Above Your Head

Side Story - Why am I a Pet!! (3)

Side Story - Why am I a Pet!! (3)

"The life here won't be that comfortable. It's a prefabricated building that was hastily put together. Due to confidentiality issues, there are also many restrictions on moving it to the headquarters."

"Eh? Isn't NASA an institution filled with wizards?"

"Hahaha, it's not to that extent, kid. Although there are many wizards among NASA's scientists, most of them are ordinary people."

The vehicle entered deep into the forest, where a white building could be seen. Standing right in front of the lush greenery, Chris said it looked like a prefabricated building that was hastily put together. However, when viewed on the inside, it looked rather alright.

The building was shaped like a round dome, with several spaces extending outwards. Inside the dome-shaped building was a large, opaque tempered glass that was shaped like a cube, which was surrounded by the researchers' desks and various equipment for use. When seen from the outside, the small spaces that were connected to the dome were the researchers' rooms, cafeteria, health center, small study and many more.

"It's pretty good, considering that it was a hastily put together building," Bo-ram stated. Even if it was a temporary building that was hurriedly built, due to the meteorite, its size and facilities were excellent. It was equipped with the maximum facilities possible, so the employees could concentrate on their research. It was also equipped with restaurants and accommodations for the few teams here.

Eun-ha laughed out loud. While she tapped the opaque glass with her hands, and stood in front of it, she responded, "In the eyes of the general public, it definitely can be said to be hastily put together. The building was actually built in a single day, but due to the various eyes watching, they pretended to work for an additional two more days. Considering that everyone thinks this building was done in three days, it can be considered a hastily put together building."

"To call a building that was made with magical technologies a hastily put together building... Tch tch, Chris-oppa is ignorant, huh. Even if he is an ordinary person..." Bo-ram clicked her tongue. Then, suddenly thinking of something, she asked Eun-ha, "But what did Chris-oppa mean earlier on? What does it mean that the Dragon Stone or something can't be moved? Did he mean they wanted to preserve the scene, or that there is fingerprint contamination[1] problems?"

Despite her young age, Bo-ram was a wizard. She was trying to find the right answer within her own knowledge, but the current situation didn't fall under a category that she understood yet.

"The meteorite can't be moved."

"Is it because it is too weak, and will break easily?"

"It's not that. It literally can't be moved. It couldn't be lifted, even if heavy equipment was mobilized. We even tried digging up the surrounding land, and when we did that…"

"When you did that, and?!" Bo-ram looked at Eun-ha with growing curiosity. Her voice was getting louder as well. However, she would get an answer not from Eun-ha, but from a voice coming from behind her.

"It was floating in the air."

"Samcheon?!"

The person who answered her was none other than Louis, and Bo-ram quickly asked, "How do you know, samcheon?"

"That's the reason why Eun-ha asked me to come over."

"Wah... No, I mean, but you didn't even tell me about it? Isn't this a completely mysterious subject?!"

"That's... Bo-ram... This is a top secret..."

"..." Bo-ram shut her mouth as she heard Eun-ha saying that it was a top secret. Quietly pushing Eun-ha back, she gestured that she would keep quiet about it. Then, she asked Eun-ha to show her the meteorite.

Eun-ha smiled gently at Bo-ram's actions and held her hand. Then, politely and carefully, she knocked on the opaque tempered glass three times. Whoooosh---! At the end of her knocking, the opaque glass slowly turned transparent from the bottom up. It slowly revealed an unidentified meteorite inside the glass. There was a dragon-shaped stone floating in the air, with a subtle glow of golden light that was more similar to a white hue.

It was probably since then that Bo-ram's fate had begun to distort.

-Found it.

Baaang! There was a sudden explosion. It didn't come from the dragon-shaped stone, but from the other side… Clink clang clank!

"What the?!" Surprised, Eun-ha turned around in a flash. If she was another wizard, she would have found a way to protect her body. However, as someone who had been using magic only as a researcher, her reaction came late.

Rather, it was Bo-ram who reacted. "I can't believe Achilles, who ran fast, couldn't catch a slow-crawling turtle!"

Wiiiiingggg---! In an instant, a circular Aura rose and enveloped both Eun-ha and Bo-ram. Mere moments later, dozens of daggers stopped in front of them.

"Wha-What the? Bo-ram?"

"Stay still," Bo-ram spoke in an especially serious tone. Considering that she was a wizard of great ability, her young age was suspicious. However, she was still an apprentice; there was a limit to her Mana and she did not have many spells at her disposal. Furthermore...the enemy who showed up was an existence of a level that she could not dare to defy.

"Y-You bastard, who are you... Kuwackkkkk!"

"Kuuckkkk.... Kuugghhhh..."

"The Flare was cut with a knife? Besides that, you caught Smoky with a bullet?"

Only one person appeared, but… When Bo-ram finally came to her senses, things were already irreversible.

"This is insane… Crazy. China is finally out of their mind!!"

"Kuuhuuuck kuhooock," Louis yelled while throwing up blood, "Baek Bo-san [2]!"

Baek Bo-san was an old man in his early- or mid-60s. Wearing a figure-hugging black combat uniform, he held a 40-centimeter-long greatsword in one hand, and a large-caliber pistol in his other. The magical letters that were engraved on the gun barrel automatically filled up the empty magazine while emitting a ray of light. "Tsk tsk, I see you have no respect for your elders, considering the way you're speaking."

Kraaaghhhh! As Baek Bo-san smiled and swung his greatsword, a distant researcher who was carefully stepping back was beheaded. The researcher had used defensive magic, since he was a wizard, but it was useless. The Aura that was briefly released from the greatsword was a force that could not be blocked by ordinary magic. It was the ultimate power that all swordsmanship practitioners dreamt of—Sword Qi.

Since Baek Bo-san could wield it… He was clearly a Swordsmanship Compléter who could manifest his inner Qi on the outside and create Sword Qi. In other words, he was a super strong being who reached the realm of a Sword Master.

-Let's make a contract.

'What is this now?' Bo-ram, who released the barrier due to lack of Mana, frowned at the ringing voice in her head. The situation was so grave that she could not afford to look elsewhere.

-Oh! Isn't the situation looking bad? Let's make a contract, a contract! I'll defeat them all for you!

'What the! Who is this?'

-If you ask me who I am, I am the dragon among dragons! I will introduce myself as the supreme and great Golden King!

Bo-ram's expression distorted, hearing the cheerful voice that resonated in her head. 'You can read my mind?' Even though she was flustered, the situation was progressing at an imminent rate.

"Kuwaacckkkk!"

"Ackkk?!"

Bang bang! Bang! One bullet, one life. Baek Bo-san kept Louis in check with a greatsword in one hand, while easily taking the lives of the other wizards with his pistol. The many deaths of all those long-time teammates were causing Eun-ha to tremble and completely panic.

-Contract! Contract, contract! Wow, it's exciting! It's a perfect situation too.

'What the hell! Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?'

-I told you. Why can't you understand? It'll be troubling if the contractee is too stupid.

Bo-ram was pissed at the scornful tone, but she couldn't pay any heed to it. She noticed that Louis had mustered his Mana and began to materialize a spell. However... Swanggg! His body floated into the air as his incantation was destroyed by a single blow… Rustle. A flash of light that came with the single attack brushed past his lower body. "Samcheon!!" Bo-ram screamed at the sight of Louis' right leg being cut off as he was trying to use magic.

Baek Bo-san turned his head with a smile, as if he had finally seen Bo-ram. "Ohhh, I threw those daggers roughly because I thought she was just a freekill. I didn't expect that kid to survive."

-Oh oh! It's a devilish murderer! A devilish murderer, I say! A devilish murderer is great! Let's quickly make a contract! A contract! I'll take care of it!

'Ughh, what the hell! Where on earth are you talking from... Huh?' Bo-ram, who was clenching her teeth at the flippant voice, froze as she saw someone. Her expression hardened to an inexpressible degree.

Louis fell on the floor and clenched his teeth. "Impossible. How the hell did you get in here? The security around the headquarters should have been at the highest level...?" Louis stopped talking, having also discovered that 'someone'. His face stiffened just like Bo-ram's. "Rei... Reina...?"

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"Why... Why on earth would you? I wanted you to..."

"I'm sorry..." Reina apologized with tears in her eyes, and just like that... Shlickkkk. Her head was cut off and rolled on the ground.

"Rei...na?" Louis looked at the scene that unfolded before him with a stupefied expression.

Swoosh swoosh. Baek Bo-san turned the greatsword. "Oh my, this shitty... I'm already having a headache thinking about the fools at the party who will bark at me for throwing away an important kkokdugaksi [3]."

"You... you?"

"It's your fault, wizard." Baek Bo-san smiled at the sight of Louis' stupefied expression. "What kind of tearjerker are you filming?" Whoooosh---! A Sword Qi was materialized with a horrendous bloodlust from the greatsword he was carrying in his hand.

However, Louis still had a stupefied expression on his face. "Reina..."

"Tsk, as expected, it's become like this. Young people these days are not desperate." Baek Bo-san smiled and swung his sword down. "Die."

"I'll do the contract!!"

Swanggg!! The greatsword froze at the same time as the scream. Baek Bo-san's face was filled with shock. "What?!"

Shiiiiingg! Despite facing the unimaginable situation, Baek Bo-san was a Baekjeon-Yeonma [4] fighter. He immediately charged with all his might towards Bo-ram, who was causing the unknown phenomenon. However... Boom! His body was blasted away. Before he realized it, the dragon-shaped stone—Dragon Stone—was in front of Bo-ram.

-Uhahah! One that fights evil! A sexy Magical Girl has appeared!

Bo-ram jumped up, as if to respond to the voice which no one could hear. After all, it was only transmitted to her. "Beauty! Beauty! Make----!" As the Dragon Stone was rotating round and round, a dazzling golden light radiated everywhere. "Up!"

Fly away now~? Fly away right now~? Gold dragon~~ ?

In an instant, a fast-tempo song was spread around, as if dominating the surrounding space. It was not a physical sound, so one could still hear it despite physical actions of blocking it out.

"What the? What is this? What kind of music is this?" Baek Bo-san's face distorted nastily. The phenomenon that was simply incomprehensible to him. Even the despairing Louis looked at Bo-ram, who was floating in the air, with a stupefied look.

Shoooosshhh---! Along with a blinding golden light, the clothes Bo-ram was wearing turned to dust and disappeared. Then, her white naked body was revealed to the world. The whole process was slow, almost mimicking the transformation of a Magical Girl in a manhwa animation.

"Crazy," Baek Bo-san muttered to himself, but the process was unstoppable. It was not just a matter of a strong shield. It was as if some sort of powerful rule had been set, and not even a knife could be used against Bo-ram. It was safe to say that the effect was almost absolute as Baek Bo-san, a serial murderer who ignored the rule of law of modern civilization, got his will constrained.

Gold dragon~~ ? Dragon lady~~ ?

Along with the continuous music, Bo-ram raised one of her legs. Her movement, which boasted the flexibility of a gymnast, emphasized her sexiness. However, it was a sight to frown upon, since she was still an elementary school student. Only pedophiles with perverted preferences would go crazy at this sight. Then, the outfit that covered her body was…

"Crazy... Crazy, what the hell is that?!" Even Louis, who was shocked by the death of his beloved lover, screamed in astonishment.

Bo-ram's outfit could barely be considered one. The clothes on her body were barely there, and was simply an indecent form that made people frown. Moreover, everything that she wore was shining in gold. The fancy boots she was wearing seemed to be made of pure gold.

"No, what on earth, this, this vulgar... Bo-ram?" Louis tried talking to Bo-ram, but she did not even glance at him. No, actually, she was paying attention. She was, no, to be exact, the something that took over her body was someone who enjoyed everyone's gaze.

Chwanggg! Following that, a mask depicting the head of a dragon covered Bo-ram's face. It was a fortunate thing for Bo-ram as her face was almost 100 percent covered by the mask.

"Great Dragon Warrior! Dragon Lady, who protects love and justice! Descent here!" She shouted in a cheerful voice, as if she could not feel even a hint of embarrassment from the bizarre outfit.

Then, Baek Bo-san, who realized that the constraints imposed on him were lifted, released a Sword Qi. "Die!"

"Hahaha! You filthy scoundrel, have a taste of this!" Upon that cheerful shout, Baek Bo-san felt a strange sensation that he had never felt before, especially after perfecting his martial arts.

1. Fingerprint contamination refers to the risk of getting the fingerprint mixed in with someone else's fingerprint.

2. This is the old man's name, which is Hanja. The Chinese character is ???.

3. A doll appearing in traditional puppet plays.

4. Baekjeon-Yeonma basically means a battle veteran, or someone who has been through hundreds of battles. I felt it would sound better to leave it in the Korean romanization.