Unexpectedly Chosen — 2 Weeks Ago, Dawn's Light Guild
"Uncle, did I just hear that wrong?"
"Nah, you heard right."
Si-hyun was following Master Do-jin toward the guild's research building. The moment he'd clocked in for the day, Do-jin had asked him to come along—no explanation yet, just that he'd fill him in on the way. But once he did, Si-hyun couldn't help doubting his own ears.
"I only heard that a ghost story research team from the UK was bringing in some experimental materials to check out... and those materials are a Mengmang-grade ghost story?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I can hardly believe it myself... but that's how it was listed."
Bringing a Mengmang-grade ghost story here? What kind of bullshit was this?
It's not like they brought home a puppy or something. Does that even make sense?
A Mengmang-grade was a national catastrophe at minimum, world-ending at maximum. And they just brought one over like it was nothing?
Hmm, must be the shock of parting with Luna messing with my head—I'm hearing nonsense!
"Hahaha, I never pegged you for the type to crack jokes like that, Uncle."
"......"
"...No way, for real?"
"......"
Do-jin kept his face completely straight, and seeing that, Si-hyun instantly realized this wasn't a prank.
Uncle's serious face... shit, this is legit...!
Si-hyun stopped dead in his tracks and bowed quickly to Do-jin.
"Uncle, I quit as of right now. Thanks for everything—"
Thwack! A heavy flick straight to his forehead from Do-jin.
"Argh?! Hey, can an Awakener just smack a regular guy around like that?!"
"Quit with the resignation jokes. This is the third time."
"Ugh, it's not a joke... Sending a poor defenseless normie like me to a ghost story site! This evil corporation! Step down, you evil boss!"
"The guy who goes on a one-man rampage with a wooden sword ain't 'poor' or 'defenseless.' Anyway, don't worry too much. If it were really Mengmang-grade, we wouldn't be strolling around all casual like this."
"Fair point, but why drag me into this sketchy mess?! I'm the guild's only non-combatant normie!"
Do-jin grabbed the protesting Si-hyun's head firmly and flashed a sly grin, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
"Payback for threatening to call my wife last time, punk."
"Ugh, so petty."
"Now that you get it, hurry up. You're just checking the list and heading back anyway."
"Fiiine~~"
Si-hyun felt a bit miffed but figured it couldn't actually be Mengmang-grade, so he trailed after Do-jin to the research building.
"Oh my, Master Do-jin makes sense, but I didn't expect to see you here, Si-hyun."
When Do-jin and Si-hyun arrived at the research building, Elissa Hayes greeted them with her wavy blonde hair and sea-blue eyes sparkling beautifully.
"Elissa, long time no see."
"Si-hyun, how was your vacation?"
"It's been a bit since I got back. Heard you headed back to the UK with Victoria?"
"Hehe, I didn't expect to return this soon either. My sister... she kept nagging me every day about when I'd go to Korea."
"Huh, Victoria? That's surprising. She's always griping that the training grounds here suck compared to England."
"Right? Maybe she had someone she wanted to see in Korea? Hehe."
Si-hyun shook hands casually with Elissa and exchanged greetings. After a few minutes of small talk, she led Do-jin and Si-hyun deeper into the research building, to Isolation Room 3.
Isolation Room 3
Stepping through the heavy steel door revealed blindingly bright lights and researchers in white coats bustling about.
"Hey, the decompression unit goes over there, not here."
"Someone print more lists! Too many people to check and no paper left!"
"Damn it, we're swamped—handle copying yourself!"
They were sorting equipment and tools imported from the UK. Si-hyun wrinkled his nose at the sterile disinfectant smell wafting through the lab.
"By the way, Elissa, you said they brought a Mengmang-grade ghost story... is that for real?"
"Ah... Si-hyun, even we're not entirely sure—"
Bang!
Suddenly, a door on one side of the isolation room flew open, and a bizarre speech pattern echoed out—something Si-hyun had never heard before.
"Huaaah! Pudding is such a tasty thing, da!"
Everyone's eyes snapped to the source of the soft, girlish voice. Si-hyun whipped his head around too.
What the hell is that?
There stood a girl with radiant red hair, smiling as she gripped the door. Her captivating purple eyes seemed to draw people in, and with a boastful voice full of bravado, she introduced herself.
"This body is Noblesse, a Mengmang-grade ghost story, da! All humans must worship this body, da! Bow your heads and kneel at once, da!"
"......"
"......"
The guild staff and researchers all stared at her with subtle expressions. The girl was claiming to be a Mengmang-grade ghost story herself.
But watching her... she wasn't scary at all. More like...
"She kinda looks like... a red panda, right?"
Red panda. An animal that seems cute to humans but tries so hard to look threatening by raising its paws.
At those words, everyone nodded in unison. The purple-eyed girl's antics were exactly like a cute red panda desperately trying to scare people.
"Eek! Don't treat this body like an animal, da! This body is a strong ghost story, da!! All you humans are so rude, da!"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Kinda... cute."
"Uuu... Why won't anyone believe me... This body is a little sad now, da..."
The girl, who deflated into a sulky pout in seconds, was the self-proclaimed Mengmang-grade ghost story, Noblesse. She'd appeared out of nowhere in central London a few days ago and had been secured and isolated by the UK's Eden Guild.
As Si-hyun and Do-jin gawked at the sudden arrival, Elissa calmly began explaining.
"Entity name: Noblesse. A girl who claims to be a Mengmang-grade ghost story. She remembers nothing about her name or where she's from."
"Wait, but if she's a ghost story, is it okay to let her roam free like this?"
"Of course not, if she were one. But tests show no powers or energy detected at all. Physical exams came back identical to a normal human girl."
A girl who called herself a Mengmang-grade ghost story but had no special powers or abilities. Not even a trace of the Netherworld unique to strong ghost stories, or any micro-energy.
In other words, she was currently treated like a memory-lost red panda girl.
"But since she insists she's Mengmang-grade, we couldn't just ignore it. Eden kept her under strict protection and brought her to Korea."
"Hold up. England's research facilities are way better than ours—why bring her here of all places?"
"Actually, there was an unavoidable reason—"
As Elissa started to continue, the girl's voice piped up from behind.
"Eek! This body is a strong ghost story that beat Lucifer, da! Why won't you believe me?!"
Lucifer. The other name the ghost story and Tsuki had called Phantom during the Eclipse incident.
The purple-eyed girl boasted that she was the ghost story who defeated Lucifer. Hearing the name, Si-hyun couldn't help a hollow chuckle.
Lucifer again?
The man Luna had mistaken for Phantom—himself. The name of the black-haired, pitch-black-eyed man came up again.
"There are records from the Eclipse incident calling Phantom 'Lucifer,' so some suggested bringing her to Korea. Maybe there's a connection."
Hearing Elissa's answer, Si-hyun recalled the details of Noblesse, the Mengmang-grade ghost story mentioned in the novel.
Noblesse appeared a few times in the novel, but the descriptions were so sparse. Just armor and sword—no eye or hair color mentioned. So I imagined it myself.
A silent black knight who only destroyed, repeating devastation without a word. That was the Noblesse in Si-hyun's memory.
But the self-proclaimed Noblesse before him now was—
"Where's this body's sword, da? A knight always needs her sword, da!"
Whoosh whoosh! Just a girl hopping around, wildly swinging at empty air.
I haven't misremembered, have I?
The name matched exactly what he'd read in the novel. But... the disconnect was huge.
Luna matched the novel perfectly, but Noblesse? This is way off.
Si-hyun started doubting if this red-haired girl was really apocalypse-level. The Noblesse he knew was a terrifying knight shrouded in black energy, but this one was just a loud kid.
Come to think of it, Noblesse had a separate name mentioned once... definitely—
"......Leah?"
The name slipped out of Si-hyun's mouth unconsciously. He'd only muttered it softly, but the red-haired girl froze, staring straight at him.
"Leah...? Whose name is that, da...?"
The girl felt a strange prickling sensation brush her mind. Something nostalgic. A faint, heartbreaking emotion surged up.
"Uuuu... This is weird, da... My chest... my chest feels all tingly, da..."
A reaction like a familiar but unreachable memory surfacing.
"It feels familiar... like I forgot something precious, da......"
She pressed her head hard, biting her lip tightly. To Si-hyun, the girl's expression felt oddly familiar. Like something he'd seen before.
Just like when I first named Luna. So... she's lost her memories too, like Luna?
More than that, reacting to 'Leah' was solid proof she was connected to Noblesse.
"Si-hyun, did you just say 'Leah'? What does that mean?"
"Oh, uh, wellll~~~ We said she looked like a red panda earlier, right?? So I just took the first letters and made up a name. Haha!"
"Ah... I see?"
Si-hyun deftly brushed off Elissa's sharp question to defuse the situation.
Phew, almost got suspicious—
As Si-hyun sighed inwardly in relief, the girl from across the room's purple eyes sparkled, and she toddled over excitedly.
Patpatpat!
Stopping in front of Si-hyun, she pointed at him with her finger and shouted.
"I like this one, da! From now on, this body is Leah, da!!"
"......Huh?"
"All the other names humans gave me sucked, but this one's perfect, da!"
"Wait, what do you even—"
"And you, human!!"
Leah thrust her hand up energetically, pointing at Si-hyun.
"Me?"
"From now on, you're gonna serve this body, da!"
"......Pass."
"Eek! You have to even if you don't wanna, da! The one who names a knight has to take responsibility, da!"
"No, that doesn't even make—"
Whoosh!
In a flash, Leah lunged into Si-hyun's arms. He instinctively tried to pull back, but maybe old habits from holding Luna died hard.
Pat pat.
Without thinking, he ended up cradling the girl, stroking her head and back.
Ah, damn it, slipped again.
"Hehe, you say you hate it but petting this body means your body's honest, da! Promise to take good care of me from now on, da!"
"Nope. Don't even know you to begin with."
"Y-you don't kn-know me...?! Hic, snic...! Y-you named me and now you're th-throwing this body away...? If you name a knight, you h-have to care for her f-forever, da...! If you t-took a knight's first... you gotta take responsibility, da...! Don't just have fun and d-dump her, da...!"
Pick your words normally for once, please.
Squeeze!
The red-haired girl sniffled softly, hugging Si-hyun even tighter, like she'd never let go of this 'special someone' she'd finally found.
"Let go for now—"
As Si-hyun grumbled and tried to push her away, ding!
Mengmang-grade ghost story 'Leah's state is becoming unstable!
Calm her down!
The system window explicitly stating that Leah was the second Mengmang-grade ghost story after Luna popped up before Si-hyun's eyes.
......We're screwed.