"How could you push the swing that hard, Arkiel? That was terrifying."
"I-I'm so sorry. I just… I mean…."
When I shot her a sulky look and pressed her on it, Arkiel apologized with the most genuinely remorseful expression.
She said she'd gotten so caught up in the moment without realizing it — that it had been so long since she'd played with me like this.
"You were always buried in work back then, in your previous life…. You always said you were fine, but your face was always so tired…."
"W-well…."
"I just wanted to make you smile, even now…. …I'm sorry…."
Arkiel's voice grew smaller and smaller until she finally bowed her head low.
Somehow I felt like the bad guy here.
Even Kim A-rin was sneaking glances at me instead of Arkiel.
I had an ominous feeling that Ultra-Trash Ji-woo was about to make a comeback.
"…I'm not saying don't do it at all. Just — gently."
"Pardon?"
"If you do it gently it's fine, so… don't push so hard. Got it?"
"…!!"
The moment Arkiel understood what I meant, her face lit up with deep, genuine emotion.
Ultra-Trash Ji-woo, who had been just about to claw her way back out of her coffin with a mighty heave-ho, thankfully lay back down.
…What on earth was I doing in my past life? Working nonstop to the point where Arkiel was worried about me.
I should've taken some time to enjoy a swing or two. Honestly.
— Ding.
【⟩︿⟨】
"…Hm? What's that."
I was on the swing, being pushed ever so gently by Arkiel, when a message window popped up.
Then it slid away just as quickly.
Did I imagine it? What was that just now?
"Is something the matter?"
"Mm…. No. I must've imagined it."
I rode the creaky old swing — squeak, squeak — back and forth about ten times before hopping off.
I'm way past the age for swings, but riding one after so long is surprisingly fun. As long as I don't go too high, it's fine.
"Alright, now I'll push Arkiel."
"What? W-why would you—"
"Because you pushed me, obviously."
That's just how swings work — you take turns.
The orphanage director always said it was unfair for only one person to ride the whole time. The kids got an earful over that.
…Honestly, more than that, I really just wanted to push Arkiel as hard as I could.
That's me, Lee Ji-woo. An S-rank Hunter who never forgets a kindness — or a grudge.
"I-it's truly fine. How could I possibly let you go to such trouble for my sake."
"Sit down, Arkiel. That's an order."
I made up my mind to push Arkiel so hard she'd scream, and quickly got her seated on the swing.
Then I immediately used Assimilation to transform into Fenrion, boosting my own strength a bit.
Almost simultaneously — crack.
— SNAP!
— THUD!
"Aaagh."
The moment Arkiel sat down, the ancient swing—
No, both the ancient swing and the thick tree branch it was hanging from snapped together.
Fortunately neither Arkiel nor I was hurt, but…
The swing had become a former swing.
"Arkiel, just how heavy are you?"
"…………."
I asked in bewilderment, but Arkiel clamped her mouth shut, a magnitude-9.0 earthquake raging behind her eyes.
Even she seemed a little embarrassed by this.
But more importantly — what do I do now? This is a rented house.
"Unnie? What happened?"
Kim A-rin came over after hearing something crash and crumble, so I ended up coming clean.
About the fact that Arkiel's body weight might be heavier than a plump sumo wrestler.
"It went snap the second she sat down. I seriously didn't break it on purpose."
"Are you hurt?"
"…Not me, but my bank account might be hurting soon…."
Well, I still had the reward from clearing that S-rank Dungeon last time.
Maybe I could cover the repair costs with that…?
A swing can't cost hundreds of millions of won.
Arkiel's partially at fault too, so if I added the value of that gem she pulled from her chest last time toward the repair bill… hmm….
"…Haah."
— Hmmm…….
【Entity: Erdis Arcana restores the condition of Entity: European Beech.】
"What good is it being unable to handle even nature."
When Erdi touched the tree that had just snapped, a cluster of green light gently enveloped it.
The tree was restored to its original state before long.
The worn-out swing had been repaired as well, without anyone noticing.
…Erdi is the best.
"I love you, Miss Erdi!"
— SQUEEZE!
I threw my arms around Erdi, who had fixed the swing in my place, and unleashed a barrage of praise.
Whatever else might be said, I couldn't hold back my gratitude for saving my bank account from suffering.
"Hey — let go?"
"Miss Erdi is the best. You're incredible. How can one person be this perfect."
"──!"
Erdi tried to push me away in a panic, but I currently had my S-rank invincibility skill active.
No matter how hard she pushed, I didn't budge an inch.
The more I watched, the more I could see — she grumbled with words, but she always came through in the end.
Erdi was apparently a tsundere Hidden Boss.
"Hey. Lizard. Head down."
"…!"
When Erdi glared at Arkiel, Arkiel immediately snapped into a disciplinary stance.
Since she couldn't do anything about invincible me, she took it out on Arkiel instead, growling and snarling at her.
Either way, the broken tree and swing were back to normal, so all's well that ends well.
"…You've got one second to let go before you regret it."
"Yikes."
I quickly released Erdi, who had gone dead serious. Too much praise is too much, after all.
There's nothing to gain from angering a Hidden Boss who can wipe out enormous monster creatures in a single stroke.
Still, gratitude is gratitude — I'd been thinking of offering to ride in a car together if the mansion had one.
— Ding.
[ Entity: Erdis Arcana's Affinity increases slightly. (50 → 51) ]
Erdi's Affinity, which hadn't budged no matter what I did, went up for the first time.
It was only by 1, but… what could have caused it to rise?
All I did was fix the swing, hug her briefly out of gratitude, and shower her with compliments.
— Ding.
【…Entity: Erdis Arcana has low resistance to direct physical contact.】
【Try inviting Entity: Erdis Arcana to sleep together.】
【On success: Erdis Arcana Affinity +20】
"Oh."
The message window that had been unusually helpful specifically when it came to Erdi showed me another strategy guide.
And for the first time, something like a quest appeared.
So — if I sleep with Erdi, Affinity goes up by 20.
"Unnie? What are you thinking about?"
"…A very important plan."
"…It's not something weird, is it?"
"Mm, no. Nothing like that."
We returned to the mansion, and I kept thinking and thinking it over.
It was a simple enough quest — just sleep together — but the target was Erdi.
How was I supposed to get that prickly little mouse to lie down next to me?
I'd noticed earlier that the bed was wide enough for both of us with room to spare. Hmm….
"Unnie, are you really sleeping alone?"
"You said you have calls to make tonight. Didn't you say you have some meeting with Yoo Do-a?"
"That's… true, but."
"I can't sleep with you doing stuff right next to me. And I've got Arkiel and Miss Erdi here. I'll be fine."
Step one — separating Kim A-rin — was a success.
Because of the London Thames Red Gate incident, A-rin had said she'd need to be in meetings with the Haetae Guild through the early morning.
When it's morning in Korea, it's the middle of the night in England, so they'd had no choice but to schedule contact for the early hours.
But I was going to sleep. You don't grow if you don't sleep at night.
"…If you're scared to sleep alone, just come to my room."
"Wh-what are you talking about. I said I'm not alone."
I washed up in the absurdly luxurious bathroom, changed into my sleeping clothes, and headed to my bedroom.
The sleepwear looked more like a dress — apparently this kind of thing is called a negligee.
There were no other options. A-rin had packed all her luggage when she came from Korea to England, but I'd come with Arkiel with nothing but the clothes on my back.
The elderly chairwoman of the British Hunter Association had sent over some clothes for me to wear, and the nightgown she'd included was this white negligee.
— Flump.
"Mmmmgh─────."
I sank into the enormous bed, stretched out once, and turned my head slightly to the side.
There were the two Hidden Bosses.
"Please rest. I will keep watch."
"Mm, y-yeah. Thank you, Arkiel."
Arkiel was standing guard as my bodyguard as always, and Erdi was sitting in a chair, watching me in silence.
Ever since she'd followed me out of that ruined Dungeon, she'd clearly been mulling something over — but I still didn't know exactly what.
She just had that look on her face. The thinking look.
Still, we needed to sleep together regardless.
They always say girls get close through things like pajama parties.
And I had plenty of questions I wanted to ask Erdi.
"Um…. Miss Erdi."
"What."
I called out to Erdi, still as prickly as ever, and shifted slightly to the side.
I made room for her to lie down.
Then, carefully but directly, I asked.
Because last time she'd said it was better to speak honestly with Erdi rather than dance around things.
"Would it be alright… if we slept together, just for tonight?"
***
"…What did you say?"
"I want to sleep with you, Miss Erdi. Tonight especially, sleeping alone feels a little… so."
Having you beside me would make me feel safe enough to fall right asleep.
At Ji-woo's words — not a single lie in them — the eyes of Erdis Arcana wavered.
And for good reason. Ji-woo's outward appearance was nearly identical to that of her former student.
"…Would it really not be okay?"
A thin white negligee. A cheek slightly pressed into the pillow.
A faint flush of color from what seemed like shyness.
And those sunset-colored eyes gazing steadily up at her.
She had known, but the resemblance was painfully exact.
【Entity: Null's face flushes red.】
【Entity: Null clarifies that this was not her intention.】
"…………."
By Erdis Arcana's standards, a girl in nothing but her undergarments was asking to sleep with her.
Of course, Ji-woo was fully dressed beneath the negligee — but regardless, that image kept overlapping with her former student.
There was no denying that she had given far too much of her heart to that face.
— Clench.
"…Haah."
She bit her lower lip for a moment — then even that tension drained away, and Erdis Arcana walked forward.
Toward Ji-woo, who was asking her to sleep together.
But she couldn't bring herself to lie down facing her, so she perched lightly on the very edge of the bed.
She would at least hear out whatever was going on this time.
The problem was.
— Grab.
"…!?"
Ji-woo seized Erdis Arcana by both shoulders from behind — and promptly pulled her down onto the bed.
Which left Erdis Arcana lying right beside Ji-woo.
They still weren't facing each other, but Ji-woo was pressed firmly against her back and showed no sign of letting go.
— Pat pat.
— Pat pat.
"L-let go. What do you think you're doing right now?"
"Just sleep with me tonight. Only one night! I won't do this again starting tomorrow."
No matter how many times that slender tail swatted at Ji-woo's cheek, Ji-woo held on from behind without the slightest sign of pain.
Ji-woo even let out a soft laugh, saying Erdis Arcana's tail tickled.
【Entity: Null sincerely clarifies that this was not her intention.】
【Entity: Null squeezes her eyes shut and turns her face away from Entity: Ji-woo.】
The former student, still existing somewhere as a lingering soul watching over things, was equally flustered — but that didn't change anything.
Of all things, the blessing her former student had bestowed upon Ji-woo made it physically impossible to push her away.
【Entity: Null mutters quietly that she had only expected a hand to be held.】
'…Well done.'
And so, in the end, Erdis Arcana found herself hopelessly caught in Ji-woo's embrace from behind.
Arkiel, reading the room between the two of them, couldn't bring herself to intervene.
"Good… night… give me a… sec…."
— Tap tap tap.
— Ding.
"…Done. Sleep now, Miss Erdi."
"…………."
Ji-woo did something with the device called a phone, then set it back down.
Then she slowly buried her face against Erdis Arcana's back.
As if sleeping beside Erdis Arcana really was her only purpose.
She didn't fall asleep right away, of course.
Ji-woo was still a little awkward about it too.
"Um…. Miss Erdi."
"…What."
"I have something I want to ask — is it alright if I do?"
Taking Erdis Arcana's subsequent silence as a yes, she opened her mouth freely.
"I've been wondering. Everyone else is terrified of Hidden Bosses — so why is it only me who can get close to them?"
"…I don't know."
"It seems like my past self used to be friends with Hidden Bosses and things like that…."
"Who said anything about friends."
"Then… was my past self… on the Hidden Bosses' side rather than humanity's?"
Even Erdis Arcana, who had been letting Ji-woo's questions wash over her, couldn't let that one pass.
That was one misunderstanding she absolutely could not allow.
"The one thing I can tell you for certain."
The single difference between countless humans and the girl in her memory.
Erdis Arcana put it into words.
"You were the first. …The only one who ever stepped forward willing to talk to us."
"So… you never had Hidden Bosses slaughter humans on your orders, or tried to conquer the world, or…."
"If I'd wanted that, I would've done it long ago."
"Mm, I'm glad…."
Humans and monsters were enemies.
Because of that immutable truth, she'd been afraid — what if her past self had lived as an enemy of humanity, alongside the Hidden Bosses?
Even so, hearing that it wasn't the case, Ji-woo smiled softly, her eyes half-closed with relief.
She'd been afraid that this power she'd miraculously come to possess had originally been a power used to harm people.
"…That name was given by humans in the first place. 'Hidden Boss.'"
"Then, originally…?"
"There was no name. We just… lived. The way we always had."
"Mm, I see…."
Still blinking slowly, Ji-woo quietly drifted off to sleep.
The sound of soft, steady breathing came from just behind.
Even though what Ji-woo was holding in her arms was a being that could sever Ji-woo's breath in an instant — one that had been called something worse than a monster even among monsters.
What on earth was she trusting to sleep so peacefully like that.
"…Miss Erdi."
"…Quiet."
She brushed aside Arkiel's careful voice, and Erdis Arcana sank back into thought.
Because now she knew for certain.
What only one girl among hundreds of millions of humans had once possessed — Ji-woo had it too.
Just as it had been before, there was only one.
【❮…I, Erdis Arcana, hereby declare.❯】
And so she began to recite the incantation.
【❮Your master has returned.❯】
【❮The Ark — answer the call.❯】
Boom. Far out in the middle of the open ocean, vast tectonic plates split apart, rousing the enormous island sleeping beneath from its ancient slumber.
And the other guardian who had protected The Ark through immeasurable ages of time.
[ Entity: Erdis Arcana's summons has been confirmed. ]
[ Entity: The Crawling Calamity opens its eyes. ]
『…Oh my?』
『What's gotten into that old fossil?』
