***
“What the hell are you?”
When I asked in surprise, Arcia gave the most obvious answer imaginable.
“I am Master’s supporter.”
Her tone was flat and mechanical, devoid of any inflection.
Yet that familiar way of speaking instantly snapped me back to my senses.
“No, who doesn’t know that?”
Arcia tilted her head quizzically, as if wondering what the problem was.
I scowled deeply and tapped her shoulder armor like I was knocking on a door.
“I mean, how did you pop out of the game?”
Arcia finally seemed to understand and nodded.
“You’re curious about how I maintain a physical form in Rondel.”
The fact that this NPC-level supporter from the game could accurately distinguish reality suggested she fully grasped her own situation.
“Yeah.”
I sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her explanation.
Arcia stared at me blankly before continuing in her usual calm voice.
“I am a homunculus. My creator is Manuel Lucas, and my appearance and combat traits were set by Master as those of Cheon-gang’s Arcia.”
“So, you’re one of Duke Lucas’s legacies.”
“That’s correct.”
If there was going to be a fortuitous encounter like this, they could’ve given me a heads-up.
It felt like they were playing hard to get with their own gift, throwing in some unnecessary twists.
If I’d known, I wouldn’t have picked a tanky supporter and gone for something more versatile instead.
“Are your stats the same as in the game?”
“Yes. They recover in line with the level increases of Chronicle’s restrictions.”
It seemed Arcia didn’t grow with levels but already possessed level 250 stats.
They were simply restricted by her level.
As I rubbed my temples and sorted through my thoughts, a sudden idea flashed through my mind.
If this one could use her full level 250 power, wouldn’t she be one of the top powerhouses in the world by real-world standards?
“Functionally, her capabilities are judged to rival those of a Grand Master.”
“Whoa…….”
It was staggering news that made me swallow hard.
A Grand Master was on par with an 8th Circle mage, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the continent’s strongest.
Arcia was such a priceless gift that my earlier worries about how to hide her now seemed pathetic.
‘If the world found out a Grand Master-level homunculus existed, it’d cause an uproar.’
Maybe Duke Lucas could’ve conquered the world if he’d wanted to.
Either way, having a reliable ally who obeyed only my commands—and one with immense potential—was a huge boost.
‘If I’d registered a low-tier supporter, I’d be regretting it big time.’
Picking a rare-grade or lower one carelessly would’ve netted a far less valuable homunculus.
With Duke Lucas rigging the gift like this, it didn’t feel like future fortuitous encounters would be straightforward.
“So, where’d you come from?”
“I was in standby mode, stored in the maintenance bay. The bay is located in the holy site of Everhill, and the fortuitous encounter management server detected Master’s terminal address and transmitted me here.”
Transmitted, she said—but as a physical object with mass, it was more like spatial relocation.
“So you could go right back to the maintenance bay now?”
“Transmission is only possible upon initial extraction. After extraction, returning to the bay requires physical travel. Even without the bay, my recovery functions ensure no issues with operation.”
I’d hoped for summon/unsummon on demand, but that was asking too much.
Still, I recognized Arcia would be a huge help down the line, but her immediate accommodations were a problem.
I wasn’t in a position to look after anyone, and without a mana concealment skill like mine, the knights might uncover her identity.
“I can conceal my mana.”
“That’s a relief, at least. Any stealth capabilities?”
“No. As a warrior class, I lack stealth functions.”
“Figured as much.”
I ordered her to hide her mana, and the mana I’d sensed from her vanished, along with the protective barrier over her armor.
“No helping it.”
After agonizing over it, I gave a wry smile and decided on Arcia’s disposition.
‘My reputation can’t get any worse.’
* * *
‘Master Adrian’s openly bringing women into the mansion now?’
‘Yeah, I heard the maids caught a woman lying naked in his bed.’
‘How did someone so bright as a kid turn into such a fool…….’
Arcia had swapped her armor for a beige dress I’d urgently quick-ordered.
I strutted through the mansion with her openly.
Whispers followed us everywhere like background noise, but I didn’t care.
It was just piling bad rumors on more bad rumors.
The only awkward part?
“So, when’s the wedding?”
Was my mother, who seemed genuinely pleased that her son had brought home a woman and asked that.
During tea in the drawing room, her sudden question nearly made me spit out my drink.
“Not thinking about it yet.”
“Arcia’s a commoner, right? If you’re worried about her background, don’t be. Your mother’s a commoner too, isn’t she? As long as she’s not from a brothel, she’s welcome anytime.”
Though untitled, Mother came from a major merchant family, making her upper crust by societal standards.
She wasn’t your average commoner.
“You should calm down a bit.”
For the record, Arcia was from the ‘holy site of Everhill,’ as I’d learned through the game.
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
“But when did you arrive, Lady Arcia? I’ve never heard of a guest visiting the mansion. And for someone from another country, you have no luggage.”
Vice, the guard knight, eyed Arcia suspiciously with a sharp gaze.
I shrugged casually and replied.
“She teleported in.”
“Huh?”
A deflating response.
What cleared Vice’s suspicions was Jade, the mansion’s sole mage, who occupied one corner of the drawing room.
“As expected…… I’ve been monitoring coordinate movements around the mansion for security, and there was a single connection trace from Everhill.”
“I-is that so.”
Mage Jade was Cedric’s man, my half-brother’s.
He wasn’t the type to make up stories for my sake.
And “for security” my foot—he’d probably uncovered it during some background check.
I didn’t add any unnecessary details.
The more I said, the more holes might appear.
For now, I was just playing the immature noble young master who’d brought a strange woman home.
* * *
Word of Arcia reached the lord’s castle, too.
Father was predictably furious, and Cedric, who visited the mansion in person, took a liking to her and spouted nonsense about handing her over when I was done.
“At least it somehow blew over.”
I needed to power up fast—living under scrutiny was exhausting.
That’s when Arcia suddenly strode toward me.
“What?”
When I asked her purpose, she replied with her usual emotionless gaze.
“I need to expel moisture.”
“How?”
“My physical composition matches a human’s. Thus, through the urethra…….”
She had to pee.
Come to think of it, I recalled her casually eating tea and snacks.
Homunculus or not, her bodily functions seemed much like a human’s.
I pointed to the attached bathroom.
But for some reason, Arcia showed no sign of heading there.
“The expelled moisture undergoes purification, making it potable.”
“What a pointless feature.”
It made me seriously question Grand Mage Manuel Lucas’s hobbies.
While she went to the bathroom, I shook my head and turned on the broadcasting device, like Earth’s TV.
[Special Programming: Duke Lucas’s Fortuitous Encounter—Does It Truly Exist?]
I’d activated it on a whim.
But the content grabbed my attention.
[Duke Lucas’s fortuitous encounter revealed 20 years ago.]
[Yet no one has found it anywhere.]
[Even with intelligence agencies worldwide on high alert, 20 years without a trace—it’s hard not to doubt his claims.]
Here I was, holding Duke Lucas’s fortuitous encounter, and this broadcast was spewing negativity.
It was like they wanted the small fry to drop out.
The broadcast rattled off various theories afterward, but mostly baseless rumors, so I changed channels.
“Master, I’m back.”
“No need to report every bathroom trip from now on.”
“Understood.”
The conversation was pointless, but having someone to chat with at home wasn’t bad.
Arcia sat beside me as if it were natural and reached for the snacks like a person.
[Breaking News: Military clash erupts again at the border toward the Croysen Empire. Provocations from the Croysen Empire have intensified this year, marking the fifth localized conflict.]
News played on the broadcaster, but distracted by observing Arcia, I paid it no mind.
“Time to go level up.”
“Understood.”