
one of the maids, who had been smiling brightly through narrowed eyes, opened the door and entered again.
It was the maid who had introduced herself as Nors.
“I forgot to give you this.”
Nors handed her a jewel-encrusted staff.
The maid had been enthusiastic even while changing her clothes. It seemed she was taking the cosplay seriously.
Groot accepted the staff solemnly.
As if she could no longer hold herself back, Noth hugged Gru tightly, then let go.
“……?!”
Startled by the sudden assault of affection, Gru blinked.
“That’s all for now.”
With a bright smile, Noth gently swayed her skirt and slipped outside.
*
Dressed like a witch, Gru sat in front of a table laden with all kinds of desserts, including cake and milk tea.
Beilak, who had been waiting in the sweet-scented room, snorted and said,
“Now this is more like a conversation. Dress like that from now on. Understood?”
“Mm-hm.”
Nod, nod.
At the nonchalant answer, Beilak raised an eyebrow.
“Stop speaking informally.”
“Uh, I’m trying!”
“……You are getting closer to being impudent.”
“Mm, thanks for the compliment.”
Beilak pressed a hand to his forehead, looking as though he was wondering whether he really had to continue speaking with something like this.
But he was the one who had brought her here.
Because he had judged that she might be useful.
Beilak scooped up a generous bite of cake and popped it into Gru’s mouth before asking in a low, firm voice,
“You said you wished to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”
Gru, her cheeks bulging as she chewed, rolled her eyes around before swallowing the cake and nodding.
“Yesh.”
Beilak’s gaze grew sharp.
“Then I shall ask you first. Witch, what can you do?”
At the serious question, Gru, who had been slurping her milk tea, rolled her eyes round and round.
What did he mean, what could she do? Was he testing Gru again?
It would be a disaster if he asked her to do something truly witch-like.
Gru was currently pretending to be the Witch of Truth, after all.
Slurp. Slurp.
After draining the rest of the milk tea from her cup, Gru discreetly wiped her lips while gauging the situation.
‘Let’s hear what it is first. If I can’t do it, I’ll just be honest.’
Having reached that innocent conclusion, Gru lowered her voice as much as possible and answered in a suitably impressive tone,
“Is what you desire of this body a request, or a test?”
“…….”
Beilak was momentarily rendered speechless.
He firmly shut his mouth, as though he had been caught off guard.
A request, or a test.
The meaning was clear. The witch had reminded him in no uncertain terms that he was in a position where he had to ask something of her.
As expected, no matter what she looked like, she truly was a witch from legend. I must not let my guard down.
“You likely know this already, but His Majesty is not in his right mind at present. He is pouring all his strength into nothing but eliminating the corruption from the snowy fields.”
I see!
It was a fact Gru had known nothing about, but she slowly nodded as though she had been aware of it all along.
“As expected, you knew.”
Beilak let out a low groan. He looked at Gru with an even more cautious gaze and continued,
“Witch. I heard that you stopped the epidemic in the Silverin territory.”
“Mm. I did.”
Well, it hadn’t been intentional, but somehow that was what happened.
Beilak’s voice sank even lower.
“I want you to help His Majesty recover. This is not a test. ……It is my plea.”
Gru’s eyes widened slightly.
‘He wants me to cure the emperor?’
Her stomach dropped.
She had only stopped the epidemic through sheer luck. Gru was neither a doctor nor the Witch of Truth.
‘Gru can’t do something like that……!’
Flustered, Gru picked up her cup and brought it to her lips again.
Slurp!
Pretending to drink from the empty cup, she raised her eyes and covertly studied Beilak’s expression.
His gaze was far too serious and desperate.
It was an exceedingly awkward situation in which to say she couldn’t do it.
“Muuu…….”
At that moment, the ugly hamster sitting on her shoulder let out a cry. It felt sorry for its past self.
True Beilak pressed Gru’s cheek with his tiny palm.
“Miu, miu.” (Let’s give it a try, my master.)
The hamster tugged at her soft cheek. It was a signal for her to step forward at once.
But the one who stepped in was not Gru, but Mephisto.
“Bbi?!” (What do you mean, give it a try?!)
Mephisto smacked the hamster’s hand away with his wing and shouted,
“Bbi-bbi!” (What could Gru possibly fix?! What if something terrible happens when she goes there for no reason……)
“Miu-miu miu-miu-miu miu!” (In any case, we can’t leave the dungeon unless we meet Lord Sheier!)
Their emotions grew heated.
Mephisto clenched his two wingtips into tight fists.
“Bbi-bbi. Bbi-bbi……” (You’ve always been like this. You never listened to what anyone else had to say……)
“Miu! Miuu!” (That’s what I should be saying! You were the one who went and committed patricide on your own!)
Mephisto’s face stiffened in shock.
Beilak regretted what he had said, but once the words had come out, there was no taking them back.
The fact that Mephisto had stabbed and sealed Sheier remained a grudge Beilak had yet to release.
Mephisto had remembered nothing before, but now that he had regained his power and the seal on his memories had been lifted, he surely knew exactly what he had done.
Thus, calling him a patricide was not meant to hurt Mephisto. It was simply the truth.
Beilak clenched his fists.
“Miu-miu.” (You sealed your own father, and imprisoned me.)
“Bbi……” (I……)
“Miu-miu miu.” (And you stood by while the Second built the tower.)
“Bbi……” (I, I……)
The hamster’s cry sank coldly and heavily into the room.
“Miu.” (You were foolish.)
After hearing that as well, Mephisto lowered his head deeply.
And then—
Whoosh.
Without leaving behind even a single excuse, he flew away somewhere.
Beilak flinched and tried to follow him, but in the end, he dropped heavily back into his seat and crossed his arms.
Whether Mephisto left or not was none of his concern. He could protect his master by himself.
Beilak repeated that thought over and over, trying to calm his heart.
Meanwhile, Gru had not understood a word of their conversation, but she could tell that the atmosphere had become decidedly strange.
Even Past Beilak, sitting across from her, seemed to be saying with his eyes, ‘It looks like your familiars had a fight.’
Gru fidgeted under his gaze.
‘What do I do? It really seems like they fought…….’
Gru hugged Yulian and Luxifer, her chin wrinkling with worry.
This was serious. Her pupils trembled.
‘The two friends who are the most helpful right now just had a fight.’
……What should she do?
All that remained in the room was a chilly silence.
Regardless of whether her familiars were fighting, Past Beilak seemed to be demanding an answer. His gaze felt as though it were strangling her.
‘This is bad! This is bad!’
Gru moistened her lips with her tongue, then sprang to her feet.
“……Your opinions differ. I shall postpone my answer until tomorrow.”
“Don’t tell me……you actually listen carefully to the opinions of your familiars?”
“Yes, I do!”
In truth, she had not listened to any opinion at all. She hadn’t understood a thing!
But Gru nodded as though it were only natural.
Beilak could not hide his astonishment.
His lord had never been one to listen to the opinions of her familiars.
To Lord Sheier, her familiars were nothing more than insignificant creatures destined to wither away someday.
Beilak quietly watched the small witch’s back as she left. There was a strange hint of envy in his eyes.
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Being Filial! Chapter 348
*
Mephisto sat atop a tree branch with a gloomy expression.
Beilak’s words—that everything was his fault from beginning to end—had struck deep into his heart.
“Bbi……” (Maybe that’s true…….)
At that moment, he saw a carriage entering the castle.
It was a familiar carriage.
“Bbi?” (Was today that day?)
As if to confirm his suspicions, a child with white hair soon stepped down from the carriage.
It was Past Mephisto.
*
Gru, who had said she was going out for a walk, ran pattering toward where Mephi had disappeared.
“Baii, where is Mephi?”
The hamster running alongside her sharply turned his head.
“Miu, miu-miu!” (I don’t know where that fellow is either!)
At his half-hearted attitude, Gru abruptly stopped running.
Then, with a deeply dissatisfied expression, she grabbed the hamster with both hands and lifted him up.
Gru’s eyes, blazing like flames, stared straight into the hamster’s starry eyes.
“Baii.”
“…….”
“Why did you fight? Did you say something mean to Mephi again?”
“Miu.” (Something mean?)
Beilak slipped from Gru’s hands, returned to his true form, and said,
“It was all the truth. That fellow followed Lord Sheier, calling him father, and yet he was the one who sealed him with his sword. He was also the one who stood by and watched the tower being built.”
“……Mm.”
So that was what had happened. Why had Mephisto done such a thing?
“Then did you listen to Mephi’s side and ask why he did it?”
“There was no need to listen!”
“Eeeh……”
Seeing Gru’s crumpled face, Beilak hurriedly offered an excuse.
“It’s not as though I ever got along well with that fellow in the first place—”
At that moment, a white fledgling flew past them into the sky.
“Oh, Mephi?”
When Gru pointed toward the sky, Beilak turned into a hamster and began chasing after him.
Gru also hurriedly ran after them.
*
Silence hung over the drawing room.
A white boy and a dark-haired man sat facing each other, yet they drank tea and looked over documents as though the other were invisible.
Even to an outside observer, the two seemed to have no intention whatsoever of speaking.
Watching them peek through the barely opened door from a distance, Gru opened her mouth wide with a gasp at the suffocating silence.
It seemed Mephisto and Beilak really had never gotten along.
They did not even exchange the most basic greetings.
“Kyuu……” (They aren’t saying anything.)
Luxifer, Yulian, and Gru turned their gazes toward the hamster and fledgling.
Perhaps embarrassed, the two subtly avoided their eyes and turned their heads away.
“Has His Majesty still not fully recovered?”
After a long silence, Beilak spoke first.
Mephisto gave a small nod and answered as though his throat were being squeezed shut.
“……Not yet.”
“……I see.”
“…….”
And once again, both of them firmly closed their mouths as silence filled the room.
It seemed entirely possible that the meeting would end just like this.
Gru looked back and forth between the hamster and fledgling with an exasperated expression.
In the end, the fledgling trudged around and began walking away.
He knew how this conversation would end.
They would end today’s meeting without saying a single word.
The ugly hamster quietly watched the white fledgling turn away.
“…….”
“…….”
In the past and in the present, neither of them had been able to bring themselves to speak of what had happened that day.
Then—
“Bbi?!”
“Miu?!”
Gru suddenly lifted the hamster and fledgling up with both hands.
“……?!”
Holding them in both hands, Gru dashed into her room and slammed the door shut. Then she set the hamster and fledgling down across from each other at the table.
“Mephi, you talk first. What did you come here to say?”
“Bbi!” (What use is there in telling someone like him now?!)
“Miu-miu-miu! Miu!” (That’s what I should be saying! It’s all become pointless! Because of you!)
Bang!
Gru widened her eyes and slammed her staff down on the table.
At that, supple branches began wrapping around the fledgling and hamster.
At the same time, the two transformed into human forms and found themselves seated and bound tightly in place.
“…….”
“…….”
Bound and suddenly forced to face each other, the two looked bewildered before—
“It’s because of you that Gru got angry!”
“Because of me? It’s because of you, sitting there with your mouth shut!”
They soon began barking at each other.
“Why do you think I kept my mouth shut?!”
“How would I know? In any case, you came looking for me of your own accord, so you should have spoken first!”
“Wasn’t it because you had no intention of listening to me at all?!”
“Hah! No doubt it was all nonsense! You were just some brat who happily followed the Second around like a puppy, despite him being out of his mind!”
Mephisto’s face turned bright red.
But only for a moment. He lowered his eyes, kept his mouth shut for a long while, then spoke in a gentler tone.
“See? You had no intention of listening, did you? I knew that much. That’s why I said nothing and went back. It would have been pointless even if I had spoken. You’ve hated me from the beginning.”
“…….”
This time, it was Beilak who fell silent.
His words, as though they had seen straight through his heart, left him with nothing to say.
Yes, he had hated him.
At the time, Beilak had been consumed by his loyalty to Sheier. Alongside that, he had also harbored jealousy toward the last member of Sheier’s bloodline, created by Sheier by pouring his own power into him.
The power to open the snowfield. Because he had bestowed the title of lord upon Mephisto alone.
As if Mephisto were the one destined to succeed him.
What was more, Mephisto had even called Sheier his father.
He had envied and hated the young brat who possessed everything he had ever wanted.
Though he had never imagined the boy knew it all.
Beilak rubbed his forehead awkwardly. It was embarrassing.
Even so, he had lived longer and knew more than this fool, yet he had never wanted to admit that he harbored such feelings.
“……So, what was it you wanted to tell me today?”
Beilak glowered at the fidgeting Mephisto.
Still an irritating brat.
But the days he had lived were not so different from those of his young master.
Come to think of it, both in the past and now, Mephisto had been a young entity who had not lived even ten years.
Before, that had been entirely irrelevant. He had simply hated the boy.
“Since I’m willing to listen now, tell me.”
He did not hate him quite as much anymore.
Mephisto grumbled that the unusually gentle tone did not suit him.
“You’re doing it again! Aren’t you going to hurry up and talk?!”
At Beilak’s roar, Mephisto sharply turned his head and spoke in a tiny voice.
“I received a sword, but…….”
“A sword? From the second one?”
Mephisto nodded.
“But he said he’d leave the decision to me…….”
Ha! Beilak snorted.
“You were manipulated. That sinister bastard handed you the sword so you would stab Lord Sheier.”
Mephisto’s eyes wavered.
Watching him, Beilak ground his teeth. So damned innocent……!
His temper boiling over, he let out a deep sigh.
He should have just listened to the boy back then…….
*
Having stepped away so the two of them could talk in peace, Gru turned the staff this way and that.
‘This really seems like…….’
……a magic wand?
When Gru had struck the table with the staff earlier, branches that had appeared from nowhere had tightly bound Mephisto and Beilak.
The sight had secretly startled her terribly.
‘Gru only meant to make Mephisto and Beilak be quiet?!’
Could it be a magic wand belonging to Beilak?
“Where are you going?”
Startled!
Gru clutched the staff tightly in both hands.
“Ha, Huh? Nos?”
“Yes, Witch.”
“Umm…… I was just going out for a walk.”
“I see. You probably still do not know your way around, so allow me to escort you.”
“Mmm.”
When Gru nodded in agreement, Nos approached her.
Gru could feel an observing gaze from behind those narrow, slitted eyes.
“But what was Nos doing here?”
At Gru’s question, Nos smiled brightly. Her long, narrow eyes curved like crescent moons.
“I was looking for something I lost.”
Her icy hand touched Gru’s face.
Her thumb gently brushed the corner of the child’s eye.
“Something you lost? What is it?”
Nos smiled once again.
“Would you help me look for it, Witch?”
“……Umm…….”
It was just as Gru opened and closed her mouth uncertainly.
Ding!
The Kindergarten Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 349
Ding!
[The ‘Witch of Truth’ may be registered as a foster parent.]
What?
Gru’s mouth fell open in a round O.
“The, the Witch of Truth?”
The woman whose identity had been exposed blinked in disbelief.
“Oh my?”
At that moment.
The scene before her changed in an instant.
The air shook as if the world had been turned upside down.
Gru blinked.
Before she knew it, she was standing in the middle of an unfamiliar space.
A faint fragrance lingered in the air.
The moist, gentle scent of moonlight, along with the dusty smell of old bookshelves.
Thousands of stars glittered overhead. It was not the night sky, but constellation patterns engraved across the ceiling.
The stars moved as though flowing, their light gradually enveloping the black furniture in the room as if seeping into it.
The room was filled with all manner of jewels and ornaments, as well as herbs and books.
It was, in every sense, a witch’s room.
“Wow…….”
Just as Gru exclaimed in wonder at the sudden change in surroundings, a witch wearing a lace blindfold leaned her face toward her.
“How did you know?”
The witch tilted her head. She frowned as though trying to see something but unable to make it out, then murmured,
“How curious.”
Soon, Nos rose with a mischievous smile.
“Heeheehee……. I thought you were just an impostor…….”
‘Gasp!’
Gru flinched in surprise, but…….
“Our little baby witch is even more amazing than I thought, huh?”
At the praise that followed, she slyly lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied.
The witch burst into laughter, pulled the child into her arms, and planted kisses on her cheeks.
“I was going to turn the wicked impostor into a frog, but you’re too cute. I don’t think I can do it. Where did something this adorable pop out from?”
‘A, a frog?!’
Gru hunched her shoulders and trembled.
All the while, the witch carried Gru around her room and looked over the various jewels and ornaments.
“Shall I give you this? Or this one? This would suit you too.”
The hand reaching for a necklace waved through empty air and grasped at nothing.
As she withdrew the hand that had caught nothing, she muttered,
“Not having eyes is truly inconvenient.”
After losing her eyes, she had used the eyes of her familiars to see in their place.
Thanks to that, she could see what lay ahead, but because she could only see through her familiars’ vision, she often missed objects directly in front of her like this.
As if to comfort the witch, who had suddenly grown dejected, Gru stroked her cheek with her small hand.
The witch kissed Gru’s tiny fingers and laughed softly.
Gru stared intently at the witch.
Beyond the lace blindfold, she caught a glimpse of red jewels set where her eyes should have been.
She had no eyes…….
“Did the Witch lose her eyes?”
When Gru asked cautiously, the witch pouted.
“That’s right. A bad man stole them from me. And I really should have known better than to let my guard down.”
A bad man stole them from her?!
Gru drew in a sharp breath.
Villains could not be forgiven!
“Can Gru help you find them?”
“Do you think you can?”
The witch burst into laughter, then abruptly stopped and tilted her head for a moment.
“Hmm~ Yes. Come to think of it, I think it would be nice if our baby witch helped me.”
[Would you like to receive the title of foster parent, ‘Witch of Truth’?]
Gru nodded.
“Yes.”
[Title delegation complete.]
“Heeheehee, if there’s a bad man, you bite him hard.”
Nos raised both hands, wiggled her fingers, and laughed ominously.
“Yesh!”
Gru raised her right hand high as she answered, bared her tiny teeth the size of corn kernels, and pretended to bite down hard.
“Aah, you’re so, so cute~”
The witch hugged Gru and rubbed their cheeks together.
“But where is that bad man?”
“Ah, he’s beside the emperor. You’ll know him when you see him.”
She would know when they met?
Could she really?
Gru rolled her eyes from side to side, then brought up another subject.
The mention of the emperor had reminded her of something.
“But, Witch. Can Gru fix the emperor?”
Nos sat down on the sofa and placed Gru on her lap.
“Mmm, the last thing I saw before my eyes were taken was…….”
She poked Gru’s soft cheek with her index finger.
“It was something only you could do.”
Gru blinked.
Something only Gru could do?
Gru tilted her head and opened her status window.
There was one additional title.
[Title: Blessing of Gnosis, the Witch of Truth]
“Gnosis?!”
Gru’s mouth fell wide open.
Perhaps even that was adorable, because the witch burst into laughter.
“That’s right, Gnosis. That’s my name.”
*
“The Witch of Truth?”
The second bloodkin, Kavaron, repeated Mephisto’s words as he set down the bowl.
“Yes. I heard she also cured the epidemic that had been spreading throughout the Silverin estate.”
Mephisto’s face, usually so gloomy these days, was bright with excitement.
“That can’t be…….”
There was no way a witch as indifferent to worldly affairs as Sheier would step forward to do such a thing.
Besides…….
Kavaron lowered his gaze.
A black ripple spread faintly across the liquid in the bowl.
Within it, Kavaron watched as the triquetra, formed by three interlocking circles, warped and distorted.
Because I stole her eyes.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that his ability to control the emperor and Mephisto was also due to those eyes.
He had filled the medicine the emperor drank with seeds bearing the triquetra symbol. They were saturated with the power stolen from the Witch of Truth.
He had been planting seeds in the emperor for an extremely long time. By now, tens of thousands of seeds must have taken root in his body.
Anything less would have made it impossible to disturb that monster’s mind.
Meanwhile, perhaps embarrassed by the prolonged silence, Mephisto approached the mirror and peered into the Otherworld.
Kavaron quietly stood behind Mephisto and looked into the Otherworld with him.
Earth.
Unlike this world, it was a world without a lord.
A world that advanced through humanity’s own power.
Its intricate architecture, profound literature, and highly advanced technology never failed to amaze him.
Development and progress had always fascinated Kavaron.
‘If only that useless monster and his followers would disappear…….’
In a world where that useless god had vanished, humanity would achieve even greater progress.
Perhaps Kavaron had never possessed any true loyalty toward the lord from the beginning. Or perhaps it had gradually disappeared because of the corruption.
The world abandoned by an irresponsible ruler had grown increasingly irrational, and the resulting discontent had swelled each time he peered into the Otherworld with Mephisto.
Toppling the lord and taking the lead in advancing the world.
That was his ultimate goal.
“Perhaps…….”
At that moment, Mephisto finally opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Couldn’t the Witch of Truth help us?”
“Help us?”
“I heard the Witch of Truth is with Beilak right now. If we call her…….”
“Mephisto…….”
Kavaron gently interrupted him and stroked Mephisto as though he pitied him.
Yet there was something chilling at the end of his voice.
“I’m disappointed in you, little brother.”
“Pardon?”
“This concerns Father, does it not?”
Kavaron cupped Mephisto’s cheeks in both hands and continued.
“Should we really rely on such profane power? What if we make the wrong choice and end up making His Majesty suffer even more? What will you do then, hmm?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
Mephisto, gone pale, shook his head.
“No. Children grow by making foolish choices. Adults are meant to keep them from going astray.”
Mephisto blushed, embarrassed. As expected, Kavaron was someone he could rely on.
Kavaron gently released Mephisto.
He began brewing the medicinal decoction again, while Mephisto passed by him and approached the desk.
Scattered across the desk were blueprints.
They depicted the design of a structure that appeared to be a tower.
This was the dream Kavaron had always spoken of.
A flawless space untouched by corruption.
He had said Sheier would be happy there.
‘Is that really true?’
Mephisto was lost in thought, stroking the blueprints, when he saw a carriage entering through the window. The emblem of Shados was drawn on its door.
A dark shadow fell across Kavaron’s face when he saw it.
“Mephisto.”
“Yes?”
“You still have the sword, don’t you?”
“…….”
“Do not forget that this is something only you can do.”
Kavaron gripped Mephisto’s shoulder firmly.
The Kindergarten Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 350
*
Before the enormous gate leading to the Cradle.
In that silent place, sealed off so that no one could pass through, Mephisto gripped the hilt of the sword.
A god had to watch over even the tiniest of creatures. It was the decision he had reached after much deliberation.
Mephisto grasped the doorknob and drew in a breath.
Creeeeak—
The door opened.
Cold air seeped through.
A snowfield.
*
Inside the carriage crossing the drawbridge of the Imperial Castle.
The Witch of Truth had boasted that she could cure the emperor, so they had immediately set out for the Imperial Castle.
Well, that part was fine, but…….
Beilak of the past sat with his arms crossed, staring at the children seated in a row across from him.
There were three children in all.
One was the Witch of Truth, shouting, “Waaah!” Another was a familiar with Mephisto’s face, and the last was a boy who looked exactly like Beilak himself when he had been young.
For familiars to take on human forms… Changing a familiar’s appearance at will is no easy feat.
As expected, a witch was still a witch.
But that wasn’t all.
The story they had brought with them was utterly outrageous.
Unable to believe it, Veilak asked again.
“What did you say?”
“Kabaron is going to seal His Majesty through Mephisto. Then he intends to build a tower based on the cradle in which His Majesty is sealed.”
The black-haired child, whose clever appearance resembled his own, explained the gist succinctly.
Veilak stood there with his mouth hanging open for a while before turning his head.
“Witch.”
“Y-Yeah?”
“Is this really true?”
Startled! Gru, suddenly made the target of their attention, rolled his eyes between Mephisto and Veilak.
For once, the two nodded in unison.
‘They made up, right?’
While Gru was meeting the Witch of Truth, the two of them seemed to have had quite a long talk.
That must have been why the two who used to punch and fight each other at every opportunity were now of one mind.
It really had been the right decision to force them to sit down and talk.
Gru smiled contentedly and declared solemnly.
“It is the truth!”
“……”
The Veilak of the past wore an expression that showed he did not trust Gru in the slightest, but since the Witch of Truth had declared it true, he seemed to be troubled.
“He’s always been out of his mind, but would he really go that far…?”
The thought of a familiar betraying its master was something he could never have imagined.
“Then Kabaron, bad guy?”
“Kabaron is…”
Veilak trailed off at Gru’s question.
Kabaron, who had always possessed an overactive imagination, and himself, a realist, had never been compatible from the start.
But what if that wasn’t all? What if there was a difference in their very attitudes as familiars?
In any case, it would be best to meet him first.
Just as he reached that conclusion, the carriage stopped in front of the Imperial Palace.
At the same time, Mephisto and Veilak returned to their forms as a fat fledgling and an ugly hamster.
The fledgling and hamster scampered up onto Gru’s head and shoulder.
Veilak got out of the carriage first, then lifted Gru—who was carrying a whole assortment of animals—and set him down.
Then he whispered softly into Gru’s ear.
“I’ll believe what you said. I’m going to Kabaron. You go straight to His Majesty.”
Veilak stretched out his arm toward the front.
“Follow the largest passageway in this direction, and you’ll find a huge door at the end. His Majesty is inside. It isn’t far, so you should arrive quickly.”
“Yeah!”
Gru answered brightly and was about to dash off when Veilak grabbed his small head and pulled him back.
“Witch. I’ll say this once more: His Majesty isn’t in his right mind.”
His voice was full of concern.
The witch had said that she alone could cure the emperor, but it was still impossible to know whether that was really true.
What if she failed to cure him? In that case, there was no telling what the mad emperor might do to this little one.
He would feel less worried if he went along, but…
‘If only that bastard Kabaron weren’t involved.’
Veilak ground his teeth, then spoke in a low voice.
“…Be careful.”
Gulp. Gru swallowed and nodded.
“…Yeah.”
*
Kabaron, who had been quietly watching the carriage arrive from beside the window, squeezed his eyes shut.
Then—
Bang!
The door flew open with a tremendous crash.
“Kabaron!”
At Veilak’s furious shout, Kabaron turned around.
“Brother Veilak.”
“How many times have I told you not to call me by such an absurd title? I’m sick of saying it.”
“You’re still as cold as ever.”
The instant Veilak saw that smile, he instinctively ground his teeth.
“And you’re still out of your mind.”
At those words, Veilak seized Kabaron by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
Bang!
The impact was powerful enough to make the stone wall tremble.
Kabaron, however, did not even blink.
“Why are you suddenly acting this way?”
Veilak tightened his grip and clenched his teeth. Looking at the blueprints scattered messily across the desk, he growled.
“I see you’re still drawing up plans for that damned tower or whatever it is.”
“…The tower will become a proving ground, a trial that will allow us to move forward.”
“You’re still out of your mind. Still spouting that same damned nonsense!”
There was no getting through to him like this.
Veilak smashed Kabaron’s head against the wall as if pinning it there.
Bang—!
He was trying to intimidate Kabaron. He needed to know whether everything the Witch of Truth had said was true.
However—
There was no sensation in his fingertips.
Veilak narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong.
He had definitely grabbed him, yet it felt as though he were holding nothing at all.
“Ha-ha! Hahahahaha!”
Veilak gritted his teeth. He tried to exert more force and choke the other man, but—
“Hahahahaha!”
The void seeped between his fingers.
“…A shadow?”
At that moment, Kabaron’s features wavered as though they were melting.
The real Kabaron was not here.
‘Then…!’
Veilak turned around.
*
Whoosh—
The corridors of the Imperial Palace were eerily silent.
Even though sunlight streamed through the ornate windows, the palace felt lonely rather than cozy.
Gru looked around, turning his head from side to side.
It was so quiet that even the majestic paintings hanging on the walls seemed to have lost their vitality, appearing bleak and desolate.
‘This might be a little scary.’
Shivering, Gru waved his staff back and forth and deliberately sang in a loud voice.
“With a bumpy, handsome body~ wearing red clothes~”
His singing echoed loudly through the palace, traveling along the walls.
Satisfied, Gru hugged Luxifer tightly to his chest and marched forward bravely.
“Giving off a sweet-and-sour scent~ the dashing tomato~”
How long had he been walking like that?
Following the largest passageway straight ahead, he soon found a gigantic door before him.
Just then—
Flap—
He heard a sound from behind, as if a curtain were fluttering.
Gru turned around.
“A witch this small?”
A man’s low, gentle voice tickled his ears.
The man had approached without a sound. He bent down until his eyes met Gru’s.
“How unexpected.”
The Gnosis sigil could be seen in both of the man’s eyes.
Gru unconsciously took a step back.
It was Kabaron.
*
Crunch.
Crunch.
Mephisto walked forward, treading on the snow.
At the edge of his vision, the emperor was digging through the snowy plain with his bare hands, his long hair streaming in the wind.
Mephisto gripped his sword.
As the cold metal pressed against his palm, a chill seemed to spread throughout his entire body.
His fingertips trembled faintly from the tension. The air of the snowfield entered deep into his lungs, then was exhaled in a cold breath.
Mephisto approached quietly and looked at the broad back of the ruler standing before him.
Even with the tip of his sword aimed at the ruler’s back, he could not move in a single motion.
If he stabbed with this sword here, it would truly be over.
‘I won’t ask for forgiveness.’
Just as he was about to drive the sword in—
“Hm… hmmm…”
Mephisto stopped.
‘A song…?’
The emperor had turned around at some point and was humming to himself.
His entire body abruptly froze.
The tip of the sword barely came to a halt.
The emperor’s turned gaze was not looking at Mephisto. He was simply looking into the distance, toward the far side of the snowfield.
“Hmm… hmmm… hm…”
The indistinct melody floated through the cold air and seeped across the snowy plain.
Then, the emperor’s blurred eyes gradually came into focus.
The Chick Class Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 351
*
When the lyrics he had been humming suddenly came to him, Jurim furrowed his brow fiercely.
“…Tomato?”
Why was he singing such a stupid song?
His head was spinning. His stomach lurched, and nausea rose within him.
Unable to hold it back any longer, he bent over.
Vomit mixed with seeds poured onto the snowy plain.
“Haa…”
Only then did his head seem to clear a little.
Jurim staggered to his feet. His entire body felt weighed down by a thousand pounds.
‘Where am I?’
His gaze swept across the snowfield, then stopped. A child with white hair was looking up at him from directly in front of him.
“…Mephi?”
“……?!”
The startled child flinched.
“What are you so surprised about?”
Jurim blinked his unfocused eyes and placed a hand on the child’s head, gently stroking his soft hair.
Mephisto’s face flushed bright red, turning as red as a tomato.
Then Jurim spoke.
“Where is Gru…?”
“Gru?”
Mephisto tilted his head to the side.
Jurim covered his face, looking confused.
“Yes, I definitely heard Gru’s singing, so I came looking for Gru…”
His voice was disjointed, breaking off every few words.
Mephisto looked at him with pity.
What was Gru?
Now that His Majesty was saying incomprehensible things as well, was there truly no way to help him?
‘There’s only this…’
Mephisto tightened his grip around the hilt of the ice-cold sword.
He had finally decided to carry out the deed after all.
“Peep!”
The short white leg of a white bird kicked Mephisto hard in the cheek.
Mephisto lowered his sword and looked up at the bird while rubbing his stinging cheek.
“Peep!” (Stop it!)
“…?”
Mephisto wore a blank expression. Watching him, Jurim narrowed his eyes.
That was the Mephisto Kick Mephisto often showed when fighting the ugly hamster.
‘Then…’
…Mephisto had just hit Mephisto’s face?
Before Mephisto could ask why there were two of him, Jurim seemed to realize something and placed a hand against his forehead.
“…Ah.”
He let out a low groan.
That’s right. He had been thrown into the dungeon by his older brother.
Then the child before him was not the real Mephisto, but Mephisto from the time when Sheia was sealed in the past.
As if to confirm his theory, an ice-like sword was clutched in Mephisto’s hand.
‘I can’t be sealed here.’
Should he start a fight?
Just as Jurim began to lightly gather his mana, the white bird transformed into a white-haired child, as though it had sensed his intentions.
After changing forms, the child shook his head at Jurim, as if to say that nothing needed to be done.
Then he suddenly pulled the sword-wielding version of his past self into a tight embrace.
The fat bird’s transformation surprised the past Mephisto for only a moment.
“L-Let go of me…!”
Having suddenly been pulled into someone’s arms, the Mephisto of the past struggled with all his might to escape, but the child only held him more tightly.
“Sealing Father wasn’t your decision.”
“……!”
The breathing of the child held in his arms became ragged. The title of Father seemed to have thrown him into even greater confusion.
“Kabaron is controlling you.”
His past self sharply retorted.
“So what? Are you telling me to just stand by and watch without doing anything?”
Mephisto whispered into the child’s ear.
“This world can no longer be protected.”
The child of the past stiffened at those words.
“I… I can protect it if I become emperor instead, if I become a god…”
Mephisto shook his head.
“It’s impossible.”
The world he had tried so desperately to protect had ultimately perished.
Mephisto pressed his forehead against his past self’s.
Through that contact, the events of the past that he had experienced began to flow into him.
Kabaron sealed Sheia on the ninety-ninth floor using the cradle as its foundation, maintaining the tower, while taking his place on the hundredth floor.
The tower, which had claimed that it needed to become an adversity itself in order to advance, ultimately destroyed the world before heading to Earth in search of its next prey.
And thus, a great cataclysm struck Earth.
The inhabitants of the remaining world crossed over to Earth and became the masters of the dungeons, while Mephisto gave his life to lay the foundation of the system.
To protect Earth, at least.
Sealing Sheia was the starting point of it all.
“……”
The sword fell with a soft clatter onto the snow of the snowfield.
“Lies…”
The child bit his lip tightly, as though he wanted to believe none of it.
Had the future he had dreamed of truly been meaningless?
Mephisto once again held his past self tightly, the child trembling with his head bowed low.
The confused child shed endless tears.
“Then was I… foolish?”
“Yes.”
Mephisto paused for a moment before adding gently,
“…Everyone was at fault.”
“……”
Everyone’s fault.
The face of the child before him twisted in pain.
At that moment, feathers scattered through the air.
The child of the past began to disappear, starting from his fingertips, his body turning into pure white feathers.
The child gazed down at the hand becoming feathers and murmured softly.
“I wanted to protect it.”
“I know.”
“Still, there is one thing I’m glad about….”
“What?”
“…I’m glad this was a foolish choice.”
The Mephisto of the past smiled faintly, as if relieved.
“The truth is….”
The child drew in a small breath. Her trembling fingertips twitched, as though trying to hold on to the emotions that remained.
“I didn’t want to stab Father.”
Clang!
A cracking sound rang out soon after.
With those final words, the dungeon began to shatter.
The child from the past slowly closed her eyes. As if she had resigned herself to everything, she seemed to await the end that was coming.
Space shook as cracks spread through it. The floor warped, splitting open with enormous fissures.
The white snowfield broke apart into fragments.
Mephisto silently watched his past self disappear, transforming completely into feathers.
Joo Rim stared at the vast snowfield, where the hunger was slowly turning to frost and scattering through the air. Then, as if he had remembered something, he hurriedly grabbed Mephisto by the shoulder.
“Gru is here too, right?”
Mephisto nodded and said,
“We have to get out quickly. Gru’s in danger.”
*
Meanwhile, a little earlier.
Upon seeing the child, Kabaron struggled to suppress a hollow laugh.
Platinum hair bordering on beige. Large coral-colored eyes. Delicate, dainty features.
‘This is a witch?’
This was not Gnosis.
It was merely a small child pretending to be a witch.
A child so small and young that he could kill her simply by wrapping one hand around her slender neck.
Kabaron reached out toward the child’s thin neck.
But for some reason, his arm would not move forward, as though a terribly heavy weight had been attached to it.
“……!”
While Kabaron’s movements had come to a halt, the ugly hamster nodded toward the fat bird spreading its wings wide.
“Mew, mew.” (Mephisto, go to the cradle.)
Mephisto knew what those words meant and fluttered into the air.
“Peep!” (Protect Gru well!)
After shouting that, Mephisto flew toward the door leading to the snowfield.
He was worried about Gru, but one of them had to go find Sheier.
There was only one reason Kabaron had come here.
It was surely to buy his past self time to seal Sheier.
If so, then he was the one who had to stop it.
Once Mephisto had left, Beilak took the form of a little child and stood in front of Kabaron.
While confronting Beilak, Kabaron desperately concealed his confusion.
The aura that fellow was giving off was unmistakably Beilak’s.
But Beilak should have shaken him off with his shadow and come here?
Then what in the world was this thing standing before him? Could it be Gnosis’s handiwork?
However—
‘It doesn’t matter.’
Kabaron furrowed his brow.
It did not matter if he could not move his body. He had Gnosis’s Eye.
Gnosis’s Eye.
An ability that allowed control in the broadest sense of the word.
It could do anything from issuing simple commands to an opponent to giving or taking away power.
Kabaron immediately activated Gnosis’s Eye.
He stopped Beilak’s power and bound his body as well.
Only then did Kabaron turn his head toward the little witch.
Just as he had done with Beilak, he first bound the witch’s body.
Whatever scheme Gnosis had devised, he could resolve it all as long as he had her eyes.
He would take away both Beilak’s power and whatever strength the little witch possessed.
It was at that moment that the triquetra in his eyes began to shine.
The bill of a duck-shaped clothespin came viciously flying toward Kabaron’s rear.
Pinch!
“Ah!”
Kabaron let out an involuntary groan when the impact struck and opened his eyes wide.
He could not understand what was happening at all.
He had bound their bodies, so they should have been completely unable to move.
“……?”
But the one who could not move was none other than Kabaron himself.
Beilak had bound him.
‘The power of the Eye… doesn’t work?’
Beilak rolled his eyes in surprise, as though he himself found it astonishing, then broke into a wicked grin.
“Looks like it doesn’t work.”
“That’s impossible!”
It was the moment Kabaron’s eyes began to shine again as he tried to use his power.
The duck clothespin came flying once more, slicing through the air.
“Bad! Thief! Bad!”
Pinch! Pinch! Pinch!
As the enraged duck clothespin smacked him again and again, Kabaron’s mouth fell open.
“Ah! Ah! Aah!”
Despite being struck by a child, his buttocks and thighs began to hurt so much that they soon went numb.
But the shock he felt in his head was even greater.
‘Am I… being hit?’
By a little kid like this?
Kabaron could not believe it, while Beilak snickered gleefully and egged Gru on.
“Hit him more, Master. Things like that need to be hit before they come to their senses.”
Gru gripped the duck clothespin tightly with both hands and huffed through his nose.
“Turn away the witch’s eyes!”
Pinch!
The duck clothespin came flying again.
“Ah!”
Kabaron’s eyes shook violently.
‘This… is impossible!’
The Hunters of Chick Class Are Being Filial! Episode 352
*
Joo Rim hurried out of the snowfield and stared at this bizarre scene.
The sight of his child giving a full-grown adult a sound beating was nothing short of shocking.
His mind becoming complicated in an instant, Joo Rim fell into a brief contemplation amid the debris of the collapsing dungeon.
Was it a problem with his parenting that his child had grown up like that?
It was just then, as Joo Rim pondered for a moment while listening to Kabaron’s screams.
Due to the impact of the collapsing dungeon, Gru and Beilak’s bodies swayed and lost their balance.
The ground shook, and the cracks continued to spread wider. The Golden Castle collapsed with a thunderous roar that pounded against their ears. Gray dust was swept into the air by the fierce wind, filling it completely.
The final collapse was approaching.
In the meantime, Kabaron escaped Beilak’s gravity and quickly backed away.
“……!”
Beilak tried to stop him from fleeing, but Kabaron was one step faster.
The triquetra in his eyes glowed, and Beilak came to an abrupt halt.
“It works.”
Kabaron muttered mockingly. A faint sneer appeared at the corners of his mouth.
He had not completely escaped Kabaron’s control. Perhaps it had failed earlier because he had been in contact with the witch?
If so—
Kabaron turned his head toward Joo Rim and Gru.
He looked at Joo Rim holding onto the swaying Gru and clicked his tongue.
Judging that he could not use his power while in contact with the witch, Kabaron quickly hid himself.
As soon as the power controlling his body disappeared, Beilak searched for Kabaron, but he had already vanished long ago.
In the meantime, the gate leading outside had opened right beside them.
Upon seeing it, Joo Rim slipped Gru under his arm without hesitation.
“Ah!”
Gru struggled, but he was no match for Joo Rim’s grasp.
How could Dad be here?
Had he come to scold Gru?!
‘That makes sense…!’
But he couldn’t go back like this!
‘I have to find the witch’s eyes… Hm?’
Gru looked around at the collapsing surroundings. Only belatedly realizing that Kabaron had disappeared, he made a miserable face.
“Ah, no fair!”
“What do you mean, no fair!”
“We haven’t found the Eye yet!”
“Quiet! Do you even know where you came?”
“Whiiine! It’s just that…!”
Gru had plenty of excuses.
They had been looking for a good place to go camping together and had come to the wrong place.
They had not wanted to come here.
But before he could rattle off those excuses, Joo Rim headed toward the gate.
Beilak and Mephisto also changed into their hamster and bird forms and climbed onto Gru.
Joo Rim growled.
“When we get home, you’re going to be in so much trouble that—”
But he could not finish his words.
The moment they exited through the gate, a small stone rolled over and struck the toe of Joo Rim’s shoe.
‘…The smell of blood.’
Joo Rim instinctively blocked Gru’s view.
Gru squirmed as his vision was obscured by a large hand, but Joo Rim paid him no mind and raised his head.
A man in a black suit stood atop the steel frame of a half-destroyed building.
In his hand was Gidan, dangling limply by the neck.
A groan escaped Joo Rim.
“…Big Brother.”
Chapter On Ijo
The street bore the unmistakable traces of a brutal battle.
Broken concrete, scorch marks from flames, and an acrid air thick with mingled blood and dust.
A shattered streetlamp lay twisted on the ground, and beneath it Jin Siwon and Serhi had collapsed.
Joo Rim was inspecting them with a trembling gaze when a sudden cough made his shoulders stiffen.
“Cough, cough!”
Red blood flowed from Serhi’s mouth. Jin Siwon’s hand twitched in response to the sound.
Joo Rim slightly relaxed his rigid shoulders.
‘They’re not dead.’
Only then could he draw the breath that had caught in his throat.
For a moment, the fishy metallic taste he had experienced on the ninety-ninth floor filled his mouth, making him feel as though his body were being constricted.
His heart pounded violently.
Joo Rim muttered as if groaning.
“…Big Brother.”
At that moment, a pair of long eyes turned toward Joo Rim.
On Ijo’s body, stained with blood and dust, were the marks of a fierce battle.
“…I didn’t think you’d be able to make it outside.”
He admitted that he had underestimated Joo Rim too much.
On Ijo looked down at his hand. Gidan was breathing faintly.
They were the ones who had rushed in to save Joo Rim after realizing that he had been caught by On Ijo.
“So all of that was pointless since you got out on your own.”
On Ijo let out a sigh and spoke quietly.
“Uncle?”
He froze for an instant.
His eyes trembled at the voice of the daughter calling out to him.
“Uncleee!”
Gru, her eyes still covered, called out to On Ijo once more in an excited voice.
Not wanting Gru to see the gruesome scene before her, Joo Rim hugged the child tightly to his chest.
Gru fluttered and shook her face from side to side as Joo Rim kept pulling her into his arms.
“Gru was lookin’ for a good place so she could go campin’ with Dad and the uncles!”
On Ijo’s brow twisted. He felt as though his breath had been knocked out of him.
Gru continued wriggling until she finally poked her face out.
Still smiling brightly with her eyes covered by Joo Rim’s hand, she said,
“So go and come back soon.”
On Ijo could not say anything.
Gru’s cheerful words raked across the air.
For an instant, strength left Joo Rim’s hand. Sensing the opportunity, Gru quickly lifted her head.
The moment her light coral-colored eyes, filled with laughter, popped out from beneath the hand—
“……?”
Gru looked around the ruined street.
A chill!
An ominous atmosphere surrounded her, and a cold sensation raced from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.
It was a sense of wrongness she had never felt before.
Gru slowly—very slowly—turned her head.
‘Uncle Hungsam? Big Brother Serhi?’
Jin Siwon and Serhi lay collapsed, bleeding.
Gru opened her mouth, dazed.
“Don’t look.”
Joo Rim tried to stop Gru from seeing the scene.
But Gru desperately evaded his hand and pulled down the hand blocking her view once more.
“On Gru!”
Gru cried out with a tearful, miserable expression.
“Don’t like it!”
Joo Rim’s strength drained away at the sound of her voice.
Then Gru spotted Gidan being held in On Ijo’s hand and shouted,
“Brother Dani!”
At that moment, On Ijo stared blankly at his own hand, as if entranced.
As though he had been holding something he should never have touched, the strength slowly slipped from his grip. He released Gidan and took a step back.
Gidan collapsed to the ground.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Thrown onto the ground, Gidan coughed and convulsed.
His thin coughs faded into the darkness. His chest barely rose and fell.
On Ijo reflexively checked the child’s face. The face that had smiled prettily and told him to come back early was deathly pale.
On Ijo rubbed his face with a dry hand.
Instead of wiping away the splattered blood, he only dragged a long red streak across the stark white face.
His brow twisted.
“Princess… Dad….”
On Ijo stammered as he repeatedly tried to wipe his face with the back of his hand.
But the blood did not disappear. It merely stained the area around his face an even deeper red.
“How could Dad… I mean….”
He struggled to explain the situation somehow. But the coral-colored eyes, seemingly filled with fear, stabbed painfully into him.
“You see, it was….”
How should he explain this situation to the child?
How could he explain it so that she would understand?
That he had not intended to kill them?
But that he did intend to kill them all?
Until just now, it had been Joo-rim who was strangling Gidan by the neck.
But now, it felt as though Gru’s gaze was strangling him.
He thought he could explain everything carefully if only Gru would stop looking at him like that.
If only she would stop looking at him with eyes so full of fear.
That was when Joo-rim seized the opportunity and moved first.
Chick Class Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 353
Whoosh!
Joo-rim set Gru down and shot toward On Ijo.
[Activating the skill ‘Night of Walpurgis.’]
On Ijo activated Sheyer’s skill.
[Activating the skill ‘Lakbaje of Swiftness,’ Floor 79.]
The moment he moved his foot, his body sprang forward like a bolt of lightning.
At the same time, Joo-rim stretched out his hand.
Boom!
An invisible, intangible force shot from Joo-rim’s fingertips and exploded with a thunderous roar.
The force of the explosion split the floor, and the shattered debris rose into the air.
Crackle!
The airborne debris rained down upon On Ijo all at once.
The fragments flying in from every direction piled up layer upon layer, encasing On Ijo’s entire body like a prison.
On Ijo used a skill to escape, but the tightly packed debris did not scatter.
If he could not break it through physical means….
[Activating the skill ‘Piros of Extreme Heat,’ Floor 82.]
Smoke began to rise from between the tightly compacted debris, accompanied by a tiny red point of light.
The red point gradually spread, forming a huge hole as though it had been touched by flowing lava.
Before long, On Ijo slowly walked out through the blazing opening, unbothered by the scorching heat.
“Haa…….”
Joo-rim drew in a short breath.
After that, an exchange focused on defense continued between the two.
It was On Ijo’s skill that brought an end to their listless battle, in which neither of them had any intention of attacking.
[Activating the skill ‘Silent Orphe,’ Floor 96.]
An invisible pressure spread out, pressing down on the space around them.
Mana was suppressed in an instant, and the air settled heavily.
The debris flying toward On Ijo dropped feebly to the floor one piece at a time, while Joo-rim, whose mana had been cut off, glared at him in silence.
Mana suppression consumed an enormous amount of the caster’s mana, so it could not be maintained for long.
Furthermore, in terms of physical ability, Joo-rim held the advantage.
On Ijo must have known that as well.
“……”
“……”
A tense silence flowed between the two.
On Ijo looked past Joo-rim.
Gru stood where his gaze fell.
The little girl was hugging herself with both arms and trembling.
On Ijo’s gaze wavered before returning to Joo-rim.
“Joo-rim, don’t get in my way.”
His voice was low and cracked.
“You’re the one who shouldn’t do anything crazy.”
Joo-rim shot back sharply.
On Ijo bit his lower lip.
“……Gru’s watching.”
On Ijo lowered his eyes, unable to bring himself to look again at his frightened daughter.
“That’s why you’re still standing there in one piece. And you’re the one who crossed the line first.”
On Ijo’s hand trembled faintly.
The process that had brought them this far flashed through his mind.
As time passed, cold sweat trickled down On Ijo’s temples. He gave a faint laugh through his throat.
“You’ve grown a lot, Joo-rim.”
In the end, On Ijo withdrew the mana-suppression skill.
“Can’t be helped.”
In that instant, On Ijo’s eyes were dyed coral.
The triquetra symbol flashed brightly, activating the Eye of Gnosis. He intended to stop Joo-rim with it.
The moment On Ijo was about to use his ability, Joo-rim’s eyes suddenly widened.
“No……!”
Startled beyond imagination by what was happening, Joo-rim stretched out his hand.
Just as On Ijo looked at him questioningly and tried to evade him, a small shadow latched onto his arm.
“……What?”
Chomp!
A faint pain spread through him.
On Ijo stared at his arm in shock.
Gru was biting down hard on his arm.
His heart seemed to drop into his stomach.
Where the frightened child had been standing, a white-haired child now stood instead.
‘Was it an illusion?’
While Mephisto was mistaking the white-haired child for Gru, Gru had crept around behind On Ijo with Beilak’s help.
But that was not the problem.
[Due to the title ‘Blessing of Gnosis, the Witch of Truth,’ the ‘Eye of Gnosis’ is being reclaimed.]
[1%, 2%, 10%…… 30%]
‘What is this……?’
The Eye of Gnosis was being absorbed into Gru.
At the same time, a window appeared before his eyes.
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ tells you to drop the child.]
On Ijo knew it too. He knew he had to pull the child away.
But.
He could not bring himself to shake off the little girl who was shedding tears.
Bending at the waist, On Ijo raised his other hand and wiped away Gru’s tears.
[……40%]
The warning sound began to ring more urgently.
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ urges you on.]
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ urges you on.]
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ urges you on.]
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ urges you on.]
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ urges you on.]
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ urges you on.]
.
.
.
[……50%]
He could no longer afford to delay, yet On Ijo gently raised his hand. He wanted to pat the child’s back.
But then—
[The title ‘Fallen Hero’ is taking control of you.]
Suddenly, his vision turned black, and On Ijo’s body straightened abruptly.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Joo-rim shouted at Gru.
“On Gru, get away from him!”
At that moment, On Ijo swung his hand violently.
Gru’s body was thrown mercilessly into the air.
Joo-rim hurled himself toward the flying Gru, caught her in his arms, and landed on the floor. Before his brain could even understand what was happening, his body had reflexively moved to catch the child.
Gru clung tightly to Joo-rim, her face gone pale. The moment he saw her, his breath caught in his throat.
Joo-rim gritted his teeth, his expression fierce. His head spun with rage.
“On Ijo. What the hell are you doing right now……?”
He had not been this angry even when his brother attacked him.
“How could you do this!”
He shouted savagely, as though he might rush at On Ijo that very instant if not for the child in his arms.
On Ijo was covering his left eye.
When he slowly lowered his hand, his left eye had returned to its original black color.
“……How did you reclaim the Eye?”
Creak.
On Ijo’s body moved unnaturally. He twisted his head with a creaking motion, as though moving a body were something he had not done in a very long time.
At the grotesque sight, Joo-rim tensed and took a step back while holding Gru.
This was not his brother.
He knew it instinctively. Something else had taken possession of On Ijo’s body.
On Ijo—or rather, the thing possessing On Ijo’s body—glared at Gru with terrifying eyes.
Joo-rim covered Gru’s eyes and attacked him with telekinesis.
But the other party easily evaded the attack and began to disappear slowly, his form growing hazy.
Joo-rim took one step after another toward the disappearing figure.
“Don’t run away like this.”
“……”
On Ijo turned away without answering.
“On Ijo!”
Joo-rim ran toward him.
But On Ijo’s form turned into smoke and vanished in an instant.
Joo-rim reached out, but his fingertips could not even brush the hem of his clothes. On Ijo had disappeared without a trace, as though he had never existed in the first place.
After On Ijo left, the barrier he had set up was dispelled.
As the powerful mana vanished, the hunters who had been waiting outside poured in.
“Guild Master On?!”
“What on earth happened?!”
Still panting, Joo-rim pulled Gru even tighter into his arms.
Tears flowed endlessly from the little girl’s eyes.
He repeatedly kissed the top of her head.
“It’s okay.”
“Sniff…….”
“Everything will be all right.”
“Waaah…… sniff…….”
“So don’t cry.”
Joo-rim tightened his weary arms around Gru.
A ringing filled his ears. The world felt eerily quiet.
Chick Class Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 354
*
It felt as though far too much time had passed.
Since Jin Siwon had entered the operating room, and Serhi and Gidan had been transferred to the intensive care unit.
The hands of the clock continued to move, but to Gru, it felt as though time had stopped.
The pale hospital walls seemed to press down heavily.
Gru sat in the hospital corridor, quietly staring at the tips of her feet.
The red light above the operating-room door still had not gone out. It had been a long time since Jin Siwon went inside, yet the doctor had still not come out.
On Suhyeong, who had been sitting beside her, had his hands clasped together in silence. His posture was neat, but Gru knew that his fingertips were trembling ever so slightly.
Gru thought back to when Joo-rim had called her grandfather and explained what had happened.
With his face horribly contorted, Joo-rim had forced the words out in a strained voice.
‘My brother caused trouble,’ he had said…….
After listening without interrupting a single time as Joo-rim related the disjointed story, On Suhyeong had rushed straight to the hospital.
Not long afterward, Joo-rim had left to explain the situation to the investigators.
All the hunters had been called away to deal with the aftermath, so only Gru and On Suhyeong were sitting in front of the operating room.
As she stared at the lonely empty seats, Gru suddenly opened her mouth.
“Grandpa.”
“Yes.”
“Is mister gonna be okay?”
“Of course he will. He’s a strong man, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
Nod, nod.
Thank goodness…….
Gru nodded at his words and pulled Yurian into her arms.
Yurian remained quietly in her embrace, as though comforting the child.
Beilak and Mephisto sat on either side of her, repeatedly patting Gru’s legs, while Luxifer rubbed his head against her feet like a cat.
Gru gazed quietly at those comforting her so warmly, then suddenly asked,
“What about Big Uncle?”
“……”
“Is he not coming back to us anymore?”
We were going camping together…….
Gru fidgeted with both hands as her voice trailed off.
She had overheard everything Joo-rim had told On Suhyeong.
That he had grown to hate the world because of what had happened to his mother and his family.
That he intended to test through the Tower whether the values of that world still remained.
Even that he had played the villain all this time for that reason.
“Is it because Gru bit Big Uncle and hurt him? Did he start hating Gru too?”
On Suhyeong took a long time to choose his answer before slowly opening his mouth.
“That couldn’t be…… There is no way.”
“……”
On Suhyeong pulled Gru, who had pressed her lips tightly shut, to his side and embraced her.
“How much Ijo loves you. So don’t think that way, all right?”
In her grandfather’s arms, Gru hugged him around the waist in return.
“But he went away…….”
On Ijo, who had grown to hate the world, had cast Gru aside and vanished like smoke.
The fact left her so sorrowful that her voice trembled as she spoke.
“He abandoned Gru and went away…….”
“No, Gru. It isn’t like that. Ijo…….”
On Suhyeong’s voice cracked.
“Ijo just…….”
Tears welled in On Suhyeong’s eyes as he stumbled over his words.
“I’m sorry, Gru.”
On Suhyeong drew in a breath.
“It’s all this old man’s fault. Everything went wrong because of my greed……. If only I had given up the company, none of this would have happened.”
Gru hugged On Suhyeong even more tightly.
She wanted to tell him it was not his fault, but tears kept spilling out, making it difficult to speak.
At the sight of Gru like that, the white animals did not know what to do.
Yurian stepped down to the floor as he watched them.
He did not want to be swallowed up by this sorrowful atmosphere.
Those sobs and this lonely mood seemed to tickle his mind and stir up memories of the past.
That was when it happened.
As Yurian stood a short distance away, a goldfish floated through the air and flew toward him.
“……?”
Only Yurian noticed it.
The goldfish soon seeped into Yurian’s head.
He was momentarily overcome with dizziness by the message entering his mind.
‘Bring Gru outside the hospital.’
The order had been delivered.
*
Joo-rim opened the door and came out of the interrogation room.
It had taken a long time merely to explain that he had known nothing about what On Ijo had done.
“Ha…….”
After sighing, he thought of Gru, who would be at the hospital.
I wanted to stay by the child’s side……
But Jurim had a responsibility to stop On Ijo.
That was why it was also his duty to command the hunters who had joined forces to search for On Ijo.
On Jurim frowned as he checked the text message from On Suhyeong, confirming that Jin Siwon still had not come out of the operating room.
He could not tell whether the emotion surging up inside him was anger, worry, or guilt.
If only he had listened to Jin Siwon’s warning, things would not have turned out like this.
Jurim drew in a breath.
But this was no time to be consumed by his emotions, regretting what had already happened. If he had made a mess of things, he had to set them right.
He pressed a number he had saved just in case.
“Hello, Daniela. This is On Jurim.”
Daniela, an investigator with Interpol. She was a friend of Chloe Han, and had been searching for news of her.
- Guildmaster On?
Her surprised voice came through the phone.
- I’ve heard the general situation…… Is there something I can help you with?
“I called because there’s something urgent I need to discuss with you regarding this matter. I have a favor to ask.”
*
Yurian hated the distinctive smell of hospitals. He also disliked the sound of little girls crying.
Whenever he noticed it, he was reminded of that cramped room where he had been with Rea.
Yurian was merely a puppy brought home from some shelter, but Rea had been a child who had grown up loved in a warm family.
Yurian did not know how a child like that had ended up in a laboratory like this.
It had obviously been a kidnapping.
That was why Rea must never have grown accustomed to cramped rooms like this.
Besides, being trapped together with a doppelgänger-like existence who looked exactly like her must have been even more horrifying than one could imagine.
Rea had been strong enough to stand in the way whenever the researchers tried to take Yurian away for an experiment, but even she would sometimes collapse.
‘That’s right, sometimes…….’
Sometimes, she would sniffle with a gloomy expression while crying alone.
Just like Gru was doing now.
When they said the operation was taking a long time, Gru set up a small tent in front of the operating room.
It was the same tent they had used when playing camping together in On Ijo’s hospital room.
She had done it after nurses, secretaries, and people from the Awakened Management Bureau began coming and going.
Perhaps she did not want other people to see her crying, because the child quickly crawled inside the tent.
Gru held Yurian tightly and shed silent tears, occasionally sniffing.
Yurian blinked while nestled in Gru’s arms.
The child’s tears kept falling around his eyes, which was a little irritating, but he decided to endure it. This much had always happened in the past……
And that was not the problem right now.
At least, that was what Yurian thought.
His problem now was that he had to take Gru outside the hospital.
It was probably because there were too many watchful eyes in the hospital, and that was why they had told him to bring her outside.
Luring Gru out would not be difficult. If he ran off barking loudly, the child would have no choice but to follow him.
Yurian could take Gru outside right away.
But……
Sniff.
Seeing Gru sniff again, Yurian decided to give her a little more time.
This child seemed to need a little more time to grieve……
That was when it happened.
The neat sound of dress shoes filled the hallway. It was not the footsteps of one person, but several.
Yurian pricked up his ears.
Thinking that the operation might be going well, Gru poked her head out.
The man at the front of the group wore a neat, gentle smile.
“Chairman On, and Miss On Gru. Is that correct?”
On Suhyeong stepped in front of Gru as she wriggled her way out of the tent and said,
“State your affiliation first.”
The man took out his identification and continued in a calm voice.
“Ah, yes. My name is George Lee. I’m from Interpol.”
While On Suhyeong checked his identification, the man continued.
“I’ve been dispatched to protect Miss On Gru. I was instructed to escort her safely to a secure location.”
“Gru?”
“Yes. Guildmaster On has also been informed.”
The man smiled smoothly.
Yurian, who was beside Gru, saw the man’s face and silently bared his teeth.
It was a familiar face.
The Kindergarten Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 355
*
Daniela opened the car door before it had even come to a stop. The door flew open, and ragged breaths poured out.
Her heart pounded rapidly every time her heels struck the ground. She hurried toward the hospital entrance.
‘Gru.’
Daniela anxiously waited for the hospital elevator.
‘Gru…… Chloe’s daughter…….’
What she had heard from On Jurim was shocking.
The child he had adopted was the daughter of On Ijo and Chloe, and she was currently in a state of severe shock, so he had asked Daniela to stay beside her and protect her.
‘Protect her.’
Yes. She had not been able to protect Chloe.
But she could protect Chloe’s child.
She believed she could do that.
At least, she had believed so until she got off the elevator and met the nurse in the VIP ward.
“If you mean Gru, she just left.”
“……Excuse me?”
“Some Interpol agents came earlier and took her away.”
Daniela stared blankly at the nurse. Her startled expression froze in place.
In an instant, all the surrounding noise vanished.
Only a buzzing sound lingered in her ears.
Interpol?
Daniela had absentmindedly been about to contact her superior, but she stopped with her phone in hand and began to think.
If Interpol had intended to protect Gru, there was no way headquarters would not have contacted her.
‘They’re impostors.’
Having reached her conclusion in an instant, Daniela turned around. She could not afford to delay finding Gru even for a second under the pretense of checking.
[“Damn it!”]
Daniela hammered the elevator button and rushed inside, then immediately descended to the first floor.
When she reached the lobby, she looked toward the main entrance.
Men in suits were putting a child into a car parked by the curb.
Platinum hair exactly like Chloe’s.
“Gru!”
Daniela shoved past the people in her way and ran forward.
But the black car carrying the child was already speeding away.
“No! Gru!”
Daniela hurried after it, but the vehicle had already picked up speed and was racing away. It grew farther and farther from view.
Her breath rose all the way to her throat.
Daniela immediately pulled out her phone and dialed On Jurim’s number.
The ringing continued for a long time.
“Pick up, On Jurim! Pick up……!”
Where were they taking her?
Who were those people pretending to be Interpol? Gnosis?
She could not lose Gru like this……
It was then, as she tightly gripped her phone and turned around, that she met a pair of large coral-colored eyes.
She doubted her own eyes.
The platinum-haired child who had just gotten into the car had remained behind instead of leaving.
Beside her stood a pale woman, glaring intently at Daniela.
“Do you know my daddy?”
“Don’t go near her.”
The black-haired woman, thoroughly on guard, pulled Gru into her arms.
“Ah, is she a bad guy?”
Gru was somehow holding a duck clothespin in her hand.
“She’s probably a bad guy.”
When Gru raised the duck clothespin with a fierce expression at the black-haired woman’s words, Daniela hurriedly shouted,
“Ch-Chloe Han!”
“……!”
“I’m your mother’s friend…….”
*
“……I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I didn’t know, and I was so rude…….”
The woman who introduced herself as Chuen repeatedly bowed, her face pale.
“No, it’s all right. Given the circumstances, it was understandable.”
“I’m truly sorry…….”
“More importantly…… could you explain what happened earlier again?”
“Sister Chuen saved Gru from the bad villain!”
Only then did Chuen smile faintly, while Yurian snorted.
He had been relieved that what he feared had not come to pass.
The situation was as follows.
Chuen, who had been controlled by Gnosis’s Eye, realized at some point that the power controlling her had weakened.
Then, when she received the order from On Ijo to bring Gru to him, she pretended to obey and stole Gru away along the way.
“Then the child from earlier was…….”
“This.”
When Chuen raised her hand, the goldfish fluttered and transformed into a fist-sized figure resembling Gru.
‘An Awakened……!’
Daniela’s eyes widened. She had not sensed any magical power at all……!
If Chuen could conceal her magic to this extent, she was undoubtedly of a higher rank than Daniela.
Chuen lowered her eyes and lightly clenched her hand. The goldfish disappeared.
“It should buy us quite a bit of time.”
“I see.”
Daniela answered, and Yurian, lying on the floor, yawned.
“…….”
“…….”
After an awkward silence lingered for a while, Daniela pointed upward.
“Then shall we go upstairs, tell Chairman On, and join up with them?”
Chuen shook her head.
“Too many people must not know where Gru is.”
“What?”
“Because they might be controlled, like I was.”
With that one sentence, Daniela could guess what had happened to Chuen.
Daniela said,
“Then let’s go to the accommodation where I’m staying for now. It’s nearby.”
*
The three of them carefully made their way to Daniela’s accommodation, using blind spots so they would not be caught on CCTV.
“Phew! But why are they after Gru? Do you know anything?”
Perhaps she was thirsty from the tension, because as soon as they arrived, Daniela gulped down some water before asking Chuen.
“I’m not sure……. Maybe they want to keep her close because she’s On Jurim’s daughter.”
At that, Gru shook her head and said dejectedly,
“It’s because Gru bit Big Uncle.”
Daniela and Chuen approached the child to comfort her.
“Gru…… it’s okay.”
“That’s nothing.”
Shake, shake.
Gru shook her head again. Her large coral-colored eyes trembled.
“Gru took it. Big Uncle’s eye.”
“……His eye?”
“Yes…….”
Gru explained how she had gone to the RP dungeon, met a witch who had lost her eye, and later received a blessing from the witch that allowed her to take away eyes with its power.
“Ah, yes, that’s right. His eyes must be the source of his power. That’s why the power controlling me was released, too. Now that I’ve heard the story, I think I understand.”
Chuen said this as she recalled the time her eyes had met On Ijo’s.
Daniela set down her water bottle and asked,
“Ms. Chuen. Then do you know where On Ijo is currently staying? It would be good to send a search party there immediately.”
“The place where I was kept was a subspace. There probably isn’t any ordinary way to get there. Once I came out, the entrance disappeared completely.”
“Then it may be a point where the subspace opens. Tell me where it is for now.”
“Yes……. It was about one stop away from the hospital, but…….”
Daniela opened a map app to determine the exact location, shared the information with the emergency committee, and let out a sigh.
Another uncomfortable silence settled over them.
After thinking for a moment, Chuen began fumbling around inside her clothes and pulled something out.
“Oh.”
Gru, who had been sitting quietly, opened her mouth when she saw the doll.
It was a curse doll made of straw.
Chuen spoke eerily.
“I’ll summon On Ijo’s soul into this…….”
With a screech, she made a gesture of drawing a finger across her throat.
When she said there would be no need to wait if they did this, Daniela let out a shriek and blocked her hand.
“Even so, cursing a child’s biological father is a bit much…….”
“Her biological father?”
On Ijo was Gru’s real father?! So that was why he had been searching for the child.
“I-I was just joking, trying to l-lighten the mood…….”
Chuen hurriedly put the curse doll back inside her clothes when—
“You are the perfect person to resolve this mess.”
A child with black hair, black eyes, and stars embedded in his eyes spoke arrogantly. It was Beilak, who had transformed into human form.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward him.
Whether they did or not, Beilak continued speaking with an arrogant air.
“On Ijo’s soul is currently sealed inside his body. A man named Kavaron has taken over his body.”
Beilak recalled the aura of Kavaron he had sensed last.
“Ppit.”
Mephisto nodded as well, as if he had sensed something similar.
“Kavaron?”
At Gru’s question, Mephisto transformed into the form of a white child and spoke gently.
“Yes. The man you hit with the duck clothespin.”
Remembering the satisfying feel of hitting him, Gru rounded her mouth into an “o.”
“Whoa!”
I had thought it strange that I could see the witch’s eyes I had once seen in that man in Dad as well, but it seemed there was a story behind it.
Geuru looked down at both hands.
Did she have to unseal the duck clip again?
Just as Geuru’s eyes began to gleam fiercely, Daniela, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand.
“Wait a second. So the man who was hit by Geuru’s duck clip—that’s what it’s called, right?—has taken control of Mr. On Ijo’s body? Did I understand that correctly? But why did he take over Mr. On Ijo’s body? Because he was hit by the duck clip? Because he holds a grudge over it?”
Mephisto’s brow furrowed.
“Are you stupid? Obviously, it’s to build the tower. That’s Cabaron’s purpose.”
Beilak nodded and continued explaining.
“He was probably hiding in On Ijo’s consciousness from the hundredth floor of the tower.”
Daniela, who had suddenly been made into an idiot by their explanations, stiffened completely. Chuen opened her mouth as though she finally understood.
“So the man who was on the hundredth floor was Cabaron. And he possessed Mr. On Ijo.”
Beilak let out a deep sigh.
“That’s probably the case. Which means you may be able to resolve this whole mess. You can handle souls, can’t you?”
“……Yes.”
Chuen answered in a small voice, showing a hint of hesitation.
Beilak found that odd, but continued.
“If we pull On Ijo’s soul back out, things should become simple. It seems On Ijo is completely helpless against this one.”
When Beilak’s index finger pointed at him, Geuru opened her mouth in surprise.
“A living person’s soul…….”
Chuen fell into thought for a moment before raising her eyes.
“There are a few conditions. I need to touch the body, or at the very least be somewhere nearby.”
Beilak narrowed his eyes.
“Earlier, you said you would put On Ijo’s soul into that hideous doll…….”
“……I said that was a joke…….”
She had only been trying to lighten the mood.
Chuen mumbled softly, her cheeks turning red as she looked away.
Silence descended once more.
Daniela crossed her arms and drew a deep breath.
“So we’re back where we started…… Are you saying we have to wait until he makes a move……?”
At that, Mephisto, who had somehow come to sit right beside Geuru, asked in bewilderment,
“Are you saying we should wait until he builds the tower? It won’t be easy for the current human race to conquer the tower again.”
Daniela’s and Chuen’s complexions changed at his words.
There was no one who did not know that humanity had only been able to conquer the tower because On Ijo had been at the height of his powers.
But what if the tower appeared again?
It was painfully obvious what would happen to humanity without On Ijo.
“No, that—that won’t do. We’re not saying we’ll wait until then.”
Chuen, pale as a sheet, shook her head, while Daniela let out a low groan.
They were not saying they would wait for the tower to be rebuilt. But it was also true that they had no other way.
Faced with such an insurmountable situation, no one could easily bring themselves to speak.
In an instant, despair rippled through the room.
Amid the silence, Geuru remained in Mephisto’s arms, blinking quietly.
Fluffy clouds began to gather in her mind, forming a lamb and its papa sheep.
The papa sheep had been controlled by a wicked villain and tried to kidnap the baby lamb.
Because the baby lamb had Papa Sheep’s eyes.
Even now, Papa Sheep was probably searching for the baby lamb……
Under the protection of her big sisters, the baby lamb trembled with fear.
If the baby lamb simply stayed hidden like this, she would remain safe, but the evil villain might rebuild the tower.
In that case……
It was just as the baby lamb was about to rise resolutely, duck clip in hand—
- Dashing tomato~
Geuru’s phone began to ring.
“Hello~ Yeah, Dad. Geuru is doing just fine.”
Geuru answered the phone in a relaxed voice.
Jurim’s voice came in brokenly from the phone. He was calling to check whether the child was safe.
- You’re not alone, are you?
“Mm-hmm. I’m with my big sisters.”
- You’re not hurt anywhere?
“Nope.”
- You’re not scared either?
“Nope.”
Geuru answered the few questions about her well-being absentmindedly.
“But, Dad. Geuru was thinking.”
- Yes?
Geuru glanced back at her big sisters once before speaking.
“I think it would be good if Geuru became the bait.”
“What?!”
“Huh?”
Daniela and Chuen’s eyes went round.
- On Geuru, don’t move from there. Wait for me.
It was not long after Geuru’s bombshell declaration that Jurim appeared at Daniela’s lodging.
Seeing Jurim’s menacing entrance, Daniela and Chuen swallowed hard.
“Dad!”
Geuru came toddling over at full speed.
As he caught Geuru in his arms, Jurim asked fiercely,
“What do you mean by that? What on earth have you been telling the child?”
*
“Follow me!”
“Waaah!”
“Kyuu~”
As Geuru skipped along with the duck clip in hand, Mephisto and Lucifer ran after her.
“Haaah…….”
Beilak trudged along at the very back.
A great rush to the right.
A great rush to the left.
The children moved this way and that, following Geuru.
Jurim glanced at them before pressing Daniela and Chuen for answers.
“You’re saying you didn’t put any strange ideas in her head? Look at what she’s doing!”
“That……”
Daniela was at a loss for words. It was unfair.
They had merely listened to an explanation of the situation themselves. Geuru was the one who had suddenly volunteered.
They clearly explained everything to Jurim when he arrived later as well.
On Ijo had had his body stolen by some fellow named Cabaron, and in order to awaken On Ijo’s soul, they first had to meet Cabaron.
They had not told Geuru anything else at all.
Even so, Jurim seemed suspicious that someone else had influenced the child into volunteering.
That was when—
“Don’t bully my big sister!”
Geuru flung the duck clip at Jurim, who was interrogating Daniela.
Snatch.
On Jurim easily caught it with his bare hand.
“Whoa!”
As expected, he was the strongest! Geuru’s eyes sparkled.
Jurim took the duck clip from her and said,
“I told you not to hit people.”
“What about bad guys?”
“Bad guys……”
When Jurim hesitated, Geuru answered for him.
“Then it’s okay~”
“Bad guys are dangerous, so no.”
At Jurim’s firm expression, Geuru puffed out her cheeks.
“Is this because you want to hit him with this again?”
Jurim lightly shook the duck clip and narrowed his eyes.
Thinking she had been in danger, he had hurried out to find her, only to recall the sight of the child smacking Cabaron soundly. It had been so absurd that he still could hardly believe it.
Geuru flinched and shook her head vigorously.
“No. It’s not that……”
“Of course it is……”
“If we just wait and the tower appears…… then we won’t be able to do anything.”
“…….”
If the tower appeared……
Jurim chewed over Geuru’s words and lightly bit his lower lip.
If only he could tell her that there would be no need for her to worry.
He lowered his gaze as he thought of those who had died.
“Geuru can do it. I’ll do a good job.”
At Geuru’s heartfelt voice, Jurim let out a small sigh.
“You don’t have to be the one to step forward. Aren’t you scared?”
“But……”
Geuru clutched tightly at Jurim’s collar as she spoke.
“Big Uncle was attacked by the bad villain and is sleeping.”
“…….”
Geuru held out her hand as if offering a handshake.
“Daddy will go with Geuru and bring Big Uncle back.”
Jurim quietly looked down at the impossibly small hand.
The Kindergarten Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Chapter 357
“…….”
As Jurim stared down at the absurdly tiny hand, he glanced at Beilak and Mephisto standing behind Geuru like guards.
Normally, they were nothing more than troublesome children, but neither of them was the sort to leave Geuru in danger.
Jurim enclosed Geuru’s hand in both of his own. Her small, soft hand fit snugly within his large palm.
It was the hand of a child so tiny and fragile that he had never dared exert any strength, afraid she might get hurt.
Even watching her grip chopsticks with those fern-like fingers made him feel proud and fond of her……
“……Tell me what you want to do.”
At Jurim’s sighing words, Geuru smiled innocently.
A firm, unwavering gaze met his.
*
A redevelopment district surrounded by fencing.
While everything around it had been demolished after Doan acquired the rights to the redevelopment project, the elementary school slated for remodeling remained standing alone.
Sections of the old red-brick building had crumbled away, while the long-abandoned metal railings and playground equipment had rusted into grotesque eyesores.
In the middle of the dark schoolyard, Jurim adjusted Geuru’s clothes.
“Are you really not cold?”
“Nope.”
Nod, nod.
“I’m not cold at all.”
“All right.”
With no other choice, Jurim put the scarf and gloves back into his inventory.
Geuru silently took Jurim’s hand. When she grasped two of his fingers, they filled her small palm completely.
“Aren’t you cold, Daddy?”
“No.”
“Nope.”
After Geuru finished her final check, she turned her gaze away.
“Fer.”
Lucifer, perched on her shoulder, perked up his sprout.
“Open it.”
“Kkyu!”
Before long, frost settled over the schoolyard.
Cold spread outward from Geuru, and thin ice crystals sprouted across the cracked ground.
Snow piled thickly over the earth, and the school grounds transformed in an instant into a white snowfield.
Because of the frozen air, white breath streamed from Jurim’s mouth.
A cold that seeped into the marrow.
Jurim reflexively checked on the child, but just as she had said, Geuru seemed not to feel the biting chill at all.
Jurim slowly exhaled as he gazed over the wondrous snowfield.
‘So this is the snowfield Geuru created…….’
It was his first time seeing Geuru’s snowfield.
He slowly looked over the landscape once more.
While overwhelmed by the child’s ability to manifest an entirely new world, he also felt uneasy deep down.
The child who accepted even this alien world so naturally possessed far too much. More than he could ever bear for her.
“Will he come?”
Jurim stroked the back of Geuru’s tense hand with his thumb.
“He will.”
At his calm answer, Geuru looked encouraged. She pressed her lips tightly together and clenched her hand.
Just then, a strong gust of wind blew.
Beyond the snowfield, something stirred in the depths of the darkness.
Their gazes turned toward the darkness.
They both knew instinctively.
‘He’ had come.
“Run.”
At Jurim’s signal, their clasped hands fell apart.
Geuru began running toward the main school building, leaving tiny footprints in the snow.
Jurim watched the child’s retreating back in silence, then set his jaw.
Golden mana surged around him.
*
Having crossed through subspace, Cabaron landed lightly on the snowfield and stepped into the snow.
Crunch.
After touching down atop the thickly fallen snow, he frowned.
He felt as though the world itself were rejecting him.
Even with Sheier, the Lord of the Frozen Land, residing within his body, the snowfield was rejecting him.
Taken aback, Cabaron lightly bit his lower lip before slowly raising his head.
At the end of the child’s long trail of footprints stood a cold-faced man.
On Jurim.
A steady gaze, tinged with gold, met Cabaron’s.
The two were not far apart, but an invisible barrier seemed to stand between them.
Jurim did not look back even once in the direction Geuru had disappeared.
He merely began to slowly circulate his mana.
Jurim radiated such tension that the slightest movement from Cabaron seemed as though it would cause his entire body to be torn apart.
His attitude was distinctly different from when he had fought On Ijo.
Was it because he was protecting the child? Or because he knew that Cabaron was not On Ijo?
“Jurim, don’t do this. I don’t want to kill you.”
Cabaron spoke while imitating On Ijo’s gentle voice.
Jurim responded by pulling up one corner of his mouth.
“You sound just like a parrot.”
Cabaron’s face stiffened.
“Were you hiding inside my brother’s head and imitating him all this time?”
As expected, On Jurim knew that he was not On Ijo.
Moreover, he seemed to know that Cabaron had been constantly urging On Ijo toward corruption.
Sheier’s mocking laughter spread through his mind.
Damn it! Kabaron desperately suppressed the rampaging Sheyer inside him.
Ever since half of Gnosis’s Eye had been taken from him, it had become difficult to keep Sheyer completely under his control. Perhaps especially excited at the sight of Joo-rim and Gru, Sheyer had grown even more ferocious.
Kabaron clenched his fists.
There was only one way to overcome this situation.
[Activating Skill ‘Walpurgis Night.’]
He had to kill On Joo-rim and take Gnosis’s Eye back from the child.
The moment Kabaron used Sheyer’s skill, the golden light surrounding Joo-rim shone intensely and began to swirl.
Flash!
*
Creak!
Gru ran into the school’s main building and opened the classroom door.
Daniela, who had been waiting inside, clasped Gru’s face in her hands.
“Gru, are you all right?”
Nod, nod!
Gru bobbed her head.
Behind Daniela, who was wearing a trembling smile, Chuen was preparing the ritual.
She had pushed all the desks in the classroom against the walls and was sitting in the empty center.
Soon, countless goldfish appeared around her as she sat cross-legged, beginning to circle around Chuen.
Just as Chuen’s face, slick with cold sweat, was gradually growing pale—
Flash!
Golden magical power erupted in a brilliant burst outside the window.
‘Dad’s magic.’
Sensing that it was Joo-rim’s magic, Gru gripped Daniela’s hand tightly.
While Joo-rim bought them time, Chuen intended to use her skill to awaken On Ijo’s soul.
Just as Gru was struggling to calm her heart—
Pop!
One of the goldfish burst with a sound.
Gru and Daniela stiffened their shoulders in surprise.
But that was only the beginning.
Pop! Pop! Pop-pop! Pop!
The goldfish bursting one after another were visibly dwindling in number.
One, two… then five, ten!
Chuen drew up even more magical power, but the flow had already collapsed.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
She could not stop the goldfish from bursting in rapid succession.
Soon, Chuen, drenched in cold sweat, raised her head.
Her pale face was clouded with distress.
Reading from her expression that things had not gone well, Daniela spoke with a groan.
“Chuen, don’t tell me…”
“I-I’ll try again. Again…”
Chuen pulled up every last bit of magical power she had.
The goldfish began to appear once more, but their numbers could not make up for those disappearing.
Even without her saying so, everyone in the classroom could tell that she lacked the strength.
Once again, light flashed outside the window.
The clash of enormous magical forces was too violent and fierce for anyone to intervene.
To save the dads…
Gru let go of Daniela’s hand. Then, gripping her fork, she tried to run outside at once.
Mephisto quickly seized Gru by the wrist.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Outside…”
“Absolutely not!”
Daniela slammed the door shut and shouted.
Beilak blocked the way as well, speaking firmly.
“There’s nothing the master can do by going out there right now.”
At his cold words, Gru’s large coral-colored eyes crinkled.
“But the dads…”
Flash!
Gru looked again toward the window, from which light was pouring out. At this rate, someone might die.
Ding!
At that moment, a window appeared before Gru’s eyes, as though blocking her path.
[Emergency! A Caregiver Quest has appeared! Would you like to check it?]
The Kindergarten Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 358
[Caregiver Quest: A Dependable Good Daughter!]
[Caregiver ‘Chuen’ lacks strength! With the Filial Piety Skill ‘A Dependable Good Daughter!’, show her the taste of fiery filial devotion!]
‘A Filial Piety Skill?’
Gru opened her status window.
Come to think of it, there had been a new Filial Piety Skill that appeared when she reached five caregivers.
[A Dependable Good Daughter!]
Once during the skill’s casting time, you can lend strength to a caregiver! Through the power of a dependable good daughter, the caregiver’s skill effect is enhanced by 100%!
*
Pop!
Another goldfish burst apart.
Chuen’s brow furrowed, and a thin trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
The plan had failed. No matter how hard she struggled, it was not enough.
Pop! Pop!
Her fingertips trembled, and her chest tightened.
Was this the end?
She no longer had enough magical power to try again.
Chuen squeezed her eyes shut.
It was then, just as even her master Nosa was whispering for her to stop.
Something began to well up inside her empty body.
A faint warmth spread through her. An unfamiliar power seeped in from her fingertips and traveled up her spine.
It was not merely that her heart had begun to beat; it felt as though her entire body had awakened all at once.
“…Haa.”
Feeling her body become considerably lighter, Chuen opened her eyes while catching her breath.
Beside her sat Gru, holding her hand tightly.
It was not simply that her magical power had been replenished. It had begun to transform into a much stronger, clearer force than before.
She did not quite understand what had happened, but one thing was certain: Gru was giving her strength.
“Gru, you’re always amazing.”
I never imagined you could do even this.
Gru beamed at Chuen’s words.
“Heehee.”
Chuen smiled back, kissed Gru’s soft cheek, and closed her eyes again.
As Chuen gathered her strength once more, the number of goldfish increased in an instant.
Golden waves seeped between the goldfish moving clockwise in orderly formation.
Then, the individual forms suspended in the air began to join together, as though melting into one another.
“……!”
Gru, who had been staring blankly at the shining goldfish, opened her mouth.
The goldfish merged into one and twisted their bodies.
Then, at last—
Boom!
A golden explosion erupted.
As intense light spread in every direction, the countless goldfish remained behind as a single form.
It was shaped like a goldfish glowing with golden light, but the energy pulsing within it was explosively powerful.
Chuen slowly opened her eyes.
“Did it work?”
Just as Chuen was about to answer Daniela’s question—
The golden goldfish flew straight toward Gru and rubbed against her cheek. Its long tail brushed the corner of Gru’s eye.
Gru let out a small laugh, as though tickled.
“Is this Mr. On Ijo?”
When Daniela asked again, Chuen shook her head with an awkward expression.
“No, it isn’t. It’s another being.”
“Another being?”
“Yes… But it’s telling Gru to follow it…”
Gru lifted her face, her ears perking up.
“Gru?”
The goldfish, which had been rubbing its cheek against Gru’s like a puppy for quite some time, nodded.
“Why is it calling Gru?”
Daniela asked somewhat sharply, wariness in her voice.
But Chuen could sense the gentle aura emanating from the goldfish. She was certain this being would not harm Gru.
“It says it will take Gru to Mr. On Ijo’s soul.”
“What can we trust about that thing…”
“That’s right.”
Following Daniela, Beilak spoke up. He meant that they could not send Gru off with something they did not even know.
Then Mephisto, who had been quietly watching the goldfish, stepped forward.
“No. It won’t hurt her.”
“What? How do you know?”
At Beilak’s question, Mephisto spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of sadness.
“That won’t hurt Gru. It’s okay for her to go with it.”
Daniela was about to ask how he could possibly know that, but Gru nodded first.
She could feel the aura emanating from the goldfish, too.
Her heart was pounding, and she felt warm.
Instinctively, she understood what this being was.
When Gru agreed, a bluish aura began to swirl around the goldfish.
But then—
“It’s coming.”
“We have to get out of the way.”
Beilak and Mephisto spoke at the same time as they looked upward.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Crunch!
A tremendous force pierced through the classroom ceiling and crushed the floor.
The unknown force bored straight through the entire building, floor after floor.
The ceiling had been blown open all the way to the rooftop, revealing the dark night sky.
Everyone in the classroom, including Gru, looked up.
Countless eyes were looking down at them from the rooftop. They were members of Gnosis.
“I figured they wouldn’t just leave us alone.”
Daniela immediately drew her pistol.
Chuen, who had dodged to the side while holding Gru, brushed the dust from Gru’s clothes.
“I’ll go first.”
Beilak deflected all the attacks flying down at them, then stepped onto the upper floor and leaped up to the rooftop first.
“It’s safe here, so—”
Following Beilak, Mephisto turned back toward Gru and continued.
“—go.”
Nod.
“Okay.”
Gru nodded and tightly hugged the goldfish before her.
Fwoosh!
A bluish aura soon enveloped Gru.
*
After creating Gnosis,
On Ijo often sought out the sea.
Out of habit, he would sit on the sandy beach, scoop up the damp sand, and carefully shape it.
He soothed the grains as they scattered, gently pressing and smoothing them so they would not crumble.
The task he had repeated countless times had naturally become ingrained in his body.
Once, people had said that On Ijo had received all the love of God.
‘Imago Dei.’
The power of God, which could replicate everything in the world, just as God shaped humanity in His own image.
Thin arms, legs, and a torso.
As he refined the contours with his fingertips, On Ijo slowly blinked.
Within the soft sand, the shape of a face gradually began to emerge.
“Chloe.”
Reciting the name he missed, On Ijo activated his skill.
“Chloe, come back.”
But—
He felt nothing.
“…Please.”
Once more.
And once more.
He tried again and again, countless times, but the skill window did not appear.
“Please come back…”
Once, it had been as easy as twitching a finger.
Now, he could feel nothing.
The power of God that had once felt like a part of him had been left on the hundredth floor, leaving him unable to revive the person he loved.
What had I sacrificed, and for what?
The woman sculpted from sand was soon swept away by the waves. As always.
Having lost his power, On Ijo failed dozens, then hundreds of times.
Left alone behind the washed-away sand, On Ijo stared down at his hands, covered in tiny grains.
He drew in a trembling breath.
A hazy despair filled his lungs.
His body grew cold and rigid, as though bound within an empty space.
In an instant, the world before his eyes turned black.
“—!”
He screamed soundlessly.
Deep regret.
Raging fury.
Sticky, clinging despair.
He could not breathe.
His brain grew searingly hot, then repeatedly cooled to ice.
His thoughts ran wild in utter disarray.
He wanted to swallow everything whole, and he wanted to crush and destroy everything.
It was at that moment.
“On Ijo.”
“…?”
A woman’s voice, like an auditory hallucination, rang in his ears.
He slowly raised his head.
“On Ijo.”
The voice called his name once again.
Following the sound, On Ijo shifted his gaze and blinked blankly at the sight before him.
His breath caught. His heart pounded as though it would burst.
On the sandy beach, a woman stood holding the hand of a small child.
Chloe brushed her windblown platinum hair behind her ear.
Her eyes, gleaming with the sea’s shimmering light, turned toward him.
As though unable to believe it, yet desperately wanting to, On Ijo forced his lips apart.
“…Chloe?”
Chloe curved her eyes gently and smiled.
“That’s right. You fucking bastard, On Ijo.”
The Kindergarten Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 359
For a moment, he could think of nothing. It felt as though his heart had stopped.
In that instant, his body reacted before his mind. Like instinct, he took one step, then another, forward.
The person he had thought he would never see again.
The person whose name he could no longer remember how long he had spent calling.
He reached out toward Chloe.
But—
Thud!
A powerful impact struck him in the abdomen.
Chloe had kicked On Ijo in the stomach as he approached her.
Startled, Gru covered her mouth with both hands.
“Gasp!”
Yet even after taking the blow to the stomach, On Ijo paid it no mind and pulled Chloe tightly into his arms.
Furious, Chloe struggled desperately to break free.
“Let go of me! Have you completely lost your mind?”
But the man’s arms only tightened further, as though he could not release her.
Chloe pounded his back with her fists.
“How dare you even think of doing something so fucking insane?”
On Ijo pressed his lips tightly together.
Chloe asked in a trembling voice,
“You’re going to rebuild the tower?”
A tremor ran through the arms encircling Chloe.
“It’s the world you saved.”
At those words, his fingertips began to tremble faintly.
“…I regretted it. Every day, every moment.”
His low voice scattered like the wind.
Chloe stopped short.
The waves receded, dragging away the sand that had formed Chloe.
On Ijo drew a ragged breath and held her even tighter.
“I regretted not doing it.”
Plop, drip. Chloe’s shoulders grew damp.
She knew where On Ijo’s regret had come from.
Her death, and the despair of her family.
Countless tragedies must have caused him to sink into darkness.
The strength drained from the fist she had been about to use to strike On Ijo.
“…Haa.”
His harsh breathing began to settle.
The anger that had surged to the crown of her head faded, and in its place came a wave of pity.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Chloe spoke quietly.
“You saved everyone.”
“……”
“Someone should have said that to you when you came back.”
On Ijo bit his lower lip and slightly loosened the arms around Chloe.
Burying his face in her shoulder, On Ijo spoke in a whimpering voice.
“You said we’d go to the sea when I came back…”
“Sorry. I had a lot of work too, remember?”
“I wanted you to appear in my dreams, at least.”
“I wanted to, but my work never seemed to end…”
Chloe gently pushed On Ijo away, lowered her arms, and wrapped them around Gru’s back.
Ahem. She gave a light cough, as if embarrassed, then began to speak.
“I’m sorry I hid so much from you. But instead…”
Chloe smiled lightly and looked at Gru.
“I gave birth to such a pretty child, so forgive me.”
At the same time, On Ijo and Gru’s eyes met.
Gru flinched, then timidly pressed herself against Chloe’s leg.
The sight of the child avoiding him made On Ijo’s face crumble.
“…Our princess.”
He spoke in a trembling voice.
“Daddy’s sorry. For everything…”
His consciousness had fallen asleep and he had not been in his right mind, but he should never have been left that way.
In the end, he had become a danger to Gru.
“Did it hurt?”
Gru cautiously poked her head out from behind Chloe’s leg.
“No.”
Her little head shook from side to side.
“Big Brother didn’t do it, so it’s okay.”
On Ijo carefully lifted Gru into his arms.
Her tiny hands hesitantly wrapped around his neck.
A happiness that felt as though it were melting him welled up to his throat.
“She’s our child. I’ll leave her in your care now. So…”
Chloe looked straight into On Ijo’s eyes.
“Stop thinking foolish thoughts. You have a duty to raise our child well.”
“Cici…”
“Mr. On Ijo. The world is, by nature, filled with things that disappoint you.”
Chloe’s eyes grew distant, as though recalling a wistful past.
“A young master like you may not understand, but there are times when your hopes collapse every day, and everything you reach for turns out to be a dud one after another. Just when you think things have gotten a little better, they come crashing down as though they never were. The longer you live, the more the world seems like the sum total of everything unfair and unreasonable. In truth, that’s how my world has always been. Unfortunate, unhappy, wretched, and anything but smooth.”
As Chloe spoke pessimistically with an eerie smile, On Ijo called out to her in a flustered voice.
“C-Cici?”
“And yet.”
She raised her head.
“Despite all that, you taught me that there will always be something in this world worth placing my hopes in and loving.”
She gazed steadily at On Ijo.
On Ijo’s eyes widened, and he blinked once. He looked like someone who had no idea when he had ever done such a thing.
What an idiot.
Chloe gave a small laugh and said,
“I love you, On Ijo.”
With that sudden confession, Chloe hugged Gru and On Ijo tightly.
“The world was stupid, unreasonable, and wretched, but it let me meet the two of you. So don’t hate it too much, either.”
Chloe kissed Gru’s hand and On Ijo’s cheek.
Finally, she looked deeply into On Ijo’s eyes and whispered,
“Even if you think the world isn’t worth it, don’t take away the place where our love can stand.”
On Ijo gazed at her in silence. It felt as though something inside his chest were quietly collapsing.
As though he had been released from the shackles that had bound him for so long. He stood there dazed, as if someone had poured cold water over him.
Then, very slowly, his stiff lips moved.
“I…”
A tear dropped from On Ijo’s left eye.
“It feels like I can’t escape this endless nightmare.”
His life had been like endlessly running through that rainy day while embracing the dead Chloe. As if time had stopped at that moment.
Chloe wiped away his tear with her thumb.
“That’s only a part of a life that has already passed.”
She took On Ijo’s empty hand and guided it around Gru.
“The nightmare is over. Look at the reality before you.”
On Ijo stared blankly at Gru.
The child embraced his shoulders as he wept ceaselessly.
Only then did On Ijo fully accept the reality before his eyes.
The sea began to collapse.
*
Amid the swirling currents of mana, a golden light flashed once more.
Kavaron had not let his guard down for even a moment while fighting On Jurim.
Even if he could not freely wield Sheier’s power, the fact that she could stand against him so fiercely was astonishing.
It was just then, as Kavaron clicked his tongue and deflected Jurim’s power.
Kavaron’s pupils trembled faintly.
It was different from the sensation of the battlefield shaking.
He drew a deep breath and became certain.
‘On Ijo is waking up.’
Kavaron’s mouth hardened.
An eerie sense of incongruity ran down his spine.
Bang!
Sensing danger, he widened the distance between himself and Jurim. The spot where he had been standing was deeply cratered.
It was when Kavaron confirmed this.
Title: ……Fallen Hero
“……”
The title before his eyes was disappearing.
A chill crawled beneath his skin.
The title he had personally carved into the Hero through the tragedy of the Hero was vanishing, one by one.
This proved that On Ijo was breaking free of his restraints.
‘No! It can’t…!’
Kavaron’s composure vanished. His gaze grew feral. Mana surged from him as though exploding outward.
At the force that seemed to be burning through his very life force, Jurim raised her brows in tension.
Kavaron clenched his fists.
It did not matter if the previous brand disappeared.
He only had to bring another tragedy upon On Ijo.
By killing On Jurim, he would once again bring about his corruption.
Soon, frost began to settle around Kavaron. He was rearranging Gru’s snowfield into his own.
Though Kavaron felt his soul melting away, he watched Jurim’s flustered expression and lifted one corner of his lips.
Jurim glanced down in surprise at the snowfall that seemed to be binding his ankles.
Gru’s snowfield, which had made his body light, had been dyed with Kavaron’s power, slowing Jurim’s movements. The frozen ground now bound his ankles.
Meanwhile, amid the swirling snow, Kavaron’s presence grew increasingly vicious.
“……!”
It was when Jurim sensed the danger.
Creak, creak, creak, creak—
A familiar sound rang out.
The sound of hinges meshing with the movement of wheels.
The Chick Class Hunter Is Doing His Filial Duty! — Episode 360
Creak, creak, creak, creak—
Kavaron stood rigid, staring ahead.
Scraping over the snowfield, a tiny tricycle was approaching.
And it was wearing a conspicuous hot-pink teddy-bear outfit.
Gru, dressed in the oversized bear costume, gripped the handlebars tightly and pedaled forward with vigor, one foot at a time.
The only thing clinging to Gru’s shoulder was a snow rabbit with a sprout growing from its head.
Scrape, scrape.
The sound of the small wheels crushing the snow rang out clearly across the silent grounds.
It was an utterly incongruous sight.
A blizzard raged fiercely, the air was cold enough to cut flesh, and the entire world seemed so precarious that it might collapse at any moment.
And yet.
‘How can she approach?’
Kavaron could not hide his bewilderment at the large teddy bear cheerfully treading through the snow.
The snowfield should now be under his control.
Even On Jurim, of all people, could not move an inch.
Therefore, that tricycle should not have been able to advance, either.
But rather than binding the tricycle’s wheels, the snowfield even seemed to be welcoming the child.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Creak, creak, creak—
Gru’s lively pedaling did not stop once as she reached the center of the grounds.
‘In that case…’
Kavaron immediately concentrated his mana and attempted to intervene directly.
However—
‘My body…’
He tried to move his arm—
‘It won’t move…!’
A seething, alien resistance blocked his mana.
‘Damn it!’
He could not overcome the rejection rising within his own body.
Strong wills could be felt from Sheier and On Ijo.
An absolute warning, declaring that they would not let him off if he touched this child, pressed down on him as though from deep within his body.
‘Damn it! Damn it!’
While Kavaron was forced to stand still, the teddy bear stopped the tricycle, huffed clouds of breath through its nose, and ran toward Jurim.
Before Jurim, who had been rendered speechless by the entire spectacle, Gru spread both arms wide.
— Daddy, I have come to save you!
The bear’s arched brows twitched as it shouted in a distorted, gruff voice.
Jurim, however, wore a complicated expression in which perplexity seemed to outweigh relief.
“…You came alone?”
He had clearly assumed Mephisto and Beilak would protect the child, so why had she come all the way here alone?
Perhaps unaware of his concern, the child answered innocently.
— I came with Fer!
Luxifer, who had been clinging to Gru’s shoulder, lifted his head high and proudly raised his sprout.
Jurim glanced at Luxifer and said with a sigh,
“He’s no help.”
— Gasp!
“Kyut!” (Gasp!)
Gru and Luxifer simultaneously covered their mouths with both hands, stunned.
How could he say something so cruel?
Entirely unbothered, Jurim turned his gaze behind Gru and asked,
“What about Mephisto and Beilak?”
Tears plopped down from Luxifer’s trembling eyes, quivering with humiliation.
— Mmm, over there…
Gru patted Luxifer’s head, then pointed toward the main school building with a bear paw.
At the same time—
Kuwaaaang!
A corner of the main building collapsed, apparently because the fierce battle had truly begun in earnest.
Dazzling skills flew back and forth atop the roof.
Bang!
Kwang!
— Oh…
Gru’s mouth fell open at the scene straight out of an action movie.
Jurim lightly batted away the flying debris. Then he quickly moved Gru behind him and shielded her.
Seeing that, he thought the grounds would probably be safer for Gru after all.
‘Though something seems wrong over there, too.’
Jurim stared at the rigid Kavaron.
He himself was bound, but Kavaron appeared to be bound as well.
Following Jurim’s gaze, Gru saw On Ijo and stiffened her shoulders.
Inside On Ijo’s mental world, where he had gone with his mother, On Ijo had pushed Gru over the collapsing sea.
And when she came to her senses, Gru found herself sitting alone inside an empty classroom.
Then Jurim asked,
“Was the operation a success?”
Nod, nod.
Gru bobbed her head uncertainly.
— …Probably?
“What do you mean, ‘probably’…”
— Hmm. “Probably” means, “I think that’s how it is?”
That was not what he was asking. Jurim pressed a hand to his forehead.
The operation had succeeded, so On Ijo’s consciousness should have taken control of his body, but that did not seem to have happened, leaving him bewildered.
Had he stopped attacking because of that, then? Jurim looked down at his feet.
But the snowfield had not yet returned to Gru’s domain.
Jurim’s gaze shifted back to Kavaron.
Were Kavaron’s consciousness and On Ijo’s consciousness fighting?
‘At this rate…’
Did he have no choice but to wait until On Ijo’s consciousness subdued Kavaron?
But what if On Ijo failed?
Kavaron gritted his teeth as he tried to move his body.
The eye bearing the triquetra trembled, and his mana wavered dangerously.
‘Gru could be put in danger.’
Jurim was about to move his feet, a look of impatience on his face, when—
A golden goldfish popped out from within Gru’s chest.
The golden goldfish hovered in the air before him and said something.
- Hm?
As Gru stood there, utterly confused, the goldfish tapped his chest with its mouth.
Then, at the very end, it gently stroked Rukshifer’s cheek with its tail.
Ah! Only then did Gru nod as if he finally understood.
- Hmm! I’ll show Dad. I’ll show him that ‘we’ can help.
“Kyut!”
At the same time as Rukshifer hopped down, Gru took off the cracked photo-card necklace and tossed it away.
A photo card of young Jurim, whose eyes shone with a cheery gleam, dropped onto the snowy plain.
Gru had been wearing it around his neck to control his skills, which activated whenever they pleased. He had repaired the card after it broke some time ago and was using it again.
A control device stabilized skills, but made it impossible to use all the mana within one’s body. In effect, the photo card had sealed away part of Gru’s mana.
Thus, the instant Gru removed the photo card, his mana began to leap about wildly like a frisky colt.
- Whoa…?
Gru’s eyes went round at the sudden flood of power.
Flit! The goldfish leaped back into Gru’s chest.
His mana grew even denser, spilling out beyond his control.
- Eek!
Gru drew in a sharp breath.
“Gru?”
Startled by the mana that suddenly burst from Gru as though exploding, Jurim drew up his own mana.
He intended to use his mana to calm Gru’s.
But Gru acted before he could.
Gru raised his teddy-bear paw high.
- Open, Yorang!
“Kkyut!”
The white rabbit trembled violently, its sprout standing straight up.
Jurim held his breath, tense.
For a moment, everything seemed to hold its breath.
Even time itself appeared to freeze.
As though he had realized what was about to happen, Kabaron, whose body was bound, twisted his face.
He shouted desperately.
“No!”
It happened then.
Vrrrrm—!
A heavy sound reverberated across the schoolyard.
A wave burst outward in a circle from the small body.
The circle centered on Gru created ripples, like a pebble dropped onto still water, and those ripples swiftly spread across the entire space.
Wherever the waves passed, frost settled in their wake.
White, as though it had never once melted, and cold enough to imprison everything.
The air froze white.
Then Gru’s mana began to seep into the snowfield.
The biting cold made it difficult for Kabaron even to breathe, and he panted heavily.
Gru, on the other hand, exhaled deeply as if he had come to an open, spacious place.
- Haaah…
The white snowfield had once again become his domain.
Having reclaimed his domain, Gru turned his gaze toward Kabaron.
Now, Gru knew exactly what he had to do.
A hint his mother had given him when she leaped into his chest just moments ago flashed through his mind.
Gru opened the quest window.
[Quest: Imitation Play!]
[An activity in which a child observes and imitates a guardian’s behavior to learn is called ‘imitation play.’ This time, let’s play at imitating the power of caregiver ‘On Ijo’!]
The Kindergarten Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 361
When Gru raised his teddy-bear paw, the snowflakes rose into the air all at once, as if they were alive.
The snowflakes swirled and rushed together, and before long, a white blizzard whipped about like a raging wave.
Jurim narrowed his brow and stared quietly at the sight, then raised an arm to shield himself from the powerful wind.
At the edge of the view beyond his arm, the snow across the plain was gathering into a single point.
[Activating skill ‘Pull Them Right Out.’]
[Activating skill ‘Mold and Shape.’]
A tremendous force began to move.
The world fell silent for a moment, as though holding its breath, and then the air began to tremble faintly.
Resisting the crushing pressure, Jurim tried to approach Gru, but suddenly faltered and stopped.
The wind had finally blown Gru’s teddy-bear hood off, and a vivid Gnosis symbol was engraved in the exposed eye.
The child’s gaze was directed at Kabaron, who wore On Ijo’s hood.
He was sweating coldly and struggling desperately to break free of the restraints.
‘Is he trying to forcibly pull Kabaron out?’
Jurim could not know exactly how completely Kabaron’s soul had merged with On Ijo’s.
But… Gru as he was now might be able to do it.
The child’s platinum-blond hair fluttered softly in the raging gale.
The blizzard had grown even larger, as though it would swallow the school whole.
Jurim looked up at the sky.
At Gru’s command, the snowfield seemed to be gathering at a single point and taking on some form.
And for some reason, Jurim felt that he had seen this before.
The shape of a power he had once experienced.
That was not the only strange thing.
It was strange that Gru was trying to manifest Kabaron in such a massive form.
Was it because Kabaron’s resistance required greater force? Or because the bond between their souls was so strong that separating them was difficult? Or perhaps…
It was then that Jurim began to wonder.
Something huge opened its eyes with a flash amid the violent blizzard.
When golden pupils filled his vision, Jurim instinctively swallowed and widened his eyes.
A foot bearing sharp claws stepped onto the ground through the snowstorm.
Boom!
Frost-like scales gleamed coldly on a leg as thick as the trunk of an ancient tree.
Boom!
Then, the moment it thrust its face out of the blizzard—
- Grrrr…
A massive dragon emerged, exhaling white breath like icy needles.
Seeing the majesty of the pure-white dragon, Jurim muttered as if dazed.
“Sheyer?”
During their assault on the tower, they had been forced to seal Sheyer on the ninety-ninth floor.
In the end, Sheyer’s soul took up residence in Jurim’s left hand, while Sheyer’s original body, now emptied of its soul, crumbled into dust and vanished.
That was how they conquered the ninety-ninth floor.
And now, On Gru had once again perfectly recreated Sheyer’s body, as though returning it to him.
“Whoa…!”
Gru let out an exclamation of awe as he gazed at the Sheyer he had created.
‘A dinosaur!’
The child’s eyes sparkled.
He had only used his skill with the intention of returning Sheyer’s body to him, but the snowfield had created something incredible.
Having manifested Sheyer, a being so powerful that it would not be an exaggeration to call him the strongest dragon in the world, Gru excitedly shouted,
“Go! Save Big Uncle!”
Gru pointed at Kabaron.
Kabaron looked upward, his exhausted body trembling faintly.
The shadow of the colossal dragon hanging over his head pressed down upon him.
Suffocating pressure flowed from Sheyer, who had regained his body.
‘I need to use the Eye of Gnosis…’
Kabaron hurriedly tried to use the half-formed Eye of Gnosis. But half of an eye was insufficient to cloud the mind of Sheyer, who had regained his body.
“……Hngh!”
Kabaron’s frightened eyes shook uncontrollably.
Then Sheyer opened his mouth.
- What is born from the cradle shall return to the cradle.
Having said that, Sheyer lowered his face toward Gru.
“……?”
He lightly tapped Gru with his nose.
Roll, roll!
Gru flipped onto his back and rolled across the snowfield.
“Mm?”
Why is he suddenly attacking me?
It had only been a light tap, hardly an attack, but Gru thought of it that way as he got back up.
Sheyer quietly waited for Gru to stand, then cautiously lowered his face when Gru toddled toward him.
Only then did Gru understand the signal he was sending and wrapped his arms around Sheyer’s nose.
Soon, his memories flowed into Gru.
The method of making snow fall over the snowfield seeped into Gru’s mind.
“Frost Grave?”
At Gru’s words, Kabaron’s complexion instantly turned deathly white.
“N-No, don’t! Anything but that…!”
But at the same time as Gru’s wish, white snow began to fall.
If a cradle was a place where life came into being,
then a grave was where the life it had brought forth met its end.
A frost grave that extinguished even the soul of the life born from the cradle.
Kabaron’s soul, the life born from the cradle by Sheyer, slowly began to melt beneath the snow piling up around him.
“No…”
Kabaron murmured in a trembling voice.
Snowflakes slowly settled upon his body.
The moment they touched him, they burrowed into his existence, freezing the gaps between his soul.
Kabaron covered his face with trembling hands.
“No… No, I said!”
His entire body was freezing.
He could no longer draw breath.
Just as he desperately tried to use the half-formed Eye of Gnosis once more,
he saw Gru approaching him from the front, already wearing his bear hood.
“……!”
Gru opened his mouth wide.
Chomp!
The Half-Made Bear bit down on him as though taking a large bite.
Kabaron tried to throw the child away, but—
‘I can’t move…’
He had already lost control of his body.
Before long, the Eye of Gnosis was completely sucked into Gru.
Kabaron closed his eyes emptily.
Everything had been pulled out. Sheyer’s power, the Eye of Gnosis, his own soul. Everything.
All at the hands of this little child.
Perhaps even if he rebuilt the tower, it would be conquered once again.
Because this child existed in the world.
“……”
A short while later, On Ijo blinked.
The first thing he felt was a chill that seeped into his very bones.
He hunched his shoulders and blinked twice more.
A white snowfield stretched out before him, and a pure-white dragon and Jurim stood there.
“Hyung?”
“On Jurim, your instincts really are frighteningly sharp.”
After smiling faintly at Jurim, On Ijo tightly embraced the child biting his arm.
Thud.
The child collapsed limply into his arms.
After adjusting his hold on the child, On Ijo removed Gru’s teddy-bear hood.
The child mumbled softly.
“……Dad?”
“Yes, princess. It’s Dad.”
Gru’s small, white cheeks puffed up brightly.
“I did it…!”
After saying that, the child quickly fell asleep in his arms. He had used far too much strength.
Once the master of the snowfield fell asleep, the snow that had continued to fall also began to subside.
*
Mephisto sat on the edge of the rooftop of the ruined school’s main building and gazed at the sky.
The snow that had melted Kabaron’s soul felt nothing but warm and gentle to him.
He stared at the fragments of Kabaron’s soul scattering among the snowflakes and asked,
“Why were you so obsessed with the tower?”
“I told you that bastard was insane to begin with.”
It was Beilak.
Beilak approached from behind and dropped down beside him.
“He lost sight of the essence and became obsessed only with the means. That’s the trap fellows like him invariably fall into.”
“……”
Mephisto pressed his lips tightly together.
‘Big Brother, was I merely a means to you as well?’
He swallowed the question he wanted to ask.
It was pathetic, the way he still yearned to know whether his affection had been genuine, even at a moment like this.
As though he somehow knew Mephisto’s silent question, Beilak spoke decisively.
“Don’t think too deeply about it. Those who have left are simply those who have left.”
“……Yeah.”
Those who had left were those who had left.
And those who remained were…
Just as Mephisto was about to look toward the massive dragon, the sound of footsteps running below the main building suddenly rang out.
But hadn’t they dealt with all of Gnosis?
Mephisto and Beilak looked down.
“Yurian?”
“A mount?”
Yurian, running toward somewhere, was unmistakably in human form rather than that of a puppy.
The Kindergarten Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 362
*
Yurian ran and ran, ignoring the images burrowing into his mind.
Images of a lofty tower and the tower’s master were continuously being inserted into Yurian’s mind like subliminal messages—messages that influenced him unconsciously.
Kabaron had crumbled and melted into the snow, but with the last of his strength, he had tried to persuade Yurian.
Messages promising power beyond humanity.
Kabaron urging him to take his hand.
But—
“Shut up!”
Yurian increased his speed.
“That’s not important right now!”
Yurian gritted his teeth.
Could it have been the influence of the snowfield Gru had opened?
While being struck by the fierce blizzard at the school’s main building, Yurian realized that his body had somehow returned to human form.
‘At last… I’m back!’
His delight lasted only a moment.
Yurian had to confront an existential terror even more profound than the annihilation of Gnosis.
The fear that if he stayed with those vicious bastards, he might turn back into a puppy.
The moment Yurian realized this, he started running. Come hell or high water, he had to get away from this place.
But then, for some reason, a chilling shiver ran down from above his head.
‘What?’
Shuddering, Yurian rolled his eyes around.
As if to prove it was no mere illusion, Beilak’s voice rang out from the rooftop.
“Where are you going! Mount!”
“Mount? That lunatic hamster……!”
Yurian trembled as he shook his fist at Beilak, then shook his head and began running again.
In truth, even if they couldn’t communicate, Yurian already knew all too well that those mad beasts thought of him as a mount.
‘Just run!’
That was why he was running so desperately, and continuing to run.
‘If they catch me, I’m screwed!’
He couldn’t turn back into a puppy!
Gnosis, the Tower—none of that mattered. Only that one thought filled Yurian’s mind.
“I asked where you’re going!”
At that moment, Beilak leaped lightly from the rooftop and began running after Yurian.
“Don’t follow me!”
“Stop right there!”
Mephisto, who had been watching in confusion, seemed to find the sight of them chasing each other like a slave and a bounty hunter amusing, and began following after them as well.
“Why are you following me, you mad beasts!”
“Mount!”
“Aaaaaah!”
Beilak and Mephisto quickly pursued Yurian as he fled.
By the time Yurian ran away in disgust, the message Kabaron had sent him had already been thoroughly scrubbed from his mind.
*
Watching the two chase after Yurian, Jurim suddenly turned his head when he felt something crawling up his shoulder.
- This isn’t as unsightly as Beilak, is it?
It was Sheire.
Now a pure-white lizard, he sat on Jurim’s shoulder and stared at one spot. At the end of his gaze was Gru.
Jurim also looked down at Gru, who was sleeping peacefully beside him.
There seemed to be nothing wrong with Gru, who had fallen asleep in On Ijo’s arms.
Her plump cheeks were flushed a pale red, but it seemed to be the lingering excitement from how thrilled she had been moments ago.
After confirming that Gru was safe and sound, Jurim turned his head toward On Ijo.
“What are you planning to do now?”
Kabaron’s soul had been extinguished and disappeared.
But—
Jurim stared at On Ijo as if he could see straight through him.
He wondered if some remnant of the past might still remain in On Ijo’s heart.
If so, then Jurim’s course of action was already decided. He would stop On Ijo, even if he had to do it by force.
It was just as Jurim steeled himself, quietly tense—
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
Bright lights shone down on them amid the sound of propellers.
It was a helicopter belonging to the Special Investigation Team, which had arrived after belatedly receiving Daniella’s call for support.
“Over here!”
Daniella waved both arms as she emerged from outside the school’s main building.
Chuen followed behind her, dusting off his dirt-covered body with a few brisk pats.
Then, upon seeing the emblem on the helicopter, he widened his eyes in apparent surprise.
“Chuen?”
Daniella called out to him with a puzzled expression, but Chuen quietly slipped into the shadows.
“Where are you going, Chuen!”
Daniella tried to chase after him, but Chuen had already vanished.
“Huh?”
As Daniella stood there bewildered, Jurim sighed and said,
“Don’t chase him.”
“Pardon?”
“He’s always been a bit of a cockroach.”
Daniella’s mouth fell open.
“That’s a little harsh…….”
Whether she thought so or not, Jurim simply shrugged.
Perhaps she had given up on Chuen, because Daniella nodded before shifting her gaze to On Ijo.
When On Ijo flashed her a grin, Daniella grew slightly wary and whispered to Jurim,
“It…… really ended well, right?”
“Probably.”
“……?!”
Probably?! Then they had to take the child with them!
As Jurim gave such an insincere reply, Daniella was just mouthing that he should hurry and take Gru when—
“You keep her.”
On Ijo suddenly held Gru out toward Jurim.
Jurim carefully embraced the child as she nestled into his arms, then met On Ijo’s gaze.
“What are you going to do?”
“I have to become a father who can face Gru without shame now.”
On Ijo smiled faintly.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
The Special Investigation Team’s helicopter was landing beside them.
On Ijo stood with his back to them and raised both arms in surrender.
It was time to clean up the mess he had made.
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Doing Filial Piety! Episode 363
*
Grace period: To postpone the date or time for carrying out a task, or the period of such postponement.
Gru let out a deep sigh after looking up the meaning of “grace period” on her phone.
The reason she had gone out of her way to look up the word was none other than her big uncle.
She had heard that, because Big Uncle was the leader of Gnosis, he had to pay for his crimes.
That this was the grace period before he received his punishment.
She had also overheard talk about how they needed to build a special prison because On Ijo was classified as an ultra-high-risk individual.
The rest was too difficult, so she hadn’t understood most of it.
“Gru-chan, are you not having fun making pottery anymore?”
While Gru was lost in thought, Kazuki asked from the center of the guildmaster’s office, where he had spread out a newspaper and was playing with clay.
“Mm? Nooo.”
Pat, pat. Gru resumed molding the clay, then suddenly stared straight at Kazuki.
“Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Masuh.”
“Why?”
“Gru has one more thing to learn from Masuh.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Because…….”
Pat, pat.
Gru held up a spindly prison made of clay.
“Both of our daddies went to prison! So you’re Gru’s hunter masuh and also the masuh whose daddy went to prison first!”
“Ahahaha…….”
Kazuki laughed awkwardly, while Jurim, who had been looking over documents as he drank an Americano nearby, suddenly lifted his head and cut in.
“He hasn’t gone yet!”
Gru raised her eyebrows fiercely.
“He’s going soon!”
“…….”
Jurim clamped his mouth shut, rendered speechless.
Gru was far too clever to be fobbed off with something like, “Big Uncle went on a business trip to America.”
So they had no choice but to explain it to her properly: On Ijo had to take responsibility for the things he had done.
Thus, the entire family gathered together with Gru at the center and explained everything to her.
They had prepared themselves to comfort her in case the child was shocked.
“It is not a bad place. Whenever you miss your big uncle, you will be able to see him!”
On Suhyeong flailed about in a panic, uncharacteristically using both hands as he spoke.
“That’s right. Come visit whenever you miss your princess. I’ll be waiting!”
On Ijo was no different.
“Mm-hm, I unnerstand. I’ll definitely go.”
The child accepted it more calmly than they had expected.
She seemed to have understood properly, but she neither cried nor showed any sign of sadness, remaining quiet and well-behaved. Because of that, the whole family had been watching Gru carefully.
And yet, who would have thought she would bring it up so suddenly, like this?
‘Has she been thinking about it all this time?’
How could a child possibly be taking the fact that the biological father she had finally found had to go to prison?
Just as Jurim was watching her with an uneasy feeling, Kazuki asked,
“Gru-chan. You must be very sad about having to part with your big uncle.”
Jurim pricked up his ears while pretending not to listen.
“Yeees…….”
At Gru’s dejected reply, Jurim furrowed his brow painfully. Of course she wasn’t truly unaffected.
But Gru soon returned to normal and said,
“But I’m okay.”
“Really? You’re okay?”
Nod, nod.
Gru nodded and began patting and molding the clay again.
“If you commit a crime, it’s only right that you’re punished.”
“…….”
Jurim thought that she was strangely good at delivering lines like that, while Kazuki opened his mouth as if in agreement.
“That’s true. Justice must be upheld.”
“Mm, that’s it. Even if he is a daddy.”
“That’s right. Even a father can’t escape punishment.”
Kazuki and Gru exchanged fervent looks before nodding at each other.
Jurim propped his chin in his hand as he observed the two of them, who understood each other so perfectly.
Perhaps accepting justice was not very difficult for the alien beings of the Crafting class.
Somehow, Gru seemed more mature in the way she was facing this separation than he was.
Jurim sighed as he sent On Ijo and On Suhyeong a message saying that Gru was fine.
Gru is okay
I think she’s taking it better than expected
On Suhyeong
Are you sure she’s really okay? Is she just not showing it?
On Ijo
Right, I need to see for myself whether she’s okay
Send some pictures
On Suhyeong
Yes, send them
You both just want pictures of Gru, don’t you?
On Ijo
LOL
On Suhyeong
?
Just as Jurim was being pestered by On Suhyeong and On Ijo to upload pictures of Gru, Kazuki tilted his head.
“But what are you trying to learn from your masuh with that?”
“What does Daddy need to take when he goes to prison?”
“Ah-ha!”
“What does he take? A toothbrush? Pajamas? Gimbap?”
Did she think he was going on a picnic? Jurim pressed a hand to his forehead and said,
“You don’t need to worry about it. The adults will take care of everything.”
“Tch.”
Gru clicked her tongue.
Kazuki smiled as he looked between the two of them, then changed the subject.
“By the way, Gru-chan, I heard the kindergarten bazaar is going to be held again soon?”
“Yeees. We couldn’t do it properly last time, so they said they’d hold it again.”
Gru shook her head at the memory.
The bazaar held last time had been canceled halfway through because some strange villain had created a dungeon.
“But the teacher said we can’t make Filial Piety Snacks this time.”
Tch, Gru clicked her tongue again, clearly displeased. They had sold incredibly well……
But if she got caught trading Awakened items again this time, she would certainly receive an enormous scolding.
Jurim took a picture of Gru, who was pouting, and sent it off as he spoke firmly.
“Yes, absolutely not.”
The moment he sent the picture, an uproar erupted from On Suhyeong and On Ijo. Their messages were full of complaints about how that was not the face of someone who was supposedly fine.
While Jurim offered the excuse—not quite an excuse—that “Gru’s expression changes dozens of times a second,” Kazuki asked,
“Then what are you going to do at the bazaar this time?”
“Ah! This time……”
Gru rummaged through her bag and pulled out several toys.
They were a stethoscope and a doctor’s bag used for playing doctor.
“Oh-ho. Is Gru-chan a doctor?”
“Yeees. Gru is going to be a toy doctor this time!”
Gru put the stethoscope in her ears and opened the bag. Inside was a whole assortment of toy tools.
“Oh! Are you going to fix toys with those? That’s great!”
“Hehe! If Masuh has a toy he wants fixed, Gru will fix it for you!”
Kazuki applauded, and perhaps feeling pleased by that, Gru beamed brightly and boasted.
But Jurim, watching her, grew a little tense.
Why was our child choosing to do something normal for once? She isn’t trying to make a toy chimera like some mad scientist, is she? Is this really okay?
Still, Gru was adorable as she pretended to be a doctor and searched for Kazuki’s heart with the stethoscope, so Jurim took another picture and sent it to the monkeys making a fuss.
(A picture of Gru holding the stethoscope to Kazuki)
On Suhyeong
It looks like she’s playing well.
On Ijo
Our princess is so cute. Who did she take after to be so pretty? ❤❤
(A picture of Gru giving Kazuki an injection)
(A picture of Gru blowing on Kazuki’s arm)
On Ijo
So cute so cute so cute I miss my daughter ㅠ
On Suhyeong
?
Perhaps satisfied with Jurim’s merciful act of taking and sending several more pictures, the phone notifications finally quieted down.
He enjoyed a peaceful moment and turned his attention back to the documents.
In the meantime, Kazuki and Gru had finished playing doctor and were once again fiddling with clay.
Seeing something Gru was working hard to make, Kazuki asked,
“By the way, Gru-chan, what did you make here?”
“Mm, Big Uncle who went to prison.”
Jurim shot to his feet, strode over, and snatched Gru’s clay creation away.
“Stop making things like this!”
“Whiiine!”
The child seemed to be accepting her biological father’s imprisonment far too well.
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Doing Filial Piety! Episode 364
*
On Suhyeong entered the storage room and waved away the floating dust with his hand.
The storage room, which had gone unmanaged for a long time, was old and smelled musty, while the airborne dust tickled his throat.
He sneezed loudly, then sniffed and asked,
“Ijo, did you find it?”
On Ijo, who had been rummaging through boxes, rose with an excited laugh.
“Father, do you remember this? I cried that it wasn’t a chick but a duck.”
“I remember. I searched all over the supermarket for a chick, but in the end, I couldn’t find one.”
On Suhyeong clicked his tongue as he recalled that time.
“You were so fussy about toys when you were little. Your mother had quite a time shopping for toys because of it.”
“Hahahaha!”
On Ijo burst out laughing, as though he remembered that time as well.
“I was an unfilial son even back then. But how do you still have all this?”
On Suhyeong smiled faintly in response.
Not a single one of his children’s belongings had been thrown away.
It was because of his wife’s stubbornness. She had suffered greatly because of their elder son, who was so fussy about toys. Apparently, even if they bought him an identical toy after finding his old one, he would insist that it wasn’t the same one…
Besides, she had always said that if they kept everything, it would all become precious memories someday. At the time, he had merely thought it fortunate that they had such a large storage room.
But seeing On Ijo beam as he took out an old soccer ball, On Suhyeong allowed a faint smile to touch his lips.
‘You were right.’
He had hurriedly searched the storage room because his granddaughter had said she was going to open a toy hospital and he wanted to bring her something. But it was filled with far more memories than he had expected.
Just then, On Ijo picked up two robot toys and dusted them off.
“This is it! I found it!”
“Did you?”
“Of course it doesn’t make any sounds anymore. And it can’t combine, either.”
On Suhyeong stared down at the two robots On Ijo was fiddling with.
This was…
Chapter: Jurim’s Toys
The Bazaar Opened Again.
At the entrance to the school grounds, small booths opened up in neat rows on both sides, set up by the children.
People crowded around here and there, making a loud racket.
But the booth where Huiyeon, Geuru, and Uju sat side by side was quiet. There wasn’t a single customer—not even the shadow of a fly.
The long silence was broken by the sulky Gu Huiyeon.
“That’s what Huiyeon said. Since toy doctors aren’t popular, we should do chick labor.”
“Then even now, we could do chick labor…”
When Geuru seemed tempted, Uju hurriedly cut in.
“Teacher said not to do chick labor.”
On Geuru, the notorious figure of the Chick Class, had been subjected to a special inspection by her teacher regarding what she intended to do at this bazaar.
“Filial piety snacks? No.”
“Chick labor? What does that even mean?”
“Collecting protection money from the other booths? No.”
“Chick finance? Absolutely not!”
The only thing they had managed to get approved despite their teacher’s stern refusals was a toy hospital.
Uju quite liked the toy hospital, which looked fairly legal, but Huiyeon did not seem satisfied at all.
“Then instead of chick labor, we can do chick services.”
“Ooh—”
Geuru marveled at Gu Huiyeon’s evasion skills, while Uju let out a sigh.
“Can’t we just run a toy hospital without doing anything illegal?”
“We don’t have any customers.”
Gu Huiyeon spoke while glaring at the booth beside them.
The children of the Squirrel Class were selling toys at the neighboring booth, and their business was doing so well that customers were lining up. It seemed to make Huiyeon quite jealous.
For a moment, the three of them enviously watched the customers at the neighboring booth leave with their arms full of toys.
The children’s excited laughter carried all the way to Geuru’s booth.
“Won’t anyone come to get their toys fixed?”
“You dummy. It’s better to buy a new one than fix it.”
Just as Uju lamented, Huiyeon scolded him.
Suddenly, Geuru spoke up.
“Geuru will bring customers!”
“How?”
“If there are no customers at the toy hospital, then we just have to make some toys sick!”
Geuru smiled brightly and picked up a toy drill.
“Oooong—”
As she made a catlike sound, the drill began to whirr.
Uju’s mouth fell open so wide it seemed ready to drop off.
Geuru grinned and nodded.
“Huiyeon, let’s go together. Bring the tools.”
“Okay.”
With a determined look on her face, Huiyeon raised a toy wrench.
Uju’s eyes began to tremble violently as he tried to stop them.
“That’s not a doctor! That’s a toy killer!”
Geuru held up the drill and pondered for a moment before striking a cool pose.
“Killer… It might actually be okay…”
Gu Huiyeon posed alongside her with the wrench in hand.
“Toy Killers.”
The two of them stood back-to-back, drenched in darkness as they gripped their tools.
Watching Geuru pose with her eyes narrowed sharply, Uju blushed.
‘Killer Geuru is kind of cool…!’
Just as the three of them were about to change professions—
A long shadow poured over the children.
Could it be their teacher? Startled, Uju half rose to his feet.
“Is this the toy hospital?”
“Grandpa!”
At Geuru’s words, Uju blinked.
The person standing before them was unmistakably Chairman On Suhyeong.
“I came to leave a patient here. Are you open?”
“Yes~ A patient’s here, Seogwan.”
Nurse Seo—Seo Uju—stood up and accepted the patient.
It was two old robots.
The old robots had been patched up in places with box tape. Their paint had peeled off here and there, and their joints had grown loose.
“They were originally toys that could combine and record sounds, but perhaps because they’re so old, even changing the batteries doesn’t help much. Could the doctor fix them?”
“Ah…”
Uju stared down at the robots resting on his hands, then whispered to Geuru.
“Doctor, the patient’s condition is serious…”
“Now, now, Seogwan. The guardian is listening.”
Uju glanced at On Suhyeong.
On Suhyeong gave him a benevolent smile, as though telling him not to worry about it.
Geuru immediately picked up a magnifying glass and carefully examined the two robots.
Their arms hung limply, their joints had stiffened, and their buttons had sunk halfway in, no longer able to be pressed. In the places where their eyes had once been, only faint scratches remained.
“These are super old. Are they your toys, Grandpa?”
At that, On Suhyeong burst out laughing.
“They are old, but they aren’t mine. They belong to Jurim.”
“Dad?!”
Geuru’s eyes opened wide.
Her father had played with robots?
She had never been able to imagine him like that.
Geuru carefully held the robots in both hands and pressed here and there.
“Dad… played with these?”
At her incredulous tone, On Suhyeong chuckled softly and nodded.
“Of course. Jurim was never a child who was fussy about toys, but he treasured these more than anything.”
On Suhyeong spoke as he recalled the past, then soon wiped the smile from his face.
Suddenly, he heard young Jurim’s voice in his ears.
“It doesn’t make any sounds anymore.”
Jurim had been about Geuru’s age then.
At the time, On Suhyeong hadn’t realized that this was the first thing the child—who had always been unbothered no matter what he was given or what broke—had ever grown attached to.
“Is that so? Shall I buy you a new one just like it?”
“They don’t make this model anymore.”
“Then I’ll buy you one that’s bigger and better than this.”
“…”
What expression had Jurim worn as he lowered his head back then?
Unlike Ijo, Jurim had needed more of his father’s attention because his mother hadn’t been able to give it to him…
But all On Suhyeong could think of was the excuse that he had been terribly busy at the time, along with his pity and regret.
“Can you fix them?”
Geuru placed a stethoscope against the robot’s chest with a solemn expression.
For some reason, On Suhyeong watched her anxiously.
After turning the robots this way and that and examining them, Geuru beckoned.
“Gugan.”
Nurse Gu—Gu Huiyeon—held out a tablet to On Suhyeong.
“It’s the surgical consent form. Read it and sign at the bottom.”
They even had a surgical consent form. This was surprisingly professional, On Suhyeong thought as he checked the tablet.
The document listed several precautions.
On Suhyeong read the clauses stating, ‘The toy may not be restored to its original condition,’ and ‘The hospital bears no responsibility whatsoever even if the toy dies,’ then signed at the bottom.
The hospital bears no responsibility whatsoever? Grandpa was simply delighted that his granddaughter seemed so sharp and capable.
The Chick Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! Episode 365
*
While Nurse Gu—Gu Huiyeon—kept On Suhyeong entertained with conversation so he wouldn’t get bored waiting for his customer—
Geuru went behind the booth. Uju followed closely behind her.
Behind the booth, hidden by a curtain—
Uju placed the robots on the operating table.
“Today’s surgery isn’t going to be easy.”
As Geuru raised her hands, Nurse Seo—Seo Uju—put gloves on them.
Geuru clapped her hands together while wearing the oversized gloves.
Now they had to prepare the materials needed to fix the toys.
First, Geuru took a hard rock candy, LEGO blocks, and wiggly Magic Clay from her bag.
“Seogwan, the drill.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“Oooong~”
Geuru used the drill to shave down the joints, only as much as was necessary.
Then she used Magic Clay to reconnect the loose joints and substituted missing parts with blocks.
Finally, once she combined the hard rock candy with a skill—
[Activating the skill ‘Knead Knead.’]
“Phew…”
When Geuru pretended to wipe away sweat, Uju wiped her forehead with his sleeve.
The robots, successfully treated by the skill, had returned to looking brand new.
“Mmm, perfect. Now for the next procedure.”
Uju tilted his head in confusion.
“The next procedure? Aren’t we done?”
At Uju’s question, Geuru firmly shook her head.
“No. Geuru wants lasers to shoot out of the robot’s eyes.”
“Ah…!”
Uju let out an exclamation of admiration. That would be pretty cool.
“And we’ll add combining, transforming, waterproofing, flight, and miniature missiles that automatically shoot down unidentified objects.”
“Ooh…”
Uju’s eyes glittered, and his cheeks flushed.
“Can it really do all that?”
“Mmm, I dunno. I’ll just try.”
“Okay!”
Uju nodded vigorously. Then he spoke in a low voice.
“…Geuru really seems like the Supreme Hunter.”
Geuru’s ears perked up.
“Really?”
Uju answered in a voice so quiet and shy it nearly broke.
“…Really.”
Then Uju and Geuru’s eyes met.
Geuru smiled bashfully, and Uju swallowed nervously.
His face grew bright red, and his heart began to thump.
“Geuru…”
Just as Uju unconsciously began to move his lips—
“Piiiiit!”
A fat bird that had flown in from somewhere delivered a Mephisto Kick to Uju’s cheek.
Pabababak!
The white bird raised its wings threateningly and did not stop kicking.
“Stop, stop.”
Geuru grabbed the excited Mephisto and placed him on top of her head.
Mephisto glared at Uju with fierce eyes before settling into place.
“Peep!” (Hmph!)
Uju rubbed his stinging cheek.
The shock of what he had just been about to do was greater than the fact that he had been beaten up by a romantic rival.
Was I about to confess just now? Already? Had I forgotten that boys and girls shouldn’t sit together after the age of seven? You idiot!
The more he thought about it, the hotter his face grew. Then his eyes met Geuru’s once again, and he became even more self-conscious for no reason, so Uju looked away.
While Uju was lost in thought and berating himself—
After soothing Mephisto’s puffed-up feathers, Geuru took out new materials from her inventory.
A top-grade Criteito Reactor, the horn of the Heavenly Thunder Beast Zaphir, the mane of the Lion of the Sun, Sheier’s tail scales, Mephisto’s feathers, Veilak’s tail hair…
“Combining all of these—”
[Activating the skill ‘Knead Knead.’]
Light swirled around the two toy robots, then vanished.
[Mecha Jurim mk.1 (Rank Undetermined)]
[Measuring rank…]
[Mecha Jurim mk.2 (Rank Undetermined)]
[Measuring rank…]
“Ooh…”
She had made something that seemed awfully impressive.
Geuru grasped one robot in each hand and raised them toward the sky.
“Mecha Jurim!”
The sparkling Mecha Jurims glittered in the sunlight as brightly as if they were brand new.
“Ah!”
Geuru let out an exclamation of admiration at her own creation and began stamping her feet.
She had to show Grandpa quickly and get praised!
Holding the robots, Geuru scampered out to the front of the booth.
“So Gidan Oppa uses this skill here, you see?”
In front of the booth, Nurse Gu was showing On Suhyeong a video of Gidan.
“Isn’t he so cool? Amazing, right? He looks just like a brave little lion cub, doesn’t he?”
“Mmm, I suppose so.”
“Grandpa! The surgery’s over!”
“Is it?!”
After being subjected to Nurse Gu’s Gidan fan talk until his ears were practically bleeding, On Suhyeong sprang to his feet and welcomed Geuru.
“Tada!”
Geuru held out the robots, and On Suhyeong examined them with a startled expression, turning them this way and that.
“Our Geuru really does have extraordinary handiwork.”
Geuru giggled and squirmed.
“If I press here, will a recorded voice come out?”
“Nope. That’s the beam saber.”
“The beam saber?”
“The sound is this one. You press it.”
Following Geuru’s instructions, On Suhyeong pressed the button on the toy’s back.
His heart swelled at the thought of hearing the voice of a young Jurim playing with the toy again.
But—
—Mecha Assault Squad! Sortie! Vroooom~ Combine!
What came out was not a child’s voice, but that of an adult man.
Geuru’s ears perked up.
As if he couldn’t believe it, On Suhyeong listened to the recorded sound once more.
—Mecha Assault Squad! Sortie! Vroooom~ Combine!
As if she finally understood, Geuru asked,
“Was it Grandpa?”
“Yes… I think I recorded it when I first bought this toy.”
On Suhyeong stroked the robot as memories of the past came back to him.
The reason he could recall such a hazy period was probably because he hadn’t spent enough time with his young son.
If he had countless memories of playing with him, they would have faded into the mass of memories in his mind. But because there had been so few such moments, they had remained especially precious.
‘So back then, Jurim cherished not the robot itself, but the memory of me playing with him.’
Realizing why Ijo had searched for this robot, On Suhyeong wiped away his tears.
Even now, Ijo definitely knew Jurim better than he did.
At that moment, Geuru asked,
“Grandpa. What sound comes out of Mecha Jurim Mk. 2?”
“Huh?”
*
Jurim watched Geuru rhythmically make her way into the guild master’s office, clearly excited.
The fat bird sitting atop her head flapped its wings in time with the rhythm as well.
Geuru’s cute, stubby limbs moved with every waddling step, and Jurim smiled as he asked,
“Looks like you had fun at the bazaar?”
“Yesh. Geuru fixed toy!”
“What kind of toy?”
“A robot! Mecha Jurim Mk. 1 and Mk. 2!”
The corners of Jurim’s smiling mouth flattened into a straight line.
“…Don’t you think those names are a little strange?”
Geuru shook her head vigorously and held out the robot.
“...?”
It was somehow a familiar toy. Why?
Just as Jurim began to feel uneasy, Geuru firmly pressed the button on the robot’s back.
“When press this like this…”
—Mecha Assault Squad! Mecha Jurim Red!
A child’s clear voice rang out.
—Hap! Che!
Jurim shot to his feet.
That was definitely his voice.
Geuru pressed the button once more, as if to show off.
—Mecha Assault Squad! Mecha Jurim Red! Hap! Che!
Then she looked at Jurim and said,
“Cute.”
“Pfft!” (Snrk!)
Jurim snatched the robot away from Geuru’s hand just as she was about to play it again.
“No calling Dad cute! And no laughing at people, bird!”
“Ahh!”
Then the button on the robot’s chest was pressed, and light poured from the hands of Mecha Jurim Mk. 2.
“...?”
Looking at Mecha Jurim Mk. 2 drawing a beam saber—a weapon from the Gundam series—Jurim’s voice trembled.
“…Why is it doing that?”
“Geuru modified it for Daddy.”
“How?”
“It can combine and transform, it’s waterproof and can fly, and it has miniature missiles that automatically shoot down unidentified objects, plus a beam saber and… a laser cannon?”
As Geuru rattled off a long list describing her creation, Jurim cut her off.
“So you’re saying it became an item?”
“Yesh!”
“...”
Jurim pressed his lips tightly together as he looked at his daughter, whose eyes were sparkling. He had known she would make something strange and bring it to him.
Jurim opened the information window to check the robot’s rank.
“Rank undetermined?”
“Yesh. We have to test it to check.”
Jurim suddenly had a bad feeling.
An item that had to be demonstrated before its rank could even be determined?
The Mephisto Series Mk. 3, which Geuru had recently made, came to mind. And the Mephisto Series Mk. 3 had been an S+ rank item.
Jurim’s expression grew grave.
‘...’
What if this turned out to be S+ as well?
Mecha Jurim, with the voice of a young Jurim, would become property of the nation and be loaned out to this country and that.
—Hap! Che!
The young Jurim’s voice echoed in his ears.
‘...Is this a nightmare?’
Jurim felt gooseflesh rise all the way to the tips of his hair.
He immediately turned around, moved the framed pictures aside, and opened the safe. Without hesitation, he shoved both robots deep inside.
Realizing what Jurim was trying to do, Geuru clung to him.
“Nooo~ We have to measure their rank~”
“No! They’re sealed forever!”
“Waaaah! Mecha Jurim!”
“That name is forbidden too!”
The Chick-Class Hunter Is Being Filial! Episode 366
Chapter: The Direction of Unrequited Love
In a quiet corner of an uncrowded café,
two adult Americanos and one child-sized chocolate latte sat on the table, one each in front of Sin Nayeon, I Romi, and Seo Uju.
Pretending to be nonchalant, Romi stirred her Americano with a straw before asking again,
“So you’re asking what kind of man women find cool?”
Holding his chocolate latte tightly in both hands, Uju nodded, his ears red.
“Yes…”
Nayeon tilted her head to the side.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
At her words, Uju’s back went stiff, and Romi poked Nayeon in the side.
“Hmm?! Why?”
Romi sighed, then whispered into clueless Nayeon’s ear.
Only then did Nayeon’s eyes begin to sparkle.
“Aah~!”
Uju felt as though he would crawl into a mouse hole that very instant if one happened to appear.
His head gradually drooped lower and lower, while Nayeon’s voice followed him down.
“You’re going to confess to Geuru?!”
“...!”
As if struck by electricity, Uju froze.
He turned his gaze toward them for help, but I Romi, seated beside Nayeon, was only pricking up her ears. She had no intention of stopping Nayeon.
With no other choice, Uju answered through his tears. After all, he was the one asking them for help.
“Yes…”
“Eeeeeek~!”
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!”
At Uju’s dying response, Nayeon and Romi made a huge fuss.
“Uju and Geuru?”
“You two are such a good match!”
Mortified to death, Uju gulped down his chocolate latte and set the cup on the table.
Had he made a mistake asking these older girls? He was regretting it when—
“So you want to look cool in front of Geuru~”
“That’s how it is at your age~”
Nayeon and Romi giggled.
Uju nodded with a bright-red face.
“So what kind of man do you find cool, noona?”
“Me?”
Nayeon rested her chin on her hand and said,
“I like men who are good at cooking.”
“Cooking…”
With a serious expression, Uju wrote the word “cooking” in his phone’s memo app.
I Romi glanced at it, gave a small snort, and took a sip of her Americano.
“No, no. What kind of person does Geuru say she likes?”
At that question, Uju’s eyes shook violently.
“T-the person Geuru likes?”
“Hmm? Why?”
Romi looked puzzled, but Uju lowered his gaze and answered a beat late.
“The Supreme One…”
“Ah… The Supreme One.”
“Yes… The Supreme One.”
‘He’s at that age too, I suppose.’
Romi nodded with a distant look in her eyes.
“That’s impossible… I can’t even build muscle…”
“The Supreme One is still out of reach. For now, anyway…”
“Geuru’s standards are way too high.”
As Uju, Romi, and Nayeon each contributed a word, silence descended over the table for a moment. The atmosphere suddenly grew solemn.
The straws sticking out of the Americano cups clinked softly, then fell still.
Then Romi spoke again.
“Uju.”
“Yes.”
At her serious tone, Uju straightened his back and focused on what Romi had to say.
“If you want to look like a cool man, you need to show her how focused you are on your work.”
“Work?”
“Yeah. Someone who’s focused on his own work looks dazzlingly cool.”
“...!”
Uju suddenly remembered how cool he thought Geuru looked whenever her eyes sparkled.
He had decided to confess because of what had happened at the bazaar this time…
‘If I show Geuru that kind of side of myself…’
*
That was the entire reason Geuru had been invited to this film set.
The atmosphere on set wasn’t bad, and both the makeup and costumes were perfect!
Uju took Geuru by the hand and led her to an empty table beneath a parasol.
“Is that your friend, Uju? Oh, it’s Geuru?”
“Hi, Geuru! You’re even prettier in person~”
“Hello!”
Greetings poured in for Geuru, who had now become a celebrity.
For some reason, Uju felt even prouder than she did. He puffed out his chest and strode ahead, proudly guiding Geuru along.
When Geuru tried to sit down in the chair at the table, Uju told her to wait a moment and took out a handkerchief.
He spread the handkerchief over the chair.
“Sit on this.”
“Okay.”
Laughter burst out from all around them as people watched the two.
The actress playing the female lead in the film, Yun Ajin, and the director were laughing so hard, it seemed the whole set might shake apart.
Uju glared at them with eyes full of resentment, then sat across from Geuru.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“A little?”
“Luckily, I brought a lunchbox I made myself… Want some?”
“You made it?”
“Yeah.”
He had woken up at dawn and made it together with the woman who helped around the house.
Uju opened the lunchbox.
From the lowest compartment, yellow chick-shaped rice balls peeked out.
“Wow…”
And every time he opened another compartment to show her what was inside, Geuru’s exclamations never stopped.
“You made all this yourself? Uju, you’re amazing!”
As Geuru praised him with flushed cheeks, Uju bit down firmly on his lower lip.
It worked. Apparently, being good at cooking really did appeal to her.
Just as Uju was puffing out his chest—
“Oh? Our adorable Uju.”
A familiar voice reached them.
It was Lee Geon-u, the male lead of the film.
He had arrived late at the set and, unaware of the situation, approached the children with a broad grin.
“Why are you two kids here all by yourselves? Want to eat with your big brother?”
He tucked the script he had been holding under his arm and set his own meal tray on the table.
The gazes of everyone who had been watching the two warmly began to grow sharp.
Lee Geon-u blinked, completely unaware of why all those looks were converging on him.
Then—
“Mr. Geon-u!”
A voice shot across the set like lightning.
“Huh?”
“You’re eating with me.”
It was Yun Ajin.
She quickly approached, grabbed Lee Geon-u by the back of the neck, and held a meal tray in her other hand.
Then she winked at Uju.
“...!”
Uju’s eyes widened.
The nearby staff gathered around Lee Geon-u as if to shield him and began leading him away.
Everyone was smiling as though they were cheering him on, which only made Uju even more embarrassed. He stuffed a rice ball into his mouth.
“Uju, you must have been really hungry.”
Geuru smiled as she spoke.
“Mmph…”
“Eat lots.”
Geuru poked the meatball in front of her with her fork and held it out to Uju.
Uju accepted it with a face as red as a tomato.
“Is it good?”
“Mhm.”
More laughter rang out from Yun Ajin, the director, and even Lee Geon-u, who had heard what happened afterward.
With his face scrunched up, Uju crammed the remaining rice balls into his mouth.
‘Anyway, the first operation was a success… right?’
Geuru praised the food nonstop, saying it was truly delicious, and before long, the two of them had polished off the lunchbox.
When their leisurely meal ended, the staff began bustling about, apparently preparing to start filming.
‘The second operation…’
Recalling the second operation, Uju sprang to his feet.
“I’m going to go film now.”
Geuru opened her eyes wide and nodded.
“Yeah! Fighting!”
At those words, Uju clenched his small fists and turned away.
Before filming began, he adjusted his makeup and costume.
As Geuru watched him intently, a strawberry milk appeared before her.
“Geuru, want some strawberry milk?”
“Yes.”
Geuru accepted the strawberry milk from Uju’s manager.
“She likes this, right? Uju asked me to prepare it for you.”
Geuru opened her mouth in a grin.
“Our Uju is such a good boy, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Geuru nodded as she drank the strawberry milk.
“But, mister, is Uju okay today?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Uju today is totally like a clunky robot.”
“Ahahahahaha!”
When Geuru imitated a robot, saying that Uju was creaking, the manager clutched his stomach and burst out laughing.
“He’s fine, he’s fine.”
After laughing for quite a while, the manager waved his hands dismissively.
“Uju’s a pro, you know.”
“Reeeally?”
He pointed at Uju as if to show him off.
Gru turned her gaze in that direction.
Under the lights and before the camera, Uju stared straight ahead with a dry gaze. He seemed like a completely different person.
The awkward, creaky 모습 he had shown until a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. With one shoulder slightly tilted, Uju pierced through the screen with his calm eyes.
**The Chick-Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! — Chapter 367**
“Waaaah—”
Gru let out an admiring gasp at the sudden change in Uju’s atmosphere.
The movie Uju was filming was a remake of the famous classic *The Omen*, a story centered on a child born as the devil.
As Gru stared, completely entranced by his distinctly cold and eerie acting tone, the manager asked in a proud voice,
“What do you think? Our Uju’s good, right?”
“Yes!”
Gru nodded vigorously as she answered.
“Cut!”
The director had just finished the scene.
Uju, who had been immersed in his acting, let out a deep breath—“Hoo”—and the director burst into thunderous applause.
“Wow~ Our Uju ate up the whole scene today! The best! You were the best!”
Uju lowered his eyes shyly. Then he glanced at Gru.
The director saw at once that Uju had tried even harder because he wanted to look good in front of Gru. He let out a muffled laugh and showered him with even more praise.
“Ah~ Our Uju! You’re the best, the best! Absolutely amazing! What a phenomenal method actor!”
Though embarrassed by the exaggerated praise, Uju used monitoring as an excuse to approach the director and quietly whispered,
“Supreme.”
“Supreme?”
When the director asked him to repeat himself, Uju nodded.
It meant, *Praise me as supreme. Quickly.*
Though the director looked baffled, he soon gave a thumbs-up.
“Y-yes, yes~ Uju’s the supreme master of acting!”
Perhaps satisfied with the director’s response, Uju kept sneaking glances at Gru.
But Gru was innocently applauding him, saying how amazing he was.
The manager, who knew what was going on, could no longer hold back and burst out laughing, clutching his stomach.
*
By the time filming had more or less wrapped up, the sky was already on the verge of sunset.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“You worked so hard today!”
“You were really good today, Uju!”
“Uju was absolutely amazing today~ Right?”
As greetings and praise poured down twice as heavily as usual, Uju bowed repeatedly while making his way past the staff—until his eyes met the director’s.
The director waved and called out teasingly,
“Uju’s supreme~ Supreme~”
The actors and staff who heard him burst into laughter, and Uju’s face quickly turned bright red.
*Ah… I shouldn’t have said that.*
Uju was just beginning to regret asking them to call him supreme when Gru came close and spoke.
“Uju, Gru’s gonna go now. I had fun today.”
Uju was startled and grabbed her by the wrist.
“G-Gru.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you want to stop by somewhere nearby with me before you go? It won’t take long.”
Uju signaled to his manager with his eyes, and the manager smiled as he took out a bicycle.
It was a four-wheeled tandem bicycle for children.
“Ride this.”
“Gru can just ride her own bicycle.”
“No. Ride this. I’ll take you.”
“Hm?”
Gru’s bicycle would probably have been faster, but at Uju’s firm insistence, she nodded.
“Okay. Let’s go!”
*
The four-wheeled bicycle carrying the two of them sped along the riverside.
The red sun was slowly sinking.
The bicycle traveled for quite a while along the riverside embankment before stopping at a quiet, scenic spot.
A gentle breeze blew past, and the river, dyed red, rippled softly.
“Here we are.”
Uju said this as he got off the bicycle.
Gru followed him down in quick little steps.
“Wowww… It’s so pretty here! There’s a family of ducks over there, too!”
Gru pointed toward one spot, her eyes sparkling.
A mother duck and her ducklings were leisurely swimming across the calm river.
“…I thought you’d like it.”
Uju said this softly, then took out a handkerchief and carefully spread it over the grass.
He plopped down on top of it, then patted the space beside him.
“Sit here.”
“Okay.”
Gru scampered over and sat down on the handkerchief.
The place was so quiet that the bustling filming set from just moments ago felt like a lie.
A silent breeze passed between the two of them, and the faint cry of a bird drifted over from far away.
As Uju wondered why the birdcall sounded so familiar, he met Gru’s eyes as she stared intently at him.
“W-why?”
“Did Uju have something to tell Gru?”
“Huh?”
Uju’s lips trembled in embarrassment before he lowered his head.
“Yes, I do…”
“What is it?”
Gru drew up her legs and rested her chin on them.
When those sparkling coral-colored eyes met his, Uju pressed down on his pounding heart.
Today, he would confess.
He had gotten up at dawn and cooked while nodding off, thrown himself into his acting more than usual, and brought her to this quiet and pleasant place… all for this moment!
Confessing in a quiet, beautiful place after showing her his very best—that was how he planned to end the day.
*Everything went perfectly. So…!*
Uju, turning over the day’s plan in his head, moved his lips.
“Gru, you know, I…”
Just then, the birdcall rang out once more.
“Cawww—!”
“Mm-hm.”
“I… you…”
“Cawwwwwww—!”
The loud birdcall left a ringing in his ears.
“Hmm…” Gru let out a sigh and gazed up at the sky with hazy eyes.
“Uju.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you think the bird sounds are getting louder?”
“D-do you think so?”
“Cawwwwwwwwwwwww—!”
She was right.
The birdcall that had been faint before was now shrieking noisily, almost as if it were going mad.
*It’s not the ducks.*
Perhaps the noise had bothered them, because the family of ducks was waddling away.
Then what was making this sound?
Uju hurriedly turned his head.
The sight he discovered made goosebumps rise all the way to the top of his head.
“Dani hyung?”
“Hmm? Dani oppa?”
Behind the bushes, Gidan was awkwardly smiling as he punched Mephisto. Beside him, Serhi, Jin Siwon, and Veilak were subtly looking away.
No wonder he had thought he couldn’t see Mephisto. It seemed Gidan had been holding him back so he wouldn’t interrupt Uju’s confession.
They weren’t the only spectators, either.
Nayeon was grinning behind the others, while Iromi had covered her face completely.
The String Guild members with their familiar faces were all hiding behind the bushes, each looking in a different direction to avoid eye contact.
*Could Uncle Jurim be here too?*
Uju frantically looked left and right.
*…!*
Soon, he spotted two large silhouettes sitting in the pavilion nearby. It was Jurim and Kazuki.
Unlike usual, Jurim was staring at him with fierce, wide-open eyes, while Kazuki kept patting him soothingly.
“Oh, it’s Dad!”
“…”
Uju squeezed his eyes shut.
Right. He had wondered why everything seemed to be going so smoothly.
“Daaad!”
Gru, unaware that Uju had become despondent, waved both hands at Jurim in greeting.
Jurim slowly rose to his feet. It seemed he intended to join them.
Uju bit his lip with an unhappy expression, then grabbed Gru by the wrist and leaped to his feet.
“Let’s run away!”
“Huh?”
Thinking it was a fun game, Gru giggled and ran alongside Uju.
The guild members began lightly jogging after them in a great crowd.
Gru waved both hands at the guild members following behind.
Uju looked back, then his eyes trembled violently when he spotted Mephisto flying toward him with murderous intent.
Judging by how fiercely Mephisto was gnashing his beak, it seemed something terrible would happen if he got caught.
*Dani hyung, I’m grateful you held him back, but you really shouldn’t have come to watch…*
Uju hid his miserable feelings as he ran at full speed.
Today’s confession had completely failed. He had absolutely no intention of confessing in front of that many people.
It was a total disaster!
Just as Uju swallowed back the tears beginning to well up in his eyes, Gru shouted brightly,
“Uju!”
“Yeah?”
“Today’s really fun!”
Uju blinked. At Gru’s radiant smile, he pressed his lips together and nodded vigorously.
“Yeah!”
*Even though my confession failed, it’s enough if you’re having fun, right?*
Uju grinned at Gru and ran even faster.
There was still plenty of time left to tell her how he felt.
**The Chick-Class Hunter Is Practicing Filial Piety! — Chapter 368**
**Chapter: Family**
Early in the morning.
After confirming that Jurim was asleep, Gru secretly went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror.
“Mommy, today Gru is going to meet Big Uncle together with Grandpa and Daddy.”
On Ijo had received his final sentence.
The world’s media had been in an uproar ever since the String Guild raid, and the atrocities Gnosis had committed over the years were gradually being brought to light.
Television programs even produced special documentaries covering everything from Gnosis’s origins to its dissolution.
In the process, the human experimentation conducted under Project Wilderness came to light, and worldwide pressure was mounting on the surviving individuals involved in the project to reveal everything.
Though the truth had been uncovered, the fact that On Ijo had survived and that he had been the head of Gnosis remained secret as his trial proceeded.
Taking into account the fact that he had been controlled by Kavaron after failing to overcome the trials of the 100th floor, as well as his achievements as a hero who had saved the world, On Ijo was sentenced to twenty years in prison.
“Big Uncle has to go to an uninhabited island that nobody knows about now. They say there’s no TV, and telephones don’t work there either.”
It was supposedly to prevent any possible escape or contact with the remnants of Gnosis. The name On Ijo still carried tremendous weight, and there was also the intention of preventing anyone from taking advantage of it.
“They say Big Uncle has to stay there for a long time. Do you think he’ll be okay?”
Gru stood on tiptoe and rested her chin on the sink.
“…”
But no matter how long she waited, Mommy did not answer.
*Did Mommy fall asleep?*
Chuen had told her that Mommy had been relying on Gru’s magical power to maintain her soul all this time, and that she seemed to have used an enormous amount of strength this time.
“…”
Gru rested her face against her arm at an angle.
No matter how much she searched through her status window, the title was nowhere to be seen.
*Mommy loves Gru too much…*
Gru thought over the title that had disappeared.
*Did Mommy go to heaven forever?*
Gru stroked her gloomy chest. A sharp pain began to throb inside it.
*
Only family members were allowed to visit On Ijo.
After undergoing an inspection under several layers of tight security—
Squawk~ Squawk~
The moment they arrived on the island via a special transportation scroll, On Suhyeong and On Jurim were rendered speechless.
Step. Step.
Feet wearing flip-flops stopped in front of them.
Wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sipping through a straw stuck into a coconut, On Ijo waved at them.
“My beloved family! Welcome to my prison!”
Warm sunlight. Transparent seas. White, fine sand.
Standing there in sunglasses, On Ijo looked exactly like a tourist who had come to a resort.
Disappointed because it was so different from the prison she had imagined, Gru looked up at Jurim.
“This is a prison?”
“For some people, it might be heaven…”
Jurim murmured in a low voice.
“I see you’ve adapted well.”
Only On Suhyeong, who still pitied his eldest son, dabbed at his eyes with a tearful expression.
On Ijo laughed heartily and scooped Gru up into his arms.
“Princess! Let’s go play in the water with Daddy!”
“Waaaah!”
“Yoo-hoo!”
Holding Gru, On Ijo ran into the sea.
Jurim watched the two of them with dull eyes and muttered,
“Hasn’t he adapted a little too well?”
“Still, I feel much better.”
“Looks like he’ll be having a fun vacation for the next twenty years.”
Though he spoke sarcastically, a faint smile touched Jurim’s lips.
“Daaad! Come quickly!”
At that moment, Gru waved both arms.
Jurim gave a quiet snort of laughter and slowly approached them.
On Ijo splashed water toward Jurim.
“Princess, hurry up and do it too! Let’s get Daddy soaked!”
“Okay!”
Gru followed Ijo’s example and splashed water at Jurim.
“Ah! Hey! Are you two going to stop or not?!”
Jurim had been walking toward them slowly, but he frowned when his pants became thoroughly soaked.
Then he quickly approached and poured water over the two of them.
“Kyaaaah!”
Beneath a parasol, Suhyeong watched his two sons and granddaughter playing in the water.
It was a sight like a miracle.
But was I feeling the absence of one person because I was too greedy?
A little while later, when the three people who had gotten soaking wet playing in the sea returned to me, On Suhyeong handed them towels.
Ijo and Jurim used the towels they had been given to dry Gru first.
As On Ijo tousled Gru’s hair with the soft towel, Suhyeong gazed at the child’s platinum-blond hair and suddenly asked,
“What kind of person was Chloe?”
At the unexpected question, On Ijo paused.
The first to answer was Gru, who snatched the towel away and draped it around the back of her neck.
“Mama makes super-duper pizza! She puts it in the microwave and goes papapat like magic!”
Gru imitated the whirring sound. Not only that, she spun around in place, pretending to be a microwave turning.
“Ahaha! …How did Gru know that?”
Since his daughter-in-law’s first introduction had ended up being about frozen pizza, Ijo laughed awkwardly and tilted his head.
Jurim almost told him that Gru had seen her mother in the past, but stopped himself.
Someday, the chance to tell him would come.
“Really? Your mother is good at heating up pizza?”
“Yeees!”
Excited to talk about her mother, Gru chattered in a loud voice.
“And also! Mama is really good at saying bad words—”
On Jurim hurriedly took Gru’s hand.
“On Gru! Want to ride the waves?”
“Yeees!”
On Jurim tucked Gru under his arm and quickly dashed toward the sea with the child, who had been about to say something troublesome.
A gust of sea wind swept between the tight-lipped Suhyeong and Ijo.
“So she was good at heating frozen pizza.”
At Suhyeong’s barely managed remark, Ijo gave a slightly sheepish smile.
“…Yes. Pretty impressive, right?”
“Indeed.”
Suhyeong gave a light laugh before adding,
“I’d like it if you told me about the child’s mother from time to time, too.”
“…I will.”
Suhyeong gave a small nod.
His eldest son’s voice was slightly hoarse, as though his throat were choked with emotion.
Without a word, Suhyeong gently stroked Ijo’s back.
Meanwhile, Gru, who had been riding the waves while clinging to Jurim’s neck, pressed her cheek against Jurim’s.
“Now I wanna play in the sand!”
“Let’s do that.”
“Heehee!”
Jurim kissed Gru’s cheek and asked,
“But aren’t you sleepy? You played without taking a nap.”
“I don’t wanna sleep.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m super-duper happy today!”
When Gru flapped her arms, Jurim held her more securely so she would not fall and asked,
“Today?”
“Today is good, but… something sad might happen tomorrow.”
Gru pouted and buried her face in Jurim’s neck.
“You can sleep. You’ll be happy tomorrow, too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’ll make you happy every single day.”
Soon, laughter filled with the child’s happiness rang out.
“Then, um, then! Tomorrow, let me wind up Mecha Jurim!”
“That’s not allowed.”
“Even if Gru begs like this? Even if I give you five massage tickets?”
“No.”
“Hmph!”
Even so, perhaps because she liked being in Jurim’s arms, Gru rested her head on his shoulder and rubbed against him this way and that.
Jurim carried Gru out, wrung the water from the child’s clothes, and dried them before setting her down on the sandy beach.
When Gru hopped about like a foal and nearly fell, Ijo caught her.
Gru beamed and reached out to Ijo.
“Big Uncle, Big Uncle! Make Mama for me.”
“Out of sand?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“All right. Daddy makes Mama best, after all.”
Soon, Chloe’s face, which his fingertips had made countless times before, took shape.
“It’s exactly the same!”
“Isn’t it?”
“Let’s make her body, too!”
“Okay!”
After working the sand for quite a while, a perfect sand sculpture of Chloe was born.
“Waaah—!”
Gru opened her mouth wide and let out a cry of wonder.
On Ijo sat down beside Gru and put an arm around her shoulders.
“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
“She’s the prettiest in the whole world.”
“That’s right.”
On Ijo chuckled together with Gru.
Before long, those glittering coral-colored eyes quietly took in Chloe’s form.
Gru stared at Chloe’s sand statue for a while, then clasped her hands together as if in prayer.
At last, an immense magical power stirred, and a chill spread through the air. It seemed she was using her power.
But the sand sculpture showed no reaction.
“……”
On Ijo, who had once seen his own image superimposed onto the child’s, drew Gru into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
Holding the tiny body tightly, he said quietly,
“Princess, you must be hungry by now. Let’s go home.”
“We have a home, too?”
“We do. It’s a little small, though.”
“Then can I sleep there?”
“Well, we’ll ask and decide.”
“Okaaay.”
Gru nodded and stood up.
On Ijo brushed the sand off the child’s body, then took her hand and walked toward Jurim.
Gru’s empty hand reached toward Jurim. Jurim took her left hand.
Holding Jurim’s and Ijo’s hands in both of hers, Gru broke into a radiant smile.
The sun was setting behind them.
“Are we cooking dinner?”
“They left us plenty of retort food.”
Ijo answered Jurim’s question brightly.
“What about anything else?”
“Coconuts?”
“Oh, come on.”
Jurim shook his head.
“Should I take this opportunity to learn how to cook with coconuts?”
“Suit yourself.”
Jurim replied sarcastically to Ijo’s playful remark, while Suhyeong, following behind the three of them, said with a smile,
“I brought some meat, so let’s have that for dinner tonight.”
“Yes.”
“Meat!”
The three answered at the same time.
Crash! At the sound of a powerful wave, Gru turned around.
“Ah! Mama is…”
A towering wave was surging over Chloe’s statue.
When Gru’s face fell, Ijo ruffled the child’s hair.
“It’s all right. I’ll make her again.”
“Next time, we’ll make sure the waves can’t reach her.”
When her daddies made that promise, Gru nodded and trudged along behind them.
Still reluctant to leave, she glanced back over her shoulder.
Something rounded was visible above the crashing waves.
“Hm?”
Gru blinked.
She rubbed her eyes several times, but it did not disappear. It swayed faintly each time the waves rolled in.
Then, on the darkening beach, a shadowy figure slowly rose to her feet.
Long platinum-blond hair streamed in the sea breeze.
One step.
One step.
And when the figure finally stood upright—
“……!”
The child’s eyes widened.
Gru stepped onto the sand and began running toward her with all her might.
Even when she fell, she sprang back to her feet.
Amid the sunset sinking slowly over the sea, someone was holding out a hand.
Without hesitation, Gru took it.
fin