Pandora's Box
I had to protect Levi Nas, that Pandora's box. That sense of duty alone gave me the strength to stand before the man. Of course, I had no intention of picking a fight with him. My top priority was keeping Levi Nas safe. There was no need to provoke someone with a nasty temper and put us in danger.
"S-Sorry... I caught too many goblins..."
I bowed my head in apology, but I felt no shame. If it meant protecting little Levi Nas, I could apologize to a guy like that a hundred times over.
The man had nothing more to say in response to my apology and just waved me off dismissively.
"...You two are done hunting for today."
"Y-Yes..."
I needed to get out of here fast. I'd heard that adventurers often clashed inside dungeons. Just as I grabbed Levi Nas's hand to run for the exit—
Levi Nas, looking indignant about something, stomped her feet on the spot.
"No way! Levi Nas needs to gather more mushrooms!"
"This kid..."
Was it Levi Nas's attitude that rubbed him the wrong way? The man suddenly raised his hand.
"D-Don't..."
I pulled Levi Nas behind me and started backing away slowly. In the tense moment, I swallowed hard, and the quiet man beside him urgently tried to intervene.
"Min-gyu, hold on a second. Those kids..."
"Shut your mouth!"
Min-gyu. So that was Park Min-gyu. Seeing him seething like that, the other man clamped his mouth shut.
"W-We’ll be going now."
He was a dangerous guy who'd scared off everyone else in the Goblin Dungeon. I hurriedly grabbed Levi Nas's wrist and turned toward the gate. But just as I started running for it, the man yanked the back of my collar with a brutish grip.
"Eek!"
My body floated into the air. He'd lifted me up by my clothes. My body was so light that he hoisted me effortlessly.
"Every single one of you is pissing me off."
"S-Sorry."
I glanced sideways and saw Levi Nas dangling from his other hand, just like me—but upside down by her ankle.
"Aaah! Save Levi Nas!"
Pow pow—Levi Nas swung her tiny fists at the man's leg. He glared down at her with a deeply furrowed brow.
"Le-Levi..."
To be honest, with this body, I was confident I could take Park Min-gyu in a fight. He was just a jerk, not particularly strong. But I had a duty to protect Levi Nas. For her sake, I wanted to avoid any violence if possible. And the man next to Park Min-gyu looked even more dangerous.
"You little shit..."
Clearly annoyed at being hit by Levi Nas, the man started snorting like an angry bull. At the same time, his arm pulled back as if to throw something.
Oh no.
He's gonna throw us.
The thought hit me, and on instinct, I reached out toward Levi Nas.
Whoosh—
As my body sailed through the air, I pulled her into a tight embrace. Fortunately, he'd held back some of his strength; we rolled about five times before hitting the ground.
"Oof..."
Levi Nas's eyes spun in dizzy circles in my arms. Luckily, she didn't seem badly hurt.
"Nngh."
Park Min-gyu and Levi Nas—which one should I check first in a mess like this? As I patted Levi Nas's back where she lay on my stomach, a familiar voice called from afar.
"Gyeowol!"
It was Han Yeoreum. Still sprawled on the ground, I rolled my eyes up to look at her. Levi Nas just wriggled and groaned beside me.
"Gyeowol! What the hell is going on?!"
"W-Well..."
If I had to explain, it was just getting caught by some asshole with a bad temper. It had escalated because of Levi Nas, but to me, it was such a routine occurrence that it wasn't a big deal.
"...Did you use violence on kids?"
Park Min-gyu flinched at Han Yeoreum's blazing aura. Even he, who dominated Level 1 dungeons, was no more than a horn rabbit before a dragon when facing her.
"Th-They started it..."
As Park Min-gyu stammered excuses, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. The attendant beside him flashed a sly, sinister smile for a split second. If not for my beastkin senses sharpening my vision, I might have missed it.
Aha. So he secretly despised Park Min-gyu too. Despite being far more skilled.
Feeling an odd sense of kinship with him, I watched as Han Yeoreum brushed the dirt off me and Levi Nas.
"Gyeowol, Levi Nas—wanna go wait outside with Master... I mean, Ajusshi?"
"Ajusshi?"
The Master was here? Puzzled, I looked around and spotted him right beside us, arms crossed, gazing down impassively. He glanced toward Park Min-gyu, then extended a hand to me and Levi Nas.
"Let's get out of here first."
"Y-Yes..."
I took the Master's hand and stood. Levi Nas sniffled through tears but got up bravely too.
Before leaving, I glanced back one last time. Park Min-gyu and his attendant were staring at me, their pupils trembling fiercely.
Han Yeoreum couldn't help but hesitate before Park Min-gyu. She wondered if he might be cut from the same cloth as herself. The bully who tormented a child, and the one who knew about it but let it slide. Was there really a difference between them?
She scratched her neck hard enough to draw blood, then let out a long sigh.
"You're from Legion Guild, right? Stop bullying people from now on. I'm not gonna let it slide anymore."
They were ugly, repulsive types, but she decided to give them one chance. After all, she'd been given a chance by Gyeowol despite being the same kind once.
Still, she had to warn them firmly. As Han Yeoreum pondered what warning to give, the attendant spoke up in a suddenly serious tone.
"Hold on. Legion Guild has nothing to do with this."
"...You're not from Legion Guild?"
"We are, but the guy next to me isn't a member."
"...This guy?"
Irritated by the sudden distancing, Park Min-gyu's eyebrow twitched.
"If he's not a guild member, then what?"
"He's the brother of a guild executive."
"Hmm..."
That explained why Park Min-gyu, not an official member, still had someone waiting on him hand and foot. Because he was an executive's brother. Han Yeoreum wasn't too dim to grasp that filthy truth.
"Please exclude the guild from this incident."
"Why? You were right there every time he bullied people."
"...I've been doing my best in my own way. Just biding my time for an opportunity."
"Opportunity?"
As Han Yeoreum voiced her doubt, the Legion Guild man pulled out a necklace he'd kept hidden. She immediately saw the mana stone embedded with a camera function.
"I've been recording everything every time he bullied someone. I just lacked a good reason to release it."
"Hey! Han Seok-jun!"
Han Seok-jun glared down at the fuming Park Min-gyu, crushing his momentum. Park Min-gyu flinched at the sudden shift in demeanor. Han Yeoreum sensed a rift opening between them.
"A reason?"
"Yes. Posting it anonymously online wouldn't mean much. He'd just get disciplined and that'd be it. In a country like this."
"...True enough."
Such a country. Han Yeoreum looked down bitterly.
"But if Yeomyeong Guild gets involved, it's different. No guild in the world wants to cross Yeomyeong."
"...You don't want to take down Park Min-gyu—you want his brother."
"Exactly. I've been waiting for the right moment."
"Han Seok-jun! Have you lost your mind?!"
The shocked Park Min-gyu grabbed Han Seok-jun's collar and shook, but he didn't budge. The moment his 'brother' connection became irrelevant, Park Min-gyu was less than a beginner adventurer.
"Does it have everything?"
"Yes. Not a single clip missing."
"...Alright. I'll cooperate."
She wanted to see with her own eyes how Gyeowol had been tormented. That was why Han Yeoreum accepted the deal. There was also the petty reason of punishing someone who, unlike them, showed no remorse.
"Then, I leave it to you."
"Yes. The guild will ensure no backlash comes to you, Seok-jun."
"Thank you."
Han Seok-jun handed the necklace camera to Han Yeoreum. She took it with trembling hands she didn't bother hiding.
Inside this...
All the things Gyeowol had suffered were recorded here. It felt like standing before Pandora's box as Pandora herself.
Han Yeoreum gripped the pendant so tightly it nearly crumbled.
Is it right to open this?
There would be tons of footage of Gyeowol being bullied. It felt like doing something she shouldn't, but Han Yeoreum couldn't help it. To protect Gyeowol, now precious enough to call family, she needed to know exactly what had happened.
In the end, summer decided to open the boy who might become Pandora's box. Not alone, but with her guildmates.