An Unexpected Visitor?!
It was a little past seven in the evening. The sun had long since dipped below the horizon, cloaking the sky in deep twilight.
Having barely staggered back from the Gate, I hadn't even found the energy to peel off my uncomfortable clothes before collapsing flat on my back across the linoleum floor.
“Ugggh…”
I couldn't even take down a single measly goblin, an F-Class monster at the very bottom of the food chain. Instead, I had turned tail and run for my life.
The bitter sting of that reality washed over me, dragging a heavy wave of humiliation and self-loathing in its wake.
Me, the very paragon of masculinity, fleeing like a coward from a fight…
◈ Inheritance Rate: 72 / 100
◈ Evolution Requirement: ???
If there was a silver lining to be found, it was that my Inheritance Rate had jumped considerably.
“Haaah…”
Why had Charm worked so effortlessly on humans, yet utterly failed against that goblin?
Was it because barking an outrageous order like ‘Cut yourself in half’ crossed the line? What was fundamentally different between my convenience store manager and that monster?
…Nothing immediately sprang to mind. Aside from the fact that both induced profound physiological disgust, I couldn't pin down a single meaningful difference.
“Did it fail because we don't speak the same language? Was I supposed to command it in fluent Goblin?”
I didn't even know if ‘Goblin’ was an actual language. Sick with frustration, I decided it was high time to re-read the skill's detailed description.
“…Status window.”
• Greatly enhances the user's innate charm.
• Consumes Yokai Power (10) to interfere with the target's emotions and judgment.
• The lower the target's spiritual standing, the greater the potency of the effect.
• Once a target successfully resists, this skill cannot be reapplied to that target for a set duration.
“…Ah!”
Ah, for crying out loud. This is why people tell you never to throw away the instruction manual!
‘Resists.’
When I had used Charm the very first time, the goblin hadn't succumbed; it had clearly resisted. Yet instead of realizing that, I had frantically spammed the skill over and over, pointlessly flushing my Yokai Power right down the drain.
The only time Charm was legitimately applied to that creature was that single command to split itself in half…
Whenever the goblin faltered while I fired off consecutive skills, it wasn't because new casts were landing. It had merely been wrestling through the lingering aftermath of that initial resistance check.
“Aaargh…!”
Clutching my head with my tiny hands, I rolled around wildly across the floor. I was an absolute idiot.
The following morning.
Dawn arrived, ushering in the second day of my awakening.
“Hnnngh—yaaah!”
Arching my back and stretching every limb across the small mattress, I hopped down onto the floor with a light bounce.
Yesterday had tasted like bitter defeat, but today was going to be different. I would figure out exactly how long that resistance cooldown lasted, and I was definitely going to sever that runty green pest's neck before sundown.
Yesterday, I had charged in empty-handed because my apartment lacked anything resembling a weapon, but today required some actual preparation. If another monster managed to resist my skill, brute physical force would be my only means of self-defense while Charm was on cooldown.
Thinking along those lines, I glanced down at my body.
…Every inch of me was frail, delicate, and hopelessly soft. Searching for muscle definition was an exercise in pure futility. If I did pick up a weapon, would I even possess the strength to swing it?
“No, no… stop it! Don't you dare slide back into self-pity! I'm a proud S-Class Awakened in the making!”
Right. It was just because I hadn't eaten yet.
Last night, I hadn't touched dinner; I'd simply stripped out of those damp clothes and passed out cold.
That was why my body felt drained. An empty stomach meant a dull brain, so breakfast had to come first. Pattering over to the refrigerator on light feet, I pulled out a sausage skewer I had scavenged from the convenience store yesterday and grabbed a cup of instant ramen from the small stack nearby.
Next came the electric kettle—a dented hand-me-down my store manager had tried to toss out before I rescued it, whose power switch flickered intermittently whenever it felt like it.
Vrrrrooooom—
True to its age, it rumbled with a thunderous roar that sounded like the tectonic plates grinding together. I genuinely worried the next-door neighbor might file a noise complaint.
While the water heated, I unlocked my phone and began browsing for clothes that might actually fit my new frame.
Today's goblin hunt was bound to succeed, which meant I would soon have real income rolling in. I needed at least one decent outfit for going outside. I couldn't wander around indefinitely looking like an elementary school kid playing dress-up in her father's oversized clothes.
Click!
The water finished boiling. Miraculously, the kettle hadn't tripped off halfway through today.
I poured the steaming water into the ramen cup and took a bite out of the cold sausage skewer, scrolling through the shopping app with my other thumb. But after a few minutes…
“…I have no clue what I'm looking at.”
What styles should I even look for? What size was I supposed to choose? My head was completely devoid of any knowledge regarding women's fashion.
Adult women's sizes would swallow me whole, leaving children's apparel as the only realistic option… but the catalog was an endless parade of frills, pastel bows, and tacky cartoon prints.
“This is driving me insane.”
I was clutching my temples in despair, mindlessly dragging my finger down the screen, when suddenly—
DING-DONG!
“Eek!”
The jolt made my fingers twitch, sending the half-eaten sausage skewer tumbling straight out of my grip.
Holy crap, my heart nearly vaulted out of my chest. Why did the doorbell in this decrepit studio have to be so deafeningly loud? The intercom was an archaic relic without even a basic volume toggle. Whenever a visitor rang next door, you could practically hear it echoing through my living room too.
Still… who could possibly be calling at this hour? I had no friends or family who would drop by unannounced. Ah! Could it be the gas inspector?
Sliding off the chair, I padded toward the entryway and called out.
“Who is it?”
“…”
Silence.
Why aren't they answering? If it were the gas technician, they would have chimed in with a brisk ‘Gas inspection!’ before I even finished asking.
A sudden chill crept up the back of my neck.
Could it be… the police investigating yesterday's convenience store incident?!
I had been far too careless. Committing blatant theft in broad daylight and then kicking back at home like nothing had happened? What an irredeemable scoundrel I was… or rather, a rotten little thief.
This was it. It was over. I was going to end up in handcuffs before I could even slay a single goblin.
Once they threw me into a holding cell, an interrogation would inevitably expose the bizarre anomalies of my awakening. Then they would blindfold me, haul me off to a sterile white laboratory, strap me to a steel chair, and plunge massive needles filled with mysterious concoctions into my veins. Afterward, they'd bolt me to an operating table and dissect me alive with scalpels while I remained fully conscious.
A completely mundane life. Just when things were finally getting interesting, the curtain was dropping.
Truly, life is but a fleeting illusion…
Bracing myself for the worst, I surrendered to fate and turned the lock.
Creak—
The front door swung open. Waiting on the other side was… the police—
Wait, no. Who was this?
“…Huh?”
Standing in the hallway was a woman dressed in a crisp, sharp business suit, her hair the exact same lustrous shade of silver as my own. She was already dropped onto one knee, head lowered so profoundly that all I could see was the crown of her head.
…What on earth was going on?
“U-Um, excuse me…?”
Faced with a development that veered entirely off script, I called out to her with immense hesitation. At that moment—
“…Please forgive my disloyalty, Hoju-nim!”
An even more bewildering declaration struck my ears.
“…Pardon?”
Forgive what, exactly? She had to have mistaken me for someone else, or knocked on the wrong door entirely…
Just then, the silver-haired woman slowly lifted her head to meet my gaze. The moment her features came into view, my thoughts derailed.
W-Whoa… she's stunning…!
She was drop-dead gorgeous, beyond anything my imagination could have conjured. Beautiful enough to leave anyone staring in a daze. Out of every idol, actress, or celebrity I had ever seen on television or in person, none came close to matching this woman. And beneath the sharp contours of her tailored suit, she boasted a breathtaking, statuesque silhouette… She was sheer perfection incarnate.
What startled me even more was that her silver hair wasn't our only resemblance. As her gaze locked onto mine, I saw that her irises shone with the identical crimson brilliance as my own.
Perhaps she hadn't come to the wrong door after all. Even after looking straight at my face, her posture hadn't wavered in the slightest; she remained devoutly planted on one knee.
Yet an undercurrent of deep anxiety rippled across her composed expression. What had she asked for forgiveness for a second ago…?
Just as I opened my mouth to ask—
Clack.
The sound of the neighboring apartment door unlocking echoed down the corridor.
This was bad. If someone caught sight of a grown woman kneeling like a medieval knight in front of a kid in oversized clothes, things would get ten times more complicated!
Whatever, consequences be damned!
“J-Just get inside first!”
I reached out, caught her by the wrist, and yanked her across the threshold.
“P-Pardon my intrusion, Hoju-nim!”
The front door clicked shut, and the click-clack of footsteps faded into the distance outside.
Ugh, I had pulled her in on pure impulse… but what was I supposed to do now? F-First things first, get her seated.
“Um… please, have a seat over here…”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
I rolled the desk chair out for her and perched myself on the edge of the mattress.
Now came the conversation… but having such an impossibly gorgeous woman staring intently at me was doing weird things to my nerves.
“Uh, excuse me, but… who exactly are you…?”
To me, it was the most obvious question in the world. A complete stranger had just walked into my living quarters; asking for her identity was bare-minimum common sense.
Yet for some reason, the moment my words registered, her expression fractured into utter shock and disbelief. Her features twisted with raw grief, looking as though she might burst into tears at any second.
“H-Hoju-nim… Are your memories of the past truly not intact?”
Memories? What did that mean? Was she asking if I had suffered a concussion and lost my wits, asking such an idiotic question?
Judging by the profound sorrow in her eyes, however, that didn't seem to be it. She looked genuinely convinced that I ought to know who she was as a matter of course.
“Well… you see, I only awakened yesterday… so I really don't know who you are…”
Her brow remained furrowed as her gaze shifted slightly, lost in rapid contemplation. After a brief pause, she locked eyes with me once more, her expression turning deadly serious.
“It is as I feared… I am terribly remiss. Hoju-nim's mind must already be in turmoil, yet my abrupt arrival has only deepened your confusion. This, too, is my failure.”
“N-No, that's not it! I mean, I'm a little startled, but… Do you know something about me…?”
When this peerless beauty lowered her head in apology yet again, I frantically waved my hands to stop her, urging her to continue.
She rested both hands neatly atop her knees and composed herself to speak.
“Yes. I shall recount everything from the very beginning.”
Even her solemn face possessed a striking, ethereal beauty. With looks like these, she would have become an overnight sensation even as an ordinary citizen. It was genuinely fascinating.
“First, my name is Seolhwa. Originally, I was a retainer who served in close attendance to you, Hoju-nim, the Sovereign of the Yokai Realm. By blood, I am of the Spirit Fox clan, sharing the same lineage as yourself. Ever since your presence vanished from our realm, I have concealed myself within the human world, biding my time for your return.”
…A torrential avalanche of completely incomprehensible information had just landed on my head.