The Captivatingly Sensitive Miss
Han Jihyun swallowed her regret deep in her heart.
Why on earth had she spouted those economic concepts and advice that weren't advice at all?
What exactly would the fairy princess demand after they conquered the gate...?!
No matter how hard she thought, nothing clicked.
“Ugh…”
A dejected expression naturally formed on her face.
And Ari, sitting on the chair opposite, noticed that look and thought to herself.
“Jihyun-unnie really is such a sensitive person.”
She cried tears of emotion after just saying she'd conquer one gate bug. Her conscience was prickling.
She must have been too calculating when she tried to extract rewards from the management bureau.
‘I really should be more conscientious.’
With that resolve, she asked.
“How exactly does the average gate conquest work?”
“……It depends on the gate. For low-rank or high-magic-stability dungeons, they're immediately distributed to guilds for bidding. For dungeons needing investigation, the management bureau handles it separately and then decides. Some even form consortia for sustainable dungeons…”
There are also dungeons assigned separately to strengthen the skills of management bureau hunters. Han Jihyun added with a muttered tone.
“We call them our homework, you know. Or should I say quota?”
“You’ll go into dungeons periodically like that, Jihyun-unnie?”
“Yes. I still haven’t met my quota this month, so I have to go soon.”
She sighed heavily.
That was why Han Jihyun had joined the management bureau.
‘I really don’t want to go into dungeons…’
She earned less money than guild hunters, but the ratio of raiding over administration was higher. That’s why she chose the management bureau. Her assigned department was exactly like that.
‘Though it seems I’ll be transferred to a dedicated department for Ari-nim.’
No official word had come down yet, but it was surely coming.
Han Jihyun had already steeled her heart for this part.
Ari, listening attentively, asked.
“Then can I consider everything I get from the won dungeon as mine?”
“Um…”
No. You have to pay taxes.
Han Jihyun debated whether to say that.
She was worried it would lead to some twisted misunderstanding like before.
‘Yeah, we’re talking about socialization. The education staff will handle it properly later.’
Mmm, mmm. She thought it was rational and decided to postpone it.
“You can think about the complicated parts later? I’ll pass on your opinion, Ari-nim.”
“You’ve worked hard. Thank you as always.”
Ari bowed her head deeply and greeted.
Han Jihyun looked at the offered forehead and made a strange expression.
She fidgeted with her fingers.
‘She’s such a good person if she doesn’t suddenly do something impulsive.’
Talking with her was entertaining for the eyes and ears.
Once again cheering on the person who would become the education staff, Han Jihyun stood up.
“Then I’ll take my leave. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes! I won’t go out anywhere tomorrow, so get a good night’s sleep.”
“……Thank you.”
Even saying thank you was enough.
‘No matter how long she lived alone, she should know basic manners like this.’
Ari let out a small laugh and walked toward the wardrobe.
Now that Han Jihyun had left and she was alone.
With the peeping machine completely tidied away.
“Hmm…!”
She felt like testing the clothes she had bought without trying on during today’s shopping.
So many had been recommended by Han Jihyun that she had bought them with a “whatever, I don’t care” feeling.
She opened the wardrobe and flipped through everything, examining each one.
They really were a bit unfeminine in design. But the soft fabric felt quite nice.
“Uuuuum.”
Back to the beginning.
The action repeated.
How long had she been doing that?
‘……Whatever, I don’t care.’
She was about to put it off again.
She closed her eyes and grabbed one that felt right.
When she opened her eyes and looked, it was a short skirt with a long waist part.
High-waist skirt. Length just short of covering the knees.
‘There are shorter ones too. This is fine. Great, let’s try it on!’
Since she had decided once, she wouldn’t hesitate.
She also took out the top she had been recommended to wear with it for coordination.
She changed quickly and stood in front of the full-length mirror nearby.
She adjusted her posture and admired her reflection.
“Hmm…”
‘She really is pretty.’
She hadn’t been self-complimenting while looking at her reflection in a stream before, but now standing in front of the mirror, it struck her that the nickname she had been called before being banished from the forest had been deserved.
The most beautiful fairy.
A beauty that bewitched even gods.
She felt the worth of wearing the new clothes she had prepared with a big heart. Honestly, she was satisfied with how well it suited her.
She honestly acknowledged Han Jihyun’s taste. After all, she was the role model for modern life.
It had been a long time since she had taken time to admire her appearance.
She lifted the hem of the skirt, turned a full circle, and even jumped poljak-poljak.
The sensation of the short skirt was fresh and strangely fun. What if she posed like this?
Right then.
Click!
“……?!”
A sudden shutter sound!
She jumped in surprise and turned around.
There.
“Ah, that’s… I left a tteokbokki trash bag behind and came back.”
Because the door had been forcibly opened, a third-of-a-door-sized steel door hung open and broken.
From there, Han Jihyun peeked out with her head.
Their eyes met, and she raised her thumb.
“Ari-nim, you look absolutely stunning! Best! So adorable!”
“…….”
“…….”
When she stared without answering, her eyes rolled around.
Yeah, she had to choose her next words carefully.
If the respect wasn’t felt, she would get angry. It wasn’t because she was embarrassed.
Eventually, Han Jihyun came inside and said.
“Should I take a few more photos? Pick the ones that turned out well and send them later when you get a phone.”
“…….”
Nod, nod.
She hadn’t been photographed; she had just quickly agreed to switch to the ones that had been taken.
Yeah. The actions she had been doing earlier were actually pre-practice to record the memories.
Han Jihyun was a woman with a very quick mind.
* * *
The next day.
Inside one room of the research institute, analysis of two pieces of cloth was underway.
The clothes the boss Ari had worn from another world.
Were there any elements that could bring progress to Korean technology?
The result came out sooner than expected.
“As expected, it’s just ordinary cloth.”
“Not even a magical reaction. No patterns or special treatments have been engraved.”
It was a common occurrence.
It happened when items acquired from dungeons inside a gate turned out to be nothing special.
Still, the expressions of the researchers and those who received the report weren’t good.
They thought they could discover something more if they analyzed further, but they had to return the clothes to the owner?
No.
They had hoped for a great discovery but the result was disappointing?
That wasn’t it either.
“Then does that mean the boss Ari has only pure power to that extent without any auxiliary equipment…?”
“Ha, haha… This is really ridiculous. No, isn’t this a walking tactical nuke?”
The phrase ‘walking’ wasn’t enough.
Ari was a gate boss speculated to be from the magic system.
In other words.
“If she feels like it, she could hide her appearance and fly anywhere, right?”
“If she just flies, that would be a relief.”
It was possible that she might suddenly disappear and reappear from somewhere.
She wasn’t an ordinary existence.
“If she really starts rampaging, wouldn’t Korea be wiped out in an instant…?”
“What is Korea? The world would end!”
A man shouted, furrowing his brows as if his head hurt.
At the same time, sighs came from everywhere.
“Haaah—”
For now, we will return the clothes.
“We’ll send them wrapped nicely. If there’s something that can win hearts, we should include even more.”
In a desperate attempt to grab even a straw.
There was no time to be picky. They had to mobilize everything possible to make Korea like them.
And there was another place where serious discussions were being held about boss Ari.
The headquarters of the Hunter Management Bureau.
The staff gathered in the meeting room continued their serious discussion.
“Hunter Jihyun’s report. Boss Ari has declared she will conquer a B-grade dungeon inside the research institute.”
“She’s using that as an excuse to demand rewards from us. We don’t know what she’ll ask, so we have to act quickly.”
“There’s a possibility she’ll make absurd demands while haggle her own value.”
So how should they respond?
While various opinions were being presented, someone raised their hand.
“How about we quickly raid it ourselves? Then we can say it was originally the planned operation.”
People exchanged glances at those words.
“Hmm. It’s not like she’s an uncommunicable existence just because her sudden actions are extreme.”
“There seems to be enough room to convince her.”
The core was to take the lead.
And as fast as possible!
Thus the upper decision fell, and a team of management bureau hunters was hastily organized.
In front of the gate inside the research institute.
The temporary team leader scratched his shaggy hair.
“Uhm, so… Honestly, we’re totally screwed.”
It was a truly honest tone.
And the team members who thought the same about the incoming situation nodded in agreement.
“No, it’s not even a low-rank dungeon, and now they’re telling us to raid it out of nowhere?”
“If we’re wrong, we might really all die…”
A B-grade dungeon with over 90% magic stability.
Variables would be few, but the pure difficulty was high.
But because it was a time crunch situation and they had hastily gathered people, the numbers weren’t properly filled.
Originally, the number of high-rank hunters in the management bureau was painfully insufficient. More precisely, the number of hunters who could fight on the front lines was especially lacking.
“Even if we succeed in the raid, there’s a problem. If the boss’s grudge turns toward us…”
“So we have to go in as fast as possible. We can set it up as the originally planned operation. When we heard the news, it was already over, something like that.”
A female team member grumbled, and a male team member answered with a resigned voice.
No matter how you looked at it, it was an order from the highest levels.
Moreover, the importance of the mission was enormous.
To not be unilaterally swayed by boss Ari, someone had to demonstrate patriotism.
“Okay, let’s go!”
“There’s a healer waiting at the research institute, so we just need to come back with our lives intact!”
The civil servants entered the gate with a battle cry.
What awaited them was a massive monster spouting fire from its mouth.
* * *
Meanwhile, Ari.
“Jihyun-unnie.”
“Yes?”
“Do you have any secrets from me?”
“N-no, I don’t!”
Hahaha!
Han Jihyun awkwardly laughed.
Ari felt something suspicious looking at her.
‘Is she trying to stall for some unnecessary time?’
But she asked anyway.
“You said you’d help conquer the gate yesterday, right? I told the management bureau.”
Han Jihyun’s cheek muscles twitched at the urging.