5. Awakener Registration

After leaving the Minerva Workshop and walking side by side toward the Awakened Center to register as an awakener, I noticed that Remia's expression had turned sour.

"Do you prefer women with big chests, Benefactor?"

Where did that come from...?

Still, since I used to be a man, I admitted that bigger was better than small—and Remia glanced down at her own chest, sighed, and her face grew even darker.

Is this about earlier...?

I could have just let it slide, but we were going to be living together from now on, and seeing her so glum softened my resolve.

"It's fine, Remia. We're special to each other, after all."

We had decided to live together and we knew each other's secrets, so it wasn't exactly a lie.

"S-special...?"

Remia's face brightened again, and honestly, that was much nicer to look at than the gloomy one.

When we finally arrived at the Awakened Center—

"Whoa... it's huge..."

The moment we pushed through the doors, the staff greeted us warmly.

"What brings you in today?"

When I explained we were here for awakener registration, the clerk held out a hand.

"Could I see your ID, please?"

Oh. Right.

I fumbled around in my pocket, dug out my ID, and showed it to the clerk.

"M-my body changed, so..."

At that, the clerk smiled and ushered the two of us somewhere in the back of the building.

We ended up in a room with the lights off and some strange machinery inside.

"We don't have the proper equipment here, so you'll need to head to headquarters."

The clerk pulled a lever, the lights flickered on, and—

fzzzt—

a gate opened right before our eyes.

"There are no monsters inside. Follow the path and it connects directly to the headquarters gate."

Following the clerk's instructions, we stepped through the gate.

We walked forward through a cave where water dripped steadily from the ceiling, and Remia sidled up beside me.

"Benefactor... would you hold my hand...?"

Was she scared? An S-rank hunter, afraid of this?

But—

Hand-holding is something only couples do...

The moment I refused once, Remia started whining.

"But we're special to each other...!"

Was there some other meaning to "special" that I didn't know about?

I had only meant it in the sense that we lived together and knew each other's secrets, but apparently Remia had misunderstood.

Just as I opened my mouth to correct her—

she snatched up my hand.

"Hee hee."

Embarrassed, I tried to pull free, but Remia's grip tightened.

Being S-rank, apparently, meant there was no escaping her with my strength alone.

Sigh...

I resigned myself to it and kept walking along the path.

After walking for a while longer—

fzzzt—

Was the gate opening...?

After a brief wait—

krzzt—

"This is the gate to headquarters..."

When we stepped out through the gate—

a crowd of people was bowing at ninety-degree angles in greeting.

While I stood there flustered, Remia stepped forward ahead of me.

"Benefactor? Please hurry along."

Her tone had changed. Her expression, too, had grown noticeably colder.

So this was what Remia was like when I wasn't around.

Should I say she acted the part her appearance demanded?

So which one was the real her—the girl who acted so soft when she was with me...?

When Remia and I approached the reception desk together, the employee behind it was trembling like a leaf.

"Wh-what brings you here...?"

"Oh, we're here for awakener registration."

I handed over my ID, and the flustered employee asked if I was a man.

"Ah... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my body changed when I awakened."

Seeming to understand, the employee had me fill out several forms.

My original name... and the name I want to change to...

So when your body changed, you could change your name too?

Is that why Remia's name was...

But my name already sounded like a woman's, so in the end I wrote down Sea Lee anyway.

Once I'd filled out all the paperwork and handed it over, the employee told us to head up to the second floor.

"Remia, did you change your name too, after your body changed?"

"Hm? Yes..."

Deciding it was better not to press further, I quietly headed up to the second floor with her.

At the top of the stairs, a room and several machines came into view.

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

Following the staff's directions, I entered the room, where a single employee waited inside.

"H-hiiiek! Remia...?!"

Did he know her? Well, this was headquarters—her face might be known even if her rank was supposed to be secret.

The only thing in the room was a single crystal orb. Nothing else.

The employee collected himself.

"Could you place your hand on the crystal orb, please?"

So this is how they measure mana.

I rested my hand on the orb as instructed, but nothing happened.

Is it supposed to be like this?

The employee asked me to wait a moment and brought over a different orb, but still—nothing.

I could see the panic spreading across his face.

He guided us to the next room, saying we should move on for now.

Hm, and this one is...

"This is where we verify your ability."

So I was supposed to demonstrate my power...?

H-how am I supposed to show it off...?

I looked around the room, but nothing in it looked helpful.

The employee sat down at a computer behind a glass wall.

"Let me know when you're ready."

Haa... do I really have to do this?

I slowly approached the wall.

"Nnngh..."

I had to slam my head into a wall again...

If I kept this up, I was pretty sure I'd develop a trauma.

Gulp—

I stared at the wall for a long, long moment—

"Eeit...!"

CRASH—!

and once again faceplanted my nose straight into it.

If I kept smashing it like this, wasn't my nose going to fall apart?

Drip, drip—

Blood pattered onto the floor.

"Be-Benefactor, are you okay?!"

Remia rushed over and crouched down beside me.

Then she dipped her finger into the blood pooled on the floor and—

munch—

ate it.

That's not concern, that's just appetite!

Apparently thinking I hadn't noticed, Remia kept sneakily lapping up my nosebleed the whole time.

When I called out that the test was over, the employee scrambled in with an armful of tissues.

"Are you quite all right, sir?"

I said I was fine and pinched my nose shut.

The employee kept staring at me, apparently unable to make heads or tails of what my ability ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even was.

"Could you... run a component analysis on my nosebleed?"

Would a blood test even reveal anything? But trusting in the Center's technology, I stepped out of the testing room.

As I sat on a chair outside, I watched several staff members file into the room behind the glass.

Remia and I were killing time with idle chatter when a man who clearly outranked everyone present approached us.

"Hello, Miss Sea. And Lady Remia..."

"Ugh..."

Remia's distaste was painfully obvious.

Who is this guy?

"Forgive the late introduction. I am Park Yongtaek, President of the Awakened Association."

The man claiming to be the Association President asked us to follow him, and we rode the elevator all the way to the top floor of the Awakened Center.

"First of all, congratulations on your awakening. And—"

The President seemed to have something more he wanted to say, hemming and hawing for a while before—

"That is a remarkable ability you have. It is, in fact, Korea's first-ever EX-grade ability. Congratulations."

The President said it flatly, without ceremony.

I got an EX-grade, and this is the reaction?

The President went on to explain that, all factors considered, my official awakener rank came out to A—and he seemed genuinely sorry about it.

"An EX-grade ability and she's stuck at A-rank? What kind of nonsense is that, you rotten old geezer!"

Remia flared up, mana gathering in her clenched fists as she shouted—and every staff member in the vicinity scattered in a panicked exodus.

"There is nothing I can do. Miss Sea's Mana Aptitude tested at F-grade..."

F-grade? Wasn't that basically the same as having no mana at all?

When you awakened, you were supposed to gain mana as a fundamental part of the package—so did that mean I couldn't even use the most basic mana?

"...Haa."

The President stared at the floor and sighed.

"Your story will still make the news. Korea's first-ever EX grade."

Why would there be an article?

"The Center has a lot of eyes watching it, you see..."

I hadn't even asked, but the President seemed to read my thoughts and offered the explanation anyway.

I can't let this get found out... if I'm not careful, it's the horseshoe crab ending for me..!

Sensing my worry, the President assured me that my identity would be protected at all costs, and my nerves finally began to settle.

When Remia and I made our way back down to the first floor—

"Here are your Awakener Registration Certificate and your new ID."

Honestly, it stung a little.

And here I thought I'd be Korea's first EX-grade...

...

When we got home, Remia—sensing my funk—suggested we go out for a walk.

Before I could even open my mouth to refuse, she had already dragged me out the door.

Pulled along by Remia's hand, we ended up at the bench in the park where the two of us had first met.

"This is where we first met. Right?"

"Y-yeah."

Had my answer been too half-hearted? Remia's cheeks puffed out in a pout.

Sigh... but hey, A-rank is nothing to sneeze at...

A-rank put me in the top tier of hunters. Still, having an EX-grade ability while being ranked A left a bitter taste.

As I sat on the bench staring up at the sky, Remia suddenly let out a dramatic groan and bounced to her feet.

"Don't be too sad! In my heart, you'll always be Korea's first EX-grade awakener!"

She declared that if I still wasn't happy, she'd go give the Association President a piece of her mind, doing everything in her power to cheer me up.

"Pfffhaha!"

She looked so much like an eager puppy that I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's fine. A-rank is still high up there."

"B-but still..."

After a bit more of that back-and-forth, we started the walk home.

"What should we have for dinner?"

"Hmm... blooood...?"

I smoothly ignored her suggestion.

It was the day I'd officially become an A-rank awakener, after all—I wanted to eat something special.

As Remia and I strolled along, my phone chimed with a notification.

What's this...?

"Hm...?"

I dialed Yuseul right away.

"Sea, thank you so much, really!"

"Huh?"

Yuseul got nothing more than a thank-you out before a customer must have arrived, because she hung up on the spot.

What on earth happened...?

Prickle—

I felt someone's gaze on me, and when I turned to look, Remia was standing there with her fists clenched tight.

"That woman again?"

She launched into some lecture about how I shouldn't contact "that woman" while I was with her, but the moment I said it was business, she yelped and tucked her tail between her legs.

And so we finally made it home.

"Haaah... sleepy..."

"Wake up! We said we'd eat dinner!"

I shook myself alert and sat down with Remia to pick out our food.

Scrolling idly through the delivery app, I landed on malatang—a spicy Chinese noodle-and-skewer hot pot. As a guy I never would have given it a second glance, but for some reason it caught my eye now.

"Hmm... base flavor, and..."

I was agonizing over my toppings when—

"Ugh, you're taking forever...! Give it here!"

Remia snatched my phone out of my hands and placed the order at lightning speed.

"So this is what being a high school girl is like..."

"More importantly, Benefactor—where am I supposed to sleep?"

I wasn't about to make her sleep on the floor, so I told her to take the bed.

"Then where will you sleep, Benefactor?"

"...In the bed too, obviously?"

"E-eheh..."

Remia's face went scarlet.

"Remia, are you coming down with something?"

"N-no, ma'am—I mean, no!"

She abruptly put some distance between us.

Ding-dong—

"I-I'll get it!"

What was that about?

My first time eating malatang—Remia had insisted I dip everything in peanut sauce, so I did, and—

"Mmmh—!!"

It was delicious. My tongue felt like it was going pleasantly numb, though.

Remia preened smugly, declaring that everything tasted amazing when you ordered it the way she told you to.

Eating together, the two of us polished off every last bite.

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Once we'd both gotten ready for bed and I lay down on the mattress—

"Nn... nnh..."

Remia was making strange little noises from her side of the bed.

Am I making her uncomfortable?

Well, I supposed it made sense—she'd been living alone for so long that sharing a bed with someone had to feel awkward.

With that comforting thought, worn out from such a long, eventful day, I drifted off to sleep.

...