Chapter 19
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Elf and Dryad
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It was about time for me to head back home.
Any later, and there wouldn't be any cars running. Plus, it could get dangerous.
At the entrance to the forest path, I hugged my mom tightly for a good long while.
"Hyeon-i, why don't you just stay here with Mom?"
"......"
"Your body's still not right, so are you really going to keep going to school? Wouldn't it be better to come back home now?"
"Uuuu......"
I shook my head side to side, which ended up rubbing my face against her chest.
As I hemmed and hawed, Mom planted a light kiss on my head and spoke.
"It's okay. Do whatever you want, sweetie."
Grandma looked displeased when I said I was going back up, but she didn't try to stop me.
"......Fine. I won't try to hold you back. But come home anytime if it gets tough."
It was sound advice.
But classes had already started, and I thought of the people I'd gotten to know.
The folks I'd brushed past, and Ga-eun.
I'd have to deal with the gap from my old identity somehow...
Eh, it'd work itself out somehow...
If I got found out, I could always run home and hole up for a few years. Seeing Mom and Grandma made it feel like a few years would fly by...
A mindset that ignored the future entirely.
To others, it probably still looked irresponsible and hopeless.
I gave Mom one last tight hug before pulling away from her embrace.
Mom smiled with a hint of regret but didn't cling.
"I've even made some friends, so I want to give it another shot."
"Yeah, that's my girl."
As Mom affectionately patted my butt, Grandma, who'd been watching, let out a sigh.
She wasn't showing it, but she seemed really worried.
"I figured you'd say that, so I called someone to help you out. She'll give you a ride home."
"Someone to help?"
"Yeah. Entrust most things to her. How could I let you wander around in that body without worrying?"
Grandma looked me up and down, then beckoned with her hand to call someone over.
"It's been a while. Lady Aideomina, Lady Aidrisa."
A voice suddenly came from behind me.
It was a high-pitched tone that contrasted sharply with her stiff, military-like speech.
"Call me Kim Ok-rye."
"My apologies, Lady Kim Ok-rye. Lady Kim Ji-hyeon."
"Hey, long time no see."
I turned around to see a woman in a women's suit.
'She's huge.'
Slender, yet with massive breasts and hips.
Solid muscles palpable even through the suit, and her height.
Ga-eun was pretty tall herself, but the helmet made this woman look even bigger.
That's right, a helmet.
The woman wore a pitch-black motorcycle helmet that completely hid her face.
"It's been a while, Su-hyeon."
"......Who?"
"Pardon...?"
She seemed to know me, but I couldn't place her.
Forget that—how was I supposed to recognize her with the helmet on?
...But how did she know it was me? She said "long time no see," so maybe from when I was still a guy.
"The kid's still young, so her memory's fuzzy.
Kids this age forget things super fast."
"Ah......"
Grandma talking about me like I was a newborn.
And the woman openly deflated when I didn't remember her.
"Then, allow me to reintroduce myself."
The woman slowly removed her helmet, and bright platinum blonde hair cascaded out.
After quickly fixing her hair, she—
'Ears?'
"I'm Agent First Class Brüel Eleniel of the CIA's 'ELF' Division under the Central Intelligence Agency. It's an honor to serve Su-hyeon starting today."
She was an elf with pointed ears, platinum blonde hair, and pale gray eyes.
"If I had my way, I'd go up with you, sweetie."
"Where do you think you're going? You need to keep resting. Who do you think I'm doing all this for?"
"Uuuu—"
Grandma pinched and stretched Mom's cheeks before turning to me.
"Anyway, she'll take care of you in our place. And we'll have to sort out your identity too. Your growth rate's slowed to match humans now, so if we leave it be, we'll need to tweak it again."
"Hmm......"
Yeah, claiming to be 23 with how I look now would definitely raise eyebrows.
Still...
"I'll notify headquarters and have it arranged by tomorrow. However, regrettably, I have trouble gauging human ages by appearance. Could you specify what age would work?"
"Around five or six in human terms? Hmm... Considering growth rate, maybe even younger. How about one year old?"
"One year old. Understood."
'......???''
These people—they operate on a different lifespan scale and don't grasp human ages.
This Brüel woman looked at least a century old, no doubt.
"One year old, and she can't even walk properly yet!"
I hadn't shrieked like that in forever.
This was ridiculous.
"Hmm, is that so? It's been ages since Grandma saw a human baby."
"Th-then, shall I set it to six?"
Why was this woman like this too?
As I yelled, Brüel fidgeted uncomfortably.
"I-I already mentioned it to people around..."
"You mentioned it? Grandma doesn't know everything, but she knows 23 is a full-grown adult by human standards. You think they'd buy it?"
"Well, things were busy at the time...?"
"Pardon me, but how many people know?"
Brüel leaned in slightly to ask, and my body tensed at the proximity of this stranger.
'Let's see, Ga-eun for one... Oh, that musclehead was Kang Chan-seong, right?'
"Two, two... people?"
Embarrassed, I averted my eyes and shyly flashed a V-sign with my fingers.
My other hand idly fiddled with my collar.
"Heh... Understood."
Brüel inhaled sharply, her eyes trembling slightly. She quickly straightened up as if nothing happened.
"What can you do? We'll have to silence those two."
"Then, shall I handle them and set it to six? If you command it, I can wrap it up today."
"No!"
I lunged at the elf woman over her ominous words.
Well, "lunged"—the height difference meant I just battered her knees wildly.
"They're my friends! Absolutely not!"
"H-Huh?!"
The elf shuddered at my assault, then clutched her nose.
Her hand was drenched in red blood.
"!!"
Suddenly, the department store beasts exploding everywhere flashed in my mind.
Had I accidentally hurt Brüel somehow?
"Blood...! A-Are you okay? Sorry! I didn't mean to, I-I..."
Brüel trembled violently, then rolled her eyes back and collapsed backward.
"Aaaah! She's dead!"
"Oh my."
"She's not dead. Tough as nails, that one. Just overly dramatic by nature."
As I panicked, Grandma calmly stroked my head to soothe me.
Mom crouched to check on Brüel.
"So, what do you want to do?"
"I-I..."
"Forget if it's possible or not for now. Just say what you want. Grandma will help however she can, and if not, we have plenty to protect you."
"......Then."
I knew it was an outrageous demand, but I said I wanted to keep my age at 23, no matter what.
Gender aside, changing my age too would make college, my studio, everything not mine anymore.
Others might think it was no big deal or not understand, but to me, it was every trace of my life.
And the thought of newly forged connections snapping made it unbearable.
I didn't want to lose friends again and cry alone.
Grandma didn't say much, just acknowledged it.
Brüel came to shortly after and perfectly executed a dogeza.
Grandma loaded the flustered Su-hyeon into the sedan Brüel was driving and sent her off.
Grandma and Mom stared down the path where Su-hyeon had vanished for a long while.
Grandma broke the silence first.
"I need to head to my parents' place for a bit."
"Going to see the elders? Want me to come?"
"What, with your health? I'm just seeing Aunt, so focus on resting."
In an instant, the grumpy grandma vanished, replaced by a mature beauty with long green hair.
A tall woman with neatly parted hair revealing her forehead and cold eyes that could freeze anyone who met them.
Ji-hyeon looked adult too, but next to her, she seemed youthful.
The head's worth of height difference helped.
"I'll be back by morning."
I was savoring the feel of a luxury sedan for the first time ever.
'Even on these mountain roads, no vibrations at all.'
Is this why people chase big money?
My convictions nearly wavered, but I steadied myself.
To buy a car like this, I'd have to slave away my whole life and might still fall short.
Better to just hop on the bus and live easy.
Become the fisherman, become the fisherman.
Man, this elf Brüel sure talks a lot.
Nearly two hours in the car, and she hadn't stopped chatting about herself. Not that it wasn't fascinating and fun—I hadn't dozed off.
To sum up what Brüel said:
They were fairy folk from another dimension, where beings like Earth's humans existed, and they had ruled there like demigods.
But when gates opened and monsters invaded, they lost, their world conquered, even their world tree—the goddess and mother they revered—burned. They abandoned their ancestral home and migrated.
Most fairy folk perished; only the last survivors who fought till the end made it through.
After drifting, they stumbled upon Earth—America.
They made contact with the CIA, cooperating to prepare for monster invasions.
Their role mainly involved handling other races and mythical beings native to Earth.
Dryads like us were on that list.
A tree-worshipping race, apparently—when they first saw dryads here, everyone teared up in awe. Some even fainted.
Like seeing a dead god resurrected and walking healthy.
...Dramatics must be a racial passive for them.
"We see this land as our second home and vowed with the Americans to prevent such horrors again. That's when we unified our surnames: Eleniel for females, Elenion for males."
"Yeah."
I'd used polite speech at first, but she freaked out and begged for casual, so now it felt awkwardly informal.
Why did everyone crave casual talk from me?
"I saw your stream too, Su-hyeon. Didn't recognize you day one, but word spread through the organization by day two. Unfortunately, some group tried approaching, so we had to block it. Your identity was classified then, and we had no choice... also the info spreading online..."
"What...?"
Were these guys saying they suspended my stream and game account?
"So... you guys banned my account...?"
"Yes, there was pushback among us, but for safety, we had no choice. The info online too... Whoa!!"
"M-My account! Give back my items!!!"
"W-Wait...! Stay calm! Dangerous, dangerous! I'm fine, but you, Su-hyeon...!"
"Kieeeek!"
Screeech!
Memories of my lost accounts made my eyes spin, putting Brüel in a spot, but thankfully no accident.
One thing clear: Brüel was one hell of a driver.
Time passed, and we arrived at the villa with my studio.
Brüel parked neatly in the communal lot and followed me up, still in that black helmet.
She gawked at my pigsty of a place.
"Th-this is your home?"
"Yeah."
"I thought since you said 'home,' the whole building was your mansion..."
"Nope. Just this unit. And technically not even mine—it's rented. Landlady lives separately."
"No way."
Clutching her head—or helmet—like she was dizzy, Brüel yelled at me.
"I can't serve Su-hyeon in a place like this! If I'd known you lived like this, I would've..."
"It's fine. Bigger just means more cleaning. And longer commutes."
I listed the perks per my philosophy, but Brüel didn't get it.
"Wh-what...? Cleaning? Leave that to me!"
"No thanks. I like handling my own stuff, good or bad."
"......If that's your will. Understood. It's cramped, but pardon the intrusion..."
Clunk.
She seemed about to enter, so I blocked her.
"What? Why are you coming in...?"
"Pardon...?"
Brüel apparently planned to stay by my side 24/7 as my aide.
But my place was too small.
I needed my privacy... and a non-family stranger around constantly would stress me out.
Sorry, but she'd have to stay elsewhere. Nearby hotel or something.
"Su-hyeon! Su-hyeon! I'll do great! Please don't abandon me!!"
"No, lower your voice...! Ow, get up!"
Brüel clung wailing.
Neighbors stirred from the noise, so I dragged her inside first.
Then slowly cleared the misunderstanding.
Brüel refused to sit because her dirty clothes from kneeling on the floor, so I had to stand on a chair to meet her eyes.
"Look, you don't need to watch me that closely. It'll just burden both of us."
"I'm fine with it, though..."
"I'm not."
Hing.
"Then I'll station nearby and stand by."
"Sigh... Fine..."
I sighed and nodded, figuring that was acceptable.
"Here, then..."
She gave me her number for anytime contact, then some "emergency beeper."
I tugged my hem to check it.
Isn't this a... crime prevention buzzer?
I ripped it off and chucked it back; she caught it nonchalantly.
So I hopped down and kicked her shins wildly.
Brüel, clueless, just grinned happily.