NOVPUB"You should go outside once in a while."
This pattern... I felt like I had experienced this before.
But this time, it wasn’t Carol who said it.
It was James.
I gave him a look full of dissatisfaction.
"James. Not you too?"
"If you keep living like this, glued to your computer, it’s easy to fall into lethargy. You need a change of pace once in a while.
Shopping might be a good idea."
"There’s online shopping, you know."
"You know that’s not what I mean."
Unlike Carol’s chaotic approach, James had a seriousness about him that made rejecting him difficult.
I scratched my cheek and listened to what he had to say.
"You’re acting as if you’ve lost all purpose in life.
If you had turned to alcohol or drugs, you’d probably have drowned yourself in them by now.
As a colleague, I’m making a suggestion—let’s go out for a bit and clear your mind."
"...Alright."
He was worried about me.
I must have been a burden.
Lately, I had just been mindlessly passing time watching YouTube or something similar.
Since I was no longer human, the sense of time and purpose I once had as a human felt like it had been cut in half.
Maybe that was why I had started slipping into a sense of aimlessness.
Shopping with James...? Just the two of us?
"What about Maria? Is she coming too?"
"She’s been busy lately.
Since she belongs to a different division, I don’t know exactly what she’s up to.
But I’m sure we’ll see her again when there’s a major operation."
"Maria’s division?"
"We just call it ‘the Cathedral’ for simplicity.
As a demon, it’s best that you don’t get involved with them.
Aside from Maria, the people there are... extreme."
"I see..."
Before we could continue, Carol slipped into the conversation with her usual obnoxious energy.
"It’s decided, then!
We’ll use this as an opportunity to increase your outings!
And more outings mean more experiments!
I was running out of excuses to test things on Alice, but this works out perfectly!"
I shot her a deadpan look.
"Could you at least try to be subtle?"
Carol was becoming more and more eccentric.
I didn’t feel like indulging her nonsense anymore.
So I just nodded vaguely, letting her words go in one ear and out the other.
After a few procedures, I was finally allowed outside.
Since my usual Alice outfit stood out too much, I changed into normal clothes.
...Or so I thought.
I was sure I had requested pants.
Instead, I got a fluttery skirt.
And it was too short.
This was obviously Carol’s doing. I’d have to scold her later.
It was winter! Did she really think stockings alone would keep me warm?
...Surprisingly, they did.
What kind of high-tech product was this? Or was this just how stockings worked?
"Hah..."
A white puff of breath escaped my lips.
It was such a simple phenomenon, just the result of exhaling warm air into the cold.
When I was a child, I used to do it for fun.
Walking through the snow-covered streets felt oddly nostalgic.
Maybe going out was a good idea.
After spending so much time in a world filled with anomalies, just being surrounded by people felt like something worth observing.
But...
"People are staring a lot. Well, I guess we do stand out."
Blonde hair and blue eyes.
Definitely not East Asian features.
Even though Korea had its fair share of foreigners, there were still people who found it fascinating enough to stare.
Just as I was internally debating multiculturalism, James corrected me.
"It’s because you’re beautiful."
"...Me?"
"Your appearance may be different from before, but you’re even more doll-like now.
An ideal young lady, I’d say.
Try not to wander alone."
I never expected James to compliment my looks.
If someone like him—a tall, handsome gentleman—considered me beautiful, should I be happy?
...It just felt weird.
"That’s an embarrassing thing to say. But thanks."
"Apologies if it made you uncomfortable."
As we walked, my eyes caught something familiar.
A building.
I had seen it in the documents James had given me before.
I had looked at it so many times that there was no room for doubt.
Suppressing my unease, I asked,
"Isn’t this the city where the kids live?"
"It is.
The head researcher’s requested item can only be purchased here, so she suggested this as a shopping location."
"Why are we buying her stuff? She could just get it herself!"
"She makes unreasonable requests sometimes.
Don’t worry. You’re unlikely to run into them.
They should be at school right now, and their neighborhood is some distance away."
James sounded certain, and that reassured me.
How pathetic was I, feeling afraid to run into my old friends?
Noticing my mood, James steered us into a store.
A newly opened café.
It seemed like their limited-edition menu was a huge hit.
"What do you think?
It’s a new seasonal drink."
I took a sip of the drink James had bought for me.
A blend of grapefruit and orange, with a faint aftertaste of pineapple.
How did they manage this flavor combination?
...Whatever they did, it was brilliant.
"Hmm. Not bad."
"Glad to hear it.
It’s good to go outside sometimes.
Not that I have much right to say that, given I’m one of the people restricting your freedom."
"That’s true."
"Doesn’t it frustrate you?"
"You’re all desperate too.
And I know you could’ve done much worse to me if you wanted to."
Even though I spoke while looking out the window, I meant what I said.
James understood that.
And he /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ seemed satisfied with my response.
We continued chatting about trivial things, but nothing that truly held my interest.
Until—
"You look empty.
There are times like this.
When it feels like you’ve finished everything.
Your next destination is a blank slate, and you don’t even want to fill it in.
In times like that, doing something mindless is better than doing nothing at all."
"Finished, huh..."
No, that wasn’t quite right.
The feeling I had wasn’t emptiness from lacking a future.
I was conflicted.
Nostalgia, loneliness, confusion—
All these emotions tangled together, tempting me toward a desire I shouldn’t have.
For a being no longer human, what did I truly wish for?
"Occult goods?"
A faint voice whispered past my ear.
So soft that I nearly dismissed it as my imagination.
"...?"
"Something wrong?
Are you interested in that occult shop?"
"Huh? Ah... I guess so.
Didn’t know places like that still existed."
"I checked. Nothing suspicious about it.
It’s unlikely to have anything genuinely paranormal.
If it did, the organization would’ve confiscated it already."
...You investigated that too?
"Creepy. You guys are everywhere."
"That’s an exaggeration."
James replied as he nibbled on a very cutesy cookie.
His expression barely changed, but I could tell—
He wasn’t a fan of sweets.
Sorry, James. You’re forcing yourself for my sake, huh?
I lifted my cup, intending to finish my drink in one go—
And then I heard it.
"Wow! Look at this! It says we can talk to ghosts with it!"
...Wait.
That voice—
I knew that voice.
"That’s just a superstition!"
That voice too.
"Says the members of the Mystery Exploration Club?"
"Pfft!"
Cough! Cough!
I choked, spewing my drink.
James silently wiped my mouth and quickly grasped the situation.
"...So much for my assurances.
My apologies. Let’s head back."
"Y-yeah."
James knew I didn’t want to see them.
He led me toward the back exit.
But just as I was about to get in the car—
I heard it again.
"Eun-jung! That spot’s slippery—!"
"Eek!"
"..."
James stared at his now empty hand.
The small, soft hand he had been holding was gone.
He sighed.
"...You’re far too honest."
Because I had already caught Eun-jung before she could fall.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
"Are you okay?"
"You're pretty."
"...Huh?"
A completely unexpected response.
I was so caught off guard that I just stared, dumbfounded.
Kyung-min, standing next to Eun-jung, immediately scolded her.
"You should be saying thank you!"
That finally snapped her out of it.
"Hehe... Thanks! By the way, which elementary school do you go to? I’ve never seen anyone this pretty around here before! Oh, or are you in middle school?"
She leaned in closer, her curiosity shining through.
"Uh... I’m not in middle school, but... um..."
"You're making her uncomfortable. Sorry about that. Eun-jung can be a bit random sometimes."
"Ehhh..."
Soo-ho appeared and gently pulled Eun-jung away from me.
For a moment, I almost reached out—almost.
But I held back.
I simply smiled.
"It’s okay."
"Ahem."
For some reason, Soo-ho cleared his throat awkwardly and then subtly retreated to Ha-rim’s side.
"Hmm... You look around our age. I’m Shin Ha-rim. What’s your name?"
"El... No, Alice. Call me Alice. I just moved here recently."
At my introduction, Ha-rim’s eyes lit up.
"Alice? Like a fairy tale protagonist? That’s so cool!"
"Yeah. Thanks, Alice! I hope we see you again! It’d be great if you go to a school nearby."
I had graduated long ago, but I just smiled and waved at them.
Until they disappeared from my sight.
Even after that, I kept waving.
Hoping, irrationally, that they would suddenly remember me.
That something would click.
That they would recall me—not Ella.
It was a foolish hope.
I lowered my hand and returned to James.
"...Are you alright?"
No.
"I’m an idiot. I swore I wouldn’t let them get involved again."
And yet here I was, feeling disappointed over something I had chosen.
It was ridiculous.
"Sometimes, being an idiot isn’t so bad."
"Is that so?"
"I can be an idiot too, sometimes.
You should let yourself be an honest fool once in a while."
James, an idiot?
I eyed him skeptically, but he seemed completely serious.
Saying nothing more, James started the car and drove toward the outskirts of town.
I sat in the passenger seat, replaying my encounter with the kids in my mind.
And then—
Ring, ring.
James’s phone rang.
"...What is it?"
A familiar voice answered.
"Sorry for interrupting your little outing, but I need to give you a heads-up.
A new anomaly has appeared nearby."
Carol.
"Hah." 𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝑏.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"Mhm. I mean, a special ops unit disguised as police has already been dispatched.
But I figured it’d be best to call since certain people might be able to minimize damage faster, don’t you think?"
"Details."
"Technically, I’m not supposed to relay this over the phone, but rules are exhausting, so whatever.
Remember that incident in the U.S. where an entire city turned into a forest?
Yeah, I thought you’d remember.
Well, this thing is likely one of the wolves created back then.
Or... rather, a fusion of several of them?
Anyway, no idea why it’s in Korea, but it’s heading toward the city.
Specifically, the place you and Alice just left."
"Understood. I’ll stop it."
"Oh! And tell Alice not to get involved unless it’s urgent.
You know, because of the Cathedral...
Alright, thanks~"
Click.
James exhaled.
"You heard all that, didn’t you?"
I nodded.
"Go."
"Thanks."
I summoned a mirror and stepped through it, instantly vanishing from the car.
As James watched me disappear, he muttered under his breath.
"Carol... you scheming snake."
Running straight there would attract too much attention.
Instead, I hopped through every available mirror along the way.
Occasionally, a passerby would catch a glimpse of me, but they quickly dismissed it, questioning their own eyesight.
Mirror travel was not only discreet but also nearly instantaneous.
In effect, it functioned like consecutive short-range teleportation.
After about 60 jumps, I reached my destination.
"Where is it?"
[Whisper, whisper...]
A chill ran down my spine as the voices of the anomalies murmured in my ears.
"Alright. You’ll do."
I gestured, summoning a mirror.
From its depths emerged a bizarre creature—a fusion of a rat and a bird.
The Eavesdropping Horror.
Humans often fear being overheard.
Sometimes, they don’t want their words to be known.
And sometimes, they fear that they have been heard.
This entity was born from that anxiety.
Its twisted limbs bent unnaturally as it scanned the surroundings before whispering to me:
[Screams—A monster! A wolf! Get to the café’s second floor! Hurry, call the police! This is Green Tree Café—]
"Thanks. So it’s there."
I stepped into the mirror and emerged at the predicted location.
The new scene was chaos.
Panicked civilians fled as a monstrous wolf growled in their path.
Its head snapped toward me, its snarl deepening.
"Who’s that girl?!"
"No idea! Kid, get over here, quick!"
A quick glance confirmed it—the kids were already gone.
They hadn’t been caught in this mess.
Good.
But still... the timing of this was too convenient.
Was it just a coincidence?
"Grrrr..."
"Thanks for the concern, but if I take a step back, it’ll probably attack.
I’ll handle it."
Even at a glance, this wasn’t a normal wolf.
Its body tensed, muscles rippling unnaturally beneath its skin.
Then, it ground its teeth.
The sound was like metal scraping against metal—sharp and grating.
I scowled.
"If you understand me, just surrender.
I know a place where you’ll get better food than humans."
"GRAAAAHHH!!!"
"Figures."
The wolf’s body swelled, muscles coiling in preparation to pounce.
A raw, predatory aura filled the air.
[Whisper, whisper...]
Several entities reacted.
Too many, actually.
I needed just one.
Ah.
This one was perfect.
"Go ahead. Have some fun."
A massive mirror formed—five times my height.
From within it emerged an enormous, gray beast.
Its thick neck was covered in crimson fur, its body marked with interwoven black stripes.
And on its chest, despite its ferocious appearance—
A large, heart-shaped marking.
The Beast of Gévaudan.
An infamous devourer of humans.
Among the 260 it attacked, 113 were eaten, 98 were dismembered, and 49 were fatally wounded.
Its rampage was so devastating that it remained imprinted in history.
Some say it was a giant dog or wolf.
Some claim it was something else entirely.
But it didn’t matter.
Because this one wasn’t bound to truth—it was born from fear.
"You two look alike.
Are you distant relatives?
Well, let me introduce you."
Before I even finished speaking, the wolf lunged for my throat.
For a split second, its fangs glistened with saliva.
Then, the Beast of Gévaudan swung its paw.
I blinked.
Crunch.
In that instant, the wolf’s face shattered, its teeth scattering like broken glass.
It was still breathing—barely.
"...That was overkill."
I handed the wolf over to the organization and returned.
