What kind of situation is this?
I came here to visit a patient, yet here she is, trembling in fear at the sight of me.
And the medic, Private Sa I-jun, is giving me a look that practically screams, "What did you do?"
‘This is ridiculous.’
Lost in the absurdity of the moment, I barely noticed when Sa I-jun put a hand on my shoulder.
“I’ll try to calm her down. Could you step out for a moment, Sergeant?”
“Uh, sure.”
After being ushered out of the room, a few minutes passed before Sa I-jun emerged.
“Alright, I managed to calm her down.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yes, but she did mention that seeing you makes it hard to stay calm. Could you be careful with what you say when you speak with her?”
“...”
Before re-entering the room, I decided to ask Sa I-jun something that had been bugging me.
“That woman...”
“Yes?”
“Is her hair naturally that color?”
“Oh, no. I don’t think so.”
I’d only had a brief look before I was pushed out, but her hair had been completely white. It seemed strange for an ordinary Korean to have hair that color. It’s not like she could’ve dyed it while unconscious, so # Nоvеlight # I was curious about the cause.
“Not entirely sure, but I have a guess,” Sa I-jun muttered, scratching his cheek.
“It seems she recently went through... an extreme amount of pain.”
“...?”
“I suspect the pain led to her hair turning white due to stress. As you know, the body of an awakened person isn’t exactly like a normal human’s, so I don’t have an exact explanation.”
Extreme pain and stress... enough to turn her hair white?
“Pain so intense it could change her hair color... wow. I can’t even imagine.”
“Mm.”
If what Sa I-jun said was true, then it seemed I was the cause of her hair turning white. Given what she’d endured...
She had, quite literally, experienced having her blood, bones, and flesh separated while still alive.
And she couldn’t even pass out comfortably, thanks to the calming effect of [Steady Mind] from one of my dishes.
Though the result was ultimately positive, the process had clearly been excruciating enough to change her appearance.
“And seeing her tremble like that... what exactly happened to her? Was she tortured by a monster or something? I’ve seen soldiers with PTSD, but her case seems especially severe.”
“Ahem.”
I’d rationalized that it was her penance for the crimes she committed as a monster, but now, seeing the effect firsthand, I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.
With some reluctance, I stepped back into the room. I sat down carefully, making sure not to do anything that might alarm her.
“...Thank you.”
Despite her trembling, Hyun-jin bowed her head in gratitude.
After hearing that her hair had changed because of the pain I’d caused, I found myself wondering what she could possibly be thankful for.
Was it sarcasm? A kind of bitter “Thanks for nearly killing me”?
“I’d thought I’d never be able to return to being human.”
“Oh, that?”
Scratching my head, I replied.
“To be honest, it was just a gamble. I wasn’t really doing it for your sake.”
And that was the truth. I hadn’t felt any strong sense of compassion toward her. I just had a feeling it might work, so I tried.
It was pure luck that it succeeded. If it hadn’t, she would’ve endured all that pain only to die in the end. I wasn’t exactly in a position to be thanked.
“There’s much more to be grateful for.”
“Hm?”
“You soldiers took over what should have been my responsibility to liberate this city.”
I frowned slightly.
“You mean that whole police duty thing you mentioned before?”
“Yes.”
I’d heard about her sense of duty before, but it still struck me as odd.
‘Why was she so obsessed with it?’
She hadn’t been a seasoned cop with decades of experience. She’d just started her career, yet she clung to her duty with an almost fanatical determination.
‘...Maybe it’s some form of PTSD.’
Looking back now, it seemed possible this was another kind of trauma caused by Doomsday itself.
As someone with the title of police officer, she’d been forced to watch helplessly as people died. That sense of helplessness probably left a mark on her, a lingering sense of guilt.
“I couldn’t do much with my limited abilities. All I managed was to send one person outside. I asked them to request help, but honestly, I didn’t think it would work.”
After all, unless it was a guild as strong as ours, who else would risk attacking such a dangerous dungeon?
“You answered that call for help and saved the city, so I’m grateful.”
“...”
“And not only that, but you also returned me to humanity, something I’d thought impossible. I should’ve thanked you properly before, so I apologize for earlier.”
“It’s fine. I understand.”
As she bowed her head in apology again, I couldn’t help feeling a bit uncomfortable.
‘I didn’t do any of this out of pure kindness.’
We’d taken on the rescue mission because we saw it as a good way to strengthen our unit. I’d gone underground to answer my own questions. And as for bringing her back to human form... well, I’d mostly done it because my pride didn’t like hearing “impossible.”
The results were good, but I didn’t have a single truly selfless reason behind any of it. Her excessive gratitude just made me feel awkward.
Waving my hand dismissively, I said, “Thanks are plenty enough. Let’s move on to the main—”
“Eek...!”
“...”
“I’m so, so sorry.”
She coughed, trying to compose herself.
“It’s just... the memory of you slicing away my flesh is still so vivid.”
Sweat trickled down her face.
“I know you didn’t have bad intentions, and I’m truly grateful. But... my body just reacts, no matter what I tell myself.”
“I understand, so please, let’s stop talking about it.”
If she was experiencing trauma so severe that even a small movement triggered painful memories, how could I possibly feel comfortable accepting her gratitude?
Since it seemed like staying here too long would only make her uncomfortable, I decided to keep things short and get to the point.
“So, do you have any plans going forward?”
“Plans? I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Well, now that you’re no longer a monster and have returned to being human...”
It was easy to imagine how she lived as a monster: sleep, wake up hungry, hunt other monsters, repeat. But now things were different.
“You’ll need to think about how you want to live. Do you have anyone you know or any ideas?”
“Well... I was stationed in this city, so I don’t know anyone here.”
“Hm. I know you were part of Chang-su’s group.”
“That was because our goals happened to align.”
She had wanted to get rid of the Fishmen to restore order in the city, and Chang-su’s group wanted revenge on them.
“We only worked together because of that. It wasn’t exactly a friendly atmosphere.”
So, it seemed she hadn’t given much thought to her future.
“Well, surely you have some things you want to do?”
“Things I want to do...”
After a moment’s hesitation, she spoke.
“I was a police officer, after all. I know it might not mean much now, but I’d still like to help people.”
“Well, that’s not a bad idea.”
“And there’s one more thing.”
“?”
Her gaze settled on me.
“I want to repay my debt to you.”
A debt, huh.
“I owe you more than a few favors. I don’t want to just ignore that. I want to repay you somehow...”
Helping people and repaying me, she said.
“Ahem.”
Now this was turning out to be a pretty favorable conversation.
“About the helping people part.”
“Yes?”
“It won’t be easy alone. Outside the city, the monsters are quite diverse, and some are too much for one person to handle.”
“Oh... I see.”
She looked a bit disappointed at the idea of not managing it alone.
“But, there is a way.”
“What’s that?”
“You mentioned wanting to repay me.”
The simplest way for her to do that was to...
“Join our unit, and we can support you.”
Adding her to our unit would help alleviate our manpower shortage. We’d been gradually adding more members recently, but it wasn’t happening quickly.
And I couldn’t just add anyone. If I recruited a psychopath, that could bring a lot of issues.
‘But with her, I don’t need to worry about that, do I?’
Sure, she’d killed people in the past, but that was under the influence of a monster’s instincts. She’d even clung to her duty as a police officer through that monstrous fog. Whether that sense of duty was a bit of a mental issue or not, she’d essentially passed the character test.
And since she seemed to feel somewhat indebted to me, recruiting her would be a win.
“...It’s a generous offer, but...”
While I thought it was a good deal, she seemed hesitant.
“Is something bothering you?”
“I do want to repay my debt, but...”
“But?”
“If I were ordered to cause others pain, I don’t know if I’d follow that order.”
At this, I just stared at her, dumbfounded.
“...Do I look like some kind of madman?”
What did she think of me?
“Do I seem like someone who’d order you to hurt innocent people?”
“What? You wouldn’t?”
“
...”
Alright, sure, I had caused her unimaginable pain... but that was different.
“Ahem. That was a special case.”
This was really unfair.
I’d never tormented the innocent without a reason.
Pushing aside thoughts of one officer who’d been forced to eat my cooking as a “performance review,” I continued.
“As you know, the military and police have always worked together.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Though our roles differ, we both serve the same goal of protecting the nation. Consider joining our unit as an extension of that partnership.”
She hesitated a bit but eventually nodded.
“Alright.”
“You’ve made a wise choice.”
I contained my excitement and spoke calmly.
“I’ll inform the soldiers, and soon, you’ll receive your official gear and equipment.”
“Oh, okay.”
“You’ll learn the details of our unit gradually. I look forward to working with you.”
With that, my purpose here was fulfilled, and I prepared to leave.
“Oh, by the way.”
“Yes? Do you need anything else?”
“No, it’s not that.”
I’d successfully recruited her, but I hadn’t yet checked her stats.
‘Level 1 Glutton.’
I’d never seen the Glutton class before, but she was only level 1.
‘It’s not like she kept all her monstrous strength.’
It would’ve been great if she’d kept that power, but it’s fine. With some training and support, she could grow quickly.
I looked at her a bit more intently, and soon, my [Ingredient Appraisal (Enhanced)] kicked in.
---
[Lee Hyun-jin]
[Class: Glutton Lv.1]
Nothing unexpected here—until I got to her stats.
---
[Strength 94]
[Agility 79]
[Magic 65]
[Luck 12]
---
The moment I saw those numbers, my mind went blank.
Was this a bug?
‘Why are her stats so high?’
I had the highest level and stats in the unit, yet she was slightly above me.
I could raise my stats quickly if I used the points I’d saved up, but still.
“Ha... Hahaha.”
It wasn’t hard to guess the reason. While I’d removed her monstrous parts, I’d replaced them with my dishes. She didn’t keep her full monstrous power, but some of it must have been retained.
‘...Jackpot.’
The rewards from this mission were outstanding, but...
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”
This new addition to the unit was turning out to be just as rewarding as any of those other prizes.
