The Strongest Guild Kidnapped Me

I had to protect Levinas.

It was that sense of duty that allowed me to stand before the man.

Naturally, I had no intention of engaging in a fight.

My foremost priority was Levinas’s safety.

Provoking someone with a short fuse and escalating the situation was unnecessary.

“I’m, I’m sorry… I caught too many goblins…”

I bowed deeply, apologizing without feeling ashamed.

If it meant safeguarding young Levinas, I would apologize to anyone.

The man seemed uninterested in my apology, simply waving his hand in dismissal.

“…Stop hunting for today.”

“Yes…”

I needed to leave quickly.

I had heard that confrontations between adventurers in the dungeon were common.

Just as I was about to take Levinas’s hand and dash outside,

Levinas, visibly upset, stamped her feet.

“No! I need to pick more Levinas mushrooms!”

“This is really…”

Was he irritated by Levinas’s defiance?

The man suddenly lifted his hand.

“Do-don’t do it…”

I shielded Levinas behind me and retreated slowly.

In this tense moment, a man standing quietly next to the first one urgently held him back.

“Wait a moment, Min-kyu. These kids are…”

“Just be quiet!”

Min-kyu.

So, he was Park Min-kyu.

After Park Min-kyu’s grumbling, the other man clamped his mouth shut.

“We-we’ll be going now.”

He was an intimidating figure, one that made everyone in the goblin dungeon anxious.

I quickly seized Levinas’s wrist and turned towards the gate.

As I was about to sprint to the gate and escape, a firm hand clutched the back of my collar.

“Ah!”

I was hoisted into the air.

Was he lifting me by my clothes?

Perhaps due to my light weight, he hoisted me with ease.

“Everything is irritating.”

“I’m-I’m sorry.”

Glancing sideways, I noticed Levinas also being held by the man, dangling upside down by her ankle.

“Ah! Save Levinas!”

Thud-thud-

Levinas struck the man’s legs with her fists.

The man, his brow deeply creased, glanced down at Levinas.

“Le-Levin…”

Frankly, with my current physique, I felt confident I could overpower Park Min-kyu.

He wasn’t particularly strong, just temperamental.

But my duty to protect Levinas was most important.

I wanted to avoid physical confrontation for her sake.

The man beside Park Min-kyu was even more threatening.

“This damn…”

The man, clearly agitated by Levinas’s assault, began to seethe like an incensed bull.

Simultaneously, his hand recoiled, as if preparing to hurl something.

‘Ah.’

I was about to be thrown.

Realizing this, I instinctively reached for Levinas.

Whoosh-

As my body soared into the air, I tightly wrapped my arms around Levinas.

Fortunately, the man had moderated his strength, and we only tumbled about five times on the ground.

“Aigoo…”

Levinas’s eyes whirled in my embrace.

Thankfully, she appeared unharmed.

“Kkung.”

Park Min-kyu and Levinas.

In this predicament, who should I prioritize?

While patting Levinas’s back as she clambered onto my stomach, I heard a familiar voice in the distance.

“Gyeoul!”

It was Yeoreum.

Lying on the ground, I shifted my gaze upwards to see her.

Meanwhile, Levinas was still writhing and moaning.

“Gyeoul! What’s happening here!”

“Well, I suppose…”

If I were to explain, it was merely an encounter with a quick-tempered person.

The urgency stemmed from Levinas; otherwise, it was a rather mundane incident for me.

“…Did you use violence on these children?”

Park Min-kyu recoiled under Yeoreum’s fiery glare.

Even he, a dominator of the level 1 dungeon, was like a horned rabbit facing a dragon when confronted by Yeoreum.

“That-that’s because these kids started it first…”

Park Min-kyu’s excuses were evident.

I then noticed a cunning smirk on the face of his attendant, visible only due to the beast-kin’s exceptional vision.

Aha.

This person also harbored disdain for Park Min-kyu.

A sense of strange solidarity with him arose as Yeoreum brushed the dirt off Levinas and me.

“Gyeoul, do you want to go outside with Levinas and Mast-Uncle?”

“Uncle?”

Master is here?

Surprised, I scanned the area and spotted Master standing nearby, arms crossed, observing us.

He looked at Park Min-kyu indifferently, then offered his hand to Levinas and me.

“Let’s go out first.”

“Yes…”

I grasped Master’s hand, rising from the ground.

Levinas, though sniffling, stood up courageously.

Before departing, I glanced back to see Park Min-kyu and his attendant, their eyes shaking wildly as they watched us.

<+>

Yeoreum, confronting Park Min-kyu, couldn’t help but hesitate.

Maybe it was because she thought she and Park Min-kyu were alike in some way.

The one who torments a child, and the one who knows yet overlooks the torment.

Is there a difference between the two?

Yeoreum scratched her neck as though it might rip her skin, exhaling deeply.

“You’re from the Legion Guild, right? Stop causing trouble. I won’t overlook it next time.”

Despite their repulsive nature, she was prepared to offer them a chance.

Since she too had been given a chance by Gyeoul, despite their similarities, she knew a stern warning was necessary.

Yeoreum, contemplating the appropriate admonition, was interrupted by the attendant’s grave tone.

“Hold on. The Legion Guild isn’t involved in this.”

“…Aren’t you part of the Legion Guild?”

“Yes, but this individual isn’t a guild member.”

“…This person?”

Park Min-kyu’s eyebrows twitched, seemingly irritated by the sudden detachment.

“If he’s not a guild member, then what is he?”

“He’s the younger brother of a guild executive.”

“Hmm…”

The rationale behind Park Min-kyu’s special treatment, despite not being an official guild member, was now clear.

He was the executive’s brother.

Yeoreum wasn’t so foolish as to miss that ugly truth.

“Please don’t associate the guild with this incident.”

“Why? Every time that guy bullied people, you, a member of the Legion Guild, were also present.”

“…I did what I could in my own way. I was just waiting for the right moment.”

“Right moment?”

At that moment of Yeoreum’s questioning,

The Legion Guild man unveiled a necklace from under his clothes.

Yeoreum immediately noticed the embedded mana stone with camera capabilities.

“I’ve been documenting his bullying. I just lacked a reason to expose it.”

“Hey! Han Seok-jun!”

Park Min-kyu, now shouting, was sternly silenced by the man identified as Han Seok-jun.

Park Min-kyu trembled, taken aback by Han Seok-jun’s sudden assertiveness.

Yeoreum sensed a growing divide between them.

“An excuse?”

“Exactly. Anonymously posting it online would only lead to minor disciplinary actions. That’s just how it is here.”

“…That’s true.”

Yeoreum, reflecting on the situation, felt a wave of bitterness.

“But it’s different with the Daybreak Guild involved. No guild wants to antagonize them.”

“…Your aim is to sever ties with Park Min-kyu’s brother, not Park Min-kyu himself.”

“Correct. I’ve been waiting for such a chance.”

“Han Seok-jun! Have you lost your mind?!”

Park Min-kyu, alarmed, grabbed Han Seok-jun’s collar, shaking him.

However, Han Seok-jun remained unfazed.

With his brother’s influence rendered insignificant, Park Min-kyu was merely an ordinary adventurer.

“Is everything recorded in the video?”

“Absolutely. Nothing is omitted.”

“…Fine. I’ll help.”

Yeoreum was determined to witness Gyeoul’s mistreatment firsthand.

Thus, she agreed to the arrangement.

Partly, it was to punish those who, unlike themselves, refused to repent for their wrongdoings.

“Then, I’ll entrust this to you.”

“Understood. I’ll ensure that Seok-jun faces no repercussions from the guild.”

“Thank you.”

Han Seok-jun passed the necklace, which doubled as a camera, to Yeoreum.

Yeoreum’s hands trembled as she accepted it.

‘Inside this…’

Does it contain all of Gyeoul’s tribulations?

She felt like Pandora before her infamous box.

Yeoreum’s grip on the pendant tightened, almost as if it might crumble.

‘Should I really open this?’

It likely held numerous instances of Gyeoul’s harassment.

It felt invasive, yet Yeoreum had no alternative.

To safeguard Gyeoul, now as dear to her as family, she had to fully understand what she went through.

Yeoreum resolved to unveil what might be Pandora’s box, but not alone – with her guild members.