Before coming face to face with Ji-woo, who had somehow turned into a young noblewoman, Kim A-rin had been in Yoo Do-a's office, deep in conversation with her.
Well, there was no shortage of things to handle or look into when it came to Ji-woo.
"She has a summon? Ji-woo does?"
"…Yeah."
Of all those matters, the ones involving Arkiel were especially urgent.
A being who had once been a Hidden Boss of a Dungeon.
Someone so dangerously powerful that even Kim A-rin struggled to gauge the limits of her strength.
And at the same time, a woman who had now appointed herself Ji-woo's bodyguard and refused to leave her side.
"Actually, that thing at the Association last time……. That was her summon."
"…You're lying."
"I'm serious. Her actual summon… did that."
As she explained the incident where Arkiel had completely demolished the Hunter rank assessment room, Kim A-rin laid out just how dangerous and powerful she was.
Yoo Do-a's reaction to hearing all of it was, in a word, horror.
"That would mean she's at least S-rank…. Do you even hear yourself? She's a summon."
"…Senior. I'm not lying right now."
Even by the most conservative estimate, she was a summon on par with an S-rank Hunter like herself — Kim A-rin pressed on.
"I honestly don't know how she ended up with a summon like that…. But there's no doubt she belongs to her."
"……Even if I take your word for it. You know what happens if this gets out."
"Yeah. That's exactly why I'm only telling you."
Ji-woo was already more than strong enough on her own — an S-rank transformation-type Hunter.
But the fact that Ji-woo could also command a summon on top of that.
And that the summon was every bit as powerful as Ji-woo herself — an S-rank summon in her own right.
No, that wasn't even the half of it.
"My guess is…. There could be more. As many as she wants."
"…It's not just the one?"
"No."
The idea that she could command any number of such powerful summons was not a simple matter.
It wasn't a question of whether a summoner like that could even exist in the world.
Being able to command any number of S-rank summons meant being able to wield all that power according to one person's will.
There weren't that many S-rank Hunters in Korea to begin with — and a single private individual, not a nation or a guild, commanding multiple beings of comparable strength?
Bluntly put, it was enough to topple a government.
"Not that Ji-woo would ever do something like that, but……."
"That's why I need your help. I need you, Senior."
Above all else, it could not get out that Ji-woo was capable of commanding S-rank summons.
Would the world really leave a summoner that powerful alone?
And on top of everything, she looked like just a little kid on the outside.
"For now, her appearance is completely human."
"She can mimic humans too? The summon…?"
"Yeah. So, if possible, I think it'd be best to disguise her as a real person."
"You want to hide the fact that she's Ji-woo's summon?"
"If it comes out that she belongs to her, they'll go after her first. ……It'd be better to make it look like she has nothing to do with her at all."
Kim A-rin made her request to Yoo Do-a.
For now, to keep Arkiel's connection to Ji-woo from being exposed, they should establish some kind of identity for Arkiel.
That way, even if Arkiel's strength became known to the world, all the attention would be directed at Arkiel alone.
Someone like Arkiel — a Hidden Boss — wouldn't even flinch at most threats.
"But if the summons keep increasing…. There's a limit to how many identities we can create. Where are people just supposed to pop into existence out of nowhere?"
"……Still, do it for now. You can make it happen, Senior."
"Haah…."
"Unless you have a better idea?"
"…I don't. And that's exactly what makes this such a headache."
After that, Yoo Do-a slumped face-first onto her office desk and groaned, turning the problem over and over in her mind.
Ji-woo was adorable, sure — but completely separate from that, her abilities were giving her a serious migraine.
It would be a relief if such tremendous power were used only for good. And Ji-woo would use her abilities for good.
But that was a certainty only because Yoo Do-a and Kim A-rin knew Ji-woo well enough, and cared about her enough, to be sure of it.
"By the way, what did the Association Director…. say? About the summon, Arkiel."
"…He thinks she's a secret weapon the Haetae Guild has been quietly developing. I didn't tell him she was a summon."
"I — I'm hearing this for the first time right now, you know? When did we ever develop a secret weapon like that."
"Anyway, that's what he believes."
"…Good lord…."
To anyone who didn't know Ji-woo, it looked exactly like a small child holding a nuclear launch button.
That was how the world would see her.
Kim A-rin knew that all too well — which was precisely why she'd asked Yoo Do-a to hide the fact that she was holding the button in the first place.
"And her identity…. needs to be corrected too."
"…Being a guild master is a crime, I swear."
Creating a social identity for Arkiel.
Correcting Ji-woo's records from the adult she'd been before her awakening to the child she'd become after it.
Those were the two things Kim A-rin had asked for.
Yoo Do-a had already taken Ji-woo in as a guild member — in the end, these were requests she had no choice but to grant.
"Sorry, Senior. I keep relying on you."
"…You've already said everything you came to say, and now you're apologizing?!"
Of course, the truth that Arkiel was a Hidden Boss from a Dungeon was something she couldn't share with Yoo Do-a either.
Because then she'd naturally have to come clean about Ji-woo's real abilities too.
Revealing Arkiel's true identity right now would only cause needless chaos — that was Kim A-rin's judgment.
For the time being, she called herself Ji-woo's servant and remained obedient to her, so…….
"Alright, let's go, Senior."
"Where?"
"See for yourself and make your own call. Her summon."
"Ah…. …Right, I suppose I should…."
She just hoped, naively, that nothing would go wrong.
A shameful thought for an S-rank Hunter with a duty to protect this country and its people.
Kim A-rin knew that better than anyone.
But what could she do.
Selfish as it was, the person who mattered most to Kim A-rin was Ji-woo.
— Ding-dong ♪
"…Sis. It's me."
The sister she'd only managed to get living next door after she awakened as a Hunter.
The fool who, no matter how poor she'd been before that, had never once held out her hand to Kim A-rin.
— Click ─!
"Oh… welcome. I was waiting for you."
"Ji-woo, you look — wait, wow…. You look incredible. Like some kind of noble lady."
Whatever the reason, that young face greeting her in a flowing, airy dress — Kim A-rin thought it was the most precious thing in the world.
Even if they shared no blood.
It had happened simply because they'd spent their childhoods together in the same orphanage, passing the same hours side by side.
Ji-woo was closer to family than any relative whose name or face she didn't even know.
"So, Arkiel."
Time passed, and it was late at night — Ji-woo had long since departed for dreamland.
Kim A-rin spoke to Arkiel, who was still standing guard beside Ji-woo's bed.
"Don't…… betray my trust."
"As if I would concern myself with the trust of a mere human."
"You should. Because I'm the lunatic who brought you into the middle of Seoul on nothing but my sister's word…."
She told her to keep the vow she'd made in front of Ji-woo on the day she'd first brought Arkiel to her home.
Don't become a threat to humans.
Don't make her regret the insane decision to bring a Hidden Boss into the heart of Seoul.
"If you become a danger to the world, she becomes a danger too. You know that."
"As if I would allow that."
"…Protect her. From what you are."
"Nonsense. Even if my last breath left me, I would never turn against her."
"Fine, then protect her even with your last breath. …That's all you need to do."
Deep in the dark of night.
From Arkiel, who still spoke down to her, Kim A-rin extracted a promise by any means necessary.
That Arkiel would place Ji-woo's safety above her own life.
And further — that she would not cause any disturbance that might threaten Ji-woo's wellbeing.
A promise made only in words, but a promise nonetheless.
— Rustle, rustle.
— Rustle, rustle.
"Mmm…."
Perhaps they'd talked too long.
Ji-woo, who had been sound asleep, stirred and blinked her eyes open.
"You two……. What are you doing up?"
"…We were talking about what to eat tomorrow."
Kim A-rin kept a perfectly straight face and told her sister to go back to sleep.
Said she wouldn't grow if she didn't get enough rest.
"Weren't you the one who said you wanted to grow up fast. …You planning to stay tiny forever?"
"I'm — I'm not tiny!"
"You barely reach my waist. My little pint-sized sister."
"───!"
Fortunately, Arkiel didn't breathe a word of their conversation to Ji-woo either.
It was less that she chose to stay quiet out of consideration, and more that she simply didn't feel the need to report every little thing to Ji-woo — but as far as Kim A-rin was concerned, it didn't matter either way.
***
— Blink, blink.
— Blink, blink.
— …Flail, flail ───!
"Mmmph ─────!"
Maybe it was the mattress, but waking up at the crack of dawn (eight in the morning) left her feeling surprisingly refreshed.
She stretched her arms and legs out in every direction — zero fatigue.
This drowsy, effort-free laziness was going to be the death of her.
"You're awake."
"Eep."
She'd forgotten that Arkiel was watching her from beside the bed.
Which meant Arkiel had just witnessed her performing tai chi in bed.
……Somehow that felt embarrassing, so she scrambled up and made a beeline straight for the bathroom.
At least Arkiel didn't follow her inside.
— Splash, splash.
— Splash, splash.
"Phew."
She finished washing her face and stepped out of the bathroom to find the sprawling living room spread before her.
Beside it, a massive floor-to-ceiling window — look down through it, and all of Seoul lay below.
A Seoul view, worth several times more than the supposedly premium Han River view.
The Han River was visible too, tiny and distant down below.
From up here it looked more like a little stream, honestly…….
— Ding-dong ♪
"Oh. Who's that."
She was still taking in the view she hadn't quite gotten used to when someone rang the bell.
Kim A-rin had said she needed to check out some A-rank Dungeon first thing in the morning, so it wouldn't be her.
That left exactly one person.
— Click ─!
"Oh, Ji-woo. You're already up."
She ran to the front door and opened it, and Yoo Do-a greeted her with a cheerful wave from the other side.
Though her eyes looked just a little bit disappointed. Why?
"Hmm, no dress today."
"…Yesterday was the weird one."
It seemed she'd been hoping to find Ji-woo in another flowing dress like last evening.
Not a chance — she told her to rest easy.
The dress from yesterday had been a fake one Arkiel conjured with magic in the first place.
It had vanished like a mirage a few hours later, and she'd never be able to wear it again.
"As you wish. If you command it, I can once again──"
— Thwap!
"Quiet, quiet……!"
"Mmph, mmph mmph mmph."
She physically clamped Arkiel's mouth shut, then turned to Yoo Do-a, who had settled onto the sofa, and asked what brought her here.
"What's going on? Kim A-rin's not here right now."
"Ah, right. It's about your summon. Her name was…."
"Arkiel."
"Yeah. Arkiel — there's somewhere we need to go. You're coming too, Ji-woo."
For now, Arkiel was her summon.
So she'd need to go through the same procedures that all summons typically had to go through, Yoo Do-a explained.
As long as Ji-woo was a member of the Haetae Guild, Arkiel as her summon was also considered part of the Haetae Guild, apparently.
So all the formalities related to Arkiel would be handled through the Haetae Guild's side.
"Just like you went through rank assessment at the Association last time, Arkiel will be doing something similar."
"Ah…. I was planning to go clothes shopping today."
"Oh, I heard about that from A-rin. We can go shopping with your sister after the assessment."
It was a necessary procedure regardless, so Ji-woo followed along with Arkiel as they trailed after Yoo Do-a.
About ten minutes of walking later, a wide open lot came into view.
A place mainly used to test skills and special abilities that were difficult to measure indoors.
Being early morning, there was no one in the lot but the three of them.
"Alright, let's start by checking the linked skills."
"Linked skills?"
"Mm…. Are there any skills you and your summon can use together?"
"A link with me, you say. …Unworthy of a human, but I shall make an exception and show you."
Arkiel spoke up before Ji-woo could answer, nodding with a confident expression.
And then — ding.
【Rank: F → S (Assimilation with: Arkiel in progress)】
【Currently assimilating: Arkiel (1%)】
— Flap, flap.
— Flap, flap.
"Wh — whoa?"
The Assimilation skill activated on its own, and wings burst out from behind her.
An enormously long tail and sharp horns sprouted along with them.
— Flap, flap.
— Flap, flap.
"Wh — whoa…! I'm going to l-lift off! I'm flying ──!"
"Heh heh, do you see, human? This is the bond between her and I ──"
"…That is insanely adorable. What even is that."
"……What did you say?"
