Raid Preparations
Well, let me say this first.
I tend to get attached pretty easily.
"Uh, Unnie, I'm really so sorry!… I, um, that is…."
"I told you it's fine. Are you going to keep this up?"
"It's just… until now, you and Terra both…."
"I said it's fine."
Honestly, there was no need for her to feel this bad about it.
Rewind about five minutes.
This was before Ha-eun even woke up.
"Mmnya…."
I'd gotten up first, and the sight of Ha-eun still clinging to my tail with her whole body made me rub my eyes.
How to put it.
It felt a lot like when I'd first brought Terra home.
…Was it more comforting than I expected?
Beep-beep-beep—
I'd planned to just let her sleep it off, figuring the alcohol hadn't fully worn off yet—only for that tone-deaf alarm to blare at full volume.
"Mmm… so soft and squishy…."
"Ha-eun, kneading it like that is a bit much."
"Hm…? Huh? Huh??"
And that brings us to now.
Well… touching my tail was a pretty big deal, after all.
"I mean. The number of people who've touched my tail and lived can be counted on one hand."
On Earth, that basically just meant Terra.
"Th-that's…."
"I keep saying it's fine and you still look like that. Life happens, you know? Sometimes you grab a tail by accident."
"…Is that how it is?"
"Hmm~ In exchange, I'm going to tease you about this a lot from now on."
"Unnieee!…."
Watching Ha-eun still half-drunk through all of that, I let out a snort of laughter and brought her some water.
"Get your head on straight first. Want to sleep more?"
"N-no, I'm fine…."
As she said it, Ha-eun kept clenching and unclenching her hands.
Was it that fascinating?
Ring-ring—
That was when the phone on my Hunter Watch started ringing.
Kim Sang-chul — Team Leader, Suppression Team 3
Park Ha-yeon was supposed to have talked to the Association about this yesterday.
I didn't know what kind of pull she had, but the contact had come through faster than expected.
"Hello."
"Hunter Lee Se-yeon. Good morning."
"Ah, yes."
"Would you happen to—"
"I already have a pretty good idea. You want me to join a raid, right?"
At that, Kim Sang-chul agreed at once, as if the conversation had already been settled internally.
"That's correct. We're assembling hunters from all over the world… though there is one problem."
"Which is?"
"Given that we've ordered a full assembly, this is a gathering of some rather significant figures. As a result, your administrative ranking as a B-class hunter makes participation difficult."
"And so?"
"We intend to grant you temporary A-class hunter qualifications. That said, it's a rather complicated matter."
To sum up what he was saying: temporary hunter credentials were something the Association already kept a list for, so they would have to limit it to me alone.
In other words, Ha-yeon was not included.
Something about this reeked.
I could get in, but Ha-eun—who had more experience than I did—couldn't?
"That's ridiculous. Did my warning last time not get through clearly enough?"
"That is…."
"Cut the crap and include Ha-eun too."
What kind of half-baked scheme was this supposed to be.
"I'll do what I can."
"And the compensation?"
"One of the rewards detected for this wave is the Holy Grail of Time. We can also treat it as a condition for stopping the wave."
"The condition is… the Holy Grail of Time?"
The Holy Grail of Time?
Hold on. Arthur and a Holy Grail….
From the side trying to stop this, the synergy was looking pretty awful.
"Ordinarily, hunters would split the spoils among themselves, so it would most likely go to auction."
"And you're saying you'll give me priority on it?"
"That's correct."
They still had a long way to go, but it looked like they were finally starting to watch my mood a little.
Priority rights to treasure, huh.
"I'll accept for now."
"Excellent. Assembly is at one o'clock this afternoon. We would appreciate it if you could come to the Seoul branch."
"Understood."
I hung up and looked over at Ha-eun.
"He said one o'clock."
"I-I heard. But why a large-scale raid all of a sudden…?"
Ha-eun, however, looked completely lost as to what any of this was about.
"Don't you remember? Yesterday you gave me Park Ha-yeon's number. We talked a bit then."
"What…? I-I did…?"
Apparently she didn't remember at all.
Her blackout was seriously dangerous.
Next time I got her drinking, I'd have to stick right by her side.
Otherwise she might hand herself over to some complete stranger.
"Anyway, that happened. More importantly, I'm going to wake Terra up. Want to come? Or you can rest more."
"I-I'll come with you."
So Ha-eun and I went to find Terra's room.
Knock-knock—
No answer, even after knocking.
Still asleep, maybe.
"Terra, I'm opening the door?"
I carefully pushed it open, and there he was—curled up on a little kids' bed, hugging a pillow.
I'd piled dirt and various ores in the corner of Terra's room and bought him a bed, too.
Roughly speaking, I'd built an environment an Earth Dragon could live in.
And yet… regrettably, the kid spent far more of his time on the shared computer out in the living room.
How to put it—it felt like he'd come to value gaming more than his own instincts.
At least I'd installed the computer in the living room instead of his bedroom, so I still got to see him come out. If I hadn't, he probably never would have left his room at all.
"Terra?"
"Mmm…."
"Time to get up. It's morning. Aren't you going to eat?"
"Just a little longer… I want to sleep…."
I sighed at the sight of Terra, who clearly wasn't with it yet.
I'd told him to game a little and then go to bed… but it looked like he'd basically pulled an all-nighter.
"Sit up for a second. Those people yesterday said to check your horns every morning for about a week."
"Mmm… under… stood…."
I hauled half-conscious Terra out of bed and sat him on the floor.
Then I roughly smoothed his hair back and said,
"Let me see your horns?"
"Yeees…."
Sitting beside still-groggy Terra, I lightly activated my Dragon Eyes and began examining his horns.
"Let's see…."
Fortunately, Terra's horns looked perfectly intact.
I'd been worried about possible rejection or some kind of aftershock, but he seemed fine.
"Terra, are you sleepy?"
"Yeees, I'm so sleepy…."
This kid, seriously.
Had I been too soft on him?
I'd clearly told him to keep it in moderation.
"You can't be this sleepy, can you? Hm?"
"Mmnya…."
"Guess I really should get rid of the compu—"
"I am awake, Goldy-nim."
Yes. That was the Terra I knew.
"Weren't you sleepy?"
"I am not. As you well know, Goldy-nim, we dragons can manage with this much sleep—"
"Okay, okay. Go back to sleep. We've got time anyway. I'll wake you later. Just don't do this next time."
"Y-yes… I apologize…."
"Nah. I did wake you earlier than usual, so."
It was only eight in the morning.
He probably hadn't expected me to get him up this early.
"Sleep a bit more."
"…Thank you, Goldy-nim."
Watching Terra force his eyes open while reading my mood, I laid him back down on the bed.
Even I had my limits. I wasn't about to scold a kid—especially one I was contracted with—just for gaming a little.
Dragons were allowed to be like that sometimes.
Of course, if it kept happening over and over… then that would need fixing.
Click—
With that, I brought Ha-eun back outside with me.
Heading for the kitchen, I said,
"Ha-eun."
"Yes?"
"You're going to eat, right?"
"Uh… if you're making something."
"Then let's make something that works as hangover food, too."
I naturally pulled out the leftover pork and kimchi from the fridge.
Might as well throw a kimchi stew together with what we had left.
Clack—
"Whoa… Unnie, you know how to do that too?"
"If I were living alone I'd just order delivery, but Terra's here, so I learned a bit so I could cook for him."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
Watching the steam rise so diligently first thing in the morning, I let out a small laugh.
Come to think of it, before I'd become a dragon I used to just sit at the table and wait to be served.
Ironically, it was only after becoming one of those supposedly arrogant dragons that I'd turned more diligent.
"Alright. Dig in."
"Oh… this is actually good?"
"It's the way my little sibling used to make it. They drilled it into me so hard I grew calluses on my ears that it only tasted right if you did it like this."
"A sibling? You had a sibling too?"
"I did. We got separated during the Gate Incident."
Hearing that, Ha-eun let out a faint, flustered breath, as if she'd put her foot in her mouth.
"Ah… I'm sorry…."
"It's fine. For me it's ancient history, and… what could anyone have done about it?"
"Even so…."
"Worry about what's ahead. The past that's already gone… can't be helped."
If I could get them back, of course I would—but even I couldn't stop an event that had engulfed the entire world.
Better to keep moving forward collecting treasure than to drown in it. That was how I saw it.
"What we're raiding this time is a phenomenon called the Wild Hunt."
"The Wild Hunt?"
"Yeah. If I had to compare it… think of something like a Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
I scooped up some broth and kept going.
"And… there's something I think you need to know."
"Something I need to know?"
"They seem to be gathering just about every hunter with a name worth mentioning. And looking at how they tried to leave you out earlier…."
There had clearly been some kind of pressure.
Which was why I had a feeling.
"I think that brother of yours is going to show up too."
"…He will. He always makes an appearance at any incident where he can put his name out there, even a little."
If last time had been about cementing my relationship with Terra, maybe this time it was Ha-eun's turn.
"This is your last chance before the duel."
"…Right."
"Let's make him regret kicking you out. Starting with this."
"This is…?"
"That holy sword from yesterday. I'm giving it to you."
She had solid backing now, too. He wouldn't be able to ignore her.
Click—
"W-what?! A holy sword?!"
"And to make it usable… come somewhere with me this morning."
"W-where now…?"
"I think I've found a use for that scale I gave you last time."
With that, I switched on my Watch and called Lee Ju-seon.
Then Ahn Su-sa as well.
I planned to take every scrap of help I could get before we went.
For now, let's start by summoning our allies.