"In the end, the rebellion fails, and the young king is sentenced to death by poison. The soldiers show up and go — Nosangun—! Accept your poison—! Just like that, like that."
"What did you say. Poison?"
"Yes. They simply couldn't let this poor boy live any longer…. Sob, sob…."
I deliberately covered my mouth and pretended to cry, and Hwaran's pupils slowly grew wider.
Clear proof that she'd been completely drawn into the story I was telling.
As expected from a Hidden Boss who'd never once encountered anything from the modern world — she had zero resistance to this kind of story.
The moment I hit her with Korean-style melodrama, every emotional blow landed clean.
"In the end, the boy who was once a king is given poison to drink, and the villagers who had looked after him all wept. Oh, oh……! How could such a thing happen in this world…! Wailing like that."
"Then — where did all those men go, the ones who swore to make that child king again!"
"Sadly, they were all killed too. Sentenced to the same poison. Drop dead."
"…What manner of villainous scoundrels. Do they truly not fear the heavens?"
I'd been a little worried Hwaran might not be able to empathize with a story about humans.
But it seemed she'd fallen in completely.
Her eyes were faintly glistening, and her hands were trembling.
Korean melodrama is terrifying like that.
Even a Hidden Boss said to be immensely powerful had been pulled in this deep.
"And so, in the end, the young boy made his final decision. Because he absolutely could not die like this."
"Yes, yes, that's right. What happened next!"
"He asks the man who had cared for him all this time. Please — not as a king, but as yourself — kill me."
"……What did you say…?"
"In the end, the man couldn't turn away from the boy's last wish either. Choking back tears — Your Highness. It is time to cross the river…! And then, like this, like this. He grabbed the rope hanging outside and pulled……! Snap."
"B-but that would tighten around his neck! How could he kill him instead of saving him!"
"Because that was his last wish. The world is sometimes unjust and cruel."
"Even so…. How could he possibly…."
Perhaps human imagination was a more powerful force than anyone realized.
Seeing a film born from human imagination move a Hidden Boss to the verge of tears — imagination was clearly quite a formidable thing.
And I wasn't even showing her the film itself. I was just giving her a rough summary of the plot.
But the reaction was this intense, which made it genuinely fun to tell the story.
"And so, in the end, the young boy died at the hands of the person he cherished and loved most. But at least the villagers of that town were kept safe."
"…So it truly ended that way."
"Well…. Still, later on, his descendants curse that wicked king uncle on his behalf. He's probably getting absolutely roasted even now."
"A sin and resentment that cannot be washed away even after countless ages have passed……."
Honestly, I hadn't even watched the film myself — I'd only caught bits and pieces through YouTube Shorts.
But as long as it was a story Hwaran found interesting, wasn't that good enough?
All I needed was to raise her affinity, after all.
"How was…it? Did you enjoy it?"
"…I don't think I've ever heard a story quite like this. Where did you find it."
"Oh, it's not so much that I found it…. …No, the internet. I found it on the internet."
"How does one get to this place called the internet?"
"That's, um…. I don't think you'd be able to go, Hwaran."
As far as I knew, the internet didn't work inside a Dungeon.
Even if I got Hwaran a phone, connecting to the internet would be impossible.
That was something even a powerful Hidden Boss like Hwaran couldn't do.
When I answered with roughly that nuance, a look of disappointment crossed Hwaran's face.
"I suppose so……."
This was the moment.
The moment to make my case for why I was useful.
"S-still, I'm here, aren't I. I'll keep going to the internet on your behalf."
"!"
I swished my pink tails and promised to bring her more interesting stories.
Either way, what Hwaran wanted was to hear fascinating tales from outside the Dungeon.
Come on, affinity — go up!
[ Entity: Hwaran's Affinity increases significantly. (65 → 85) ]
"…You would do that for me?"
"O-of course."
"Today had quite a novel flavor. To think there's a place called the internet out there……."
Oh wow, it actually went up.
Thanks to that, I only needed to raise her affinity by 15 more.
Luckily, the affinity gained this time was 20.
Which meant — every time I told her a story, her affinity went up by 20, didn't it?
Just one more story and Hwaran's affinity would hit 100!
Now, what kind of story would be good this time.
Among historical films, there was a fun one…. Right, there was one more.
"Hwaran. How about the story of a hero who faced 330 ships with only 12 and defeated them all——"
— Flash!
— BOOM────!
"?! Wh-whoa, that startled me."
Just as I was about to start yet another story.
An enormous crack of thunder rang out from somewhere.
Dark clouds had been gathering without my noticing.
"Hmm……?"
Hwaran, who had been quietly gazing toward something in the distance, also made a puzzled expression.
Of course, I couldn't see what Hwaran was looking at.
Because I was short.
…Was there a Avatar Manifestation skill somewhere that could make me taller.
"Child."
"Yes?"
"From that thing over there — I smell your scent. Do you know it?"
Hwaran pointed toward lightning striking in the far distance and told me she could smell my scent coming from it.
But — did lightning normally have a smell?
I wasn't quite sure what she was talking about.
The only lightning I knew was Kim A-rin.
"Can you not see it?"
"Umm…. What exactly are you referring to?"
"That, over there. That."
So what is "that," though.
If you leave out the subject, I can't understand.
I was grumbling about it internally when Hwaran swept her hand through the air and some kind of bubble appeared.
And then, rising up over the bubble — a view of what lay beyond.
"Unni! Where are you───!"
"…Kim A-rin?"
Inside the scene the bubble showed, Kim A-rin — wearing a rather terrifying expression — was beating down every monster in the Dungeon.
With every step Kim A-rin took, blue lightning crashed down in every direction.
Yep, that was the lightning I knew.
Scary girl.
"…If she's a stranger to you, I can dispose of her quickly. It won't take long."
"N-no. What are you saying, that's terrifying."
"But she keeps making such a racket. I'm trying to listen to your stories."
It seemed that to Hwaran, Kim A-rin over there was nothing more than noise from a neighbor upstairs.
She was an S-rank Hunter, for what it's worth, and Hwaran was talking about disposing of her far too casually.
Kim A-rin might feel a little wounded if she heard that.
…Then again, this one was a Hidden Boss.
"I know her. You absolutely cannot get rid of her."
"Can I not just dispose of her…? She's being so terribly loud."
"St-stop! Stop it. Don't do it."
Afraid Hwaran might actually make Kim A-rin disappear, I desperately tried to hold her back.
It seemed Kim A-rin had been searching for me ever since we'd suddenly gotten separated.
That much was clear from the way she kept calling out "unni, unni" while looking around frantically.
She clearly hadn't imagined I'd be here having a cozy little chat with a Hidden Boss.
Well, who could have imagined that, really.
Anyway.
"I'll quiet her down. She's my little sister."
"Little sister……? You have a younger sibling too?"
"W-well, we're not related by blood…. But she's basically my little sister."
Soon after, I asked Hwaran to take me to Kim A-rin.
That way the thunderous noise would stop.
But just before heading to meet Kim A-rin, Hwaran's voice reached me once more.
"Then, what about these."
"Yes?"
"Do you know these ones as well."
Another bubble rose in the air, and unfamiliar faces floated up within it.
Men staring up at Kim A-rin — who was massacring monsters with lightning — with expressions of pure terror.
I didn't recognize any of them.
Could it be that other trainee Hunters had entered the Dungeon besides me?
I'd been told this was an E-rank level Dungeon, weak enough that it was commonly used for trainee Hunter training.
"I don't know them…. But please don't kill them either."
"Why not?"
"Is there, um, a reason you have to kill them?"
"Is there a reason I shouldn't…?"
"Ugh."
A monster was a monster after all — the way she thought was truly something else.
That's the kind of thing a psychopath would say.
"…Do not look at me like that. Did you humans kill monsters because you had a reason to."
"Ah."
When she put it that way, it made perfect sense.
Hwaran's clean rebuttal left me with nothing to say.
Still, I didn't want people dying in front of me, so I asked her once more not to kill them.
"If you grant me this favor, I'll bring books next time I come."
"Books……. You mean texts, written works?"
"Oh, yes. Written works. That way you can read stories without having to go to the internet."
"However, child. I have already read every written work that exists in this world."
"Have you read The Lord of the Rings?"
"…What is that?"
"There are new books out."
She looked like an Eastern-type Hidden Boss to me, so this time I tried luring her with something from the Western world.
When I gave her a rough summary of the contents, Hwaran's eyes lit up again.
Hwaran was actually a pretty easy read.
Well — Hidden Boss.
"Very well. I will not kill them."
Having promised me she wouldn't kill the humans, Hwaran reached out and tore the air.
…That sounds strange, but she literally grabbed the air and tore it. It ripped with a tearing sound.
And through it — Kim A-rin.
It turned out Hwaran hadn't torn the air but space itself.
A door to somewhere had opened right in front of me.
"………?!"
"Hi."
At my sudden pop-out appearance, Kim A-rin's face went slack with shock.
Almost immediately she came rushing over and started patting my face all over.
Hwaran had vanished somewhere.
— Pat pat.
— Pat pat.
"You don't give me Avatar Manifestation even when I raise your affinity. Give me the skill first, then touch me."
"Y-you…. Hospital. Unni's gone crazy……."
"The things this girl says to her unni."
Feeling a little indignant, I ducked my head down.
My face slipped right out from between Kim A-rin's patting hands.
"Are you okay? Not hurt? Are you alive?"
"Hehehe. I'm a ghost."
"…She's alive."
Only then did Kim A-rin let out a sigh of relief, and she hugged me and sank to the ground.
Muttering something about how worried she'd been ever since I'd suddenly disappeared.
I felt bad for Kim A-rin, but this was my skill — there was nothing I could do.
— Ding.
【(P) Let's Be Friends : S】
【The probability of encountering entities of sufficient caliber increases dramatically.
Gains the favor of entities of sufficient caliber.】
What was I supposed to do about a passive skill that dramatically raised the chances of running into Hidden Bosses.
It wasn't like I could turn the skill off.
— Ding.
【Would you like to deactivate ❮(P) Let's Be Friends : S❯?】
【Currently applied entity: Hwaran】
…I could turn it off.
"Could you let me know about things like this a little earlier."
"H-huh? What…do you mean?"
