A Priestess in the Dark
Night had fallen. "Jenia?"
When I got home, the lights were off. Even though I hadn't turned them off when I left.
"Jenia, where are...?"
I turned at the sudden presence I felt beside me.
"!"
I flinched back in surprise, and Jenia, who had suddenly appeared, let out a soft pfft of laughter.
"Still the same as ever."
She flicked the switch, and the living room lights blazed back on.
"Even back then, you'd jump whenever I stepped out of the darkness. You always said you couldn't sense my presence well."
"Y-yeah, that's true."
"I didn't mean to startle you this time, though. I was just fascinated."
Click. She flicked the switch again, plunging us back into darkness.
"Is this some kind of magic tool? I think you once explained something about electricity..."
"Right. That's what powers it. In a way, it's similar to a magic artifact that draws on stored mana."
"I see."
Her eyes sparkled even in the gloom as she gazed at me.
"If I'm going to live here with you from now on, Siwoo-nim, I'll have so much to learn. I'm looking forward to it."
She really had no intention of going back. My throat went dry, but I kept my composure.
At least it's only this much for now. That's a relief.
Considering the precarious side of her I'd seen in that other world, the fact that she hadn't gone berserk the moment she crossed over was a miracle in itself.
I said to her, "Jenia, you mentioned maintaining balance, but I still have my duties here. You know that, right?"
"Yes, I know you're playing the hero's role here too."
She turned the light back on. Under the bright glow, she smiled.
"Siwoo-nim, you truly are noble. After saving our world, you're trying to live a devoted life here as well."
"No, that's not... it's not like that."
It might have been true over there, but I had no plans to live that way here.
"I'm planning to enjoy quite a lot here. Maybe even to the point where it looks extravagant to you."
"That's fine."
Jenia looked unconcerned.
"You've earned your rewards for all that devotion. You didn't get what you deserved from our side anyway, so you should enjoy it fully in the world you came from."
"Thanks for understanding."
"I'll do my best to help you enjoy even more."
"Help?"
She nodded.
"Yes, that's my role, isn't it? Assisting you by your side."
Assisting me here, in the hunter world?
"This place is different from our world. You're strong, so you'd be helpful, but..."
"Don't worry. I've already gotten some guidance on how to fight here."
"What?"
Guidance? What did that mean?
"Siwoo-nim, is this what a photo looks like?"
She changed the subject, picking up a framed picture from the desk.
"It looks like you when you were little."
"That's..."
A photo of me with my parents.
"A family photo we took before monsters appeared in this world."
"Family photo..."
Jenia peered intently at it.
"You resemble them both a lot."
"Yeah."
She already knew my parents had died because of monsters; I'd told her.
"No photos after you became an adult?"
"None I took myself."
"I see. It might be nice to take one with me and keep it."
She set the frame back down.
"Let's do all sorts of things together from now on."
She'd really come here fully prepared for this.
I stared at her, brimming with anticipation.
She just looks like a normal girl like this.
Three years younger than me, she still had that youthful air. It felt even more pronounced in the modern world.
Yet in that other world, she was the mad priestess of the Jet-Black Curse, hunting beasts with abandon.
The monsters she caught never died cleanly in her hands. They were always torn, crushed, melted, and discarded.
"...Jenia."
Dwelling on the past only unsettled me now. Until I figured out how she'd come here and how to send her back, I had to teach her to live here without causing trouble.
Starting tomorrow.
"You hungry?"
To do that, I needed to draw her into daily life here. Easy or not.
"Ah, yes! I am hungry!"
"Then let's eat something together."
I had instant food to feed her with. Nothing fancy, but far better than the poor-quality slop from that world meant to just fill bellies.
Food affects personality a lot, after all.
Thinking back on how the bad grub had made me even more irritable there.
I held out my hand, and she sat at the table with a delighted expression.
"Wow! I never dreamed I'd get to eat food you made, Siwoo-nim!"
"Really? Well, back there..."
There had been someone who handled the cooking for me.
As I trailed off, Jenia spoke as if reading my mind.
"No need to think about it."
"Huh?"
"I'm enough for you now, aren't I?"
Her words carried a sharp edge.
"I hope they don't come over. Those people."
"Wait, others could come too?"
"Siwoo-nim, I'm hungry."
Jenia said it almost petulantly.
"Do I have to wait long?"
"Huh? Oh, no, no. Just a sec."
As I opened the cupboard, I caught a word from her lips I shouldn't have.
"Status Window."
What?
I turned, and there she was, chin propped on her hand, finger tracing the air.
"Siwoo-nim."
Our eyes met.
"Siwoo-nim, you'll rise to a position no one can touch. That's why I think I received this talent."
Her status window—its contents incomprehensible to me.
She smiled at my swallowed breath.
"What a delightful night."
Just like the night she first summoned me to that world.
Status Window
A system tool granted upon awakening as a hunter to combat monsters. The abilities listed vary wildly, but no one can peek into another's specifics.
At best, the Hunter Association's measuring devices could gauge rough physical thresholds. Even then, some abilities revealed themselves plainly, but concrete details generally stayed hidden.
—It's a secret, she'd said when I asked if she'd awakened as a hunter here. She dodged the question entirely.
I couldn't press her further as she grinned and urged me to just eat.
Well, I gained extra abilities over there myself, so it's plausible...
I didn't want to dwell on it, but it nagged at me. Still, with everything already complicated, I couldn't push too hard.
In the end, all I could do was feed her.
"This is so good~!"
I'd made her instant rice cake soup. I'd worried about the texture, but remembering how she'd once said she wanted to try it after hearing me talk about it, I went for it—and it was a hit.
She beamed nonstop.
"It's nothing like the food from where I lived!"
Fair enough. In a world where mere survival was a daily struggle, cuisine couldn't develop properly. I'd subsisted on the worst ingredients there.
The most common thing on the journey was that honey porridge slop...
Not even sure what to call that sticky mess. Just dump every ingredient you had into water, boil and simmer. No proper seasonings, so the flavor was off, and the mushy, gluey texture made it hard to swallow—enough to induce nausea.
Still horrific thinking about it.
Even after finishing the quest and returning to the capital, staples were hard bread and bland soup. Hers probably wasn't much better.
So even instant food here, worlds better in quality, must taste heavenly to her.
Munch munch.
Sure enough, Jenia stuffed her cheeks full like a squirrel hoarding acorns.
Just looking at her like this...
She seemed nothing but a cute, pretty girl.
"Eating makes me sleepy."
She yawned dramatically, hand to her mouth, eyes on me.
As if waiting for what I'd do next.
I swallowed hard at that gaze.
Right. She wasn't just a pretty girl.