Chapter 29

‘Those… those bastards?’

‘Of course, I really love puppies. You know this is just a figure of speech, right? Oh, Owl. I love you too. You’re really beautiful.’

‘Lilis.’

‘Got it, Lilis!’

Gong Ayeon, despite saying such scary things, casually struck up a conversation with Lilis.

I wanted Gong Ahyuk to stop her, but it seemed like he wanted those bastards taken care of just as much, so he didn’t interfere.

I stubbornly insisted on being discharged from the hospital.

The twins tried to persuade me to rest at least until we entered Uranus, but I pushed back.

‘If I just laze around until we enter Uranus, I’ll probably die anyway, right?’

‘I seriously don’t get why you’re so worried. You think I can’t protect just one person like you?’

Ahyuk’s tone grew sharper, like he was getting annoyed.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the world’s strongest Hunter. He would definitely find some way to get me out of the dungeon safely.

But what about him?

What if he was the type of person who thought losing an arm or a leg was a fair trade for saving just one human life?

For those who sacrifice themselves, it might be an easy choice. But for the people who survive thanks to that sacrifice? It’s torment.

People like Do Minhak, who are rotten to the core, are exhausting in their own way—but people like the twins, who pour kindness on me and treat everyone else with goodness, are somehow twice as hard to deal with.

More than anything, I hated myself for constantly doubting their goodwill even though I desperately wanted to believe it.

Gong Ayeon
[Did you get home safely?]
[Nothing happened, right??ㅠ]

Me
[Yes]
[You walked me to my door,]
[Even came up the stairs with me,]
[And the door closed like three minutes ago.]

Gong Ayeon
[Oopsie~]

Oopsie, my ass.

I could already see her pretty face smiling shamelessly in my mind.

She just wanted an excuse to message me.

Is it really that fascinating to see someone like me still walking and breathing like a normal human being?

Me
[I didn’t say it to your face earlier… but please reconsider taking me into Uranus…]

Gong Ayeon
[Why don’t you want to go?]

I had this cowardly talent of being able to say things over text that I couldn’t say face-to-face.

Of course, I only acted once I’d carefully weighed the gains and losses.

Me
[Even if you two don’t think that way, I’m afraid other people will see me as baggage.]
[Even if you cover for me, I hate being the kind of person who drags others down… It’s embarrassing.]
[In Uranus, someone like me—an F-rank—is lower than a common mana stone lying around, right? Even outside, when people hear I’m F-rank, they don’t even see me as a Hunter…]
[Even if you two don’t think that way, that’s how people look at me… It’s not your fault.]

If I was being honest, it was all because of my inferiority complex.

Only after pressing “send” did I finally understand the source of the uncomfortable feelings I’d been holding onto.

It was unbearable shame.

That my worth was seen as so little. That I had nothing I could show others with pride.

If my ability was lacking, then at least my environment should’ve compensated—but I didn’t even have that.

I was just a useless person rotting away in inferiority.

And to make it worse, I was overly sensitive, instantly noticing when people mocked me or looked down on me.

If I’d been dull, maybe I could’ve ignored it all and survived easier.

For a while, I was too busy scraping by each day to even notice how weak I really was.

But standing next to high-level Hunters, I could feel it crushing down on me.

Even when they treated me sincerely like I was someone important, it felt like they were mocking me. That’s how twisted it all felt.

“I’m seriously just a bundle of inferiority. Unrecyclable trash. Throw me in a fire and I won’t even burn. I’d just pollute the environment longer than plastic.”

“My master’s evaluation of herself is too harsh.”

“You called me shit too.”

“That was a metaphor. You hold grudges too long.”

Unlike before, when Ayeon bombarded me with replies every few seconds, this time she read my messages and stayed silent for a long while.

Lilis tapped my head with her wings, as if to comfort me, testing whether I was truly upset.

It was like she was imitating how humans gave comfort.

I hadn’t known her long, but already she was annoyingly soft and warm.

“Lilis, you can call me Jiae instead of ‘Master.’”

“Jiae?”

“Yeah, in Korea, when people get close, they call each other like that.”

“Then I’m just Lis.”

That sounded like a Christmas wreath to hang on a door.

I quickly erased the image of Lilis dangling like a wreath from my door.

Oblivious to my thoughts, the tiny summoned owl bit my sleeve and dragged me straight onto the bed.

“Where’d you get this kind of strength?”

“Judging power by size is foolish.”

I wasn’t dragged—I was literally lifted into the air by that tiny owl and tossed onto my bed.

Looking proud of herself, she even pulled a blanket over me and began rhythmically patting me with her wings.

“Jiae, you’re overflowing with negative emotions. Perfect—I was hungry anyway.”

“Huh?”

“From now on, it’s witches’ mealtime.”

With that cryptic comment, my switch flipped, and I fell fast asleep.

The next morning, I felt amazing.

Like I’d gotten a perfect massage before bed.

Normally, I would’ve been anxious if someone like Ayeon had read my messages and not replied—but today, I didn’t care.

It was like I was under some kind of spell.

[Because of ‘Mistress of Hexen Nacht,’ you are under the debuff ‘Intense Desire.’]

So I was under something after all.

Not magic. A curse.

“Lis, what is this?”

“I ate.”

She answered so casually, like it was no big deal.

Even knowing it was a curse, I still felt ridiculously good, which was definitely strange.

I forced myself to frown at the mirror, but my expression kept bouncing back to a bright smile.

Because of that side effect, when Ayeon came out of the guild building to greet me, I waved cheerfully and shouted:

“Hello!”

“Jiae? Oh—hello?”

She returned my greeting with a smile, scanning me curiously.

Considering I was grinning like a lunatic, of course she’d find me odd.

But this wasn’t my will at all.

“I’m under this debuff called Intense Desire because of Lilis. What does it mean?”

“Uh, hold on. Let me check.”

She led me into her workshop and sat me down, examining my status window.

Her expression shifted into something… peculiar.

What’s this?

Had I gotten myself into some seriously dangerous debuff? Was my brainchild of a familiar actually a traitorous curse?

“Jiae, I need to ask you this just to confirm the debuff.”

“Okay.”

“What do you want most right now?”

“I want to enter a dungeon, rack up so many achievements that all those bastards who ignored me have to eat their words, and show them I’m a strong, high-value Hunter worth real money. Who the hell do they think they are to look down on me? Are they really all that? No, they’re not!”

My mouth just moved on its own.

Wait.

Did my brain just short-circuit?

I wanted to clamp my mouth shut, but every word had already spilled out.

Ayeon smiled faintly and asked quietly:

“Then, who exactly are those bastards that ignored you?”

Why won’t she drop this?

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t recall their exact faces anymore. It had been too long.

“Was it the party members from your very first dungeon run?”

“Yes.”

“Every single one of them?”

“They’re all guilty.”

“Okay, got it.”

So I didn’t even need to remember their names!

I stared at her in disbelief while still feeling absurdly upbeat.

Lis, what the hell is this.

“Oh, but…”

“Yes, Jiae?”

“I hate Do Minhak even more than them. I can’t stand him. Honestly, if I could just screw him over, I think I’d swallow my pride and go into Uranus. Am I being too petty?”

The reply didn’t come from Ayeon.

It came from directly behind me.

“No, not at all.”

It was Gong Ahyuk.