The Strongest Guild Kidnapped Me

Chapter 135

Due to the sudden growth of the mysterious tree, the guild master was summoned. The master looked up at the steel-like gray tree, his brows furrowing in an unusual expression.

"An enhancement tree, huh?"

"Yes, it seems like Gyeoul somehow managed to grow it."

"I’ve never seen an enhancement fruit grow on a tree before."

The master’s gaze shifted toward me, and I found myself at a loss for words since it wasn’t technically my tree. After some thought, I decided to ask the question on my mind.

"Um, what exactly is an enhancement fruit?"

Midsummer responded, “It’s a fruit that temporarily strengthens equipment. Let’s test it out."

She plucked one of the sturdy-looking fruits, which, as she did so, started to regrow at an impressive speed. It looked like it would take about ten minutes to fully mature again.

"Is it normal for these fruits to grow so quickly?"

"No, usually once you pick one, the tree stops producing more, which makes it rare in the first place."

Midsummer took out her sword and rubbed the fruit on the blade. The steel-like fruit melted and adhered to the sword’s surface, leaving her with a satisfied look.

"Not bad… this could cut through steel, no problem."

Nearby, there were some bent metal pans piled up. She approached the stack and swung her sword at one of the pans. We expected it to make a light clanging noise, but instead, the pan split cleanly in half. Her enhanced sword cut through not one but two pans in a single stroke.

"My poor pans…"

"Sorry! I just meant to nick the top one, but it sliced right through."

She looked genuinely remorseful, so I decided to play it cool for her sake.

"It’s alright. I can always find more pans."

"No, I’ll replace it with a new one. This was my fault."

"Really, it’s fine."

I didn’t have the heart to insist on getting new pans for ones that were already pretty dented. Although it was a bit of a loss, I brushed it off as a minor inconvenience.

"Sorry… really."

Midsummer scratched her cheek, visibly embarrassed, when the master approached us, holding another enhancement fruit he had picked up.

"So, how much do you plan to sell these enhancement fruits for?"

"Well… it’s not exactly my tree. I think we should ask Levinas first."

"It belongs to Levinas?"

The master turned his gaze to Levinas, whose ears perked up at all the attention.

"Levinas, what do you want to do with the tree?"

"I don’t know! Let the king decide!"

"Are you sure you’re okay with that…?"

"Yes! It’s the king’s tree, after all!"

With Levinas’s enthusiastic approval, I made up my mind. I decided to distribute the enhancement fruits freely to everyone in the guild.

The seed had been a free gift from the messenger bird, the tree was nurtured by Levinas, and the fruits grew of their own accord. It didn’t feel right to profit from something we had received so freely.

"No need for money. Please take as many as you need."

I offered the enhancement fruit to the master, who hesitated before accepting it.

"Why aren’t you taking payment?"

"Because it was given to me as a gift. Let’s just share it together."

"Hmm…"

The master stroked his chin thoughtfully before finally taking the fruit from my hand. I could feel my tail wagging with joy, sensing his acceptance.

"Nobody would blame you for selling these for profit, you know."

"It’s alright."

"…Is that so?"

"Yes."

After seeing my unyielding determination, the master silently placed a hand on my head, patting it gently as if I were a child. Strangely, I didn’t mind. In fact, I enjoyed it, and my tail wagged even faster.

"Thank you."

Receiving gratitude from the guild master was a surprise, and I felt both embarrassed and pleased, scratching the back of my neck shyly.

---

The guild members eagerly took the enhancement fruits to distribute them among everyone. Afterward, Midsummer and Kang Jin-ho watched the children carrying their enhancement fruits out of sight before continuing their conversation.

"I never thought I’d say this, but that kid is like an angel."

"Yes. Gyeoul loves sharing with others."

Since Gyeoul had received the fruit freely, she decided to share it freely with everyone. Though Midsummer wanted to suggest selling the fruits for money, she couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud, knowing Gyeoul’s kind nature.

‘I guess not charging was the right thing to do…’

Asking a generous-hearted child to profit off a gift seemed wrong. While it felt unfortunate not to earn money, Midsummer concluded that it was best to respect Gyeoul’s pure intentions.

‘Maybe I could sell them secretly and put the money in her account…’

After much deliberation, Midsummer dismissed the idea. She knew it would break Gyeoul’s trust if she ever found out, and maintaining that trust was the most important thing.

Even if it meant Gyeoul would live modestly, it was better than betraying her.

---

Dawn Guild provided housing for its members, with rooms designed to offer everyone a private space if they wished.

"Excuse me…"

*Knock-knock–*

I knocked on Kwon Arin’s door, with Levinas knocking alongside me.

"The Supreme Mighty Kwon Arin!"

*Thump-thump-thump-thump–*

Levinas, like a rabbit digging a burrow, drummed on the door with both hands, knocking nonstop until Kwon Arin finally opened it.

"What’s up?"

"We came to give you this."

I handed her an enhancement fruit, and Kwon Arin’s eyes widened as she recognized its value.

"Why are you giving this to me? This stuff is really expensive."

"It’s free now. The guild says you can take as much as you need."

"Is that so…?"

She held the enhancement fruit with both hands, handling it with care. Taking the opportunity, Levinas darted into her room.

"It’s a house!"

Levinas ran around excitedly, and Kwon Arin, surprised, chased after her.

"Oh, no…!"

Hearing Kwon Arin raise her voice, Levinas froze, fidgeting with her hands and glancing nervously at her.

"S-Sorry…"

"No, I’m not mad. It’s just for the stream."

"A stream?"

"Yeah. A gaming stream. I can’t have my face showing, so I was a bit worried."

Worried about her face being revealed on camera, was she? Considering how we’d already appeared on Midsummer’s social media, it felt like a minor concern at this point.

"It’s okay if we’re on camera."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. By the way, have you always streamed?"

Kwon Arin responded with a sheepish smile, clearly a bit embarrassed.

"Not really. This is my first time. Someone at the arcade recently suggested I try it."

"Oh…"

With her impressive gaming skills, I could see why someone would recommend it.

"If you don’t mind us joining, why don’t we all play together?"

"A game?"

"Yeah. There’s this four-player cooking game called *Undercooked*."

A four-player game. With me, Levinas, Saebyeok, and Kwon Arin, it sounded perfect. Since I had to keep the kids entertained, there was no reason to refuse.

"Sure."

We entered Kwon Arin’s room and sat down in front of her computer. She already had a few viewers—four, to be exact.

"…Only four viewers?"

"For a first stream, four is a lot."

"Oh, really?"

Blushing, Kwon Arin handed us the game controllers. My character was a cat holding a net, gathering ingredients.

‘So I have to collect ingredients myself?’

The game’s objective was to separate edible items from inedible ones. Since it was a kids’ game, the difficulty was low.

I wandered around the virtual forest with my net, catching a dragonfly that fluttered by.

Dragonflies are edible. So are grasshoppers and worms. Almost everything on the map seemed edible.

‘There’s nothing I can’t eat?’

I must have set it to the easiest level for the kids, as I could collect many ingredients.

I gathered grasshoppers, snakes, various vegetables, and herbs like dandelion greens and clover.

??
*Cooking Time!*
??

After the gathering phase, we all met in the virtual kitchen to share our ingredients. I noticed Kwon Arin looking a bit taken aback.

"Gyeoul."

"Yes?"

"You’re supposed to bring only edible ingredients."

"Yes. I brought things you can eat."

I tilted my head, puzzled by her reaction.

"You… ate a grasshopper?"

"Yes. I ate it once when I was very hungry."

"You didn’t have anything else to eat?"

"Yes… I couldn’t afford food…"

I was too embarrassed to admit that I couldn’t even make enough money for meals.

"Well, you’re a child, so it makes sense, but… no one helped you when you were that hungry?"

"Why would anyone help me…?"

"Why wouldn’t they help you?"

"Because there’s no reason for them to…?"

"What on earth…?"

Kwon Arin looked at me with an expression as if I’d said something completely absurd. I found myself staring back at her with the same look, unsure of what she was trying to convey.