The Chick Class Hunter is Being Filial

I thought something had happened—but it was really something.
…?
The child had on star-shaped sunglasses and a scarf tied neatly under her chin. Sitting atop her head, Mephisto wore a matching-colored handkerchief.

Apparently unable to find sunglasses that fit the baby bird, she’d instead stuck two small slices of cucumber over its eyes.
Jurim was left speechless, and the flustered sitter rushed out of the dressing room with a hat in hand.
“Guru, how about wearing this hat instead of all that? Okay?”

“Dun wannaaa—”
Doo-doo-doo-doo—
With Mephisto still perched on her head, Guru darted off in a gallop, and the sitter scurried after her, pleading.

“This hat’s even cuter~ Guru, try this one on~”
“Nooo waaaay—”
Doo-doo-doo-doo—

As Guru zigzagged to dodge the sitter, the baby bird on her head swayed side to side. When the cucumber slipped off, Mephi pecked it with his beak, flapped his wings, and stuck it back on his eye.
…?
Jurim stared at them in silence for a while.

Why? She’s not the kind of kid to be stubborn about this stuff.
Even accounting for Guru’s somewhat questionable fashion sense, this was clearly not like her.
Usually, she wasn’t picky about clothes at all—and if someone said another dress looked prettier, she’d take hers off and change on the spot.

The commuter sitter finally managed to catch her.
“Why’s our Guru being so stubborn today? Did something happen at kindergarten?”
“Nu-uh.”
Shake shake.

“Then what is it? Will you tell just me?”
“’S a secwet!”
Jurim finally stepped in.

“You’re gonna go to kindergarten dressed like that?”
“Yeeeesh!”
Her voice rang out with such solid conviction that all thoughts of the potion crisis instantly vanished from his mind.

His head spun. Jurim wiped his face with both hands, while the sitter looked on like she’d made a horrible mistake, shuffling her feet in distress.
What now? What is this? It’s not from one of those cartoons she’s been watching lately, is it?
No matter how much he thought about it, it made no sense.

“Did you have a change of heart or something?”
“Change of what now?”
“Not ginger. Change of heart. Can you tell me why, just to your dad?”

Guru’s eyes widened into big round circles.
Daddy!
That’s right, Daddy. Guru fidgeted, hands behind her back, swaying side to side.

Should I tell Daddy? Cuz it’s Daddy.
After hesitating, she finally spoke in a small voice.
“…Gotta hide it. Da face.”

“Why would you want to hide your pretty face?”
“Well actshuwy—ah, can’t teww no one dis!”
“Okay.”

“Pwomise. Stamp. Copied and waminated.”
She hooked her pinky with his and stressed the deal seriously. Then, standing on her toes, she leaned in and whispered into Jurim’s ear.
“Cuz, Gwuu ish… a cwon.”

Jurim blinked, eyes drifting upward with a faint furrow between his brows.
Cwon? She mean IAMGROOT123?
“You just figured that out?”

“HUHHP!”
Guru gasped, going pale, and slapped both hands over her mouth, backing away.
Daddy… already knew?!

Jurim finally realized what he’d just let slip and wiped his mouth with his hand.
Her coral-colored eyes began to water, filled with betrayal and shock for reasons even he couldn’t explain.
Feeling awkward, he lifted her into his arms.

“I’ll take Guru to kindergarten today.”
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s nothing serious, don’t worry. You can head back inside.”

After sending the sitter off, Jurim sat Guru down on the couch.
The moment he sat beside her, Guru squirmed onto his lap and nestled her cheek against his chest, murmuring softly.
“Gwuu ish a fake genius. If dey catch me, dey can put me on twial…”

When Guru had been selling potions, she hadn’t understood a single thing about what made it “illegal” or “bad.” It was the first time she learned that what she’d done could be considered wrong.
“You were worried about that?”
“Yesh… What if Gwuu go to childwen’s pwiwson…”

“Children’s prison?”
Guru trembled as she nodded her head.
Children’s prison was a terrifying place swarming with nasty elementary schoolers—just like the mean poison toad-looking kid who used to call her “chickpea.”

“Uh-huh. It was on Magic Magic Kids. It’s an island where dey send bad chiwdwen.”
Bad kids sent to children’s prison had to eat nothing but carrots and onions and were forced into child labor.
Child labor meant peeling onions while crying during the day, and endless homework at night.

It was an utterly horrifying fate.
Guru explained all this with dead seriousness, eyes fixed on Jurim. He bit his lip, holding back a reaction.
“And if Gwuu go to pwiwson, Mephee gotta wun on a wheew to make ‘lectricity!”

“Bih?!”
Perched on her head, Mephisto puffed up his feathers and started trembling.
He had wanted more than anything to be a champion of justice.

He truly meant it when he said he wanted to be brave like Daddy, who defeated towers and saved people.
But now!
“Guru’s a chiwd cwiminaw?!”

“Beep beep—!”
With both the child and the baby bird shaking like drenched puppies, Jurim closed his eyes tight and gently patted Guru’s back.
Rather than ask why would Mephi get arrested too, he spoke kindly.

“You’re not going to children’s prison. Remember the police officer you saw in the dungeon last time?”
Nod nod.
“The police officers said they’ll let it slide just this once.”

“R-weally?!”
Jurim stroked her head.
“But from now on, you know you can’t sell potions at Onion Market, right?”

Zoom zoom!
“And, can you or can’t you go around saying you’re a clone?”
“Cwan’t!”

“Good. Then how about we take off the scarf now?”
“……”
“Still scared?”

Shake shake.
Guru quickly yanked off her scarf and sunglasses and tossed them aside.
Jurim cupped her flushed cheeks and gently swayed her side to side.

“That’s brave.”
“Heehee!”
Guru gave him a big kiss on the cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Being with Daddy felt so warm and floaty—like she could do anything.
As she kept rubbing her cheek against his neck, Mephi flapped off her head and landed on Jurim’s shoulder.
Jurim picked off the cucumber that had fallen onto Guru’s hair and gave her tiny head a few affectionate kisses.

“Gwuu gonna be weawwy fiwiaw.”
A soft, low chuckle pattered gently from above her head.
“Got it.”

Yes, she was going to be the most incredibly filial daughter ever.
It was only a few days later when that resolve was put to the test.
***

What is filial piety, really?
While digging deep into that fundamental question…
News articles about the national potion shortage started flooding the main page of every portal site.

[Government launches emergency task force over potion ingredient shortage… Securing global supply chains.]
[Government claims potion supply will stabilize soon… Urges public not to hoard for emergency patients.]
[Small guilds gather in donation relay, 15,000 potions collected.]
[“Stepping up in crisis is the duty of large guilds,” says NAG Guildmaster Gu Shinhoo, donates 3 billion won.]
As Guru tapped into an article with a photo of the mudskipper-faced man, a lightning bolt of realization struck her.
Not only was there opposition to On Jurim—but Hyeonak had way more enemies than she thought.

[“To help sick children,” major guilds like NAG, Brom, and Hon step in with aid efforts…]
[Comments]
[best] spear_boy: Knew Hyeonak wouldn’t be here lol. Don’t participate, don’t donate—worst guild in history.

Iamgroot!: Hyeonak is mentioned in another article. http://dailynailg.com/news/1233/..
spear_boy: That’s just a biased fluff piece for that stingy Jurim lolol
spear_boy: All the other guilds are getting praised by every news outlet—what about Hyeonak?

spear_boy: Probably sitting back sucking candy while dodging taxes.
spear_boy: Can’t believe Hyeonak is Korea’s top guild! Shameful! Tsk tsk
spear_boy: Just step aside instead of dragging down the others.

“Spear_boy…! He types super fast!”
While Guru painstakingly typed out her reply one character at a time, spear_boy had already posted twenty more comments below.
“Ughhh!!”

Then, as if some hidden signal had been given, a whole horde of hate commenters swarmed in. Guru’s reply was immediately mass-reported and blinded out of existence.
“Waaaagh!!”