On the TV screen, the Doctor Monster was staggering forward with both arms spread wide, closing in on Lea’s character.
Guru, who had been about to hand her the light gun, noticed Lea’s uneasy expression and opened her mouth in surprise.
'Is this game too scary for Unni?!'
Rolling her big eyes around, Guru signaled at Gidan.
Then Gidan glanced at Lea before flicking his eyes toward Serhi.
“Should I turn it off? We can do something else.”
“Uh, uhh...”
Serhi gave an awkward nod.
Bang!
The light gun fired right into the monster’s forehead.
The monster let out a guttural groan and collapsed.
Lea, who had landed a perfect headshot, exhaled deeply.
“Phew, that’s refreshing.”
Turning to the dumbfounded Guru, Lea smiled warmly, then pulled her left leg up onto the sofa, changing into a comfortable posture as she rested her chin on the armrest.
“Sorry. I kinda killed the mood just now, didn’t I?”
Guru shook her head side to side
Finding her adorable, Lea lightly toyed with Guru’s braided hair before letting go.
“When I was little, I was in a place like this.”
Her eyes rolled upward as if tracing back memories.
“I was kidnapped at a very young age. When I woke up, I was in a room just like that. They were running experiments on children.”
The casual way the story flowed out left the three of them silent like mute fools.
“I didn’t know back then, but later I heard... they were transferring consciousness into cloned humans made with my genes.”
She blew out a puff of air and shook her head.
“For a while, I had no idea how many twins there were. Only one was left in the end, though...”
The one who remained was very special.
Though the feelings had been one-sided, Lea, crushed by loneliness, had treated the child like family and even given her a name.
“The truth is, I came to Korea to find that kid. I heard someone named Yurian was enrolled in Yustitia’s Korean branch, so I thought maybe...”
Guru tilted her head at the vaguely familiar name.
“Oh, and my eyes changed back then. Same as Guru’s, right?”
Pointing to her eyes with a grin, Lea’s mention of Guru’s name made both Gidan and Serhi’s expressions harden.
“So? What are you trying to say?”
Before Serhi even finished his question, Lea unconsciously drew up her mana.
“Sorry, but I want to check. To see if Hyeonak is trustworthy.”
Gidan narrowed his brows and swiftly pulled Guru into his arms.
“And if it’s not trustworthy?”
“Then I’ll take Guru.”
Mana began to seep evenly through Lea’s body. She meant she was ready to fight if she had to.
A taut stare passed between Lea, Gidan, and Serhi sitting on the sofa.
Meanwhile, Guru was just blinking question marks, unable to follow the conversation.
After a brief silence, Gidan let out a dry laugh.
This was already the second time.
He remembered when they first discovered Guru was S-Rank, and Serhi had asked if she had been experimented on, too. Gidan had been about to answer that it was a misunderstanding when Serhi spoke up first.
“Yeah. This place is trustworthy.”
He removed his lenses and revealed golden irises.
“I guarantee it. Nothing ever happened to Guru. Her eyes are natural.”
Guru, caught off guard, bobbed her head up and down energetically.
Lea, seeing Serhi’s golden eyes, looked shocked. She realized he was in the same situation as her.
Likewise, Gidan gaped in surprise.
He never imagined Serhi would be the one to claim Hyeonak could be trusted.
Serhi had always called it a den of ultimate idiots and constantly said he couldn’t wait to graduate and get away.
But now he was even taking off his lenses for Hyeonak? Was this really Serhi?
Under Gidan’s touched gaze, Serhi twisted his mouth, looking annoyed, and fired the light gun several times in irritation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A few monsters on the screen screeched and went down.
“So just shoot already. You want to lose again?”
Lea, who had been wide-eyed, chuckled.
“What happened to you?”
“Beat me and I’ll tell you.”
“Fine. I’m good at this one.”
The frozen mood thawed instantly into cheerful warmth.
Gidan, refusing to lose, grabbed two light guns, and Serhi stuck close to him, turning the match into a tight competition.
Amidst the lively noise, Guru trembled with the light gun in her hands.
'...Yurian?'
Remembering the white Maltese, Guru broke out in a cold sweat.
Yurian, who had been wearing a Yustitia uniform...
Maybe the one Lea was looking for... was actually Guru’s Maltese.
Yurian yawned under the warm sunlight in the garden.
He hated being tied up, but the thought of meeting Lea was even worse.
Just then, the ugly hamster shoved a filial snack into his yawning mouth.
“Cough?!”
What the hell! Yurian flailed, spitting the snack out.
“Ptoo! Ptoo!”
But a bit still slipped down his throat.
Growling, Yurian barked furiously at Veilach, but the ugly hamster only stared wistfully at the crushed snack.
“Arghrrr–” (This tiny ugly thing–)
Then, just as he looked ready to lunge at Veilach, a faint shimmer of heat rose off Yurian’s back.
“Arghrrr... whine?” (Huh?? My mana increased?)
Tilt?
He sensed something had changed within himself.
Fwshhh!
The mana drained in an instant, returning him to his usual cute Maltese form.
“Yip yip!” (What is this! What the hell!)
Leaping nervously while keeping wary eyes on the hamster, Yurian sniffed at the crumbled snack.
[Filial Rage Snack (S+)]
S+?!
Checking the info window, Yurian’s jaw dropped.
These Ratatouille bastards had brought an S+ enhancer?
A thrill ran through his body.
With this... Gnosis’s plan might take a whole new turn.
Could he, not Dominic, become the master of the 99th floor?
The thought made his heart race.
“Yip! Yip yip!” (Hey, where did you get this!)
He needed to get more samples before returning.
“Myu?” (What?)
Of course, they had to understand him first.
“Yip yip!” (Give me more!)
“Myuuu?”
Veilach only stretched out his head with a clueless look.
His teasing movements made Yurian tremble with rage.
Then Veilach turned to Lukshifer and said:
“Myu. Myumyut.” (I think it worked. He’s getting riled up again.)
Seeing the once-docile pup trembling and barking with renewed vigor, Veilach smiled, satisfied. This must mean Yurian’s true Maltese instincts were resurfacing.
If he kept feeding him filial snacks, he could live on as a Maltese forever.
In Veilach’s mind, a banner waved proudly: [Congratuwations! Lifewong Mount Guawantee!]
Meanwhile, Yurian was plotting how to rip off more S+ enhancers from these Ratatouille pests.
He didn’t know why they gave it to him, but if he stuck around, he might get more chances.
Then he’d tear them apart, kill them, and leave with only the snacks.
Fixing his plan firmly in his head, Yurian snorted.
Lea, saying she was sorry for misunderstanding, promised to treat them to a meal ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) next time and kept apologizing as she left.
So all those strange things she had said before the exchange match had come from that misunderstanding.
It was a relief that it cleared up nicely.
Guru had never gone through anything bad. The orphanage director had been a good person, too...
Thinking that, Guru came home, crouched down in front of Yurian, and looked at him with a troubled face.
The strange misunderstanding was resolved, but there were still things left unresolved.
If the one Lea was looking for really was this Yurian...
Guru’s shoulders shook.
“Wanna go back fast, wight? Sowwy. Gwuu gonna twy hawd.”
But Yurian shook his head vigorously side to side, as if saying he didn’t want to go back.
'Huh?'
Guru widened her eyes in surprise.
Regardless, Yurian curled up on a cushion, carrying Veilach and Lukshifer on his back.
'What’s this? Did he already get attached and doesn’t want to leave?'
Or maybe...
Back when they first met, hadn’t he run away the moment Lea Unni appeared?
Could it be he actually didn’t want to meet Lea?
Guru tilted her head in bewilderment.

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