The Prickly Hedgehog

A ton of messages popped up in front of my eyes, but I couldn't read a single one. How could I, with the pissed-off protagonist glaring daggers at me? No, seriously, why the hell did they have to show up right now, at this exact moment? That status window definitely has a mind of its own. This was 100% on purpose.

My head was spinning from the hopelessly tangled situation when...

"...Human?"

She frowned faintly and tilted her head, mumbling under her breath. A spark of hope flickered in that instant.

"Yeah, I'm human too. I was just about to greet you since it was nice to see another human around... but a fly buzzed right in front of my face and startled me. Sorry for the weird first impression."

I seized the momentary softening of her hostility to explain away my bizarre behavior from seconds ago.

"Hah, I thought you were one of those types."

"Those types?"

"The trash who can't get enough of humans. You must've run into them now and then if you live in Providence."

"Oh, yeah, those guys."

Seems like Karen's had a rough time dealing with human discriminators. If I hadn't debuted as an actor and gotten famous, I'd probably have faced the same shitty looks she did.

"Are you enrolling in Providence this time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠too?"

"Whether I do or not, why do you need to know?"

The misunderstanding seemed cleared up for now, but Karen's snippy tone toward me hadn't changed. Not that it bothered me. This is just how her personality and speech are wired. After rolling around in the harsh underbelly her whole life, how could she not suspect someone she just met acting all friendly?

"I'm enrolling in Providence. That's why I asked if you might be a new student like me."

"Yeah, whatever, new student."

"Whoa, really? If we're lucky, we might run into each other a lot from now on."

I kept the conversation going casually, chiming in with her responses. That's when Karen shook her head slightly and looked at me.

"Don't force that polite speech. It doesn't suit you. I don't care if you talk fancy or curse me out."

Karen instantly saw through my deliberate use of formal language. Must be all that street smarts. She's got a real knack for reading people.

"Was it that obvious?"

"Kinda. It's my issue for being sensitive, not yours. Anyway..."

She shot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me a sharp glance.

"If you're done, can you scram? I get that you're confident in your looks, but tough luck for you—I'm not into romance. No time for it. Wrong target."

She drew a hard line like a knife. Of course, I knew exactly why she was being so cold to me. Karen's undeniably beautiful, so plenty of creeps must've swarmed her over that face. No one offers kindness without strings attached. That brutal mindset had kept her alive this long. In the underbelly, one slip-up could've been catastrophic.

I could understand her prickly reaction. Her world had always been full of malice.

"Thanks for the compliment. But I didn't approach you with that in mind."

"Everyone says that, and they all have ulterior motives."

"For real. I actually need a favor."

"Then spit it out. Don't drag it out."

To her frosty words, I pointed at the ugly vegetable corner.

"I happened to see you shopping and noticed you seem like a pro at picking good veggies. Mind teaching me how to choose the fresh ones?"

"...That's it?"

Karen muttered, her expression deflating a bit.

"'That's it'? This is a big deal for me—dinner's on the line tonight."

"Your ears are too damn good. Wasn't meant for you to hear."

"Starting to lose track if these are compliments or insults..."

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

I gave a wry smile and scratched the back of my head. Karen spoke up.

"Sorry. No time. Got a ton to do after this. Ask someone else."

This girl just casually dismantled my ultimate newbie helper strategy. Fine, time for plan B.

"Come on, you think I'd ask for free?"

I shrugged and handed her a 10,000-won bill.

Plan B: the bribe. Especially effective on cash-strapped Karen. And there it was—I caught it. The tiniest twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"...Well, on second thought, maybe a little is okay."

Avoiding my eyes, she stared off into the distance before carefully taking the bill from my hand. She cleared her throat and finally looked at me.

"I'll explain once, so listen up. First, onions..."

"Uh, wait. Hold on a sec."

Just as her explanation was about to start, an elf woman approached shyly.

"If it's not too much trouble, could we take a quick photo together?"

"..."

Karen's face hardened as she looked at me. For some reason, her pink eyes felt even more distant now.

"Sorry, I'm a bit busy right now."

"Oh, got it..."

Luckily, the elf nodded and walked off with a disappointed mutter after I politely declined.

"...You're a celebrity? Sorry, not into that stuff, so I didn't know."

About 10 seconds after the elf left, Karen tossed out the words casually.

"Psh, no need for you to apologize."

"Just being polite, don't sweat it. Anyway, back to it. For onions, give 'em a light squeeze. If they're mushy, the inside's probably rotten..."

Despite her cold front, Karen explained pretty thoroughly.

* * *

"...It was kinda meh."

I recalled the taste of the curry I'd made while washing the dishes. Not sure if I screwed up the seasoning, but it wasn't ideal. Somehow... 2% off? Nah, no lying to myself. More like 20% lacking.

Never cooked before, so I had no clue what went wrong.

I followed the recipe exactly.

Maybe because I stir-fried on high heat for 5 minutes instead of low for 20? Weird. Oh well.

Nothing's perfect from the start. I'll get it eventually.

Muttering those empty words, I finished the dishes and checked the time on my smartphone.

Plenty of time for the daily quest.

I quickly changed into outdoor clothes and swapped shoes at the entryway. As I opened the front door—

"...Feels like I forgot something important."

Right as I went to swing it wide, a nagging feeling hit me. I gripped the handle and tapped my fingers.

A sensation tickling the edge of my mind, almost surfacing.

"Hmm... Oh! Right! There were some messages."

Yeah, I remembered. Those damn things popped up at the worst timing, making me accidentally curse right in front of Karen. Still gives me chills thinking about it.

Big problem, though.

I'd been so flustered that none of the contents stuck in my head.

No 'view again' function?

I muttered in regret. Then—

As if they'd been waiting, the messages I'd missed reappeared.

Shop unlocked, assigned to Class A with extra rewards?

My head tilted involuntarily. From what I remembered, Class A was for top scorers in both written and mock battles.

"...I totally guessed on all the written test questions, though?"

For a split second, I imagined a miracle where every answer was 4. But nah, too unrealistic. I shook my head.

Honestly, my mock battle performance was impressive—I single-handedly knocked out the enemy team's ace and another two. But does that outweigh bubbling an entire written exam? Eh...

"Hmm... Wait, could it be?"

Then it hit me: Class A's homeroom teacher ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is Eirin. During the previous holographic musical, she'd watched me like she knew me.

Does this body have some prior connection with Eirin?

That was the most plausible guess, but still no certainty. Eirin's famous for her fairness to everyone. She wouldn't pull strings just for a student she vaguely knew.

"Dunno."

I'll ask her later when I see her.

Still, front class beats back class. Good's good.

Muttering positively, I turned to the rewards—specifically, the newly unlocked shop. No time to waste; I opened it right away.

A translucent shop window materialized before me.

"Whoa."

A decent lineup drew an involuntary exclamation.

Shop level 'Joke'... No idea what that means, but it wouldn't start high anyway.

Probably the lowest tier. Clear achievements or quests to level it up, I bet.

"Then the goods will improve naturally."

I could practically hear the explosive growth potential. Grinning, I scanned the shop. Low level meant mostly food and junk gear. But one item grabbed my attention hard.

On sale at a discount for Class A enrollment—no reason not to buy.

More consciousnesses, the better.

Today alone, a seemingly useless fisherman's consciousness let me beat Serena. No such thing as a useless one.

"Except 1-stars."

Thinking of the cat, dog, and office worker ones, I stuck out my tongue and muttered. Alright, no more delays—time to roll for a new consciousness. Wonder what I'll get this time.

"Let's go."

I activated the 2-Star Consciousness Random Ticket from the shop.