Living with a Super Pretty Noona

After waiting around thirty minutes, Ayla came back.

Only this time she was lugging an entire box stuffed with groceries.

Had she run off to the supermarket or something?

"Please wait a moment."

She headed straight for the kitchen and started cooking, though I still had no idea why she was cooking in our kitchen in the first place.

About twenty minutes later, the food was done.

"If you please."

Ayla carefully set down a plate of cream pasta.

I could only stare blankly back and forth between the pasta and Ayla herself.

For the record, she already seemed to know that fairies preferred fruit and vegetables; she'd prepared apples and tangerines for them as well.

I blinked, carefully took up the fork, twirled a bite of pasta, and tasted it.

Whoa.......

It was delicious.

I'd never actually eaten pasta at a high-end restaurant, but I was pretty sure this was exactly what it would taste like.

I kept twirling more pasta onto the fork and eating at a steady pace—still elegant, thanks to Dreamy King's Dignity—when Ayla spoke in her usual calm tone.

"Does it suit your palate?"

I nodded.

"I'm glad. In that case, there is one request I would like to make of Your Majesty."

"......?"

Finally, the real topic.

Yeah, she'd been being way too nice for no reason.

I put on a serious face, determined not to get scammed.

If she thought she could just bribe me with food because I looked like a kid, she had another thing coming.

Sure, I'd spent years rotting in my room and my social skills were basically zero, but I wasn't so soft that I'd fall for something that obvious.

Alright, let's hear it.

I looked at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her with that in mind, and Ayla politely inclined her head.

"Please, grant me permission to remain at Your Majesty's side and serve you."

......?

I blinked without meaning to.

That was the request?

Wait, so she herself was aware that she'd just shown up out of nowhere and started looking after me without any order to it?

I'd almost assumed she'd keep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠taking care of me without permission from now on, her actions had been so natural.

But permission or not—if she was going to cook food this good every day, shouldn't I be the one begging her instead?

"Ppi!"

"Ppyu!"

Pin and Arwen were already circling Ayla like they'd given their approval long ago.

Our fairies were so pure-hearted they'd probably agreed the moment she fed them.

So you two are fine with it too, right?

Alright then.

Well, she said she wasn't human but a Dryad, so maybe there was some big connection to my awakened class, Fairy King.

She clearly knew a few things about fairies already.

I nodded, giving my consent.

That very instant—

Huh?

A system notification window floated up right in front of my eyes.

And the moment the message saying she'd become my retainer appeared, Dreamy King's Dignity flipped from ON to OFF.

Just like how the skill never activated when I talked with the fairies as usual.

"......?"

I blinked blankly, and Ayla, noticing, explained in her calm voice.

"It means I have entered into a subordinate contract with Your Majesty and now serve under you."

I see.......

So Ayla really wasn't human after all. She was a Dryad.

The system wouldn't lie about that.

"Then I look forward to serving you from now on, My Queen."

I simply nodded without answering.

Well... Dreamy King's Dignity was off now so I could speak, but it still felt a little awkward, so I just kept the concept going.

Maybe I'd gotten used to not talking much after staying silent so often around other people.......

One way or another, Ayla ended up living with me under the pretext of serving me, but there was no way we could both fit in this tiny rooftop room.

So I decided to give her the unused house on the floor below.

The whole detached house was mine anyway.

"Thank you for your consideration, My Queen."

Ayla was almost too polite about it.

Well, getting a whole house to live in for free probably justified that level of gratitude.

The problem was that the first floor was big but completely empty—not a single piece of furniture.

Uh...... shouldn't I do something for her?

In a way she was a tenant now.

And she was the person—no, the Dryad—who'd promised to take care of my meals from now on. Shouldn't I be the one providing something?

I glanced around the rooftop room for a moment.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠figured I should at least hand over some unused furniture.

Hmm...... I don't even look at it anyway.

The first thing that caught my eye was the TV.

I honestly couldn't remember the last time I'd watched actual television. Years, probably.

I just hung around the gallery and watched internet streams all day.

Yeah. Decision made—time to act.

I unplugged the TV and carefully carried it downstairs.

"Ppi!"

"Ppyu!"

Along the way Pin and Arwen flew over and took the TV for me.

Wow, our fairies really were ridiculously strong.

When we brought the TV downstairs, Ayla looked a little flustered.

"My Queen? Why the television......"

I asked the fairies to set the TV down in the living room.

"Ah, surely you don't mean for me......"

I nodded.

"......Thank you so very ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much, My Queen."

I hadn't expected her to be this moved over a single TV.

Seeing her that happy actually made me feel pretty good about myself.

I went back upstairs to see if there was anything else I could give her.

Hmm......

Nope.

I'd wanted to hand over furniture she could use right away and that I didn't need, but there just wasn't any.

Was the TV really the only thing I could spare?

"My Queen."

"......?"

At that moment Ayla, who had somehow come up behind me, spoke in her polite tone.

"I am grateful for Your Majesty's kindness, but I have already purchased the necessary furniture, so there is no need to bestow anything further."

Huh?

She'd already bought furniture?

How?

I looked at her with that question in my eyes, and Ayla answered calmly.

"I have savings from the job I worked while waiting for Your Majesty."

Ah, so Ayla had been an office worker.

Her outfit had definitely given off that vibe.

But how had she managed to hold down a job?

Were there companies that hired Dryads?

No, probably not.

From the outside Ayla looked completely human.

She must have been working while hiding the fact that she was a Dryad.

So I hadn't needed to gift her furniture after all.

Hmm..... asking for the TV back would be pretty awkward, right?

Still, what kind of work did Ayla even do?

I snuck a glance at her. Ayla simply smiled without a word, bowed her head, then stepped back into the rooftop room and began neatly arranging the groceries she'd bought into the fridge.

Hmm...... something about Ayla gave off major housekeeper energy.

The vibe just fit.

Even after I gave her the downstairs house, Ayla never actually left the rooftop room.

Under the banner of staying by my side and serving me, she just kept doing this and that.

Dishes, laundry, cleaning, and finally organizing clothes.

The real problem came when Ayla started putting clothes away.

"......?"

"Fufufu."

They were clothes she'd brought back with the groceries earlier.

She was smiling contentedly while folding them, but the sizes looked nothing like anything Ayla herself would wear.

They were a little small, you could say.

Like clothes for a child.

Uh, um......

I looked down at my own body, then back at Ayla.

Don't tell me?

In the end I couldn't bring myself to ask.

I decided it was better not to know.

Anyway, what time was it right now?

Two in the afternoon...... ah.

Ayla showing up out of nowhere had made me completely forget—I was supposed to do healer work today.

But two in the afternoon was an awkward time to head out anywhere.

Hmm......

Yeah.

I'll work hard starting tomorrow.

Today counts as circumstances beyond my control.

With the firm resolve to grind starting tomorrow, I sat down at my computer desk.

I kept sneaking glances at Ayla, then opened the gallery.

What were my fellow awakened losers up to at this hour?

I knew who the Evergreen Guildmaster was.

The second-strongest S-rank hunter in Korea.

She'd stopped all activity ten years ago, and because she hated media exposure, almost no one even knew her face.

Since she wasn't active, every time the rankings reset she would quickly drop from second place.

A true enigmatic recluse of an S-rank hunter, wrapped in mystery from head to toe.

And now they're saying that hunter died.......

Vanishing from the hunter rankings was basically the same as being dead.

Gate raids really were dangerous.

I should just stick to spot-sitting as a healer outside the gates.

No matter how strong our fairies were, safety first.

Wait...... hang on?

Something suddenly occurred to me.

I looked at Ayla.

"......?"

"Fufu, just a moment, My Queen. I'll prepare a snack."

No, not that.

Hadn't Ayla clearly introduced herself as a Dryad?

Then... could it be?

Hmm...... nah, no way.

Come to think of it, Ayla wasn't even human—she was a Dryad. There was no reason she'd appear on the hunter rankings.

The hunter rankings only updated for awakened people.

I turned my eyes back to the monitor.

It had been a while since I last posted. Maybe I should throw one up.