Chapter 8
Beep- Beep- Beep- Beep—
While Seoya was reflecting on the differences between herself and Earthlings, a familiar sound of the front door opening was heard.
Turning her head toward the sound, Seoya spotted Lee Gayun and called out in a delighted voice.
“Unnie!”
“Seoya, how have you been?”
‘The smell of wood and dirt.’
She must’ve gone to a dungeon with trees in it today.
Even though she was supposedly the guild master of a major guild, Lee Gayun was, in Seoya’s eyes, the busiest person she’d seen over the past week.
“Have you guys been taking good care of the kid while I was gone?”
“Ha, Captain. We’ve got a problem.”
At Lee Gayun’s question, Baek Yena suddenly wore a serious expression.
‘But there hasn’t been any problem at all?’
Seoya figured it must be about the Hunters, and was about to brush it off—until she heard what they were actually saying and looked utterly appalled.
“I just wish our baby would eat a little more. Just look how skinny she is. We’ve got to fatten her up!”
“That’s probably because you keep giving her too many snacks. No wonder she has no appetite.”
“But how am I supposed to resist when she’s looking at me like that?! How can anyone say no to that face?!”
“I’m telling you to give her snacks in moderation, in moderation!”
“Hey, I eat plenty, okay? Who says I eat too little?”
Finally unable to hold back, Seoya jumped into the conversation protesting their treatment of her like a little kid.
All she had expected from these humans when she first arrived in this world was food, shelter, and clothing—not to be treated like some child they needed to raise.
“Eat more. When you’re growing, it’s okay to eat extra. That age is when everything you eat turns into height.”
“My growth period is already over.”
Seoya glanced toward Ji Sein with a look that begged for support, but Ji Sein, as always, was lying on the floor typing on her laptop, oblivious.
“Hold on, Princess. I found a website online that designs meal plans based on children’s nutrition requirements—”
Ugh. Not helpful either. Realizing there was no winning this, Seoya gave a resigned nod, mentally half-giving up on objecting to being treated like a kid.
“Here, this is the stuff the vice-guild leader sent you.”
Finally done talking with Baek Yena, Lee Gayun massaged one shoulder and dumped the contents of a bag slung over her shoulder.
“Ha-jun oppa sent them?”
“Yeah. These days, instead of doing his actual job, the vice-guild leader’s been browsing child safety products at work.”
Various miscellaneous items spilled across the floor—none of which seemed to have any clear purpose.
As Seoya stared at them with suspicion, Lee Gayun picked up a necklace with a red gem and fastened it around Seoya’s neck. The gem glinted with a mysterious light whenever it caught the sun.
“Here, a location-tracking necklace. If you wear it, the person wearing the other half of the pair can see your location. You know, just in case you get lost while going out.”
Was this surveillance or not?
‘Besides, if it’s for kids, why are they giving it to me?’
Not a single person treated her like an adult.
Seoya tugged the annoying necklace off her neck, and Lee Gayun placed the matching piece on the living room table.
“Oh! I know this one!”
Watching from nearby, Ji Sein picked up a bracelet and exclaimed.
“Emergency signal request bracelet! This thing’s been going viral in mom cafes lately!”
“Yeah, it’s a must-have item for parents with young kids.”
“And why, exactly, do I need something like that…?”
Seoya muttered, clearly fed up.
“What if the house suddenly gets sucked into a dungeon someday? You might be alone at home when that happens.”
“That oppa can be way too overprotective sometimes.”
With a half-resigned sigh, Seoya looked down at the pink gemstone bracelet. It was bright and gaudy—frankly, the design made her question the creator’s taste.
“Where’d you even get it?”
“Oh, these kinds of items drop as dungeon rewards.”
Ah, so humans didn’t make it. No wonder it looked like something every Earth designer would unanimously reject.
“So, if you grab and yank the big bead in the center, the bracelet breaks and sends a system alert into the sky. Hunters can then receive the rescue signal.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever actually be in danger.”
“Of course not. Because we won’t let you be.”
‘No, really. There’s nothing in this world that can actually threaten me…’
Seoya didn’t even bother explaining anymore—she was too used to being overprotected by now.
Lee Gayun finally held up a bright white cloak. Unlike the two previous items that were clearly for children, this cloak had a sacred, mysterious air to it.
“What is it this time…?”
Seoya asked with a sigh of resignation. Lee Gayun simply put the cloak on herself without a word.
“Huh?”
Seoya’s eyes widened, and Lee Gayun took the cloak off again, wearing a pleased expression as if satisfied with having surprised her.
‘Her face disappeared.’
She knew there was a face there—she could even kind of see it—but the features refused to be perceived. It was like someone had pasted a translucent film over just that part.
“Where did you get this? I’ve only heard rumors it even existed!”
Baek Yena grabbed the cloak in awe.
“Face-concealing cloak. Aren’t there only two of these in the entire world?”
“If we get caught in another monster wave, something like last time could happen again. This way, if you wear this cloak, at least your identity won’t be exposed.”
Hold on. Seoya looked at Lee Gayun, a sudden realization striking her.
If wearing this cloak means no one can recognize her…
“Then can I wear this and enter dungeons? Can I fight monsters?”
“What? No. Absolutely not.”
“Kiddo, don’t be ridiculous. Just stay home.”
Baek Yena and Lee Gayun spoke firmly.
Seoya didn’t get it. They’d seen with their own eyes how strong she was—so why were they still babying her like this?
Over the past week, Seoya had explained countless times how powerful she was and how willing she was to help others. She had the power to protect, and naturally, she wanted to use it to help people.
As mentioned before, Seoya could see alerts for dungeons and monster waves before they happened.
These were catastrophes that occurred without warning, but if someone could see where they would appear, they could evacuate people in advance and prevent casualties.
‘And I could just go fight the monsters myself.’
Was she really so weak as to need this level of protection? Absolutely not.
In Seoya’s world, known as the Foundation, humans with magical power were called “Pioneers.”
Most Pioneers had superhuman physical abilities, intelligence, and magic-based powers—but even among them, Seoya was unique. She possessed an overwhelming amount of magical energy.
She could see and hear things from miles away, identify people by scent, and had extremely heightened senses. Even if her internal organs were destroyed, as long as her heart remained intact, her body would regenerate in an hour. She had the strength to bend steel, speed that rivaled a car, and stamina that let her run all day without fatigue.
Add to that the ability to instantly absorb any skill, a perfect memory, and a magical trait that let her learn any language after hearing just one sentence.
Above all, she had so much magical power that even if every other Pioneer in the Foundation combined forces, they couldn’t defeat her.
The next most powerful Pioneer after Seoya was someone named Ibin—but despite being ranked second, the gap between them was enormous.
Seoya wasn’t just the strongest in her world—she was a being that even the entire Foundation couldn’t defeat when working together.
And she’d awakened as a Pioneer at just eight years old—the youngest in history.
Born with immense power and trained from a young age, Seoya was well-accustomed to combat.
‘So why… why don’t they understand?’
This world’s dungeons and monsters were child’s play to her. Why did these humans insist on treating her like a fragile child?
Still, she didn’t want to be ungrateful to those who gave her food and shelter. So Seoya grumbled under her breath:
“If I help, no one will get hurt and it’ll all be over in an instant…”
“We can handle it without you. Don’t worry about it.”
It was clear they had no intention of backing down—but neither did Seoya.
“But people are getting hurt.”
“That’s why we’re doing everything we can.”
“Why can’t I help?”
“Kiddo, we already have a mess to clean up from that invisible Hunter interview. If you keep using your powers, it’s going to get dangerous.”
“And you’re too strong. The whole ‘Rank 0 Invisible Hunter’ excuse can only take us so far…”
Lee Gayun looked at her with a strange expression as she added,
“And you’re not strong.”
“Huh? You saw what I did that day, didn’t you? I’m crazy strong!”
Seoya protested, exasperated, but Lee Gayun only shook her head.
“Seoya, even if you are strong, I’m not about to push the responsibility of protecting Earth onto a child. And more than that… you’re not strong.”
“What do you mean I’m not—!?”
Seoya’s pouty protest was cut short when Lee Gayun pressed her palm to her forehead and murmured,
“Have you been sleeping okay at night lately?”
