When Im Haneul was suddenly stopped for a surprise inspection, she was equally flustered.
‘All of a sudden?’
It was her first experience with such a situation. Normally, no one even glanced her way. She could definitely feel the royal family’s heightened vigilance due to the cult known as Lemegaton.
‘What should I do?’
Thanks to that, her mind went completely blank.
Even though she had an Adventurer badge, Yor had nothing to prove his identity. The fact that he was a holder of Demon’s Blood was known only to her.
Various ominous thoughts flashed through her mind.
Suddenly, a decent idea flashed in her head.
It was to use the illusion magic she had learned.
This magic could deceive a person’s sight and create things that didn’t exist.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and pull it out!”
Therefore, she decided to put on a little act.
Ignoring her thumping heart, she feigned her usual calm demeanor.
Fortunately, perhaps because she was usually so blunt, maintaining a blank expression was easy.
The quick-witted Yor quickly played along with her act.
As he rummaged through his pockets, Haneul already began to conjure an image in her mind.
To create an illusion, it wasn’t enough to just infuse it with mana.
A specific mental image was required to produce a proper illusion.
What she envisioned in her mind was the Adventurer badge.
Having caught the image, it was now time to present that illusion naturally.
“… Wait a moment, I’ll find it.”
With that, she reached into his pocket without his permission.
She felt him pause for a moment, but in the urgent situation, he couldn’t object.
While pretending to search through his front pocket, she actually conjured the Adventurer badge using magic.
The casting speed of illusion magic wasn’t very fast.
Perhaps it was because it required a specific image.
This, in turn, meant that the time Haneul spent rummaging through his pocket also lengthened.
After a short while…
With a thump, an unfamiliar sensation ran through her hand.
Despite being brief, it was undeniably different from the rough fabric of the pocket.
The outline felt pretty substantial too.
‘Huh?’
As she thought about what it could be, she soon realized its identity.
She was rummaging through the front pocket, and there was only one thing one could feel in a male’s front pocket.
‘This is ─.’
Oh hell.
Having thought that far, she cursed inwardly.
Did they implement this kind of texture too? What the hell was going on in the heads of the developers?
Damn it, she wished she had raised her illusion accuracy a bit more. She regretted that she had only raised it to 45%.
On the flip side, she thought,
‘…This is bad.’
No matter how accidental, touching that… Well, it was clearly sexual harassment.
In reality, she would be taken to the police station immediately.
Of course, since this was a game, that wouldn’t happen, but if things went poorly, her NPC trust might take a hit.
Still, her magic didn’t falter.
Amidst the peculiar embarrassment, joy, and anxiety, she managed to complete the guild badge.
She then showed the fantasy of the guild badge to the guards.
An Adventurer’s identification tag with the letter ‘B’ prominently engraved on it.
The guards nodded upon seeing it.
“My, at that age to already be a B rank, that’s impressive.”
“Cough, cough… By the way, I’d appreciate it if you could refrain from public displays of affection…”
Perhaps due to her overly bold action, they misunderstood her intentions.
“No, that’s not what I—!”
“Well then, have a nice day. Thank you for your cooperation in the investigation.”
Haneul tried to deny it, but the guards had already left.
Leaving behind two awkwardly standing individuals.
A peculiar silence enveloped them for a moment. Haneul, with a burning face, finally managed to explain herself.
“Uh, that just happened because of the magic… Anyway, it wasn’t intentional… You know that, right?”
I can’t just conjure an Adventurer badge out of thin air, right?
In other words, it was an unstoppable force. Did she think he would assume something so huge was under his pants?
Regardless, Haneul felt wronged.
Yor stared at Haneul with a blank expression. Though he maintained his usual poker face, there was something intimidating about it, making her feel as if he were glaring at her.
After a moment, Yor grinned and said, “…Looks like you have a somewhat revealing side after all?”
“No…!”
She desperately protested her innocence.
After a slight (?) mishap, the city exploration continued smoothly.
Sure, I was a bit flustered at first, but I knew she acted to save me.
I’m not someone who would get mad over such a trivial matter.
‘And…’
Honestly, there’s no way something like this would ruin my mood.
How the ‘men’ here would take it, I don’t know, but for me, a super alpha, it was just amusing.
In fact, seeing her so flustered invoked a strange sadistic pleasure.
I may not know, but it seemed that things like this legally meant something significant for the ‘women’ here.
Eventually, I couldn’t hold back and teased her a few times.
If she wanted to touch, she should’ve just said so, right?
If she wanted to see, she could open it now, right?
I tossed around these lines off-hand. Each time, the flustered Haneul could only blush, unable to retort.
“…Ugh.”
The result was just this.
With a face as red as a tomato, she walked beside me in a daze.
Not getting a proper response from her when I tried talking meant she was probably half-broken. That was when I knew to stop teasing her.
Honestly, I wanted to throw out something like ‘But if I touch your chest, wouldn’t it be even stevens?’ but… I held back for now.
It felt too authoritative.
If I went that far, I felt like I’d lose my grip entirely.
She knew my secret, but still, she was an Otherworlder.
To her, this world was essentially just a game. I trusted her, but I still wanted to keep some lines drawn.
The fact that we were in a city also played a significant role.
I didn’t want to act up in a place where one wrong move could lead to enemies all around.
Of course, if I were rampaging with B status activated, it would be different, but I wasn’t at that level yet.
“…”
“…”
In any case, after the teasing, a lull had settled between us.
While the streets continued bustling with noise, an awkward silence lingered between us.
I thought about breaking the silence, but she was probably too busy recovering her mental state.
‘Well, there’s nothing to be done.’
So, I decided to wander off on my own for a bit.
“How about we split up for a bit?”
“Huh? All of a sudden? Why…?”
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing major. Just a place I want to swing by.”
I had two scents lingering in my mind.
One was the acrid smoky scent from my previous life.
The other was the scent of children before I turned ten from this world.
These two fragrances would occasionally surface in my mind, torturing me.
Today, since I was in the city, I thought I’d take a whiff of one of those scents.
“Let’s go together until halfway. Sorry for splitting up after coming this far. Oh, I should ask since I didn’t clarify, but will this disguise hold up even if we separate for a bit?”
“Oh, yeah, it should…”
She briefly showed a nervous look, but eventually nodded at my request.
She must have felt my attitude change from normal to serious.
I felt grateful and began walking the path with her.
Passing through the bustling center of the city, we headed toward the outskirts where guards rarely roamed.
The street became dirtier, and the beggars, far removed from wealth, became more visible.
Just because it was a big city doesn’t mean everyone lived well.
Where there’s light, there’s shadow; where bustling areas exist, slums are also found.
And this was my hometown.
Though I was chased away at the age of ten, the memories from that time remained scattered throughout.
“Let’s part ways here. I’ll see you soon.”
After walking a bit, I separated from Haneul.
With that, I ventured deeper alone.
After wandering a while deeper, I’d eventually find a narrow alley filled with criminals, and in the middle of that, my old place would be revealed.
A small, run-down orphanage.
The place I was kicked out of still maintained its existence.
Though vines had started creeping up the building and the facilities had degraded.
It seemed to still be operational, as the delicious aroma of soup wafted over from beyond the structure.
I was engulfed in strange sentiments.
Numerous questions came to mind.
Was the nun who took care of the kids back then still there?
If she was still working, she would be nearing middle age or heading into old age by now.
What happened to the kind old man who owned the bakery nearby?
Thinking back, I hadn’t seen him on my way here, so he must have closed down shop.
After all, he sold things cheaply enough for the orphanage kids. He might’ve faced difficulties maintaining his business.
I sincerely hoped he had made his way to the bustling area and earned a lot.
What happened to the kids who played with me?
Twelve years had passed, so they must have graduated from the orphanage by now.
Now decent adults, they might be working somewhere in this city.
Thinking about one particular girl who liked me back then sparked my curiosity about what she’d been up to. It’s not that I vividly remembered her face.
“……”
In that way, I lingered in front of the orphanage for quite some time, reminiscing about the past.
There was no need for me to enter the orphanage. The only thing permitted for me, cast out of society, was to observe from afar.
Looking back now, I realized.
The life I thought was boring back then was actually a kind of happiness.
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