The One Who Calls
So this was it. The southern sector, my first time here.
I'd wondered if anything about it would be different. The work was the same here as it was over there.
I scooped up a few snacks, crunched through them, and got back to it. Hauling boxes. Pacing back and forth to the gauge panel. Back and forth again.
"The ant~ works so haaard~ today too~"
I belted out a cheerful work song as I groaned and heaved another box.
"Doin' some wooork~ sigh."
It didn't help.
The sky was still a sullen, heavy gray. The heat and the humidity were draining me dry, and on top of all that, Nayeon kept glancing over at me every sixty seconds, which was its own special kind of exhausting.
No leash today. The condition this time was don't leave my sight.
Being tied up had honestly been better. Maybe I should ask her to put the rope back on.
Okay, that sounded a little weird.
But being tied up was more comfortable, what was I supposed to do about that!
"Aughhh."
At least this body didn't need bathroom breaks. Small mercies.
The box was maybe a foot on each side, half-full of documents. I hoisted it up with these ridiculously skinny arms and started back down a path I must have walked dozens of times already, and a thought drifted through my head, uninvited.
I wonder which sector she's in. Maybe she's not even on the south side today.
Speak of the devil. The thought had barely formed before a voice arrived at my back.
"Hello."
I'd just set the box down with a thud.
"No leash today?"
"Hek—!"
Holy crap. She didn't make a single sound coming over here.
I turned around. Slowly. I looked up — at exactly the same angle as yesterday.
Black hair. An exotic face. Those blue eyes, which had been lingering around my waist, rose with mine until they met me dead-on.
My waist...
Well. Fair enough. A rope cinched around it had probably left an impression.
A slim waist drowning in an oversized T-shirt, pinched in at the middle by the rope until it looked like an hourglass...
Anyway.
"Ehehe. Today I'm a free woman."
"Today you're free... hmm. I see."
Her expression had gone a little strange, so I followed her gaze. Off in the distance, Nayeon was lurking behind a shipping container, radiating hostility — exactly like a chihuahua growling over a treat it thought someone was about to snatch back.
Weren't you going to thank her...?
Luckily, I wasn't startled. I wasn't even disappointed. I'd been with this guild long enough to see Nayeon's behavior coming from a mile away.
That woman. She was a walking wildcard, sure — but only within the exact range of chaos I'd already budgeted for.
I flicked my eyes at her. It's fine. Stay put. And then Rina asked, her voice gone small.
"I've been wanting to ask... weren't you scared? Back then?"
Back then.
Not yesterday. The day I almost got swallowed by the rift. That day.
...I hadn't seen this question coming.
"Um..."
It was a fair thing to worry about. If a small, adorable girl like me had nearly gotten into an accident at a rift, I'd have been worried too.
Had I been scared?
It felt more like I'd just been startled, honestly.
...No.
A little. I think I had been scared, a little.
Because if the rift had snatched me up just like that, I might have lost my new owner all over again. I might have ended up alone all over again.
Which meant I'd have to wait by myself again, and...
"......"
Don't think weird thoughts. And every sentence I'd practiced in front of the mirror? Scrapped. All of it.
I took a second to pick my words.
"Yeah. Well — you gotta eat, right? No choice about it!"
Nailed it. Super natural.
She looked down at me.
"...So you're doing this for the money?"
"Yep. At my age I can't do anything but hunter work, you know? If I want to make a living, this is it!"
"......"
"And my own— ahem. The guild takes pretty good care of me. They feed me, they put me up, they even let me use the computer. It's a pretty decent gig."
Even I had to admit that was some spectacular improvisation.
See? No point preparing for this stuff. When the moment comes, you just handle it. Mm-hmm.
"...Doesn't anyone at home worry about you?"
"Home? I don't have a— ah. The guild office is home. Now."
"...I see."
She glanced toward Nayeon, then bit down on her lip.
"...Alright. Anyway... if something frightening happens again, don't go wandering inside while you're messing around like last time. Run. Not toward the control line — that way. Outside."
Messing around like last time...?
"..."
Right. That was the official story.
Ugh. I was the one who saved everyone! I was the protagonist!
I couldn't exactly tell her the truth, so I just nodded, limp and defeated.
As if anyone over there had any idea how wronged I felt. Nayeon had set her box down and started slapping the dust off her clothes.
Looks like she'd finally decided to come say hello.
With an S-rank hunter standing right there, she walked over with a gait that was trying extremely hard to look casual, and waved.
"Yay! Byeori, unnie's all done! Need a hand?"
The least reassuring reinforcements in the world had arrived.
Nayeon half-jogged the rest of the way and planted herself half a step from my side.
"Oh! Y-you weren't alone! Well I never!"
The most wooden acting I had ever witnessed, as if she'd only just now noticed Rina. Nayeon folded herself at a perfect ninety degrees.
"Hello! I'm Nayeon, guild leader of the Saetbyeol Guild. And this one's guardian... among other things!"
Plink, plink—
She'd bowed so hard that two candies tumbled out of her pocket.
Nayeon scooped them up and tried again.
"Thank you for saving Byeori last time... ah. For saving our Byeori. Things were so hectic I never got the chance to thank you."
"...Don't mention it. It was just my job."
Nayeon was picking a fight all by herself. Rina didn't even register it. She simply took one step back.
Courteous. Or, depending on how you looked at it, cold. A strange distance she never showed when it was just me.
"This kid... well. Byeori works so hard. It's admirable, so... yes, that's why my eyes keep drifting over."
"Right?! Our Byeori is pretty amaz— I mean, uh, anyway...!"
Please just don't cause an incident... If you stay still, you're already halfway there...!
I put every ounce of prayer I had into a gentle tug on Nayeon's sleeve.
"You said you were her guardian...?"
"Yes! And the guild leader! She's with us — the Saetbyeol Guild. My card, my card..."
Nayeon rummaged through her pockets.
What tumbled out this time were three pieces of candy.
"...Didn't bring any. Have these instead."
"......"
"Ehehe."
A laugh escaped me all on its own.
Someone said it once, right? The ones who can laugh when things get hard are first-class.
What was I supposed to do with a new owner this embarrassing...!!
"That's—! Ah! Our secretary handles the paperwork! Aaa, Jihyeon?"
Don't call me on the radio. That's not what it's for.
The walkie-talkie crackled.
...That was probably the sound of Jihyeon sighing.
I couldn't see her, but I could picture the look on her face perfectly from all the way over here.
The silence stretched, awkward and thin, until Rina was the one who broke it.
"...What hours does she work? From when until when?"
"We operate by commission! We only have Byeori work when she really wants to, as much as possib—"
"And how do you handle her pay?"
"We settle it by the Association rate table. Oh, and as a bonus, we give her rolled omelet!"
Nayeon puffed her chest out with genuine pride.
"Rolled omelet...?"
"Heh. These days it even has ham in it."
"...The bonus is a side dish?"
"Our secretary makes it, and it's seriously amazing. Byeori loves it too."
Yeah. This guild would be embarrassing no matter where you took it. Yep.
"...And her days off?"
"Days off... well, we don't really have those set. Since we work by commission... oh, want to see pictures of Byeori sleeping? I took some the other day and they're adorable—"
"I'm alright. You said she sleeps on the office sofa."
"Yes. And we use the bed."
No.
If you say it like that, people will get the wrong idea!
Explain it properly! The bed is hard and ancient, but the sofa is brand new and ridiculously plush and huge!
Why would you only say that!
I tugged Nayeon's sleeve twice. My desperate signal did not get through.
"...Right. I'm sure... you have your reasons. One last thing."
Rina paused for a beat.
"Are you treating her well? This child."
"No."
Not a sliver of hesitation.
"There's so much I want to do for her, but I'm not enough, so all I ever do is make her suffer. Toward Byeori... all I ever feel is sorry."
"......"
I had no way of knowing how those words landed.
There was no way to find out. Because the moment Rina opened her mouth to say something, the radio cut in at the perfect time, and she closed it again.
Point 2, no anomalies. Next, Point 3 — one anomalous reading.
"W-want a candy?"
Nayeon tried to fill the silence with sugar.
"...I'm alright."
Rina declined, perfectly polite.
Even though she had a sweet tooth. Her Hunter Gallery username was Sweet Tooth Tour, for crying out loud.
"Last time you cha—"
I grabbed the first half of the word by the hair and shoved it back down my throat.
"The b— book! I read the book! The Association guidebook!"
"...Did I give you a guidebook?"
"Someone did, I'm sure. Anyway, I read it. It was good."
Rina checked her wristwatch with the exact same face Jihyeon made when she looked at the guild's bank balance.
"...I should go. I've been away too long."
She started to leave, then stopped dead and left one last thing behind.
"Huh?"
"...Okay. I'll scream really loud."
I nodded. And then—
"Rina."
I spoke the name I'd heard yesterday out loud for the first time.
Rina blinked once. The surprise sat on her face for a second, and then the corner of her mouth lifted. Just a little.
"...I'm at southern sector gauge number four. Probably all week."
That was all she left behind before she turned and walked away.
"Hoo..."
Did we survive that...!
I let out a long breath and pressed a hand to my chest.
One of the candies Nayeon had dropped earlier was still rolling around by my feet, the one she hadn't found. I crouched to pick it up, and my hand was a little slow about it.
"......"
I was a sword. For three whole years, I had been the one being called.
Becoming the one who called... that, just now, was the first time.
I let the corner of my mouth lift, the same way Rina had.
Being the one who calls is better than being the one who is called.
The same way going to find someone is better than waiting.
Before I knew it, the sun was sinking. Today's commission was just about to close up.
"Well. She seemed like a pretty decent person."
Nayeon said it while we packed the gear.
"But!"
Both eyes blazing, she jabbed a finger at me.
"Unnie treats you to better meals, right?! Our guild sofa is bigger, right?!"
"...Where is this coming from?"
"Guh...! I have to win at something! Unnie's a pathetic adult!"
I listened to that nonsense while we got ready to pull out, and then my feet stopped in front of the gauge panel.
Every reading all morning had been normal. Instead, one point at a time, the numbers would climb for a moment and then drop again.
Point 3. Point 6. Point 2. Point 7.
Like someone opening rooms one by one, just to check what was inside.
But right now—
Point 5, anomaly detected. Next... wait? The anomaly's gone?
Point 5 was the last one. After that, the anomalies vanished.
The pattern that had been repeating since yesterday just... stopped.
The observation team would tilt their heads and leave it at that. No — they'd probably be relieved. A stabilizing rift was good news.
...I couldn't think that way.
The last place an anomaly had appeared was Point 5.
I whipped my head around. The sign standing there had a huge number 5 painted on it.
"...So you found it."
The thought landed, and I took off, scurrying straight for Jihyeon.
"Unnie."
"Yeah, Byeori?"
"The anomaly spikes stopped. They vanished after the last reading."
Jihyeon had been organizing the data. She pushed her glasses up.
"The last one? Where?"
Her eyes followed my finger.
The gauge panel. Number 5. And the sign standing right next to it, also marked 5.
"Right here."