I Became a Raid Boss

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“Da-eun.”

“….”

Paaan-

Da-eun, staring at me intently.

I spoke directly to her face, so she must have heard me, yet Da-eun just gazed at me without saying a word.

“Da-eun.”

“If you say ‘sister,’ I will respond~”

“….”

“…No, don’t give me that look. It was just a joke….”

Da-eun’s face was filled with disappointment as she said that.

‘Sister…’

It’s not an address I can’t use.

In the past, when I briefly appeared on Da-eun’s broadcast to help her, didn’t I call her ‘sister’ then?

I couldn’t call her ‘Da-eun’ like usual, and calling her ‘Joanie’ felt odd, so we agreed to use ‘sister’ during the broadcast.

Just in case of mistakes, I practiced calling her a few times before starting, and she seemed overjoyed.

What’s so special about just calling her ‘sister’…?

With a big smile on her face, I thought about whether I should call her that regularly too.

‘Nah. No way.’

I shook my head quickly.

It was hard to even picture it in my mind. It just wouldn’t stick to my tongue.

Anyway, how should I say this…?

Calling her that made me feel all jittery, so I gave up.

I could call her if I had to, but it’s more accurate to say that I simply didn’t want to.

“Da-eun.”

This was already the third call.

There’s a saying about the three visits of a dog to a shrine, so I let it slide until now, but if I called again without a response, I had no idea what I might do.

Luckily, Da-eun answered my third call.

“What is it?”

“Um….”

I had captured Da-eun’s attention as I had hoped, but now that I was about to get to the point, I didn’t know how to say it.

After struggling with my words for a while, Da-eun tilted her head in confusion.

Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes.

“…You’re not…?”

Suddenly!

“Do you have a crush on someone?!”

“…What the—”

What the heck are you talking about?

I intended to say, but I couldn’t finish my sentence as Da-eun grabbed both my shoulders and began shaking me.

“What guy dares to court our Kana…! No way! Kana’s not ready for romance yet!”

“Let go of me!”

“I don’t want to see you getting hurt by a bad boy!”

I wasn’t dizzy, but because I was shaking around so much, I couldn’t get my words out properly.

My voice spilled out like a stretched-out, mangled recording.

‘This is so annoying.’

In the midst of my rattling vision, that thought flitted across my mind.

If she didn’t stop soon, I’d have to kick her shins.

Just as I made that resolve, Da-eun let go of me.

Her survival instincts are really something else.

“So, who is it?”

“…What do you mean ‘who’?”

“The guy who flirted with Kana.”

“You know there’s no such thing, yet you keep babbling nonsense?”

I had no intention of even thinking about dating, but I decided to correct her misconception for now.

“And what do you mean ‘not ready’? Here, I’m close to adult age.”

“On the flip side, that means you’re not an adult. You still need a guardian! Especially, Kana needs to be more careful!”

“Why’s that?”

“Because of your looks…! Ahem! That’s a secret!”

“Isn’t that practically saying everything?”

It’s common knowledge that there’s no law saying one can’t date before becoming an adult.

Even with my incomplete memories, I have at least that much sense.

…But if my memories are incomplete, can I even trust them?

That question crossed my mind for just a moment, then quickly faded.

What I wanted to discuss was simply that ‘Da-eun started blabbering nonsense again,’ so that doubt wasn’t particularly important.

“I don’t go outside, so what romance are you even talking about?”

“Oh my! Kana, that’s a very outdated statement. How many people have met online and gone on to marry? Humans are creatures that can develop feelings even without seeing each other’s faces!”

“….”

What a strangely irritating tone.

“Of course, it has a higher failure rate compared to in-person meetings. There’s a greater chance of meeting weirdos. That’s why I’m more worried!”

“Worried about what?”

“About whether Kana met some strange person on the internet… I know you don’t go outside, but I don’t look through your phone. I wouldn’t want to anyway.”

“That’s such unnecessary worrying.”

I’ve heard there’s a saying for that kind of thought.

Worrying about things that aren’t going to happen is just pointless.

“Are you talking about a wild goose chase?”

“Ah, right. That’s it.”

“Kana really knows a lot about random things. You’re smart!”

I brushed aside Da-eun’s fussing without a second thought.

“I’ll just call it here for jokes.”

As I already mentioned, Da-eun must know that I don’t have a romantic interest.

So even if I ramble on, it’s not like I mean it sincerely.

“Joke?”

“…”

…It probably isn’t.

“Hmm.”

But as I think about it, Da-eun’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

It’s not love, and it’s not a guy, but saying I met someone online was somewhat accurate.

Of course, that comes with the premise that Silia can be seen as an online world.

From the perspective of someone who knows nothing about Earth, it’s pretty much right.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day; it’s a phrase that fits this situation perfectly.

“Great Sword Peep… Yuki, you know her, right?”

“Eh? Huh?”

Da-eun looked exceptionally flustered, her eyes wide as if she never expected my mouth to utter that name.

“Why did you suddenly mention Yuki?”

Of course, Da-eun wouldn’t know what I experienced when I visited Silia this time.

Even I thought my decision was quite whimsical, so I could understand her reaction well.

“I owe her a favor, and we work in the same industry, so I know her. I can’t say we talk often, though…”

“So you’re implying you’re at least acquaintances?”

“Yeah. A pretty close acquaintance among my acquaintances? Of course, that’s just how I see it; Yuki might think differently.”

She might consider it closer, or further apart…

Da-eun added.

“Still, she said she’s been watching my broadcasts often thanks to you, so she might consider you friendly.”

“…Me?”

“She said she was smitten by your swordsmanship.”

“Ah, I see.”

I nodded.

“That’s great.”

“…? So why did you suddenly mention Yuki?”

“Can you call her here?”

“…Call her?”

“Yeah.”

“Where?”

“Here.”

“Ah, I see.”

Da-eun acted like she understood with a sound of realization, just like I did a moment ago.

Then she rested her chin on her hand.

“So you’re asking if you can bring Yuki to our house, right?”

“Yeah.”

To be honest, I could call Yuki too.

After all, if I met her on Earth, I would have to explain the situation, and during that process, some hidden facts might come to light.

When I met Yuki, I didn’t think there would be any issues asking her to come here.

But the reason I hadn’t done so was that this wasn’t my home.

It wouldn’t be right for a guest staying at someone else’s house to invite another guest without the owner’s permission.

That would be a complete role reversal.

I didn’t want to become that kind of shameless person.

As I finished that thought, Da-eun, who had been mumbling non-stop while I pondered, suddenly stopped.

‘Oh no.’

I felt it.

Without contradicting my instincts, I immediately covered my ears.

“What the heck is that?!!”

As soon as Da-eun’s small hand covered my ears, a loud shout escaped from her lips.

Today, my intuition wasn’t wrong again…

“…Ugh.”

Unfortunately, Da-eun’s shout was far too powerful to block with a makeshift solution.

My ears…

*

A woman with silver hair lifted her head.

A strange landscape spread out before her.

“Is there something I might be interested in?”

A sudden message.

Or rather, an out-of-the-blue contact.

And the content was devoid of sincerity.

‘There’s something Yuki might be interested in.’

…What?

It was a message so insincere, it left a bad taste in my mouth.

If it had been anyone else, I might have ignored it thinking it was phishing or something sneaky, but…

Women… Yuki had an emotional sensitivity unlike anyone else.

“How interesting.”

Yuki eagerly replied to the message Da-eun had sent, satisfied with the thought.

If there really was something of interest, that would be great, and if summoning her was actually a trap that led to trouble, that would be fine too.

A mindset very much focused on curiosity.

Although it had calmed down a bit lately thanks to Silia Online, her chronic boredom remained firmly in Yuki.

Moreover, it was a declaration of her confidence that she could face anything that might happen.

Yuki strolled through the unfamiliar streets as if they were familiar.

“…”

With every flick of her flowing silver hair, sunlight sparkled around her, drawing the attention of those nearby.

Admiring and envious gazes.

She surely felt those looks, yet Yuki’s expression showed not a hint of change.

‘It’s familiar.’

Yuki had been receiving gazes like that since her head started getting bigger and her figure started developing. It wasn’t something to react to suddenly.

Her personality largely kept her from caring about those things.

Elegantly avoiding the timid approaches of men, Yuki easily found her way without getting lost, thanks to modern civilization, and soon reached her destination.

“What a splendid place!”

Strictly speaking, it was more appropriate to say it was polished—

But Yuki had no intention of correcting her thoughts, plowing ahead with energetic steps.

When she reached the security desk, answering ‘invitation’ for the purpose of her visit and completing the simple verification process, entry to the fortress was finally granted.

‘…How tedious.’

Her interest was beginning to wane.

However, it was also true that the time spent coming this far felt wasted, so Yuki forced herself to hold onto the flickering ember of interest and stepped into the elevator.

After a brief moment, she arrived at the target floor, standing before the door.

Then, she rang the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

A typical and cheerful doorbell rings, announcing Yuki’s visit.

“Yes~ I’m coming~”

A familiar voice floated from within.

Even though it was Yuki’s first time meeting Da-eun in reality, she showed no signs of nervousness.

Was it due to the inner intimacy cultivated by watching broadcasts?

If someone were to ask Yuki, she would immediately shake her head.

Her attitude solely derived from her personality.

As Yuki stood and waited, she heard soft footsteps approaching the door.

‘Small.’

Just hearing the footsteps, one could easily guess the size of the feet.

Even accounting for them being a woman, they were exceptionally small.

Just as Yuki was thinking that.

The firmly shut door swung open.

And from within appeared a sudden flash of pink hair.

A girl a few inches shorter than Yuki looked up at her.

“…?”

Yuki’s face turned blank as she looked at the girl’s face.