Chapter 91
The events at the Desert Mausoleum were subject to a confidentiality clause, and since it was, after all, a state institution, most of the SNS live-stream footage never spread widely online.
Thanks to Ophelia’s flawless cleanup afterward, most videos were quickly filtered out by the algorithm, and once the uploads were taken down, things were cleaned up fast.
This was done so that, if they were later questioned for violating the confidentiality clause, there would be records proving the incident had been accidental.
The fact that the Union Guild’s main raiding party, including Kim Hyeok-seon, who had not shown his face for a while, had received a small advance and was currently tackling a newly built tower-type dungeon structure in Turkey also played a part.
The reason was that, in the selection conditions for the first raid party for the Orders Guild’s dungeon structure, ‘Silence Laboratory,’ prior experience clearing a tower-type dungeon structure weighed heavily.
They knew that, given Nova’s enormous capital power, it was impossible for the Union Guild to monopolize Silence Laboratory. Even if things were only roughly balanced, they could already see disputes erupting among the guilds that shared ownership after the public auction over who would get the first clear.
It had now been three days since the Union Guild’s main raiding party, including Kim Hyeok-seon, quietly cleared the tower-type dungeon structure in Turkey and quietly returned to Korea.
“Nice to meet you. Since this is the first time I’ve seen you, are you perhaps a civilian Hunter?”
“Huh.”
That morning was just after the Union Guild’s main raiding party had finished their vacation, so there was every reason they wouldn’t know the news about Eve and Ophelia.
* * * * *
“How can you just pretend not to know me when I’m standing right in front of you, Eve the Ultimate super-duper omega princess..!!”
“It’s me!!”
“Huh?”
“I’m a Hunter, you know?!!”
I could feel my anger rising all the way to the top of my head (128 cm). To think they’d ignore me and try to talk to Ophelia right in front of me!
And what made it even more annoying was their reaction afterward.
“Uh... is this little one your younger sister? Or maybe not—she looks too old to be your little sister.”
“Hwaeeek!!!”
They ignored what I said and tried talking to Ophelia again. I was so angry I bounced up and down in place.
“Unfortunately, I’m not a civilian Hunter. I’m a golem-type summoned familiar made by the princess here, and at present I serve as her legal guardian and representative.”
“Uh, wait... what?”
“I said!! I’m!! a Hunter!!”
“No. Seriously....”
“Ophelia! Let’s go! Don’t talk to someone like that!”
“Yes, understood. Then we’ll be off.”
We turned around and flat-out ignored the Union Guild man. After briefly giving our phone number to the open-gate participation officer, who came rushing over from somewhere in a panic, we took Rois and headed home by car once we reached the stretch where stops were no longer needed.
“Ah, so you’re Hunters from the Union Guild! Just tell me one representative’s name and phone number, and I’ll take care of everything.”
After that, when the civil servant who had finished the participation survey approached the Union Guild while several civilian Hunters stood around along the access road, Kim Hyeok-seon stepped forward as their representative.
“Hand me the form. I’d rather write it myself.”
“Yep. Here you go.”
Kim Hyeok-seon took the open-gate participation form from the civil servant and quickly skimmed the information written on it.
‘That kid from just now was the eighth person to fill one out, so... hmm. This is it, then. Eve? Her name is Eve? So she isn’t Korean, huh.’
Normally, the form is filled out by the civil servant’s own hand and isn’t supposed to be shown to others, but at the scale of one of Korea’s four major guilds, he figured there probably wouldn’t be any issue.
The non-awakened civil servant, already physically exhausted from running around on foot and sore-handed, promptly handed over the form at Kim Hyeok-seon’s words.
ㅡscribble scribble
“Thanks for your hard work. I’m heading out.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you for your hard work!”
After the Union raiders watching from behind confirmed with their own eyes that the civil servant had disappeared, they approached Kim Hyeok-seon and asked,
“Hyung, did you just check the phone number?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do with it? If you use it, they’ll chew you out again for asking where you got the number.”
“If I say I won an eight-digit phone-number lottery by chance, that’ll do.”
“Come on, you’re at it again.”
* * * * *
“Princess, are you all right?”
“Ophelia, don’t I look like a Hunter?”
“Given how young you are, it seems easy to mistake you for one.”
“Hmm, should I wear my Hunter license around my neck or something? Like an employee badge?”
“I do not recommend it, as there is a high possibility that your personal information will be exposed.”
I knew that too, actually, but I was just saying it. A Hunter license is like an ID card, so it has all sorts of information written on it.
“Sigh...”
What is this feeling—of having wanted to be a child when I was an adult, but now that I’m a child, wanting to become an adult as quickly as possible? Even if I became an adult right away, nothing would really change, but that’s just how I feel.
[InseongAnmaengHetta : I want to be an adult already
I’ll smash the world to bits]
-Gyahong : Noooㅠㅠ Princess, don’t become an adultㅠㅠ
ㄴ InseongAnmaengHetta : What do you mean;
-Doshwoongjwak : Why, what happened?
ㄴ InseongAnmaengHetta : I just met Union, and they talked to ㅇㅍㄹㅇ instead of me;
ㄴ Doshwoongjwak : hahahahahahahahahaha
-Anon : There isn’t a single good thing about becoming an adult
ㄴ InseongAnmaengHetta : Children don’t think that way
ㄴ Anon : lol, cute
The only thing I ever hated about growing up was having to work every single day, I think. So what about now? Since I don’t have to work anymore, isn’t an adult who doesn’t have to work the strongest thing in the world?
“Hmmm....”
I was definitely wearing a suit, and my pose was super cool too. So what was missing? Maybe I needed the majesty of a princess.
“Ophelia, the staff you gave me last time—is it still at home?”
“Yes, it is.”
I don’t really know what it’s for, but I gave you a staff to use when you were wearing the princess outfit. I don’t have trouble with my legs or eyes or anything; it’s just heavy and annoying, so I haven’t really carried it around. Maybe I should try taking it with me.
But that design was made to match the princess outfit a little too well, and it doesn’t give me the look I want. It’d be nice if I had a black staff like Kingsman.
“Kingsman... Ah! Should I carry a briefcase around instead?!”
ㅡbeep..?
A briefcase! Literally an adult’s exclusive domain! Why hadn’t I thought of that? Of course I wouldn’t actually have any documents to carry around, so I could put the gun I don’t want to lug around inside it....
“Whoa, that’s totally spy stuff.”
My heart is suddenly pounding; it feels like I’m a cool protagonist from a spy movie. And a plain briefcase seems a little useless, so what if I made it into something I could switch into a golem in a flash?
This is it.
“Ophelia! I’m going to make a new golem! Please get me the materials!”
“What kind of golem would that be?”
“Hmm... something that protects me, looks cool, and that I can carry around like a briefcase most of the time!”
“I see.”
Fortunately, as my abilities grew, I could now summon far more golems than before. I hadn’t really felt the need until now, but for some reason it seemed like having one golem I could carry around and use in whatever form I wanted would be nice.
Rather than rolling around and eating like a living animal, it’d be more like taking it out only when needed, using it, and putting it back? Then wouldn’t it be less a golem and more like a shape-shifting weapon?
“Understood. If it is for the princess’s safety.”
“Yay!!”
Since Ophelia said she’d get the proper materials, I figured I’d just need to figure out how to make it and use it properly. Once I got to the training center later, I should give it a test run..!
* * * * *
“Oh..! What is this?”
“It’s a replica of Crown Guard’s old-generation small automatic firearm for training. We brought it from England and modified it to reduce recoil and add safety features, making it easier to use.”
“Wow.”
Its shape was similar to an Uzi? Since it was an old model, unlike the original made from ordinary metal, this one was built from lightweight rare metal, so it was incredibly light and even tougher than ordinary metal. Because mana served as ammunition, there was no need to load bullets either.
But the barrel-overheating issue was still there even when using mana, so a rate-of-fire limit and cooldown safety lock were built in; use it for too long and the heat rises until it automatically locks.
A person in a suit, spraying an SMG one-handed while carrying a briefcase? That’s basically a mafia boss. And there’s no such thing as a child mafia boss, so I’ll promote myself to adult status on my own..!
“And this here is the staff you mentioned. It can be reduced in size, so use it as needed.”
“Yippee~~”
A black staff with a grown-up vibe, too. Ophelia had already made the briefcase, and inside she’d padded it with fluffy foam so the pre-made gun and staff could fit snugly.
The foam lining was black velvet silk, and the outside was black leather with sleek metal trim and even a handle.
“Huuuh..! It’s so cool!”
“Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”
“Then I just have to make a golem with this, right?”
“Yes, if the princess wants, I can help with the design.”
“Oh, how?”
Ophelia came over and sat beside me, then handed me the briefcase and took hold of it together with me.
“We’ll make the golem together. Using the princess’s abilities and my design schematics. Rather than a complicated explanation, it’ll be faster if you try it yourself.”
“Wow, you can do that? Amazing.”
“I’m a golem made by the princess.”
“Hee.”
With Ophelia’s help, I made the briefcase into a golem.
ㅡflash!!
Blue light sparkled brilliantly, and the briefcase handle I was holding instantly slid up my forearm and onto my shoulder. It was wrapping around my left arm like some kind of artificial arm? Like a prosthetic, but the inside was made of a soft material, so it didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
“How do I use this? Is it just armor?”
Since Ophelia designed it, I didn’t really know how it was supposed to be used either, but as I’d intended, it had been made as a golem that felt much more like a machine than a living thing.
“It’s an aiming support device. To prevent the princess from making mistakes, it will restrict firearm discharge below a certain angle and help you aim at enemies.”
“Whaaat!!!”
A legal aim-hack device, of all things. I was so excited that I hopped into the car with Ophelia and rushed off to the Wirye Training Center.
Unfortunately, I’d changed into training clothes, but the insanely cool briefcase was still in my hand.
ㅡclick-clack..!
The golem-made briefcase can return to its original form and transform freely at will. On top of that, it has the bonus feature of automatically placing Ophelia’s custom mana gun into my hand.
“Woooo..!”
After moving the target out to 25 meters, I stretched out my left hand, with the aim-support attached, toward the target.
‘Something feels weird..!’
I was only lifting my arm slightly, but I could feel the muzzle automatically wiggling side to side. When I pulled the trigger, mana bullets were fired at an incredible speed.
ㅡratatatatatatatat!!!
In just a few seconds after I pulled the trigger, about 40 shots were fired, and the paper target that had been relatively close ended up in tatters.
“How is it, princess?”
“O-Ophelia….”
This.
“My wrist really hurts….”
“Didn’t you say the recoil had been reduced?”