The Laziness Plan

Right after we'd pulled Eldrisa out of the gate.

Yena soothed the panicking woman and poured her a glass of sweet orange juice.

"There, there. Was our big sister scared?"

I genuinely cannot believe this.

A preschooler patting a beast on the back was already enough to make me question reality — and now this so-called witch was bursting into tears on top of it. She looked exactly like an abused dog meeting a warm hand for the first time.

Sure, her pitiful circumstances probably played a part… but still. The whole scene was a spectacle.

Kang Jiye caught the look on my face — the one that said I'd just bitten into something foul — and asked,

"What? Something not sitting right with you?"

The way the corner of her mouth was curling up told me she found the situation just as funny as I did.

I let out a sigh.

"Fine, so we rescued her in the middle of the night. That's one thing. But is it really okay for her to keep living out here? Even if it's hard, she should at least try to adapt. What kind of witch is this scared of everything?"

"Hmm… I get what you're saying, but didn't you freak out the first time you saw a ghoul?"

Come to think of it, yeah. There had been a time like that. For this Pecia, too.

I had to admit that one. Honestly, the Party Bears had been way more terrifying than any ghoul back then. Eldrisa probably knew that perfectly well.

Let's just talk about Temptation instead.

"By the way, Auntie."

"Hmm?"

"Doesn't something feel off to you?"

"Like what?"

"Those two. There's a beast staying in the house, and they're way too relaxed about it."

This wasn't something to take lightly. Sure, I had built up trust with them over time — but she hadn't. What if that thing decided to attack Yena?

Of course, Eldrisa wouldn't be able to do anything that directly went against my will… but did Kang Jiye actually understand that? The master-servant relationship between beasts?

Apparently something felt off to her too, because her gaze cooled and she murmured,

"Hmm… now that you mention it, you said you had some weird skill before, right?"

I'd already given her a rough rundown of the Temptation skill. Left unchecked, it could end up with me controlling or deceiving Kang Jiye and Yena without meaning to.

I nodded, and she asked,

"Maybe it's because that kid looks like you right now? Like the skill is somehow being copied?"

"That's what I was thinking too."

Ordinarily, that shouldn't be possible. If skill copying were a thing, nobody would need magic scrolls. But Eldrisa was a being revived by my mana. Assuming some of my traits had transferred wasn't completely unreasonable.

"Let's find out. Eldrisa."

The second I called her name, the little brat squeezed her eyes shut, pretended to collapse, and slumped against Yena.

Royalty, my ass. She'd never cared about any of that from the start. The whole act had just been to keep herself from dying.

"Cut the show. I'm not going to hurt you, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get over here."

"……"

"Hah. You clearly don't know me. The cuter and more fragile you look, the more I want to mess with you. If you don't answer me right now, I swear—"

Eldrisa's eyes snapped open and she glanced around. But instead of flying over, she just stared at Yena. Yena, who'd been playing hand games with the little bears, smiled and said,

"What? Want me to come with you?"

"Would you?"

Would you, my foot. The second she dropped her pride, the shamelessness had no bottom.

In the end, Eldrisa came over nestled in Yena's arms. Whatever. We were checking for the Temptation skill anyway — having them stuck together like this would make the difference in reactions even clearer.

"Hey. Drop the transformation."

"Pardon?"

"The transformation. Drop it. That's twice I've said it."

The moment I dropped my voice a notch, a pop! sounded from Eldrisa's body and she snapped back to her original form.

Silver hair, cold blue eyes, a sharp face. Long, slender limbs and curves that rivaled Kang Jiye's. A look completely different from my own cute appearance.

"……"

Eldrisa looked up at Yena with anxious eyes. She'd deliberately kept the transformation up this whole time, trying to score points by looking like me… so from here on out, there was no telling how Yena's attitude might change.

Fortunately, Yena was just as sunny as ever.

"Whoa! Did you just transform?"

"I did."

"Do it again! Again!"

…Well, Yena was an only child. Of course she'd be thrilled to have a new friend.

I turned to Kang Jiye. If my guess was right, her reaction would be a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little different from Yena's.

Sure enough, I caught her frowning, so I asked casually,

"Well? Any change of heart?"

"Hmm."

Kang Jiye thought for a moment, then answered.

"This form definitely doesn't feel as approachable. I don't get the urge to coddle her and feed her like I did a minute ago."

"Ah… figures."

"I think we should kick her out of the house."

Wait, what? Suddenly?

I blinked rapidly. Temptation wearing off was one thing — I hadn't expected her to floor it straight to eviction.

Meanwhile, the word "kick her out" made Eldrisa jolt in pure terror as she stared at Kang Jiye. Anyone with half a brain would know who held the highest authority in this household.

In a panic, she tried to transform back into my form again—

Not a chance. I shut it down instantly.

Eldrisa's face went blank, like a woman who'd just lost her country.

"Ah……"

"Wait! Kick her out? Kick her out where?"

Yena asked, looking uneasy.

Kang Jiye walked over with deliberate steps and looked down at Eldrisa with cold eyes.

"Obviously……"

Whoosh!

Kang Jiye's hands wrapped around Eldrisa's torso and lifted her clean off the ground. Eldrisa squeezed her eyes shut. If she got slammed down from that height, a body hovering around C-class wouldn't stand a chance of holding together.

But a moment later—

Kang Jiye stared at the trembling Eldrisa for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a small laugh.

"Relax. I'm kidding."

"……?"

"You think I'd go back on my word that easily? Let's get along from now on, Princess Doll."

Eldrisa's eyes went round with pure confusion. From the looks of it, the Temptation skill wasn't active — and yet the kindness was still there. No wonder she was baffled.

I was curious too, so I asked,

"Are you sure about this?"

Kang Jiye nodded.

"I'm already raising one little disaster. What's one more going to change? Which brings me to you, little one."

"Yes?"

"Get along. Teach her well."

"Huh? Get along with… wait, you mean with Eldrisa?"

"Mm-hmm."

"……"

She's my subordinate. What is there to "get along" about? Honestly, from Eldrisa's perspective, she ought to be on her knees thanking me just for letting her live.

But Kang Jiye handed Eldrisa back to Yena, then took hold of both my cheeks.

"You've learned a few things living with us, haven't you? The same way I treated you like a person — I'd like you to treat Eldrisa as a person too. Is that too much to ask?"

A person.

Now I got it. Why Kang Jiye was being so generous with Eldrisa.

Come to think of it, I was a beast too. No matter how human I was on the inside, there was no way Kang Jiye could have known that for sure. All the kindness she'd shown me up to now couldn't have been easy. She must have worried, too.

I thought about it for a moment, then answered.

"Okay."

"Really?"

"Yep. Like you said — I've received a lot from you."

A proud smile spread across Kang Jiye's face as she gently took my cheeks and gave them a little shake.

"Thank you. Our little one's such a good girl."

The next day.

Thwack!

"W-why are you hitting me?"

"This is how humans teach each other."

I flicked Eldrisa on the forehead for slacking off mid-wipe. I'd been trying to start her off slow with simple cleaning, and she had the nerve to keep half-assing the same spots she'd already wiped?

Clearly, proper education needed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to start today.

Spartan methods count as human methods, right?

I understood why Kang Jiye wanted to treat me like a human. Part of it was probably to suppress any beastly instincts that might surface. But if I was going to become fully human, I needed to turn this one into a human first—

"Hey!"

Kang Jiye came charging over and smacked me on the back.

"How is that tiny thing supposed to wipe a whole table! Ugh, I knew you agreed too easily. Come here, Eldrisa."

"Ah — that's not what I—"

Maybe it was because the household had gained one more member, but time seemed to pass even faster than before.

By the time I'd finally managed to get Eldrisa somewhat trained, the entrance ceremony was already upon us.

As a boss-tier being, learning humanity's shallow scraps of knowledge felt pretty pointless — but society had its laws and procedures. If I wanted to live as a human, I had to respect human ways. Annoying as it was, there was no way around it.

"Wow. Look at you being all mature for once……?"

Kang Jiye tilted her head like she couldn't quite believe it. I was heading out without a single complaint, and she found it bizarre.

I just gave a light shrug. It wasn't "for once" — I'd always been an adult. This exterior just made everything I did look awkward and cute.

School was mandatory at my age. Of course I had to go.

"I'm off!"

"Have a good day, Pecia."

Eldrisa saw me off with a broom held out in front of her, her expression perfectly composed. Looking at her face alone, she could have been an ice princess — but the corners of her mouth kept twitching.

She was happy I was going to be gone for a while.

……

I'd let it slide. At least she wasn't directing hostility at Yena anymore like before.

The problem was that the hostility was aimed at me instead.

"Eldrisa."

"Yes."

"If anything happens, come flying right away. You can read my location, right?"

"Don't worry. I'll protect Yena no matter what. You'll be busy with your studies, so you don't need to concern yourself too much."

"Mm-hmm. Good. Though I probably won't be that busy."

"Pardon?"

Because I had zero intention of trying hard.

What was the point of studying when there was nothing to gain from it? I'd just tour the campus until I got bored, then hole up in the dorm.

Target GPA: all D-minuses.

Knock out the mandatory education and the hunter license, then come home. Do a few official hunts, build up some credibility, and pass the information I already knew to the protagonist's party.

Then the protagonist's party would handle everything. All I had to do was protect Incheon and the Academy, and my job was done.

My actual role was just to watch the protagonist's cool exploits on TV while tearing into a bag of popcorn.

Now that was a perfect life plan.

"Alright. I'll be gone for a few days."

"Unnie! You have to video call me!"

I left the house to the send-off of Kang Jiye, Yena, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Party Bears, and Eldrisa. Since I planned to drop by every weekend anyway, there was no need for a heavy goodbye. Realistically, all that had been added to my schedule was some solo dorm life.

Honestly, given my speed, I didn't even need a dorm.

Wanting to walk alone for the first time in a while, I skipped the car and set off at a leisurely pace.

The entrance ceremony?

I'd be late, but that was fine. That kind of thing had zero impact on graduation.

"Hm?"

But the moment I stepped out of the apartment complex, I locked eyes with a man up ahead.

I tilted my head, certain I'd seen him somewhere before — and he gestured toward a black sedan parked beside him.

As if on cue, the engine started.

Isn't that the guy from Elaine Manor?

No matter how I looked at him, the man who'd waved was that golem specialist. I'd forgotten his name… but he was probably the one who'd tried to appraise my Party Bears and given up. What on earth was he doing here?

While I was still thinking, the black sedan glided to a stop right in front of me. The driver's window rolled down, revealing a kindly-looking man who appeared to be in his fifties or sixties.

"Student. Heading to the Academy?"

The striped suit looked expensive enough… a teacher?

I blinked and answered,

"Yes. Why?"

The man chuckled warmly.

"Ah, what a coincidence. I'm on my way to work myself — hop in."

"Ah, I'm fine, reall—"

"Felix. Help me get her in."

The man and the golem craftsman grabbed me at the same time and started stuffing me into the car. Caught completely off guard, I couldn't even resist as I shouted,

"Wha— hey, what are you doing?!"

The man pushing hard against my back muttered under his breath, just loud enough to catch:

"I'm not letting that bastard Teacher Kim snatch her again. Just you wait. This time, I'm getting there first."

In that instant, a chill ran straight down my spine.