chapter_0504

504 – I Found a Clue

504 – I Found a Clue

I somehow ran and escaped the room.

But can I really break out like this?

I escaped all by myself.

I’m not sure, but I decided to head to the lobby first.

“Boss, I cleared this! I ran and cleared it!”

I stood on my tiptoes to see over the high counter.

To make it easier to stand, I rested my chin on the counter desk.

The boss, facing me, was smiling awkwardly.

“Um… Gyeoul?”

“Yes?”

“According to the rules, you can’t use Mana to escape.”

“Yes. I didn’t use Mana.”

The boss glanced at the monitor on the counter.

It seemed like they were checking to see if I had secretly used Mana.

“Is that so…?”

“Yes. Is it not allowed to clear it like this?”

“…It seems that way, doesn’t it?”

“What a shame.”

I said it in despair, but I had somewhat expected it.

So there wasn’t really any change in my expression or actions.

“I’m sorry. I just tried it just in case.”

“It’s okay; thanks to you, we could make one more rule.”

No running at full speed.

I thought as I watched the boss mumble to themselves.

It wasn’t exactly a full-speed run, I thought.

“Alright, I’ll open the door again. Do you want to go in and try again?”

“Yes. I will.”

Thanks to the boss’s consideration, I was able to enter the escape room café again.

As I re-entered through the entrance after having gone out through the exit, the children’s eyes widened in surprise.

“What?! Why are you coming back in?!”

“They said you can’t escape by running.”

“This can’t be happening!”

Levinas showed the same reaction as I did.

I felt a sense of connection, and it made me happy.

“Shall we try to solve it again?”

“Yeah!”

I wandered around the escape room café with the children.

I wondered if Bomi had a talent for deduction, as she started solving problems at an incredible speed.

“Here’s a doll!”

“I think this doll is meant to replace a person?”

We searched for dolls in the maze-like surrounding rooms, led by Bomi.

But for some reason, Gaeul’s condition seemed strange.

Meow—

While everyone was busily running around, Gaeul was just standing blankly on top of a button.

It was as if a heated machine was trying to cool itself down.

“What are you doing, Gaeul?”

“Umm…”

What does “umm” mean?

After pondering for a few seconds, I realized it meant she found it difficult.

It was definitely going to be quite challenging for Gaeul since we had to solve various puzzles.

“Gaeul, how about licking a gem once?”

“…!”

Gaeul took a gem out of her bag and licked it.

With the power of the gem speeding up her brain, Gaeul showed a confident expression.

“Gaeul, do you understand anything now?”

“No!”

“I see.”

Even with the gem, the complicated puzzle problems might still be too difficult for Gaeul.

So, I decided to give Gaeul a new problem that she could enjoy.

“Gaeul, how about you guard here?”

“Eh…?”

“There might be someone trying to steal this doll, so let’s have you play the guard here.”

“…!”

Gaeul perked up her ears and looked around.

Then she started spinning around like a top in her spot.

“Wow.”

Has Gaeul entered guard mode?

She’s totally a Gaeul turret now.

Gaeul looked quite happy spinning around.

I think it was because we could share roles and play together.

“Hehe.”

I was glad that no one was left out.

**

The escape room ended a little over twenty minutes.

We received a small prize for our hard work in escaping the room.

It was a small doll keychain, about the size of two adult male fingers.

“I think this is Gaeul’s puppy!”

“Gaeul-ric?!”

“Yeah! Gaeul’s puppy helped us solve the problems easily by keeping watch! Gaeul’s role was the best!”

“…!”

Levinas praised Gaeul, who had been left out of the game due to her guard duty.

Thanks to that, Gaeul’s tail started wagging rapidly.

“I think the same as Levinas.”

“Me too!”

Saebyeok and Bomi also supported Gaeul, saying she was the best.

Our kids are really considerate.

Could there be any kids kinder than ours in the world?

With our hearts full of excitement, we returned to the park.

The first place we visited was Haneul.

Swish, swish—

Haneul was diligently cleaning the storage room.

It was nice to see her looking serious.

“What are you doing, Haneul?”

“Ah! Master…! I was cleaning.”

“Mopping?”

“Yes…! The teacher said if I organize everything here, they’ll teach me the basics…!”

“I see.”

Is it an unwritten rule in the artisan world to make apprentices clean first?

I hoped Haneul would learn something better, but I had no intention of criticizing Shin Ha-il’s methods.

Cleaning is indeed very important in every field.

“Haneul, I’ll be looking forward to it; you must show me a wonderful demolition later, okay?”

“Yes…! I’ll work hard and repay you…!”

Repay me, huh.

You don’t have to go that far.

At that moment, feeling embarrassed, I scratched my cheek.

Choi Jin-hyuk approached me, stepping on the grass.

“Gyeoul.”

“Yes?”

“Um… Someone is calling from over there.”

What Choi Jin-hyuk pointed to was none other than the portal leading to my ‘hometown.’

Could the residents of my hometown, Yoon Dain and Song Harin, be looking for us?

Thinking about my hometown made my heart feel complicated.

As I hesitated for a moment, Levinas picked up a twig from the ground and held it up high.

“Is it Ggaemmi Guild deployment?!”

“Choo-tok!”

The sight of the children looking like brave warriors made my complicated feelings disappear.

With a lightened heart, I decided to go to my hometown with the kids.

“Haneul, we’ll be back shortly. We’ll be back soon.”

“Yes. I’ll be learning hard…!”

Haneul replied in a small but confident voice.

Thanks to that, I could move to my hometown world with peace of mind.

**

Before entering the portal to my hometown, we erased our ears and tails with Bomi’s magic.

“I hope the magic lasts even after we go in.”

I hoped so as we stepped into the portal.

As bright light welcomed us, I instinctively brushed my hair.

“Oh…”

There were no ears on my head.

Even though we had come to a hometown without Mana, Bomi’s magic had persisted.

“My efforts have become meaningless.”

Choi Jin-hyuk sighed briefly.

He had worked hard to ensure that we, the Beastmen, could walk around comfortably in this world.

When that effort seemed to lose its meaning, he must have felt a sense of emptiness.

“I think it has meaning. You’ve made efforts in various ways.”

“Is that so?”

Choi Jin-hyuk quickly regained his spirits.

I smiled at him and looked around.

‘I can feel Mana, albeit faintly.’

A tiny amount of Mana was spread in the atmosphere.

It would be hard to feel unless one was sensitive.

In my world, where Mana originally didn’t exist, this was not a good sign.

“Is this Gyeoul’s world…?”

Bomi, who had come to my world for the first time, looked around.

Aside from the absence of Mana, there didn’t seem to be any significant differences from the other world.

“Yeah. Let’s go home for now.”

We all moved to Yoon Dain’s house.

I thought it would be easier to move without ears and tails, but unexpectedly, many eyes were on us.

“Hey, look at those kids over there.”

“Oh, those kids are so pretty.”

Was it because our kids were inherently beautiful?

People’s gazes were fixed on us as we moved.

Still, we weren’t discovered as Beastmen.

“Is this house in this world?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow… This house is really pretty.”

With Bomi’s admiration, the front door of the house opened.

It was none other than Yoon Dain who opened the door.

“Hey, kids…! Huh? New friends?”

“Yeah. I’m Bomi.”

Bomi reached out her hand.

The two exchanged simple greetings and entered the house.

“Gaeul’s puppy! There’s something strange here!”

“Ggaemmi?!”

“No! This looks like an instrument!”

The kids explored the house, and I sat on the sofa with Saebyeok and Choi Jin-hyuk.

Since I had many questions, I decided to ask why they had called us.

“I heard you were looking for us urgently. Is there something going on?”

“Yeah. I found a suspicious place.”

“Suspicious…?”

As Yoon Dain turned to the side, Song Harin came in with a tablet.

On the tablet screen appeared an island that had nothing on it.

“Where is this…?”

“Recently, homeless people and those without ties have been disappearing from the neighborhood. So I investigated, and it was surprisingly easy to find.”

“Easy?”

It’s supposed to be a secret organization, yet they found it so easily?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Song Harin showed us her palm.

On Song Harin’s palm, a tiny blue Mana was visible.

“There were places where this Mana had gathered in various spots.”

“Oh…! Mana…!”

If it’s Mana, it’s a power that has only recently appeared in this world.

The secret organization probably didn’t know how to hide it.

They probably never thought someone could trace this Mana.

My heart raced as the problems began to unravel one by one.

Just then, I was waiting for Song Harin’s next words.

“Chuin! Chuin! Iggumuyak!”

From outside the house, Gaeul’s desperate voice could be heard.

Startled, I hurried outside.

Thump—! Thump—!

In the yard, the kids were playing on a trampoline.

Next to Bomi, who was bouncing at a suitable level for the kids, Levinas jumped to an incredible height.

He jumped higher than the height of this floor of the building.

“Wanga! Levinas has become a super Horned Rabbit!”

Thump—! Thump—!

Next to Levinas, who was jumping high, Gaeul was lying down.

Gaeul tried to get up by pushing the trampoline with her hands, but due to the bouncing rebound, she fell again.

She bounced forward, backward, and sideways.

I made eye contact with Gaeul, who couldn’t even get up from her spot and was bouncing around.

Gaeul seemed clueless about why her body was bouncing.

“Chuin…”

“Gaeul?”

“…Kkae-kkudak.”

Gaeul, who had been looking at me, closed her eyes.

Bouncing—

Even with her eyes closed, Gaeul’s body continued to bounce around.