Chapter 51: Your Honor, I'm Innocent (2)
"Hng... Kang-Woo?" the black-haired little girl called out Oh Kang-Woo's name as she woke up and rubbed her eyes.
"Echidna?" Oh Kang-Woo looked at her, feeling perplexed.
The naked little girl looked around.
"Hmm?" She looked down at her own body while tilting her head in confusion.
Echidna couldn't understand why she had turned into a human.
"Were you always able to take a human form?" Kang-Woo asked.
"No… It's the first time this has happened," Echidna answered while moving her hands, seemingly interested in her now human arms.
Kang-Woo didn't know where to look at the girl who was sitting on his torso, so he averted his gaze entirely.
Creak.
Right then, the door opened, and Han Seol-Ah, who had on an apron, entered the room.
She called out, "Kang-Woo~ Breakfast is r—"
"..."
There was a heavy silence.
Seol-Ah's expression hardened upon seeing a naked little girl sitting on Kang-Woo.
Seol-Ah said, "Kang-Woo..."
"It's a misunderstanding," Kang-Woo interjected.
"H-How could you... t-to such... a little girl..."
"I'm innocent," Kang-Woo said in frustration to Seol-Ah, who was trembling from the shock.
He felt that it was truly unfair. How could he have known that Echidna would transform into a human during the night?
'Your honor, I'm innocent.'
Kang-Woo had to spend quite some time explaining to Seol-Ah, who was panicking, about what happened.
* * *
After the situation became less tense, Seol-Ah, Echidna, and Kang-Woo sat together in the living room. Echidna was wearing the clothes that Seol-Ah used to wear as a kid.
"Do you remember anything about what happened?" Kang-Woo asked.
Echidna placed both hands on her chest and tried to remember.
"Last night..." she began.
"Last night?"
"While sleeping with Kang-Woo, I felt something hot flowing into my body."
"..."
"Wh-What?" Seol-Ah stuttered as her eyes darted to Kang-Woo.
Kang-Woo's expression stiffened.
However, Echidna continued, "It was so hot... and strong."
'Echidna,' Kang-Woo thought.
"As it spread throughout my body... I felt like I became one with Kang-Woo."
'Why are you doing this to me?'
"At first, it hurt a little bit... but soon after, it started to feel good."
'What did I do to deserve this? Huh?'
The more Echnidna recounted what happened, the angrier Seol-Ah became as she stared at Kang-Woo. It was as if she was looking down at a mangled bug in disgust.
She said, "Kang-Woo... you really—"
"I told you. Nothing happened," Kang-Woo interjected with a sigh. Then he asked Echidna, "You can still return to your dragon form, right?"
Kang-Woo still wasn't sure how strong Echidna was in her original form. Nevertheless, considering that her strength had gone down after becoming smaller, it would be detrimental if she couldn't return to her original form.
"Yeah, I think I can."
After saying that, Echidna transformed her left arm into a dragon's. The sight of a dragon's arm on a little girl's body looked weird, but the important thing was that she could return to her original form.
"That's a relief," Kang-Woo said.
It was great news that Echidna could transform at will. Even as a small dragon, she was still a dragon and bound to draw attention.
'But now that I think about it, isn't this form even more eye-catching?'
Kang-Woo looked at Echidna's unrealistically beautiful appearance as a human. She looked like a living doll. He thought that Echidna's human form was much more attention-grabbing than her dragon form.
'I'll leave the decision to her.'
Regardless, he was planning to respect Echidna's decision as to which form she wanted to stay in.
“Hmm...” Kang-Woo pondered about why Echidna was suddenly able to turn into a human.
The things that she had said crossed his mind.
'Is it because she became my summoned beast?'
Just like how a Familiar made with the Authority of Subordination could use a portion of their master's power, a portion of Kang-Woo's power might have flowed into Echidna.
'Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter as long as she can return to her dragon form.'
Kang-Woo leaned back on the couch. Then Echidna, who was next to him, casually moved over and sat on his lap.
"… What are you doing?" Kang-Woo asked.
"It's the most comfortable here," Echidna replied.
"..."
The soft sensation of her body on his lap stimulated Kang-Woo.
'Doing this with her human form is a bit of a problem.'
He didn't mind it when Echidna was in her dragon form, but when she was in her human form, he felt like he was committing a crime.
Kang-Woo lifted Echidna off of his lap and placed her down beside him.
Echidna looked at him with pleading eyes like those of an abandoned puppy.
"Kang-Woo, you don't like me in my human form?" she asked.
"No, that's not it."
If Kang-Woo were asked which of Echidna's forms he preferred, he would answer that he liked the human form more.
"Then why won't you let me sit on your lap?"
"Urgh. Umm..." Kang-Woo looked at her with a troubled expression.
He wasn't sure how to explain to her what he was feeling.
"L-Let's have breakfast first!" Seol-Ah interrupted them.
"That sounds great," Kang-Woo said in relief.
Seol-Ah proposed just in time that they should have breakfast, allowing Kang-Woo to dodge Echidna's question and head over to the dining table. Echidna pouted as she watched him walk away.
"Hmm... We should buy some clothes today," Seol-Ah said.
"Clothes?" Kang-Woo asked.
"Yes. The clothes I used to wear are all worn out, and they don't really fit Echidna."
"Oh, I see."
Kang-Woo looked at the clothes Echidna was wearing, and it was true that Seol-Ah's clothes didn't fit her.
'Especially around the chest area.'
Kang-Woo coughed and shifted his gaze to Seol-Ah. "Where are you gonna go?"
"There's a large department store not so far from here, so I was thinking of heading there. Would you like to come with us, Kang-Woo?"
"No. There are some things I have to take care of, so today won't work for me. I'll leave Echidna to you, Seol-Ah."
"You're not coming, Kang-Woo?" Echidna grabbed his clothes with a sad expression.
Kang-Woo patted her head gently. "Stay with Seol-Ah today. I'll be back by dinner."
"Okay…" Echidna nodded while biting her lips a bit.
'She'll need some ID to go around as a human,' Kang-Woo thought as he looked down at Echidna.
In the modern world, not having any form of identification was extremely bothersome. So, Kang-Woo was thinking of meeting with Cha Yeon-Joo and asking her to make a form of identification for Echidna.
'Great. I was already planning on going to see her anyway.'
Kang-woo had another reason for meeting Yeon-Joo…
'I'm going to ask for a regular S-rank Gate access permit.'
He couldn't use his temporary Gate access permit anymore, so he was planning to ask Yeon-Joo for a permit that would let him enter whenever he wanted.
'An S-rank Gate...'
Initially, Kang-Woo had no intentions of moving on to an S-rank Gate so soon. He had been planning to gain more experience points in B-rank and A-rank Gates and achieve his Sixth Awakening before challenging the S-rank Gate. However, his plans changed after getting Echidna as his summoned beast.
Kang-Woo looked at Echidna, who was eating with a sad expression.
'If I'm with Echidna, I'm sure I'll be able to hunt in an S-rank Gate.'
Echidna was a hatchling, but she was still a dragon. She would probably be more than able to handle one or two S-rank monsters.
Kang-Woo could hunt in an S-rank Gate alone, but the problem was what if something unexpected were to occur. He had no problems handling one or two S-rank monsters, but not even he would be able to handle more than that simultaneously. Echidna would be reliable support in unexpected situations like that.
"I could give you a ride to the department store though," Kang-Woo expressed.
"Thanks! That would be great, Kang-Woo," Seol-Ah replied.
After breakfast, Kang-Woo sent a message to Yeon-Joo and told her that he would be visiting her. Then he gave Echidna and Seol-Ah a ride to the department store.
"Muhhhh..." Echidna uttered.
"Don't make that face. We'll see each other again tonight," Kang-Woo said.
Echidna grabbed his clothes and trembled, not wanting to be separated from him.
After calming Echidna down, Kang-Woo drove to the Red Rose Guild building.
Beep.?Kang-Woo entered the building with the pass that Yeon-Joo had given him and headed to her office.
Knock, knock.
"It's me," Kang-Woo said.
"Oh, come in," Yeon-Joo responded.
After opening the door, he found himself standing before a spacious office.
"So, what brings you here today?" Yeon-Joo asked.
"There are a few favors I want to ask of you," Kang-Woo answered.
Then he told her what had happened in the S-rank Gate.
"People from another world appeared...?"
"Yes. They were apparently from the Continent of Aernor."
"Sigh..." Yeon-Joo frowned.
She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
Kang-Woo asked Yeon-Joo, who had been rendered speechless, "Do you know anything about the Gaia System?"
"No. This is the first time I've heard of something like that."
"Hmm... I see."
"And this summoned beast of yours came from this Continent of Aernor?"
"Yeah."
"Can… I see her?"
"She didn't come with me today. I'll introduce you to her next time, but you shouldn't expect much information from her."
After Echidna's father disappeared, she'd spent all of her time alone in her lair. She probably didn't know much about Aernor's state of affairs.
"First, I'd like you to make an ID card for Echidna."
"Huh? You want me to make an ID card for your summoned beast?"
Yeon-Joo looked at Kang-Woo like he was saying nonsense. Then Kang-Woo gave her more details about Echidna to explain why a form of identification was necessary.
"Huu... Of course, you would summon a dragon... Just what the hell are you?" Yeon-Joo remarked.
"Isn't it a bit late to ask me that?"
"Ngh." Yeon-Joo looked at him, feeling displeased.
"You can make one for her, right?"
"Sigh… Fine, whatever. Send me her photo later."
"Thanks. And one more thing."
"What now?" Yeon-Joo looked at him exhaustedly because of how thoroughly Kang-Woo was using her.
"I want a regular S-Rank access p—"
Knock, knock.
Kang-Woo was interrupted by someone knocking. He and Yeon-Joo shifted their gazes to the door.
"I've come to discuss something with you," said the person at the door.
The door creaked open, and a tall woman with silver hair tied up into a ponytail entered Yeon-Joo's office.
"Baek Hwa-Yeon?" Kang-Woo mumbled the woman's name, which was ingrained in his memories.
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