It's a buoy line!
It’s a rope!
No matter how I looked at her, she seemed completely flustered.
“Ah, no, that’s… I thought it was a magic spell… Ah, no, that’s not it.”
Just look at her now—she’s so flustered she’s even stumbling over her words.
“I’m sorry… I guess I jumped to conclusions. I’ll pay for the damage to the door and the wall, and if there’s anything else you need, just tell me. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Even after hearing that, I couldn’t bring myself to reply.
It wasn’t that I’d forgiven her at all; I was still too scared of this situation because of the [Penalty] to say a word.
The reason I was able to yell earlier was partly because my momentary rage from [Door Severance—Horizontal, Vertical] briefly overpowered my fear of the [Penalty], and
[Confirmation of damage to a cherished possession (Fragment of Gluttony) temporarily weakens the penalty.]
It was also because my fear subsided slightly right after that message popped up.
And now, perhaps because the effect had worn off, I was trembling again.
Still, she had apologized, and it didn’t seem right to just ignore her, so I was trying to respond when she spoke up.
“…Do you have a guardian, by any chance?”
Then she suddenly made a crude joke.
It wasn’t like she was teasing me for not having one or anything,
but I barely managed to answer while holding back the anger rising inside me.
“…No.”
“Oh, really? Then do you remember the lab?”
Why are there so many questions?
Of course I remember—since I’m not the real Chime.
I remember everything—from opening my eyes in the lab to walking all the way home.
“...Yes.”
“I see... I’m sorry—it must have been hard for you to think about...”
What is she constantly apologizing for?
If she’s that sorry, it’d be great if she’d just leave.
Should I tell her to go home? Just as I was seriously considering it, a radio transmission came over the walkie-talkie at her waist.
“Ah, this is Team A. Is the situation resolved?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, it’s resolved. Everyone, head back in now.”
“Then how will you wrap things up?”
Yeah, I’ll take care of it and head in.
Wait a minute—take care of it? Surely not me?
It can’t be. She’s not the kind of person who suddenly breaks into someone’s house and tries to kill the owner...
Oh, right.
So am I screwed now?!
Just as I was seriously considering whether I should run away,
Growl!
A thunderous rumble came from my stomach.
I’d been skipping meals a bit because I was broke...
At that, she looked at me with pity in her eyes and said,
“Hey, I’ll buy you something delicious to eat. Want to go?”
She tried to lure me away with the exact kind of words you should never follow a stranger who says them.
If I go with her, she’ll probably just lock me up somewhere and drain my blood, right?!
I wanted to say, “Would you go if you were me?” but then I noticed
the knife strapped to her waist.
If I refuse even once, she’ll slash me!
“…Yes.”
So, with no other choice, I reluctantly agreed.
Hearing my answer, she smiled—the brightest smile I’d ever seen—and pulled me by the hand out of my house.
Well, to be precise, she tried to take me out.
“Wait, hold on! My pants are…”
At first, she looked puzzled, but she soon seemed to understand. Blushing, she told me to go back and fix it.
Before I knew it, I’d wet my pants twice.
---
After changing my clothes, I followed her in the car to what turned out to be a fancy-looking restaurant.
The car ride was tough, but maybe the penalty got weaker as time went on—I was able to handle it a bit better than at first.
She took my hand and tried to lead me into the restaurant
Could she really be treating me...?
Having been skeptical up until then, I realized I needed to revise my opinion of her a bit.
“I’m sorry, but since that guest might shed hair in our restaurant and cause discomfort to other patrons, I’m afraid you won’t be able to enter.”
“What?! Seriously, what kind of nonsense is that in this day and age?!”
“I’m sorry. If you come ‘alone’ next time, we’ll treat you like royalty.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that? I came here to eat right now—how can you do this?”
She seemed about to say a few more words, but
Thud
When I took her hand, she stopped talking and looked at me.
Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little flattered.
But I can understand the restaurant’s position, too.
They’d probably be reluctant to let someone like me—with fur flying off my arms—into a restaurant where hygiene is so important.
As I shook my head, she glared at the restaurant manager for a moment, then whipped her head away and quickly dragged me out, as if she couldn’t stand being there any longer.
“Ugh, sorry. I’ll definitely deal with that restaurant later.”
It wasn’t her fault this time, so why was she apologizing?
I gave a half-hearted nod.
“Let’s go get something else to eat instead. Is there anything you want?”
That’s when one word popped into my head:
“Bogie-jul.”
Thinking about that made me crave a hamburger.
“…A hamburger…”
“Huh? A hamburger? Is ‘just’ that going to cut it?”
To call a hamburger “just”—it really does seem true that rich people all walk around with a smug look on their faces.
I nodded slightly.
Alright… let’s eat whatever you want.
We got back in the car and drove off.
---
Fortunately, there weren’t any racist people at the burger joint like there had been at the restaurant earlier.
However,
“Isn’t that guy over there the Guild Master of the Gwangmyeong Guild?”
“Dude, why would someone like that come to a place like this? He’d probably just order delivery.”
“But who’s that girl next to him?”
I realized that the girl next to me—no, the person named Lee Yun-seol—was quite someone.
No wonder I’d been feeling people’s eyes on me little by little since a while ago.
That manager from earlier had absolutely no idea just how much I disliked him.
I even felt a sense of awe toward that manager, who didn’t waver from his convictions even in front of a guild leader.
As I was lost in those thoughts,
“Is that really going to work?”
I mumbled and swallowed.
“…Yeah.”
“Okay… take your time eating.”
Maybe because my body had shrunk, I felt full after eating just a little.
Still, I couldn’t leave any food on my plate, so I was doing my best to finish it.
“By the way, we haven’t even introduced ourselves yet, have we?”
“I’m Lee Yun-seol, the Guild Master of the Guangming Guild.”
Oh, come to think of it, I didn’t even have a name right now.
No name, no money—I had nothing.
As I sat there thinking for a moment, Lee Yun-seol spoke up again.
“By any chance… do you not remember?”
Huh? What? How did she know?
“Yes…”
At that, Lee Yun-seol’s expression grew even more somber.
“Then shouldn’t I at least have a temporary name to use?”
“Then please come up with one for me...”
Honestly, I did need one.
I didn’t know when my memory might return, and I couldn’t live without a name.
But I’m not exactly good at coming up with names either.
“Oh? Well then… how about Seol-ah? Your hair is as white as snow, so it would suit you well.”
“Seola”—it had a nice ring to it.
“Yes… that’s fine.”
[Designated as ‘Seola’ (Xueya)!]
“So from now on, I’ll call you Seola, okay?”
“Yes…”
Just as the atmosphere was starting to relax,
“Seola, do you know about the Hunter Association?”
Lee Yun-seol suddenly asked that question.
Of course I knew about it—Awakened Ones usually go to the Hunter Association to register and have their rank assessed.
Why was she bringing up the Association out of the blue?
“Phew, well, that makes it easier to talk about.”
After that, Lee Yun-seol explained it to me.
She said that since I seemed to be in an Awakened state right now, it would be a good idea to go to the Hunter Association and get tested.
And I actually agreed with that idea.
‘Isn’t this the kind of situation where the testing device breaks and I get an S-rank or something?’
Thinking that, I agreed and asked when we should go.
“I think we could just go right now?”
That was the reply I got.
He’s supposed to be the guild master—doesn’t he have any work to do?
Now that I look at him, it seems like the corners of his mouth are turned up a little?
Since I didn’t really mind either way, I agreed, and we immediately got in the car and headed for the Association.
---
After arriving at the Association in Lee Yoon-seol’s car and stepping inside, what greeted us was
-A monster has currently invaded the Association...
The sound of sirens and
the murmur of the crowd stopped instantly, and dozens of pairs of eyes at the entrance
—or, to be precise, focused on my arm—were fixed on us.
[The temporarily reduced penalty has been restored to its original state.]
Just in case, I was glad I hadn’t drunk that cola.