"I was… your servant."
"Huh…. Does it make a sound if I flick it?"
"……I'll explain it as 'servant,' if you'll allow me."
Arkiel, who had at some point straightened her posture, knelt down and folded her hands together respectfully.
Like she was prostrating herself before me in penance.
As if that weren't enough, she tried to bow her head all the way down to the floor, so I hurriedly stopped her.
If Arkiel pressed her head into the bed, those sharp horns would go right along with it. Which would definitely punch a hole clean through the mattress.
What if they made me pay for it?
"But… I am not worthy of even looking upon your countenance——"
"C-countenance or whatever, look all you want. I give you permission. Refusal is refused!"
"……How can you be so merciful……"
Arkiel teared up again.
At this point, I was just flustered. What had I even done?
I got this weird feeling like I was some jerk who'd made a girl cry, so I banned Arkiel from crying too.
—Whisper, whisper.
"…Hey, what's 'countenance'? It's not something weird, right?"
"…Your face."
"Ahh."
After asking Kim A-rin about the word that had a slightly odd ring to it, I turned back to Arkiel.
Her mouth opened with some difficulty, hesitant and faltering.
The problem was, I couldn't make out a word she was saying.
"I was ■■■■■■■…. ■■■■■…."
"Uh…. What was that?"
"■■■■■■. …■■■■■."
Her mouth was clearly moving, but it felt physically impossible to hear what she was saying.
Wondering if it was just me, I asked Kim A-rin beside me if she could hear anything — but A-rin shook her head with a puzzled look.
Was there some kind of magic on Arkiel's voice?
"Do you… have no memory at all?"
"Hmm…. I'm not really sure."
I kept tilting my head, and Arkiel bit her lower lip, her expression pained.
There was clearly some kind of story behind all this.
The problem was, I had absolutely no idea what it was.
I'd only just met Arkiel today, after all.
"For a moment, may I… take a liberty. I will offer my neck as penance for this transgression later——"
"Y-you don't have to offer your neck! So, could you please just explain things first?"
Typical Hidden Boss — her way of thinking was a little, well, extremely extreme.
Every other second she was offering up her life for something.
I had no particular desire to watch Arkiel lop off her own head right in front of me.
"I would like to… look inside you, just once, to see what state you're in. Please grant me permission…."
"P-permission. Okay. Go for it."
It didn't seem like the conversation would get anywhere at this rate, so I told Arkiel to just go ahead and do whatever she needed to.
Besides, I was invincible right now. Whatever Arkiel did, there was no way I'd get hurt.
"…Then, just a moment."
【❮(A) Dragon Sight❯: Activated!】
[ Entity: Arkiel is reviewing the memories held by Entity: Lee Ji-woo……… ]
"……Hic."
No, why are you crying again. Is it really okay for a Hidden Boss to be this much of a crier?
She'd been in the middle of examining my condition and now her eyes were brimming with tears again — I was the one who ended up flustered.
How many seconds had it been since I banned the crying?
"I'm sorry. The hardships you've endured all this time were just too… Hic……"
"I-I'm perfectly fine, though?"
"……This too is my sin. I will accept whatever punishment you see fit…."
And then Arkiel began to apologize.
About how I'd grown up without parents since childhood, and so on.
About how I'd barely scraped by working part-time at a convenience store, and so forth.
About living in a run-down rooftop room, and on and on.
She kept saying she was sorry, insisting that everything I'd suffered through was her fault.
…Was this what they called survivor's guilt or something?
It felt a little strange, suddenly being cast as this terribly pitiful person.
"Haah……. Forgive me for this unseemly display. You were the one suffering all along."
"…Ahem."
"Then… allow me to start over."
The explanation that followed was different from before — I could actually understand what she was saying.
Arkiel's words came through clearly this time.
And most of the words were ones I knew.
"I was… your… escort."
"Escort? Oh, like a bodyguard."
"Yes. The you of long ago trusted me and entrusted your side to my keeping. And yet I…."
"T-that part can wait. Honestly, I still don't really understand what any of this means."
Either way, it sounded like she'd been close to some past-life version of me. That was enough for now.
The present mattered more than a past life I couldn't remember.
"Anyway, you're here to protect me, right?"
"…If you will allow it. This time, without fail. I will never repeat the same grave sin as before——"
"P-please answer yes or no from now on."
Way too much TMI. It needed trimming.
Hearing about a past life I had zero memory of would only make my head spin.
And Kim A-rin had been visibly anxious beside me this whole time, which was starting to get to me.
"Alright. I am on Lee Ji-woo's side. Yes or no."
"…Yes. I am on your side."
"Next. You have no intention of killing humans."
"…Whenever you command it."
"I-I won't be giving that kind of command. So that's a no, right?"
—Nod.
"See? She says she has no intention of killing anyone."
When I confirmed to Kim A-rin that Arkiel was safe, a faint sigh came in place of a reply.
Well, it was still better than her going on a rampage declaring she'd slaughter every human in sight.
I decided to look on the bright side.
A powerful Hidden Boss was offering to be on my side — only an idiot would say no.
"Um, Ji-woo."
"Yeah?"
"Last one, just one more……"
—Whisper, whisper.
—Whisper, whisper.
"…Huh. Is that really necessary?"
"It's a necessary question. Absolutely."
Faced with a resolute Kim A-rin, I had no choice but to repeat what I'd just been told to Arkiel.
"Sooo…. Arkiel will not take any independent action without Lee Ji-woo's permission. Yes or no."
"Yes. I will act only upon your command."
"Good enough?"
"…Haah…."
Kim A-rin, wearing an incredibly complicated expression, dropped into the chair right beside her.
Arkiel, of course, paid her no mind whatsoever.
She'd been making eye contact only with me this whole time.
Still, there was one thing I wanted to ask Arkiel.
"Um, Arkiel."
"…Please, speak to me informally. Such a form of address is far too much for someone like me."
"Oh, then…. Should I just call you by your name?"
"No, even my name is too much for me to——!"
"Arkiel, Arkiel. Shh…! If you're too loud the people downstairs will come up."
"I-I'm sorry."
"Anyway, Arkiel. Can you fight?"
"…Command me, and I will reduce any being to ash and lay it at your feet."
"A-ash isn't necessary. Anyway…. So you'll fight for me if I ask?"
"That is correct."
Okay, Arkiel. You're mine now.
I finally had something like a summon of my own.
No, in some ways, you could argue she was far more powerful than any ordinary summon.
Because Arkiel was a Hidden Boss.
Most monsters probably wouldn't even register as a warm-up for her. She'd gotten that enormous earlier, after all.
Come to think of it — an S-rank Hunter who commands a Hidden Boss as a summon. Hmm.
…World domination might actually be on the table.
"Just what did you get up to, past-life me…."
"…The you of long ago, in this world——"
"T-that was me talking to myself just now."
I cut off Arkiel before she could launch into another tale of once upon a time.
Honestly, I was curious — but right now I was just really tired. I'd hear the story later.
Still, I'd had this nagging feeling for a while now that I was forgetting something.
…Oh. My side dishes.
"K-Kim A-rin. My side dishes? What do I do? They must have all gone bad by now……!"
In the rush of dragging Arkiel back to my place, I'd completely forgotten about the side dishes.
By now they'd definitely all spoiled and gone to waste.
I had truly become the ultimate trash.
"Kim A-rin…."
"?"
"Go buy me some trash stickers so I can put them on myself…. I need to be labeled before I get thrown out…. Otherwise I'll get fined…."
"…??"
Kim A-rin looked baffled at my words, but I was so wracked with guilt I felt like I might collapse.
Turns out the one who should have been prostrating in penance wasn't Arkiel — it was me.
Those side dishes, of all things……
"Hey, Ji-woo."
"…What…."
"Your side dishes are in the fridge."
"Wait, what."
I sprinted to the kitchen and checked the fridge, and sure enough — the store manager's side dishes were right there.
Hadn't I left them back at the rooftop room?
When had they been moved?
"While we were inside the Gate."
"Huh?"
"If an S-rank steps in… it's safe."
Kim A-rin explained.
Normally, even the moving company workers would have had to evacuate when a Gate shock hit — but when they heard Kim A-rin was heading to the Gate herself, they'd gone ahead and moved the boxes.
Trusting that Kim A-rin would resolve the Gate shock, they'd driven the truck to my new place instead of an evacuation shelter.
I'd thought she was all talk.
But those guys were the real deal.
"G-give them a little extra for the trouble."
"…Yeah. Was going to."
Anyway, thanks to them, I could breathe easy.
The braised beef, the galbi-jjim, the seasoned vegetables — all of it was neatly and safely tucked away in the fridge.
I was absolutely eating that for dinner tonight.
"But, Ji-woo."
"Yeah?"
"We… need to go to the Association. We're already late."
"Oh."
Turns out I hadn't forgotten just one thing — I'd forgotten two.
Today was also the day I was supposed to visit the Association.
I checked the time. Exactly 5 o'clock.
The Hunter Association shut down operations sharp at 6 PM on the dot, so we had to leave now.
"But wait, Ji-woo."
"Was there something else? What was it again?"
"No, it's not that…. Your clothes."
"Clothes? What about them?"
"They're a little… torn. Let's change before we go."
I looked down, and sure enough, the sleeve was slightly ripped.
Must have torn during the scuffle with those exhibitionist ogres earlier.
I figured I'd wait for Kim A-rin to grab some fresh clothes from the wardrobe, change into those, and head straight out.
That was the plan, anyway.
"Hold on."
"Huh…. Arkiel? What's wrong?"
"You must go out looking far more resplendent. You are by nature the most exalted and noble being in all the world——"
"S-stop. Dial it back."
This time, Arkiel stepped in front of me.
With a rather firm look in her eyes.
"……Is this truly all the clothing you have? No, how can the one who serves her allow things to be like this——!"
"T-this is plenty pretty! …What do you even know about Ji-woo!"
"You insolent creature!!"
"H-hold on. Why are you two suddenly fighting?"
Arkiel and Kim A-rin, who had both completely stopped listening to me, started raising their voices at each other and launched into a debate.
About what I should wear.
It was far more heated than I'd expected, and far more childish than I'd expected.
"J-Ji-woo suits a casual look like this more——!"
"You primitive human, she shines more brilliantly than the sun and is more graceful than the moon——!"
…And to think that was a debate between a Hidden Boss and one of the handful of S-rank Hunters in all of Korea.
My heart felt small.
It was already a small heart to begin with.
"C-can't I just put on a new hoodie and……"
"No!" / "You might as well kill me now!"
"…Okay. My fault. I'm sorry."
***
"Ji-woo, take a look on your phone."
"Mmm…."
—Ding.
"Looks fine to me."
"N-not lying down. Stand up."
"…Can we please just leave already."
