Elicia Rose Winder. Age 13. British royalty.
A girl of beautiful, graceful appearance who had awakened at the tender age of seven and earned her credentials as a Hunter.
The first awakened individual to ever emerge from the British royal family, which had never produced one before.
｢What? Princess Elicia awakened? Seriously?｣
｢They say she can already command an A-rank summon. If that's true……｣
｢…The next president of the Hunter Association will be Elicia, no question. She was already a brilliant child, and now she's awakened on top of that.｣
She was already born into the lofty status of British royalty, and had even been working as a child model thanks to her lovely looks.
And now she'd gone and become an awakened Hunter on top of all that — the very thing everyone dreamed of being.
It was only natural that Elicia's popularity among the British public skyrocketed.
Perhaps that was why.
-Wooong───!
[ Entity: Lukar responds to the summons of Entity: Elicia Rose Winder. ]
-Grrrr…….
｢Lukar!｣
Elicia had a special fondness for her summon, Lukar.
After all, it was largely thanks to Lukar that Elicia was able to enjoy more popularity and love than any other member of the royal family.
｢Lukar, Lukar. Tomorrow I'm meeting a kid named Ji-woo. She's an awakened Hunter too, just like me.｣
A friend who had stayed by her side since she was far younger than she was now.
And at the same time, proof that Elicia herself could protect the people of Britain as a proper Hunter.
｢I wonder if Ji-woo will be scared of you? If she's okay with it, I'd love to introduce you two.｣
-Blink blink.
-Blink blink.
｢Our Lukar might look a little scary, but he doesn't bite people. Emily keeps nagging me about it, saying he's frightening. Right, Lukar~.｣
-Blink blink.
-Lick.
｢Ahhhh, that tickles, Lukar.｣
Lukar, with whom she had grown so close that their very souls seemed to commune, was a source of pride for her.
The fact that she could perfectly control Lukar, an A-rank summon, meant that Elicia herself was a Hunter of exceptional caliber.
The most valiant summon she had ever seen in her life, loyal to Elicia and Elicia alone.
-Pat pat.
-Pat pat.
｢Anyway, I'm excited. I wonder what kind of person she is….｣
Among summons, Lukar was considered quite handsome, and Elicia would sometimes do photoshoots with him.
A good half of Elicia's massive Instagram following was thanks to Lukar's popularity.
More than a few people had been left speechless by the majestic sweep of Lukar's white mane.
That had certainly been the case.
Until now.
"Lukar, sit! Lie down! Spin around!"
-Flop. Flop. Spin spin.
｢…Lukar…?｣
Lukar was performing every little trick Ji-woo asked of him, wearing an expression Elicia had never seen on his face before.
Eyes gone all soft and gentle. Tongue lolling out, panting away.
As if he were Ji-woo's summon.
"Lukar…. Paw!"
-Swish.
-Thump.
"Good boy. Well done, Lukar~."
The steadfast childhood companion who had always been the most dependable presence in her world was nowhere to be found. In his place sat nothing but one very cute puppy.
Lukar, sitting perfectly still even as Ji-woo — not Elicia — petted him.
For a young Elicia, barely thirteen years old, there was something a little strange stirring inside her……
-Flinch.
"H-he really listens well. …Lukar seems like an incredibly smart summon!"
In that instant, Ji-woo sensed the resurrection of her Ultra Trash self and quickly turned her head away.
Then, with an awkward smile and a thumbs-up aimed at Elicia — whose heart had nearly crumbled a moment ago.
"Elicia, you're an amazing summoner. Taming a giant wolf like this. That's seriously impressive."
｢That's what she says. I recommend responding with a thank-you, Your Highness.｣
As Ji-woo's words reached her ears in English translation, Elicia recovered her smile and nodded proudly.
W-well, it was true that Lukar was a clever wolf who understood people right away.
He'd never attacked anyone. And he was being so friendly to Ji-woo, a complete stranger.
Either way, Lukar was an exceptionally outstanding specimen for an A-rank summon.
"Still…. I feel like I was a bit rude to your summon. I'm sorry, Elicia."
｢N-no! I'm fine. I actually thought you'd be scared of Lukar.｣
There was no reason to dislike someone who was complimenting her loyal summon.
Royal princess of Britain or not, she was still a thirteen-year-old kid at the end of the day.
The apology she'd already received mattered less than the fact that someone had called Lukar incredibly impressive.
That was why the strange feelings Elicia had felt a moment ago vanished cleanly away.
-Shuffle shuffle.
-Peek peek.
'…That was close….'
Anyway, after burying Ultra Trash Ji-woo — who had nearly stolen someone else's precious summon — alive underground.
Ji-woo leaned toward Erdis Arcana, who was standing right behind her, and whispered a question.
Why was someone else's summon cowering in front of Ji-woo like that.
-Whisper whisper.
"Is it just because he's canine? Wolves are related to dogs, after all."
"…Think about whose power is currently dwelling inside you."
"Oh…."
【Currently Assimilating: Fenrion (37%)】
"Fenrion."
"That wolf sees you as that mangy mutt right now."
A summon like Lukar was still a monster at the end of the day.
And the entities at the very top of the hierarchy among those monsters were Hidden Bosses like Fenrion.
Which meant that Ji-woo, currently assimilating with Fenrion, had effectively become a higher-order entity above other monsters as well.
"Simply put, he's scared. Of you."
"Ugh."
Lukar had simply, out of pure instinct, thrown himself into a posture of submission because Ji-woo terrified him — that was Erdis Arcana's explanation.
In the wild, challenging a stronger entity meant asking to be killed.
"A-Assimilation, off."
【Rank: S → F】
【Currently Assimilating: None】
Ji-woo hadn't meant to make someone else's summon tremble, so she cancelled the Assimilation right away.
But Lukar still watched Ji-woo with frightened eyes.
Well, there was still a Hidden Boss standing right behind Ji-woo.
One wearing a human disguise, no less.
-Whimper….
For Lukar, today had been a day of experiencing fear at the absolute limit of what a living creature could endure.
He nudged his owner Elicia's back with his head, urging her to go home already.
Not that it helped, since Ji-woo and Erdis Arcana ended up following them all the way to the house anyway.
｢This is the sitting room. Feel free to help yourself to the fruit on the table.｣
"Hey, um. Elicia."
｢Yes?｣
"Is it okay for Lukar to come inside? He won't shed everywhere, will he?"
=Read the room.
-Whimper!!
｢L-Lukar?!｣
Pitter-patter. Lukar, having taken Ji-woo's words in entirely the wrong way, bolted straight out to the garden.
No matter how much Elicia called for him afterward, he just lay curled up in the garden with his tail tucked between his legs.
***
｢Hmm, why is Lukar acting like this today. Is he not feeling well?｣
Elicia watched Lukar in the garden with a disappointed look.
Apparently she had originally planned to show Ji-woo some of Lukar's tricks.
"Tricks? Like what?"
｢Riding on Lukar's back and jumping is so much fun. I wanted us to ride together today….｣
She'd wanted to show off Lukar's cool side too, but it hadn't worked out — Elicia glanced toward the garden with a slightly crestfallen expression.
Well, Lukar wasn't in good shape today, so there was nothing to be done about it.
Ji-woo had a pretty good idea why, but that wasn't what mattered right now, so she let it go.
"Hey, Elicia."
｢Yes?｣
"There's something I wanted to ask you. Would it be okay if I asked now?"
For now, getting Instagram tips from Elicia was more important, so I spoke up first and asked her.
Whether she could teach me how to do Instagram properly.
"You're really good at Instagram. I want to get better at it too."
｢Hm? But you're already good at it.｣
"What? Me?"
But the answer I got back from Elicia was a little different from what I'd expected.
Turns out Elicia had looked up my Instagram the day before.
-Swipe.
｢All your photos came out pretty and cute. Isn't this your Instagram?｣
"Oh…. Yeah, HT_Jiwoo is mine."
｢Right? I looked at your photos yesterday and thought they were really cute.｣
Elicia scrolled through my Instagram photos one by one, then said to me.
That this one in particular was her favorite.
───────────
HT_Jiwoo | 10:40
───────────
Went to the department store with my guild leader unnie~
@HT_Do._A
♡ 36K 🗨️ 1,328 🔁 8,743 ➣ 9,532
───────────
｢This one is seriously so cute.｣
"Ugh."
As I remembered it, that was the photo someone had said would bring ads flooding in the moment I posted it.
Though I honestly had no idea whether the ads had actually come flooding in or not.
Yoo Do-a was supposed to sort through which ads I could take and which ones I shouldn't, then get back to me separately.
But I'd hopped on Arkiel's back and flown off to England before Do-a could even reach out.
Thanks to that, Do-a was currently swamped dealing with the England situation and hadn't said a word about my ads.
…Well, that wasn't the point right now.
｢Where did you get this outfit? It's really cute.｣
"Uh…. Just a regular department store near my place…."
｢Do you happen to know what brand it is?｣
Getting called cute over and over by a kid who was only thirteen felt genuinely strange.
Then again, I was technically eleven right now — but mentally I was a full-grown adult. Only the body was eleven.
｢I think you'd do just fine as you are?｣
"Really?"
｢Mm-hm. Emily always says that for kids' Instagram, cute is everything.｣
And in that regard, I already had the cute looks that guaranteed success, Elicia said confidently.
Sure, I couldn't rack up ten million followers like Elicia right away.
But at least I wouldn't fail, apparently.
She said it was basically a sure thing.
｢If you do photoshoots and stuff like I do, your followers will go up fast.｣
"Photoshoots? What kind?"
｢Just, you know…. Pretty outfits? Sometimes companies ask you to model school uniforms and things like that.｣
Elicia was clearly already a seasoned pro at Instagram fashion ads. The words came flowing out of her.
I thought about writing it all down, then remembered that Erdi was standing behind me.
Erdi would remember everything and fill me in later.
"So, um…. Could we maybe do a mutual follow?"
｢Sure. Let's take photos together and post them too. That'll probably get you even more followers.｣
"Oh, thanks. Thank you."
｢Hey, um, actually….｣
Elicia hesitated, fidgeting a little. We'd just agreed to follow each other on Instagram, and then.
She finally opened her mouth and made a request.
｢Looking at your Instagram photos, you get ears and a tail like Lukar's…. You did earlier too.｣
-Ahem ahem.
｢So, um……. Could you maybe…. transform one more time?｣
｢I want to touch your ears. Please. …Is that too much to ask?｣
"U-um…."
Elicia was a British princess, after all.
If I refused a princess's request, I might get dragged off to a British prison or something.
I was Korean, but this was England, so I had to follow English law.
It wasn't like touching my ears was that big of an ask.
And, most importantly.
｢If you let me touch your ears, I'll let you be in an ad with me.｣
"Oh…. An ad? What kind?"
｢A Beverly autumn coat. I think it'd suit you really well, Ji-woo. If you do a Beverly ad, you'll get a lot more offers after that too.｣
Elicia was paying an extremely generous price for the privilege of poking at my two ears.
She said she'd get me into a British luxury brand ad and make sure I got my share of the fee.
It wasn't like I had much else to do while I was in England anyway, so, hmm.
Maybe I'd give this ad thing a shot.
"How much does the ad pay, roughly?"
｢Hmm…. Probably around ■■■■■? And you'd get about ■■■■■ of that.｣
"…Oh my god."
Being a princess really showed in how she threw money around.
I transformed on the spot and told her she could touch my ears as much as she wanted.
Anyone else in my position would have made the exact same choice, so I had no regrets.
***
[Title: This is actually super important come quick qqq]
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Posted by: WannaBeDriedRadish
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: Princess touches my ears and deposits ■hundred million in my account VS "No thank you" and disappointing the princess
(hmm-ming mint-hair emoji)
which would you pick
ㄴ dunno lol : obvious answer
ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: (mint-hair with crown emoji)
ㄴ HowIsThisEvenYourFault: princess (dangling)
ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: (gone absolutely feral hunter-brained)
ㄴ ImSeriouslyRankA: why is a princess touching your ears
ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: she just said she wanted to, idk why..
ㄴ ImSeriouslyRankA: stop lying lol why would a princess pay ■hundred million to touch your ears
ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: it's real tho;
ㄴ ImSeriouslyRankA: if this is actually true I'll stand next to the Line 1 recorder villain and play recorder and post proof fr
ㄴ WannaBeDriedRadish: lol
