The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

The Hand Reaching Out from the Devil (1)

1st-Grade, class 10, Ha Eunseol.

Up until just before summer vacation, she was a kid everyone talked about.

Usually, even if Mutamits are granted human rights, those born with deformities end up ostracized.

Even at our school, you'd often see kids with scaly arms and legs or bodies covered in fur.

Most people, upon seeing that, would just say it's gross.

'With the exception of a single person.'

Ivory-hued platinum blonde hair and eyes as blue as a lake.

Skin as pale as freshly fallen snow, with swan-like wings on her back.

Looking just like an angel, this girl was a special existence even among Mutamits.

While others seemed creepy, she alone was beautiful.

Among the male students, she was admired as nothing less than a Goddess.

'But really, it was only among the boys.'

It's not great to judge people by their looks, but the female students at our school weren't especially attractive.

The only girls who were around average were in the higher grades, fourth year or above.

Below that, none of them stood out in terms of appearance.

No wonder the boys, whenever they were bored, would go around teasing the girls for being ugly.

– That one looks like a ghost.
– A rotten pumpkin.
– A swollen dumpling.
– An angry frog.

The boys used all sorts of nicknames to tease the girls.

It might seem like childish pranks, but as it continued, an inferiority complex began to pile up in the girls' hearts.

Eventually, the girls who got hurt started feeling jealous whenever they saw something pretty.

'There was no need to look far for the target.'

The target was within reach of elementary school children.

The only girl in first year to be called a Goddess.

I have no idea what happened after that.

After all, nothing about Ha Eunseol made a stir within the school.

But after Ha Eunseol went missing, the girls started whispering among themselves.

– Hey, isn't it great that Ha Eunseol disappeared?
– It totally is.
– Do you know how much she annoyed me?
– I hope she never comes back! Every time I see her, my blood boils!
– Honestly, I just wish she disappeared from the world for good.

At the time, news broke at school that Ha Eunseol's parents had passed away.

At first, I felt sorry for the teased girls.

It's not like they wanted to be unattractive.

But even after rumors of someone's death began to spread, those girls spoke about it cheerfully.

Whether or not they'd grown up, it was clear they were rotten to the core.

'What brats...'

I wondered where Ha Eunseol had disappeared to, only to end up meeting her here.

At first, I was shocked by this unexpected encounter.

"You know Daesang Elementary School?"

"Huh?"

"You're Ha Eunseol from First Year, class 10, right? I came to save you."

Anyway, explanations could come later. We had to get out of here first.
It was currently 3 a.m.

Considering wake-up time was 8 a.m., there was still plenty of time left.

Thinking about how I'd rushed her during the fight just now made me feel a little embarrassed.

"Daesang Elementary School?"

Ha Eunseol cautiously spoke up.

It seemed a familiar response, since it was the school she attended, but—

"Where is that?"

She asked with a puzzled, even more unfamiliar expression.

Hearing that, I couldn't help but make a face like I'd bitten into something bitter.

And then, even more shocking words followed.

"And... do you know me? Is my name Ha Eunseol?"

It felt like a bolt out of the blue on a clear day.

She didn't know who she was. This was unmistakably amnesia.

"Then why are you trying to save me? Are you, maybe, a Hunter?"

Ha Eunseol spoke, trembling as she drew back.

Her movements were full of wariness, her gaze colored by distrust of the world.

Now that I thought about it, it was strange that her white wings had turned black, and her eyes red.

'There's no point asking her directly.'

Still, since I had rescued her, I suggested we head outside.

But she continued to tremble and refused.

"No! It's dangerous if I leave here!"

"Are you talking about the bomb inside your body? If so, don't worry—I already took care of it."

"R-Really?"

I had burned the explosive remote that Gil Tae-ho had been carrying. For good measure, I'd burned him together with it.

And when I checked with the 'Clairvoyance' skill, I figured out the principle behind the explosion.

There was an unidentified magic power embedded in Ha Eunseol's body.

It seemed to be forcibly crammed in from the magic power of various awakened people who'd been kidnapped.

Thanks to that, Ha Eunseol gained strength surpassing even B-rank Hunters.

But she seemed unable to control it herself.

'So the remote I burned must have been suppressing that magic power.'

Perhaps because the remote was destroyed, the impure magic power in Ha Eunseol's body subsided.

It felt like the pressure in an overfilled balloon suddenly being released.

"You said you had sharp senses earlier, right? Then try feeling the magic power inside your body."

"Ah... you're right."

Realizing she was now free, her expression relaxed a bit.

She might have lost her power, but she didn't have to worry about her body exploding.

It had been a suspiciously strong power for her age anyway.

"You can leave now, right?"

At my question, the girl nodded carefully.

****

Outside the factory, a few Hunters were wandering around.

They had heard a massive explosion from the direction of the factory while they were hunting monsters, so they headed that way.

None of them were able to detect my 'Stealth' skill.

Thanks to that, Ha Eunseol and I safely escaped past the gate.

[You have successfully completed the mission! (Unique)]
[You are awarded your reward.]
[Karma greatly increases.]
[Level up.]
[System Lockdown function activated.]

Immediately, notification windows popped up to indicate the mission was complete.

I soared into the air, joyfully carrying Ha Eunseol with me.

"KyAAAA! How are you flying?"

The sudden ascent into the sky made her scream.

For a child afraid of heights, it was a perfectly natural reaction.

But Ha Eunseol had no right to talk.

"You can fly too—why are you acting like this?"

"When did I ever fly?"

"You have wings."

"But I've never flown myself!"

As expected, her memories from when she was brainwashed were vague.

But perhaps that was for the best. If she recalled the people she'd killed, could she really bear the guilt at her age?

She'd probably end up committing suicide from the remorse.

"We're here."

"Where is this?"

"The dormitory building."

After landing, I took Ha Eunseol down to the basement.

She clung to my arm in fear along the way, but I couldn't blame her.

To a child who'd lost her memory, everything must seem terrifying.

Wandering around alone without a guardian was out of the question.

"I-I'm cold..."

"Hang in there for a bit."

Now that I thought about it, Ha Eunseol's clothes were in tatters.

She looked like an experiment subject from a comic, so at the very least, she needed an extra layer.

"This place looks good."

I found a suitable room.

It seemed to be an unused storage area, but there weren't any clothes she could wear.

Still, there was a mattress and a heater.

– srrrrrk

I used the 'Purification' skill to clean up the dirty mattress.

The ice-cold heater looked like it could be restarted, but there wasn't any fuel around.

No oil in sight.

But examining the heater closely, I found a slot for mana stones.

'Perfect!'

Luckily, I still had a small mana stone I'd taken from one of the robot monsters in my coat pocket.

The moment I inserted it, the heater lit up.

"Oh? It's warm...!"

Ha Eunseol's anxious face brightened.

Caught up in the sudden warmth from the heater, she finally looked her age—cute and innocent.

"Just sleep here tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll call the teachers to check on you."

"Teachers?"

"You might not remember, but you're also a student at our school. There are a lot of people who'll protect you now, so don't worry."

I pulled out my phone and checked the school SNS, looking for her student photo.

In the first-year, class 10 roster, I found the student listed as Ha Eunseol.

'No doubt, it's her.'

Other than the color of her wings and eyes, everything else matched perfectly.

Maybe this change was the work of those Bloody Flame Cult bastards.

But if it was just the injected impure magic power, that was all gone now.

If her appearance was still different, it might just be her own unique trait.

And then, one more thing.

"You said you couldn't see, right?"

"Yeah."

Her eyes were wide open, but she couldn't see a thing.

So she didn't know who I was, but claimed she could sense where I was by my presence.

I decided to test if that was true.

"Then do you know where I am right now?"

I used my 'Silence' skill to eliminate all sound and hid behind the cabinet.

If she really couldn't see, she shouldn't be able to find me.

"Behind the gray wardrobe."

She got it right.

She probably didn't know the word for 'cabinet' yet, so she called it a wardrobe, but her answer was correct.

"Then..."

This time, I decided to properly verify by blocking her vision entirely.

I covered Ha Eunseol's eyes with the scarf around my neck.

Then, silencing my movements, I leaned against the storeroom door.

"Where am I now?"

"You're over there."

Ha Eunseol pointed precisely in my direction.

Right again.

When I moved around, she pointed in exactly the right direction each time.

It was like her finger was a compass.

"So it was true."

"Yeah. Even if I can't see, it feels like I can, kind of."

What a strange thing to say—that she couldn't see, but could at the same time.

It sounded contradictory, but I had no choice but to believe her for now.

"Did you also have trouble seeing when you went to school?"

"School...?"

Right, she'd lost her memory.

I wondered if she lived like this—blind—even back then.

If so, surely there would have been rumors? She was popular for her looks, after all, and information would have spread.

"But I need to go to the bathroom..."

"Go ahead."

"I don't know where it is."

"..."

Awkward.

I felt like a servant being summoned by some noble lady.

That reminded me of the time I'd snuck into a noble's mansion on Mewzealand.

'Too bad the head of the house was a thug, so I had to act like a dog there.'

But compared to that, this was tame.

I guided her to the first floor so she could use the bathroom.

There didn't seem to be any in the basement, but there'd be one on the first floor somewhere.

"What about this...?"

Ha Eunseol pointed to the scarf I'd put over her face.

It looked like a red Christmas scarf.

But for someone like me, the cold didn't matter even without it.

"Just keep it on for now."

"..."

Just then the bathroom came into view. Someone was coming out.

"Ugh, I suddenly got a stomach ache while sleeping."

"Told you not to eat so much in the afternoon."

Two girls came out chatting.

First-year, class 10: Choi Sunju and Lee Boyoung.

The larger of the two, Choi Sunju, was infamous for snatching bites from other kids' food.

Lee Boyoung by her side was her best friend.

'Right, class 10's dormitory was on the first floor.'

I waited for them to leave the hallway.

Then it happened.

"H-Hiiik!!"

As soon as Ha Eunseol saw them, she recoiled in terror.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead and she trembled.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a bad aura."

The moment she sensed Choi Sunju and Lee Boyoung, Ha Eunseol had a fit.

She murmured quietly, as if she'd seen a ghost.

"I don't want to see them... I really don't want to see them!"

Then I remembered—Ha Eunseol was also in first-year, class 10.

Sure, she lost her memory due to the Bloody Flame Cult's criminal deeds.

But why would she react so strongly to classmates?

'Shit, isn't it obvious.'

Ha Eunseol's body responded before her mind did.

Thinking back, she was the target of the girls' jealousy.

The puzzle pieces fit together in my head in a strange and unsettling way, and I clicked my tongue.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】