Chapter 22
ㅡDing!
“Huh. Ophelia has already paid.”
The payment alert popped up on my phone. I’d forgotten, but that’s what happens when you pay, right? Since Ophelia finished shopping, she might be back soon.
“410,000 won..? What did she buy..?”
But the amount spent isn’t small. It was a little over 410,000 won.
Did my house really need 410,000 won worth of stuff? Maybe she bought a ton of tools, or maybe some delicious food.
Even though I definitely made Ophelia myself, she feels different from the golems I made before. The biggest difference is that she can talk, I guess—she feels like another person.
“Minyum, Suri. Tomorrow we’re going monster hunting like last time, but can Ophelia fight?”
Suri and Minyum, who had been sprawled out on the floor together, suddenly lifted their heads at my question, then slowly got up and nodded.
“Really? Is Ophelia good at fighting?”
ㅡClack!
ㅡKiiit..
Putting their reactions together, Ophelia doesn’t seem amazing at fighting, but she’s probably the strongest one here. Well, Ophelia is the most expensive thing in our house, after all. She was made from high-purity rare metal and high-grade magic stone that would be hard to obtain even if you had money.
-Eve: Where are we going, though?
-Han Dohi: How about here?
-Han Dohi: (address)
“Hmm.”
This time it isn’t a goblin gate, but a lizardman gate. It’s a bit far, but we’ll be driving there with Han Dohi anyway, so it’s no problem.
-Han Dohi: Don’t worry, I’m bringing my party members.
-Han Dohi: You know Chaea, right?
-Han Dohi: There’s her and one more person.
-Eve: I get awkward around people I’ve never met.
-Han Dohi: They’re nice.
-Han Dohi: Or should I bring Jongho instead, lol.
If it’s Jongho... she means Gagyeolipdan, right? He’s a Nova Guild member; is it okay to just pull him out like that?
-Han Dohi: It’s fine.
-Han Dohi: He isn’t part of the raiding team anyway, so he’s got time.
-Eve: Hmm.
-Han Dohi: Just tell your sister, I guess.
Still, it’s a lot better if they’re people I know at least a little. Even if I only talked to them on the gallery, that’s still better than being complete strangers. And somehow, meeting Awakened Gallery users in real life is kind of fun too.
If this had been before, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to meet them much, but after seeing Gagyeolipdan react, I guess you could say it’s fun to surprise people.
-Eve: lol
-Eve: If possible, go ahead.
-Han Dohi: Sure, yeah.
-Han Dohi: Hang on.
-Han Dohi: (sent a profile link. ‘_Death_Ho’)
-Eve: What’s this?
-Han Dohi: Jongho’s Huntwit profile.
-Han Dohi: Add him.
Could the ‘death’ in his handle be because of his name, Lim Jongho? When I followed the profile link Han Dohi sent, there was a close-up selfie of that guy we saw at the hotel, grinning and making a V sign with his hand.
The posts had photos with captions like ‘Spending good time with good people.’
And there were photos of him standing side by side with the male coworkers who joined Nova at the same time as him, slinging an arm over someone’s shoulder or giving a thumbs-up with one hand. He’s an utterly average man. He didn’t give off this feeling on the gallery at all; he was completely ordinary.
“This is kind of funny.”
Also, as I thought before, Jongho looks like someone I’ve seen somewhere before. How should I put it? He has such a common face that there are probably another hundred thousand people in Korea who look exactly like him. I feel like I’ve seen about ten faces like this in my life, too.
-Han Dohi: Are you going to add Chaea too?
-Eve: Why are you asking about Chaea’s older sister but just giving Jongho’s, lol?
-Eve: Go ahead.
-Han Dohi: (sent a profile link. ‘chaE._Vely_’)
There it is! A hallmark of girls’ SNS accounts: stuffing the ID with stuff like ‘Vely.’ When I went into the profile, it was overflowing with photos of fresh nails and pictures taken at aesthetic cafés.
There were also shots taken by someone else at a travel destination, with one hand covering her cheek and her head turned away.
“Somehow she feels like a total social butterfly, and that’s depressing....”
Chaea doesn’t even use Awakened Gallery. She’s a total social butterfly. I’m starting to feel a little put off..
“Still, I should add her….”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t checked what kind of posts Han Dohi had uploaded. I’m curious what her vibe is like.
“Huh, this is totally.”
First off, even the ID is ‘_Dohiki_’, and there are screenshots from female-oriented rhythm games—stuff packed with handsome male characters—as well as Sanrio keychains and character bags.
There were nail photos even more extravagant than Kim Chaea’s, and tons of posts where she’s talking in Japanese with Japanese hunters.
“So Han Dohi was a landmine after all….”
Her style of dressing kind of gave off that vibe, but how did Han Dohi and Kim Chaea become friends? That’s really mysterious.
-Eve: Hey,
-Eve: how did you get close with Chaea’s older sister?
-Han Dohi: ?
-Han Dohi: We went to the same high school.
-Han Dohi: Why all of a sudden, lol
-Eve: lol, just because.
-Han Dohi: What’s this about?
-Eve: Make a group chat.
Before long, Han Dohi created a group chat and invited three people, myself included.
ㅡKnock, knock, knock
“Oh, Ophelia.”
Meanwhile, Ophelia had arrived, but since she didn’t know the password to my front door, she must have knocked. It’s not like I wrote the door code down anywhere on my phone, and you can’t find the password on the internet anyway.
ㅡCreak
“Ophelia, you’re here?”
“Yes, grocery shopping was a success. Were you waiting for me?”
“Ah, no. I forgot to tell you the password. I’ll write it down for you.”
“Thank you.”
Ophelia came back with her arms full of things she’d bought. It probably took about two hours; the large supermarket wasn’t all that close, so it must have taken a bit of time.
As soon as she got home, she put the groceries neatly away in the refrigerator, unpacked all sorts of cleaning supplies and sorted them into a plastic bag, then went into the bathroom.
“O-Ophelia?”
“What is it, Princess?”
“Are you going to clean the bathroom..?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Ah, okay….”
Maybe it’d be better to ask after she finishes cleaning the bathroom..?
* * * * *
-Han Dohi: Hi hi.
-Kim Chaea: What kind of chat room is this?
-Han Dohi: Gate tomorrow, go.
-Kim Chaea: I went yesterdayㅠ
-Han Dohi: You’re going with Eve.
-Han Dohi: (address)
-Han Dohi: Possible?
-Kim Chaea: Eve too?? Then okay, haha.
-Han Dohi: That bastard Lim Jongho has his notifications off.
-Han Dohi: @_Death_Ho
-Kim Chaea: Jongho’s coming too?
-Han Dohi: Yeah.
-Lim Jongho: Says who.
-Lim Jongho: What time?
-Han Dohi: Starting around 4.
-Han Dohi: Afterward, dinner.
-Kim Chaea: But Eve is here too??
-Kim Chaea: Jongho, do you know Eve too?
-Lim Jongho: I’m not really familiar with that person, haha..
-Han Dohi: You met at the hotel, remember.
-Lim Jongho: Oh, no way.
-Lim Jongho: Is that them?
-Eve: Hello
-Eve: there.
-Eve: Jongho, why did you reject my friend requestㅠ?
-Lim Jongho: I thought you were a stranger;
-Kim Chaea: That’s mean, Jongho ㅜㅜ
-Lim Jongho: No, lol.
-Lim Jongho: Why are you doing this to me..
-Han Dohi: Jongho really needs a beating, yeah.
-Lim Jongho: Quiet.
-Lim Jongho: I have maintenance at a Guro-gu gate at 3 tomorrow.
-Han Dohi: That’s at 3.
-Lim Jongho: I might be late.
-Kim Chaea: So you can’t come?
-Kim Chaea: Then?
-Lim Jongho: I’ll try to finish early.
-Han Dohi: Finish it super fast.
-Han Dohi: Eve’s a kid, so feed them early and send them back quickly.
-Lim Jongho: But Eve, are you sure you can go into the gate?
-Eve: I’m fine.
-Eve: Jongho will protect me.
-Lim Jongho: Hmm.
-Lim Jongho: Eve, you should call me oppa.
-Eve: Ew.
-Eve: Old man.
-Kim Chaea: Hahahahaha.
-Kim Chaea: That’s so funny.
-Lim Jongho: Is this right..
-Han Dohi: Oppa really doesn’t suit your face, Jongho.
-Lim Jongho: You too.
-Lim Jongho: This is why you act like this, because you won’t call me oppa.
-Han Dohi: I’m so early-born that anyone up to two years younger counts as a friend.
-Lim Jongho: This is a mess.
After talking for a while like that, Ophelia finished cleaning the bathroom. But instead of sitting down to rest, she immediately grabbed the lint roller and various other things and started cleaning the floor again.
“O-Ophelia..? Wouldn’t it be better if you rested a little..?”
“I’m fine.”
“I have something I’d like to ask….”
Only then did Ophelia put down the lint roller she’d been rolling around on the floor, come over beside me, and kneel down.
“What is it?”
“Can you fight, Ophelia..?”
“You mean combat.”
Ophelia seemed to be thinking for a moment. She looked at Minyum and Suri sitting on top of the dresser so they wouldn’t get in the way of the cleaning, then gave her answer.
“I wasn’t created for direct combat. However, I understand the basic framework of combat for protecting the princess to a certain degree, and given the specs of the materials used in my creation, I can currently be considered the strongest in combat.”
“Really? Are you better at fighting than Suri?”
“Yes.”
Originally she wasn’t made for fighting at all, but she was created from the best rare metal and high-grade magic stone, so among the golems I’m currently keeping, she’s the best at fighting.
“Then.. how strong are you?”
“One moment.”
Ophelia closed her eyes at my question and took a short moment to think.
“If measured according to the Awakened rank management system listed on the internet, I should be able to produce combat power at the level of an A-rank hunter.”
“Whoa.”
No, that’s insanely impressive. Even though she wasn’t made for combat, she’s that strong?
“Then how do I make even stronger golems? Do I make them only for fighting??”
“For now, the ‘Minyum’ unit seems the most suited for combat. If you later reinforce it with better materials and improve the completeness of the body, I think you should be able to call forth one of the Kingdom’s Fragments.”
“A Kingdom’s Fragment.. I see….”
If they say Kingdom’s Fragment, then that’s probably what it means. An already-existing personality? Once Minyum’s body becomes more complete, they’ll summon the powerful knight that exists in the kingdom into Minyum’s body.
“But.. then will Minyum disappear again?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Really? Kingdom’s Fragments are.. the same as Ophelia, right?”
“In general, you make a vessel that can withstand the Kingdom’s Fragment, and for a set period of time you possess it with their combat power or knowledge. Minyum will remain Minyum.”
“Is it the same for Ophelia too?”
“My case is a little special. I’m a sort of tutorial guide, supporting you so that you can awaken your abilities, Princess. Since I’m not a combat unit, the amount of mana required to maintain me is far less than that of the other Fragments.”
In other words, she’s the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings. Rather than costing resources to maintain, she’s the only Fragment whose upkeep actually helps.
The real combat Fragments drain an enormous amount of mana to maintain and can only be summoned through temporary combat possession.
“So Ophelia doesn’t fight, then….”
“That depends on the difficulty. The entry-type gate whose address you were given during the conversation should be easy enough for me to clear.”
“Huh? No, ah.”
Come to think of it, Huntwit uses the same account for both phone and computer. If I talked on the computer, Ophelia would be able to see it too.
That feels kind of weird….
“So it’s okay to go to the gate?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Yay.”
And thus, a four-person raiding party.. or was it five if you included Ophelia? Or since Ophelia isn’t a “person,” does she count as one unit? By that logic, we also have Suri, Minyum, and Daengdaeng, so is it a four-person, four-unit party?
‘That’s a difficult question..!’
“This is the Princess’s official first expedition. I will prepare her outfit.”
“Huh? Outfit? Where are you going now?”
“To the fabric shop. It may take some time, so I’m sorry to say this, but please have one of the ready-made meals on the top shelf of the refrigerator for dinner tonight.”
“Ah, um.”
What’s a fabric shop, anyway?
* * * * *
“Princess? Is something uncomfortable?”
“....”
“All of it….”