Chick 247
by Cristae247
In front of the warehouse frequented by the pop-up store staff.
When his subordinate opened the warehouse door, Yamaoka Shun stepped inside.
He addressed someone who had been waiting in advance.
[“The target?”]
[“Confirmed.”]
His subordinate, dressed in the pop-up store staff uniform, replied.
[“Release the fog.”]
[“Yes, sir.”]
The subordinates behind him drew specially treated gas masks from inside their jackets and put them on.
Yamaoka Shun also accepted a mask from them and donned it.
[‘Casting Magic Fog.’]
As he used the item, mist began to rise around his feet, seeping and spreading into the department store.
Ordinary people likely wouldn’t see it.
The more magical energy one possessed, the denser the fog would appear.
Yamaoka Shun pushed through the crowds in the pop-up store.
Most of the hunters had gathered at the special match, so the people here were mostly civilians.
Putting Inoue Haruna at the forefront of the Korea-Japan joint special match was a deliberate tactic to divert the hunters’ attention.
Upon returning to Japan, Yamaoka Shun had constantly replayed the moment he had been forced to yield.
With Kagehira (S+)’s strength, he could have brought Amakusa Kazuki back to Japan.
No, in the end, it was Kazuki himself who had tried to board the helicopter.
But everything had fallen apart because of one small child by his side.
A child…
It was an unbelievable story. The notion that a single child’s power could destroy a helicopter.
Since then, Yamaoka Shun had started investigating the Orchestra.
Specifically, someone in Orchestra who kept a low profile…
Fakeclaw.
The pieces were falling into place one by one.
Fakeclaw was not an adult manipulating dolls.
Rather, it was a child wearing a doll-shaped suit to conceal their identity.
Having met in person, his suspicions were confirmed.
A being connected to Orchestra, a child with enough power to destroy a helicopter.
He was determined that the price of his failure and disgrace would be paid with what Korea valued most.
Soon, Yamaoka Shun spotted his target. Fortunately, the target was separated from their guardians.
‘It’ll be easier to take than I thought.’
Yamaoka Shun grabbed the slender wrist of the child with the small round bird perched on their head.
The startled child’s eyes widened, and a smile curled on his lips.
Perhaps due to the fog, the child seemed unable to see well, looking around, searching for their own face.
It was proof of possessing massive magical power, even as a child.
‘Got you, Fakeclaw.’
He tore the scroll in his hand to activate teleportation.
Shuuuk!
In an instant, Yamaoka Shun and the child vanished from sight.
“…?”
Having teleported to a prepared safe house, Yamaoka Shun burst into hearty laughter.
[“Ha! Finally! Hahahahaha!”]
“……”
He shook the silent child by the shoulders.
[“I found you! I got Fakeclaw!”]
“……”
[“I know everything now. That you are Fakeclaw…
Do you know how many days I wasted searching for you?
I investigated every single person coming and going at the Orchestra headquarters, both civilians and hunters alike.
But strangely, I never saw you, not even once.
Then one day, seeing you leave the building alongside the Orchestra’s princess, I knew my theory was right.
Ordinarily, you appear as a small child. When acting as a hunter, you wear that bizarre teddy suit as Fakeclaw.
That must be why On Joorim assigned you to guard the Orchestra’s princess as well.”]
Bailach and Mephisto, perched on his head, both tilted their heads in unison.
“…?”
“Pii?”
What’s this guy going on about?
Left behind in the empty spot where they had vanished…
Only On Groo remained, mouth agape, clutching a trembling baby rabbit.
“Eeeng?!”
“Gyuu…”
He had just received Haruna’s warning and was bringing Bailach in human form when it happened.
Suddenly, a strange man strode up, grabbed Bailach’s wrist, tore a scroll, and they vanished together.
This was bad.
‘The fog, it’s too thick!’
Groo moved hesitantly, following the voices of Gidan and Sergey calling him.
There were too many people; he couldn’t move freely.
At that moment, Lucifer shook its sprout.
As if a windowpane were being cleaned, the blurriness before his eyes was swept aside and his vision cleared.
“Oh!”
“Gyuu!”
“Thanks, Fer.”
Groo patted Lucifer’s head, then dashed toward Gidan and Sergey, who were searching frantically for him.
“Hey!”
“Groo, are you alright?”
“Let’s see.”
Gidan picked Groo up, and Sergey turned him this way and that to check him over.
Once he confirmed that Groo was unharmed, Sergey spoke with clear relief.
“Let’s head back to the company for now. This fog—it’s man-made. It’s dangerous.”
“N-no, Mephi and Bayi were kidnapped!”
“What?”
Gidan and Sergey echoed him in disbelief.
Now that they thought about it, it was odd that the kid who was supposed to be bringing Bailach out had appeared alone.
But how could Mephisto and Bailach—rather than Groo himself—have been kidnapped?
Then Groo briskly explained what had happened.
“A weird man just grabbed Bayi by the wrist and dragged them away! Suddenly, all three went poof and disappeared!”
From Groo’s description, an image formed in Gidan’s mind: an adult male taking advantage of the chaos to drag along what looked like a five-year-old child.
Gidan covered his mouth with his hand, face pale, muttering in horror.
“What kind of sick perverted bastard…?”
Cautiously watching the situation, Haruna glanced at her translation app and then, looking shocked, repeated:
“‘Hentai’… (pervert)…”
“H-hentai…?”
Groo repeated Haruna’s words, reeling in surprise.
It seemed this “hentai man” had kidnapped Bailach.
The name sounded Japanese—was he in league with Yamaoka Shun?
As Groo was sinking deeper into his misunderstanding, Sergey, having pieced together what had happened, let out a quiet, thoughtful murmur by his side.
“Hm…”
Whether the culprit was a pervert or not, given who’d been kidnapped, there really wasn’t a major cause for concern…
He looked at Groo, who was anxiously marching in place while clutching the trembling bunny.
Since Groo was worried, at least pretending to look for them was necessary to avoid a fuss.
Otherwise, leaving an SSS-rank entity unattended could cause serious trouble.
If Bailach suddenly regained full strength and opened a dungeon, it would be recorded as an SSS-class great dungeon, an event that had only happened a few times worldwide.
“Don’t worry too much; we’ll look for them later.”
“But… shouldn’t we get Mephi and Bayi now?”
Groo gazed up at Sergey with teary eyes, as if questioning why they couldn’t look right away.
“Well, we need to deal with this fog first.”
More urgent than the safety of an SSS-rank was the priority of dealing with Yamaoka Shun.
Groo sulked but nodded, understanding.
As Sergey, deep in thought, popped his bubble gum, he turned to Gidan—who was bouncing in agitation over “Bailach being kidnapped by a pervert.”
“Hey, Gidan. Didn’t you say you have super-sense, bragging you’re top-tier? Use it. We need to find Yamaoka Shun before any pervert.”
“…Ah.”
Only then did Gidan activate his super-sense.
Centered on him, his perception spread out in a wide circle. Various sensations began flowing into his awareness.
“This fog—it’s coming from the direction of the warehouse.”
Wiping cold sweat from his brow, Gidan led the group toward the source of the fog item. The others followed.
They figured Yamaoka Shun was most likely there.
Groo set Lucifer on his head and hurriedly messaged Joorim.
Bzzz—
Meanwhile, on the sofa in a reception room set up for the special match.
In front of Jeon Byeongho, who had organized the Korea-Japan joint special match for Inoue Haruna, Joorim sat with his legs crossed, eyes fixed on his cell phone.
It was a text from Groo.
Groo
Dad! Bayi got kidnapped by a hentai!
A question mark appeared above his head as he read the message.
“…?”
With narrowed eyes, Joorim read the message again, as if that might somehow change its contents.
Kazuki and Jeon Byeongho looked on in confusion, but Joorim simply stared at his phone for a long while.