Chick 215
by Cristae215
“Why don’t you ever tell Dad the truth?”
“Because…”
Groo’s mental Dad Reaction Algorithm flashed through her mind.
Rolling her eyes sideways, Groo answered.
“It’s fun.”
“…!”
Joorim was left speechless for a moment, his mouth agape.
Meanwhile, Kazuki sat on the edge of the desk with a bright grin.
“Disciple-chan, your master really was shocked! How did you do it?”
Groo, stretching out her tucked legs and leaning companionably against Kazuki, grinned slyly and replied in a solemn tone.
“I am the Potato Master.”
“Wow!”
At her declaration of being the Potato Master, Kazuki let out a hearty laugh, earning a sharp kick to the shins from Joorim.
“Ow!”
“Dad is no fun, so tell me honestly. What have you been doing behind my back? You used a skill to extract something from an S-rank item, right? What was that? Where did it come from?”
“Only if Dad is honest with me too.”
“About what—”
“That time on the variety show. Dad, you sneaked out at night.”
“…You weren’t asleep?”
“Nope.”
“…”
Left at a loss for words, Joorim fell silent.
Groo, sensing her advantage, smirked triumphantly.
Joorim, clearly displeased with that smile, narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, drumming his fingers like piano keys.
Kazuki, watching the two of them in a silent staring match, stifled a laugh behind his hand.
“You snuck out at night? That’s awful!”
Once more, Kazuki got a swift kick to the shin from Joorim, muttering “hidói” (so mean) as tears welled in his eyes.
“Dad… something’s wrong with your glove.”
“With my glove?”
“Your glove?”
Groo and Kazuki exclaimed in unison.
They weren’t the only ones.
Joorim sensed a commotion behind the guild leader’s door where the kids were eavesdropping and sighed.
“It’s nothing. I just went out because I was worried there might be trouble while Groo was asleep…”
“Then—!”
Groo interrupted anxiously.
“If the glove breaks, does the master come out?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Mephisto, perched atop her head with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
As the little chick flapped its wings, Groo gathered Mephisto into her arms.
“Will the fire dragon… come out?”
Mephisto’s father.
The one everyone feared, the master of the 99th floor, so dangerous that even Joorim could only keep him sealed away.
“What happens then?”
If the master of the 99th floor broke free, what would happen to Dad?
Groo’s large coral eyes shook with uncertainty.
Joorim cupped Groo’s cheeks in his hands and spoke calmly.
“I just didn’t want to tell you because I was worried you’d be scared like this. It’s okay, there’s no need to be afraid. No matter what, Dad—”
Groo shook her head.
“I’m worried about Dad.”
“…”
“What if Dad gets hurt? I don’t want that.”
Groo, her eyes misting over, puffed her cheeks and pressed her lips together, holding back tears.
Joorim swallowed a chuckle at the cute expression and spoke softly.
“Even if the master gets out, Dad won’t get hurt at all. And my glove—my friend’s going to fix it.”
“Sensei will?”
Groo looked swiftly at Kazuki.
Kazuki, who’d been tense ever since the story began, now smiled gently and put his arm around Groo’s shoulder.
“Of course. I’ll fix Dad’s glove. Don’t worry.”
“Alright? So you don’t need to worry about it anymore. Now you’ll tell me everything, right?”
Perhaps troubled that Dad’s great mystery had been solved so easily, Groo pouted a bit.
Resting her chin on her palms and looking up at him, Joorim called her softly.
“Groo.”
“Yes…”
“Tell Dad everything. What happened?”
“…That night, when Dad was out… I met the Jeju Island unni.”
“The Jeju Island unni?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Groo began to recite the story of the very suspicious young woman who handled goldfish, and the wicked Chinese man who was caught rummaging through the cast’s belongings.
‘Chuen.’
‘It must have been Chuen.’
Joorim and Kazuki both pictured her at once and exchanged looks.
“If something like that happens, you have to tell Dad… What happened to the Metallic Armor Changer?”
“I took it from the bad Chinese man.”
Groo demonstrated how she used a fork like a bottle opener to snatch it, and handed the item over from her inventory.
“…Why?”
Joorim asked, half-exasperated.
“Um, I wanted to transform too…”
“Groo-chan, you amaze me every single day.”
Joorim and Kazuki both sighed as they inspected the item.
Groo, now both bashful and proud, suddenly gasped.
“Do I… have to give it back to the mister?”
“No. You don’t need to return it. In fact… you did just the right thing.”
“Really?”
As Joorim ruffled her hair, a radiant grin spread across Groo’s face.
“Truly a proper little bandit.”
“Hee!”
Joorim gave a light pinch to Groo’s cheek as she beamed with pride, then fell into thought.
A Chinese man rifling through the belongings of the cast.
It was likely his real target wasn’t Chuen, but Orchestra.
Lately, China had been wary of Groo’s drone and might have tried to sabotage it.
At that realization, Joorim looked down at Groo.
The transformation item she’d been toying with like a mere toy was indeed of Chinese origin.
And this five-year-old had used it to create a potato that could turn the world upside down…
So, in trying to counter Groo, China had inadvertently handed their own technology to her.
Ha! Joorim let out a dry, astonished laugh.
China placed great value on its honor and overestimated its own strength.
Joorim, arms folded and eyes half-closed, muttered,
“We’ve received a gift, so we should give something back as well.”
“We should?”
What are we supposed to give? Groo cocked her head, but Kazuki hastily shifted the topic.
“So Groo-chan, you made this potato using the transformation item?”
“Uh-huh.”
Groo took the potato with both hands and answered with a bright smile.
“Ah, that’s it…”
Kazuki finally seemed to put the puzzle together, nodding to himself.
While Kazuki admired Groo’s potato, declaring it wonderful, Joorim glanced toward the door of the guild leader’s office.
“Hey, if you’re going to lurk out there, just come in.”
At his command, Gidan, startled, opened the door and entered the guild office.
“Yes, yes…”
Standing with hands clasped behind his back, Gidan gave a deep ninety-degree bow to Kazuki.
“Hello, Hunter Amakusa.”
“Hello. You’re Hunter Gidan, right? I’ve seen you often in raid videos. You look even better in person~”
“Really?”
Receiving yet another compliment on his looks, Gidan’s face lit up, a far cry from his usual bored bravado.
He fumbled through his reply.
“Aw, compared to you—no, compared to Hunter Amakusa, you’re way cooler, more handsome, and your swords are legendary…”
Groo stared gape-mouthed at Gidan’s shy display, while Joorim burst out laughing.
It wasn’t so unusual, of course; Kazuki was the greatest swordsmith alive, and any swordsman would kill to own even a kitchen knife he’d sharpened.
Joorim’s gaze moved to the door.
“Sergey, you too.”
“…”
Sergey, who’d been hiding outside, stepped in hesitantly.
“See? I told you you couldn’t sneak by. People with extrasensory perception have wider detection ranges.”
Gidan grinned, gesturing to himself and Joorim, while Sergey snorted and turned away.
“You’re the one who blew it, moron.”
“Excuse me? Now who’s twisting reality?”
No sooner did the two of them show themselves than they started bickering, causing Joorim to sigh.
“Groo is here.”
“Yes, sir.”
“…”
Joorim glanced at the high schoolers with exasperation, lips twisting. It felt like raising two more kids.
Reading his expression, Kazuki burst into laughter.
Joorim took a deep breath and gave instructions to Gidan and Sergey, standing with hands behind their backs.
“For now, cancel all field work for the other teams. Only your Team 1 will be in operation.”
“Just us?”
“Yeah. And Team Leader Shin will work with you.”
“Nayeon noona too? Is something big about to go down?”
“It will now.”
“Now?”
A gleam appeared in Gidan’s eye—he could sense something interesting was about to break.
[Top Stories]
[On Joorim Speaks Out on China’s Metallic Armor Changer: “It’s Nothing More Than a Fun Toy”]
[Doan Gnovation in Talks to Mass-Produce China’s Metallic Armor Changer as a ‘Children’s Toy’…]
[Guild Leader On: My Daughter Loves the Chinese Metallic Armor Changer… “It’s on the Level of a 5-year-old”]