Just Mana Cloth?
"Huh?"
"So you're saying you'll bury this whole affair for nothing more than Mana Cloth?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
"Not a problem, exactly. But why?"
The question carried a double meaning — why did I need Mana Cloth, and why was I willing to look the other way on something like this?
I had no intention of explaining what I planned to do with the cloth, so I answered the second half and left it at that.
"Well, it's not as if I'm entirely without fault either. I could have smoothed things over gently, but I escalated the situation a bit."
"Hahaha… My boy isn't the type to calm down just because someone tries to smooth things over gently."
"…"
Talking with him, I realized something.
The Joel Family Head was a surprisingly normal person. He calmly acknowledged his son's wrongdoing and even brought up apologies and compensation of his own accord.
Somehow that takes the wind out of my sails.
When I heard "Family Head," I'd pictured one of those rigid Six Great Clans from a martial arts novel.
Gate Apocalypse was a world where gates and mana had coexisted with history itself. Naturally, there had to be factions and bloodlines that had specialized in handling them for generations.
And people with roots that deep were usually the sort who couldn't see past their own noses.
"Well, anyway, I understand. I've been nursing a headache over that boy as it is — if you're willing to wrap things up like this, I'm the grateful one."
In other words, he did not talk like some stuffy old patriarch.
"Pecia?"
"Yes?"
"Are you feeling all right? You've been staring into space for a while."
"Ah — no, I'm fine. Just… surprised."
"Surprised?"
"Hmm?"
I told both of them exactly what I was thinking.
Teacher Alcade snorted a laugh, and from the speaker came a full-throated roar of amusement.
"Bwahahahahaha!!"
"…?"
I asked, bewildered.
"What?"
Teacher Alcade's brows drew into a V.
"Well, this is a world where the president sits above a Family Head, and rankers sit above the president. It's not the Joseon Dynasty."
Throw your weight around in the wrong place, he explained, and you could end up thoroughly embarrassed. A prestigious house was just a prestigious house.
They had power, certainly — but not the kind worth staking your life over in a situation like this.
Teacher Alcade needled me.
"Ah! Did you read one of those comics with the dashing Northern Grand Duke? You know the type — a young, handsome man appears as a stern Family Head, steals the heroine's heart, and steals my sanity while he's at it…"
"No, that's not — I just meant, for a hunter noble house—"
"Yes. And that hunter noble house Family Head uncle does SNS and LunaTube and all the rest."
"…!"
The Family Head… on SNS? On LunaTube?
[Hiding That I'm a Family Head and Sneaking Into a Newbie Party as a Porter? (Female Party Leader's Cuteness Explodes!)]
[I'll Clear the Notorious A-class Gate in Advance and Leave Only Weak Beasts (feat. Hunter Reactions)]
Just imagining it made my head spin.
I'd pictured at least a corporate chairman from a drama. How was I supposed to recover from a reveal like this?
The Joel Family Head, still laughing hard, finally settled down and spoke again.
"Though… well. Up until fairly recently, that kind of atmosphere did still exist."
"Pardon?"
"We were late to adopt new technology. While everyone else was shooting guns, we were still drafting sword-wielding warriors. The rigid thinking from that era stuck around for quite a while. Forty years ago, maybe?"
He was talking about something like the late nineteenth century.
Back then, individual families still handled regional defense.
Especially since mana detection systems hadn't been established yet — more often than not, people only found a gate after a Break had already erupted, then went in to wipe it out.
Unlike now, when you simply dispatched a raid team, those days required separate search units, assault units, and defense units.
That kind of structure demanded a powerful system of control.
I nodded, somewhat convinced.
"So that doesn't happen anymore?"
"Right. But don't they teach all this in elementary school? You're talking like you're hearing it for the first time."
I flinched.
"Uh… well."
When I couldn't answer, Teacher Alcade piled on.
"Read a book sometime. Stop reading those weird Northern Grand Duke stories."
"I told you, that's not what this is—"
"Hahaha. Anyway, those guns changed a lot. Station yourself somewhere high, keep watch, and shoot them dead. The era itself had shifted."
Teacher Alcade nodded.
"That's the dividing line between the Age of Defense and the Age of Conquest. Leather-clad goblins strutting around, mana-wielding beasts — one rifle shot and their heads are gone."
And the same went for people.
"Ah."
"For reference, this is third-grade elementary curriculum, Pecia. 'Ah' is not the correct response."
"…"
"Don't be too hard on her. She's at the age when she just wants to play."
"For someone at that age, something feels off. Mentally she clearly isn't a child, so why is there such a gap in her knowledge? Pecia, where are you from, by any chance?"
"Ulleungdo."
"…?"
Looks like I need to study history separately.
If I didn't want to draw suspicion over something this trivial, that is.
I'd just realized that game knowledge alone had its limits.
The Joel Family Head cleared his throat.
"Well, I suppose you're not originally from Korea. Anyway — you understand, right? We're not that frightening."
"Yeees…"
"So… you need low-grade Mana Cloth and cotton?"
"Ah, yes. Or you could just lend me the money. Whichever is more convenient."
"Both are possible, so the decision is yours. I'm not the one doing the work either way."
"Then please provide it as Mana Cloth. I don't really know bulk suppliers or anything like that."
"Understood. Does the type matter? Silkworm, spider silk, artificial Mana Cloth — all available."
"Anything is fine. Just mostly brown colors, please."
"Address? Shall I send it to Miss Pecia's residence?"
"Yes."
After that we went over the minor details and drafted a settlement agreement.
Oddly enough, the agreement looked almost exactly like the ones I already knew.
'The victim, Pecia von Chiffonside, hereby agrees that regarding the present matter…' and so on.
That it resembled ordinary Korean society in this respect, too, made me smile.
"Miss Pecia."
As the negotiations were nearly finished, the Joel Family Head called my name.
"Yes?"
His tone shifted.
"Let me say this again. I'm truly sorry about what happened. You must have been badly shaken, and I'm grateful you were generous enough to let it go."
"Ah… it was nothing."
"And let me emphasize this once more — I hope you won't think of us as some rigid, forbidding house. The Joel family doesn't exist to intimidate or dominate citizens. Our purpose is to protect this land from the beasts."
"Ugh, just Mana Cloth?"
"Yeah."
"What are you even going to do with that…?"
Elaine stared at me like she couldn't make sense of it.
For reference, Mana Cloth was fabric that strengthened when you channeled mana through it. Low-grade stuff, even reinforced, barely reached the level of cheap anti-blade gear.
In other words, anything short of high-grade was mostly useless.
And more importantly, my whole concept is that I don't have mana.
I shrugged.
"Once I learn mana, I figure I'll try making dolls or something."
"Dolls?"
"Yeah. The kind that move on their own. I'm not going to have any talent for combat anyway. Might as well make toys and scrape by."
"Hmm…"
Elaine crossed her arms and nodded.
"Not a bad idea. A cute kid like you dying in combat would be a crime!"
"Ah, uh. Sure."
"Of course, if you came to me, I could just feed and house you for free."
"…"
"Look at that. She's not answering again. Fine — hand over your phone."
Elaine forcibly snatched the smartphone from my hand and punched in her number.
She called it, and her own phone rang.
She nodded, satisfied.
"I'll take that as no objections. We're friends starting today."
"…Yeah. Thanks."
"…?"
Elaine paused.
"Thanks for what?"
"You were looking out for me, weren't you? That's why you did this."
Honestly, she had to have noticed how much of a bother I'd found her. She could have gotten sulky and walked off — the fact that she still came over meant something.
"…"
For some reason, Elaine just stared at me.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
She blinked, then grinned.
"Nothing. But hey, Pecia."
"Hm?"
"Why bother selling dolls?"
"What do you mean?"
"A pretty girl like you — why sell dolls? Just become an idol or start streaming."
I snorted.
"…Come on, it's not that easy. Looking good only gets you so far."
A stream with no personality was doomed no matter how pretty the face. And this was a Korea thoroughly mixed with foreigners. Pretty girls existed by the truckload nationwide.
But Elaine shook her head, the corner of her mouth curling up.
"No? Honestly, you could just turn on a stream and fall asleep and the donations would still pour in."
"I'm telling you, no."
"Wanna bet?"
"…"
A bet, out of nowhere.
I nearly accepted on pure reflex — then stopped. My face was reflected in the dark phone screen.
Yeah, no.
It was an objectively cute face. I'd suffered through catching this body and been thoroughly sick of it, but to other people it was the kind of looks that made them lose their minds.
Come to think of it, improved graphics weren't limited to Kang Jihun.
This one was included too.
"Pass. Streaming sounds like a pain."
"Pfft. Shame. I could've made you completely mine."
The moment I got home, I searched for videos related to the emergency summons.
Most had already been taken down or had their comments locked. Even the ones still up were being deleted in real time — the Joel family was clearly flexing its influence.
Good.
I'd been worried this would turn me into an SNS celebrity.
An ability user using force on a civilian was already a big deal — and the perpetrator was the child of a prestigious house who'd already obtained a hunter license.
I could easily have gotten famous right alongside him.
Heh. I was going to ask them for a favor myself, and I ended up getting compensation on top of it.
"Whoa — there's so much. Unnie, what is all this?"
After a short wait, packages began arriving in a line.
Most of it was low-grade Mana Cloth and mana cotton, though some mid-grade and high-grade pieces were mixed in.
It felt less like a special purchase and more like they'd just emptied whatever was sitting in a warehouse.
I need to sort this before Auntie gets home.
Kang Jiye wouldn't press me for details.
But she was human — she'd be curious. Especially if she saw me shoving things into a gate; she might actually faint.
"Yena. Can you go to the other room for a bit and play with Unnie's phone?"
"Okay!"
I opened a game for Yena and started organizing the goods.
Mana Concealment (Active)
Damn. Already leaking mana.
Calling it "organizing" was generous — I was basically just throwing everything in. With Mana Concealment active, even a tiny gate would greedily suck up mana without pause.
There was no time for sorting of any kind.
So I stuffed things in like a madwoman, hands moving so fast I barely knew what I was grabbing and tossing.
About two minutes later, I finished, wiped my forehead with my sleeve, and went looking for Yena.
"Yena—! Unnie's all done!"
I flung the door open.
Yena was nowhere to be seen.
"Ye… huh?"