‘How much would be appropriate, I wonder?’
To convince Cha Sera of my reasons for remaining a hidden, unregistered Awakener, a mere display like a mini dark cloud wouldn’t suffice.
However, I didn’t want to showcase my abilities too excessively either.
I needed to retain some hidden cards, and there was no telling how Cha Sera would react afterward.
‘Hmm.’
It wasn’t entirely impossible that Cha Sera, upon witnessing my earth-shattering power, might completely lose her mind and report me to the Association.
Considering the martial arts adage that it is a virtue to conceal seventy percent of one’s true strength, it might be better for me to regulate my power to only what was necessary.
‘Confirmed.’
Analysis complete.
From this moment, I would self-downgrade from a super-genius weather manipulator to merely a genius weather manipulator.
So, what level of power should I display?
Generating a moderate rainstorm over the Hapjeong-dong area, where Cha Sera lived, would be sufficient.
Whoosh!
Once I reached a conclusion, executing the plan was not difficult.
I skillfully combined my previous experiences using the ability with my newly acquired reservation-based weather manipulation, twisting the atmospheric currents, and soon, a subtle shift began to occur in the sky above Hapjeong-dong.
“It’s done.”
“Huh?”
“Just wait a little.
It’s on a timer.”
I picked up my smartphone and set an alarm for twenty minutes later.
When I held it out to Cha Sera, she tilted her head but nodded in understanding, patiently waiting for the alarm to ring.
Five minutes passed, then ten.
Before I knew it, fifteen minutes had elapsed.
‘Hmm.’
Had I miscalculated slightly?
Sensing an error in the designated reservation time, I glanced at Cha Sera, then subtly adjusted the alarm, adding ten more minutes.
“……?”
“Even monkeys sometimes fall from trees.”
If I were simply to unleash earth-shattering power in an instant, it would be one thing, but trying to regulate my strength to meet a specific time was proving quite troublesome in its own way.
After a total of thirty minutes, a sudden downpour finally began to cascade from the sky over Hapjeong-dong.
Swaaaah.
Thud-thud-thud.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The Korea Meteorological Administration had announced a less than five percent chance of rain today.
Moreover, the rain had fallen precisely on time, making it impossible to explain this phenomenon as a mere coincidence.
Cha Sera, having tasted a fragment of my magnificent power, looked utterly dumbfounded as she urgently began to pepper me with questions.
“You… you really did this?”
Yes, yes, even I found it an unbelievable sight.
Yet, the events unfolding before Cha Sera’s eyes were undeniably real, and that was precisely the standing of a super-genius weather manipulator.
Whoosh!
With a gentle manipulation of the wind, I scattered a spritz of rain onto the balcony, and in an instant, Cha Sera, drenched in rainwater, fixed her gaze upon me with eyes wide in astonishment.
“Really…?”
“Should I spray you again?”
“No, no, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just… I’m so surprised.”
Finally grasping the reality of the situation, Cha Sera knitted her brows, falling into deep contemplation, and soon began to murmur, alternating her gaze between the sky outside and my face.
“This kind of ability… I doubt you’d find it anywhere in the entire hunter industry…”
“Of course not.”
“So, what’s your profession, then?
Is it something like a magic-based class…?”
Cha Sera, pondering with a tilted head, then clapped her hands once as if suddenly realizing the answer, exclaiming to me.
“Ah! A weather manipulator!”
Yes, yes.
I am that rare class, a weather manipulator, and among them, a prodigy with the most exceptional talent.
“Then, wait, was that person who was stirring up trouble about a ‘weather manipulator’ on the public channel a while back… you?”
“Perhaps?”
Now that she mentioned it, I did recall leaving a comment related to the weather manipulator class on the Archive’s Korean public channel right after my awakening.
Though my immediate retreat into seclusion had ultimately led to me being dismissed as a mere provocateur, it had been a hot topic for a short while, so it wasn’t strange for Cha Sera to know about it.
“Aha…”
As if finally understanding the entire story, Cha Sera nodded clearly, meeting my gaze.
However, that lasted only a moment before her expression stiffened as she grasped one crucial fact.
“Speaking of which, isn’t this a first for Korea?
It wouldn’t be strange for the Association to make an official announcement…”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Are you, perhaps… an unregistered Awakener?”
Roughly speaking, that’s correct, isn’t it?
As if inferring the answer from my confident and brazen expression, Cha Sera began to groan, looking as if she had a headache.
“H-how could you do that?”
“Because it’s a hassle.”
More accurately, it would be because I didn’t want the lifestyle I had maintained until now to be disrupted.
“Weren’t you someone who liked attention?”
“That’s different from this.
And it’s not really like that anyway.”
Strictly speaking, my persona on the channel was High School Grad Middle Schooler, and ‘wldks_08’ on Clam Star felt more like presenting a manufactured character.
Neither the channel users nor Clam’s followers were truly seeing my real self or genuinely communicating with the real me.
Ultimately, it was a comfortable, one-sided relationship for everyone involved.
‘But…’
The moment all truths were revealed, it was clear that many situations would arise that could no longer be dismissed in such simple terms.
If everyone knew I could control Korea’s weather, they’d all demand I become an S-rank Living National Treasure.
Hwanung had his three trusted subordinates—Pungbaek, Usa, and Unsa (TL Note: The gods of wind, rain, and clouds, respectively, who served Hwanung in the Korean foundation myth.)—to assist him, but I would have to bear all that stress entirely on my own.
“Indeed, if such an absurd ability were revealed, it would cause a global uproar…”
“I suppose so.”
“Alright, I understand for now.
I’ll also look into ways I can be helpful in various aspects.
You’re not planning to hide it forever, are you?”
“……”
That was true.
The truth would eventually come out someday; for now, I simply needed a little more time to think.
Cha Sera, who had confidently expressed her assurance as if telling me to trust only her, woke up the next morning with a tearful expression, clinging to me and lamenting her fate.
“Ugh, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go, I don’t want to go…”
“Stop whining and hurry up.
People are waiting.”
“I’ve already applied for leave, and I haven’t even had proper fun yet, what is this…?”
Due to a sudden dungeon raid plan, Cha Sera was unwillingly dragged into the Nolsup Guild’s assault team.
There would be plenty of time after she returned, yet she was expressing her aversion to work with her whole body, though for what reason, I couldn’t discern.
“Are you really going to be okay without me?
Nuri, you know, she’s actually incredibly particular…”
“I’ll be fine, just go.
Taking care of kids is my specialty, after all.”
Even if she’s just a mere cat, how dare she challenge me, the reincarnation of Hwanung and the 21st-century Pharaoh?
If she did, I would personally teach her right here and now what true pecking order meant.
“Hmph… then I’ll see you later.
Eat well.
And absolutely don’t open the door if some strange person comes by…”
With that, Cha Sera embarked on her journey for several days, leaving this spacious house entirely to me.
‘Hmm.’
It felt new to me, but the level of luxury here couldn’t even be compared to my previous two-room apartment.
Once enough account subscription fees accumulated, perhaps I should try moving into a house like this myself?
Of course, that would remain a pipe dream unless my identity and Awakener issues were resolved.
Thump.
Thump.
“Meow.”
“Your owner’s gone.
They said it’ll be at least a few days.”
Cha Sera had been ready to leave ages ago, yet the cat, which had apparently been lying around sleeping in its room, now ambled out and sat down.
Tsk, tsk.
This is why they call them cats.
A moment that reconfirmed the nature of creatures who consider their owners as mere butlers or servants.
Though not my own, they were truly impudent creatures.
“Meooowww…”
Realizing that its owner had left and only a freeloading stranger was now occupying the house, the creature suddenly began to puff up its fur, revving itself up with its entire body.
Could this creature actually be trying to pick a fight with me?
“Mrowww!”
“Meeooowww─!”
As I returned its howling with my own, the cat, startled, jumped back in surprise and assumed its characteristic defensive posture.
‘Hmm.’
Indeed, ever since I arrived at this house, its attitude had been consistently displeased, perhaps because Cha Sera’s attention had waned.
But what could be done?
It simply meant I was cuter and more lovable.
If the cat were much cuter, I would be the one getting the cold shoulder.
In this world of the strong preying on the weak, the defeated dog (TL Note: A common Korean idiom for a subordinate or inferior person, often used humorously.) should rightfully cower quietly in a corner.
“Meeowww!”
“Whyyyy!”
“Hiss!”
“Hiss─!”
Seemingly realizing that the opponent before it was no pushover, it momentarily retreated to regroup.
Cha Sera, being weak to anything cute, would have given in with just a little clinging and whining, but it was a grave mistake to consider me an equal.
As I was vying for dominance over the house with the creature, the doorbell suddenly rang, and an unknown third party began to interfere with our sacred battle.
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
Knock, knock, knock.
Dare to meddle with the Pharaoh’s exercise of authority?
Wondering what was happening, I asked for their identity, and the person claimed to be a resident of apartment 1002 downstairs.
“……”
It was an unremarkable answer, but honestly, I felt a slight suspicion.
A sudden visit, precisely when the homeowner, Cha Sera, had left, leaving me alone in the house?
With that question lingering, I opened the door while keeping the chain lock engaged, and through the slight gap, a woman with an unreadable expression began to reveal her true purpose.
“Excuse me, but… I’m sorry, the cat’s meowing has been quite loud.”
“Ah.”
Realizing I had completely misjudged the situation, I offered a polite apology and expressed my intention to rectify it, after which the woman let out an awkward chuckle and returned to her own home.
Hmm… I wanted to die of embarrassment.
