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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 18: The Navigator and the Peculiar Spirit (7)
Her eyes were sharp.
Polite, yet she was giving off the vibe that something about him wasn’t quite human.
-This confirms it....
"Don’t accuse innocent people. I told you clearly, my preferences are completely normal."
Yeonwoo’s confidence was unwavering, but even he looked flustered when this kind of situation kept repeating itself, it was quite a sight.
To a spirit, outward appearance didn’t hold much meaning, but the gnome that had been summoned before his eyes gave off a feeling like it had a fixed form.
‘That form looks way too human. Even the dwarf didn’t look like that at first.’
That the Earth Spirit King, Noas, was given the name ‘Dwarf’ by Yeonwoo in the past was laughably nonsensical.
Gnomes typically appear as small elderly men.
It was not at all usual for them to look like a tiny girl.
A little girl with brown hair, scratching her head and grinning, looked up at Yeonwoo.
"You... Are you really a gnome?"
Yeonwoo asked slowly with a dumbfounded look, as though his expression was about to crack.
"Eh? Umm....."
Watching her tilt her head in confusion, Yeonwoo quickly and coldly activated the target information function on her.
‘Information window!’
If she wasn’t actually a gnome but some other unknown being, this would be a serious problem.
Having the contract with the spirit severed out of nowhere was already absurd enough if, on top of that, a strange being showed up instead of the gnome he summoned, it was beyond joking.
Ding!
-Warning: The information window capacity is severely limited. Would you like to proceed?
"Activate."
Even if slightly off the mark, Yeonwoo answered Mulhoe's warning with determination that he would do things thoroughly.
Soon, a small box appeared between the girl and Yeonwoo.
Name: Undetermined
Race: Lower-tier Earth Spirit, Gnome.
Age: ???
Rank: Lower-tier
Affiliation: Spirit Realm
Status Conditions: Dirty. Sleepy. Slight mental dullness.
Current Emotions: Curiosity, Friendliness, Dizziness, Tiredness.
Special Notes: Details unavailable due to insufficient rank.
Other Information: Details unavailable due to insufficient rank.
He didn’t learn much, but it did appear she was a gnome.
Yeonwoo extended his hand slowly toward the girl, whose nose was running as she stared at him with a dazed expression.
"I’m Park Yeonwoo. From now on, your name is Dirtgi—"
-Yeonwoo, shall I search the term ‘Divine punishment’?
"You're being cheeky, huh? Fine, your name is Areum."
"Areum?"
Tilting her head, she adorably looked up at him.
He took the name straight from a commercial film.
If Mulhoe hadn’t stopped him, Yeonwoo’s greatest weakness, his awful naming sense, would’ve reared its head again.
"Yeah, that’s your name. Do you like it?"
"Hehe, I love it! Oppa, you give off a really nice feeling~"
She must’ve known that taking someone’s hand signified agreement to a contract.
Since Yeonwoo’s body contained a substantial amount of spirit power, which directly tied into affinity, it was only natural for her to feel close to him.
As Areum, sniffing, took Yeonwoo’s outstretched hand, he awkwardly smiled.
She seemed more than just pure, almost simple-minded.
Low-rank spirits are known to be like innocent children, but Areum’s case was particularly intense.
He was a bit worried she might cause trouble, but that was something that could be solved with proper education.
Back on the Rune Continent, they used the spirit stone possessed by Artenis to summon spirits and then tracked it.
But in a situation like this, where he had nothing, the manual labor involved in tracking one down just wasn’t worth the cost.
‘Did she come from playing in the dirt or something.’
He’d clearly shaken her hand while her palms were still covered in soil.
He had summoned a spirit, and what appeared was something he’d never seen even as a Transcendent.
Even when he used to communicate with the Spirit Kings, he’d never heard of a spirit like this one.
***
Thankfully, Areum was indeed a gnome.
Yeonwoo sighed in relief, wondering why summoning a mere lower-tier spirit had to be so stressful.
He picked up the weakened spirit stone from the ground and tossed it into his inventory.
When he turned his head, he saw Mulhoe standing there dumbly.
-The spirit has taken on a human form…
Mulhoe looked like she was about to foam at the mouth.
She hadn’t been able to maintain her usual expression for a while.
As a navigator who prided herself on her knowledge, continually encountering unknowns must’ve been exhausting.
Honestly, even Yeonwoo was a little surprised by Areum’s existence.
While spirits do have their own unique traits, they still share general characteristics and habits.
Gnomes, as previously mentioned, typically appear as tiny old men.
But Areum was a girl.
Not even a dwarf, but a girl of that age group.
Though she was grubby like she had been playing in dirt, she resembled a human more than a spirit.
‘The exact opposite of the dwarf.’
Recalling the Earth Spirit King, Dwarf who would constantly growl and fight whenever they met, Yeonwoo shook his head.
"Eeeeh, this place is so high and stuffy~"
Dragging out her words in a whiny tone, she was acting exactly like an Earth Spirit who hated confined and elevated spaces.
Though her appearance and the way she manifested were unusual, her basic habits seemed to match.
Maybe it was because Yeonwoo silently watched her sulking for so long, but Mulhoe, wearing a complicated expression as she looked at Areum, turned and asked Yeonwoo:
-Yeonwoo, what are you thinking?
"Hmm.. Areum, do you want to go back for now?"
"Eeeeh~~”
She twisted her body in protest at Yeonwoo’s words.
"If I go back, it’ll be boring..."
She muttered dejectedly, then looked up at Yeonwoo with sparkling eyes.
Despite her scruffy appearance, there was a surprising amount of cuteness in her.
Seeing how strongly she showed she didn’t want to return, Yeonwoo quietly nodded.
-Are spirits usually like that? This one seems different from what I’ve known…
‘Yeah, she’s a bit odd. A rare case maybe?’
-Could she be a bastard child?
Yeonwoo was nearly tempted to ask how Mulhoe had leapt to that conclusion.
"What nonsense... Spirits don’t have a concept of bastard children."
At Yeonwoo’s voice slipping out aloud, Areum pouted and tilted her head.
"It’s nothing."
Mental communication only required willpower, but it was still less convenient than speaking directly due to the concentration it needed.
"First of all... I think she does have growth potential."
Having sorted his thoughts, Yeonwoo grinned at Mulhoe.
Thanks to his handsome looks, even his wicked grin looked like a painting but for Mulhoe, who knew Yeonwoo’s true nature, it was just frustrating.
"First, we need to wash her up."
***
"Noooo!!"
Areum’s shrieking tantrum echoed from the bathroom.
Was it her childlike nature, or was it because she was an Earth Spirit?
She absolutely hated washing, and Yeonwoo was beginning to feel guilty.
To be sure, the newly contracted Areum was a slightly strange spirit.
She had such strong childlike tendencies that Yeonwoo was genuinely worried whether she could properly complete tasks.
‘If she messes up, this is going to be a huge pain...’
No matter how low-rank, she still had the form of a girl, so Yeonwoo had left her with Mulhoe, though he wasn’t sure how that was going.
It wasn’t impossible, but if his contracted spirit gnome behaved like this, it meant taking a long detour instead of walking a straight path.
He absentmindedly fiddled with a piece of candy nearby, a complicated expression on his face, as more and more unexpected situations piled up, giving him a headache.
"Anyway... the spirit issue is mostly resolved... and to lift travel restrictions, I’ll need Hunter certification."
Muttering to himself, Yeonwoo turned toward the computer.
Given his bizarre specs, he wasn’t sure if they could be measured by normal standards, but since his publicly recorded rank was F, he figured he could earn certification from the Hunter Association without much trouble.
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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