“You’re back? How was ballet?”
“Today Gwuu weawned dis!”
Guru greeted him with a sweet little voice and rose up on her toes to show off a plié.
“Pwiieee~”
Seeing her straining with the motion, Jurim smiled and kissed her cheek.
Guru kissed him right back on the cheek, then suddenly looked around as if searching for something.
“Where ish he?”
“Hm? Who?”
“Daddy’s fwiend!”
'Did I ever have one of those?'
While Jurim was still puzzled—
“Guruchan!”
Kazuki stepped out from behind the curtain, pulling up his pants as he cheerfully called out to her.
At the same time, Guru’s hopeful eyes began to tremble violently.
“F... Fwiend...?”
Her expression screamed, Wait, that thug is your friend?!
Guru looked back and forth between Jurim, dressed neatly in a suit, and the tattooed man struggling to zip up his pants.
'How are dey fwiends?'
The combination was so absurd she couldn’t help but gape.
“No... hold on a sec...”
Meanwhile, Jurim was overwhelmed with urgency—he had to kill this misunderstanding immediately.
There was no way he could let that thuggy pervert bastard remain as a “friend” in his daughter’s mind.
Meeting Guru’s eyes, Jurim spoke gently.
“We’re not friends.”
“Then...?”
“Well...”
Jurim paused, trying to figure out how to explain it, then finally offered kindly:
“He’s like... a machine dat makes Daddy’s gloves.”
“Gasp!”
Apparently, he didn’t even consider the guy a person.
“Ahaha!”
Kazuki laughed like he’d just heard a hilarious joke, but Guru knew Jurim was completely serious.
Even with the thickest rose-tinted glasses, Daddy was going way too far...
Deeply shocked by Jurim’s personality, Guru clung to his leg and pleaded.
“...Be fwiends, ‘kay?”
Better a thug friend than a glove-making machine.
“...Tsk.”
Jurim clicked his tongue softly, regretting his words as he °• N o v e l i g h t •° looked at her worried little face.
'Was I too honest?'
Meanwhile, Kazuki—who had zero understanding of the situation—just laughed heartily.
“Don’t worry, Guruchan! We’re fwends.”
“W-We weawwy fwends?”
“Yep, fwiends!”
Grinning and flashing his sharp canines, Kazuki slung his arm over Jurim’s shoulders.
Jurim wrinkled his brow but didn’t shake it off.
Because Guru’s face showed a bit of relief when she heard the word “friend.”
Kazuki bent down to her level, meeting her eyes with a smile.
“Cute Guruchan, I’m Uncwe Kazuki. I missed you sooo much.”
And it didn’t seem like a lie.
Because—
[Attachment level satisfied. You may now proceed with Caregiver Registration.]
The attachment level had maxed out just from that one meeting—enough to instantly qualify for [Caregiver Registration]!
'So fast!'
Maybe even the fastest of all her caregivers?
Guru had been about to initiate the registration, but then tilted her head and asked with suspicion:
“Samchun ish S-Wank too?”
That had to be why [Caregiver Registration] was allowed, right?
“Hm? That’s right.”
Kazuki chuckled, amused by how she didn’t recognize him.
Guru’s mind raced.
'Japanese S-Wank?'
No way.
“Amakusa Bikye?”
“Oh, right! Uncwe’s name. Not ‘Bikye,’ it’s Amakusa Kazuki.”
“Gasp!”
“What does Guruchan wike? What shouwd Uncwe make for you?”
Kazuki spun his finger in the air, and thread followed his motion, forming a sparkly, glittering mass of dough in the air.
That was...
The same Amakusa who had always been pitted against Guru in the media—framing their relationship as a Korea vs. Japan rivalry!
To meet Japan’s national treasure right here like this...
'He weawwy ish Amakusa Bikye.'
Was he here to confront his destined rival, Jjapso?
'Hmm...'
Guru narrowed her eyes and scanned him suspiciously.
Even though he was wearing a suit, the tattoos on his neck and hands made him look even more dangerous in a different way.
'He wooks stwong!'
Should Guru pull out her teddy bear suit to counter him?
But she couldn’t expose her identity...!
Was she really going to let this rival from the enemy country disrupt her business and get away with it?
As she glared at Kazuki with an expression full of injustice and betrayal, he rolled his eyes and threw a glance at Jurim.
Jurim shook his head like, Don’t ask me.
'Heuh.'
'Dey’re cwose...?'
Her daddy’s one (and probably only) friend was her own rival? It was a tragedy beyond words.
Ah!
In that moment, a wicked, brilliant idea flashed through Guru’s mind.
Ish dis too evil...? She hesitated only for a second.
Then Guru dropped to her knees like a tiny soybean and planted both hands firmly on her lap.
The two men in front of her panicked and tried to lift her up—but before they could—
Guru shouted with conviction:
“Samchun! Pwease be Gwuu’s Sabbuu!”
“Sabbuu?”
With her lips pressed in a serious line, Guru nodded solemnly.
As the two adults blinked in confusion, she tipped her head slightly—just enough to keep it hidden—and curved one corner of her mouth upward.
Surely they were shocked that their rival, Guru, had suddenly asked to be taken in as a disciple.
But she remembered that episode title from Zombie Hunter—Episode 19: “Trojan Horse!”
The protagonist became the hunter’s disciple just to bring him down.
'Das it!'
Even if the affinity gauge was full, Uncle Kazuki couldn’t become a caregiver.
Because he was Guru’s rival!
Instead—
Guru would sneak into his heart like a Trojan horse, pretending to be a harmless disciple!
She’d study his tricks, master his techniques, and when the time came...
'Uncwe Kazuki. Gwuu not even gonna wegistew you as a caregivew. Gwuu gonna thwow you away compwetewy.'
To think she was plotting such an evil scheme against a grown-up... Guru trembled.
'Gwuu, you so vewy viwwainous...'
But sometimes in life, your hands had to get dirty.
“Sabbuu!”
Guru looked up at him with puppy eyes.
“Sabbuuu?”
Jurim echoed mockingly, clearly not amused.
“Hmm...?”
Kazuki scratched his head awkwardly, then squatted down to meet Guru at eye level.
“Guruchan, you’re awakened, huh?”
Nod nod!
“So you wanna twain skiwws?”
“Yesh!”
Ah, in that case... He tilted his head in thought, then extended a big hand toward her.
“Guruchan, hand.”
Hm? Guru reacted like a puppy and placed her hand on his.
Kazuki squealed, “So tiny! So cute!” and grabbed her hand.
Then—
Slurp!
“Eeeek!”
Ssslllip!
The wet, slimy feeling of a tongue on her palm made Guru shriek.
Jurim grabbed Kazuki by the scruff of the neck and yanked him up.
“You tryin’ to do something sick to my daughter?”
“Ah, sorry, sorry. Guruchan, did I scare you?”
Kazuki scratched his head and laughed awkwardly, then suddenly grew a bit more serious.
“But, like, honestly? Samchun’s even more shocked. Guruchan, you an S-Rank?”
“Y-Yeah... Huh?!”
Startled by the question, Guru clamped her hands over her mouth.
“H-How’d you—?!”
Kazuki stuck out his tongue.
A glowing tattoo on it read "Knowledge".
[Flavor Analysis (SS)]
By licking a target, he could completely analyze them.
“I’ve never seen a skill like yours before. First time since Ijo Sang, right?”
Kazuki looked at Jurim as if for confirmation, and Guru gasped.
“Samchun... you wickt dat many peopwe?!”
Kazuki smiled sheepishly, then hesitated.
“Uh... can I say it?”
“No.”
Jurim shut it down.
But Guru nodded knowingly. He wickt a wot, huh.
'He’s wike a big puppy...'
Come to think of it, she could almost see a tail wagging behind Uncle Kazuki.
Kazuki chuckled as he watched her peering at him cautiously.
“So cute, Guruchan.”
Hm? That smile... looked wike someone ewse’s?
Who was it again?
Just as Guru was about to get lost in thought, she shook her head.
Now’s not the time! She placed both hands on her knees once more.
“Samchun! Pwease! Be Gwuu’s Sabbuu!”
“Hmmm, Guruchan’s above me in Wank so maybe you’we more amazing than Uncwe...”
Kazuki brushed Jurim’s hand away, sat back down, and locked eyes with her again.
“Alright.”
“Waaa—!”
Guru was about to shout in excitement when Kazuki tapped his cheek.
“One kiss right hewe.”
“WHAT?!”
Jurim’s voice cracked in disbelief—but Guru was already charging forward.
Smooch!
She hugged his neck and kissed him on the cheek, and Kazuki lifted her into his arms.
“Great! From now on, Guruchan is Uncwe’s student!”
She did it! Guru’s cheeks flushed red.
“Sabbuu!”
“Discippwe!”
“Sabbuu!”
“Discippwe!”
As the two S-Rank crafters hugged and spun around in circles, Jurim dragged a hand down his face.
Why was he surrounded by people whose mental age matched that of a five-year-old?

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