The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 51

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Yeo Joo Saves the World – Episode 51

“Tomorrow’s Im Chung Soo’s first day of school, isn’t it?”
I realized this while washing my face and brushing my teeth after waking up in the morning.
“He’ll manage fine on his own. He’s not a child.”
Though he is still only seventeen.
“I’m not doing anything today.”
I muttered to myself while changing clothes.
After closing my door and heading toward the stairs to go downstairs, I paused.
“Ugh.”
I turned my steps toward the adjacent room instead.
By this hour, Jang Su Ho would already be down at the Training Facility.
Knock, knock.
“Im Chung Soo, come out for a moment.”
“Come in!”
I asked him to come out, so why was he telling me to come in?
I grumbled and turned the doorknob.
“Hey, you don’t even lock your door. What’s that about?”
“Why lock it? It’s home anyway.”
As I approached Im Chung Soo’s space, separated by a partition, a fragrant yet slightly bitter scent wafted toward me first.
“What are you doing over there?”
He was crouching in the corner of the room, ignoring the perfectly good desk.
“Feeding Maeng Yi.”
“Maeng Yi?”
As I stepped closer and tilted my head slightly, I saw a fluffy brown-furred squirrel.
“What is this, the size of a fist?”
“It’s my Familiar.”
“I know it’s a Familiar, but…”
Can a Familiar really be this small?
The squirrel, sitting on a small cushion and earnestly eating something round like an acorn, was so tiny that even its movements were barely noticeable.
Excluding the tail, it was closer to a hamster than a squirrel.
“It’s still a baby.”
“But it couldn’t have just hatched from an egg, right?”
“Well, that’s true…”
“Then what’s the problem?”
I crouched down beside Im Chung Soo and examined the Familiar that had been given the name Maeng Yi.

Maeng Yi
Non-Combat Class
Imprinted to – Im Chung Soo
Evolution Stage – Stage 1
Abilities – Treasure Finder, □□□□□….

Even her abilities had already awakened.
I had a rough sense of what “Treasure Finder” meant.
In the novel, Im Chung Soo was always famous for emerging from dungeons with the highest-grade mana stones hidden within, whenever he ventured inside.
“Chung Soo, how much time do you spend with Maeng Yi each day?”
“Back home, Maeng Yi wanders through the mountains all day, and when she comes back, we sleep together and such.”
“You let your Familiar roam around alone without staying by your side?”
“Um, isn’t that… supposed to happen?”
Sigh.
I’d forgotten that people’s knowledge about Familiars was practically nonexistent at this point.
“For Maeng Yi to grow well, she needs your strength. From now on, keep her right beside you as much as possible. Understand?”
Familiars grow by drawing from their Imprinter’s power.
That doesn’t mean the Imprinter’s energy gets heavily consumed.
Rather, the more affection and bond accumulates between Imprinter and Familiar, the more she grows and the more her abilities awaken.
“And you—don’t wander outside either. Stay right by Chung Soo’s side. Understand? This place is different from the Mountain Village. Going out alone is dangerous….”

[ ( ´△｀) ]

What is that?
Strange characters floated above Maeng Yi’s head as she nodded in understanding of my words.
“Anyway, you understand, right? You can’t go wandering outside?”

[ (´O｀) ]

Now that she finally understood, her expression shifted to one of surprise.
As Im Chung Soo noticed her emotion and began stroking Maeng Yi’s head to comfort her, I spoke to the system.
‘Affection indicators, floating hearts—and now emoticons? Really?’

[ It is an ability to partially perceive a Familiar’s emotions. ]

‘When did I get an ability I didn’t have before?’

[ It has been unlocked due to increased synchronization with this world for Yeo Joo. ]

‘My synchronization rate with this world?’
In that instant, the conversation about Familiars and Marked Ones flashed through my mind.
Was I supposed to grow attached to this fictional world as well?
“Sigh.”
Now I’ve seen everything.
Then a sudden curiosity struck me.
If a Familiar received so little energy from a Marked One, it couldn’t survive.
So how has it managed to stay alive all this time?
“What was Maeng Yi eating earlier?”
“Oh, this is the Familiar’s sustenance I made.”
“Familiar’s… sustenance?”
“Yes. Every time Maeng Yi went outside, I prepared these like a lunch box for him.”
“Let me see that for a moment.”
Im Chung Soo rolled a few small black pellets, each the size of a pinky nail, into my palm.

[ Emergency Rations for Familiars
: Can survive without a Marked One’s energy.
※ Warning – Emergency rations only. ]

“Ah, I see.”
So this was like an energy bar you’d keep in an emergency kit—except for Familiars.
“You little rascal.”
I flicked Maeng Yi’s small head with my index finger, speaking sternly.
“No wonder you’re not growing—living on nothing but these while running around the mountains!”

[ (ᐢ._.ᐢ;)՞ ՞ ]

“Pretending not to know.”
“Ah, why are you scolding the kid! I didn’t know any better!”
“Sigh.”
There’s no way Im Chung Soo’s Familiar didn’t know.
They’re beings that decide their master before they even hatch from their eggs.
They would’ve understood that simple energy bars like this couldn’t provide sufficient nutrients.
They just pretended not to know because they loved roaming the Mountain so much.
“No wonder they call it Im Chung Soo’s Familiar.”
Their behavior was identical to their master’s.
A Familiar that carried nothing but energy bars and went to play in the Mountain, or that terrifying master who could create energy bars capable of replacing an Engraver’s own energy.
I brushed off my rear and stood up first.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to?”
I spoke to Maeng Yi instead of Im Chung Soo, who had that same oblivious streak as Maeng Yi.
“Maeng Yi, want to go meet a friend?”

* * *

I placed Maeng Yi on Im Chung Soo’s shoulder and headed toward the underground Training Facility.
My prediction was correct.
Though it was still morning, all the Guild members except the twins were gathered at the Training Facility.
Fortunately, it seemed to be their break time—I could see Kang Han and Jang Su Ho sitting on the sofa talking.
“I’m here.”
“Yeo Joo! Why are you so late? Did you sleep in yesterday?”
“No, I went to bed early.”
“Then hurry down! I was bored!”
“Weren’t you training the whole time? I thought you wouldn’t have time to be bored.”
“It’s still different!”
Jang Su Ho, who had been working hard with Kang Han, approached eagerly, his hair completely soaked with sweat.
“Ugh, stay back. You’re drenched in sweat.”
I sat at the edge with Baek Young’s cushion to prevent Jang Su Ho from sitting beside me.
Last time I let my guard down, I paid the price.
“Hi, Baek Young.”
Normally, they would at least nod and respond.
But now Baek Young’s gaze was fixed on Im Chung Soo sitting across.
Or more precisely, on Maeng Yi perched on Im Chung Soo’s shoulder.
Kang Han naturally noticed Maeng Yi too.
“You have a Familiar too, Chung Soo?”
“Oh. No, yes. I thought it was a pretty stone back then in that Dungeon and picked it up, but it was an egg.”
They use dialect with me, but now they’re speaking Seoul dialect in front of the Guild Leader they want to impress.
The creature was being discriminatory.
“Baek Young is showing interest.”
Kang Han remarked with curiosity.
The creature that had always curled into a ball and slept was now lifting its head, staring intently at Maeng Yi.

[ (ⓛ ﻌ ⓛ ) ]

It seemed to be displaying genuine curiosity.
Being right beside it, I could see Baek Young’s green eyes sparkling with light.
“This is the first time it’s seeing another familiar, isn’t it?”
“That’s correct.”
Since Baek Young spent every day clinging to Kang Han’s side, it rarely left the Guild Building.
When Kang Han went mining, he would leave Baek Young in his room out of concern for danger—there was no way he would have brought it to the arena.
So I fully understood Baek Young’s reaction to seeing another being like itself for the first time.
How must a person feel when, having lived among monkeys, they see another person for the first time?
“Maeng Yi seems to be showing interest too… doesn’t it?”

[ ( ´△｀) ]

It was hard to tell with that dull expression on its face.
Then it happened.
Whoosh—
“Wow, it woke up.”
Baek Young rose from its favorite ultra-soft cushion and slowly made its way across to the sofa where Im Chung Soo was sitting.
It stopped right in front of Im Chung Soo’s knees.
As if telling Maeng Yi to come down and look.
It seemed quite reluctant to climb onto the body of a hunter who wasn’t its bonded master.
Then Maeng Yi, who had been perched on my shoulder, scurried down to Im Chung Soo’s knees and examined Baek Young.
Like pets meeting a new friend for the first time, they seemed to be briefly exploring each other in confirmation.

[ ( ☉_☉) ]

A beat later, Maeng Yi’s tiny eyes flew wide open.

[ (((( ;°Д°)))) ]

Then it scrambled away and hid itself entirely in Im Chung Soo’s black hair.
Ah, so that’s what that was for.

[ ( ; ›ω‹) ]

With only such a speech bubble visible, Im Chung Soo trembled so violently that even his hair quivered with each shake.
“Baek Young.”
Kang Han reached out his hand toward his familiar with a tender voice at the end.
Whoosh.
Baek Young, now resting in Kang Han’s palm, looked somewhat dejected.

[ (◕︵◕) ]

It was a face that seemed to ask, “Dad, why doesn’t she like me?”
“Maeng Yi must be shy around strangers. Let’s give them some time together.”
Kang Han soothed her this way, gently scratching under Baek Young’s chin.
“That’s interesting.”
Having witnessed the entire scene, I learned something new.
‘It seems there’s compatibility between familiars too.’
In the Sejong Dungeon, I’d only seen familiars fighting together and combining their strength, but watching them avoid each other like this was fascinating.
Not all familiars feel affinity with one another, it seems.
And of all things, one’s a snake and the other’s a squirrel.
I still don’t know if it’s just their personalities, or if there’s some hierarchy of power between them as well.
‘To be certain, I’d need one more familiar.’
I pulled out my phone and checked the calendar.
There wasn’t much time left before I’d go looking for that one.
“I’ll head upstairs and comfort Maeng Yi for a bit.”
Im Chung Soo cradled Maeng Yi gently in both hands and left the Training Facility.
“I should do some cardio. Want to come, hyung?”
Jang Su Ho, who hadn’t shown particular interest in the familiars, stood up and asked.
“No, I’m fine.”
“That’s unusual for you, hyung. Got it.”
It really was unusual.
Kang Han was someone who could easily handle twice the exercise volume that Jang Su Ho normally did.
Yet this Kang Han was turning down exercise?
Now that I thought about it, something was off.
Kang Han, sitting with one leg crossed while still soothing Baek Young, didn’t look well at all.
He even looked a bit tired.
Wait.
‘An S-rank feeling tired?’
An S-rank who lifts boulders for exercise?
I jumped to my feet and walked over to Kang Han.
Then I grabbed his hand abruptly and asked.
“What did you do last night?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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