We decided to visit the radical beast-kin village within five days to a week at the latest.

Though we’d hoped they would come to us…

“This looks like a trap any way you look at it.”

“Still, we can’t refuse to visit just one village…”

“…We’ll need to prepare as much as possible.”

Sophia and Han Yeoreum had a serious discussion.

The conclusion was to prepare as much as possible for any trap the radical beast-kin might set.

Yeoreum began sword training with all playfulness gone, while our children devised their own preparations.

“What if they attack from behind?”

“Levinas has good ears and can hear anyone coming from behind!”

“What about arrows from far away?”

“Just dodge like this, yah!”

Bom and Levinas planned strategies for different scenarios, while Saebyeok trained alongside Han Yeoreum, throwing punches.

“……”

Meow-

Gaeul, who had been watching them with her tongue slightly out, suddenly raised her eyebrows.

Pitter patter-

She ran outside the house.

Waving her tail while looking at the sunset-lit lake, Gaeul suddenly remembered something and examined the dirt ground.

“Hi.”

Whoosh-

“Hi.”

Whoosh-

Gaeul picked up and threw sticks from the ground repeatedly.

Since the house was built in a tree, there were many fallen branches on the ground.

“Gaeul, what are you doing?”

“Sword!”

“Sword… sword?”

“Huh…”

Gaeul was looking for sticks that were reasonably long but comfortable to hold.

She seemed to be searching for something to use as a weapon in the radical beast-kin village.

Though they were just sticks, it was nice seeing Gaeul making an effort in her own way.

I looked around the ground with Gaeul to find suitable sticks for weapons.

“Gaeul, how about this one?”

“This?”

I handed her a long, whip-like branch.

When Gaeul gripped and swung it, it made whooshing sounds like a whip.

She swung just her arms up and down without using her waist or leg strength.

“Hmm… no.”

“No? Do you have a specific shape in mind?”

“Short.”

Gaeul pointed at Han Yeoreum doing sword training by the lake.

More specifically, she pointed at the sword Han Yeoreum was holding.

So she wanted a stick shaped like a sword?

I continued searching the ground with Gaeul.

“Hmm… this one’s a bit crooked.”

“Oh…”

“This one…”

While exploring different parts of the village with Gaeul, something caught my eye.

My ears and tail perked up at a stick visible in the distance.

It was a cross-shaped branch that looked perfectly like a sword.

“Gae…”

About to call Gaeul, I saw her earnestly examining the ground and wanted her to quietly approach the sword instead.

I wanted to create a more dramatic scene for Gaeul.

I picked up the cross-shaped branch and planted it firmly in the dirt.

The plan was to let Gaeul pull this Woodcalibur from the ground.

“Wow, Gaeul, there’s an amazing wooden sword here.”

“Huh?”

Hearing my amazement, Gaeul sensed something special and stopped her search to run over.

Her eyes went wide seeing the cross-shaped branch planted vertically in the dirt.

“I think this is the legendary wooden sword Woodcalibur.”

“Wood…!”

Gaeul’s tail swayed gently.

I decided to make the situation even more dramatic for her.

“This is the mightiest wooden sword that only the chosen one can pull out. Want to try, Gaeul?”

“Yeah!”

Gaeul nodded firmly.

She thumped her chest as if saying to trust in her.

Her warrior-like boldness was quite reassuring.

“King Gaeul.”

“Yes. Give it a try, Gaeul.”

Gaeul approached Woodcalibur and grabbed the handle.

Her arms trembled as she gripped the wooden sword tightly.

“Hnnngh!”

What’s this?

Had I planted it too deep?

As I watched Gaeul trembling with concern…

Shunk-!

Woodcalibur, which hadn’t been planted very deep, pulled free from the dirt.

“King! I did it!”

“Wow, Gaeul, that’s amazing.”

Clap clap clap-

I applauded for Gaeul.

She raised Woodcalibur high like a legendary hero.

“Incredible. Now Gaeul is the legendary wooden warrior.”

“…!”

Pleased, Gaeul started giggling.

She swung Woodcalibur around in different directions.

“Now Gaeul’s a cool swordsman too?”

“Yeah. Gaeul swordsman.”

“Then I’ll pretend to be a monster, and you can practice swinging your sword?”

“…?”

Gaeul tilted her head.

She seemed to be refusing to swing her sword at me.

“Not really swinging it – just pretending to. For practice.”

“……”

Meow-

Gaeul stared at me with blank eyes.

After watching for a while, she dropped to her knees.

“Blegh.”

Gaeul made a dying sound and collapsed face-down.

Her tongue poked out as she squeezed her eyes shut.

She seemed to be acting out being dead in her own way.

“Gaeul?”

“Gaeul dead.”

“I see.”

So Gaeul didn’t want to fight me even in practice?

I crouched down and patted Gaeul’s head as she lay there.

“Gaeul, let’s stay brave when we go there too, okay?”

“Got it!”

Jumping up as if nothing had happened, Gaeul swung her sword around.

Though she just waved it clumsily, her heart behind it was bigger than anyone’s.

Gaeul working hard to protect her family in a dangerous place.

Thanks to her, I could prepare for meeting the radical beast-kin with peace of mind.

**

We returned to the guild to prepare.

Actually, since there was a portal to the beast-kin village at the guild, we could come and go like the park.

A few more days passed, and the day of reckoning arrived.

Mino came to escort us.

“There’s no limit on participants. Humans are welcome too. And…”

“And?”

Mino scratched his neck at Han Yeoreum’s question.

He seemed troubled about something.

“We’ve looked into it thoroughly, but there’s no sign they’re preparing a trap.”

“You mean it’s not a trap?”

“…I’m not sure. Either they’ve prepared so meticulously we can’t detect it, or they genuinely want to meet Gyeoul…”

Everyone’s eyes turned to me.

I shrugged at them.

“If it is a trap, it must be an incredibly thorough one.”

“Yes. Best to stay alert.”

After a brief exchange, Mino took out an item.

It was identical to what Sophia had produced recently.

So the radical beast-kin had portal creation technology too.

Someone gulped watching the portal form.

It was Bom, her tail standing straight up.

“Is this everyone in your party?”

Han Yeoreum, Choi Jinhyuk, and Sophia.

Plus Jung Yu-na to counter any magical traps.

Four adults total would visit the radical beast-kin village.

Of course, these weren’t all the adults present.

“Uncle, I’ll be back.”

“Okay.”

One by one they entered the portal, and as I went through I looked back.

Our Master watched with his usual expressionless face.

Other guild mages stood beside Master.

He had prepared them to prevent the portal from closing arbitrarily.

Though they couldn’t open portals, it was reassuring knowing they could prevent forced closures.

“It’s about thirty minutes’ walk from here.”

“Thirty minutes?”

“Yes. The nobles hate having portals right next to the village. Or rather, they hate portals themselves.”

“I see.”

Though portals could be excellent strategic tools, they could also be used to invade their world.

No matter how useful a tool, they naturally feared double-edged swords that could harm them.

“Gyeoul, look at that. I’ve never seen trees like these.”

“Wow…”

The forest where the radical beast-kin lived was more beautiful than I’d imagined.

I’d expected a dark, gloomy neighborhood, but sunlight streamed through and the forest was beautiful with colorful flowers.

Unfamiliar crops grew abundantly in distant fields.

“King! King!”

Levinas tapped my shoulder.

She puffed out her chest with an “ahem,” seeming proud of something.

“What is it?”

“Levinas did all that?”

Pink crops spreading across the vast field.

“You planted these?”

“Yeah. Levinas grew the crops and made all the fields.”

“The fields too?”

“Yeah! There used to be a small mountain here but Levinas dug it flat!”

Flattened a mountain…?

I looked back at the field with shocked eyes.

I couldn’t begin to imagine how much labor went into making such a beautiful field.

‘Good thing Levinas enjoys digging but…’

The other working-class beast-kin must have suffered tremendously.

Only after hearing Levinas’s words did I truly realize what kind of world I’d entered.

I decided to stay alert.

“This way.”

Following Mino, we finally reached the radical beast-kin village.

The village, built by grinding down people, was terrifyingly beautiful enough to entrance visitors.

Could we really handle this well?

Just as I stepped toward the village with worry…

“You’ve arrived.”

A small but weighty voice from beside us.

Turning toward the voice, I saw a woman with long black hair.

Delicate yet heavy.

Cold yet somehow warm.

I could immediately tell she was one of this village’s nobles.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep