"I'm going to need to buy a new comb…"
After Daon spent a whole hour drying my tail, she finally pulled a small comb from her vanity table.
Swish, swish.
The gentle stroke of the comb against my newly fluff-dried tail felt nice.
"Mmm."
Surrendering to the pleasant sensation, I let my shoulders drop completely.
I should stay a little longer before leaving.
Living alone in a house I built myself was definitely going to require some real thought.
Though bits and pieces of my memory remained, I still needed more time to adapt to the modern world.
Glancing back, I caught Daon brushing my tail with a serious look.
Her hands moved with practiced ease.
Under her touch, my soft, puffed-up tail smoothed right out, radiating a healthy luster.
"You're really good at this."
"…Ah, I used to have a dog."
I tilted my head at the comparison, but the thought evaporated the moment my eyes landed on a small, black rectangular box.
A phone!
I had made up my mind to buy one back at the real estate agency, but I had completely forgotten about this essential item while buying pots.
Noticing my gaze flicking back and forth between her and the phone, Daon quickly spoke up.
"Are you curious?"
It wasn't curiosity—I was just glad to see it.
But explaining all that felt like too much hassle, so I simply nodded.
"Please wait a moment."
Daon paused her combing and reached across the table to pick up the phone.
She then unlocked it and handed it to me.
"This is called a smartphone. If you press your finger on this glass screen…"
She resumed combing while guiding me through its basic functions.
I listened just in case there was anything different from my memories, but it was all stuff I already knew.
Awkwardly touching the screen, I watched closely as the display shifted rapidly.
"Oho…"
How long has it been since I last felt this sensation?
The cool, smooth texture of the glass against my fingertips brought a sudden wave of satisfaction.
After I opened and closed several apps, my finger eventually landed on the search bar
A long list of recent searches popped up.
I tapped the search term right at the top of the list.
[Hunter Gallery]
I figured a gallery was a place where things like paintings or artwork were displayed.
Thinking I'd just browse some pictures, I tapped the first website that popped up.
"Huh?"
Instead, what met my eyes was a flood of text.
On top of that, most of the posts had strangely familiar titles.
"Aren't these… my things?"
They were undoubtedly talking about my failed creations. Just a few hours earlier, I had listed "Unnamed Gears" on the Auction House to raise money for land.
Then… could they be talking about me too?
Just in case, I tapped the search bar on the site to look up my own name.
Before I could type, the recent search history popped right back up.
[Daon Lee]
[Daon]
[E-Rank Hunter Daon Lee]
[Blood-Red Curved Sword]
[Supernova]
As I stared blankly at those words—
"Gah! Wh—"
The soothing strokes on my tail abruptly stopped, followed by a flustered cry from Daon that barely formed coherent words.
"H-how did you get in there…?"
Turning around at the sound, I saw Daon blushing bright red as she stammered.
"Why is your name here?"
"Nnn…! Well… I just found it strange that people kept mentioning me…"
Judging by her reaction, she had definitely searched for her own name.
"Aha."
Not that it was a big deal anyway.
Nodding, I turned my attention back to the smartphone and searched for my own name.
[Dan]
Fortunately, there wasn't anything special.
All I got were unrelated results like 'Damascus steel' or 'Dagger.'
"Fufu."
Enjoying the gentle strokes of Daon's comb, I browsed through other posts in the gallery.
* * *
Hnggg… I wanted to show Lord Dan only my cool side, but now everything is ruined.
No matter how approachable and cute her appearance had become, it didn't change the fact that Dan was still her savior.
I haven't even had the chance to ask how she got out of the Tower, or how she ended up in this form…
To hide her flushed face, Daon lowered her head and focused entirely on combing the plush tail.
Hunter Gallery was an online community for Hunters operating in South Korea, but in reality, it was a strange board where most users were non-Awakened.
Searching for her own name in that gallery had become one of her new hobbies ever since her recent rise to fame.
She had never dreamed that her secret hobby would be caught red-handed by none other than Lord Dan, the Master of the Forge.
Daon subtly raised her head to gauge Dan's reaction.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind at all, completely absorbed in scrolling up and down the phone screen like a child who had gotten a new toy.
"Hmm…"
Reflected across the glass screen, Dan's blue eyes sparkled with deep interest.
Her small finger came to a stop on the popular posts page.
Scanning through the provocative titles, Dan suddenly frowned and tapped one.
[Title: Leaked rumors on trending AH weapons.txt]
OP: Anonymous
An acquaintance of mine works in the Korean Hunter Association's IT department, and they said the Auction House server crashing three hours ago wasn't just simple traffic overload (((；ﾟДﾟ)))
You know how the 100th piece of Unnamed Gear that popped up on auction was a bracelet, right?
Apparently, that bracelet was stacked with mana recovery and casting speed options, so the Architect shut down the server himself just to buy it lololol
Is that why that guy made the Auction House in the first place?
—Anonymous: sounds like bs
ㄴOP: swear on my life, 100% legit
—Delete this post ASAP. There's an embargo on this right now, what the hell are you doing?
—If this is true, can we even trust the AH anymore?
ㄴIf it's real, we should ditch the app and just trade directly on the gallery.
—knew that bastard would pull something like this lol
ㄴsmh imagine believing this crap. Do you know how rich the Architect is? You think he wouldn't win a bid?
ㄴOil tycoons are throwing infinite money at this, how is a single guy supposed to compete with that?
Silently reading the posts on the screen, Dan tilted her head with her mouth hanging slightly open.
"So that's why."
Daon had only seen the recent transaction logs, so she wasn't entirely sure if the rumors were true.
But Dan's reaction made it clear: the auction really had been cut short.
"No wonder it ended the moment someone raised the bid."
Dan murmured.
Hearing those words, Daon set the comb down before she knew it and fell into thought, savoring the soft texture of the fluffy tail with her bare hands.
I suppose that makes sense…
She recalled the sight of the forge that would remain etched in her memory forever.
A forge filled with nothing but lava and steel.
The countless stacked 'failures' within it.
Though her savior called them failures…
Daon, who had checked the Auction House daily, saw things differently.
Every single item defied common sense.
Masterpieces that put all other equipment to shame.
Their base stats alone were dozens of times higher than ordinary gear.
Not to mention the absurd additional options that came with them.
…It really might be true.
Hunters who grew strong overnight were bound to get drunk on their newly acquired power and authority.
Power was like a drug; no amount was ever enough.
Those who got a taste of it never looked anywhere else; their eyes were fixed solely on the top.
But once someone Awakened, their rank was set in stone.
Naturally, power-hungry Climbers craved better gear, desperate for even the slightest upgrade in quality.
S-Rank Hunter or not, rank three or not, the Architect is still human…
As Daon sat mulling over whether there was real truth behind what might be just another shitpost—
Thump, thump.
The soft, fluffy ball of fur she had been idly stroking began whipping back and forth.
Having raised a dog growing up, she knew exactly what that movement meant.
It was a telltale sign of annoyance.
"Is there really any need to go that far, though…?"
"Pardon?"
"Sure, it's obviously good since I made it… but still, it's just a failure."
Daon slapped her forehead at the sheer absurdity of her savior's words.
"They aren't… just good."
As she tried to continue, a pair of blue eyes turned to face her.
An innocent, pure gaze.
A look that seemed to know nothing, perfectly fitting her youthful appearance.
Sometimes she can be so uncompromising and meticulous…
She thought that perhaps the terrifying lava entity from the forge wasn't Lord Dan's true form after all—maybe this body was who she was all along.
Where do I even start?
Daon slowly parted her lips, dizzy with a sudden sense of helplessness.
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