A New Name, A New Identity

Unconsciously, I pulled up the status window and found that a great many things had changed. For starters, my level had risen four stages from 15 to 19. That increase came from swallowing the old man and the woman earlier. Unlike the giant ant monster I had devoured at the very beginning, the jump wasn’t enormous, but the points I gained were enough to raise my Magic Power and Wisdom, allowing me to reshape my body into a complete human form. Of course, if I had swallowed the party leader as well, my level would have climbed even higher. The entity had recommended that course of action, yet I felt no regret. My sole purpose had been to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠repay exactly what had been done to me, after all. It might have been foolish, but this was simply my own small stubbornness.

The next thing that stood out was the name and age sections. Instead of the broken text from before, the characters were now written clearly in Korean. Naturally, neither the name nor the age was my real one. Still, I had a fair idea why they had changed.

Going back a few hours…

I had been hiding alone in a corner, silently watching their movements. Even if they weren’t causing any harm right now, who could say when they might turn on me? The cat had told me there was no need for such needless worry, but that didn’t mean my guard was completely down. Especially the man sitting alone a short distance away—the one with the intimidating presence I had first locked eyes with inside the dungeon. Having him so close made it impossible to relax.

Outside, rain poured down. Inside the large tent, only the two of us remained. While my nerves were stretched to the breaking point, he looked perfectly at ease, which only made irritation build inside me. The others were all busy working, yet this single man lounged without a care. From what I could observe, he seemed to be the leader of the suited group. Typical of those at the top, I thought bitterly. Oblivious to my glare, the man leaned back in his chair and even began to doze off. That uncomfortable coexistence continued until the night grew deep.

As the hours passed, people gradually left. Then a woman whose identity I didn’t know approached me cautiously. She had been speaking with the man earlier, though I hadn’t been able to hear what they said. The moment she came right up to me, my eyes widened. She looked to be in her late twenties. The most striking thing was her height—at least 170 centimeters, nearly matching my original body. Beneath her black suit, subtle muscles were visible here and there, suggesting she trained regularly. Her figure was balanced, neither too large nor too small, and her face was ordinary but not unattractive. At first glance, she gave the impression of a strong, capable woman. Because my own body had shrunk, that impression felt even more pronounced.

She, too, wore a suit like the others, so she was clearly a hunter. Her hair was tied neatly in a ponytail. She crouched down to meet my eye level. Startled by the sudden closeness, I flinched. Her eyes were full of goodwill, her expression soft. I had never received such open kindness from a stranger before, so I couldn’t hide my surprise. Yet she continued to gaze at me with a honey-sweet smile. Only then did I remember that I currently looked like a young girl. It was embarrassing to admit, but given how small and cute my appearance was, her reaction made a certain amount of sense.

The woman introduced herself as Lee Hae-jin of the investigation team. She then asked several questions—basic personal details like name and age, as well as family background. When she asked for my name, I hastily made one up on the spot. I kept the surname the same and only changed the second character to create a plausible alias that sounded like a girl’s name. For my age, I gave a number that matched the appearance I had shown inside the dungeon. The status window had probably updated because of that moment. As for family relations and other basic information, I followed the story the cat and I had prepared beforehand: an orphan who didn’t even know her parents’ names. I added that I had been dragged around by suspicious people until now. In a normal world, such a story wouldn’t have worked, but after the Great Disaster, when chaos and crime ran rampant, far worse things happened every day. This much was nothing.

Once I finished, the woman’s face crumpled as if it were her own misfortune, and she pulled me into a tight hug. She comforted me, saying I must have suffered a lot, but I could only feel awkward. It was fortunate that my face was hidden from her view; otherwise, my expression would have twisted into something ambiguous and unconvincing. Everything I had told her was fabricated, yet seeing her genuine empathy made her seem like a good person. That realization brought a faint pang of guilt. No matter my intentions, the fact remained that I had deceived her. The warmth I felt from her was, in the end, built on a lie—because the original body that could have truly felt it was already gone.

After a long while spent in complicated silence, the woman wiped the moisture from her eyes and spoke again. She calmly explained my future living arrangements. The core point was simple: for the next few days, I would stay with them for the investigation. I had already expected as much, so I simply nodded without a word. My quiet response made her eyes redden once more. Watching it happen right in front of me was starting to give me a headache. I couldn’t guess which part of my story had touched her so deeply, making it hard to respond appropriately. Fortunately, she quickly composed herself this time.

She then suggested I stay at her house tonight, but I refused immediately. She didn’t give up, insisting that she lived alone, that there was no need to feel burdened, and tried again to persuade me, yet my answer remained the same. The result was this temporary shelter built inside the tent.

[By ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the way, you gave yourself a really cute name… I didn’t know you had a sense for that sort of thing. Hing~ If you hadn’t, I was planning to come up with a cute one for you myself…]

The cat leapt onto the table set up inside the tent and spoke to me. I hadn’t expected it to figure it out so quickly, so my face flushed. Even though I had made the name up myself, hearing someone else mention it brought a strange sense of embarrassment. The fact that it came from the cat, who had seen my original appearance, only made it more impactful.

[“Seoa,” huh… Well, it suits your current appearance pretty well. I like it, at least!]

When it added that final remark like driving in a wedge, I couldn’t hold out any longer and lowered my head. I wanted to run out of here right away. But according to what Hae-jin had said earlier, I had to stay put until morning, so even that was impossible.

Seemingly entertained by my reaction, the cat kept talking.

[Besides, why did you turn down that offer? It was the perfect chance to sleep comfortably next to a pretty and reliable “big sister”~]

With a coy voice, it expressed its regret while narrowing its eyes at me. Irritated by the teasing tone, I scowled.

“…Shut up. No matter what kind of body this is, I haven’t fallen that far.”

When I spoke with considerable sharpness, the cat merely continued to smile enigmatically. Refusing the offer had been the obvious, sensible thing to do. How could I possibly spend the night at a woman’s house when she lived alone? As long as I maintained my original sense of self, that was simply impossible. Moreover, the thought of entering a stranger’s home for the first time filled me with strong reluctance.

[Well, you’re a cute little girl right now, so there wouldn’t be any problem. Since it’s come to this, why not just enjoy it? It was a rare opportunity. Tsk…]

Even after my firm refusal, the cat left a lingering remark of disappointment. Of course, it immediately shut its mouth once it received my murderous glare.

“That aside, things have gone smoothly so far according to your plan, but… you’re sure there’s really no chance my identity will be exposed? If you change ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your story later, we’ll both be finished.”

I was tired of being led around by the cat, so this time I spoke first. I was very serious about this point, so I crossed my arms tightly and stared at it. Just as Hae-jin had said, a full investigation into my background would begin soon. I could gloss over the lack of concrete identity information by claiming to be an orphan, but once they started a detailed examination of my current body, everything would change. The fact that my hair ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠color had turned gray was also a source of anxiety.

When I asked with a serious expression, the cat couldn’t hide its frustration and suddenly stood up.

[Aaaagh!! How many times do I have to say it? There’s zero chance of that happening! Why can’t you just trust a cat’s word… I guess it’ll be faster to show you directly with your own eyes.]

“H-Hey! Wait! Kyaaah!”

Letting out its pent-up frustration, the cat charged at me with agile movements. Caught completely off guard, my body naturally fell backward as it pounced. If I had been in my original body, that wouldn’t have been possible. But with my shrunken frame, I was easily pushed back. Fortunately, the simple bed behind me caught me, so I didn’t hit my head on the ground. Instead, I found myself forcibly laid down on the bed, glaring up at the cat now perched on top of me with clear displeasure.

The cat paid no attention to my stare. Instead, it wore a triumphant expression and lifted one of my arms with its dainty front paws. It was a slender, snow-white, fragile-looking girl’s arm. The black cat licked the soft skin once with its tongue, then bit down with its sharp teeth. My eyes widened into perfect circles at the completely unexpected action.