TCHF 10

Chapter 10

If Gru were already an exceptional Hunter, he could have stayed in the string section.
“If that happens, Mom and Dad would be happy too, right?”
Fluffy clouds popped up in his mind.
Again, arms and legs sprouted, revealing Mom Sheep and Dad Sheep. Mom and Dad Sheep, now as Hunters, hugged the little lamb tossing bills around like scraps of tissue.

“You’ve become the strongest, richest, and most prestigious zi-Hunter!”
“We’re proud of you! Gru, the strongest zi-Hunter!”

Hmm, it was quite a touching reunion scene.

Great! He’d become such an incredible Hunter that even Mom and Dad would be amazed!

If he revised his goal, completing the quest would actually be beneficial.
Quest rewards would serve as the starting point for growth.

“Quest reward = level up = a Hunter with tons of money!”

Fueled with renewed motivation, Gru snorted.

“I wonder if the next quest has appeared?”

Just as Gru opened the status screen, a loud fanfare sounded, and a pop-up appeared.

[Achievement: <Raise Me!> Completed!]

• You can easily calm your caregiver.

[Receive Quest Completion Reward!]

“Reward!”
Please be something good! An S-rank skill! S-rank byproduct!
Thinking of all the things he wanted, Gru pressed “Receive Reward,” and the letters jumbled.

[(Reward will change due to an unreadable title…)]

Huh?

[Congratulations! You’ve obtained the skill “Deeply Rooted Attachment (S).”]
[You can use the sub-skill of “Deeply Rooted Attachment,” called “My Personal Filial Skill.”]

“Fil…ial?”

Looking at the rank, it didn’t seem bad, but the name wasn’t very appealing.

“Still… it’s S-rank.”
It must have some incredible power.

[Passive Skill]
Deeply Rooted Attachment (S): If you achieve a certain attachment index with a prospective caregiver, you can register them in a slot.

• When the caregiver and child are together, happiness is easier to feel, and mana recharge efficiency increases.

• You can raise the attachment index through various filial activities with the caregiver. The child earns “Filial Points” as a result. Filial Points can be used as a resource for growth in various areas. Let’s explore their uses in actual activities.

Unlike other passive skills, Deeply Rooted Attachment had its own skill screen.
A rectangular empty slot appeared, and tapping it brought up a pop-up.

[Would you like to register “On Jurim” as your main caregiver?]
[Yes/No]

“Yes…”

Pressing the button registered Jurim’s face in the empty slot.

[On Jurim]
[Main Caregiver]

Next to the simply registered face of Jurim, more empty slots were present.
Below, a crooked tip was written.

[Tip! Find a new caregiver and register them in a slot!]
[Requirements: No disqualifications such as a history of child abuse.
However, caregivers of a lower rank than the user cannot be placed in a slot.]

“Oh…”
Deeply Rooted Attachment seemed to be a special skill where Gru could receive a massive amount of growth resources by selecting caregivers.
Packing a protector into a slot allowed rapid growth in a short time…

“This is amazing!”

Moreover, it even had a sub-skill with a strange name.

[My Personal Filial Skill]

• Gru’s Hands are Gentle Hands: Can recharge the caregiver’s mana through touch.

Notes:

• Filial skills can only be used on caregivers.

• To prevent misuse, skill details are restricted from disclosure.

“This is the power of an S-rank skill!”

Gru opened his one-and-only stats screen.
He wanted to immediately use Filial Points to level up, but…
How many Filial Points did he have? 0.

“Gru… is poor…”

His head, which had puffed up like a crowned pigeon, shrank like a wet Pomeranian.

“Tch.”

Pouting, Gru pulled the blanket over his head.
As the world turned black with the late hour, a sudden wave of sleepiness hit.

“Haaah—”

Gru yawned violently and closed his eyes.
“I need to gather a lot of Filial Points…”

The next morning

“Ughhh.”

Gru hoisted his bulky backpack, and the head of his duck clip poked up behind him.
He didn’t have much to bring.
His only weapons—duck clip, syrup bottle, candy jar, unfinished teddy bear, and a few clothes—were all he needed.

Carrying a shopping bag with clothes and hugging the teddy bear, Gru waddled out of the building.

“Bye, Gru!”
“Gru! Don’t forget me!”
“Yeah, everyone, take care!”

While greeting his friends with the teddy bear blocking his view, someone snatched the bear from him.

“Is this all?”

Jurim took the large teddy under his arm and grabbed the shopping bag and backpack.

“Yeeeah.”

Muttering that he had a lot to buy, Jurim walked off with Gru, and the other kids poured out to see him off.
After waving energetically to his friends, Gru climbed into the sports car.

Jurim buckled Gru in and frowned.

“It’s loose.”

Shaking the seatbelt, Jurim searched for the car seat while sitting in the driver’s seat.
Gru gawked around.

“Shiny… sparkling…”

It was clearly a much fancier car than the shuttle buses he’d been riding.
Would he be able to have a car like this once he became a string section Hunter?

“Guildmaster, right? So now Gru is in the string section, too?”

He glanced at Gru and chuckled.

“Do you know how to read the words I showed you then?”

“Hah!”

Another cruel, nasty question aimed at a kindergartener.

“That’s… that’s nu…”

Gru swallowed hard.
Seeing his eyes tremble without direction, Jurim’s lips curved.

“Now you’re the youngest in the string section. Can you handle it?”

At the same time, the car smoothly started moving.

“…!”

Gru felt the fanfare of worms in his chest erupt again, clutching the belt tightly.

“Yeeeah!”

Jurim deliberately drove slowly.

“But as a member of the string guild, there are rules to follow.”

“Gru can follow them all!”

“Really?”

“Yeeeah.”

“Then first rule: Onion Market transactions are prohibited.”

“Huh?”

Flustered, a squeaky voice escaped him.

“No matter who you are in the string section, illegal trade is never allowed.”

Bang—

He banged the massive paper head.
He could follow all the rules… except that one.

“Onion Market = money = rich = making Mom and Dad proud!”

But if he refused to give up the Onion Market, the string guild might not accept him.

“That’s not allowed either!”

A cruel choice. His big eyes rolled around.
Sweating and groaning, Gru carefully said,

“Uh… I’m not gonna do the Onion Market…”

When they reached a stuck spot, Jurim slowly stopped the car.
He narrowed his eyes, watching the kindergartener hesitate, unable to let go of black market trade. Why is he so obsessed with the Onion Market?

“Why not?”

“I have to sell things…”

Jurim relaxed a little. Fortunately, he wasn’t obsessed with criminal activity.

“You can sell in the Hunter Market, too. Still?”

“But Gru can’t use the Hunter Market.”

Ah, so he only used the Onion Market because he hadn’t officially registered as a Hunter. Jurim tapped the steering wheel with his index finger.
Even the director didn’t seem to know about awakenings, and no adults around to help, so Hunter registration had been impossible.

“In the end, it worked out well.”

One could imagine the chaos if a clueless civilian brought an S-rank kindergartener to register as a Hunter.

“I’ll help you with that. Once you register as a Hunter, you can use the Hunter Market anonymously.”