New Doll
"Pfft!" Aruen spat out her milk mid-sip. Her eyes widened as she peered at the breaking news screen. It was blurry from the milk, but the content was what mattered.
S-rank Hunter Mikhail Dead on Floor 3. Suspected murder.
First Transcendent Clear on Floor 3—Who is this unregistered hunter?
Aruen stared blankly at the screen, her expression one of utter disbelief. Honestly, whether an S-rank hunter lived or died was none of my business. But by some coincidence...
'Floor 1 Transcendent clear, now Floor 3 Transcendent clear—and just a week after the first one?'
It pointed to someone specific. The Queen of Threads I'd met back then, and her boss. Their movements were too blatant. They'd killed an S-rank hunter. The entire Argos Team, no less.
Aruen's face grew serious. It was only natural.
"What the hell happens now?"
The death of an S-rank hunter wasn't something you could just brush off. Korea had fewer than five hunters total, unregistered included. That was how precious their manpower was.
'If other countries have info hunters, they've probably already pinned the location to Korea...'
There was a worst-case scenario. Assuming this unregistered hunter was strong enough to crush them outright, these moves made perfect sense.
"...She didn't take a single hit from me back then."
Aruen propped her chin on her hand, muttering as she furrowed her brow and sorted her thoughts. Top A-rank. When her black smoke didn't dissipate, she could output S-rank power. She had a good sense of her own limits, having clashed with an S-rank from the branch once before.
'Come to think of it, I never even landed an attack?'
Gauging her strength didn't even make sense. She'd just dodged, taken the money, and left. If she had that much leeway she didn't even need to counterattack?
"...Ha. Insane."
The corner of her mouth twitched upward. A hypothesis she'd never even considered took shape.
S-rank was already far behind. Overwhelming power that could crush Yuseon and the demon lord.
'How strong is that? How confident? How...'
How cool! Aruen's eyes sparkled. If she kept in touch with the Queen of Threads, she might meet the boss. In her imagination, he was already a hard-boiled mafia don with a cigar clenched in his teeth.
'Gotta drink more milk!'
She was past her growth spurt, but still... maybe she'd get a bit taller? Aruen chugged her milk, fantasizing about facing the boss.
...After facing the silver-haired girl, I opened my eyes back in my apartment.
"Puppeteer."
"Ugh... Uwaaa? P-Puppeteer?"
One more besides Han Yuseon? Must be my imagination. Han Yuseon had her arms crossed, looking irritated for some reason. Next to her sat a girl with two-tone hair—black mixed with white. She flinched, glancing nervously at Han Yuseon. When their sharp gazes met, she quickly looked away.
What's going on?
I had a mountain of questions, but something new had cropped up. I knew Doll Creation had triggered earlier, but seeing an unfamiliar girl sitting there was enough to make my head spin.
She's not human, at least.
Social Phobia hadn't kicked in. So, a doll.
As I stood there frozen, she seemed to sense my awkwardness. She squeezed her eyes shut, shot to her feet, and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees. Tension radiated off her.
"H-Hellooo! I-I'm the third doll!"
"Newbie?"
I shot Han Yuseon a look of disbelief. She shook her head, equally puzzled.
'No idea why she's like that.'
"... "
No response. Embarrassed, the girl suddenly lifted her head. Her eyes spun in circles. She was so tense and flustered, it was impossible to read her.
"I-I heard the stooory! The first doll... N-No! Han Yuseon serves you, Puppeteer... Uh? Is that the right honorific?"
She seemed pretty clumsy, but was she okay? I glanced at Han Yuseon with that sentiment, but she just shrugged.
'Beats me.'
The girl floundered helplessly, her hands flailing in the air.
"So. You're the third doll?"
"Y-Y-Y-Yes!"
She nodded vigorously, like she was headbanging. She looked like a gloomy big-breasted beauty, but was she actually gloomy...?
...Wait, third doll?
Not second?
"Third doll, not second?"
"Yeees... The second doll is, prooobably..."
"Enough."
Han Yuseon cut her off. I glanced over—her face had hardened.
Something's up, huh.
The girl clamped her mouth shut with a gasp, sweating bullets as she eyed Han Yuseon.
Han Yuseon sighed and addressed her.
"Looks like we have a lot to talk about."
Her red eyes sharpened intensely. The girl swallowed hard, clutching her clothes, and nodded.
"Puppeteer. What happened?"
Han Yuseon turned to me, all business.
"Met the Tower Owner. Silver-haired girl. And my ability was forcibly activated."
"That bitch..."
I summed it up as briefly as possible. Han Yuseon bit her lip—not annoyed, but confused, her eyes flickering.
The girl, who'd been fidgeting silently, finally looked at me.
"B-But... Did you name the first dooowl?"
"... "
Han Yuseon glared to shut her up, but this time the girl gritted her teeth, refusing to back down.
"How can the first doll have a name and not meee! I want a name too!"
She whipped her head toward me with desperate eyes.
This is trouble...
Gold-digger version 2.0 had arrived. And with that special achievement Attachment Doll back then...
Names probably meant something special. I looked at Han Yuseon; she replied with a sigh-laced voice.
"Up to you, Puppeteer. As long as she's not discarded... she'll have to stay here."
Discarded. When Doll Creation triggered, there'd been that ominous final line.
Hmm...
The girl nodded eagerly, eyes sparkling like a puppy's ears perking up.
"My naming sense is the worst, though?"
"I-It'S fine! Even if it's a dog name, just having one! Sh-Should I call you something? Do I?"
"No, I'll think of something normal."
Her eyes were so sparkly, it felt like she was draining my soul.
This is gonna be exhausting from now on.
Han Yuseon had said she'd have to stick around.
Han Yuseon sighed. "Knew it..."
Suddenly, she looked like a long-suffering stepsister. For real. White hair... eyes, winter? Winter?
Too lazy? But it fit pretty well. Sounded like a dog name, though. Winter—snow. Seol. Seolyeon?
Seolyeon. Yeah, that worked.
"Seolyeon. How's that?"
"Seolyeon... Sounds good! Cute ring to it."
Seeing the girl—no, Seolyeon—smile brightly, pure and innocent, I felt like I'd nailed it. I looked to Han Yuseon for her take, but she snorted and turned away.
Why's she sulking now?
Were all these dolls just a bit off in the head? Well, puppets, after all. I was the weird one for accepting moving dolls so casually.
"Hehe, Seolyeon... Seolyeon, Seolyeon."
Leaving Seolyeon behind with her laugh shifting from innocent to creepy, I turned to the still-pouting Han Yuseon.
"Third doll? What're you talking about? There's already a second one? I don't get it."
"Haa."
Han Yuseon sighed. It felt like the moment had finally arrived.
"As I said back then, we're not 'normal' summons."
"I knew that much. Summons don't ignore their summoner's orders like that."
Trolls wouldn't troll that hard, precisely.
"To be exact, Seolyeon, me, and the second doll..."
"We're beings bound to the Tower!"
Seolyeon blurted it out. Han Yuseon started to scold her but just nodded instead.
"It means we're dolls released by your call, bound ones."
"... "
I made a face like I didn't get it. What?
Weren't the summons from the Tower themselves?
This whole abnormal ability, and all the other powers, had awakened with the Tower. So I'd assumed the Tower was the source.
Seolyeon grinned creepily and opened her mouth. Han Yuseon realized what was coming, eyes widening to stop her—but too late. Her black eyes darkened.
"I-I'm a floor boss!"
What?