*
“Kraaaagh!”
As the sword lodged in its head, one of the Remnants of the Snowfield turned to frost and vanished.
“Phew!”
Breathing raggedly, Gwon Riyeong tightened her grip on her sword again and watched the monsters’ movements.
‘Three left…….’
Perhaps because one had fallen, the remnants could not easily approach her.
When she glanced behind her, Geuru had thankfully disappeared, apparently having fled.
‘Whew.’
She let out a sigh of relief, but her own situation was far from easy.
In the midst of their tense standoff, all three began lunging at her at once.
Gwon Riyeong gritted her teeth and was about to swing her sword at the monsters baring their teeth at her when—
Squish!
Something soft and squishy blocked the path of her blade.
‘Soap bubbles?’
The monsters that had been charging at her were trapped inside soap bubbles.
But it seemed they could not hold for long.
As the remnants thrashed, the bubbles enclosing them burst all at once.
Pop-pop-pop!
Watching the monsters tumble from the force of the exploding bubbles, Gwon Riyeong hesitated.
If she turned her back now and they caught her from behind, she would surely be torn apart.
But if she had to run, this was her only chance!
“Mara! Run!”
After first making the black retriever flee, Gwon Riyeong gripped her sword tightly once more.
If she held out just a little longer, the Hunters would arrive. She intended to endure at least until Mara escaped.
It was just as she resolved herself.
Creak, creak—creak, creeeak—
All of a sudden, the sound of old bicycle wheels rolling reached her ears.
“……?”
What she saw was truly unbelievable.
A teddy bear riding a tricycle was approaching her with a creak, creak.
—Teacher Gwon Riyeong, do you require assistance?
A distorted, gravelly voice struck her ears.
She, too, was well aware of the teddy bear’s reputation.
The name “Jjap-sso,” given because its identity was never revealed and it controlled teddy bears.
The production-type Hunter currently receiving the most attention in the entire world.
But……
‘Why is Jjap-sso showing up here?!’
Seeing it in person, the doll was even smaller than she had expected, and all the more radiated a dense madness.
“……?”
As Gwon Riyeong stood speechless, Jjap-sso approached, creak-creaking on the bicycle pedals.
—Get on. I shall free you from this crisis.
Then it showed her the rear seat of the bicycle.
Staring at that tiny, tiny space, Gwon Riyeong let out something like a groan.
“There’s no way I can ride that…….”
—How incompetent.
Is it because I’m incompetent that I can’t get on?!
Gwon Riyeong felt wronged.
But Jjap-sso let out an annoyingly theatrical sigh and tottered down from the bicycle.
The madness-filled cuteness, completely unsuited to an emergency situation, was enough to leave her dumbfounded.
While she stood there dazed, the monsters rose with low, rumbling growls.
At that, Gwon Riyeong took hold of her sword and corrected her stance.
The ally she had finally met was a concept-obsessed lunatic? And a production-type at that?
“Are you alone? When are the other Hunters coming?”
—I am alone.
“Why?! What’s the situation outside like? Is there no support?”
At her barrage of questions, the teddy bear’s lips twisted askew.
—Do you not trust me?
“Of course I don’t!”
The shout burst out before she knew it. She was angry at the leisurely words coming from a creature in the form of a tiny teddy bear.
The monsters before her were three A-ranks.
She was already exhausted, and now it seemed she would even have to protect this thing.
“Call for support immediately!”
Gwon Riyeong shrieked as she received the monster’s attack.
But Jjap-sso twitched its eyebrows and spoke calmly.
—It cannot be helped. Teacher Gwon Riyeong, I shall show you just this once.
“What?”
In an instant, snow began piling up beneath the small teddy bear’s feet.
—……My cradle.
Saaaaaaa—
Pure white snow covered the screening room in the blink of an eye.
“What in the world……!”
Blocking the fierce wind with her arm, Gwon Riyeong looked around.
Each time she breathed out, white mist scattered.
‘……A snowfield?’
The screening room had, at some point, become an icy snowfield.
How? Bewildered by the situation she could not begin to understand, Gwon Riyeong wrapped her arms around herself and hunched her upper body.
The body of an A-rank mercenary, able to withstand most cold even bare-bodied, contracted sharply from the chill.
How could a snowfield like this suddenly appear?
Then, something caught Gwon Riyeong’s wandering eyes.
At the center of the blade-like cold that seeped into her very bones stood the teddy bear.
Aloof, as though it were affected by nothing.
‘……!’
And that was not all.
The monsters approached the tiny doll, knelt, and bowed their heads. As though they were serving a sovereign.
Good heavens.
Gwon Riyeong’s eyes shook violently with confusion.
Meanwhile, the teddy bear placed a hand on a monster’s head and murmured.
—Failures, are you……
Jjap-sso suddenly whipped its head toward Gwon Riyeong.
—What was it that failed?
Gwon Riyeong shook both hands and her face from side to side.
“I-I don’t know.”
Honorific speech came out on its own.
—I see.
The teddy bear’s face tilted to the side.
It seemed to think for a moment, then patted the remnants’ heads with its small hand.
Then the monsters’ bodies began to bulge and shrink, their forms protruding and sinking in as their frames grew smaller.
‘……!’
What is it doing?
Before she could even finish wondering, the three enormous dinosaurs had become three white puppies, wagging their tails.
Gwon Riyeong’s mouth fell open.
It created a snowfield, the monsters obeyed it, and now it changed the form of living organisms that easily? A production-type could go this far?
Even seeing it with her own eyes, she could not believe it.
“W-what did you do? What on earth are you?”
Jjap-sso raised its head.
The face of the teddy bear, which had only seemed infuriating before, looked terribly eerie atop the snowfield.
She could not tell whether the chill running up her spine was because of the cold or because of that being’s astonishing ability.
Just then, step, step, the small teddy bear approached, treading on the snow.
Frightened, Gwon Riyeong retreated several steps, but the teddy bear came right up to her and wriggled its eyebrows.
—I thought you knew who I was.
She knew. Of course she knew.
But wasn’t it a far more incredible existence than what she had heard?
Gulp. As she swallowed dryly, it spoke.
—People call me “Jjap-sso.”
“……That’s not what I wanted to hear…….”
—Geuru is waiting outside, so go on out quickly.
Jjap-sso pushed her with faint strength. Even with that tiny force, Gwon Riyeong was easily pushed out of the snowfield.
Right, Geuru. Her mission was Geuru, so it was right that she hurry and go get him.
She turned her heavy steps around.
At the same time, Jjap-sso’s final words reached her from behind.
—Let what happened today remain a secret between us.
Nod.
Gwon Riyeong, still looking back, nodded once, then hurriedly ran outside.
As Gwon Riyeong sprinted away, the snowfield quickly shrank, and the little white puppies disappeared into it.
—Hmm……
Geuru put the failures into the snowfield and fell briefly into thought, then decided this was no time for that and picked up the transformation wand.
Click!
‘Transformation complete!’
Having returned to his daycare uniform in an instant, Geuru pattered out of the screening room.
And behind Geuru, a long-haired woman secretly followed.
*
“I hope she’s safe……. Why did she have to say she’d stay behind…….”
With an anxious expression on his face, Gwon Honggyun glanced at Jurim from time to time while hiding his true thoughts.
Ever since Cheon Gyuri had entered the museum, Jurim had stood with his arms crossed and his mouth shut, his face expressionless.
Things had grown bigger than planned, but for that very reason, the staging of the situation had gone well.
The daughter of the chief secretary, rushing in to save On Jurim’s child. There could be no better best shot than that.
All that remained now was for Gwon Riyeong to come out like a hero, holding Geuru in her arms.
The daughter of the chief secretary who rescued a child from a dangerous accident would be more than enough to make the front page.
If that happened, both the direction of public opinion and the S+ contract would have the wind at their backs.
Gwon Honggyun was praying that the focus would not go to Cheon Gyuri, and that Samantha would come out properly holding the child.
Not long after entering the museum, Cheon Gyuri’s team came right back out.
Could they have failed? Was there a problem?
The reporters could be heard murmuring, wondering what had happened, but soon, when Cheon Gyuri emerged supporting a woman in her arms, applause erupted.
It was Gwon Riyeong.
At the sight of Gwon Riyeong holding Geuru while draped in a blanket, Gwon Honggyun let out a deep breath.
Click! Click! Click!
The reporters’ cameras captured “the relieved father, Gwon Honggyun” and “his daughter, Gwon Riyeong, who safely brought out the child.”
Just thinking of the headline that would go up immediately made laughter well up in him. Gwon Honggyun had to force his twitching lips to settle.
‘We did it!’