A Guardian's Tense Duty
Today was truly a nerve-wracking day for me as her guardian. I had to go into the dungeon alone with that Levi Nas.
I stood before Kim Min-jun, the dungeon manager official, with a more tense expression than usual. "Uncle, I'm here."
"Winter's here?"
Maybe because I came to the Goblin Dungeon so often, Kim Min-jun greeted me with a warm attitude. My tail started swishing back and forth at his completely non-hostile demeanor.
"I came with a friend today."
"A friend?"
Kim Min-jun's gaze shifted behind me. I turned around too, and there was Levi Nas, wearing a triumphant expression.
"This one is Levi Nas!"
"What a spirited friend."
"Yeah! Levi Nas is super spirited!"
Levi Nas's attitude was bewildering enough to fluster anyone, but Kim Min-jun just chuckled good-naturedly. He seemed to see her as a playful kid showing off. But I couldn't laugh it off like he did. Today, of all days, I had to be Levi Nas's guardian.
"Um, can Levi Nas enter the Goblin Dungeon too? She's still really young."
"How old?"
"Just ten."
I unconsciously held up ten fingers toward Kim Min-jun. He blinked at my hand for a long moment.
"That's about the same, isn't it?"
"Pardon...?"
What was the same? I had no idea what he meant, so I just blinked back at him in confusion.
"As long as you protect her well, it'll be fine."
"Ah, yes, sir."
With the manager's permission granted, I turned to Levi Nas with a stern expression I'd never shown her before. "Levi Nas."
"Yeah?"
"If you want to go into the dungeon, you have to listen to everything I say from now on. Got it?"
"...Yeah! Got it!"
Surprised by my uncharacteristically firm tone, Levi Nas snapped to attention. I decided to give her a few safety rules.
"No speaking loudly in the dungeon. Goblins have good ears."
"Yeah...! Levi Nas will speak super quietly...!"
Levi Nas replied in such a tiny voice it was barely audible. Perfect volume.
"And you have to stick right behind me at all times. If you wander off without permission, you'll get in trouble, okay?"
"Yeah...! Levi Nas will obediently follow right behind the king...!"
Once again, she whispered it softly. I liked how earnestly she was trying to follow my rules.
Snicker, snicker.
A laugh came from somewhere nearby right then. "......?"
Looking around, I saw the few adventurers there smiling fondly at me and Levi Nas. They were probably just charmed by how cute the young Levi Nas was. She always put on such a bold front, after all.
"Levi Nas knows what the king means...! Be careful, right...?!"
"Yes. Dungeons are really dangerous places. Even if it's uncomfortable, you have to follow the rules. Got it?"
"Yeah...!"
I kept emphasizing the safety rules to Levi Nas. It might have seemed excessive, but warnings about dungeons could never be overdone.
"Winter's really responsible, huh."
Tap, tap. Kim Min-jun drummed a stack of papers on his desk.
I wanted to ask what was so responsible about it, but I jolted in surprise at the line of adventurers waiting behind me. I'd taken too much time giving Levi Nas her warnings.
"S-Sorry...!"
I apologized to the adventurers who'd waited so long, my attitude completely different from how I treated Levi Nas. Fortunately, the adventurer just gave me a thumbs-up without a word.
"Levi Nas, ready to go?"
"Yeah!"
"Quietly."
"Yeah...!"
With that, I led Levi Nas toward the portal and stepped inside. Somehow, the tension I'd lost lately came creeping back.
Han Yeoreum had cleared the dungeon early that morning and was heading back to the container house as usual. How can I coax Winter into letting me do this today? Lost in such thoughts alone, she spotted Guild Master Kang Jin-ho chatting with Yu Sang-ah in the distance.
"What are you two up to?"
"Oh, Yeoreum."
Yu Sang-ah gave an awkward smile, looking almost guilty.
"Something wrong...?"
"Well, this morning Winter asked how much it costs to live in guild housing..."
"Yeah. And?"
"I told her about a million won."
A million won. That was the discounted rate for guild affiliates after all reductions. It was incredibly cheap, but it put Yeoreum in a bind. She'd planned to tell Winter it was basically free.
"A million won..."
"Yes, so she said she'd go earn the money and headed to the dungeon early this morning."
"By herself?"
"N-No, with Levi Nas."
Sending Winter and Levi Nas into the dungeon alone? The overprotective Yeoreum couldn't help but freak out.
"She'll be fine. She won't even get a scratch in a mere Goblin Dungeon."
"True, Winter could handle it, but..."
"The danger isn't monsters—it's people."
Probably. What Winter truly feared were people. Yeoreum nodded, then furrowed her brow at Kang Jin-ho's meaningful words.
"There's a dangerous person in the dungeon?"
"Seems like there's a guy who often picks on kids."
"Ah...!"
What if Winter ran into him without a guardian? It wouldn't end well. Of all places, the dungeon...
Facing her trauma in a dungeon could be a huge risk. Yeoreum didn't even finish the thought before sprinting toward the dungeon.
"Hm..."
Kang Jin-ho watched her retreating figure for a long moment, then slowly followed. He had a lot to do since morning, but his top priority was always Winter.
Thwack!Thwack!
Even shooting two arrows at once, they both hit the goblin dead between the eyes. At this level, I could call myself a marksman, right? Feeling a bit smug alone, I harvested the goblin's magic stone.
"King...! Should Levi Nas help dig out the magic stone...?!"
"It's fine. You're on mushroom duty today, Levi Nas."
Magic stones were inside the corpses. Even in a world full of monsters, you couldn't ask a ten-year-old to rip open bodies.
"Yeah...! Ah...! Mushrooms over there...!"
Where Levi Nas pointed was a cluster of mushrooms. But she just bounced in place instead of rushing over. Waiting for my permission—good girl.
I perked up my ears to check for nearby monsters. There were heavy human footsteps close by, but no monster presence.
"You can go pick the mushrooms."
"Yeah...!"
Levi Nas dashed to the mushrooms and started stuffing them into the bag I'd lent her. It was shabby, but it served its purpose well enough.
"Five mushrooms already."
"Yeah...! Levi Nas is now the richest in the world...!"
Levi Nas carefully plucked them. Around then, those footsteps from earlier started heading our way. A person approaching, but I wasn't scared. Running into adventurers in a dungeon was common.
I ignored it and just watched Levi Nas gather the Damp Mushrooms.
"What the hell is this."
Pushing through the nearby bushes, a familiar adventurer appeared. The guy who'd always bullied me in the Beginner Hunting Ground.
"Uh..."
His fierce face made my body freeze while I was crouched down. Looking up at him from there, he seemed like an insurmountable giant.
"You brats kill all these goblins?"
The man's gaze was on the goblin corpses. He glanced at my bow and the arrow marks on their foreheads, frowning deeply.
"Yeah! Levi Nas caught all the goblins!"
"...Kids already in the dungeon."
Startled by the man's curse, Levi Nas clenched her fists. She flailed them wildly at the air like she was attacking. Of course, they didn't reach him.
"Brat is a bad word! Don't say bad words to Levi Nas!"
"And what's this one."
Thwack!
The man backhanded Levi Nas across the face. With a loud smack, her body wobbled, but she steadied herself and stood there silently for a long moment.
"......"
I should ask if she's okay, but my body wouldn't move. Like an idiot, I just stared up blankly.
Thinking Levi Nas had frozen in fear, she suddenly started stomping her feet.
"Nyaaak!"
With a small scream, Levi Nas hid behind me. Crouched as I was, she wasn't fully covered. Realizing it, she squatted behind my back and buried her face.
"King! Big trouble! Too strong for Levi Nas to fight!"
Yeah. Me too. I wanted to say that to her, but right now, I was the only one who could protect her here. It was scary—really scary—but I was her guardian now. Just as everyone had protected me, I resolved to protect Levi Nas.