She's My Wife, LOL

The golden flash faded.

"It didn't explode?"

When enhancement failed on a monster, its body burst apart the same way artifacts did. So what happened when it succeeded?

"I… think I'm in big trouble."

The creature that had frozen for a moment began slowly walking toward me.

"Ow—!"

I scrambled backward, tangled my feet, and went down hard.

"Eek! Stay back!"

I thought that was the end of me — then the creature stopped mid-step, as if it had actually listened.

"Huh…?"

And then it dropped to its knees and slammed into a full dogeza?

"I beg your forgiveness for the discourtesy I have shown Your Highness."

"Uweh…?"

It didn't take long to figure out why its attitude had flipped so hard. The status window spelled out exactly what had happened.

So, to recap the current situation: the Floor 30 gatekeeper of Hard Mode — a difficulty no one on the entire planet had even cleared Floor 1 of — was now my Familiar?

"Haha… mmhaha!"

Laughter burst out of me at the sheer absurdity of it. Trusting the Luck Tracker had been the right call. From now on, I was listening to everything the status window said.

"A name for this thing, huh."

It perked its ears and locked onto me, clearly expecting something. I felt a little bad — naming sense had never been my strong suit.

"Alright. Mitsu it is."

No deep meaning. Just a shortened version of its original name.

"I humbly accept the name bestowed by Your Highness."

The moment I named Mitsu, the status window pulled up its info.

Only +1 and already SS-rank. Birthright really did matter, huh.

I'd just acquired my own personal bodyguard.

"Alright, time to post a clear verification."

Wait. Absolute obedience to my commands?

My finger froze halfway to uploading a verification post on the Hunter Gallery. A deliciously aggro-worthy idea had just landed.

"Mitsu, look over here."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Just like the status window said — she followed perfectly.

"See this little thing I'm holding?"

I pointed at my phone. Mitsu nodded.

"Look at this and do a double V-sign with both hands."

"A… Vee?"

Guess the modern-language patch was incomplete on something that had been a monster five minutes ago.

"Like this."

I demonstrated first, and Mitsu copied me, posing toward my phone.

"Is this correct, Your Highness?"

"Perfect! Hold it right there."

I snapped Mitsu's double peace-sign pose from every angle I could think of.

"Mmhaha. You can relax now."

"I am overwhelmed by Your Highness's consideration."

She said that — and then just kept kneeling there, staring at me.

"It's only been a few hours and the concept posts already changed?"

The Hunter Gallery was drowning in threads about me.

The gallery's main consensus had already cremated my corpse and finished the three-day funeral.

"Who said you could just kill me off?"

For a gallery like that, it was time for the number-one thing you should never do at a funeral.

Resurrection.

"Heheh…"

There were reactions to the Hard clear, sure — but most of the comments were about Mitsu.

"Mitsu, look at this!"

"Is this… me?"

I explained the concept of photos and that people were talking about her in the comments. She just nodded.

"How's it feel getting all this attention?"

"Aside from Your Highness's attention, I have no particular thoughts on the matter."

She said it like she couldn't care less what a swarm of insects thought of her.

"Weirdly bland reaction."

I'd been hoping for a full blushing, flustered meltdown.

I'd done everything I needed to in the Tower and was about to leave when I remembered something I'd completely forgotten.

"Clear rewards!"

"Magic stones go up to S-rank?"

I searched the gallery — turns out I was the first person to ever find an S-rank magic stone too.

While I was wondering what to do with them, a fun idea hit me. What kind of reaction would I get if I went live enhancing something this rare?

Just imagining it sent a thrill through me.

"Mitsu, let's go home."

"I shall follow."

If I wanted to start streaming today, I had a lot to do.

South Korea's Hunter Management Bureau was in chaos — all because of a certain blacksmith who had blown up on the Hunter Gallery, a name everyone now knew.

"Director! Emergency!!"

Section Chief Kim Gi-tae burst through the door of the director's office.

"Hard Mode Floor 30 has been cleared!"

Unlike his pale-faced, flailing section chief, Director Kang answered with perfect calm.

"I've already confirmed it, Section Chief Kim."

Of course he had. The Director of the Management Bureau was also the Main Admin of the Hunter Gallery. Director Kang Baek-ho had clocked the meteoric EX-rank Blacksmith long before anyone else.

"Then how should we handle this person…?"

"Leave them be."

"Sir?! If a domestic guild recruits them, the balance collapses. And in the worst case, if they get siphoned overseas—"

"It'll be fine. If anything, do not provoke them."

Director Kang laid out what he knew for Kim Gi-tae.

"Age twenty. Name: Kim Ha-neul. Social ties severed. Feelings toward the state are unlikely to be warm — military service."

A monster who had solo-cleared Floor 30 of the Hard Mode Tower. And somehow, through some special method, she appeared to have taken a woman identified as the boss monster as her subordinate.

"Force her to come to the Hunter Management Bureau and you'll only breed resentment."

If she ever turned that monster loose in the middle of Seoul, the capital — no, the entire country — would be wiped out in a day. That much was obvious.

"But couldn't we at least try to negotiate?"

"She doesn't appear to want anything in particular."

Judging purely by her behavior, she seemed to chase nothing but pure dopamine.

"What if another guild takes her?"

"Even America's number-one guild isn't a vessel large enough to hold her."

A world-coalition expedition party had once challenged Hard Mode Floor 1 and been annihilated.

"She will become the sky herself."

She did not look like someone who would live under anyone. Somehow, the director thought, she would live up to her name.

"I'll handle the invitation message myself. Section Chief Kim — keep the other agencies from touching her."

"But if she leaks overseas—"

"…Then I'll take full responsibility."

All the director could do was hope his judgment wasn't wrong.

"Good, they got here fast."

I looked over the delivery from every angle. Body cams for internet streaming and a pile of cameras!

"Alright, time to drop a stream announcement."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Solid response."

Of course you people can't resist a spicy enhancement show either.

Now I just needed to train Mitsu properly and I could start the stream.

"This humble ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one is too lowly to know how this is used."

Mitsu approached and held out a powered-off phone, asking for help. Looks like I had to start from how to use a phone.

"See this button I'm pressing? Push this and it turns on."

I demonstrated and powered it on — and the status window vibrated as an avalanche of messages poured in.

"What the hell is this…"

A piled-high heap of messages slamming in all at once left me completely blank for a second.

"As expected of Your Highness. So many factions come begging."

"You don't need to compliment me for this!"

When exactly did these people dig up my personal info?

Checking them carefully, every single one — America, China, domestic guilds — was a join-our-guild pitch.

"Why would I join any of these?"

I could make money however I wanted now, and I had a rock-solid bodyguard in Mitsu. And they wanted me to come work under them?

"I'd rather just make my own guild."

I started deleting the messages one by one.

"Huh?"

Among the recruitment spam I was deleting, the Hunter Management Bureau's message snagged my attention. No "come work under us" — just unconditional support. Not like I had anything to lose…

"The Main Admin was a grandpa this whole time?"

"Your Highness, are you alright?!"

The beautiful girl Main Admin living in my imagination had just died.

"Hold on."

While Mitsu fretted over me, a brilliant idea struck.

If I used my enhancement ability on the Main Admin… wouldn't he become a beautiful girl?

Obviously. Beautiful girls were an upgrade.