The Queen Appears...?
When I returned to the orphanage, for some reason, the place was already buzzing with excitement.
I didn't know who had tipped them off, but a tent had been set up in the living room, and a large banner was hanging above it.
The moment I stepped through the door, party poppers exploded, and the children swarmed me.
"Hyunwoo Oppa! Congrats on becoming a Hero!"
"You really became a Hero?!"
"You're so cool! You're the best, Oppa!"
"Haha... well, to be precise, I'm a sidekick... but thanks anyway."
The first ones to rush me were the kids much younger than me. The ones who had been left at the orphanage just like I had. Perhaps because they were always trailing behind me, they were celebrating as if it were their own achievement.
And then, the next ones appeared.
"Hyunwoo!"
"Congratulations on becoming a sidekick!"
"But still, you're a man... you know you have to be careful, right? You must always keep a guardian with you!"
"Haha, of course, Sisters."
The nuns who had raised me since I was young. On the surface, they always maintained an image of modesty and purity, armed with holy smiles and faith... but the reality was a bit different.
Their tightly woven white habits revealed the curves of their bodies, and below, their bare legs were exposed without reservation. Every time they moved, glimpses of their thighs appeared, and the curves of their bodies were clearly visible through the slightly form-fitting fabric.
Using the excuse of offering congratulations, they soon surrounded me. Skin brushed against skin, gazes locked onto me, and their breath drew near. Even while the children were looking up at us blankly, the nuns' voluminous chests were subtly pressing in on me.
The attire that should have been holy and modest felt strangely, obscenely erotic in this moment. If they had covered up more, it might have been less intense, but the ambiguous exposure was far more stimulating.
Amidst that confusion and embarrassment, someone quickly pulled me away from the spot.
"S-stop it! Hyunwoo looks very uncomfortable!"
"Hayeon Noona."
Noona lifted me up in her arms and then carefully set me back down. She looked down at me with a sigh and a smile.
"...Sigh."
"Noona?"
"Yeah... well. Hyunwoo is an adult now, after all..."
Pushing back the blue hair that had fallen through the gap in her nun's veil, Noona looked at me. Her lips were curled up as if she were forcing a smile, but a strange, sullen look flickered within them.
"I'll be cheering for you from behind. But don't do anything too dangerous. Got it?"
"Yeah! Noona!"
At my answer, Noona nodded slightly and leaned in carefully. Then, she softly kissed my forehead.
Chu.
In that instant, my heart hammered against my ribs.
"!!"
"Hehe..."
The spot where her lips touched was warm, and her breath tickled the air in front of me like a heat haze. It was that familiar softness I felt whenever our eyes met. But today, it felt different. It was closer, and more cautious.
Just like me, standing there blankly not knowing what to say, Noona's face was flushed just as red as mine. That look... I somehow liked it.
Women in this world usually come on to you openly. Quickly, aggressively, without hesitation. But Noona wasn't like that. She approached without crossing the line, and she smiled, but she hesitated. That made my heart flutter even more.
How should I put it? The sincerity of a shy person sometimes hits you much harder. And that emotion settled into my heart, small but clear.
Just as I was about to laugh it off,
Whoosh.
Suddenly, one side of my vision went dark.
"Mommy?!"
At the same time, a black object shot up from above Noona's head, at a distance where our nose tips were almost touching. It soared up with a whoosh... and then—
THUD!!
It embedded itself into the ceiling with a sound loud enough to pierce through it. It was a black dagger. My Soul Weapon, which had chosen me as its master during lunch today. I had no idea why the thing that had been resting quietly in my pocket just a few minutes ago had suddenly popped out and embedded itself in the ceiling.
"W-what is that?!"
Hayeon Noona shouted, looking up at the black dagger stuck in the ceiling. Her face, as she looked at me with wide, surprised eyes while covering her mouth, was genuinely flustered.
"Why did that... suddenly fly off?"
I had definitely been careful to put it in my pocket, so why did it have to pop out at a timing like this? But there was something else I was more worried about.
"Noona, are you hurt anywhere?"
When I asked cautiously, Hayeon Noona nodded with a perfectly fine smile.
"Yeah, I'm okay... oh, no! Ouch!"
"...Noona?"
But then, a sudden change of heart? She immediately twisted her body, clutching her thigh as if the pain had hit her late. Her expression was awkwardly distorted, and her posture was a bit strange. Still, since I might have been the one to cause it, I decided to just believe her.
"I-it's just... that dagger from earlier, I think it grazed me slightly."
Hayeon Noona smiled sheepishly and pointed with her finger past the hem of her skirt. "My inner thigh... the groin area is stinging a bit?"
"...What?"
For a moment, I froze as if struck by lightning. 'No, the dagger definitely grazed my forehead from my waist, so why there...?'
I stared at Noona blankly. Hayeon Noona was looking at me with a strange expression while letting her sentence trail off. Then, as if she had been waiting for it,
"So... will you take a look?"
Hayeon Noona slowly, cautiously, but with a strangely practiced hand, lifted the hem of her skirt. Between her softly gathered thighs, I could feel a faint body heat near my face. Clear, pale skin, and the scent of soap spreading quietly like a breath. What was revealed before my eyes was an inner thigh that looked perfectly fine, with no sign of any injury.
'...Seriously, this is what's stinging?'
My mind went blank. My heart was pounding wildly. I had felt my heart race when she kissed my forehead earlier, but that wasn't even the beginning. At this moment, the 'real thing' had arrived.
'No, this... this could be a real medical emergency, right? So, as a Hero, I must remain calm... Yes, I'm just looking at it for medical purposes!'
I squeezed out my last bit of conscience to convince myself. 'I am currently performing medical treatment.'
'This is treatment. Truly.'
'So, my lower body... please, just stay calm.'
Slowly, very slowly, I broke into a cold sweat, leaned my waist down, and tilted my body toward the hem of her skirt. And finally, just as the skin on the inside was about to come into view,
THUD!!!
"Gah?!"
The black dagger that had descended from the ceiling like divine retribution. It struck the top of Noona's head—truly, dead center, and quite spectacularly.
"N-Noona?! Are you okay?"
Hayeon Noona staggered with her eyes half-closed and then fell backward, flat on her back.
"I... resent... this...!"
...Leaving behind a line that sounded like something a villain would say.
There had been a small incident at the beginning, but the celebration party for my passing the sidekick test ended well. The nuns carefully took the unconscious Hayeon Noona to her room, and I received congratulations from the children, Master Baek Seungha, and even the orphanage director.
"Our Hyunwoo, you've grown so much, I barely recognize you!"
"Ah, Director..."
"Hmm, yes! You looked delicious... no, cool since you were young! But now that you've become a Hero, since you've started, you must become the most delicious... no, the coolest!"
"Thank you...?"
"Yes... hehehe... well-ripened."
"...?"
Anyway, the chaotic party finished safely, and I returned to my room to get some sleep. It was the only private room in the orphanage. It was a space the director had personally arranged for me when I reached adolescence and still hadn't been adopted. The reason given was, "A teenage boy needs a lot of time alone!" but in reality, it was proof that she cherished me very much. Especially in the room, there were always fresh towels... no, that wasn't it; strangely, there was always a box of tissues stocked. ...And in large quantities, too.
"Oh, it's new again. Just how often is this replaced?"
Maybe because I was distracted by the party, the clock had already passed dawn. I was about to turn off the lights and lie down on the bed when I suddenly turned my gaze.
"...What should I do with this?"
My Soul Weapon, which had knocked Hayeon Noona out in one hit earlier. That black dagger wasn't just a simple weapon. As Master had said, it was a weapon with feelings that could see, hear, and think. In other words, it was a 'living being.'
If so, should I sleep with it? Or should I cover it with a separate blanket? But sleeping in the same bed as a weapon with a blade looked dangerous no matter how I looked at it. Especially since it had been waving around in the air while holding the blade.
Shhh-shhh-shhh...
"Huh?"
Faint, smoke-like wisps began to rise from the tip of the black dagger. In an instant, it wrapped around the blade, then swirled through the air like a snake, and then—
Pop.
"Whoa?!"
I reflexively took a step back. And the next moment, the smoke scattered as if exploding, and a woman appeared before my eyes like a vision.
"A person...?"
Her snow-white hair flowed softly down to her waist, and a luster that seemed to hold the moonlight shimmered on her skin. Her smooth shoulders and the alluring silhouette revealed through the deep slit were enough to draw my gaze. The black dress flowed over her body like living silk, creating an atmosphere that was both composed and dangerous.
She was beautiful. No, more than that... her posture was suffocatingly seductive yet dignified. It was as if what stood before me wasn't a weapon, but a queen harboring a fatal temptation. It was enough to make me hesitate subconsciously even to approach her.
Above all, she was looking down at me. A strange sense of oppression, as if something massive had suddenly appeared before me, far above my own stature. Her red eyes pierced straight through me, and she spoke in a cold, unwavering tone without a single tremor.
"You. Do you desire power?"
"Power...?"
It was an abrupt question, but at the same time, it was a desperate one for me.
"If you desire it, I can grant you all the power in this world."
"...!"
"However, there is one condition."
"A, condition...?"
She slowly curled up the corners of her lips and smiled strangely.
"Surrender everything you have."
"Everything...?"
"Yes. Your life, your destiny, even that body! ...If you offer it all to me, I will show you power befitting it."
The words sounded dangerous yet sweet. It was a temptation that made it feel like I could have anything. So, without hesitation, I smiled brightly and said,
"No. I refuse."
"...Eh?"
"And if that's your condition for use... I'm just not going to use you. You've become scary."
"......Eh?!"