Vroom-
"So, what kind of place is the Ernor Continent?" KangWoo asked Echidna while driving back to his house.
At first, he’d offered her a seat in the passenger's seat, but she didn't seem to want to move from his leg.
'Well, it's not like she's bothering me.'
Because she'd become so small, she didn't bother him.
[I'm not sure what you're asking me…]
Echidna seemed troubled at his question.
Her reaction was understandable—it was probably similar to asking someone from Earth what kind of place it was.
"Hmm... Tell me about the countries there, what kind of people live there, how they live, etc."
[First, the biggest country is the Arnan Empire. Then...]
Echidna's explanation kept going on.
The 'Ernor Continent' she was describing was a place similar to one of those medieval fantasy worlds that often appeared in novels.
They used swords and magic, and it was a world where fairies, monsters, and dragons existed.
'Then, are the monsters from the gates coming from the Ernor continent?'
The goblins and trolls that appeared in the gates were monsters that couldn't be seen in Hell.
—They were monsters that used the power of mana stones to move rather than demonic energy.
At first, he’d thought average monsters were weak compared to demonic monsters like the hellhound or buer, but that wasn't necessarily true.
'The problem is that a monster like the buer shouldn't have appeared in a B-rank gate.'
If the buer had appeared in an A-rank gate, there wouldn’t have been so much commotion.
'The average monsters aren't weak, and the ones that appear in S-rank gates are proof of that.'
He couldn't ignore them just because they weren't demonic monsters.
"Echidna, tell me more about yourself," KangWoo asked while steering the wheel of the car.
[Me...?]
"Yes. Things like how you used to live, how you got involved with Reinald, etc."
[I... Used to live with my dad. But one day, he suddenly left me alone and disappeared.]
"He disappeared?"
[Yes. After that happened, I spent my days reading in the lair until someone suddenly entered it...]
"That was Reinald, right?"
Echidna nodded. KangWoo clicked his tongue and then opened his mouth.
"It must have been lonely."
[Yes... It was very lonely,] Echidna said in a depressed voice.
To be honest, KangWoo couldn't understand her feelings very well.
He didn't know the emotion called loneliness very well.
'After all, I was always lonely.'
He had lived alone since he was born, so his sense of loneliness was a bit dulled.
"Then, how did you get summoned here?"
[While fighting against Reinald, I felt like someone was calling me, and then a gate suddenly appeared.]
"Hmm..."
He still wasn't sure what the mechanism for a summoning was, but it seemed like it hadn’t happened because she’d wished for it.
"We arrived."
While talking with Echidna, they reached the shabby apartment complex where he lived with Han Seol-ah.
[So this is KangWoo's nest...]
"No. The word ‘nest’ is a bit... To be honest, it isn't even my house."
KangWoo parked the car while smiling awkwardly.
KangWoo's car stood out quite a bit among the domestic cars.
'Should I get a new house?'
He didn't intend to live separated from Han Seol-ah and her mother, Kim MiJeong.
—But one couldn't deny that the house was a bit shabby and small.
Since he was starting to earn money, maybe it wasn't a bad idea to move to a bigger house.
'It would be more comfortable to move somewhere near the Red Rose Guild.'
He and Chae YeonJoo had become true allies.
KangWoo was quite satisfied with the relationship and wanted them to keep being allies, so he thought moving closer to the Red Rose Guild's base would be more comfortable.
'I can also go to an internet cafe with her.'
KangWoo laughed while thinking about Chae YeonJoo getting angry.
"Let's go."
[Okay.]
KangWoo lifted Echidna and walked toward the house.
* * *
"Kyaaaa!!"
A scream spread through the living room.
"So cuteee!!"
Han Seol-ah took Echidna from KangWoo and hugged her aggressively.
Echidna flapped her wings as she felt the pressure of two big pieces of flesh.
[S-save me, KangWoo...!]
She desperately called for KangWoo.
KangWoo gulped while looking at Han Seol-ah hug Echidna.
'I envy you.'
In KangWoo's eyes, Echidna was screaming because of pleasure.
[K-KangWoo...]
Of course, in reality, she was suffering.
"Is her name Echidna? Ha... How can she be so cute~"
"I thought that you would feel repulsed."
"Why would I feel repulsion toward such a cute summoned monster?"
Han Seol-ah looked at him, confused.
KangWoo laughed.
"But it's still a monster."
"But she's cute! Cute things are justice!"
Han Seol-ah hugged Echidna even tighter.
KangWoo laughed after seeing a side of her he hadn't seen before.
[S-save me...]
"Echidna is struggling, so let her go."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't notice."
Han Seol-ah finally let Echidna go.
Echidna flew toward KangWoo and looked at Han Seol-ah cautiously after being freed by her.
'It seems like, since she became smaller, her physical strength was also reduced.'
If Echidna had her original strength, there's no way Seol-ah would've been able to hold Echidna while she was trying to free herself.
[KangWoo, that person is scary.]
"Well, she didn't have ill intentions, so don't be so cautious about her."
KangWoo found Echidna hiding behind him, similar to how a kid would react, cute, so he patted her head softly.
Echidna, who was staring at Han Seol-ah as KangWoo patted her, started to rub her head with his finger.
'She's cute.'
KangWoo kept patting her with a smile on his face.
He felt like his emotions that had dried up after spending so many years in Hell were returning to him.
"Seol-ah, how have you been feeling recently? Is hunting going well?"
"Ah! Yes, of course. Our level is increasing very fast, too. We're soon going to reach the third Awakening and finally go to a C-rank gate."
"That's good to hear," KangWoo said while nodding.
He wasn't that surprised because of how fast she was leveling.
'It’s because Kim ShiHoon is probably still in their party.'
—The player who had the OP SSS-ranked Attribute.
Because he was leading the party, it was obvious that the rest would also level up fast.
'Not only that, but TaeSoo and Seol-ah are also quite talented.'
Even EunBi, who was a long-range damage dealer, was quite talented compared to an average player.
With their talent and the help of Kim ShiHoon, it would be weird if it took them time to level up.
"To think that we'd level up so fast... I was also quite surprised. Fufu. This is all thanks to Mr. KangWoo."
"But I didn't do that much."
"What are you talking about? What you told us on the first day was of great help to us. And also... If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have even dreamed of living like this."
Han Seol-ah smiled while blushing a bit.
That smile made KangWoo feel good.
'Wanting to receive love.'
He remembered his past self while looking at Echidna.
—When he’d been a kid who was seeking love and attention.
'It doesn't feel bad.'
Knowing that someone thought so positively about him didn't feel bad.
While feeling a weird, warm sensation, KangWoo sat on the sofa.
"Ah! Let's have small party to celebrate Echidna’s arrival! Fufu, today, I'll foot the bill."
"Are you sure?"
"I've recently been earning quite a lot of money while hunting with Mr. ShiHoon, Mr. TaeSoo, and EunBi, so I'm okay with spending this much," Seol-ah said while smiling brightly.
It seemed like the ‘poor’ tag following her was starting to fade away.
After hearing that she was going to host a celebration party, KangWoo nodded and opened his mouth.
"Good. Then, of course, the best food in this situation is kimchi ste—"
"No kimchi stew."
"W-why…?"
KangWoo looked at her with his feelings hurt.
Han Seol-ah sighed.
"Recently, you've been eating kimchi stew every single day."
"That's true."
"Aren't you tired of it...?"
"How could I get tired of it?"
Getting tired of kimchi stew?
There's no way something like that would happen.
Han Seol-ah grabbed her head after seeing KangWoo's determined eyes.
"Anyway. Today, let's eat something more luxurious."
"Something luxurious?"
"Ta-dah! Mr. KangWoo, check this out!"
She showed him a pack with a golden tag on top of it.
"It's hanwoo! It was on sale today, so I bought it!"
"Hanwoo..."
"Let's eat beef today~"
She grabbed the pack of meat with a smile on her face and walked toward the kitchen.
But KangWoo seemed a bit disappointed somehow.
"How about we put that into a kimchi stew..."
"That would be an insult to the beef. Understand, Mr. KangWoo?"
"Yes."
At her firm answer, KangWoo lowered his head.
* * *
"Should I sleep?"
After enjoying the beef party, KangWoo lay on the bed with a tired expression.
Echidna came flying toward the bed.
"Was it delicious?"
[It was amazing...]
Echidna trembled while thinking about the beef she had just eaten.
KangWoo smiled, lifted her, and placed her on his chest.
"It's been a long day, so let's sleep."
[Okay.]
Echidna nodded and curled up on top of his chest.
It seemed like she was tired because she wasn't fully recovered yet, so she quickly fell asleep.
'Now that I think about it, if Echidna had been able to turn into a human, she wouldn't have been able to sleep like this.'
He didn't care because she was a dragon, but Echidna was clearly female.
Things would've gotten quite messy if she could turn into a human.
'Well, I guess this isn't bad.'
After patting the sleeping Echidna a bit, he closed his eyes.
The tiredness he had been stacking up soon led him into a sleeping state.
* * *
The next day…
KangWoo opened his eyes due to the sunlight entering his room through the window.
"Hmm...?"
He felt something that was pressing down on his body.
'Is it Echidna?'
But it was quite heavy for it to be Echidna. After all, what he was feeling weighed at least 30 kilograms.
KangWoo turned his eyes to his chest area.
There, he saw naked a girl with long, black hair.
"What?"
KangWoo gave a suprised look to the girl sleeping on top of his chest.
'What happened?'
KangWoo's expression became stiff after seeing a girl he'd never seen before sleeping on top of him.
'Am I dreaming?'
