A Resolve
After school ended.
We headed straight home.
A short while later, Yeon Haneul stood before the front gate and gaped like someone whose soul had left her body.
There was no sign of her mouth closing anytime soon.
“Wow….”
“What’s wrong?”
“Is this really your house?”
“Yeah. It’s a little big, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think ‘a little’ quite covers it….”
Yeon Haneul answered hesitantly.
I could understand her reaction to some extent.
The house really was enormous.
Compared to the studio apartment where I had lived in my previous life, it was on an entirely different scale.
‘Though, to me, it’s just average.’
Having lived in this house since birth as though it were only natural, I didn’t feel particularly impressed by it.
If anything, I considered it ordinary.
My relatives lived in houses even better than this one.
Of course, I wasn’t completely oblivious.
Since she was already overwhelmed by the sight of the house, I decided to be careful not to come across as showing off for no reason.
“There really are houses with gardens….”
“I heard your home has a garden too.”
“We’re an orphanage. Are those people over there workers?”
“That’s right. They’re servants.”
“Wow…. So truly wealthy people really do hire people, just like in dramas.”
“We don’t have all that many….”
“Then again, you are from a prestigious clan.”
“….”
“It feels like I’ve come to a luxury house.”
Honestly, it wasn’t quite that extravagant.
But Yeon Haneul seemed to feel as if she had come to a drama set.
She looked around the garden this way and that, marveling at everything.
Then she began to fidget, as though she had suddenly lost confidence.
“Is it really all right for me to come here?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? You’re here to visit, so you’re here to visit.”
“Still…. Do your parents know? That I’m coming over.”
“Only my mom knows. My dad is working at the clan at this hour, and my little sister is at the swordsmanship hall.”
“Then your mother is home right now?”
“Yeah.”
“…What did your mother say?”
“She seemed happy when I told her you were coming. Oh, right. She asked if you liked tteokbokki.”
“How could you only tell me that now….”
“You don’t like tteokbokki?”
“I do! I love it. Do you have any idea how well I handle spicy food? I’m not really picky about anything, either.”
“Then it’s fine.”
“Ugh….”
Apparently, she was worried about meeting my mother.
Following behind me, Yeon Haneul nervously tapped her feet against the ground.
I didn’t think much of her reaction.
I knew exactly what she was worried about, but my parents weren’t as narrow-minded as she seemed to think.
They didn’t discriminate against people because of differences in family finances or home environment.
There was only one thing I was concerned about….
‘I never told them she was an Ain. It should be fine, right?’
That was the issue.
I hadn’t told my family.
It would have been strange to bring it up in the first place.
I wasn’t choosing friends based on their kind, nor was I marrying her. There was no need to specifically tell them that she was an Ain.
“Really, it’s okay?”
“It’s really okay.”
The Divine Sword Do Clan, to which I belonged, was a prestigious family that had produced Hunters for generations.
Ordinary people who simply lived their daily lives might not know much about them, but to those of us who lived in the world of Hunters, Ains were extremely familiar.
Ains, who were discriminated against by society, possessed excellent physical abilities and often made their living as Hunters.
As a result, my father would sometimes bring his Ain colleagues home.
So there was no need for her to worry.
“Mom, we’re home.”
“Welcome!”
With those thoughts in mind, I opened the door.
My mother, who had surely already been informed by the servants that we had arrived, was waiting in the entryway.
She greeted me with a bright smile, then shifted her gaze to Yeon Haneul beside me.
“H-Hello….”
“….”
“My name is Yeon Haneul. I’m Gyeonwoo’s deskmate.”
Ears twitching, stammering, fidgeting.
Yeon Haneul greeted my mother shyly.
Mother stared at her for a moment before breaking into another broad smile, just as she had earlier.
“All right, welcome. It’s no wonder Gyeonwoo took an interest in you.”
“Pardon?”
“Mom, what are you talking about?”
“Please be good friends with my son.”
“No, actually, Gyeonwoo is the one who….”
“Oh, aren’t you hungry?”
“….”
“I heard you were coming to Gyeonwoo’s house, so I hurried to prepare some tteokbokki. Would you like some? Do you like tteokbokki? It isn’t spicy. That boy can’t handle spicy food very well.”
“Ah, yes, I love it! I can’t handle spicy food very well, either.”
“You said earlier that you liked spicy—”
“It’s not that I can’t eat it at all.”
“Is that so? How fortunate. I prepared some fried food as well, so have it with the tteokbokki.”
“Yes. Thank you, ma’am.”
“Then wash your hands and wait in Gyeonwoo’s room. This person will show you the way if you follow them.”
Yeon Haneul’s face brightened at my mother’s warm welcome.
Mother soon called over a servant and had them escort Yeon Haneul.
I quickly took off my shoes so I could follow her.
“Gyeonwoo.”
“Yes?”
Just then, Mother called out to me.
I tilted my head and turned around to look at her.
She put on a stern expression, then relaxed her face as though she couldn’t help herself.
Then she spoke.
“She must be a good child, since you brought her home.”
“….”
“So don’t look at her through other people’s eyes. Look at her with your own eyes, as you are now, and judge for yourself. Understand? Don’t hurt your friend for no reason.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Her voice was warm, tinged with concern.
Hearing those words from my mother, I nodded.
That was my mother, all right.
* * *
“Is this Mongsil?”
“Yeah. There’s also Mongsun in my sister’s room.”
“Hmm, I see.”
After setting our schoolbags on the floor, we watched Mongsil.
At that moment, Mongsil, who had been sleeping soundly in his cage, opened his eyes after sensing someone’s presence.
“Did you sleep well?”
Mongsil stared fixedly at Yeon Haneul.
Apparently, he found Yeon Haneul, whom he had never seen before, fascinating.
I opened the cage door.
“Oh, he’s coming out.”
“Mongsil, come here.”
“Can I pet him?”
“Sure.”
Mongsil came out of his cage.
Perhaps he was in a good mood, because he hopped around the cage.
When Yeon Haneul reached out her hand, he readily allowed her to pet him.
“Wow, he’s so cute.”
“I thought he was shy around strangers, but this is unexpected. I guess he likes you?”
“I think he likes me more than he likes you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“But he only comes to me.”
Yeon Haneul puffed herself up proudly.
I clicked my tongue at her and decided to call Mongsil back.
“Mongsil, come here.”
“Mongsil likes me better.”
“Why isn’t he coming?”
But Mongsil showed little response even when I called him.
He merely glanced at me for a moment while sitting on Yeon Haneul’s lap.
Then he abruptly turned his head away.
Even offering him hay was useless.
“Can I give him some too?”
“Here, take this.”
“Oh, he’s eating it so well.”
“….”
When Yeon Haneul offered him hay instead, he eagerly accepted it.
‘He doesn’t even recognize his owner.’
Mongsil had never acted like this before.
I was dumbfounded as I watched him show off for Yeon Haneul.
“Why is he acting like this? Is this binky?”
“Uh, well….”
Then I realized what was happening when Mongsil began circling around Yeon Haneul.
“That’s courtship behavior.”
Rabbits sometimes circled others as a sign of affection, but this felt different.
The way he tried to cling to Yeon Haneul’s arm looked almost exactly like a mounting posture.
There was no mistaking it.
That little brat Mongsil had fallen for Yeon Haneul.
“Get him off meee….”
“He’s been neutered, so it’s fine. He’s male, but he isn’t really a man anymore.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Are you misunderstanding because he’s a rabbit?”
“I didn’t even want to hear something like that. Get him off me, please….”
“Mongsil, come here.”
Growl!
Mongsil bared his front teeth, failing to recognize even his own master.
Was he viewing me, another male, as a rival for mating rights?
It was absurd.
“You little punk, is that any way to treat your older brother?”
Even so, once I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him, he quieted down considerably.
Mongsil looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
“This won’t do. Get back in your cage. He didn’t act like this after being neutered, so why is he reacting to you?”
“How am I supposed to know? He isn’t going to come out of the cage, is he?”
“Sometimes, if he’s in a particularly good mood, he does jump out.”
“Ugh…. Please don’t let that happen….”
Apparently, being courted by a rabbit had left her more traumatized than I expected.
She approached me on her knees and grabbed me by the shoulders.
Then she hid behind me and cautiously peeked at Mongsil.
“He isn’t coming out, right? He isn’t, is he?”
“He won’t. No matter how excited he gets, he can’t usually jump over it.”
“From now on, I’ll be satisfied with just looking at Mongsil in pictures.”
“Fine, admire him through pictures. Or do you want to go see Mongsun later? I don’t think Mongsun will act like this.”
“Isn’t she going to threaten me and tell me not to go near you?”
“She probably won’t?”
“Why ‘probably’?”
“How would I know? I’ve never brought a girl home before.”
“Hmm…. So you’ve never brought one home.”
By then, Yeon Haneul seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
After muttering something under her breath, she released the hands gripping my shoulders.
Around that time, Mother entered the room.
“Children, come eat some tteokbokki!”
* * *
“Even rich people eat tteokbokki.”
“We eat instant noodles from a bag too, you know? People are all the same.”
“Still, I doubt they put beef brisket in tteokbokki.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“No, it’s delicious. Your mother must be an amazing cook.”
After leaving Mongsil with the servants, Yeon Haneul and I ate the tteokbokki Mother had prepared.
It seemed she had really shown off her cooking skills.
Unlike usual, the tteokbokki contained beef brisket, fried food, and all sorts of other ingredients, and it tasted excellent.
No wonder Yeon Haneul was impressed.
“I brought dessert too, so have some. Haneul, would you like milk or juice?”
“Ah… Then I’ll have milk, please.”
“All right. I won’t disturb you, then. Have fun and stay as long as you like.”
“Yes… Thank you.”
After we finished the tteokbokki, Mother came upstairs carrying a roll cake.
She had prepared other refreshments as well.
“Your mother is really kind. And she’s beautiful. I almost want to become someone like her when I grow up.”
“You should have told my mother that directly.”
“It’s embarrassing. You tell her for me later.”
Yeon Haneul seemed unaccustomed to being treated so lavishly.
As soon as Mother left the room, she whispered quietly.
Then she rubbed her stomach and stared at the desserts.
“I can’t eat all of this….”
She could simply stop eating once she was full.
But apparently, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse my mother’s kindness.
I smiled at her.
“Just eat as much as you can. Or you can take some home.”
“…Is that really okay?”
“Of course it is.”
Yeon Haneul’s eyes widened.
The prospect of taking some back to the orphanage seemed to lift her spirits.
Even her ears had perked up noticeably.
‘Does she binky when she’s happy too?’
I watched her reaction for a moment, wondering if she might start hopping around.
But nothing like the reaction I was expecting occurred.
Then a thought suddenly struck me.
‘Come to think of it, what does her status window look like?’
I realized that I had never checked Yeon Haneul’s status window.
Looking at other people’s status windows consumed a considerable amount of mental energy.
Besides, I had never made a habit of it.
‘Still, I should check it at least once.’
Yeon Haneul was a character from the game, an important figure who would eventually turn dark and become a mid-boss.
She was also someone I intended to recruit into my party someday.
I needed to check her stats.
I met her eyes and silently recited the words in my mind.
‘Status Window.’
Those words served as the signal, and her status window appeared before my eyes.
[Personal Information]
Name: Yeon Haneul (Female · 12 years old)
Alias: Rabbit Monster
Affiliation: Raon Elementary School
[Possessed Gift]
Division
[Physical Abilities]
Vitality: 30
Strength: 28
Endurance: 30
Agility: 32
Magic Power: 75
Luck: 20
Remaining Points: 0
Was it because she was an Ain?
Yeon Haneul’s physical abilities were quite high.
Even for someone from a prestigious clan, those numbers would have been impressive.
Especially her magic power.
‘Seventy-five….’
As far as I knew, there weren’t many characters in the game with magic power above seventy.
Moreover, Yeon Haneul was only twelve years old, and she had never even handled mana before.
Even so, the fact that her magic power was 75 could be interpreted as a sign of limitless potential when considering her future.
‘She really must have an enormous amount of mana inside her. Is that why she was able to lay waste to the area around Academy City in the game…?’
Magic power was a collective term for abilities related to mana, such as the amount of mana in one’s body, mana efficiency, and resistance.
In other words, one couldn’t hastily conclude that someone had a vast amount of mana simply because their magic power was high.
Generally speaking, however, the amount of mana within one’s body tended to increase in proportion to their magic power.
And if someone had never handled mana before, then the amount of mana within their body would account for a considerable portion of their magic power.
“….”
That was how much of an uncut gem Yeon Haneul was.
An uncut gem that could become a shining jewel depending on how I honed and polished her.
I stared intently at her.
Perhaps my gaze was making her uncomfortable, because she eyed me warily and asked,
“What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?”
“You’ve got red pepper flakes stuck in your teeth.”
“Eek.”
“I’m kidding.”
“…You are, right?”
“Actually, there’s a little sauce around your mouth.”
“Is there a lot? Where? Here?”
“I’ll wipe it off. Stay still.”
I reached out toward Yeon Haneul.
She hesitated, then resigned herself and offered me her face.
“Haneul.”
“Are you done wiping it?”
“No, not yet.”
“Hurry up, then. But why?”
“Because I thought we should get along from now on.”
“…You’re so abrupt.”
“Am I?”
“Yes, you are.”
There was tteokbokki sauce around the corner of her mouth.
I wiped away the red sauce.
It really had been the right decision to become friends with Yeon Haneul.
I had become the mid-boss’s childhood friend.