The Strongest Guild Kidnapped Me

I followed Levinas with the coffee in hand. Running while holding the hot drink made me slower to reach the house.

“Levinas.”

I opened the door to the living room and saw Levinas stomping her feet nervously while Midsummer tried to calm her down.

“Gyeoul!”

Upon noticing me, Midsummer scooped Levinas into her arms and rushed over. Two pairs of worried eyes focused on me.

“Gyeoul, did you drink something dangerous?”

“Something dangerous?”

Did she mean the coffee? I held the cup out toward Midsummer.

“Oh dear, so Gyeoul drank coffee?”

“Yes, just a little.”

“This is serious. Gyeoul, you shouldn’t be drinking coffee…”

Midsummer clutched her head, her face filled with concern.

“Why can’t I drink coffee?”

“It’s bad for a child’s body.”

“I…”

I wanted to protest that I wasn’t a child, but I kept my mouth shut. Thinking about it, my body was technically still that of a child. Or maybe it wasn’t?

How old is my body, anyway?

My body hadn’t even been around for a full year, but that didn’t mean I was less than a year old. My reflexes and sensory abilities were far beyond what an infant—or even most adventurers—could achieve. There had to be some kind of age adjustment involved.

Am I like Sophia?

Sophia appeared young but was actually over a hundred years old. Maybe I was in a similar situation—a youthful appearance but an adult in reality.

But I couldn’t be sure. I did go to bed early like a child. Testing it seemed like the best course of action.

I’d drink coffee and see how my body reacted. If I were a child physically, the stimulant effects of coffee would manifest clearly.

“I’ll just drink this.”

Sip.

I looked directly at Midsummer as I took a sip. The coffee had cooled enough that I could take a full mouthful.

Ugh.
It was incredibly bitter. I couldn’t swallow and scrunched up my face instead.

“Gyeoul, you shouldn’t drink that. Spit it out.”

Midsummer tapped my back, causing me to reflexively cough the coffee out.
The liquid dribbled down my chin and onto the floor, which Midsummer quickly blocked with her hand.

“Uh…”

Wait, I didn’t even mean to spit it out this time. Looking closely, I noticed Midsummer’s hand was glowing faintly with mana. She had used her ability to force me to eject the coffee.

“I want to drink it…”

“No, coffee is for adults. How about I make you some cocoa instead?”

“But… what if I’m actually an adult? Like Sophia…”

I looked up at her with pleading eyes.

“Ugh.”
Midsummer shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away, avoiding my gaze.

“Gyeoul, you’re still a child.”

“…How can you be sure?”

“Don’t you remember my ability?”

“Oh.”

Midsummer had the ability to check information about people, including their height, gender, and age.

So she must have known the exact age of my body. No wonder she was so adamant about keeping me from drinking coffee.

“Just out of curiosity, how old am I?”

“You’re eight years old, Gyeoul.”

“Oh… I see.”

So my body was eight years old. Had someone told me that before?

Coffee in an eight-year-old body was practically poison. No wonder Levinas was so horrified.

“Let’s save coffee for when you’re an adult, okay?”

“Okay…”

Midsummer extended her pinky for a promise. As I reached out to meet her pinky, Levinas grabbed both my fingers firmly.

“What about the coffee Wang already drank?!”

“Hmm… A small amount should be fine.”

“Really?! Wang is okay?!”

“Yes, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Thank goodness!”

Whew. Levinas heaved a sigh of relief, then put on an unexpectedly stern expression.

“Wang is a kid, so no coffee!”

“Y-yeah. Sorry…”

There was no room for excuses. I silently resolved not to drink coffee again.

That afternoon, we visited the recycling yard to find materials for building a shelter or a small container house.

“Gyeoul, look at this.”

Saebyeok brought over a wooden storage box from across the yard. It was a two-tiered unit, still in good condition.

“Wow, where’d you find this?”

“Over there.”

“We could use this to store seeds.”

We hadn’t had proper storage for seeds, so I’d been keeping them in unused pots. Having a dedicated storage box made me smile.

“Good work.”

“Mm.”

I patted Saebyeok on the head. Seeing this, Levinas ran over, holding a random object she’d picked up nearby.

“Wang! Look at this!”

“…Wow.”

Levinas had found a long cable that resembled a charger. It was clearly meant to connect devices, but we had no idea what kind.

“Ha! Levinas picked up a jump rope!”

“A jump rope?”

“Yeah!”

Levinas began using the cable as a jump rope, hopping over it with delight. Her innocence was so endearing that I couldn’t help but pat her head too.

“Wang, let’s play with this at home!”

“Hmm… sure.”

With the storage box secured, it seemed like a good time to head back. Just as we were about to leave, someone approached the recycling yard.

Thunk.
They placed an item on the ground before leaving. Naturally, our attention turned toward it.

“Shoes with wheels!”

It was a pair of inline skates. Levinas’s eyes sparkled as she picked them up.

They were old but still functional. Levinas seemed to realize this too and placed them in the cart.

Was she planning to use them at the park? Since the park was safe, there was no reason to stop her. It was finally time to head home.

Back at the park, I decided to play with the kids since they had helped me earlier.@@novelbin@@

“Levinas, that’s…”

“A jump rope!”

Levinas held the black cable proudly, clearly intent on using it as a jump rope.

“Do you want to try it first?”

“Mm!”

Levinas spun the cable and jumped, but it was so slow that even a normal person could see the rope turning.

While her form was decent, the cable didn’t make it over her head. Instead, it hit her ears and bounced away.

Thud.
The cable landed near her heels. Levinas looked confused as she stared at the unmoving rope.

“Huh…?”

She turned around, tilting her head at the cable, then prepared for a second attempt.

Thud.

“Wang, this doesn’t work.”

“The cable keeps getting caught on your ears.”

“Gasp! Really?!”

Levinas touched her ears, as if realizing the issue for the first time. Rabbit ears were known to be sensitive, but horned rabbit ears might be different since their nerves were concentrated in the horns.

“Maybe the cable’s too short.”

“Is it? Wang, you try!”

“Okay.”

I took the cable from Levinas and began spinning it. Jumping rope didn’t require much thought.

“Huh?”

The rope didn’t come back around as expected. Instead, it got caught on the tip of my tail, which had stretched out behind me.

“Wang, it’s stuck on your tail.”

“Y-yeah…”

Why had my tail suddenly gone rigid? Trying to control it was no use. Once it lost control, it wouldn’t obey me.

“Is jumping rope a difficult game?!”

“Maybe…”

Of the three of us, only Saebyeok managed to jump rope properly. She completed ten jumps before patting both Levinas and me on the head.

“Jump rope might be too hard for Gyeoul and Levinas right now.”

“Mm…”

Our ears and tails got in the way, making it challenging. Until we could control them better, it seemed jumping rope would remain a struggle.

The realization left me feeling deflated.

“It’s okay. You’ll be able to do it once you’re a little older.”

“…Thanks.”

Was Saebyeok trying to comfort me? She might have been right—once I grew a bit more, controlling my tail would probably be easier.

For now, though, it seemed like we needed a different activity. Just as I was about to give up on jump rope, someone approached us.

It was Yoo Sangah, one of the guild’s administrative staff.

“Oh, what are you doing here?”

“Jump rope!”

“Jump rope?”

Yoo Sangah’s gaze landed on the cable, and she chuckled softly.

“That’s not a jump rope; it’s a cable.”

“A cable…?”

Levinas looked puzzled. It was time to reveal the truth.

“This is used to connect electronic devices.”

“Gasp! Is that what it’s for?!”

Levinas’s horned rabbit eyes widened.

Yoo Sangah seemed just as amused.

“Oh my, you knew?”

“Yeah…”

“Why not use an actual jump rope? This cable is heavy and doesn’t work well for jumping.”

“Well… we don’t have a real jump rope…”

Not being able to provide a simple jump rope for the kids made me feel a bit embarrassed. I couldn’t help but shrink slightly.

“Ah, I see.”

I glanced at Yoo Sangah nervously, but she just smiled warmly.