007 - We're Friends, Right?
007 - We're Friends, Right?
"Huh? Just what kind of relationship do the two of you have for Eunha's clothes to smell so strongly of a perfume I don't even recognize?"
Jia pulled me in even tighter.
As if she would never let go.
'What on earth is happening.'
Something has gone seriously wrong.
Of course, it was true that I spent the day diligently raising Seoha-eonni's favorability, but what did that have to do with Jia?
We're just childhood friends. Besides, we're both girls.
I couldn't figure out for the life of me which part had made Jia so angry.
"We're friends... Why are you suddenly acting like this?"
"Yeah. That's right, we're friends."
Jia's voice was chillingly cold.
"But I hate it when my precious, cute, and adorable friend goes around getting hugged by some woman I don't know."
"I-I see."
"I've been holding back every single time. It's totally unfair for someone to suddenly show up, skip the line, and act like this, isn't it?"
Her tone sounded annoyed, as if someone had stolen her property.
The touch of her hands caressing my back felt somehow strange, too.
No matter how I looked at it, this was far from the friend I knew.
...Friend?
'Could it be... is a friend with 155 favorability a bit different?'
Even Seoha-eonni only had 85 favorability, yet it already felt like we were really close.
Which means 155 favorability must mean bestest friends ever, right?
Come to think of it, I feel like I read somewhere that physical affection between girls is totally natural.
I understood.
It seems Jia was just jealous that I got close to another hunter.
After all, when a friend who was playing with you until yesterday suddenly plays with someone else, doesn't it naturally make you feel cranky and petty?
It must be just like that.
On top of that, Jia and I have been childhood friends for a pretty long time.
So I thought it made even more sense for her to act this way.
If it wasn't that, it would mean she likes me to the point of obsession.
'Eyy, that makes no sense.'
Common-sensically, there's no way a girl would like a girl like that.
Anyway.
To break out of the current situation, I need to clear up the misunderstanding first.
The perfume smell got on me inevitably because I was being rescued.
I did intend to raise her favorability, but fundamentally we met up to sell Laevateinn.
The problem was that Jia didn't seem to have any intention of listening to what I had to say.
"...She's mine, I called dibs first. What was lacking? I haven't met up with her much lately because I've been so busy. Right, that was the problem. From now on, I need to be more proactive with skinship. Ah... Eunha is so soft, I love it."
I feel like I'm occasionally hearing some terrifying words.
Is there no way to bring her back to her senses?
Is there something that could help—
'Right, there's that thing.'
When I used the Observation skill on Seoha-eonni last time.
Along with information, something like a dating sim walkthrough guide popped up.
Nothing showed up when I first used it on Jia.
Maybe it'll be different now?
'Observe!'
[Lee Jia]
[Shinwol / A-Rank Hunter / Dark Attribute Mage]
[Favorability 155]
TIP. A direct approach is recommended. Giving a gift might trigger something special?
A direct approach, huh.
That makes sense.
If I just keep avoiding it, nothing will change.
I vigorously shook Jia, who was rambling incomprehensible monologues to herself.
"Wait. Jia-ya, let's calm down, calm down."
"Calm down? I'm extremely calm right now."
Jia said as she stared at me.
Those eyes definitely did not look calm.
She looked so gloomy that I felt like I was going to get depressed too.
"I'll explain everything. There's a reason for all of this."
She flinched slightly at my words for a moment, but Jia still looked down at me coldly.
Although I was scared, I swallowed back my fear as much as possible and continued speaking.
"I'm a Creator, you know. I had no choice but to meet up to sell the equipment I made this time. It was the first piece of equipment I ever crafted, so I was curious about how it felt to use."
Of course, I omitted the fact that I needed to raise favorability.
If nothing else, telling her that felt like a huge no-no.
"Liar. How could Eunha make equipment? You have to melt molten iron and swing a hammer."
Saying that, Jia slowly stroked my upper arm.
As if to say, how could an arm like this swing a hammer?
"Well, you see... I'm only telling Jia-ya this, okay? Unlike blacksmiths, Creators don't need any other processes—they can create equipment with just one skill use. So I don't have to do any hammering."
Information about 'Hand of God' that I originally intended to keep secret.
To clear up the misunderstanding, I had no choice.
"What? Does that even make sense?"
"It's true. I even made Hunter Seoha... no, Hunter Han Seoha's S-rank weapon!"
"That's impossible. Do you know how rare and expensive the materials required for S-rank equipment are?"
"There's a way for everything. Wait a sec, I'll show you."
Finally, the tension in Jia's arms loosened.
Without missing that chance, I quietly created some distance.
At the same time, I activated the skill 'Hand of God'.
[System - Hand of God]
[Craft]
When I pressed the Craft button, unlike usual, another system message appeared.
[Please select the type of equipment to craft]
Since it said earlier that giving a gift might trigger something special.
An accessory seemed a bit better than a weapon that didn't match her attribute.
Among accessories, something Jia would like—
'Girls like rings, right? I should go with a ring.'
I immediately selected Ring from the category.
[Type - Ring]
[Crafting equipment using 1 coin.]
[Penalty: Restricted to a maximum of A-rank due to using a Trial Coin.]
Pa-aat—!
A small sphere of light floated up between Jia and me.
Light wove into light, gradually reconstructing into the shape of a ring.
"What is... this?"
"I told you. I'm a Creator."
And.
As the light faded, the ring settled softly onto my palm.
A silver ring adorned with a white flower.
Every single petal was transparent like a snowflake.
[Equipment crafting complete.]
Song of the Goddess 'Daat'
Rank: B
Quality: Top-grade
[Potential Abilities]
- 'Barrier Magic': Triggers a protective barrier once a day to defend the user from a fatal attack.
- 'Swiftness': Grants the user a minor 'Speed Boost' buff.
[A pure white angel who gave up everything to protect the world. This ring faintly holds her power.]
Hmm.
I crafted a piece of equipment that wasn't a total dud, but also ambivalently not quite a jackpot.
Still, the effects seemed decently usable.
And most importantly, its appearance was extremely pretty.
Wouldn't Jia be satisfied with this?
"Here. This is a gift."
I carefully handed the ring to Jia.
"You're giving this to me?"
"Yeah."
"Wow... Thank you so much, Eunha-ya."
[Target: Lee Jia's favorability has increased by 5.]
Jia put the ring onto her left ring finger while blushing intensely.
Seeing how her favorability even increased, she must really like it.
She couldn't take her eyes off the ring, stroking the petals with her fingertips over and over.
Thank goodness.
"It's because of a skill like this that I had no choice but to keep it a secret. I was super panicked when I crafted the S-rank weapon, I'm telling you."
"Right. It really is an absurd skill."
Jia's expression softened considerably as well.
She even seemed to be in a good mood.
"Impressive, Eunha. You'll catch up to my level in no time, won't you?"
"That's not it. There are still many unstable aspects, so I have to practice crafting hard."
"Fufu, I'll be looking forward to it."
I didn't know what she was looking forward to, but...
Jia seemed to have calmed down, and the situation was finally wrapped up.
It was the moment I let out a silent sigh of relief inside.
"By the way."
Jia, who was caressing the ring, raised her head.
"I still haven't heard the reason why Eunha smells like perfume, though?"
So she was still concerned about that.
Well, that was a misunderstanding anyway.
"Uh... After hearing feedback on how it felt to use, I went to sell a dagger to someone else, but I ran into a real jerk. I ended up getting helped, so a situation where I inevitably got hugged just happened."
I spoke at a rapid-fire speed as if making excuses.
Only then did Jia's expression brighten up.
"What... so that was it. What a relief. Here I thought you had some ulterior motives toward Hunter Han Seoha or something. Eunha has such a cute face, too, so there are plenty of people who would easily fall for you."
Why does she keep thinking so extremely?
I only plan to remain close friends with Seoha-eonni, anyway.
In the first place...
"Hunter Han Seoha is a woman, isn't she? Why would I harbor ulterior motives?"
When I said that, Jia looked at me silently.
Then she slowly leaned her face in.
"Cute girls are supposed to be even more careful around other women."
Jia's lips brushed against my earlobe.
Her low-pitched voice flowed into my ear.
"Otherwise... you might get eaten up."
A chill ran down my spine.
It was surely a joke, but it didn't feel like a joke at all.
Then Jia smiled brightly and clapped her hands together.
"Right. I took the day off tomorrow. Let's hang out together, you don't have other plans, right?"
"Y-Yeah."
The option to refuse didn't seem to exist in the first place.
The next day.
Led by the hand of Jia, who had opened the door and walked right in whenever she pleased, I changed into cute clothes and headed outside.
"So where are we going?"
She said we were going to hang out, but I hadn't heard specifically how we were going to hang out.
Since becoming an adult, I hadn't hung out with Jia either, so I couldn't even guess what we would do.
"The department store."
A department store. Well, Jia might like shopping.
Is she telling me to just watch from the side?
That's gonna be boring.
"To buy clothes?"
"That's right. Eunha, you have way too few clothes. I'm going to take this chance to buy you lots of pretty ones."
"My clothes?"
Eh?
The clothes she was buying... were for me?