Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Invisible Transparent Chu
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Tak tak tak tak tak.
"Pomi, spread out that torn green onion bag a bit and hand me three? Just three or so."
As I spoke while chopping, she handed over the green onions and asked,
"Ong! What's for dinner?"
"Let's have doenjang jjigae. No tofu in the fridge?"
"Ung. None!"
"None in the inventory either?"
"Nope!"
"Go to So-jin's place and buy some... Ah, So-jin's only there on weekdays now. Anyway, head to the convenience store and grab one tofu?"
"Can I get ice cream too?"
"Get the discounted stuff. And don't just buy for yourself—get some for Seri and Star too. Huh? But do dogs even eat ice cream?"
"Onggu! If Star doesn't eat it, I'll take two!"
Onggu? Is that like okay or something?
With that, Pomi pulled a card from my wallet and headed out on her errand.
I threw myself back into dinner prep, but then a shadow fell over one corner of the cutting board.
"Hwah. Hey. Make some noise when you walk around."
"..."
Either she didn't hear me or ignored me completely—she started poking around my surroundings without a word. Ugh, it's annoying.
She was wearing nothing but the baggy T-shirt I'd given her earlier and a pair of trunk panties, but her legs were so long that even that shabby outfit looked fashionable.
Gurgle.
"Ah. Hungry?"
Her face flushed red as she shook her head side to side. I smiled at how cute she was and nodded toward the fridge.
"Hang on a bit. I'll make something quick. Check the fridge—there's yogurt in there. Want one?"
"..."
She gave a slight nod, opened the fridge, stared for a while, grabbed a yogurt, and headed back to the living room. Meanwhile, I called over the dopey mutt who'd been tailing her and asked about the girl.
"Is she always this quiet?"
Come to think of it, the only words I'd heard from her today were "die," "out," and "gross." ...That's too much.
"Krrung. She talks plenty with me usually."
"What's her mental age like? Stuck at 13 or something?"
"No mental issues or anything. It's just that all I could teach her was hunting and fighting. She hasn't mingled with other people much otherwise, so she's a bit lacking in common sense. Probably."
"She never uses polite speech?"
"She did sometimes as a kid, but as we spent more time just the two of us, she stopped."
I asked Star a bunch of other questions I was curious about regarding Seri. By the time Pomi got back, I'd gotten a decent grasp of the girl's current state.
She excelled at hunting, camping, combat, stealth, and the like, but was sorely lacking in everyday common sense and social knowledge. She'd lost her parents at 13 and grown up for a full seven years without adult care or schooling.
"We can teach her that stuff slowly, but... she doesn't just go around killing people when she's mad, right?"
This was the real issue. Having nearly gotten shadow-bladed twice, I was seriously worried she might whip out those shadow blades whenever things didn't go her way.
"I told you earlier, right? It's not just me and Pomi living here anymore—there's one more person, and she's a normal human. If Seri attacks her or anything, I can't have that."
"Krrung! I get your concern. But she's got a good heart deep down. She never does that unless her life's in danger or it's revenge-related."
"...Yeah, she seems like it. Anyway, tomorrow when my roommate comes back, let's talk it over together. The place next door is empty—that's her house. If things go well, she might be able to live there."
"Th-thank you! Krrung."
"It's not set in stone, so don't get your hopes up too much. She needs to like you first, so tell Seri to behave. Got it? And no matter how bad those guys were, in front of her, don't bring up revenge or killing people. Yu-ra would faint."
"Krrung. Understood."
"And about what we talked about earlier..."
"...Gruk?"
"Ah, you know, that, uh, yeah? The points I said I'd give."
"Gruk."
"You haven't told her the details yet, right?"
"...No."
"Explain it nicely."
"...Understood."
While Seri had been passed out, Star and I had made a contract. It wasn't system-enforced like with Pomi, though.
In exchange for giving some of my points to the girl, who didn't have much time left, she'd belong to me.
Her situation was heartbreaking, but I wasn't digging up points from the ground. To earn points, I had to dig something else. Pussy, for instance. Pussy.
The points I'd promised her came to 31pt a month—a straight-up salary.
It was a ridiculous lowball, but I couldn't help it earlier. I knew nothing about her and had to trust Star's word alone to make the deal. I needed conditions where betrayal meant she'd have to give up revenge too.
But after seeing Seri's true nature, it felt like we could revise those unfair terms.
"About the conditions I mentioned earlier..."
"Don't tell me you've changed your mind?"
Tension flashed in Star's eyes. I gave a gentle smile to reassure her and finished my thought.
"Instead of the 31pt monthly salary I mentioned, let's just split whatever points come from doing her—half each."
Seri's difficulty had dropped to easy, and even with just one sex session a month, it'd be at least 50pt. Way better for them.
"Th-thank you! But... why?"
Star looked bewildered as she asked.
It wasn't just fear of betrayal that made me stingy with points—I also wanted to prevent her suicide.
I'd never been through something so unjust myself, but I'd seen plenty of revenge stories in movies, dramas, and novels where the protagonist offs themselves from the emptiness afterward.
Same logic: I figured Han Seri might use the points I gave her to grab powerful skills, finish her revenge, and then kill herself easily.
But seeing her earlier, sobbing tears of joy in Star's arms at the news she didn't have to die... that wiped away my lingering worries.
All those thoughts, boiled down to:
"Just... 'cause I feel bad for her."
"Oh, right—one more thing. The initial points from her are mine alone, yeah?"
"Yes."
Seri's difficulty was nightmare-level. Sharing that massive haul felt a tiny bit regrettable.
And it wasn't just sex with Seri I was asking for in exchange. I planned to have her guard my girlfriends too.
Like Na-young, who'd suffered domestic abuse, or Yu-ra, whose wrist got grabbed hard by some creep at the last rally—if they were in danger, a monster contractor like Seri could easily save them.
Sure, 50pt each might seem like I'm underpaying for bodyguard duty, but I was offering more than just points.
First, room and board for her and Star. Of course, only after getting Yu-ra's okay—but even if she said no, I'd help them get by without starving or stealing for a while.
Second, education for Seri. Pomi the freeloader was always hanging around anyway. I'd appoint her as Seri's friend and teacher for basic knowledge.
(Pomi's buy-in was TBD. If things worked out, we might get help from brainy types like Yu-ra or So-jin.)
Third, her revenge—botched because she mistook me for someone else, unintentionally on my part. I'd help with that. But for now, only Star would know I could pinpoint the invisible guy's location via status screen.
Both Star and I hoped Seri could forget revenge for a bit and enjoy everyday happiness. Ideally, she'd never get blood on her hands again.
If she allowed it, I could use my hypnosis skill or whatever to make them pay.
That said, taking responsibility for an adult woman and a dog might stretch my wallet thin... Huh? Wait a sec? Didn't Seri's status window have 'that' earlier?
The thought hit me like lightning. I hurriedly called out to Seri, who was sitting in the living room.
"Seri, come here a sec?"
The girl, who'd been spacing out at the TV after her yogurt, rose from my shadow with a whoosh.
"...Why?"
"Eek! You scared me."
"Surprised?"
She asked with a blank face.
"W-who wouldn't be."
My thumb nail got a little sliced from flinching mid-chop.
Even as I shot her a baffled look, she just blinked innocently, clueless about what was wrong. Guess I'd have to teach her this stuff slowly too.
I positioned her in front of the cutting board and pointed at the zucchini with my finger.
"Wanna try slicing this once?"
"This?"
"Yeah."
That's right—the idea that popped into my head was Han Seri's kitchen debut! Her status window clearly listed [Cooking B] talent. Higher than my D-rank, even higher than Yeon Du's.
Plus, Star said she'd lived by mountains and rivers for seven years, cooking up hunted game.
A little training, and she'd be overqualified for a neighborhood pub gig.
Hong-seop's place, [Loveism], still hadn't found a kitchen replacement for me. That's why I couldn't start at the massage shop yet either.
If I could get Seri hired there, it'd solve her living expenses and my job issue. Plus, Yeon Du and Na-young—whom I'd planned to have her guard anyway—would be at the same workplace. Best of all worlds.
Heart pounding, I watched her first zucchini slice.
After eyeing the veggies on the board for a moment, she widened her eyes, grabbed... not the knife, but wrapped her hand blade in shadow energy.
"W-wait! Hold on, hold on!"
"Huh? Why?"
She lifted her hand, rippling with black energy, and stared at me blankly.
"C-can't you use the knife?"
"This is more comfy?"
"You'll slice the cutting board too with that! Star, didn't you teach her not to use powers in front of people?"
I scolded the dog, but she just tilted her head like what was the problem?
"There aren't many people in the mountains."
The student was a problem, but so was the teacher!
I spent ages lecturing the baffled girl and dog on precautions when Pomi returned from her errand.
"I'm back~."
"Tofu?"
With the tofu prepped on the board, I showed Seri how to hold the knife, tuck her left fingers, and such. She seemed really awkward—like she'd always used shadows for chopping—but adapted quick.
I added roasted anchovy powder to the boiling broth, stirred in the miso, and tossed in ingredients from firmest first.
"Hngcha. Now we just wait."
Seri, watching the ingredients she'd sliced bubbling away, turned to me.
"But why'd you have me do this?"
"Ah. While it simmers, wanna talk in the living room real quick?"
The kitchen was cramped anyway.
We headed to the living room to chat in detail.