The Prodigy Among Followers
Even the fraudulent protagonist and the unfortunate heroine had already been swept up in the incident. (2)
Among Ju Joyeon’s followers, there existed one that could only be called a miracle. Its name was House. An egg sac of a Morion Roach. It was the very sac that had been caught up in the fray when Kan and Jack fought the Morion Roach before hundreds of roaches could be born. Yet thanks to the sheer determination of those hundreds of roaches that had wanted to be born, House had caught Ju Joyeon’s eye, been turned into a zombie, and then received his blessing to become a mutant zombie—an outcome anyone would call miraculous.
House, who began its first life as a mutant zombie, gained intelligence thanks to Ju Joyeon’s blessing. With no knowledge whatsoever, House was like a blank slate, and its desperate will to survive transformed into an intense thirst for learning. Master. Edible things. Allies. Enemies. Numbers. Electronics. Magic. Land. Sky. Military terminology. Cooking ingredients. House absorbed everything it saw and heard, using its swarm nature to categorize and store the information so it would never forget.
Though House had only been born about a month ago, it had already become far more capable than Ju Joyeon realized.
“Huh? This is… this is one of your followers too?”
“Yeah. House, I think we need a more detailed scan of the outside. Make as many as you can and go check what’s out there.”
Even when Ju Joyeon summoned House with Arty and gave the usual order to scout outside, House thought further ahead. Confirmed. Prioritizing Master’s command above all else, House conveyed its intent and spread as many hatchlings as possible in a circle centered on the hospital. At the same time, it independently diverted five hatchlings from the main plan to carry out another purpose.
This did not go against its master’s orders. House had judged that the ones already sent out were more than enough to fulfill the command. Based on everything it had learned so far, it concluded that building a communication network by attaching itself to the other followers scattered throughout the hospital would be far more beneficial to its master.
Clack.
‘Oh? House. Did you come looking for me on purpose? You’re quite clever.’
House learned that acting on its own judgment, beyond its master’s direct orders, was not necessarily a bad thing.
Click.
‘Ah, House. The children don’t like bugs, so… would you mind staying in this pocket?’
House learned that young children were wary of its insect form.
Tap.
‘Hm? Looks like Master’s orders have come down.’
House learned that not all followers knew every one of Master’s commands.
Tick.
‘Isn’t that House? Have you come to study tactics with me again today?’
House learned several more ways to win fights and tactics from Ron.
“…House? Do you have something to say? Ah, you came to see what I’m doing while building the network. My work isn’t much. Mostly just carrying things the Saintess asked for. You know the Saintess is Master’s mother, right? She’s truly remarkable… chatter chatter…”
House learned about the existence of the Saintess and how great its master truly was.
While carrying out its master’s orders, House continued acquiring new knowledge. It was no longer the simple scouting follower Ju Joyeon thought it to be. It had already become something capable of far more than the other followers.
Skitter skitter skitter…
Hundreds of hatchling roaches crawled across the ground at tremendous speed.
‘Small animal, rabbit confirmed. Small monster, goblin confirmed. Animal, water deer confirmed.’
Just days ago, House could only classify things as small animals. Now it was beginning to distinguish the exact names of animals and monsters it had observed multiple times. It recorded the locations of every animal and monster discovered through scouting and used the monster distribution maps it had learned from Ron to determine how many monsters were in each area.
When it first arrived at the hospital, it had only checked the immediate vicinity.
‘Master’s order is for a more detailed investigation. I must go farther and conduct a perfect survey. A “map” must be created.’
This time, House intended to send its roaches to the maximum radius it could reach.
Twelve hours after beginning the scouting operation. Dawn of the fourth day since Ju Joyeon had started staying at the hospital. The map compiled by a single swarm using hundreds of roaches now covered a radius exceeding five kilometers.
And not long after, House discovered a group of humans. A group of mages.
Morning of the fourth day at the hospital.
“Ugh~! I’m so sleepy~!”
“Then just sleep in your room all day. Nothing can hurt you there.”
“Sleepy~”
“Are you ignoring me…”
Just like yesterday, Ju Joyeon woke Arty and headed to the emergency room for work. The emergency room looked the same as usual, except for one difference: the three people who had come to the hospital after a monster attack a few days ago were talking with Sosia.
“Please! Let us repay the kindness of saving our lives!”
“I already told you it’s not necessary. We’re not short on manpower here. If you want to be helpful, bring us some food instead. We don’t need anything else.”
“B-But! You never know, right?! We don’t know when or how many people might come here asking for help!”
“Those people can be handled when they arrive. Now leave.”
Lagon and the two men wanted to stay at the hospital to repay their debt, while Sosia firmly told them to leave, saying they weren’t needed.
“Hmm… that’s unexpected. I didn’t think the Saintess would be the type to turn patients away…”
“Unexpected? Of course healed people should leave.”
“That’s true, but… normally, if we weren’t short on staff, she wouldn’t refuse people who could go out hunting…”
Arty rubbed her barely open eyes and told Ju Joyeon what she had seen before.
“…Is there some reason?”
When the situation showed no signs of resolving, Ju Joyeon approached Sosia.
“Is there a problem?”
“…It’s nothing. This place isn’t somewhere we can stay forever. I’m just sending out the healed people.”
As the two spoke as if the decision had already been made, Lagon hurriedly called out to Arty.
“Ah, Miss Arty!”
“…Huh…?”
“Could you please put in a word for us? I want to stay here and help the people who saved our lives!”
“…We don’t really… need that…?”
“B-But… the more people who can help, the better, right?”
“We don’t need it… I only need Joyeon~”
“Hurk…!”
Lagon’s mouth fell open in shock at Arty’s words. Ju Joyeon frowned, recalling a similar incident from a few days ago.
“You probably didn’t mean it that way, but you should stop saying things that’ll make you feel guilty later once you come to your senses.”
“Ugh… sleepy… I wanna sleep a bit more… take me there…”
Thinking Arty would only make the situation more awkward, Ju Joyeon called Tiasia and asked her to take Arty to her usual chair to lie down.
“The conversation is over. If you truly want to help the hospital, we’ll gratefully accept any food you can bring.”
“…I see. Understood. If that’s how I can help…”
Lagon also realized further pleading was pointless and nodded weakly.
“Then may we go pack our things? We still have some belongings left in the room we were using.”
“Of course. And when you leave, make sure to inform the sentries properly.”
Sosia finished the conversation, gave a light bow, and returned to work. Ju Joyeon followed her.
“I heard what Arty said. Normally you don’t send people out like this. Is there a reason?”
“Arty sure says all kinds of things in the morning… It’s nothing special. Just a hunch.”
“A hunch? Is it a skill?”
“No, I mean it literally. When I checked with ‘Insight,’ they were definitely hiding something… but their wounds were confirmed to be from monsters, and…”
Sosia started to say more but shook her head and stopped.
“It’s already over. Since we sent them out, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Well~ If that’s the decision, then it’s fine. I’ll head back to my spot.”
“Alright.”
Ju Joyeon decided it probably wasn’t a big deal and moved to a corner of the emergency room. There, Arty was covering her face with her hands.
“I… what did I say again…”
“Looks like you came to your senses.”
Time passed, and lunchtime arrived.
Perhaps because of what happened in the morning, Arty sat quietly beside Ju Joyeon without bothering him. Ju Joyeon was finally able to finish reading the few remaining pages of the forbidden book in peace.
Forbidden Book - ‘Does a Thin Book That Satisfies Everyone… Truly Exist in This World…’ has been fully read.
Skill acquired: ‘Fulfill Desire’.
“Oh?”
The title effect of ‘First Modern Person to Fully Read a Forbidden Book’ has activated.
A small amount of stats have increased.
A smile full of accomplishment appeared on Ju Joyeon’s face as he looked at the long-unseen notification windows.
“What did you do? What’s with the notifications?”
“I finished the book. Learned a new skill.”
“What skill?”
“‘Fulfill Desire.’ It’s a skill that realizes desires.”
Hearing the skill name, Arty covered her chest with her hands and backed away. Her thoughts were written plainly on her face.
“…Pervert.”
“You called me gay before, and now I’m a pervert? I’m not planning to use it on you, and it’s not the ability you’re thinking of, so don’t worry. I’m hungry—let’s go eat.”
“…Tell me what the effect is.”
“If I feel like it, later.”
“This is unexpected.”
“……”
“My apologies on our behalf. Hehehe.”
Six men and women accompanied Ju Joyeon and Arty as they headed to the cafeteria for lunch. They had been stopped by Sosia on their way out of the emergency room and given a request.
“These are the new people who just arrived at the hospital. Give them a simple explanation about the place.”
“Uh… we’re on our way to eat right now.”
“You can explain while eating.”
Unable to refuse the absolute command, Ju Joyeon grumbled but couldn’t protest further because Arty accepted the request on the spot, telling him not to worry. He ended up being assigned to guide the newcomers.
The new arrivals were a party that had been traveling together—men and women with rather fierce appearances.
‘…Is this really a normal party? No, I shouldn’t judge people by appearances. Our kids look like skeletons on the outside but are good kids. These people might just look rough because of everything they’ve been through.’
“In this harsh world, a place where modern humans and mages coexist… truly a miraculous location. Hehehe.”
“Right. I was really surprised when I first came here too.”
“My apologies for the late introduction. My name is Delpiari. I’m the leader of this party. Hehehe.”
The man whose fierce appearance contrasted with the smile that never left his face introduced himself first.
“I’m Ju Joyeon. This is Arty.”
“Ju Joyeon and Miss Arty. Are the two of you mages?”
“No. I’m a modern human, and she’s… a mage. Her eyes are red because she’s always using magic.”
“Oh… I see. Heh.”
Ju Joyeon conversed normally with the man who appeared to be the party leader. Meanwhile, Arty, contrary to what she had told Sosia, stayed glued to Ju Joyeon’s side without saying a single word, maintaining a blank expression.
‘…She’s unusually quiet today.’
To Ju Joyeon, who knew how Arty normally treated others, today’s Arty seemed even quieter than usual. That was because the men in the party he was guiding were looking at Arty with quite blatant gazes.
‘Even if it was the Saintess’s request, I should’ve been more careful about who I accepted… I’ve been too complacent lately because I’ve been staying with Joyeon.’
Throughout her life, both in the original world and this fused one, countless men had approached her. From experience, she knew that getting involved with men who stared so openly would become very troublesome, so she tried to speak as little as possible.
Watching Arty walk silently while clinging to Ju Joyeon, Delpiari spoke with an apologetic expression.
“I’m worried we might be wasting your time. You probably wanted to have a quiet meal together… Heh.”
“Ah, we’re not—ugh?!”
When Ju Joyeon tried to immediately deny Delpiari’s misunderstanding, Arty stomped on his foot with her heel. Startled by the sudden pain, he glared at her with a mix of surprise and irritation. Arty tightly hugged his arm and shook her head slightly.
‘There are already so many unpleasant stares. Don’t clear up the misunderstanding—it’s the perfect excuse to refuse talking to them!’
Arty didn’t want to give anyone an opening to approach her, so she deliberately chose not to correct the misunderstanding.
‘What the hell is this woman doing all of a sudden!’
Ju Joyeon, not thinking too deeply, was only focused on how much his foot hurt.
“Um… really, if we’re causing any trouble…”
“Ah, no, it’s fine. No problem. This way to the cafeteria.”
Forcing a smile, Ju Joyeon set aside the matter of Arty stepping on his foot and continued guiding the party as Sosia had requested.