“These days, with gate detectors advancing, there are just too many dungeon poachers.”

At the words of the special task force team leader, Jin Siwon nodded in agreement.

“Right. And there are still no leads on the S-Rank dungeon poachers at Yustitia International School?”

“Correct. It’s a big case, so we’ve been investigating nonstop, but there’s been no progress. Embarrassing, honestly.”

“Not at all. We don’t have much to show either.”

“Haha, well, since you’ve come all this way, why not have some coffee and take a look around?”

“Thank you.”

Jin Siwon accepted the instant coffee the team leader handed him.

Just then, a man in handcuffs barged into the office, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Does it make any damn sense that the government manages every single dungeon? What is this, a communist state?!”

It looked like they’d just caught a dungeon poacher.

Behind the noisy man, his party members were marched into the office in a line.

The team leader sighed and rubbed his temples.

“There’s no end to bastards like these. They’ve got a hundred excuses for breaking the law—it’s a headache.”

Jin Siwon sipped his coffee with a polite smile at the team leader’s complaint... until suddenly his brow lifted.

“......?”

Because behind the poachers, he spotted children toddling into the office.

Little boys with black and white hair. And at the very end, a single girl.

His eyes locked on the last child.

Platinum-blond hair close to beige, a doll-like pale face—Jin Siwon recognized her and twitched his shoulder.

While he froze, the team leader’s face contorted savagely.

“What the hell? Did you bastards kidnap kids too?”

“I told you already, that’s not it! When we got there, the brats were already raiding first!”

The man shouted desperately, as if wrongly accused.

Guru’s eyes welled up with tears, and she sniffled.

“Gwuu sowwy... Gwuu not mean it...”

“You son of a bitch, you made the kid cry? Why the hell was a baby in a dungeon?!”

“No! I’m telling the truth! Say it, kid! You were there first, right?”

“Uwaaaah! Gwuu sowwy... Gwuu didn’ mean it...!”

“You crazy bastard!”

The police in the office fumed, yelling that the man had even laid hands on a child. The man screamed back that he was being wronged. The child bawled at the top of her lungs.

In an instant, the office turned into pure chaos.

Jin Siwon turned his stiff face toward the man and locked eyes with him.

“When we found the unregistered dungeon and went in, the kids were already there. And not a single monster left alive.”

Truth.

“That girl at the end was even using a fork to harvest monster items.”

Truth.

“The boss was already dead too! Those brats must’ve done it somehow!”

Truth.

All of it was true.

But no one believed the words of a criminal. And the only one who knew the truth was Jin Siwon—who could read the man’s thoughts.

He had to decide quickly.

“Guru, are you alright?”

“Mistew... hiccup!”

“It’s okay. Don’t cry.”

“Hic.”

When Guru sucked in a breath, Jin Siwon gently patted her small shoulder.

He hurried to stop the team leader, who was about to tack on kidnapping charges, and spoke in a rush.

“I know the children’s guardian. I’ll take them to the Bureau myself. The kid’s very shaken, so I’ll do the witness questioning and relay everything to you separately.”

Without waiting for an answer, he scooped up Guru and the other kids and bolted out.

***

Inside the Bureau’s conference room.

“......”

“......”

“......”

The children sat in a row: Mephisto, Guru, then Veilach.

Mephisto blinked around curiously, Veilach yawned and propped his chin on his hand, and Guru hung her head low.

“Here’s cocoa.”

Jin Siwon set a cup before each child. Guru grabbed hers with both hands and gulped noisily.

“Snff!”

After slamming the cup down, she sucked in her runny nose, and Jin Siwon gave her an awkward smile.

That sight only made fresh tears gush from Guru’s eyes.

While wiping them, Jin Siwon locked eyes with her—and read the frantic stream of her little mind.

'S-Rank crafting... SSS-Rank monsters... Jjapso... unregistered dungeon raid... second time?'

He kept his composure while dabbing her tears and said gently:

“Guru, you have to tell me the truth. Otherwise, I can’t help you.”

Nod-nod.

“Did you do something like this once before at kindergarten?”

Fresh tears spilled down Guru’s face.

“Yeshhh... sniff!”

Jin Siwon wiped her cheeks and shut his eyes tight.

He had thought the swift S-Rank dungeon raids were the work of a large-scale organization.

'But kindergarteners?'

His mind reeled with shock and disbelief.

What exactly was On Jurim raising?

But there was no time to be overwhelmed.

“Remember when you solved a quiz at the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ Bureau and got a prize?”

“Yeshh...”

“Dungeons aren’t for just anyone to raid. You know that, right?”

Nod-nod.

“Then why did good little Guru do this?”

“Gwuu... wanted somefing... sniff! But nobody went dungeon wid Gwuu... Uwaaaah!”

She hiccupped and sobbed as Jin Siwon rubbed her back.

That no one would go with her... well, of course. He had nothing to say to that.

“Did you raid with these friends here?”

He glanced at the two beside her.

They looked clueless, and no matter how hard he focused, he couldn’t read a thing from them.

Either they had used items too high-grade for him to penetrate, or...

'Both of them are unimaginably high-rank...'

Were these the SSS-Rank monsters brought from Jeju?

Tension crept up his spine. But then Guru stretched out her little hands.

“Snff! Mephi, Baiii. Come hewe.”

In an instant, the children transformed into a white chick and an ugly hamster, hopping onto her head and shoulder.

“......!”

Jin Siwon’s eyes went wide.

Those two were the “pets” she always carried around?

Even if she was S-Rank crafting, could she really create beings that shifted freely between human and beast?

He was struck speechless by the sight.

Meanwhile, Guru sniffled and asked:

“Mistew... is Gwuu, hic! goin’ to da chiwdwen’s pwison? Snff! Even dough Gwuu awweady awwested Weiji Mistew?”

Jin Siwon let out a strained chuckle.

Children’s prison...

She had frightening power, but she was still just a child.

No wonder Jurim had fought to hide it so fiercely.

If the world learned of her abilities, hunters and criminals alike would target her endlessly.

She could end up suffering just like Serhi.

Jin Siwon lowered his gaze and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

“You won’t be going to any children’s prison.”

At his gentle voice, Guru’s crying eased.

“Fow weaw?”

He gave a faint smile.

For now, to protect her secret, he would have to bury the S-Rank dungeon raid case himself.

“Instead, I’ll make you an honorary Bureau agent.”

“Mongmong agent?”

“Yes. It means you’re now part of the Bureau too.”

“......!”

Guru blinked in surprise at the sudden title.

“And an honorary agent has to obey the law even better than anyone else, right?”

“Yeshhh...!”

“So can you raid dungeons recklessly, yes or no?”

“Nooo... sniff!”

“Good girl. Then I’ll take you home. That’s okay?”

Guru nodded vigorously.

Smiling faintly, Jin Siwon took her hand and led her out of the conference room.

Just as they passed down the corridor, a boy with thick glasses brushed by.

Through the lenses, Jin Siwon felt the boy’s eyes.

He turned, but the boy tugged his cap low and bowed his head.

At that same moment, Guru sniffled and whispered:

“Snff! Mistew, you weawwy can’t teww Daddy.”

Jin Siwon chuckled and bent to wipe her nose.

“I won’t tell.”

“Pinky pwomise?”

“But only if you don’t do this again. Understood?”

“Yeshhh... pinky pwomise.”

She stuck out her pinky, and he hooked it with his own.

“Promise.”

Guru added the copy-and-coat motions to seal it, then smiled bashfully—before glancing back.

The thick-glasses boy they’d just passed was gone.

Tilting her head, she followed Jin Siwon again.

When their eyes had met, she’d felt a strange zap! of something foreign.

'Why tho?'

She gave it a brief thought, then let it go and trailed after him.

At that same time, down the corridor, a boy leaned against the wall with arms crossed, peering out.

Yurian’s gaze caught the backs of Jin Siwon and Guru.

His brows knitted.

'Dominic?'

The trail of Dominic clearly cut off with that child.