Chapter 51. It’s a Secret!
Shin Somang returned home, catching her breath as she held the Hedgehog in her arms.
As soon as she opened the front door, she headed straight to her room, avoiding her parents’ eyes.
*Creaaak.*
With the sound of the door closing,
“Whew…”
a sigh of relief escaped her.
［This place smells nice. Sniff sniff.］
“Dochi.”
［Doomba?］
“Th-that… I’m sorry for shouting earlier. I was startled… I should have thanked you first.”
Shin Somang placed the Hedgehog on her bed.
Only now did she deliver her belated thanks for what she had failed to say earlier.
“If you hadn’t shown up, things would’ve been a disaster. Really, thank you. And again, I’m sorry.”
［It’s fine! I’ll forgive you if you dance with me, shaking your hips!］
At the Hedgehog’s innocent response, Shin Somang let out a small chuckle.
It felt like she was looking at a pure-hearted child.
“Alright, let’s dance after we eat later.”
［Doodoomba!］
Now she finally felt the tension melt away.
Shin Somang gently stroked the Hedgehog’s fur.
At the same time, she stared intently at it.
［Why are you staring at me so intently? Do I have something on my face?］
“No… It’s just that you’re cute and fascinating. You’re the first monster I’ve seen in real life. I’ve only ever seen them on broadcasts.”
［Doomba? It’s your first time seeing a creature like me? So, you’re a country girl!］
“I’m not a country girl. In our world, beings like you don’t exist. Sure, there are normal hedgehogs that look like you, but… they can’t talk or summon spirits like you can.”
［Doomba? A hedgehog that can’t summon spirits? That’s one strange hedgehog!］
“That’s the normal kind. You’re the special one.”
［Hehe. I guess I am a little special!］
“Pfft.”
A talking hedgehog.
A hedgehog that summons spirits.
A creature with unique and mysterious powers—*a monster*.
Shin Somang’s impression of seeing a monster for the first time in her life was, “How cute.”
Had it been another monster, she might have felt awe.
But since the Hedgehog was one of Kang Geon’s tamed monsters and had such an adorable appearance, it only looked cute.
Of course, the spirits it summoned earlier were far from cute.
They had made her legs go weak, and just looking at them made her feel like she might faint.
If those spirits had been summoned with malice, Shin Somang and any other humans nearby would have surely passed out.
“By the way, Dochi.”
［Doomba?］
“The monster your spirits ate earlier—was it a strong monster? Like Psycho Clown?”
［Doomba? That thing was incredibly weak in comparison! I’ve never seen such a weak monster in my life!］
“Oh, really? So, it was a weak monster…”
［Super weak! If Psycho Clown knew you compared them, he’d be furious! Honestly, if you had a weapon, you might’ve won!］
“Then why did you summon such huge spirits? You could’ve just summoned smaller ones.”
［Those were the smallest ones!］
Shin Somang blinked at the Hedgehog’s response.
Then, tilting her head in confusion, she asked,
“Those were the smallest?”
［Of all the spirits I can summon, they’re the tiniest. They told me so themselves!］
“Then what about the spirits you summoned in the labyrinth?”
［Where I live, they shrink down! When summoned in the labyrinth, the spirits become reeeally tiny—they told me that, too!］
Listening to the Hedgehog Summoner’s explanation, Shin Somang’s eyes gradually lit up with understanding.
“That’s right. I remember hearing that labyrinth monsters sometimes get their sizes nerfed. I guess spirits are no exception…”
The nerfing of strength and abilities only applies within a certain range of the explorer.
However, the size nerf is applied throughout the entire labyrinth.
Shin Somang recalled what Kang Geon had told her after reading through an explorer’s journal.
After that, Shin Somang and the Hedgehog sat side by side on the bed, chatting away.
At some point, she unconsciously started petting the Hedgehog’s fur again.
“It’s so fluffy.”
The soft texture was pleasant against her fingers.
“Is this fur, or should I call it spikes…”
［It’s fur! It may feel prickly to enemies, but to friends, it’s the softest fur ever!］
As she continued to stroke the Hedgehog,
“Oh.”
Shin Somang’s eyes wavered suddenly.
“I forgot to thank Geon oppa for helping me.”
［Silly! Doomba.］
Shin Somang hurriedly grabbed her smartphone.
“Dochi, can you see this broadcast?”
［Doomba? I can’t see anything. Just a black screen.］
“I guess you can’t see even the monsters tamed by Geon oppa.”
［Doomba.］
Opening the chat, Shin Somang started typing out a message to Kang Geon, explaining in detail what had happened to her.
***
Mysti’s chat appeared on the screen.
Unlike usual, where she only used emoticons, this time, she was typing out the full details of her experience.
She encountered a monster in an alleyway.
She had asked me for help.
The Hedgehog Summoner had appeared.
Then, two enormous spirits were summoned…
She explained the entire event from start to finish.
Apparently, there was no body left of the goblin.
I had heard that the spirit devoured it whole while it was still alive.
The two strange creatures causing a stir in South Korea were said to be the true forms of the Hedgehog Summoner’s spirits.
Their smaller forms in the labyrinth were simply due to the constant size nerf.
“It turns out my judgment was off.”
【Pururu】─Whaang?
“I didn’t realize the Undead Spirit of the Abyss was actually that big. If I had known that earlier, I wouldn’t have sent the Hedgehog Summoner, and none of this would’ve happened.”
【Pururu】─That makes sense.
Since all the spirits the Hedgehog could summon were that size, this incident wasn’t really her fault.
【Pururu】─But couldn’t she have just fought without summoning the spirits? I mean, it was a weak monster, right? Probably just a regular goblin that looked a bit like Psycho Clown.
【Yumi】─True. If it was a weak monster, the Hedgehog Summoner could’ve handled it without the spirits.
【Pururu】─Exactly my point.
“The Hedgehog Summoner doesn’t have any offensive abilities besides summoning spirits. She has to rely on them in battle.”
【Pururu】─So she couldn’t even beat a regular goblin?
“She wouldn’t lose, but she probably couldn’t win either.”
【Pururu】─So aside from summoning spirits and talking, she’s just a regular hedgehog.
Not quite.
Her attack power may be low, but she’s a creature with near-maxed evasion skills. She can dodge most attacks while dancing, mocking her opponents.
Her defense isn’t bad either, though not as high as her evasion.
In any case,
I decided not to hold her accountable for the incident.
It wasn’t the Hedgehog’s fault.
No casualties were reported in the news.
‘South Korea might be in chaos, but… I don’t need to worry about that.’
The incident was massive, but it didn’t seem like it would die down anytime soon.
However, I didn’t feel the need to take any extra steps.
No one knew I was involved—except for the Assistants.
No one would be able to identify the Hedgehog Summoner either.
The spirits hadn’t been summoned directly near the Hedgehog but from high above.
Mysti and the Hedgehog had been in the alley.
Of course, there was one worst-case scenario.
The goblin had been devoured by the spirits, and someone could track its location and check CCTV footage, potentially identifying Mysti.
Still, I chose not to worry about that.
It was beyond my control.
I could only hope the investigation wasn’t that advanced.
【Mysticism】─[Photo]
【Mysticism】─😤
Mysti uploaded a photo.
It was a picture of the Hedgehog Summoner at home.
She must’ve posted it to show that she was taking good care of it.
【Yumi】─So cute!
【Rizenova】─The Hedgehog ball is dancing again today.
【Pururu】─I want to see it in person.
【Rizenova】─I want to see the master again after so long.
【Pururu】─You only parted ways recently. What do you mean, “after so long”?
【Yumi】─Shall we all meet now?
【Pururu】─Should we?
【Mysticism】─No.
【Pururu】─You jerk.
【Yumi】─So selfish.
While the Assistants were chatting, I found myself lost in thought.
‘If a goblin appeared on Earth, then the slime from that YouTube video is probably real, too.’
Why were monsters showing up on Earth?
They definitely weren’t native monsters.
Otherwise, humans would’ve noticed them long ago.
So, they must’ve been leaking in from another dimension.
And it had to be relatively recent.
I had no idea why monsters were starting to appear.
Maybe something had gone wrong with the dimensional barrier.
Either way, I had a bad feeling about it.
Like it was some kind of prelude to something bigger.
‘What if monsters keep trickling into Earth, and then suddenly, they all flood out at once?’
It was an unsettling thought.
I was a bit worried about my home being destroyed by monsters.
‘If I were on Earth, I wouldn’t have to worry.’
My power was sealed.
But if I encountered a being from another world or the dimensional barrier tore, the seal would be lifted.
Then, I could handle the monsters by myself.
‘For now, I’ll rely on the Assistants on Earth and send them out immediately if anything happens. That’s all I can do for now.’
I had to scour the labyrinth and find the vending machine.
I should stock up on as many Designated Dispatch Tickets as possible.
Just in case.
***
The next day.
［Doomba! I’m back］
The Hedgehog Summoner had returned to the labyrinth.
The first to greet the Hedgehog was Psycho Clown.
［Doomba! I ate a lot of tasty food!］
［Keerik. Didn’t bring any for us?］
［You know I can’t bring stuff from another world! You know that, Clown!］
［You’re a bad hedgehog, eating all the tasty stuff by yourself.］
［Doomba?］
［You did the same thing to me before. Keerik.］
It seemed she had been holding a grudge.
【Pururu】─Holding onto the past, huh?
【Yumi】─Not cute at all.
【Mysticism】─🤭
【Pururu】─Mysti, why did you only use emoticons before when you can chat just fine now? Was it just for the aesthetic?
【Yumi】─Maybe because she’s shy.
【Mysticism】─🙂
【Pururu】─?? Why aren’t you chatting today, then?
【Yumi】─Mysti, encore! Let’s see some more chatting.
【Mysticism】─🤐
【Pururu】─Do you want to die?
【Mysticism】─🤪
The Hedgehog hurried over to me.
［Explorer! Explorer! Explorer’s Gauntlet!］
Then it climbed onto my shoulder and whispered softly into my ear.
［This is a secret, but you can’t tell anyone, okay?］
“What is it?”
【Pururu】─Whisper, whisper.
【Yumi】─We can all hear you, though.
【Mysticism】─🤔
［Mysti is super pretty.］
“That’s the secret?”
［And her name is Shin Somang.］
“Shin Somang?”
［Doomba. Mysti told me not to tell anyone her name, but I’m telling you because it’s you. You have to keep it a secret, okay?］
“Alright.”
【Pururu】─?
【Yumi】─?
【Mysticism】─You traitor, Hedgehog!!!
【Mysticism】─I told you it was a secret!!!
【Mysticism】─You said you wouldn’t tell!!!
【Pururu】─This hedgehog clearly doesn’t understand what a secret is.
“But… who is Shin Somang again?”
【Mysticism】─?
The name didn’t ring any bells.
Where had I met her before?
While I was trying to recall, the Hedgehog started spouting off more information about this woman named Shin Somang.
［Don’t you remember?］
［Mysti said she saw you cross the portal.］
［She also said you helped her when bad people were bothering her, and you even asked for her contact information first.］
［She followed you around in secret for years.］
［Oh, and you used to cuddle and talk about all sorts of things! Hehe.］
［Anyway! All of that is a secret too! Doomba!］
【Pururu】─Huh? Mysti, were you that stalker from back then?
【Yumi】─What?!
【Mysticism】─Ah.
As the Hedgehog continued, the hazy memories I had started to become clearer.
Piece by piece, my scattered recollections began to fit together, and I gradually remembered who Shin Somang was.