The Strongest Guild Kidnapped Me

Chapter 124

Playing with Levinas’ ears to launch the hat into the air turned into quite the amusing game. Her adorable grumbling kept me going for a while.

"H-hat, Levinas is sorry…!"

Just as Levinas sank to her knees, lamenting the hat’s supposed hatred for her, Kwon Arin approached with her hands in her pockets.

"What are you two up to?"

"I was just trying to help Levinas wear a hat."

"Doesn’t seem like it’s working, though."

"Yeah, it’s tricky."

I gave it one last shot, placing the hat gently on Levinas' head. Her drooping rabbit ears held it down momentarily, but as soon as they perked up, the hat went flying again.

"Why can’t I wear a hat? Levinas is cursed by hats!"

Levinas lightly tapped the ground with her fists, as if performing a mini tantrum. It was probably time to tell her the truth, so I knelt down beside her, hat in hand.

"Levinas, it’s because of your ears."

"My... ears?"

"Yeah. Your ears keep bouncing the hat off."

To demonstrate, I tucked my own ears down and then let them spring back up, showing her how it worked.

"So... Levinas' ears bounce the hat off because they’re too bouncy?"

"Yep. The hat doesn’t hate you."

Realization dawned on Levinas’ face, and she pressed down on her own ears with determination.

*Boing!*

As soon as she let go, her ears sprang right back up.

"This is... it was my own ears all along!"

Just then, Kwon Arin knelt down beside Levinas.

"What if we put holes in the hat?"

"Holes?"

"Yeah, we can cut holes for your ears, like a tail hole in clothes."

She pointed at the spot on my back where my tail poked through my shirt, and I wagged it in response.

"So, if Levinas’ ears go through the holes, then she can wear a hat...?"

"Probably. Wanna try?"

As Kwon Arin reached for the hat, I quickly stopped her. Since the hat already had an owner, we couldn’t just cut it up without permission.

"This fell from the sky, so we should return it to its owner."

"Oh, it’s my teammate’s hat. It blew away in the wind."

"Teammate?"

I glanced around and noticed a woman standing a little ways off, looking shy and red-faced.

‘That must be the hat’s owner.’

Using my sense of smell, I caught a faint whiff of her shampoo on the hat.

"Can you tell who owns it just by the scent...?"

"Yes, I have a good nose."

Kwon Arin sniffed the hat, then glanced at her teammate. Blushing under everyone’s gaze, the woman looked away, her eyes darting nervously.

"Hey, is it okay if I cut holes in your hat? I’ll buy you a new one later."

"O-of course, it’d be an honor..."

An honor? I wasn’t sure what she meant, but her shy smile suggested it wasn’t a bad thing.

"Alright, I got permission."

"Okay."

With that settled, Kwon Arin used her sword to carefully poke two holes in the hat, right where Levinas’ ears would go. The fabric frayed a bit around the edges, but it looked decent enough.

"Alright, give me your head, Levinas."

"Yes! Levinas will give you her head!"

Levinas leaned her head toward Kwon Arin, resting it on her lap.

"Just lift it a bit."

"Okay!"

With a deft hand, Kwon Arin threaded Levinas’ ears through the hat’s new holes. Her fluffy ears poked out, wiggling happily.

"How is it?"

"Gasp…! The hat didn’t fly off!"

"Because your ears are free now."

"Wow!"

Levinas started hopping around, looking like a delighted horned rabbit, her joy radiating so purely that we couldn’t help but smile.

Everyone nearby, from Kwon Arin to the people watching from afar, shared in the laughter. Surrounded by such kind people, I felt truly fortunate.

---

With her hat proudly perched on her head, Levinas strutted along the path, exuding a newfound confidence. She walked all the way to the guild’s café, where they sold dandelion tea.

Her steps were lively, her little back swaying with each one. Noticing Saebyeok already waiting inside the café, I saw her staring intently at a large costume on display.

"Saebyeok, what are you doing?"

"This costume looks like you, Gyeoul."

It was a white cat costume, complete with a tail that did resemble mine.

"Where’d this costume come from?"

"They made it for promoting the café, but I borrowed it for a bit."

"A costume, huh?"

Using a costume wasn’t necessary for us to sell vegetables, but I didn’t want to undermine Saebyeok’s efforts for our group.

"Then I’ll wear the costume. Would you and Levinas like to sell the vegetables?"

"Okay."

"Levinas will do it too!"

Both Saebyeok and Levinas nodded eagerly. I led them to a café table, where we began preparing a promotional poster.

---

? Yummy? Vegetables? For Sale?  
? Carrots? Available ??  
? Fresh Cabbages!!!!  
?(^?^)?  
---

We used crayons to make a colorful sign on a paper the café had given us. I outlined the design, but the writing and drawings were all done by the kids. Despite the abundance of hearts and emojis making it a bit hard to read, I had no reason to change their earnest work.

"What do you think, Gyeoul?"

"It looks great!"

Levinas beamed at my thumbs-up. It was wonderful to give her the chance to try new experiences.

"We’ll sell as much as the Boss Horned Rabbit today!"

"Yeah, let’s do our best."

With our poster ready, it was time to get to work. I looked at Saebyeok and Levinas.

"I’ll wear the costume."

"Gyeoul will?"

"Yes."

Costume work could be exhausting, so I didn’t want to burden the kids with it.

"I’ll go around gathering people while you two handle the sales. Can you manage?"

"It’ll be tough without you, Gyeoul, but Levinas will do her best!"

Levinas was fired up, and her determination made me feel proud. I picked up the costume.

‘It’s a bit big.’

It seemed made for someone taller, but it wasn’t an issue. The only problem was that the eye and breathing holes were too high up for me, so I couldn’t see.

Still, it didn’t feel dangerous. I could navigate perfectly fine just by sound and smell.

"Gyeoul! You look so cool in that cat suit!"

"R-really?"

To Levinas, it wasn’t cute but cool. I instinctively tried to scratch my cheek, only to realize the costume prevented it.

‘Hm.’

Guess I’d have to scratch it later. For now, it was time to promote. Holding the poster the kids had made, I waddled outside in the costume.

The outfit was so bulky that I could only waddle, but I didn’t mind.

---

Back home, Midsummer took a moment to relax. She stretched in her chair, picking up a cup of coffee she’d set out beforehand.

‘I wonder what the kids are up to.’

As she sipped her coffee, she glanced out the window toward the park and noticed something unusual.

A figure in a cat costume was surrounded by a few kids near the pond. One of the kids was mischievously kicking the costumed figure.

‘What...?’

Midsummer focused mana into her eyes, enhancing her vision to see the poster clutched in the costume’s paws.

---

? Yummy? Vegetables? For Sale?  
? Carrots? Available ??  
? Fresh Cabbages!!!!  
?(^?^)?  
---

It seemed to be an advertisement for a vegetable stand. Since promoting and peddling were strictly forbidden in the park to maintain a peaceful atmosphere, this was quite the offense.

A rule-breaking nuisance, she thought, scowling at the disturbance during her break.

"Sigh..."

Since everyone else was busy, it seemed she’d have to handle this herself. Midsummer took the elevator down to the park.

‘Where are they?’

*Whack! Whack!*

Hearing the sound of light blows, Midsummer looked over to see a boy gleefully kicking the cat costume.

"Haha!"

The boy was at that rowdy age, and the cat figure just silently waved its hands, unable to retaliate.

"That’s enough."

Midsummer placed her hand on the boy’s head. Startled, he backed away, stuck out his tongue, and ran off.

"Ugh, kids can be such trouble sometimes."

Sighing, Midsummer approached the costumed figure.

"Excuse me. Are you okay?"

The person in the costume didn’t respond, perhaps too shocked by the children’s antics. Giving them a moment to recover, she decided to get straight to the point.

"You can’t advertise here. It’s a place for people to relax, so this is disruptive."

Midsummer glanced into the costume’s eye holes, expecting to see a person, but found the inside empty.

"...?"

Why was there nobody inside? Maybe it was a short person?

Leaning in to peer through the eye holes, she caught sight of something familiar.

A pair of droopy, white ears.

The owner of those ears slowly looked up, revealing pure, trembling eyes.

"S-sorry

... I won’t do it again..."

"G-Gyeoul...?"

Why was Gyeoul in a costume? More importantly, what had she just said to Gyeoul?

In a sudden shock, Midsummer froze, realizing her words might have scared the young girl. She stood there like a statue, utterly mortified.