I Had No Choice

It couldn't be helped.

"No!!"

"Why not?"

Neru asked, tilting her head in genuine puzzlement.

"B-because, obviously…!"

"A female Nerubion's supposed to lay eggs after sex, right? That's the whole point?"

"Th-that may be, but…!"

"And then she has to eat the male too."

"Even MORE not allowed!!"

And that was when it happened.

"Ohhh, right."

I stepped up in front of Neru and declared:

"As your Master, I hereby command thee~! No laying eggs~!!"

"Then how am I supposed to make baby monsters!"

"Ahem!"

"Tch…!"

Neru didn't resist any further. She puffed out her cheeks in pure sulky frustration, but that was as far as it went. Watching her deflate, I let out a sigh of relief — just as I felt the ground rumble beneath me.

"Wh-what NOW…!"

"A little WARNING next time…!!"

I was sitting in one of the empty rooms with Neru, who was still completely naked. Turns out that when you live alone in a place spanning several dozen pyeong, it's only natural a room or two just sits there vacant.

"Ooooh…."

"Is it that fascinating?"

Neru couldn't stop marveling as she looked herself over, from one end of her body to the other.

"Duh! It's my first time with a human body!"

"Then hurry, before all the semen drips out, and let's make an egg…!"

"That's NOT happening!!"

"Tch…."

"Huh. So I can talk to the notification window too…?"

"I see…."

I knew next to nothing about awakening. Back in my early twenties, when awakening still hadn't come for me, I gave up on my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dream of becoming a Labyrinth Explorer before it could hurt me any worse. Hunter this, labyrinth that — who wants to keep looking at all that?

"Your name is 'Kang Hoon'? Funny."

She was beautiful enough that, if only she'd keep that mouth shut, I'd want to touch her any hour of the day.

"…I've got a lot to sort out. Stay put and behave."

I said it while looking at the veranda with the gaping hole punched through it. A home destroyed by a monster could be compensated any time. And until the repairs were done, the government would even arrange a place for me to stay. This whole business model had driven taxes way up, but unlike the early days when people pushed back against it, the public seemed pretty satisfied these days.

And now I was about to reap the benefits myself. Taxes — for a Resting Youth. Unbelievable.

"Neru. Clothes first."

"Eeee—? But that thing was sooo uncomfy—."

"So…?"

"I threw it awaaaay—."

So she'd tossed out the leather jumpsuit she'd been wearing from the start. That was YOUR leather, wasn't it? I had a feeling I'd be sighing heavily for a good long while.

I left the living room a wreck of dried blood and started sorting through my meager belongings. A luxury mixed-use apartment comes furnished with all sorts of things, so there wasn't much to pack.

"What about down there? Put something on."

"…I did. You gave me shorts."

The oversized hoodie looked like a full dress on Neru.

"Hehe. Look at this."

She flipped up the hem and flashed her crotch at me. What on earth am I going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to do with her.

"Ahh. It's dripping out."

"What now…!"

"Semen."

"Haaah…!"

It felt like raising a kid in a fully grown body. We'd been living together for barely an hour, and already I was this exhausted.

After dragging her to the bathroom and getting her more or less presentable, Neru and I waited for the Hunter Association staff. As quietly as possible.

"…Food?"

Neru spoke up softly.

"…Yeah. We should eat."

Meeting those red eyes of hers, a chilling thought crept into my head.

"So… Neru. What do you eat?"

"Humans. Obviously humans. It's just common sense?"

"…Shut it."

So apparently, having sex through a one-on-one Conquest Battle had NOT been common sense either. I mean, it was great for me, but trusting a monster's word at face value was clearly a mistake. I rummaged through the cupboard, pulled out three packs of ramyeon, and started a simple meal with her.

"Tha…! Thith…!"

While teasing Neru over her comically clumsy chopstick skills, I was having a genuinely enjoyable meal for the first time in ages.

Beep beep beep beep.

The sound of someone punching in the code at the front door.

"What the—?"

Beep-bee-riiing—.

"Huh?! There's someone in here?!"

Two people in business suits made eye contact with me and practically jumped out of their skin.

"…Didn't you say no one was here?"

"Ah, yes. There were definitely no life signs…?"

The two stood there in the entryway, talking in visible confusion.

"Ah, ah. I stepped out for a bit…."

Guess they'd come by during the Conquest Battle.

I ushered the two into the living room.

"In here. A Nerubion attacked us, and the veranda…"

Mid-sentence, it struck me — I had just made a colossal mistake. The look in Neru's eyes had gone wrong.

"Grrrr…."

Over in the corner of the living room, she was glaring at the Hunter Association staff examining the bloodstains with the single most hostile posture imaginable.

"Neru! Go in the room and don't you move a muscle!!"

"Grrrrrrr…. Humans…!"

"Neru…! Inside the room. NOW…!!"

So this was a skill. Just like when I'd first turned Neru into a woman, it felt like staring into a flash of light. No — like firing one. That lance of light shot out like a bullet, flying straight for Neru.

Tik.

With a tiny sound, the round struck Neru dead center. She bowed her head low, then shuffled into the room without a word.

"Ah, sorry about that. My little sister's a bit… unique. Haha…"

"Ah. Yes. Of course."

The Association worker said nothing, simply staring into my eyes.

"Well then. We're here to conduct the assessment."

"Ah. Yes, yes, of course."

"Pardon the intrusion."

She gave a light tilt of her chin to her colleague, who busied himself gathering up various pieces of equipment and began examining the wrecked veranda and the bloodstains across the living room.

"Phew…!"

I quietly read over the hologram hanging in the air. When I nodded toward it, the writing on its surface quietly changed.

Gulp.

I swallowed without meaning to. That word — death. No matter when you come face to face with it, it always makes the blood drain out through your feet.

"Well, this much should do…."

Having apparently finished what she came to do, the Association worker left her junior behind and stepped up in front of me.

"Gangnam is designated a high-risk zone, so there's no temporary housing available here — you'd have to move out toward the outskirts. Will that be all right?"

"Ah… no, it's fine. I'll head straight to a new place."

People who keep cats or dogs always think of their pets first when choosing a new home. Now that I was, for all intents and purposes, keeping a humanoid spider, there was no way in hell I could bring myself to move far from the Labyrinth.

"Gaepo-dong would work for me."

"Understood. Then… once you let us know your moving date, a staff member will come by to take care of the Residence Protection Magic and the rest of the paperwork right away."

"Yes. Thank you."

Even after finishing, she didn't leave. And by the way — what a stunning woman. Maybe the long-overdue sex with Neru had rotted my brain along with everything else, because I couldn't figure out why I was thinking like this. But still. Gorgeous. And she smelled wonderful, too.

"Ahem, hem. Why… are you staring at me like that?"

"Is the monster still inside this home?"

She spoke as if she'd been waiting for the chance.

"Excuse me… yes?"

"Ah. My apologies. What a rude thing for me to say to someone whose home was damaged…"

"Oh, not at all. Please, lift your head."

I raised the woman, who had bowed deeply, back to her feet.

"There's nothing you need to worry about. Haha…"

"Yes… I see."

Letting her words trail off, she kept her eyes fixed on the door of the room Neru had gone into.

"Well, we'll be off then. If you need anything, please reach out here."

A white card with a simple, clean design. Insurance Support Section Chief, Compensation Management Bureau, Hunter Association. Agent Kim Wonha.

"Yes. Understood."

They bowed politely and moved toward the entryway. Just as I was thinking I could finally let my guard down —

"Agent Choi, finish checking the area's safety around this complex."

"Yes, ma'am."

Tiri-riing—.

Thud.

Why was that woman still standing here instead of leaving? She set down the 007 briefcase in her hand and slowly turned around.

"Hunter-ssi."

"Yes? Ah, no. I'm not a Hunter—"

"What is that monster?"

"Wh-what monster?!"

"Lower your voice. This is a first for me too, so forgive my shock. Hiding a monster…? Do you take yourself for someone keeping a pet?"

In fairness, I had been thinking of it along those lines. But how on earth had this woman caught on?

"Look here—!"

Ignoring me completely, she slowly began shrugging off her blazer. With a level gaze, as if she were reading me from top to bottom.

"…Excuse me!"

Clack! Clack!

She opened the 007 briefcase she'd set down, crisp and precise. Even in the face of my incredulous protests, all she did was quietly draw out the two daggers sitting in neat rows inside the case. And then —

Di-ling!

The familiar hologram appeared.

"A monster that doesn't trigger the Residence Protection Magic. I must collect a sample. Immediately."

She glared back and forth between me and the door of Neru's room. Somehow, I just knew: if she decided to move, both Neru and I would die. No matter how much muscle I'd gained, there was no way I could move as fast as she could.

"Agent-nim. Please, have mercy—"

Press—.

I had no choice. I pressed [ Y ] down, hard.

No choice at all!