-Beep, beep, beep, beep.
-Ding-dong♪
"Uuugh…."
She stood on her tiptoes to barely reach the front door, then trudged inside and collapsed onto the couch.
Maybe it was the fault of these short, stubby little legs having to climb up and down a whole mountain — her body was absolutely exhausted.
She hadn't even used Avatar Manifestation today.
Guess her stamina really was still pretty lacking.
-Knead, knead.
-Knead, knead.
"Ahhh, stop… I'm melting…."
"Please bear with it a little longer, even if it hurts. If you don't loosen the muscles now, it'll be worse later."
Mm, it's not that it hurts, though.
Ji-woo lifted her head slightly and glanced back to find Arkiel diligently working on her legs.
The massage was surprisingly delicate and professional — her body went limp on its own. Her eyes were slowly drifting shut.
True to form for a Hidden Boss of catastrophic power, the massage was catastrophically effective.
But she couldn't fall asleep yet. It was only six o'clock.
She at least needed to eat dinner first, or her stomach would be killing her in the morning.
"Hey, Arkiel."
"Yes."
"Aren't you hungry?"
"I can last approximately another hundred years on my current reserves. There is no need to worry."
"…I can't even last ten hours."
Being a dragon and all, she apparently didn't feel hunger in any meaningful way.
Arkiel insisted she had more than enough stored nutrition and kept kneading Ji-woo's legs.
Though, watching her eat dinner yesterday, she seemed to enjoy human food just fine. Hmm….
"Arkiel, do you want to try fried chicken?"
"Fried chicken…? What kind of food is that?"
"It's crispy on the outside but tender inside, greasy but in a rich, savory way. Does 'chicken dish' ring a bell?"
Ji-woo suggested they have fried chicken together for dinner.
If she ate alone, she'd never finish a whole one — and she couldn't bear to waste good chicken.
Kim A-rin would've helped with that, but A-rin had vanished with a breezy "I've got a few things to take care of."
Which meant right now, it was just the two of them.
"Let's split a whole fried chicken. Sound good?"
"A-anything. Even if it were poison, I would gladly—!"
"…You shouldn't eat poison no matter who gives it to you."
Conveniently, Ji-woo also had a few things she wanted to ask Arkiel, so she figured she'd bring them up while they ate.
-Trrring.
-Trrring.
-Click.
[ Good evening, Ms. Lee Ji-woo. ]
"Oh, hello."
She called down to the building's management office through the intercom and ordered one whole crispy fried chicken.
A-rin had told her the management office would handle pretty much any reasonable request.
From that point, it took exactly twenty-three minutes for the chicken to arrive at the front door.
She'd expected at least an hour — this was insanely fast.
Fast enough that it might as well have been rushed over straight from the fryer.
Naturally, it tasted incredible.
-Munch, munch.
-Munch, munch.
"Arkiel, eat shome too. Ish really good."
The batter shattered the moment it hit her teeth. Savory juices seeped out between the cracks. The meat inside melted away, soft and moist.
Ji-woo wanted Arkiel to experience this dangerously violent flavor for herself.
A taste so undeniably good that no one could possibly dislike it.
-Crunch.
-Chew, chew….
"How is it? Good?"
"…It is remarkably savory. I have never tasted anything quite so rich."
"Heh heh, I knew it. Called it."
Thankfully, Arkiel seemed to be a fan of fried chicken.
Dragon through and through — a carnivore over a herbivore, any day.
Ji-woo had never once seen a vegetarian dragon in any novel or manga.
Even a herbivore dragon would probably take one bite of chicken and immediately defect to the meat-eating side.
"Hey, Arkiel. I wanted to ask you something."
"Yes. *gulp.* Please, go ahead."
Arkiel had swallowed a whole drumstick — bone and all — and was now looking at Ji-woo with bright, attentive eyes.
Ji-woo almost asked how she'd just done that, but caught herself and went back to what she'd originally meant to ask.
"You know, when you first saw me."
"Yes."
"Why did you mistake me for Fenrion? I'm human."
"At the time… your aura was similar. No — it was nearly identical to Fenrion's."
Arkiel explained.
When she'd first seen Ji-woo in the dungeon where the Gate shock had occurred a few days ago, Ji-woo had felt far closer to Fenrion than to any human.
"I had absolutely no idea it was you."
"Hmm…."
Ji-woo had a pretty good guess as to why.
She'd been using Avatar Manifestation at the time.
Her memory wasn't perfect, but her Assimilation rate with Fenrion had climbed above ninety percent.
Which meant the Ji-woo Arkiel had first encountered was roughly ninety percent Fenrion.
That was probably why Arkiel had confused her — the Assimilation rate had crossed ninety percent.
The dungeon's message window had also been throwing up warnings, treating her like some kind of Hidden Boss.
【Grade: S (Entity: Assimilating with Fenrion)】
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (37%)】
"So, how do I look right now? I'm still transformed, for the record."
"Right now… it feels slightly different. You and Fenrion are muddled together."
"Mm…. Assimilation, off."
【Grade: S → F】
【Currently Assimilating: None】
"And now?"
"Now it is only your aura. Nothing else."
It seemed Avatar Manifestation didn't just change her appearance to resemble Fenrion — it transformed her very existence into that of the Hidden Boss called Fenrion.
Enough to fool even Arkiel, a Hidden Boss herself. The dungeon system had glitched out too.
Still, getting a warning about a "critical error" every time she entered a dungeon was a little unsettling.
But she couldn't exactly stop using Avatar Manifestation — she had no confidence she could take down monsters with her bare hands. Not yet.
Hmm…. Was there any way to fix this.
"That… I believe if you were to ask Miss Erdi, she might have an answer."
"Oh, that works."
So she'd ask that clever little rat monster called Erdi about the Avatar Manifestation issue.
Now, next question.
"Um, Arkiel… you're a monster, right?"
"By human classification, yes."
"Then… if I'm working as a Hunter and I defeat monsters… how do you think you'd feel about that?"
This was something that had been nagging at her ever since she first met Fenrion.
Her Assimilation and Avatar Manifestation skills both borrowed power from Hidden Bosses — from monsters.
And then using that borrowed monster power to take down other monsters felt a little… off.
…Not that she had much choice if she was going to live as a Hunter.
"What exactly do you mean?"
"Like… would your opinion of me drop a little? Something like that?"
"Absolutely not. What matters most to me is your well-being."
Whether monster or human — if something threatened Ji-woo, it was an enemy, and if it didn't, it was an ally.
Anything that threatened her deserved to be dealt with swiftly, monster or not, Arkiel said.
Okay. So Arkiel didn't care either way.
"Do you think Hwaran and Fenrion feel the same?"
"…Most likely. You are the only one who has ever embraced us."
Hwaran and Fenrion would put Ji-woo first above all else — Arkiel said it with unwavering eyes.
Good. No need to worry about losing favor with the Hidden Bosses.
Now, last question.
"We're going to go meet Miss Erdi soon, right?"
"…Yes."
"Do you know what she likes? I want to make a good impression."
The past-life Ji-woo had known Erdi, but the current Ji-woo didn't.
Right now, she and Erdi were complete strangers.
Since she'd need Erdi's help, she'd need to get close to her — so she asked how to make a good impression.
Arkiel knew Erdi better than she did, after all.
"What Miss Erdi… might like…. Hmm…."
"L-like, her favorite food? Or a gift? A toy? Clothes…?"
"Ah, she does prefer neat clothing. She favored things that didn't stand out too much."
As if the question had jogged her memory, Arkiel nodded and spoke.
"It seems tomorrow, you'll need to go shopping for clothing."
"Mm…. But Arkiel, I don't know Miss Erdi's size."
"Pardon?"
"If I'm buying her clothes as a gift, I'd need to know her size, wouldn't I?"
"No, I meant… you need to prepare clothing for yourself. What you'll wear when you go to see her."
"Oh."
"If you show up dressed the way you are now, she'll scold you and ask what on earth you're wearing."
Even so, trust her, Arkiel said with a face full of confidence.
She already knew exactly what kind of outfit Erdi would approve of.
"What… kind of outfit?"
"Something neat and refined. Incomparably more so than what you're wearing now."
"Um, more specifically. An example, maybe."
Almost at the same moment — a flash.
Whatever idea had just struck her, Arkiel carefully took Ji-woo's hand and asked if it would be all right to show her right now.
"Uh…. Sure, I don't mind."
"Then, if you'll allow me."
Softly. Arkiel's hand glided gently across Ji-woo's shoulder.
A moment later, across her forehead, then the back of her head.
She touched here and there with meticulous care, and then — a shimmer.
A small cluster of light flowed from Arkiel's hand, wrapped around Ji-woo's body, and vanished just as quickly.
-Ding.
[ Entity: Arkiel has equipped Entity: Lee Ji-woo with ❮Ether Lace Dress❯. ]
"Done. Take a look."
"I'm not an idiot, you know."
"I meant the mirror."
"Oh."
Feeling a faint sense of added weight on her body, Ji-woo headed straight to the bathroom.
She stared hard at her reflection — a trailing, flowing dress — for a long moment.
Then she walked back out and asked Arkiel:
"Hey, Arkiel…."
"Yes. Go ahead."
-Fidget, fidget.
-Fidget, fidget.
"Do I really have to wear something like this? Seriously?"
"If I may be so bold — Miss Erdi will absolutely love it."
But the flowing dress Ji-woo was currently wearing was only magic, Arkiel added.
In a few hours it would revert back to her original clothes — so tomorrow they'd go out and actually buy a real dress like this one.
That was what Arkiel said.
With eyes full of absolute certainty.
"I-it looks like it'd be really expensive. And I probably won't wear it much normally…."
"Do not worry. I already have everything needed to cover the cost."
"Everything? Like what?"
When Ji-woo hesitated, Arkiel told her not to worry and to trust her.
And then — rip, rip, rip.
She threw open her blouse in the pose of a superhero revealing their costume — like Superman tearing open his shirt.
Except instead of a blue Superman suit underneath, there was nothing but bare white skin. Oh my god.
"A-Arkiel! What are you doing…!"
"Just a moment…."
Blouse hanging open, Arkiel squeezed her eyes shut. Ji-woo squeezed hers shut too.
Even if they were both girls right now, this was a bit much.
-Hummm────.
-Thud, thud.
"There. Look at this. This should be more than enough to purchase your wardrobe."
"Oh… that's gold. W-wait, are those diamonds too?"
Goodness knows where she'd pulled it from, but a pile of gold and jewels had spilled out right in front of Arkiel.
And her blouse was still hanging open.
"Quick, quick, close your shirt, Arkiel! What if someone sees…!"
"It is fine. This form is not my true form."
I'm not fine.
Ji-woo hurried over and buttoned up the embarrassingly open blouse.
……She had to press with a fair bit of force to get it closed. The shirt was clearly a size too small.
"In any case, tomorrow you can use these to acquire your clothing. It should be more than sufficient."
"…I think you're right about that."
The gold and jewels Arkiel had produced from who-knows-where looked incredibly valuable even to Ji-woo's untrained eye — but there was a problem.
She had no idea how to convert gems into actual money.
For that matter, today was the first time she'd ever seen real gemstones in person.
Hmm, should she ask Kim A-rin?
"It will be fine. Simply show them these, and they will bring out the finest and most expensive garments they have."
"Um, Arkiel. That's not really how it works these days."
"Pardon?"
"I don't think barter is going to fly…."
She'd have to ask Kim A-rin. No way around it.
If a little kid like her walked in somewhere with a pile of mystery gems asking to exchange them for cash, people would definitely find it suspicious.
She'd seen something on YouTube Shorts about how stuff like this involved complicated tax issues and all sorts of headaches.
"Hmm, she said she'd be back soon. I wonder when she'll actually show up…."
-Ding-dong♪
"Oh, she's here."
Speak of the devil — and in walked someone far more powerful than any devil. Kim A-rin was back.
A-rin's face appeared on the intercom screen.
But there was another face standing behind her.
Why had she brought Yoo Do-a along?
-Click─!
"Hey, Ji-woo~."
Ji-woo opened the front door, and Kim A-rin and Yoo Do-a both looked down at her at the same time.
Do-a waved cheerfully in greeting.
But the moment their eyes met Ji-woo's, both of them froze solid.
The pupils of both Kim A-rin and Yoo Do-a registered what felt like a magnitude 8.0 earthquake.
Huh? Why are they doing that?
-Ding.
[ The effect of ❮Ether Lace Dress❯ enhances Entity: Lee Ji-woo's visual elegance. ]
"Oh."
Only when the notification window appeared in front of her did Ji-woo remember what she was currently wearing.
A flowing, airy dress — a blend of white and black, strikingly old-fashioned and refined.
Do-a looked like she might die from how cute it was. Even Kim A-rin couldn't take her eyes off Ji-woo.
But there was one more problem.
Her hands and legs were moving on their own.
[ The noble bearing of ❮Ether Lace Dress❯ guides Entity: Lee Ji-woo's movements. ]
-Swish.
Both hands lifted the hem of the skirt ever so slightly.
One leg extended gently behind her, knee bending just a little.
"W-welcome. I've been waiting for you."
She'd greeted them exactly like a noblewoman from the Middle Ages.
Watching her, Arkiel nodded with an expression of deep satisfaction.
She murmured that Ji-woo had finally reclaimed the appearance befitting her true self.
"Show some proper respect, at once!"
Arkiel called out in a commanding voice, telling Yoo Do-a and Kim A-rin to return Ji-woo's dignified greeting with appropriate courtesy.
But somehow, Ji-woo was the only one who ended up embarrassed.
"Ji-woo, you — no, wait… wow. You look amazing. Like an actual noble lady."
"Unnie, just one photo. Seriously, just one."
"…………."
Just you wait, Arkiel.
I am never going to forget this.
