A Proper Young Lady Now
It seems I’ve finally become a proper young lady.
‘What the hell is going on?!’
I was sure I heard someone’s voice, yet when I looked outside, there was no one around.
The unknown voice was taunting me, insisting the sound wasn’t coming from my direction.
“Isn’t it a bit strange that you’re doing this now?”
I half-expected Lee Sol-i to burst in with a cheeky “leeolly pop!” but silence was all that answered me.
I felt a chill race down my spine.
‘Could it be that ghosts are actually real?’
I scanned my surroundings, but nothing moved.
The feeling of someone addressing me from thin air was oddly unsettling.
This was clearly no ordinary phenomenon—especially in a world filled with towers, magic, and elves.
‘No wonder the tower, magic, and elves are all here; of course ghosts would exist too.’
I had been pleased with the new inn when it first appeared, but now that the reality hit me, I was sharing an uncomfortable space with a ghost.
My life was truly exhausting.
“Ugh, I’m so sleepy and now all my sleep is gone.”
Even lying in bed felt impossible, and it wasn’t because of some sudden rush of dopamine—it was just the weird situation.
The ghost’s voice rang out again.
「Hey you! How dare you compare me to some lowly ghost!」
“Huh?”
I had only wanted to sleep, yet this mysterious voice was refusing to let me.
Her tone was stern and self-assured as she launched into a grand introduction.
「I am the mother of all life and the nurturer of all things—nature itself.」
‘Wait a second, I’ve heard phrasing like this somewhere before.’
「I am also the primordial form of the World Tree.」
‘This sounds exactly like the guy!’
I barely managed to hold back a laugh at the overly flowery language, but the mention of the World Tree sent a chill through me.
Was the long feud with the elder still unresolved?
It felt more like a voice inside my own head than an actual ghost.
She seemed to have read my thoughts and rushed into a frantic defense.
「Don’t compare me to that wretched thing! I raised every elf you grow in my embrace equally.」
‘This feels like my inner monologue is talking on its own.’
「I believed my existence had vanished completely. Yet this strange fate has allowed me to sprout once more within your body.」
‘Wait—did I just eat a World Tree seed?’
「Now you finally understand? How slow-witted you really are.」
I was starting to piece it together.
I had received the World Tree seed from an elf on the second floor and swallowed it whole.
It had grown inside me into the World Tree.
‘One second!’
While conversing with the World Tree, a worry suddenly surfaced.
Just as I was about to voice it, she preempted me.
「Of course there’s no need for that.」
‘So I really don’t have to worry about it, huh?’
「Ugh, do you really think a watermelon seed sprouts a watermelon in your stomach?」
The World Tree replied with obvious disdain.
I had expected the seed to grow into a tree and bear fruit, but apparently that hadn’t happened.
‘Why does it feel like I can see the World Tree’s expression right now?’
Was she grimacing in frustration? Whatever—probably just my imagination.
「……」
Probably right.
Yaaaaawn—
Now that I knew the ghost’s true identity, it was time to sleep.
With my body finally relaxing, sleep came rushing back.
「Is there nothing else you want to know? How to use the World Tree’s power, or how to gather believers? I can teach you both.」
‘Even when sleeping, a dog won’t bother you, but why is this so noisy? Ugh.’
「That proverb is for when you’re eating, not sleeping…」
‘Found it!’
A strange presence pulsed in the corner of my heart.
The World Tree was probably hiding inside me.
I carefully manipulated the mana flow in that area until the voice suddenly cut off.
The room fell quiet at last.
After countless twists and turns, I finally managed to fall asleep.
“Early bird, wake up~”
It was morning, but how long had I been asleep?
This was the first fresh morning I’d experienced in a while.
‘I guess I did wake up early even when I was squatting at Rune’s house.’
Of course, it had felt more like being forced awake.
Once Rune finished preparing breakfast, Selea would come to my room and wake me.
I still remembered sitting at the table with my perpetually dull body.
※Unconfirmed alerts: 442 messages.
Just waking up and finding hundreds of alerts piled up felt surreal.
In the past I would never have seen anything this loud.
‘Since the communication feature was added, the status window never stops buzzing.’
Since I was already up early, I decided to slowly check the alerts.
[Jonghyun: Two days from now, at 1 PM, I want to hold a second survivor meeting. Please gather in the square if you plan to attend.]
A notice had been posted in the big survivor group chat.
Since it went up yesterday, the meeting was probably tomorrow.
The rest of the conversation looked like nothing more than trading old items.
I skimmed past the irrelevant bits.
※75 friend requests.
‘What’s this now?’
I hadn’t posted anything yet, and there were already this many requests?
I felt like I had accidentally become a celebrity.
‘Probably just because everyone sent the same request.’
The friend feature was basically just one-on-one chats and new-post notifications.
I accepted them all without thinking.
‘Then I should check Sol-i’s chat last.’
That was the rule—always end with the most anticipated one.
I was the same when eating king worm jelly; I always saved the biggest piece for last.
Opening Sol-i’s chat with excitement, I saw:
[Lee Sol-i: (Sol-i took a photo of me)]
[Lee Sol-i: How is it? How is it?]
[Lee Sol-i: It’s awesome, right?]
……
……
[Lee Sol-i: Ding dong]
[Lee Sol-i: Are you still asleep??]
[Lee Sol-i: Today I’ll have to eat alone sadly ㅜㅜ]
[Lee Sol-i: ੭ ˃̣̣̥᷄∩˂̣̣̥᷅ )੭⁾⁾]
[Lee Sol-i: (Photo of various foods)]
……
……
[Lee Sol-i: I’ll go to sleep first]
[Lee Sol-i: Call me the moment you wake up!!]
‘Um… it was more boring than I expected.’
I hadn’t really hoped for something like “Come eat ramyeon at my house,” but I had expected a lively vibe.
‘Maybe the first impact was just too strong.’
When Sol-i spammed my chat, I was genuinely surprised, but after that nothing ever hit that hard again.
[Jung Seha: I’m awake]
Since she had told me to call the second I woke up, I sent a quick message.
While gathering a towel to head for the shower, a knock sounded from the front door.
Sol-i must have seen my chat and rushed over immediately.
Our rooms were close, so maybe it was easier to just come talk in person than message.
Just as I was about to open the door, I pulled my hand back from the knob.
‘I was always told to be careful when opening doors.’
Someone with bad intentions might be waiting outside.
Actually, there was a much more important reason to stay careful.
“I haven’t showered yet—please wait just a moment.”
‘I won’t make the same mistake twice.’
I still remembered showing Sol-i my face without washing up and leaving a giant hickey on her cheek.
It would have been hard to forget even if I tried.
But what was really annoying me right now was something else.
‘What’s so funny that she can’t even breathe properly?’
At my words, Sol-i finally burst out laughing and hurriedly covered her mouth.
If she had just laughed openly, it would have been better.
The way she was trying to hold it in made me even more irritated.
Only then did the real Sol-i finally apologize.
“It’s just… seeing that Seha has become a proper young lady.”
“What?”
I pulled out a sentence that made me question my own ears.
‘How can she even say that to me?’
At that moment, even a triple prostration wouldn’t have soothed my anger.
There was no one more unsuited to call themselves a young lady than me.
Appearance and behavior aside, I was originally a man—that was just the truth.
‘Still, let’s hear the reason first.’
I gave her one last shred of mercy and allowed her to explain.
“Listen to me once. Among the usual phrases people say… that’s how you came up with it.”
“Hmm, hearing you say it like that, I can actually understand.”
She summarized it as women originally seeing their bare faces as something shameful.
She had mentioned a rumor that a guy whose girlfriend couldn’t do her makeup because of a bad cold had shown up at her house and broken up with her.
I saw the rumor and it overlapped with the image of me hiding my bare face.
‘One second.’
Was that rumor about her personally?
I asked Sol-i out of caution.
“Have you ever dated a guy before?”
“Me? I only studied hard in school, got into a good university, and then got dragged here.”
“So you never did?”
“If you insist… probably not? I never even got to talk to anyone properly.”
“Phew.”
‘Thank goodness. My heart was about to ache from the unicorn horn inside me.’
It was forbidden to say anything bad about a girl just because she was one now.
While I was silently relieved, our eyes met.
Now I understood why she hadn’t opened the door on purpose.
“Ah, right!”
“Seha, since I saw your face, the bare-face worry is gone, right? Let’s go eat breakfast!”
Sol-i had seen my face.
Fortunately, nothing seemed to have gotten on it.
If that was the case, why had I been drumming and clapping all by myself?
The little incident with Sol-i a moment ago felt completely pointless now.
Following her lead, we headed to the dining hall.
The village remained peaceful as ever.
“Did you see the photos I sent yesterday? The restaurant has developed more than I expected, right?”
“Ah, I saw it after I woke up and thought it looked really delicious.”
We walked while killing time with light small talk.
From afar, I heard murmuring voices.
“Can you hear the noise?”
“No, I don’t hear anything.”
‘Maybe one of the abilities I gained from eating the World Tree seed is heightened elf hearing?’
Once we reached the restaurant, the source of the noise became clear.
“You’re finally here!”
Countless people were shouting and waving at me.