Afraid Today Might Be a Dream
On the way down from the Deep Inspection Office, I went over the grades written on my paperwork.
...That one, I'd expected.
...I'd expected that one, too.
Ordinary people usually tested higher than this when they awakened. Physical capability tended to come out around E, or shift depending on what skills you had, so that part had never really mattered. It was the condition printed beneath it — if only that weren't an F as well.
Physical condition was a measure of your future growth potential. It was essentially the paperwork telling you, "If this person trains, here's how much muscle they'll put on." And mine read F-Rank.
"Raia. I don't think I need to eat carrots anymore."
"Hmm?"
"No matter how well I eat, if it's F-rank, it won't change..."
What I meant was that this body, in all likelihood, would stay exactly as it was. Small, soft, and utterly powerless.
"So what if my skill's off the scale? In the end, I'm still just me."
I had held onto the hope that maybe, just maybe, I would at least grow taller.
"Uuu..."
"Hehe. It's all right, you know. Our young master will shoot right up in no time."
"And what if I don't grow?"
Feeling oddly wounded, I quietly looked up at Raia. Unlike me, she was big in every possible way — height included.
"..."
Without a word, I lowered my head and set off for the registration office. Raia, taking in my state, mercifully fell silent. Honestly... one more word and I felt my sanity would have hit rock bottom.
If the Inspection Office I'd first visited, and the Deep Inspection Office I'd been taken to after it, had been spaces thick with tension, the registration hall was a different world entirely. Everyone here already knew for certain they had awakened; all that remained was to finish registering and become a hunter. And so the place brimmed with confident hunters, dreaming of the future.
And watching those hunters with the eyes of hawks, waiting to see what rank they would draw — the scouts.
According to the hunter forums, when a high-rank hunter emerged, the scouts would swarm like nothing else. Low-rank hunters attracted scouts who looked a touch shabby, and the higher the grade, the finer the clothes on the scouts who came calling.
Even while I waited, I could see them quietly sidling up whenever a few hunters' results came out. The low-rank hunters, for their part, got no such attention — they simply went home.
"By the way, why are all those people gathered like that?"
"Hmm... because a high-rank hunter is a rare treasure anywhere."
After the world was struck by the bombs called Gates, people known as the awakened began appearing out of nowhere — each accompanied by a status window displaying their abilities.
Of course, the appearance of the awakened did not mean the crisis was over. Gate Closing. Unless a Gate's door was shut, it would pour out monsters without end.
But people didn't close Gates purely for the sake of survival.
"When you close a Gate, magic stones come out — the quality depends on the Gate's rank."
Pointing at the ceiling of the Hunter Management Department, at a little pebble glowing faintly, I explained.
"That pebble is a magic stone. It's low-grade, so that dim little glow is all it can manage, but high-grade stones can generate a staggering amount of energy all on their own."
Even an amount equal to my two tiny fists put together could earn as much as I used to make at the office. And magic stones weren't confined to fueling things, either — they saw constant use in medicine and across every industry.
On top of that, most of the gear hunters relied on was crafted with liberal helpings of the stuff. If it weren't? Monsters would peel a suit of armor apart like an onion.
"...That's why the world needs high-rank hunters. They're the only ones who can enter high-rank Gates, which makes the work dangerous — and that's why they command such a price."
"I think I understand a little now."
Raia nodded along to my explanation. I was no expert, so I'd fumbled through it — though how she'd followed any of that, I had no idea.
"In other words, if you close one of those enormous Gates, our young master becomes rich?"
No. She had most definitely understood something very, very wrong.
I moved to correct her before the misunderstanding could grow — but the registration desk called my number. Left with no choice, I decided the correction could wait and headed over to the registrar, evaluation form in hand.
"May I see your evaluation form, please?"
Unlike before, the official asked for nothing but the form, and I relaxed at his brisk, businesslike manner. He took the sheet I handed over and began entering the records I'd received that day, his face blank.
"...'Identity re-registration required due to awakening'?"
At some line on the form, the official's eyes narrowed slightly. I hadn't known what it meant either and had glossed right over it, but apparently it wasn't something that usually got written down.
"I'll ask you a few questions now."
I nodded and listened.
"Name."
"Lee Roon."
"Sex?"
"...Female."
Before long, the official pulled an ink pad from a small drawer and held out a sheet of paper.
"Press all of your fingerprints here. Your old ID can be discarded. No temporary ID needed either — the Hunter Registration Card will replace it."
Meekly, I pressed the fingerprints of both index fingers onto the paper.
"Shall we send your new ID to your local district office, or to your home?"
"Please send it to my home..."
"Understood."
Once the necessary work seemed finished, the official produced a small card and, along with it, a stamp that carried a faint aura of mana.
"A Hunter Registration Card loses its function unless it's being used by its owner. I'll be registering your information with this stamp."
I accepted the stamp carefully. The official held out the card and tapped a small blank space on it, as if to say this was where it went.
"You know how to use mana, since you've awakened. Just channel a little into the stamp and press down firmly here."
Carefully, I let my mana flow into the stamp and pressed it into the blank. Thunk.
Etched into the registration card appeared the mark of a hand held out as if to make a promise, a fine chain dangling from its end. The hunter forums had said the emblem changed depending on your class: a sword for warriors, a magic staff for mages. And mine was...
"A Summoner. You've awakened into quite a rare class. Congratulations."
Summoner. And, as it happened, a little girl.
I nodded silently and took the card.
With my physical grade and condition both F, and only my skill rated S, I'd figured I'd land somewhere around C or B.
The grade written on my registration card had blown far past every expectation.
"Congratulations. An A-Rank hunter. I wish you every success."
Whether I was flustered or not, the official offered his congratulations in a dry, even voice. ...He even clapped. And it was, in fact, applause with quite a lot of heart in it.
"Oh ho."
"Grrr-hmm."
"Hmmm, ahem."
And even without looking back, I could feel the burning gazes on me.
The moment I rose from my seat, registration card in hand, the scouts surged toward me like a wave, business cards thrust out.
"Good day to you. I represent Ilseong Guild. Would you grant us — Ilseong Guild, the finest guild in the nation — the opportunity to present you with our terms?"
"Here at Gaya Guild, we treasure our hunters more than anyone and pride ourselves on being a pro-hunter organization. Not to mention that Hunter Lee San-dol, a veteran of the founding generation, remains active with us to this day, and—"
Blink, blink.
Whether they took my dazed blinking for hesitation, they abandoned their guild introductions and began laying out the terms they'd prepared instead.
"I trust you're aware of how large Ilseong is. Forty percent off hunter equipment purchased at our own department store, plus up to twenty percent back in points. Those points can even be traded. And we can match an annual salary of up to two billion won."
"Surely a hunter's real money comes from selling magic stones, wouldn't you say? Gaya Guild offers a lower figure than Ilseong — 800 million won, plus an eight-to-two split on all magic stone proceeds. We would be the two, of course. You would also receive full medical support at the guild's expense, along with equipment rental."
"...A home. I'll put an entire apartment tower in a Gate-stabilized zone under your own name."
...For some reason, some of those were sounding like truly staggering offers.
While I stood flustered by numbers far beyond anything I could wrap my head around, Raia stepped in and placed herself between me and the scouts.
"My young master has only just finished his registration. Deciding everything today would be rather difficult, don't you think? Would you kindly withdraw for now?"
Unlike her placid voice, an enormous pressure was radiating off Raia's body. It was a warning: push any further, and she would step in personally.
In the end, the scouts said nothing more — they simply scrawled their terms onto their business cards and pressed them on Raia in handfuls.
So in the span of a single morning, I'd been surrounded by strange middle-aged men and then escaped. Wasn't this exactly the opening of some bizarre novel?
With every registration complete, we hurried out of the Hunter Management Department.
Perhaps it was the weight of so many scouts' stares that had finally gotten to me. Strength abruptly drained out of my small body.
"Eep!"
My steps wobbled and I nearly pitched over, but Raia caught me just in time.
"You must be very tired."
"Yeah..."
Honestly — so much had happened. I still couldn't quite believe it. Just yesterday, I'd been swallowing my loneliness inside a tiny one-room studio. Could everything really change this much in a single day?
And then I looked at Raia — the biggest change of all.
"...Raia."
"Yes, young master."
"Honestly... I still don't really understand."
The sky had gone dark. We walked home hand in hand.
"I don't know why I ended up in this body. Or why you agreed to make a contract with me."
Set side by side, the difference between us was simply too vast. Our physical abilities, and everything else besides — the gap between Raia and me was enormous.
"...And, I'm still a little scared."
Afraid that the moment I woke up, all of this would turn out to be a dream. That I'd simply dreamed something strange and opened my eyes to my old life.
But if there was one thing that made today different from every other day—
"Still, Raia. I'll tell you this. Of all the days lately, today was the least lonely."
The frantic morning with the status window. The contract we'd let slide past without really talking it through. The warm soup we'd shared. Even the rank measurement — all of it.
It had been a hectic, confusing day. Still—
"So..."
"Shh."
Raia gently stroked my head. Every time that warm, reassuring hand passed over my hair, I found myself ducking my head for no reason at all.
"You don't have to say anything. And there's no need to go thinking strange thoughts, either."
"Okay."
I thought of it, then. They said awakening granted you the thing you most deeply wanted.
...Now, a little. I finally understood.
"Raia."
"Yes, young master."
"Not that."
"Yes. Roon."
"Yeah. I like that better."
Strange to say, a smile spread across my face. A smile made with tears still streaming down my cheeks.
"I was lonely. And even then, I guess I just kept it all bottled up by myself — afraid people would think it strange of me. Afraid of the way I'd look."
Even when my last remaining family had been suddenly taken from me, I hadn't been able to cry. I'd been afraid that if I broke down then, I'd be letting them go for good. So I'd simply held it in, choking back sobs, swallowing my tears.
"So, Raia. Let me ask you one more time."
I asked her, carefully.
"...Will you be my family?"
At those words, Raia quietly raised a finger and — just like that moment that morning — gave my forehead a light tap.
"Ow..."
"You don't even need to ask."
Smiling, Raia caressed the back of my hand.
"We already are. Family."
"Hehe..."
At that, my laughter finally burst out. I decided I would simply think of it this way: turning into a girl had been a stroke of bad luck, that was all. A small misfortune, paving the way for a far greater fortune to come.
Walking home with our hands clasped together, I felt — just a little — that today, I wasn't lonely.