Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Keep Doing That
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“Waaah! So cute!”
Regardless of my own will, Maxy snapped dozens more photos from various angles. After staring at her phone for a long while, she finally seemed satisfied, shoving it back into her hip pocket before suddenly starting to fiddle with my face.
“So squishy! Like pudding!”
“Euheheh...”
It seemed rough, but her touch was surprisingly delicate. As expected of S-rank Hunters, they must be experts at controlling their bodies. She was squishing and kneading my cheeks with just enough force to not cause any pain.
At this rate, my cheeks might melt like mochi left in the microwave for too long.
“Ma-Maxy... stop...”
“Stop? Okay!”
My pathetically limited English knowledge managed to stop Maxy’s cheek-kneading, but then she wrapped her arms around my waist, lifted me onto her lap, and began stroking the top of my head.
“U-Uuh...”
“Mmm~ You smell like baby powder!”
She even buried her face in my hair and started sniffing. Coincidentally, Ophelia arrived in the lounge at that exact moment. The instant the elevator doors opened, she flew over at incredible speed and snatched me away.
Swoosh—!
“Whoa.”
“Your Highness, are you alright? You appeared to be in a predicament, so I performed an emergency rescue.”
“O-Ophelia...!”
Oh! My super-duper, brilliant AI guardian, Ophelia. I do like Maxy, but with the language barrier, we had nothing to talk about. Maybe with Ophelia here, I could have a proper conversation with her.
Having had me snatched from her arms, Maxy stared at Ophelia, her mouth wide open in a look of utter astonishment.
“Oh my god! So cute! Now there are two cute ones!”
“A pleasure to meet you, S-rank Hunter Camila Torres. I am Ophelia, the maid and guardian of Princess Eve. I apologize for the abruptness, but I was required to create distance for Her Highness’s well-being.”
“It’s okay! Your Spanish is amazing!”
“Indeed. Please feel free to converse in the language you are most comfortable with.”
“Ophelia...? What are you talking about...?”
“Your Highness, could you please summon Doggo for a moment?”
“Doggo? Oh, okay.”
Doggo was probably lazing around at home right now, but Ophelia asked for him, so...
“Doggo... summon!”
Fwaat!
Using the Summon skill, I called Doggo, who had been playing, into my arms. Watching from the front, Maxy clapped her hands in amazement.
“Amazing! You said you were an A-rank Hunter, right?!”
“That is correct. While she is currently A-rank, she possesses the potential to reach S-rank.”
“Yeah! I think so too! She’s so cute, after all!”
I didn’t see the connection between cuteness and Hunter rank, but since it was a compliment to her princess, Ophelia nodded pleasantly.
Having unknowingly knocked over his food bowl back home, Doggo was suddenly summoned and found himself cradled in my arms.
“Ophelia? I brought Doggo.”
Beep, be-beep...!
“One moment.”
Ophelia grabbed Doggo’s tail and connected the tip of her index finger to its USB port. Then, she produced a SIM card from her hand and... well, she...
Stuck it right into Doggo’s rump.
“Eh.”
Beep!
“It is done. I have activated a new SIM for Doggo.”
“Doggo got activated...!”
“Your Highness?”
“N-Nothing...”
“Please hold Doggo and try speaking with Ms. Camila.”
“Ooh.”
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but Ophelia must have done something. Come to think of it, she did do something with Doggo’s USB tail just now, didn’t she?
“Ma-Maxy?”
“Eve! Did you call me?”
“Gasp...! How is this possible, Ophelia?!”
Amazingly, Maxy’s words were being simultaneously translated, and I could hear them in perfect Korean, in her exact voice.
“I have installed a self-developed AI translator application onto Doggo. It required an internet connection.”
“Wow...!”
“That’s really amazing, Ophelia!? So cute!”
It felt like Doggo was vibrating, directly translating and transmitting her voice to me. This was incredible. It made sense; since I was always closest to Doggo, having a translator function would be much better.
“Ah, um... Maxy! I’m a huge fan!”
“Really?! You said you loved me, right?!”
“That’s right! I even saw the video of you fighting at the Puebla Gate...”
“Ehehe, you’re making me blush!”
Now that we could communicate, everything felt much more comfortable. The translation even came out in Maxy’s exact voice, so it wasn’t jarring at all. My voice was also being translated into Spanish through Doggo’s speakers and broadcast to Maxy.
“Maxy, are you going to post the picture you took on Instagram?”
“Yeah! Is that not okay?”
“N-No! It’s fine, but...”
Maxy’s Instagram was filled with pictures she’d taken with all sorts of other Hunters. The lineup was packed with S-rank Hunters, or famous actors, singers, and idols.
‘Is it really okay for me to be in there...?’
Honestly, I was happy about it, but... you know. I saw online that Instagram comments can be pretty harsh. It felt like a global version of the gallery.
What if I get hate comments like, ‘Who is this random nobody kid?’
“It’s okay! You’re cute, Eve!”
“R-Really...? Then, can I ask for a favor, too...?”
“Yeah! What is it?!”
I placed Doggo on top of my head and fumbled in my pocket for my phone.
“I... want to take a picture with you, Maxy, and post it somewhere!”
“That sounds fun! Where?!”
But how should I explain the Awakening Gallery to Maxy?
“U-Uhm... Korean Reddit...?”
“Oh! Reddit! I get it!”
It actually worked.
Maxy nodded, then told me to wait a moment before dashing off somewhere. She went over to where Utaha was talking with Han Do-hee. I don't know when she joined them, but Ophelia was also there, conversing with Utaha.
“Utaha! Can you come here for a second?”
“What is it, Maxy?”
“Hurry!”
Maxy grabbed the seated Utaha’s arm and pulled her over to me. Seeing the relatively short Maxy next to the tall Utaha created a striking contrast.
“H-Hello...?”
“Oh my, hello.”
It was a little embarrassing, but I could understand some Japanese. Hearing Utaha say ‘Ara, konbanwa’ in person had a surprisingly powerful impact. So Japanese people really do say ‘ara’...
“Utaha! Eve wants to take a picture and post it on Korean Reddit!”
“I see. And why me?”
“Eve, I already took a picture for my Instagram. So this time, it would be nice if you took one with Utaha, right?”
“Ah, yes! I’m a huge fan of yours too, Utaha!”
“A fan... I see. Thank you.”
Utaha nodded and smiled at my words. She usually had such a stoic expression, but her smile made her look even prettier.
I glanced around, then pulled a napkin from a dispenser on the table and handed it to Ophelia.
“Ophelia, could you possibly write my gallery handle on this?”
“Yes, of course.”
Ophelia produced something like a ballpoint pen from her fingertip and, on the soft napkin, wrote ‘LifeIsntRuined’ with the clean precision of a printed font.
Whoa, how did she write it so perfectly? People might think it’s photoshopped...
“Hmm.”
In the end, I found a marker and a piece of paper elsewhere and wrote it myself. My handwriting was crooked, but it looked more authentic this way.
“By the way, Ophelia, what were you talking about with Utaha?”
“I was discussing various matters, as I believe establishing a connection in Japan would be beneficial.”
“Ah, I see...? Okay.”
I wasn’t sure what kind of connection she meant, but I figured Ophelia had a reason for everything she did. I had Maxy hold the napkin with my handle on it for one picture, and then had Utaha hold it for another.
“Will this do?”
“Gasp... Y-Yes. It looks really pretty.”
“By the way... what does this mean?”
After taking the picture, Utaha looked at my handwriting and asked. How on earth was I supposed to answer that?
“U-Uhm... Life is good...?”
“I see... a nice sentiment.”
Utaha nodded as she looked at the paper with my gallery handle. Something about this felt very wrong, but would it be okay...?
“May I keep this paper?”
“Huh? Ah, um... Yes! If you’d like...?”
“Thank you, Eve.”
“Eve! What about mine?”
“Ah, then I’ll write another one for you, Maxy....”
“Write my name on it too!”
“Eve, I’d like one as well, please.”
“Hoeeek.”
In the end, I gave Utaha a piece of paper that said ‘Tennoji Utaha LifeIsntRuined’ and Maxy one that said ‘Maxy LifeIsntRuined.’ I had a strong feeling that something had gone terribly wrong... but oh well.
If you stretch the meaning a little, it does mean ‘Life is good.’ Right...?
“Ophelia, this is fine, right...?”
“...I am not certain.”
“Eeing.”
To make matters worse, both Maxy and Utaha placed the papers I gave them on the table and were taking pictures of them. Surely they weren’t going to post them on social media, right? If they did, a swarm of mischievous, ugly Koreans might flock there and say who knows what.
...Or I might be the one branded as the ugly Korean. The one who made S-rank Hunters from other countries hold signs with weird phrases and take pictures.
“Eve! Hurry and post the picture on Korean Reddit!”
“Ah, um... should I?”
“I’m curious about the reaction!”
Maxy was going to post our picture on Instagram, and Utaha was going to post the one of her holding the paper with my handle. I called it Korean Reddit, but was this really okay? Ophelia had explained it was an Awakened fan community, but still...
what
is this real?
“Uh... the-the reaction is amazing.”
“Is it?”
Utaha couldn’t really read Korean, but I showed her the screen anyway. Seeing all the comments, she just seemed to accept it.
“That... is Miku.”
“Ahaha... it’s a popular emoticon.”
Amazingly, the post got 50 upvotes in just five minutes and shot straight to the featured page.
[52(43) Featured★] [↓Downvotes 141]
“This part... isn’t that bad?”
“Th-That’s... probably because they’re jealous....”
“Hmm, I see.”
And just as expected, a few minutes later, the drama chasers appeared. On the Active Hunter Gallery, of all places.
AI technology has gotten really good lately lol;
“Hah...?”
So that’s how they want to play, is it?