The New Housemate

Right after the matter was settled, I headed straight for Deep Night.

The place was already an empty shell, abandoned to ruin.

Well, I suppose it makes sense. The Advent Church's Japan branch — their very roots — had been wiped out.

There was neither a reason nor a need to keep the facility running any longer.

Fujiwara Manato had vanished, leaving nothing behind but a single note.

I briefly considered tracking him down, but gave up almost immediately.

If an illusionist of that caliber deliberately went into hiding, no one alive could find him — and besides, the man didn't have much of a lifespan left anyway.

Letting him enjoy what little freedom remained to him didn't seem like such a bad thing.

Ayase's transfer was settled with swift, decisive speed.

We had our deal, of course, but her own resolve to move was so unwavering that there was never any room to drag things out.

Japan, naturally, erupted into chaos.

Their number one hunter — practically the face of the nation — was leaving for a guild in another country.

Had she gone to some European powerhouse, a league above even Amaterasu, perhaps people might have understood. But the moment news spread that she was headed for a brand-new guild in the country right next door, all hell broke loose.

Though honestly, the backlash had less firepower than I expected.

For one thing, the flames died down considerably the moment people learned that the guild leader she was transferring under was me.

The Behemoth incident had already broadcast an image of me to the world as the hunter who fought for Japan despite being Korean.

On top of that, the fact that Shinseong was a guild under Cheonseong Group lent her move legitimacy — proof that this wasn't some reckless, spur-of-the-moment defection.

And above all, Ayase's nationality was still Japanese.

Her defenders brushed aside the objections with a simple argument: She hasn't renounced her citizenship or anything. She just switched guilds. What's with all the fuss?

Hunters working under foreign guilds were common to the point of banality — in fact, it had become ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a yardstick for measuring just how exceptional a nation's hunters truly were.

I'd been ready to wage an entire public opinion war if it came to that.

Instead, the controversy fizzled out in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing behind but a few scattered grumbles.

Of course, Korea promptly erupted in an uproar of a completely opposite kind.

After Japan, Korea was home to Ayase's largest fanbase.

The moment the official announcement dropped that she was joining Shinseong, the entire country was in festival mode for days on end.

There isn't a place on earth that doesn't welcome a strong hunter.

All the more so when that hunter is Ayase Karin, whose popularity rivaled even the biggest celebrities.

Well, I do have a vested interest in this myself.

I felt no burden over this transfer.

Ayase was a tremendous asset.

Even in a body that had been on the verge of death, she could face Behemoth head-on, and her skill, Divine Artifact Summon, covered offense, defense, and support alike.

Losing someone like that would have been a tragic waste.

Thinking of the future, no amount of reinforcement was excessive.

Which was exactly why I had saved her without hesitation.

And today.

"Waaah!"

Ayase Karin arrived at Shinseong Guild.

The instant she walked in, her eyes lit up, and she went wandering through the training facility, drinking in every corner.

"So this is your guild, Tae-hyun? The facilities are incredible!"

"We are the number one guild in the hunter industry, after all."

Purely in terms of the facilities themselves, I doubted any guild in the world could hold a candle to this place.

The virtual reality system Gong Gi-hyun had built was, for now, technology deployed nowhere else.

And even setting that aside, every last piece of equipment was kept in peak condition at all times.

Frankly, I couldn't care less — it was Cheonseong's people who worked themselves to the bone maintaining it all.

Well then. We have a new guild member.

Time for a proper introduction.

I immediately called together the others.

As a side note, I had gotten my hands on another one of Babel's Boxes and handed it over to Ayase.

We'd be working together from now on; communication shouldn't be a hurdle.

"Hyung, you called?"

"Aaargh… I'm dying of sleep deprivation, why the sudden assembly…"

"Good day, Guild Leader."

"……"

Before long, every guild member had gathered.

"I've said this before, but let me introduce her once more."

I turned toward Ayase as I spoke.

"Our newest member, joining us today — Ayase Karin."

"Lovely to meet you all!"

Frankly, an introduction was a meaningless formality for someone this famous.

"I've heard all about it. Tae-hyun says each and every one of you was hand-picked by him personally!"

"Everyone except that one."

"Hey! Why am I the only one getting thrown under the bus?!"

One by one, they began exchanging greetings with her.

"H-h-h-hi, hello…! N-nice to, uh, meet…!"

"The pleasure is mine. Let's work well together… Shin Min-woo, was it?"

"Ahhh…"

The moment he shook hands with Ayase, Shin Min-woo crumpled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the floor where he stood.

"Hyung… if I died right now, I would die with no regrets…"

Weren't you the one saying we'd walk into hell together, just yesterday?

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Shin Yeon-hee."

"Ah, you're the archer! Might I ask you to give me some personal instruction in archery sometime? I still feel I'm rather lacking."

"Any time at all. Archers are never bad people, you see."

Shin Yeon-hee was so gentle-natured by disposition that she'd get along with anyone.

"…Are there staffs among the divine artifacts you can summon?"

"Hmm, I've never tried, but I imagine it's possible."

"Oh! Then summon one for me later. I'm curious what casting magic through one would feel like."

"Fufu, of course."

Seemed she got along with Ah Seo-ah without a hitch as well.

And here I'd worried she might have trouble fitting in.

At this rate, they'd be functioning as a team in no time.

"What do you think, Ayase?"

"You all seem wonderful, every one of you! Although…"

She pursed her lips, trailing off ambiguously.

"Is something bothering you?"

"No, it's not that… it's, um. My name."

"…Your name?"

"Could you call me Karin, instead of Ayase…?"

"Pardon?"

Why the sudden request?

Come to think of it, I recall hearing that in Japan, you don't casually address people by their given name.

Calling someone by their first name before they've given permission is considered rude, apparently. Until that point, using the family name is the norm.

That was precisely why I'd been deliberately calling her Ayase all this time.

Is this her way of proving how close we've become?

I wasn't Japanese, so I didn't really understand the intricacies of the culture.

Well, asking me to use her name wasn't exactly a difficult request.

"Understood, Karin-ssi."

"Drop the 'ssi' too, please."

"…Karin."

"!"

The moment I said her name, the corners of her mouth twitched upward on a face gone visibly flushed.

"Th-thank you, Tae-hyun."

Why is she thanking me?

I didn't exactly do anything.

"……"

Just then, a distinctly dangerous aura came prodding at my cheek.

I turned my head to find Baek Seo-ha staring holes into us with frost-glazed eyes.

"…Hey. You."

Baek Seo-ha addressed Ayase — Karin — in a voice cold enough to freeze the air.

The atmosphere around her could have swallowed a person whole.

"Yes!"

"Now that you've joined our guild, there's something I need to test."

"And what would that be?"

Her hand closed around the hilt of her sword.

"A duel with me. Shinseong Guild has a proud tradition — every new member fights me in a mock battle upon joining."

"I wasn't aware we had any such trad—"

"You, quiet."

"Yes, ma'am."

My sincerest apologies. The Sect Leader was speaking, and I, a mere Vice Sect Leader, dared to open my mouth.

"So follow me to the training grounds."

"A guild tradition like that — how fascinating!"

Ayase, still thoroughly delighted, began humming a cheerful little tune.

For some reason, a vein bulged visibly on Baek Seo-ha's forehead.

"…Move. Now!"

"Yes!"

And with that, Baek Seo-ha and Ayase departed for somewhere else together.

"Min-woo, if it looks like someone's actually about to die, you step in and stop it. Got that?"

"Huh? You're not coming with us, hyung?"

"I have other business to attend to."

It sounded like an excuse, but it was the truth.

"…You want ME to stand between those two?"

"I'm counting on you and you alone."

"No, wait, hold on, hyung. Hyung! No — Guild Leader!"

I slipped out of the training facility, leaving behind Shin Min-woo's voice rising in desperate panic.

KWAANG! KWAKWANG!

Shockwaves and tremors began erupting at my back, but I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gritted my teeth and ignored them.

"Now then…"

Time to settle the ledger on everything I'd gained from this incident.

The location here was a bit too conspicuous, so a change of scenery was in order.

"Come out, Moss."

Flap!

Massive wings unfurled from my shadow.

"KYAAAAK!"

"Let's go — top speed."

Seated atop Moss's back, I cut across the clear blue sky in flight.

My destination was a D-rank gate that had appeared in the outskirts.

There was no safer place to run an experiment than the inside of a gate.

Here, I could raise as much hell as I pleased without consequences.

"KRRRRRK."

Moss shook out his head vigorously after setting me down.

In truth, he was the single greatest prize I'd reaped from the purge of the Advent Church.

The spirit of Behemoth himself.

Perhaps thanks to his innately exalted species values, he radiated staggering power despite his low level.

"He's not fully mature yet, though."

The Moss of the present was far smaller and softer than he'd been in the days when the Advent Church had controlled him.

His body had been forcibly accelerated to adulthood, but it seemed that had done nothing for his soul.

Most likely, this was what Moss was originally meant to be.

"You've worked hard too."

"KRUK!"

When I scratched the base of his horn, he squirmed as though it tickled.

— Whiiine…

Or so I thought, until a pitiful whimper drifted up from my shadow. Rir's, unmistakably.

The moment I summoned him and rubbed his belly, he gave a satisfied huff-huff-huff.

"You two are going to get along. Understood?"

"KRRRK?"

"Grr?"

The instant their eyes met, sparks flew.

"GRRRRR…"

"GRRRRRRRRR!"

Rir and Moss, scowling, glaring daggers at each other like each was about to devour the other whole.

…It looked like making friends would take some time yet.

"Rir, you're the senior here, so guide him well. And Moss — you're family now, so quit acting like a spoiled brat. Understood?"

"KYAA!"

"HNNGH!"

Somehow I felt like a hapless mediator between two feuding grade-schoolers, and the whole situation left a strange taste in my mouth.

Anyway.

By saving Moss this time, I had gained two brand-new Resonance skills.

Dragon Breath. Dragon Fear.

Calling it two was underselling it — I could now use every skill Moss would acquire as he grew.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the full potential of Behemoth now rested in the palm of my hand.

"Dragon Fear is genuinely useful…"

Against monsters and hunters far above my level, it imposed absolute terror and paralysis.

Against opponents on my own tier, it applied suffocating pressure that could bait them into mistakes.

For someone like me, who possessed almost no debuff skills, it was a superb all-purpose tool.

"The problem… is the Breath."

I'd been thrilled at first, believing I'd gain the ability to use it.

But the moment I actually tried, it was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠complete letdown.

Resonance, at the end of the day, merely borrows a spirit's skills.

And Dragon Breath was a skill engineered from the ground up for dragons, by dragons.

It had the word Dragon right there in the name, after all.

In other words — it was never a technique meant for human hands.

Even channeling Dragon Breath, I couldn't expel compressed draconic mana the way Moss did.

The best I managed was generating a modest trickle of draconic mana and coalescing it.

Granted, even that much was a phenomenal feat by any reasonable standard.

Wielding draconic mana — the exclusive birthright of dragons — as a human being.

"But still…! Still!"

Wasn't it a bit much to expect me to settle for just this?

It might have been different if I'd never laid eyes on the real thing.

But after watching that annihilation beam erase everything in its path, being told I couldn't use it…

This is an outrage!

A bitter taste lingered on my tongue.

And in that very moment —

Ding!

A message I'd completely forgotten surfaced before my eyes.

Come to think of it, I still hadn't collected my reward for subjugating Behemoth.

I gave a small nod and answered.

"Claim it."