The Strongest Guild Kidnapped Me

I didn’t fall into despair because something bad happened.

After all, I had a duty to take care of those living with me.

With goblin mana stones and the mushrooms Levinas had collected in hand, I made my way to the guild’s exchange desk, Levinas following close behind.

“Excuse me…”

I knocked on the desk to get Yoo Sang-ah’s attention.

She looked up from her paperwork, noticing us.

“Ah, Gyeoul, you’re here?”

“Yes, I’d like to sell these.”

I presented the mana stones and mushrooms.

They were all high-quality, but Yoo Sang-ah seemed troubled.

“The guild doesn’t purchase mushrooms.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yes, our transactions start at ten thousand won.”

A single mushroom was worth only a thousand won, falling short of the guild’s policy.

“Oh no! That’s a problem!”

“Seems like it…”

Levinas’s efforts to collect the mushrooms felt wasted, a situation more disheartening than not making any money.

Yoo Sang-ah, sympathetic towards Levinas, suggested,

“There’s a disposal site near the dungeon, have you seen it?”

“No, I thought the guild would buy the by-products.”

“Then, although it might be a hassle, selling them near the dungeon could work.”

“Thank you.”

I thanked Yoo Sang-ah and left the guild with Levinas, who then pulled on my arm.

“King! King!”

“Yes?”

“Levinas saw an old lady selling stuff at the market before! She had wild greens and sweet potatoes.”

She meant the street vendors.

Levinas’s idea was to sell the mushrooms like those merchants, a plan more complicated than selling them at the dungeon, but I couldn’t dismiss it due to the inconvenience.

Selling goods directly could be a valuable experience for Levinas.

“Do you want to sell them yourself?”

“Yes!”

The legalities of street vending was a concern, but I doubted anyone would make a big deal over a child’s small venture.

I had already ensured the mushrooms were safe and not poisonous, thanks to Sophia’s help.

After thinking it over, I nodded at Levinas.

We decided to try street vending for Levinas’s education.

“Let’s do it.”

“Yay! Levinas is a merchant now!”

Levinas, bubbling with excitement, suddenly laughed mischievously.

It was a laugh that sounded like a villain plotting something.

“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”

“A merchant sets their prices! Levinas will sell the mushrooms for a million won each!”

“A million won…?”

That price was unrealistic. No one would buy them.

I thought about explaining supply and demand to Levinas but chose silence instead.

I judged that learning through direct experience would be a more valuable lesson.

“Only the richest have a million won! Is Levinas rich now?”

“Sure, amazing.”

“Right?! Levinas will earn a lot of money and contribute to the king!”

“Thanks.”

If she managed to sell them, she’d indeed be wealthy.

I was just grateful for her kind heart.

<+>

We set up our stall near a busy pond, laying an old mat on the ground and placing the mushrooms in a battered pot.

-One millio won per moist mushrom.

Levinas had scribbled the words crookedly on a large box.

Though the spelling was wrong, I let Levinas do everything by herself.

“I’ll watch. Try selling them.”

“Yes! Levinas will sell!”

Seated on the mat, Levinas swung her legs and called out to passersby.

“Buy mushrooms! Handpicked by Levinas!”

She switched to formal language for selling, showing she understood the basics.

“Delicious moist mushrooms, picked by Levinas!”

Her calls caught the attention of people nearby, drawing them in.

“Are you kids selling mushrooms?”

“Yes! One million won each!”

“That’s way too much.”

Predictably, the price shocked them. No one would pay that much for a mushroom.

Levinas, undeterred, held up a mushroom.

“Eat this, and you’ll grow tall!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Levinas and the King here ate them and got tall!”

The customers looked at us skeptically.

Contrary to Levinas’s claims, I wasn’t particularly tall.

In fact, my legs felt disproportionately short.

And I’ve never eaten one of these mushrooms in my life.

I was taken aback by Levinas’s sales pitch, which was almost like a scam.

She might not get the principles of supply and demand, but she had the makings of a merchant.

“Still, a million won is way too much. How about one thousand won each?”

“Yes! One thousand won works!”

Levinas quickly agreed and offered the mushroom to the customer. I was amazed at her swift change.

“You were aiming for a million won, right?”

“But a thousand won is still good money.”

“Right.”

Dropping from a million to a thousand won, Levinas might have a knack for business after all.

As I looked at her in surprise, a woman who appeared to be a college student approached and squatted down next to us.

“Can I buy some mushrooms too?”

“Yes! I’ll sell mushrooms to you!”

Levinas handed over a mushroom, and the woman, giggling, pulled out a banknote.

──

Frog Bank.

One hundred million won.

──

Clearly fake money.

Levinas, still naive, took it without question.

“This is a hundred million won. It’s a lot of money.”

“One hundred million?”

“Yes, a hundred times more than a million, right?”

“A hundred times…?!”

Levinas folded and unfolded her fingers several times.

She seemed to understand how much money that was by the way her mouth hung open.

“Just one mushroom, please.”

“No, take all of them!”

“Just one is fine.”

The woman, suppressing a laugh, took a single mushroom.

She was tricking Levinas, but I hesitated to intervene.

Being cheated could be a good lesson for Levinas.

“King, she gave us a hundred million! We’re wealthy!”

“Uh, yeah.”

I clapped half-heartedly.

Then, the woman handed over real money, ten thousand won.

“This is for you.”

“A tip too?!”

“Get something tasty for yourselves.”

After messing up Levinas’s hair, she left with her mushroom.

I breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn’t a real scammer.

Levinas would be disappointed later, but it seemed more like a harmless joke.

<+>

─── 【Today’s Beastkin Kids Update】

Author: BeastkinLover

– They set up a stall in the park. Selling mushrooms for a million won each was ambitious. ───

[MeowMeow: A million won is way too much lol]

[└BeastkinLover: They’ll lower it to a thousand won if you ask.]

[└JjaeSeung: Dropped to a thousand won lololol]

[└BeastkinLover: The kids were adorable.]

Yeoreum came across the post online and decided to find Gyeoul in the park.

Despite her concerns, Gyeoul was always bravely living in the present.

“Gyeoul, are you selling these?”

“Ah.”

Gyeoul looked up from the mat, her tail wagging gently at the sight of Yeoreum.

Yeoreum marveled at Gyeoul’s enduring fondness for humans despite past hurts.

She had thought it would take much longer for Gyeoul’s heart to heal.

Just by looking into Gyeoul’s innocent eyes, Yeoreum started to feel a pang of guilt.

“You’re here.”

“Did you sell a lot of mushrooms?”

Levinas answered instead of Gyeoul.

“We sold mushrooms and made a hundred million?!”

“A hundred million…?”

“Yes! We’re rich now!”

Levinas proudly presented the hundred million won note, clearly from “Frog Bank.”

“Oh dear.”

That money was fake.

The kids were still naive about the world and got fooled.

Yeoreum hesitated on how to break the news.

‘Gyeoul is still very much a child.’

It was sometimes worrying how mature Gyeoul seemed for her age.

It was a relief to see her showing her childlike side this way.

“Um… This money isn’t real…”

“Eh? Why isn’t it real?”

“It’s play money.”

Play money.

Levinas was puzzled by that explanation.

“Isn’t it still real if it’s for play?”

“Uh, um…”

Yeoreum struggled to explain as she crouched beside the kids, attracting kind looks from park-goers.

“Gyeoul and Levinas aren’t familiar with money?”

“Eh…?”

Levinas, I understand, but why me?

Gyeoul opened their mouth in confusion.

Perhaps she was treated the same because she remained silent when Levinas received the hundred million won.

She remained silent earlier for Levinas’s sake, not because she didn’t understand.

Gyeoul felt wronged but had no one to complain to.

She hadn’t stopped Levinas when she received the fake hundred million won.

Admitting her awareness now would only invite ridicule.

Feeling dejected, Gyeoul’s tail sagged.

Observers, including Yeoreum, mistakenly thought her disappointment was over the counterfeit money.