The Fox, the Culprit Always Returns to the Scene of the Crime
Han Yerin had been watching the fox-eared child with her ability for a while.
If she used the child for her stream right now, it would have been a perfect opportunity to blow up overnight, but she didn’t want to turn a child’s misfortune into a chance for herself.
Watching from a distance, she saw the fox-eared child diligently try to copy a cat’s grooming, only to reach a spot too far away and topple backward.
“Pfft.”
The sight was so adorable that she smiled before she even realized it.
In the end, the child was being groomed by a cat.
It sounded strange to say that a stray cat was protecting a child, but no matter how she looked at it, it really did seem like the cat was raising the child.
It was the sort of cuteness that could heal a heart just by watching, but in reality the child was struggling desperately to survive in terrible conditions.
Should I call the police?
The first thought that came to mind was to report it to the police.
The child had no guardian, seemed unable to properly eat or drink in this mountain, and was even grooming themself without shoes or a proper bath.
There was no reason not to call the police.
Han Yerin took out her phone and was about to dial 112 when her finger stopped.
“...”
The child had clearly run away to avoid her.
If she reported it to the police, they would definitely approach the child.
The child seemed afraid of people in general, and if several officers all showed up at once, they would surely bolt.
From the ears and tail, they’re probably an Awakened. If the police are just ordinary people, there’s no way they’d be able to catch an Awakened who’s genuinely trying to run.
Still, the child needed someone’s help.
Of course, part of her wanted to take the child home and raise them herself, but that might count as kidnapping.
So Han Yerin made a call to someone else.
“This is the Awakened Association, right? I’ve just found an abandoned Awakened child here.”
The Awakened Association.
It was the organization that had emerged after the Tower and Awakened appeared, managing the line between Awakened individuals and ordinary people to prevent chaos while also supporting Awakened who challenged the Tower.
They also helped Awakened who couldn’t control their abilities, so she figured they would handle this case too.
Han Yerin explained the situation to the flustered employee on the other end.
But unlike her expectations, the association employee did not give her an answer no matter how long she waited.
“Is there some kind of problem?”
[W-well... this is the first time we’ve had a case like this, so it’s not in the manual...]
“What?”
[We do have dedicated teams for ability rampages or Awakened criminals, but in this case...]
“W-what do you mean? I’m telling you the child is suffering!”
[We’re sorry. Please call the police first...]
“The child is an Awakened! What if the police approach them and an accident happens, or they run even farther away?!”
[Th-there’s still not much we can do in a case like this...]
“What kind of irresponsible answer is that!?”
Without meaning to, Han Yerin’s voice rose.
She hadn’t expected to become the sort of complainant who shouted into a phone, but she went on anyway.
“They’re eating dirty feed, drinking water out of a rusted bowl... they don’t even have shoes!!”
[We’re sorry... but we’ll do our best to find a way and send a caseworker.]
“That’s not—”
[From a cold, practical standpoint, this isn’t considered an urgent situation, so please just identify the location for now. Approaching an unregistered Awakened could also be a legal issue.]
“...Huh?”
“You want me... to leave that child there...?”
[...We’re sorry.]
“What the hell... what is that supposed to mean?”
[We have definitely recognized that this is an unusual situation, so even if it’s late, the association will be sure to...]
Grit.
“Forget it.”
The answer about having to trust the association, with no telling how long it would take, made her grind her teeth in frustration, but when she remembered there was nothing else she could do, she hung up.
And then, all at once, she remembered the day she had given up the Tower after awakening.
“...”
Her ability was Butterfly Mage.
It was more of an exploration skill than a combat one.
Whenever people asked her on stream or elsewhere why she didn’t focus on conquering the Tower, she said it was because combat was too difficult and she had given up.
But her ability was actually a rare detection-type skill that could lower the difficulty of Tower conquest by one whole step.
Thinking about why someone like her had given up challenging the Tower and started doing her current streaming work instead only dragged up memories of a rather dark past, and that made her mood even worse.
“Ha...”
Han Yerin stared up at the mountain for a moment, then let out a weak sigh.
As the association had said, getting involved could drag her into crime, and there was even the chance she’d be unfairly treated as a kidnapper, so stepping in was a dangerous gamble for both the child and herself.
“Right, there’s nothing I can do...”
Just as her expression darkened and she was about to turn back home, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Why am I caring what that lousy association thinks?
She hated the association.
Because of what had happened in the past, she hated the association.
And yet she was supposed to do exactly what they said?
Han Yerin smiled faintly and turned the steps she’d been taking toward home in a different direction.
She had streamed not as an Awakened, but as Han Yerin... as Luna.
“So who cares about the association!”
Once her hesitation vanished, she moved quickly.
“First I’ll buy what’s needed and then approach carefully...”
Honestly, she wanted to run straight to the child right away, but here she decided to stay calm and judge the situation coldly.
Fortunately, the child wasn’t injured right this second, so there was no need to rush blindly.
“Let’s start by bringing food and water.”
But before long, she ran into the first problem.
“Fox... do beastmen not eat certain foods...?”
There were Awakened in beastman form, but there weren’t many of them, so there wasn’t much detailed information available.
She couldn’t tell whether they could eat like ordinary people, whether there were foods they shouldn’t eat, or even what foods foxes in particular were not supposed to have.
Because of that, buying food took quite a while, and then she tried to buy clothes and shoes, only to get stuck again because she didn’t know the size.
She spent so long agonizing over every little thing that time slipped away from her, and after scraping together medical supplies, clothes, food, and water, she finally came back out.
“Looks like I’ll end up spending more money on this kid than I expected.”
The expenses were bigger than she’d imagined, but Han Yerin had no regrets. She was just about to head back up the mountain when she realized she had lost track of time while searching things up on foxes, beastmen, and the child’s clothing size.
By then, night had already fallen.
“That took longer than I thought.”
She was a little startled, but decided it was actually a chance and hurried back to Back Mountain.
They’re probably very guarded, so for now I’ll use the cover of night and make it feel natural for them to pick up the food I leave behind.
Then, planning to approach slowly and protect the child, she returned and checked on them through her butterflies.
“...?”
It should have been time to sleep, and yet for some reason the child seemed restless, jolting awake in the middle of sleep and pacing back and forth as if uneasy.
It looked like a child in emotional distress, wandering around in fear.
Only after the black cat forcibly made them lie down did they finally stop pacing.
From what she’d observed so far, it seemed likely that the child had suffered severe abuse from a parent or someone else and had been abandoned, then awakened by chance afterward and come to live with the cat.
Because she’d been using her ability for so long, exhaustion was flooding over Han Yerin, but even so she didn’t dismiss the skill and kept watching.
She was planning to leave food nearby.
But the child’s senses were more sensitive than Yerin had expected.
She had confirmed they were asleep and moved a little closer, but as if they instinctively sensed her mana, their ears twitched and reacted.
It seemed they still hadn’t fully realized what was happening, since they had only awakened recently.
In the end, Han Yerin was unable to do anything until morning. She forcefully ignored her fatigue and thought it over.
Going back now would leave her worried about the child, but approaching them or sneaking food nearby was difficult because the child’s senses were too sharp.
If there was any silver lining, it was that the child was so adorable that watching them was never boring.
Still, she couldn’t just keep looking on from afar, so she decided to try approaching them slowly.
I can’t just stand here and watch!
After confirming the child had gotten up and headed somewhere, Han Yerin dismissed her ability and slowly walked toward where the child was.
Should she start with a greeting?
Should she show them the snacks first to lower their guard?
Or would it be better not to meet them at all, just leave the items near the place that looked like a home and slip away?
Climbing the steep mountain, she pushed through the rough grass and kept going.
“There isn’t a single path people use here... are these tiny tracks the routes the cats take?”
She finally made her way up the mountain and approached the place the child had gone.
“All right, I’ll show them food and slowly lower their guard, then try talking.”
They might notice her before she got close and run away, but if that happened, she would just leave the supplies and come back later.
And at last...
Han Yerin came face to face with the girl.
“So you’re the culprit, are youuu!!”
“...Huh?”
Along with a very strange misunderstanding.
---