Please Let Me Go
About thirty minutes before two A-class hunters, urgently dispatched to the scene, would witness a sight that defied all common sense.
“U-um….”
“……?”
“Were you kidnapped too, Miss Wolf?”
Wolfgell, a 2nd-grade magic beast who had been licking her chops and creeping toward the little boy in front of her, suddenly tilted her head at the unexpected question and paused mid-step.
“I-I was just walking down the street, you see.”
“…….”
“A-and then suddenly… some uncles wearing lab coats grabbed me and took me away.”
The little boy, who had been trembling in terror only moments ago, now had sparkling eyes for some reason as he took a step forward.
“S-so… I was so scared… I couldn’t do anything….”
Before long, the boy reached Wolfgell, wiped his teary eyes with his sleeve, and threw himself into her embrace.
“Th-thank you for saving me… Miss Wolf….”
“…….”
“Hehe….”
And then came the silence.
What is this little brat?
In the middle of that silence, as Wolfgell tilted her head in mild curiosity, it happened.
2nd-Grade Magic Beast Wolfgell has taken an interest in you.
Affection Level: Slight Hostility
The message appeared before the tiny boy who was hugging the magic beast while carefully reading her mood.
“Since I saved you, it shouldn’t matter if I eat you, right?”
“Huh?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t, human?”
Before he could even feel relieved, Wolfgell asked the child clinging to her in a chilling voice.
“Um….”
Ever since magic beasts first appeared on Earth, they had always been humanity’s enemies. Of course, there had been plenty of attempts to tame them or communicate peacefully, but most failed because of the deep-seated hostility toward humanity etched into their very instincts.
And that included the 2nd-grade magic beast Wolfgell, who had only developed the slightest curiosity toward the boy before her. Especially in her current state—starving to the point her stomach was practically glued to her spine—there was no logical reason not to devour the child in front of her.
“Th-then… go ahead and eat me.”
“……?”
“J-just… please don’t eat too much…?”
But the moment the quietly standing boy nervously mumbled those words and carefully pushed his arm into Wolfgell’s mouth—
…Huh?
Wolfgell, who had been wearing a blank expression, found herself unable to carry out the perfectly natural and rational decision for a magic beast. Instead, she took a step back.
“Do you even understand what you just said, human?”
“…Y-yes.”
“It will hurt far worse than what those people did to you.”
Looking unusually flustered for a magic beast, Wolfgell asked the boy another question. When she heard his answer, her face went blank once again.
“You saved me, so this is my way of repaying you.”
“…….”
“B-but please eat gently so it doesn’t hurt!”
And then an even longer silence fell than before.
Shiver, shiver….
As time passed, the scent of fear pouring off the boy—who had his eyes squeezed shut and was trembling violently—only grew thicker. Yet even so, he never pulled his arm out of her mouth.
Now that I look at him, he’s far too small and scrawny to fill my stomach.
After staring at him for a long while, Wolfgell muttered to herself. At that exact moment—
2nd-Grade Magic Beast Wolfgell feels pity toward you.
Affection Level: Neutral
Another message appeared before the boy, this one far more hopeful than the last.
“Human, I’ve changed my mind.”
“Eh?”
“Bring your friends. I’ll eat them instead.”
Once again stepping back to avoid the boy, Wolfgell deliberately radiated killing intent as she spoke.
“I also need to feed the children I left behind in the gate, so this is more reasonable.”
“Oh, so you’re a mama wolf!”
“That’s right. So bring lots of friends, little human.”
But the boy’s next answer made Wolfgell look even more bewildered.
“I don’t have any friends….”
“Hmm, then bring your family.”
“I don’t have a mom or dad either….”
And as the conversation continued, her tone gradually grew gentler.
“Then how have you survived until now?”
“Well, um….”
In the middle of that, the boy’s eyes suddenly darted around before he smiled brightly as if he’d just remembered something. He ran off somewhere.
“…Oh, that’s right! I have food!”
“……?”
“H-here….”
What the small boy eventually dragged over with all his might and presented to Wolfgell was—
“If you dig through this, you can find tasty stuff!”
An old metal trash can from the back alley, buzzing with flies.
2nd-Grade Magic Beast Wolfgell is flustered!
Affection Level: Slight Maternal Instinct
It was a historic moment—the first time a magic beast, who had always been humanity’s enemy no matter the situation, felt goodwill toward a human.
*****
Once he’d earned the wolf magic beast’s favor, everything went smoothly after that.
“Grrrr….”
“S-stop it….”
The moment she saw the trash can I had sincerely offered her, she had growled and whined unhappily. But after a bit more conversation, she was now vigorously grooming me.
The trash can really does have some decent stuff in it, though….
To be honest, I felt a little wronged. Back when I was young and living in the back alleys, I had always relied on these things to survive for my little sister’s sake. Sometimes you’d find food that wasn’t rotten or only had its packaging torn open—it was basically a treasure chest. Getting pity from that… it felt strangely bittersweet.
2nd-Grade Magic Beast Wolfgell adores you!
Affection Level: Strong Maternal Instinct
At any rate, the good news was that I no longer had to worry about being eaten. It was pure luck that she turned out to be a female wolf with pups. It was also fortunate that, as a magic beast above 2nd-grade, she possessed enough intelligence to feel maternal love.
Still, even taking that into account, was it really possible for a magic beast to show this much goodwill?
It is because the magic beast’s hostility toward humanity has been nullified by the Star of Heavenly Love.
The reason was easy to understand from the explanatory note on the status window that appeared before me.
Just how overpowered is this ability?
As far as I knew, a magic beast’s hostility toward humans was one of humanity’s greatest unsolved problems. To be able to neutralize it with what was basically a passive effect… just how incredible was the ability I had awakened?
Since you are currently in the tutorial phase, points are not being consumed. However, you will need to accumulate points yourself to use abilities in the future.
My excitement lasted only a moment before the message that appeared doused me with cold water.
Points will accumulate as long as anyone or anything loves you, so there is no need to worry.
That’s what it said, but the message somehow felt like it had a hidden meaning. Surely I wouldn’t have to keep pretending to be an elementary schooler from now on, right? Please, anything but that….
“Huff, huff… Ow, my whole body aches….”
While I was making a serious face thinking those thoughts, I was startled by a sudden voice. I snapped back to my senses and widened my eyes.
“Senior, it’s over here.”
“Ugh, I got it… Huh?”
There had been no one around just a second ago, yet in the blink of an eye, two people were standing in front of me. Judging by their black suits and name tags, they were probably state-affiliated hunters. Were they here to clean up after the incident?
“Is that… a kid… getting eaten by a magic beast?”
“No. The magic beast is protecting that child.”
While I was still blankly trying to process the situation, a cold voice suddenly cut through the air.
“Freeze right there.”
“Eh?”
“Slowly raise your hands to your head and come this way.”
A woman with black hair tied in a ponytail was staring at me with an icy expression, issuing a warning.
“Seong-ah, what the hell is….”
“Senior, this is clearly not a normal situation.”
The middle-aged man beside her tried to stop her, but the woman called Seong-ah continued to glare at me with eyes full of suspicion.
“A magic beast protecting a human instead of eating them? This is an obvious anomaly.”
“…Now that you mention it, yeah?”
Only after hearing that did I belatedly realize the current situation was perfectly designed to create the worst possible misunderstanding.
“Moreover, there have been recent reports of transformation-type ability users from the Second Advent Church.”
“Hmm….”
“In other words, the person who looks like that little boy is highly likely to be the perpetrator behind the recent string of brainwashed magic beast release incidents.”
I quickly tried to think of a way to resolve the situation, but the seed of suspicion had already taken deep root in the state hunters’ minds.
“Hey, didn’t you hear me?”
“Ah.”
“This is your final warning. Hands on your head and come here.”
At the ponytail-wearing female hunter’s last warning, I had no choice but to stand up with a tearful face.
“O-okay….”
“Grrrr….”
“M-Miss Wolf, please wait here for a bit….”
The wolf who had been grooming me seemed ready to release her killing intent, but I didn’t want to make things worse, so I earnestly pleaded with her.
“Target subdued.”
“O-ow ow ow….”
I hadn’t even taken more than a few steps before I was already pinned to the ground by the female hunter with the ponytail.
“Rookie agent of the Korea Hunter Association, Do Seong-ah. As of this moment, I am placing you under arrest on suspicion of releasing magic beasts.”
She slapped handcuffs on my wrists, then pulled out something like a restraint rope and wrapped it tightly around my entire body. With a cold expression, she began her interrogation.
“Name, identity, age. Answer everything without omission.”
“I-I don’t know….”
“Ah, of course you don’t.”
Of course I didn’t. I was someone who had been declared dead at a hospital, had my organs transplanted, and then turned into an elementary schooler. I had no identity I could give her.
“However, everything will be revealed eventually anyway.”
The female hunter who had been glaring at me suddenly turned around and called out to the middle-aged man.
“Senior, that thing in your bag.”
“Let’s see… this? What is it?”
“It is the latest identity verification device manufactured by the Taeseong Workshop.”
What the male hunter pulled out of the huge bag on his back was some incredibly complicated-looking tool.
“It directly accesses the target’s status window and outputs their information, so there is zero possibility of forgery.”
“Ah….”
“Stay still.”
When I flinched at the explanation of the device, the female hunter pressed down on me with even more force.
“Senior, are you ready yet?”
“Uh, um… Ah, got it.”
“Just place it against the subject’s head.”
If they found out my physical age didn’t match my real age, the misunderstanding would only get worse…. And even if my identity somehow got verified, it might contact my sister and cause her more trouble.
“This is exactly why physical-types like me should always team up with brainy-types like you….”
“So you finally understand.”
Even though I was completely helpless and could do nothing, I listened to the two hunters’ conversation with a look of despair on my face. That was when it happened.
Star of Heavenly Love is activating.
Another status window appeared before my eyes and began activating the ability on its own.
Provided Skill: Information Alteration (S+)
Automatically applying as a tutorial perk….
*****
How much time had passed since then?
“…Hey.”
The middle-aged man, who had been squinting at the results displayed on the identity verification device, suddenly stood up with a serious expression.
“Seong-ah.”
He spoke to the female hunter—who had been holding the suspicious little boy with a businesslike expression—in a deeply subdued voice.
“Let him go.”
“Pardon?”
“Right now.”
He immediately turned the screen so the female hunter could see the information displayed on the device as well.
“U-um….”
In the silence that followed, the trembling little boy’s choked-up voice quietly echoed through the back alley.
“Please… let me go….”