"Ownerrr!"
Light spread in all directions with Gaeul's scream.
Wood, stone, and even the people trading blue powder.
The intense light that covered everything began to gather back into Woodcalibur.
"Wow."
The Woodcalibur that emerged looked quite impressive.
White flames flickered over Woodcalibur, but unlike before, they weren't dazzling or hot.
"Ugh...!"
"My eyes...!"
Strangely, they were just squinting or covering their eyes with their hands.
What's going on?
Could this be some kind of flash ability that only affects enemies?
Just as I was surprised by this unexpected ability, flames began shooting from Woodcalibur.
Swoosh-!
Thwack-!
"Guhk!"
"Agh!"
Baseball-sized flames flew through the air, striking the stomachs of those who had their eyes closed.
It was a powerful attack that made these adventurer-looking people drool from the impact.
"..."
Saebyeok, who had been preparing for battle, unclenched her fists and looked at Gaeul.
Levinas and Bom just stood with their mouths hanging open.
"Gaeul, how did you do that?"
"...Don't know."
"Wasn't it you who did it?"
"Hek..."
Gaeul, who had been staring at Woodcalibur with a blank expression, suddenly held it high.
She cleared her throat and puffed out her chest, so I clapped for her.
Though Gaeul said she didn't do it, I decided to give her credit anyway.
"Gaeul, you're amazing. You knocked them all down with light."
"Gaeul was a total hero doggy!"
Just as we were each taking turns giving compliments, the sound of monsters trampling undergrowth came rushing from the far end of the dungeon.
"Grrrr!"
"Kyaaaak!"
It seemed that Woodcalibur's light and Gaeul's screams had attracted all the nearby monsters.
'This is bad.'
We could certainly handle Level 3 dungeon monsters on our own.
The problem was that we had to fight while protecting those who were collapsed on the ground.
There must be at least dozens of monsters.
Could we really fight while protecting all those fallen people?
"Ngh..."
Just as I was pulling out my bow with worry, Gaeul's Woodcalibur began to emit light again.
It was as if the sword was responding to feelings.
**
[People using blue powder are entering a dungeon. I'll follow them secretly.]
After receiving the children's text message, Han Yeoreum quickly tracked them down.
Though the exact dungeon coordinates weren't specified, it didn't take long to find them.
She just needed to check the dungeons near the guild that the children might visit.
'Huh?'
At the entrance of the dungeon she arrived at.
The civil servant who should be managing the dungeon was panicking.
This was because the master of Yeomyeong Guild was standing in front of him.
"W-well, entry is currently not possible..."
"..."
The dungeon management civil servant was desperately trying to stop Yeomyeong's master.
That desperate resistance crumbled with just one glance from the master.
"I'm going in anyway, so officially report this issue to the guild..."
"Master!"
Han Yeoreum interrupted the master, who was still trying to maintain a certain level of politeness.
She was in a hurry to enter the dungeon.
If there really were people with blue powder inside the dungeon, the children would be in danger.
Those people were vicious adventurers who would stop at nothing.
Even though the children were unusually strong, they were up against people who would use any means necessary.
If they had entered a Level 3 dungeon to trade the powder...
'These are people who can easily clear Level 3 dungeons.'
This was extremely dangerous.
Han Yeoreum entered the dungeon without hesitation.
'Where could they be...'
People lying down some distance from the portal, which was the safe zone of the dungeon.
Further away, she could hear explosions.
Could the children be in battle?
Han Yeoreum quickly ran toward the source of the sound.
"Huh...?"
When she arrived, Han Yeoreum couldn't help but stop in her tracks.
The children's situation was completely different from what she had expected.
"Yaaaaaah!"
"Yah! Yah!"
Gaeul was charging forward with a glowing wooden sword held high.
The other children were running behind her.
Pitter-patter-patter-
Along with their cute footsteps, white fireballs shot from the wooden sword.
The fireballs accurately hit the monsters, taking them down with a single strike.
"Catch them all!"
"There are more monsters over there!"
Pitter-patter-patter-
The children were just running around with the sword.
They ran while giggling as if it were a fun game.
"Gra, graaaah...!"
"Grrrk...!"
Perhaps thinking they were no match, the monsters began to flee.
The children chased after them relentlessly.
Bang-! Bang-!
After slaughtering countless monsters this way, the light from the wooden sword began to fade.
The sword flickered like a broken lamp before losing its light completely and returning to an ordinary wooden sword.
"Uing?"
"It turned off."
Gaeul swung the wooden sword around and tapped on its surface.
But the vanished light didn't return.
"Did you turn it off, Gaeul?"
"No."
"...The sword must have used up its power."
The children's shoulders drooped.
They were disappointed that the fun auto-hunting feature had disappeared.
At that point, Han Yeoreum approached the children.
"It will probably recharge if you wait. You can also charge it directly with a mana stone."
"...!"
Han Yeoreum couldn't help but smile at the children's perked-up ears.
Even though she saw them every day, she found it so endearing how happy they were to see her.
"This can be recharged?"
"Yes. May I take a look at it?"
"Sure."
Gyeoul answered, and Gaeul handed over the wooden sword.
Han Yeoreum could feel that the wooden sword she received was no ordinary object.
'What is this?'
Though it looked like an ordinary branch, the energy condensed inside it was anything but ordinary.
Han Yeoreum swallowed hard and asked Gaeul:
"Gaeul, would you give this to me?"
"Aeng..."
Gaeul's ears drooped sadly.
It was so cute how she pouted but didn't actually say no, just like Gaeul.
"Hehe, I'm just kidding. Why would I take away Gaeul's weapon?"
Han Yeoreum patted Gaeul's head and looked behind her.
Among those collapsed near the safe zone were people Han Yeoreum had been tracking for days.
She had wondered how they had managed to evade her.
Had they bribed the dungeon management civil servant?
Feeling that things were resolving easily, Han Yeoreum stretched out her arms and hugged all five children tightly.
"Oh, you little bundles of fortune."
**
Strong Han Yeoreum and Saebyeok dragged the unconscious people out of the dungeon.
The civil servant's face turned pale when he saw them.
"Well done."
My tail wagged at Master's praise.
But Master was looking at the civil servant, not at me.
Han Yeoreum was also smiling somewhat deviously at the frightened civil servant.
"Hehe, caught red-handed."
"What's caught...?"
"The civil servant."
Was a civil servant getting caught such a good thing?
Unable to understand the situation, I just tilted my head.
"Since a civil servant is involved, the authorities will have to act with full force, right?"
"Ah..."
Though I didn't fully understand, I had a vague sense of what was happening.
Something about the investigation becoming easier with the authorities involved...
"Now we can really put some pressure on them."
"...Pressure?"
"Ah... it's nothing, I just meant... those blue powder guys are going to be under pressure."
Hehe.
Han Yeoreum laughed and waved her hand.
It was a somewhat awkward laugh.
"Shall we head home now and leave this to Master?"
"Yes."
We returned to the park with Han Yeoreum.
We each ate an ice cream cone on our way back.
"I'm going to check on Marin for a bit."
"Then let's go together."
"Yeah!"
We all ran toward Marin.
Marin was playing with neighborhood children at the swimming pool playground and was quite popular.
"Mermaid sister, please push me."
"Me too!"
Mermaids, being creatures from fairy tales, were enough to captivate children.
Even adults would come to the park just to see Marin.
'I wonder if it's uncomfortable for her.'
Though Marin supposedly enjoyed being with people, she must still need some time alone.
As I was watching Marin, I sensed a familiar presence nearby.
"Sophia?"
"Hmm..."
A short distance away, Sophia was watching Marin with her arms crossed.
After moving her eyebrows this way and that, she turned around and headed back toward the building, leaning on her cane.
'What was that?'
She seemed to be showing some discomfort.
Concerned, I ran toward Sophia. Sёarᴄh the NovelZone.fun* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"Sophia."
"...Yes, you've come."
"Yes. Is something wrong, Sophia? You looked upset."
Sophia hesitated for a moment at my question, then shook her head.
She didn't seem to be hiding anything; it really did appear to be nothing serious.
"I just felt awkward."
"Awkward?"
"Yes, I've never gotten along well with merfolk."
"Huh...?"
I see.
So Sophia was uncomfortable around Marin.
My ears perked up at this new information.
I felt like I needed to hear more about this.
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