The Child and Youth Sexual Protection Law

Altering the world?

Before I could even begin to make sense of the situation, the message window closed, and the frozen world flooded back with color.

The goblins that had gone rigid started moving again, their sharp, cackling laughter filling the air.

Nothing seemed different at all.

And yet—

Kihik—?

One of the goblins gripping my right leg let go, snatched up its club, and hauled itself upright. It stalked over to the goblin crouched between my legs, the one wearing that greedy little smile—

And swung.

Thud—!

The club cracked down on the crown of its skull. With a dull, wet sound, the creature crumpled between my legs.

Kihek—!? Kehek—?

In an instant every goblin was in an uproar.

What? Did it… just save me?

But the one that had thrown the club simply shoved the fallen body aside, planted itself where the other had been, and grinned up at me. That same filthy hunger was still written all over its face.

It hadn't been trying to help. It just couldn't stand watching someone else go first.

That, however, was all the spark the others needed. One by one the goblins holding me down released their grip, snatched up weapons, and started brawling over me. Even the two that had been too cowardly to join in were now completely absorbed in the fight.

I watched them for a beat—then—

"Rrrgh…!"

I wrenched my hands free and shoved myself upright. While they scrambled for their weapons in a panic, I bolted, putting as much distance between us as I could.

"Hah… hah…!"

The two already charging after me got a Fireball straight in the face.

Kieeek—!

The scream snapped the rest of them out of their free-for-all. They looked around, trying to figure out what was happening—and I gave them no time. Magic poured out of me without pause.

Their numbers were already thinned from fighting each other, so I managed to drop every last one before any of them could close the gap.

"Hhh… hhh…. You—you absolute freaks. Trying that on a kid…."

The adrenaline flooding my system was so far beyond anything from before that my head was pounding. Or maybe that was just from getting clubbed earlier.

Either way, the sheer relief of still being alive dropped me flat on my back. I was still catching my breath when a searing pain exploded deep in my chest.

"Ghhhhh…!"

Now what?

A short sprint shouldn't have been enough to wreck my heart, and this wasn't anything like the pain from my previous life. Was it connected to that message window somehow?

It had said something about inappropriate conduct, then about altering the world.

The pain I couldn't explain—but the goblins turning on each other? That had almost certainly been its doing.

…I should head back for now.

Replaying what had just happened could wait. Lying here any longer was an invitation for more goblins to show up.

I pushed myself to my feet and brushed the dirt from my clothes.

Right. Before that—

I needed the ears.

By the time I made it back to town, the sun was already sinking, painting the sky in deep reds. Clutching a pouch stuffed with goblin left ears, I headed straight for the Adventurers' Guild.

A few tables and chairs still lay in pieces from the earlier brawl, but Barto—the man who'd been both party to the fight and the one manning the counter—greeted me looking none the worse for wear.

"What is it, kid? Why are you back already?"

I set the pouch on the counter.

"Goblin ears. I'd like to exchange them for money, please."

"Come again?"

Barto eyed me with open suspicion, then carefully loosened the drawstring. Whatever he saw inside made his expression shift to genuine surprise.

"Don't tell me you took all of these down by yourself."

"Yes. Around thirty, I think."

"…And you actually made it back in one piece."

Well. I'd come within a hair of something far worse than not making it back. But I was alive, wasn't I?

"You sure these are yours? You didn't just beg them off someone?"

"No? I collected them myself."

Goblins were the weakest monsters in this world. For any ordinary adventurer, a haul like this was nothing special. But I was currently occupying the body of an eleven-year-old girl—and a complete novice on her first real outing. Just finding my way out of the deep woods without getting lost was, from his perspective, already impressive.

Still eyeing me doubtfully, Barto untied the pouch the rest of the way.

"Hmm…?"

He picked up one of the severed ears—then suddenly started rummaging through the rest. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠He upended the whole pouch onto a tray on the counter and fixed me with a hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stare.

"Hey, brat. What exactly are you trying to pull?"

"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?"

"They're all left ears. I don't know where you heard it, but payouts are right ears only. Or what—did you just loot a pile of abandoned corpses? Huh?"

"Eh?"

I knew from the game that most monsters paid out if you brought back their ears. I'd just… vaguely assumed it was the left ones, and cut accordingly.

"Khahaha! Look at this kid—she brought in nothing but left ears!"

"Hey, brat! Sun's still up—why don't you run back out and cut the other ones? Heh heh heh!"

"Look at that blank face! She actually thought it was the left ones! Ahahaha!"

Judging by the room's reaction, Barto wasn't lying.

…So everything I'd done today had been for nothing?

I should have just taken both. Why hadn't that even occurred to me?

"Urgh…!"

I hung my head under the weight of pure injustice and humiliation. Barto let out a long sigh.

"Tch. What a high-maintenance little brat. Fine. Just this once, I'll process them."

"Really!?"

"Part of it's on me for not explaining properly…. But next time, no free passes. Got it?"

"Yes—thank you!"

Thanks to that small whim of his, a sum just barely over one night's lodging ended up in my hands. It wasn't much—but breakfast and dinner came with the room anyway, and nobody was getting rich off goblins.

I'd earn real money later, once I'd grown my stats and unlocked perks and started hunting stronger monsters.

More than that—why was he being this decent to me? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠In the original story he'd been far harsher with the protagonist. Was it just because of how I looked now?

"That said, I distinctly told you to stick near the village during the day."

"Then I wouldn't be able to make any money."

"…A kid already putting her life on the line for coin. Well, having that kind of hustle at your age isn't the worst aptitude…."

Barto seemed to wrestle with something for a moment, then spoke again.

"I don't know what your circumstances are, but if you're going to keep at this adventuring business, never let your guard down. Especially when you're riding high on half-baked power like yours—that's exactly when things go wrong."

"I-I'll be careful."

His words hit a nerve. The ambush in the clearing had been a surprise, sure—but I had gotten complacent. Without that message window's power, by now I would have been….

"Ugh…."

The image of myself no longer a virgin sent a full-body shudder through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. I shook my head hard, banishing the thought, as Barto offered one last piece of advice.

"Adventurers have been going missing around here a lot lately. Bandits or some higher-tier monster, most likely. Until we hear more, stay out of the deep woods. Understood, brat?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now get lost. No kids after dark."

I glanced around. The guild was already filling up with prostitutes who'd come hunting for adventurers flush from a good haul.

"Ugh."

Watching them fawn over some soft, overfed man turned my stomach. I hurried out of the building and made for the safety of the inn.

I paid for my room with every last coin from the goblin hunt, ate dinner, and retreated to my room. The innkeeper had kept insisting a child shouldn't go around hungry and kept bringing more food, so I flopped onto the soft bed with a stomach fit to burst.

"Ugh."

A dull throb pulsed at the back of my head—probably a lump from the blow in the clearing. I rolled onto my side, gingerly prodding the spot, and let the events of the hunt replay in my mind.

The moment the goblins had grabbed me. That sensation of the world grinding to a halt. The message window.

Something about inappropriate conduct toward a child, right?

It had declared it was altering the world—and the goblins had started fighting each other, giving me the opening to escape. What on earth had that been?

On a hunch, I opened my status window. Sure enough, a skill I'd never seen before was sitting there.

A skill named after a real-world Korean statute. I navigated the status window and pulled up the details.

So that was it.

No wonder every erotic stat and perk had been censored. And the goblins turning on each other—that had been this ability, too.

…Doesn't that make me basically invincible?

This was an erotic game world. Every reason monsters and criminals targeted women boiled down to the exact kind of sexual crime the skill described. Which meant that as an eleven-year-old girl carrying this skill, I was under unconditional protection.

The thought of having an invincible cheat-tier ability put a huge grin on my face as I kept reading—until I hit the fine print.

Cold sweat slid down my forehead.

In short: don't get cocky just because you have this. You'll die.

…S-still. This is huge.

In a world where a single mistake could cost you your virginity, being able to call for a do-over—not once, but over and over—was already a broken skill. And more than that….

Doesn't this mean a virginity run is actually possible…?

The Demon King's forced-deflowering event. That vicious piece of railroaded inevitability the developer had hard-coded into the game—maybe this skill could let me dodge it. Maybe I could even stop my companions from being forced into the same fate.

Who would have thought becoming a little girl inside an erotic game would turn out this useful. The dream of a virginity playthrough I'd never managed in my previous life might actually be within reach. My heart started pounding.

I rested a hand on that tiny chest of mine and started turning over how best to use this power—when something else clicked.

Wait a second….

I opened the status window again. Destination: the erotic perk screen.

A lust-mark. Crushing erotic debuffs. And the censorship power of the skill I was now going to call the Protection Law.

Maybe….

I can actually use this.