"Is there anything else you'd like? Don't be shy — feel free to ask."
"Uh…. Anything else I want?"
The Association President had asked whether there was anything else I wanted, beyond meeting some famous person in England.
But I couldn't really think of anything to ask for.
Kim A-rin had gone on about some Dungeon this and that, asking for all sorts of things, but I didn't know anything about Gate investigation rights or magic stone research.
And she'd already lent us an enormous mansion for free. She'd even given me clothes to wear while I was in England.
It was hard to ask for anything more from someone who was currently treating us to incredibly delicious desserts.
I'd only been sightseeing at the Thames, after all.
"It's fine, Ji-woo. Just say whatever's on your mind."
"…Hmm."
At Kim A-rin's urging to just speak up without feeling pressured, I mulled it over for a moment before slowly opening my mouth.
The atmosphere felt like I had to ask for something, so I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Well, um… in that case."
"Yes. Go ahead."
"Could you maybe… when I fly back to Korea…. …upgrade my seat to business class? Like, with miles or something."
"…Business class?"
"Oh, th-that's probably too much to ask. I'm sorry. Please forget I said anything."
Right, plane tickets cost a fortune these days. I'd just have to fly economy back to Korea.
Part of me wanted to ride on Arkiel's back like I did coming to England, but then I wouldn't get my passport stamped. That could cause all sorts of problems.
Actually, I'd never been on a plane before, so I didn't really know the difference between business and economy.
All I had was the memory of leaving a comment on some post in the Hunter Wannabe Gallery where someone was flexing about flying business class — I'd whined something like "not that it'd be rude to ask, but pics pls."
"…Kim A-rin."
That last request might have been a bit much, because the Association President's voice shifted into something that sounded faintly irritated.
The interpreter who'd been translating everything for us glanced nervously at the Association President — at Beatrice Claire — and broke into a cold sweat.
"I don't believe it to be the case. It shouldn't be the case."
"…Yes, Madam President."
"The Haetae Guild has provided no financial support whatsoever to Miss Lee Ji-woo? My understanding is that Miss Ji-woo is currently affiliated with the Haetae Guild."
"Th-that's a misunderstanding. This is, well—"
"I think it's rude of me to say this given how much I owe you, but I must, Kim A-rin."
Something about the atmosphere felt off.
Beatrice Claire had stopped addressing me and started scolding Kim A-rin instead — asking what on earth she was doing to look after me on a daily basis.
It seemed like some kind of misunderstanding. I'd gotten an amazing house for free thanks to Kim A-rin.
Watching Kim A-rin get lectured without doing anything felt a little awkward, so I waited for a gap and jumped into the conversation.
"Miss Ji-woo is a minor Hunter who requires especially attentive care. If you can't even be bothered with her plane seat, then what kind of care are you actually providing——"
"P-please don't scold Kim A-rin. I made a mistake. I'll just fly economy."
"…!!!"
But again, the reaction was strange.
Beatrice Claire looked at me with an expression of deep pity, bit her lower lip, and then, a moment later, made me a promise in a voice thick with emotion.
When I flew back to Korea, it would absolutely be business class. No — she would make sure I flew first class.
"Don't you dare feel the slightest bit burdened by this. Understood?"
"Um…. …Thank you?"
"…How on earth did a child like this end up like this…."
Beatrice Claire pressed a hand to her forehead and let out a long, heavy sigh. Kim A-rin, sitting beside me, did the exact same thing — hand to forehead, face full of worry. Jinx.
Anyway, as far as I was concerned, I'd just upgraded my seat by two whole tiers, so that was a win. I'd have to post a first class flex later.
"Now then — this cake was brought in from Windsor Castle. Do have another slice."
This time, a chocolate mousse cake topped with gold leaf was placed on my plate. It looked incredibly good.
I nudged the gold leaf decoration to the side, stabbed a piece with my fork, and sure enough — it was delicious.
Then it was immediately refilled. Not cake this time, but a lemon tart.
"Take your time. There's plenty more."
Beatrice Claire sat across the table, looking down at me with a warm smile.
The desserts being served onto my plate without end, however, were anything but warm. Eat, refill. Eat again, refill again. Eat again again, refill again again. On and on it went.
"I-I'm fine…. I can't fit any more…."
My stomach surrendered quickly to the dessert duplication glitch. No matter how delicious something is, if you keep eating and eating, you eventually hit a wall.
If someone ran a blood test on me right now, I was pretty sure they'd find more sweet whipped cream than red blood cells.
Even then, apparently unsatisfied, Beatrice Claire had it all packed up to go. She told me to eat it back at the mansion.
"…Take care now. It was lovely meeting you today."
"I… I as well…."
Holding a fancy paper shopping bag packed with various wrapped desserts, I bent at the waist and gave a polite bow.
If I didn't bow, she might take it as rudeness and subject me to another round of dessert torture.
I'd thought she was just a generous old lady, but she didn't become the President of the British Hunter Association for nothing. She was a little scary.
"…Ji-woo."
"Yeah?"
"I'll make sure you get cake every day from now on. …Actually, I'll just keep the fridge stocked. Eat whenever you feel like it."
But why was Kim A-rin acting like this again.
After eating this much today, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to look at cake for a good while.
"By the way, where are Erdi and Arkiel? Is the investigation still not done?"
"Probably almost… done. Oh wait, there they are."
Before long, Erdi and Arkiel finished their investigation and came out of the Association building.
Both of them had their usual expressions. Thankfully, it seemed like there hadn't been any trouble. I'd been a little worried about the two of them going alone and causing a scene.
"Arkiel, how was it? What did they ask?"
"They asked about our relationship with the Haetae Guild. And the circumstances of our arrival in this country. Beyond that……"
It sounded like they'd been asked about everything that had led up to Arkiel being dispatched to London.
How and where she'd come from to get to England.
How she'd managed to fly without being picked up on England's radar, and so on.
"When I told them I simply flew here, the humans seemed quite flustered."
"Ah, um…."
"But there's no need to worry. Everything was handled satisfactorily in the end."
Arkiel said it had all been handled, but I knew the truth.
The tragic reality that a whole bunch of high-ranking people connected to England's air defense network were about to get fired.
Because a massive dragon had just popped up over London out of nowhere, and the entire time, the British Air Force had done absolutely nothing.
In Korean terms, it was like a defector crossing the DMZ and knocking on a South Korean guard post to surrender.
England's stars were about to fall……
'…I feel kind of bad about that.'
Anyway, Arkiel hadn't breathed a single word about anything related to me.
And for questions she wasn't sure how to answer, Erdi had stepped in and answered on her behalf.
Arkiel said all of that, then added that there was one piece of news she thought I'd be happy to hear.
"Oh? What is it?"
"Since we resolved a threat to the humans, they've agreed to provide us with appropriate compensation. Financially, approximately ■■■■■."
"What."
So, since Arkiel and M.M.L.I had handled a Red Gate that the British Hunter Association would normally have been responsible for —
It meant they were going to properly pay M.M.L.I the equivalent of Gate-clearing compensation.
Separate from the fees owed to the foreign Hunters who'd already been dispatched to London.
"There were several other compensation proposals discussed as well, but I'll fill you in later. We haven't received a final answer yet."
"Wh-what else is there?"
"Yes, quite a bit. What happened a few days ago occurred in this country's capital, after all."
"Wow."
I'd asked Beatrice Claire for nothing. I could easily afford business class with my own money now.
It seemed like there was also some kind of reward being paid out directly by the British government, not just the Hunter Association. Either way, I was suddenly very rich.
With that money, I could fly business class — not just me, but Erdi, Arkiel, and Nia too.
Of course, that didn't mean I went back to Beatrice Claire to turn down her offer. Why would I refuse a free first class ticket?
"So, what about you."
"Hm?"
"Was there anything for you? Any news?"
At Erdi's question, I answered.
I'd eaten desserts until I was stuffed, and I'd been set up to meet someone very famous in England.
"I asked to meet the person with the most followers in England."
"Why?"
"To ask for tips. Tips on growing your Instagram following. Oh, and to do a mutual follow."
"Hmm…."
Erdi thought about it for a moment, then said I'd done well and gave me a small nod of approval.
Either way, getting famous on Instagram was one of my goals.
I didn't know who I'd be meeting yet, but if I did a mutual follow with that influencer, wouldn't I blow up overnight? Like, the trickle-down effect or whatever.
"…It's called the trickle-down effect, Ji-woo."
"The first part was right, at least."
As long as the meaning got across, that was good enough.
After that, we headed back to the mansion and waited for Beatrice Claire's contact.
The compensation for Kim A-rin and the additional payments to M.M.L.I couldn't be decided on the spot — the Association people needed to hold a separate meeting first.
Still, my request to meet the most famous person in England had been granted quickly.
That one didn't require a meeting; they just needed to arrange an introduction. Apparently the other party had also said they wanted to meet me.
"Miss Ji-woo, we've arrived."
"…Wow…."
The meeting place, however, wasn't a café or anything like that — it was some kind of royal palace. Windsor Castle, I think it was called.
The mansion Beatrice Claire had lent us had been enormous, but it didn't even come close to this.
It was literally called a castle, after all.
"Let's go, Ji-woo."
"Oh, yes, sure."
For the record, today I'd only come with Erdi.
M.M.L.I had agreed to handle security for me and Kim A-rin for the duration of our stay in England.
Kim A-rin had originally wanted to come along too, but today only one person could accompany me, so I'd brought Erdi. Today, Erdi was my personal bodyguard.
Arkiel had originally been my bodyguard, but honestly, Erdi was stronger than Arkiel.
And more than anything else —
"I'm Erdi of M.M.L.I. And this is Miss Ji-woo of the Haetae Guild."
"Ah, Miss Erdi. Lovely to meet you."
Erdi had picked up modern English. Apparently she'd mastered it in an instant using some kind of magic.
She really wasn't my teacher for nothing. Her English was better than mine.
"But, Erdi."
— Flinch. —
"…What?"
"Is this the person? The one we're meeting today?"
"No. They said they'd be arriving shortly."
I waited with Erdi for a moment, and then came the sound of soft, unhurried footsteps.
I turned my head, and there — golden hair.
"Hi there."
A girl with blue eyes, wearing a flowing dress, walked over and spoke to me.
"Uh, um…. Hello."
"They said you were Korean — so it's true. Then, um…."
— Hmm, hmm. —
"Ah-nyeong, ha-se-yo. I am Princess Elisia, ya."
"!"
Her name was Elisia.
A princess of England, currently the most popular member of the British royal family, and —
A kid young enough to be my friend.
— or so Erdi explained from beside me. It seemed Erdi had already known who she was.
"Nice to meet you. Ji-woo."
Elisia greeted me in halting Korean, and even I could see why she was so popular. She was really pretty.
I'd heard she did some modeling too.
The number one spot in terms of followers belonged to someone else, but Elisia was enormously popular in her own right, Erdi told me.
"And she's an Awakened, just like you."
"Oh? Really?"
Nod, nod. Whether she'd understood my words or not, Elisia nodded and led me toward the garden.
It seemed Elisia had been curious about me ever since she heard I was an Awakened too.
Then she extended one hand slightly forward —
"I'll show you too. My 'Lukar'."
— and summoned something with a low hum. Elisia really was an Awakened.
And then, with a pop, a white wolf appeared in the garden.
"Say hello, Lukar. This is Ji-woo."
— Grrrr……
Elisia said something in English beside it, and the white wolf dipped its head slightly in greeting.
Its eyes, though, were sharp. It was clearly on high alert around me and Erdi.
Well, we were strangers to it. Being wary of us was probably just wild instinct.
Anyway, Elisia had shown me her ability, so now it was my turn to show her mine.
Elisia seemed very curious, and Erdi didn't try to stop me, so —
— Ahem. —
"Assimilation."
【Grade: F → S (Assimilation in progress — Subject: Fenrion (37%))】
【Currently assimilating: Fenrion (37%)】
— Perk. —
— Swish. —
"This is my ability."
"…!!"
When I transformed into Fenrion, Elisia's eyes went wide with astonishment. Her reactions were great.
But the wolf beside her — Lukar — had a slightly different reaction.
[ The aura of Subject: Lee Ji-woo is affecting nearby entities. ]
— Wh-whimper…. —
"Lu… Lukar? What's wrong?"
It tucked its tail between its legs, dropped the fierce glare it had been holding, and started panting with its tongue out.
That's a weird way to put it, but it literally dropped its gaze.
"Hmm…."
— Whisper, whisper. —
— Whisper, whisper. —
"Oh? Really?"
"Give it a try."
Erdi had been watching Lukar with a meaningful look, and now she whispered an idea to me.
Honestly, I was intrigued, so I went ahead with it.
— Ahem. —
"Lukar……"
"Boo!"
— Yelp!!
The moment I made a scary face, Lukar immediately flopped onto its back in a pose of total submission.
Erdi had been right — it would do anything I said.
It was showing off tricks for me, and I wasn't even its owner.
"…Roll left! Roll right! Don't roll left, roll right, then lie flat!"
— Flop. Flop. Flop. —
"Lu-Lukar?!"
