Chick 275
by Cristae275
“These days, with gate detectors getting more advanced, we’re seeing way too many illegal dungeon raiders,” said the head of the Awakened Task Force.
Jin Siwon nodded in agreement. “That’s true. There’s still no lead on the S-rank raiders at Eustitia International School’s dungeon, right?”
“No. It’s a big case, so we’re still investigating, but there’s been no real progress. We’re honestly at a loss.”
“Not at all. We’ve made no headway either.”
“Haha, since you’ve come all this way, why not have a coffee and look around?”
“Thank you.”
Jin Siwon accepted the instant coffee handed to him by the team leader.
Just then, a man in handcuffs was dragged into the office, yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Does it make sense for the state to control every dungeon? What is this, a communist country?!”
This must have been one of the illegal dungeon raiders they had just caught.
Following the noisy man, his party members entered the office in a line.
The team leader groaned, massaging his temple. “There’s no end to guys like these. Why do lawbreakers always have endless excuses? It’s a headache.”
Jin Siwon smiled politely over coffee, but suddenly raised his eyebrows.
“…?”
Behind the illegal raiders, he noticed children toddling in.
Two boys with black and white hair, and at the very last, a little girl.
His eyes were glued to the last girl who came in.
Platinum blonde, nearly beige, and with the face of a porcelain doll—Jin Siwon’s shoulders twitched as he recognized her.
While Jin stood frozen, the team leader, his face twisted, stepped in.
“What is this, did you kidnap kids too?”
“I told you again and again, it’s not like that! When we got there, the kids were already inside and raiding!”
The man sounded utterly wronged as Groo snuffled, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I didn’t know what to dooo…”
“So now you made the kid cry? Why was a little kid inside the dungeon?!”
“No! I’m telling you, it’s true! Tell them, little one! You were inside before we got there, weren’t you?”
“Heuuuhhh! I didn’t knowww…”
“You crazy bastard!”
The office turned to chaos: the police were furious over a child supposedly being harmed, the man wailed about his innocence, and the child sobbed hysterically.
Jin Siwon turned his stiff face to the man and met his eyes.
“When we discovered the unregistered dungeon and entered, the kids were already there, and there wasn’t a single monster left alive.”
Truth.
“That girl at the end was using a fork to harvest monsters’ items, I’m telling you!”
Truth.
“Even the boss was already finished! They must have done something!”
Truth.
All of it was true.
But nobody believed a word from these criminals, and only one person truly knew what had happened.
Jin Siwon, who was reading the man’s thoughts.
Jin Siwon had to act quickly.
“Groo, are you okay?”
“Mister… hic“
“It’s all right. Don’t cry.”
“Sniff.”
As Groo took a breath, Jin Siwon patted her small shoulder comfortingly.
He hurriedly intervened when the team leader tried to charge the man with child kidnapping, speaking quickly:
“I know the children’s guardian, so I’ll take them to the Bureau. The kids look pretty shaken, so I’ll interview them as witnesses and report separately.”
Firing off the explanation rapidly, Jin Siwon didn’t wait for a reply but grabbed Groo and the children and bolted out.
Inside a Bureau meeting room.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The children—Mephisto, Groo, and Bailach—were seated in a row.
Mephisto looked around in wonder, blinking. Bailach yawned and rested his chin on his hand. Groo hung her head.
“Hot cocoa,” said Jin Siwon, setting cocoa in front of the kids.
Groo grabbed the cup with both hands and chugged it down.
“Sniff!”
She put the cup down, inhaled through her nose, and Jin Siwon managed an awkward smile.
Seeing this, tears welled in Groo’s eyes again.
Jin Siwon met her gaze and quickly scanned her flustered little mind.
‘S-rank crafting, SSS-grade monsters, Fakeclaw, unregistered dungeon raid… a second time?’
While wiping her tears, Jin Siwon struggled to hide his astonishment.
“Groo, you have to tell me the truth so I can help you, okay?”
Nod, nod.
“You raided a dungeon like this before, at kindergarten, right?”
In the end, Groo’s tears tumbled down again.
“Yeah… sniffle“
As Jin Siwon wiped away her tears, he squeezed his eyes shut.
He’d assumed the group that swept through and disappeared from S-rank dungeons was some large organization.
He never imagined they were kindergarteners.
He was reeling with amazement and confusion.
What on earth was On Joorim raising?
But he couldn’t afford to stay shocked.
“Groo, remember solving quizzes at the Bureau and winning prizes?”
“Yeah…”
“Anyone can’t just go raiding dungeons, you know that, right?”
Nod, nod.
“Then why did good little Groo do it?”
“Groo wanted something… hic But no one would go with Groo into a dungeon… heuuuhhh…”
Jin Siwon patted Groo on the back as she sobbed and hiccupped.
No one would dungeon-raid with her… Of course not—he had nothing to say back to that.
“Did you raid together with these friends?”
As Jin Siwon asked, he glanced at the kids on either side.
Neither seemed to have any clue what they’d done wrong; no matter how closely he looked, he couldn’t read anything from their eyes.
That must mean they used high-grade items even he couldn’t scan.
‘Or… maybe they’re both highly ranked themselves…?’
Were these the SSS-grade monsters brought from Jeju?
Bracing himself, Jin Siwon stiffened, but Groo reached out for the other two.
“Sniff Mephi, Bail, come here.”
In an instant, the children transformed—one into a fluffy little bird, one into a bizarre hamster—and hopped onto Groo’s head and shoulder.
“…!”
Jin Siwon blinked in shock.
So these two were the pets Groo always brought along?
Even if Groo was an S-rank crafter, was it really possible to create companions that shifted so freely between animal and human?
As Jin Siwon gaped, Groo sniffled and asked,
“Mister, am I going to… hic kids’ prison? Even though… hic Groo arrested Uncle Reiji?”
Jin Siwon managed an awkward, troubled laugh.
Kids’ prison…
She had great power, but a child was still a child.
No wonder Joorim worked so hard to conceal everything.
If Groo’s ability became known, she’d be in constant danger—targeted by those who sought her power.
She might even face the same harsh fate as Sergey.
Jin Siwon lowered his eyes and gently stroked Groo’s cheek with his thumb.
“You won’t be going to kids’ prison.”
At his gentle tone, Groo’s sobbing eased.
“Really?”
Jin Siwon gave a faint smile.
For now, to hide her ability, he’d have to quietly close the case of the unauthorized S-rank dungeon raid.
“In exchange, I’ll make you an Honorary Bureau Agent.”
“A puppy agent?”
“That’s right. It means you’re officially part of the Bureau now.”
“…!”
Groo stared in blank wonder at her sudden appointment.
“And an honorary agent needs to follow the law extra-carefully, right?”
“Yeah!”
“So you can’t just go raiding dungeons, can you?”
“No way… hic“
“Good girl. Now I’ll take you home. How does that sound?”
Groo nodded her head up and down.
Smiling faintly, Jin Siwon took her hand and led her from the room.
As they walked the corridor, a boy with thick, large glasses brushed past them.
For a moment, Jin Siwon felt the boy’s eyes behind the lenses.
He began to turn to look, but the boy pulled his hat low over his face and lowered his gaze.
At the same time, Groo sniffled and said,
“Sniff Mister, you really can’t tell my dad.”
Jin Siwon squatted and wiped her runny nose.
“I won’t tell him.”
“Promise?”
“But don’t do it again, all right?”
“Yeah… Pinkie swear.”
Groo stuck out her little finger, and Jin Siwon hooked it with his own.
“I promise.”
Groo smiled, the very model of loyalty, then turned to glance behind her.
The thick-glasses boy they’d just passed was already gone.
Groo, still holding Jin Siwon’s hand, tilted her head in thought.
For a moment as their eyes met, she’d felt a sharp pang of something strange.
‘Why?’
Groo pondered briefly, then followed Jin Siwon down the hall.
At that moment, Yulian, rounding the corridor and leaning against the wall, peered out, arms crossed.
At the end of his gaze were Jin Siwon and Groo’s retreating backs.
Yulian frowned quietly.
‘Dominic?’
Dominic’s trail had surely vanished with that child.