Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 34
Ah, come to think of it, this guywho's basically a fantasy novel protagonistwas tangled up in it too.
"Maybe I really should get an exorcism like the guild master suggested. Why is all this crazy bad luck suddenly pouring down on me?"
Did I really use up all my luck by contracting with the Administrator? Am I doomed to live out this chaotic misfortune route from now on?
"Oh, right. I forgot."
Se-ra, who had been lying on the bed sniffling, suddenly turned serious. She sat up straight and stared into empty space.
"Lizaliza? Didn't we have something to talk about?"
"Hey, where are you looking? Come on, sit right here. Let's have a serious chat."
Se-ra pointed sharply in front of her, and the Administrator's message dropped right there, as if actually sitting down just like she said.
"Sure it wasn't? It seemed way too natural for you to claim you didn't know how."
"Function added? Something even the adult entities contracted with Awakeners couldn't do was impossible for you from the start? Why on earth?"
"Frequent contact is dangerous...?"
It wasn't all that surprising.
In fact, even the entities called gods couldn't abuse their powers excessively. No matter how exceptional an Awakener was, they were still human and couldn't fully handle a god's power.
The reason entities descended without fully manifesting and instead sponsored through contracts was all because of that.
And as Se-ra speculated, the System Administrator wasn't an entity but something equivalentor even greater. Maybe that's why it faced even stricter limitations than the entities.
"Sticking to emoticons is the way to minimize that contact, right?"
"That's not a big deal?"
Why on earth were emoticons okay?
Se-ra still vividly remembered the moment the Administrator first sent an emoticon. The shock when the image shattered like glass.
"Anyway, back to square one. Why hide it? Who'd complain if you just told the truth? It popped up out of nowhere, and I was so surprised I couldn't even dodge the attack."
Thanks to Jung Ho-young, the wound had vanished without a trace, but the sight of the magical beast lapping up her blood lingered.
Ugh, her stomach churned again. Se-ra clamped her mouth shut with a gag.
"...The wound's all healed, so it's fine. You saw me use the high-grade potion, didn't you?"
But seeing this message softened Se-ra's heart again. She rolled up her sleeve and stroked her flawless arm.
"Jeez, really."
Tears streaming down in that expressionultimately, Se-ra clicked her tongue but patted it comfortingly. She just couldn't hate or bear to scold the Administrator.
"Don't hide stuff like this. Why keep something so minor secret?"
"No choice? What do you mean?"
No reply came. What? Why no answer? Was it hiding something else?
Se-ra grabbed the messages as if seizing its collar, eyes blazing as if she'd never comforted it.
"Elizabeth, what are you hiding? Even at a moment like this when we need honest talk, what are you scheming alone?"
Still no reply.
"Heyyy!"
In the end, Se-ra shook the messages wildly as if throttling it, but nothing more came back.
No, what the hell was this damn Administrator hiding!
"Lizaliza! Spill it straight! Why do you have so many secrets all to yourself?!"
That night, Se-ra clutched the messages and spewed harsh curses till dawn, but she got no response from the Administrator in the end.
Se-ra began to doubt if this contract was really okay as is.
* * *
It was when Se-ra, huffing like someone with a fit of anger, had finally fallen asleep after raging for a while.
A faint halo of light swirled around Se-ra's body. But the sleeping Se-ra noticed nothing.
Unlike whoever was watching.
Those messages didn't reach Se-ra, deep in slumber either.
* * *
"...Nngh?"
Even in sleep, grinding her teeth at the Administrator, Se-ra scrunched her face at the soft sensation under her foot.
What was this? Too stiff for a blanket. Like a carpet... But did her room have a carpet? Not even a rug?
"What."
Too vivid for a dream. Grumbling, Se-ra cautiously opened her eyes.
"..."
Blink, blink. The sight before her snapped her hazy mind awake.
Whoa. Was she still half-asleep? Still dreaming? No other way this scene could be real.
"Where is this?"
Surprisingly, she stood alone in a massive, antique room that screamed opulence.
Insanely luxurious and ornate.
What was that? Gold? Were the pillars gold-plated? No way those are rubies? Emeralds too? ...Yeah, definitely a dream.
"Out of all dreams, I get one this extravagant. Is it that? A dream reflecting my desires?"
Se-ra picked up a ruby ring from the display case and slipped it on her finger.
Whoa, look at that sparkle. Yeah, red suited her. Her skill was the badass Red Cube, after all.
"But what kind of place is this where jewels are just rolling around? Aren't you worried about a greedy thief like me breaking in?"
[Well, no one can just enter here, so they didn't worry about thieves.]
Gasp. Humming casually while pretending to pocket an emerald necklace, Se-ra flinched hard.
There was someone here.
Of all things, caught red-handed stealing jewels by the homeowner. Too realistic for a dream.
If chains rattling came next, she'd rather wake up right now.
[It's been ages since I last saw someone in person.]
"...Huh?"
Drenched in cold sweat, Se-ra belatedly noticed something off.
The voice wasn't human. Like an old radio with static from poor reception.
A fuzzy mechanical tone. Because it was a dream? Or not human?
Se-ra slowly turned toward the voice.
First, the upper body wrapped in a crisp white shirt. Confirming it was a persona manher gaze traveled upward.
And the moment she saw his face, Se-ra dropped the precious emerald necklace with a clunk.
'...God. Dear God.'
What was that fanfare blaring in her ears? Angels? Trumpets of angels?
Could a human face radiate such light? She was speechless. Her lips trembled; not even a gasp escaped.
There stood a mysterious man whose beauty outshone the sculpted regressor Kang Se-jun by miles.
Dazed, Se-ra unconsciously clenched her fist.
Thank you. Thank you. Whoever you are, glory to the one who granted this dream.
A man with otherworldly handsome looks, eyes practically bulging. How could such beauty exist in reality?
'Ah, no. Wait. I'm dreaming, right?'
Nearly drooling in a trance, Se-ra startled and wiped her mouth. Seeing such a mind-melting beauty up close for the first time was overwhelming; holding onto sanity was tough.
This went beyond eye candy.
"Who might you be, from what realm? Since we've crossed paths, how about introductions...?"
Jewels scattered everywhere held zero appeal now. Before this pinnacle of beauty, even gems paled.
Not usually into sculpted types, but exceptions for off-the-charts stunners.
[Feels weird being asked that by the intruder in my home.]
The beauty scanned Se-ra with a peeved look.
Maybe because his face was too perfect, even the mechanical voice felt devoid of repulsion.
"Sorry about that. In my defense, I have no clue how I got here. I'm dreaming right now."
[A dream?]
The man tilted his head curiously. His radiant golden hair cascaded beautifully.
Wow, even the hair's perfect.
[A dream... Yeah, I suppose you could call it that.]
"Huh? Yeah?"
[If this is your dream, doesn't that mean everything here is born from your imagination? The jewels, the mansion. Or even me.]
"Absolutely not."
Her enraptured face turned dead serious in an instant.
"Maybe jewels or the mansion, but my imagination isn't skilled enough to craft a sculpted beauty like you."
[Saying it so firmly?]
Amused by her vigorous hand-waving denial, the man let out a baffled chuckle. Strangely, it made Se-ra feel odd, like he was enjoying it.
[Dream or not, glad this place isn't your imagination's doing. I'm the only person here. If your mind had conjured locking me alone in this mansion, it'd be a bit scary.]
His long, elegant fingers scooped up a handful of jewels from the case. Those refined fingers, perfect for violin, meshed so well with the gems it made her throat dry.
"Looking at it now, hard to say jewels aren't your taste...? A hottie beauty locked in a jewel mansion. Kinda tempting..."
Tsk. Drooling again. Se-ra averted her eyes and dabbed her mouth; the man looked appalled.
Ahem. Didn't want to seem like a weirdo to Mr. Beauty, but too late.
"If it's really not my imagination, then where the heck is this? What's your name?"
[Hearing you ask, feels like telling you would spell big trouble.]
"Ah! Joke, obviously. Just kidding."
[Doesn't sound like it at all.]
Se-ra silently looked away again. Wow, sharp one, that beauty.
[You're really bad at lying. So why do you want to know? Do people usually ask dream characters that?]
"You never know. Calling your name every night might summon the same dream. They say wishing hard makes it real."
[What would you do if you saw me again?]
"Beautiful people are meant to be seen over and over, no matter how much."
[Good at lies and true to your desires.]
The man chuckled again. The static-laced laugh should have been odd, but somehow suited him perfectly.
[Then you'd be sorely disappointed. Problem is, I have nothing to teach you.]