Snowfall and a Siren's Hum
The contract was complete, yet Asne remained perfectly still. She kept stealing shy glances at me, her expression flustered.
“Is there something you require, my lord?”
“Ah… well… could I perhaps have some cloth?”
“Ah.”
Asne had been embarrassed ever since she was summoned. That bikini attire clearly wasn’t her choice. So I asked if she wanted any clothes. When she said a large piece of fabric would suffice, I bought a suitably sized curtain and gave it to her.
“Magic? No… there was no flow of mana. Is this your ability, my lord?”
“Oh, you can tell?”
“There are many ability users in the world.”
Miya had asked if I was a mage, but Asne was different. The gap between Miya, a Snow Leopard princess, and a noble Siren was vast.
“The texture of this cloth is wonderfully soft. It’s a rare quality of fabric. Thank you so much for giving me something so precious.”
‘It’s just ordinary cloth… I guess the quality is better compared to her world.’
Asne accepted the fabric and wrapped it around herself. Every movement she made carried an air of elegance. Of course, I felt a pang of regret each time her skin disappeared from view. Ironically, my satisfaction dropped while Asne looked extremely pleased.
Miya was satisfied with food, and Asne with cloth. I’d have to take good care of the next resident too.
“What will you do about lodging?”
“This cloth alone is enough. More importantly, this territory is circular, isn’t it?”
“You can tell that as well?”
“Yes. I can sense it faintly… The widest diameter is roughly 1.2 to 4 kilometers.”
“Oh… You can even measure it?”
“I’m simply feeling the energy of the territory. Is there anywhere within the territory where I shouldn’t reside or go?”
“It’s not even at the level of a proper territory yet, so there’s nothing like that. Set up your lodging wherever you like and just let me know.”
“Such fine land, and such a generous heart.”
The territory size showed up in the status window, but I hadn’t known the exact measurements until Asne told me. With Ttangkkeut Tower at the center, the distance to the outskirts of Ttangkkeut Village was about 600 to 700 meters. Even so, most of it was mountains and sea—hardly ideal for developing the territory.
That wasn’t entirely a drawback. The mountainous area had allowed me to summon Miya, and the shallow sea had brought Asne.
“Then I’ll choose a place to stay and come see you again.”
“Ah, it’s already late tonight, so let’s meet again when the sun rises tomorrow.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
With those words, Asne descended the mountain. Her steps were graceful, and a faint humming drifted up from below. There were no lyrics—just “la~ lalala~”—but it sounded pleasant to the ears. As expected of a Siren.
After standing there for a while, snowflakes began to fall from the sky one by one. When I headed to Miya’s tent, I could hear a soft “gororong~” sound coming from inside.
I hadn’t taught her how to control the temperature, yet she seemed to have already fallen asleep. She’d said she used to just hug her tail and sleep in the snow, so it probably wasn’t a problem. Besides, I’d told her to speak up if anything was uncomfortable.
After checking on her, I went into my own tent. Even with layers of clothes on, the cold seeped into my body. I zipped up the tent and activated the temperature-control artifact inside. In less than a minute, the interior became warm and cozy.
“Ah… I’m so damn tired…”
I spread out the sleeping bag I’d bought, took off my outer clothes, and lay down. Usually, all sorts of worries kept me from falling asleep. But tonight, there was none of that. The moment my head touched the pillow, I passed out.
***
“Ughhh…”
I woke up making a sound like a zombie. I hadn’t noticed yesterday, but I’d clearly pushed myself too hard. Now that I was awake, my whole body ached. They said awakening made your body healthier, but…
“Ugh… Turning back the clock by a year or two doesn’t cut it…”
I stepped out of the tent. Snow from last night had piled up softly. Thanks to the dense trees, it wasn’t too deep. Crunch, crunch—I walked through the first snow toward the neighboring tent.
Checking the status window, both Miya and Asne showed as “Sleeping.”
“Miya, wake up.”
“Mnyaang…”
I heard purring and the sound of her shifting. When I called again, the purring grew quieter while the rustling grew louder. On the third call, the zipper opened and Miya peeked out.
‘Whoa…!’
Miya was biting her plump tail and staring up at me blankly. It was so cute my heart skipped a beat.
“Hngnyaamnyanyaang…”
“I can’t understand you with your tail in your mouth.”
“Aung…? Ah… It’s a habit that calms me down… Did you sleep well, Minsoo?”
“Yeah. First time in a while I slept that deeply. How about you?”
My body still ached, but I really had slept soundly. I’d gone to bed around 1 a.m. yesterday, and now it was 11 a.m. I usually woke up automatically at 7, but not today. That was how deeply I’d slept.
“Me too… I slept so well… Hnyaang~!”
Miya answered with a dazed expression, perhaps because she wasn’t a morning person. Then she stretched like a cat. Given the angle, it was quite a sight. Her smooth back and the tail standing on end… I quickly looked down. What came into view were two heavy mounds pressed together by gravity, forming a deep valley…
‘Whoa… My eyes are getting a treat first thing in the morning.’
After stretching, Miya shook her body vigorously. Now those two mounds bounced along with the motion…
Smack!
“Minsoo?”
I slapped both cheeks with my hands to snap out of it. Miya looked puzzled. The dazed look on her face had mostly faded after the stretch.
“Haha. I guess I’m not fully awake yet.”
“Mhm… I get it. I’m always out of it in the morning too.”
Miya put on her shoes, stepped out of the tent, and stood beside me.
“We missed breakfast. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yeah! I’m starving!”
We’d only eaten dinner yesterday—and it had been nothing but protein with no rice. Honestly, hunger was probably what woke me up. If I’d eaten a proper meal yesterday, I wouldn’t have woken until afternoon.
“Then shall we have breakfast… or lunch?”
“Sounds good! Huh? Sniff, sniff sniff…”
“What’s wrong?”
When I suggested eating, Miya clung to me. Then she tilted her head as if something felt off and started sniffing.
“Minsoo, did you get a new resident?”
“Oh? You can tell? I summoned them while you were asleep yesterday.”
“I smell the sea and a woman’s scent.”
“It was a race called Siren. Ever heard of them?”
“Eek! A Siren! The Silent Death of the Sea!”
Miya jumped in place with a dramatic reaction. Her helpful response was oddly satisfying.
“The Silent Death of the Sea?”
“Yeah! If you hear their song, you fall asleep, right? Then… swish… you know?”
She made a serious face and drew a finger across her throat. It was serious, yet still cute. According to myths, Sirens lured people with song to drown them in the sea, but hearing they put people to sleep with song before killing them made the shared element of “song” strangely fitting.
‘Though it’s probably a different world.’
Well, that was that, and this was this. It was too awkward to cook breakfast. I was tired, and my stomach kept growling. So I bought sandwiches from the marketplace in the status window—convenience store items sold by some convenience store chairman targeting hunters.
“Pretty good quality. Here, this one’s yours.”
“Mhm…?”
Hunters generally made good money. They burned more calories than regular people, so they ate well. That’s why these items sold despite being more expensive than regular convenience store food. One gold each—ten thousand won. But the quality was insane. Fresh vegetables and generous fillings. No wonder they sold well. Since freshness was preserved when listed on the marketplace, all you had to do was mass-produce and upload them. Once this guy succeeded, copycats popped up like mushrooms after rain. The increased variety was actually nice.
“You can just eat it like this.”
Miya had never been to a city because humans were chasing her. She’d probably never seen a sandwich before. So I demonstrated by taking a bite first. I’d bought a tuna mayo sandwich. Soft bread, crisp vegetables, and rich tuna mayo. The filling was two or three times more generous than any convenience store sandwich I remembered, and it danced on my tongue.
“Nom. Mmm!!! Mm! Mmmmmm!!!”
Miya watched me enjoy it, then took a bite herself. Her eyes widened and she nodded repeatedly. She’d liked it when I seasoned things with salt and pepper, but modern convenience store food—the pinnacle of flavor—was on another level. Sandwiches were relatively tame; at most they had tuna mayo and some seasoning. The bread and vegetables were normal.
‘What about triangle kimbap… or ramen? Snacks? Oh! Hot dogs would be good too.’
I wondered how she’d react to something loaded with seasoning. Modern MSG was something else.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah!!!! It’s!!! Sweet!!! And savory!!! The flavor is dancing in my mouth!!!”
“One isn’t enough for me. How about you, Miya?”
“Not enough for me either!!!”
I bought triangle kimbap, hot dogs, and everything else I’d just thought of.
“Eat this like this…”
“Eek!!! Sho good!!!”
“And this one like this…”
“Eeeeeek!!! Amazing!!!”
Miya gave clear reactions with every bite. Her tail wagged so hard it looked like it might make a whooshing sound. The total cost of our meal came to 20 gold. Two hundred thousand won for brunch. Until yesterday, I’d rarely spent more than ten thousand won per meal. I had to save to survive. But now there was no need for that. It wasn’t that I couldn’t afford it—I actually wanted to spend more. I wanted to see Miya happy even more.
‘Yeah. Let’s live happily with my residents like this.’
There would be hardships. But I’d gained a goal that had felt uncertain until yesterday. I felt something inside my chest shifting.
“Hah~ I’m so full!”
“Me toooo~!!!”
“Then shall we go meet our second resident?”
“Huu… Minsoo, the Siren won’t go swish-slash, right…?”
Miya’s tail stood on end again. She must have been really scared of Sirens.
“From what I saw yesterday, I don’t think so at all. She felt like a noble young lady—very refined.”
“Hoehh… Really?”
“Yeah.”
Even after I reassured her, she still looked uneasy, biting her tail. She’d said it was a habit that calmed her down when she woke up, and it seemed she really meant it. I waited a moment until Miya settled, then we headed toward where Asne was.
