Why Am I the Leader?
Why was I the leader? As I huddled inside the shelter, ears perked up, voices drifted in from outside. Among them was the voice of a girl I knew.
"Is the person who took the Blessing really living in a place like this...?"
"Ah, not yet..."
Who was this person who'd taken the Blessing, and why would they live here? It was puzzling, but I kept my mouth firmly shut. I planned to stay hidden, not even breathing loudly, until they left. Please don't find me, I pleaded silently in my mind—only for the people to stop right in front of my tent.
Thankfully, they didn't seem like the type to barge into someone else's home.
"Gyeowol, can your big sis come in?"
"......"
"Gyeowol?"
Why had the girl brought all these people with her? Not knowing, I gave no answer. I just waited quietly for them to leave—when someone started walking right up to me.
"Gyeowol, are you in here?"
Thump-thump.
The girl knocked on the outer wall of the shelter. She knew I was here, yet she asked anyway—such a cheeky thing to do. How had she figured it out when I hadn't made a single sound? Swallowing a sigh that threatened to escape, I opened the shelter lid and peeked out with just my eyes.
"Oh my, so you were here, Gyeowol?"
"Y-Yes..."
The girl pretended to be startled, as if she truly hadn't known. It was infuriating how obvious her act was.
"Why were you hiding inside? Did a wild boar show up while your big sis was away or something?"
Beasts far scarier than wild boars had come calling. I scowled deeply and looked up at her.
"I was... playing by myself..."
"Oh, by yourself...?"
"Yes. It's cozy inside the shelter."
Was there something odd about what I'd said? The girl's gaze shifted to my ears atop my head.
"Is it because you're feline...?"
"Feline?"
"Ah, no. Just talking to myself."
She flashed an awkward smile and waved her hand dismissively. She was clearly thinking something strange, but since I couldn't read minds, I let it slide. There were far more dangerous folks outside the tent, after all.
"Um, why are there so many people outside...?"
The girl was used to it, but the three waiting beyond the tent made me uneasy. What kind of people had come all the way to this deep mountain?
I looked up at her curiously, and she replied, "Well... some people wanted to see you, Gyeowol. Sorry to interrupt your rest, but could you spare a little time?"
She asked if it was okay, but she knew I had no choice. Despite my reluctance, I nodded reluctantly.
"Y-Yes..."
Kang Jin-ho stood at a distance, surveying the tent. He'd heard how the child lived, but this barren environment was beyond imagination. He wanted to take her back to the guild right then and raise her himself—but he trusted Yeoreum's decision and held back.
'She hates receiving things for free, apparently.'
It wasn't hate; it was fear. She'd never gotten anything for free in her human relationships. Tsk.
As Kang Jin-ho crossed his arms and clicked his tongue, a small girl emerged from the tent. Her ears and tail hung limp, powerless. Frightened by the sudden visitors, she clutched her clothes tightly, staring only at the ground. She glanced around furtively, then quickly looked away whenever eyes met— a heartbreaking sight.
'How harsh.'
The guild bore some responsibility for turning the girl into this. For the first time in ages, Kang Jin-ho felt a pang of misery.
"Hello, Gyeowol. I'm En Sia Blue May."
The wolf beastkin who introduced herself as En Sia bowed toward Gyeowol. Perhaps versed in Korean etiquette, she politely placed her hand on her stomach.
Gyeowol eyed the woman's ears and tail, thinking, She must have been remodeled by Yeoreum too. Though frightened, a sense of kinship let her speak.
"I-I'm... J-... Gyeowol..."
Han Gyeowol. Hearing Gyeowol use the name she'd given her, Yeoreum closed her eyes. This must be what they mean by dying without regrets. She savored the brief ecstasy.
"Are you Jeong Gyeowol?"
"Ah, n-no. Han Gyeowol..."
'Jeong' was from my old life. It pained Gyeowol to discard her past name, but she knew it didn't suit this body. For now, she'd use the one Yeoreum gave her.
"Yes, Han Gyeowol. If I may, could I ask a few questions?"
"Questions...?"
"Yes. There are things we must confirm."
Confirm what? Had Yeoreum put her up to this? Gyeowol swallowed nervously.
"A-Ask away... just a little..."
"Of course. First question: Do you live here?"
"Y-Yes..."
Yeoreum already knew that—why ask? Gyeowol's eyes flashed as realization hit.
She's checking if I'm lying!
By asking what she already knew, she was testing if Gyeowol told the truth. Gyeowol gaped at Yeoreum's devious scheme.
"How long have you lived here, Gyeowol?"
"Th-Three years..."
"Three years?"
En Sia glanced at Yeoreum behind Gyeowol. Yeoreum had said the child was originally eight. 'Three years means she's lived like this since she was five...'
Could a human child survive alone that long? En Sia scanned the surroundings for proof. The sand by the firepit was blackened—years of ash buildup. Similar wear marked the other tools. Most telling were the girl's clothes: ragged and torn irregularly, caked in raw nature, as if embracing the wild.
'Unbelievable.'
Even beastkin with high affinity for nature didn't live feral from age five. Disappointed by the girl's naive demeanor at first, En Sia now saw the fierce wildness hidden within. This generation's king possessed talents greater than any before.
'The emperor! The beastkin emperor!'
En Sia's tail began wagging furiously. Her face remained impassive—she had to restrain her emotions as a beastkin representative.
"Hm... You're not quite qualified yet, but with a bit more training, you'll manage."
Immense talent, but she withheld praise to avoid arrogance. Watching, Kang Jin-ho muttered inwardly.
'Not qualified?'
Her tail was wagging like mad, wasn't it? He'd never seen a beastkin shake theirs so wildly—not even house dogs. But Kang Jin-ho stayed quiet, relieved that the beastkin rep seemed more naive than expected. The child wouldn't suffer at their hands.
Sitting by the campfire, a lizardman and wolf-woman sat across from me. Being interrogated was agonizing; I stared at the ground for a long while.
"What weapon do you mainly use?"
"A slingshot..."
"A slingshot! Primitive! Wild!"
The lizardman slammed his long tail against the ground. The wolf-woman's tail wagged so fast it blurred—what was so exciting?
"If you like ranged attacks, how about a bow?"
"A b-bow hurts my hands..."
"Yes, you're still young for that. Start with a light-draw bow and build up slowly."
Me, learning archery? Why? Confused, I glanced at the girl watching from afar. I knew she was behind this.
'Please stop.'
My pleading eyes drew her over slowly.
"That's enough from both of you."
"A-Already? I still have more questions..."
The wolf-woman's tail drooped. Her blank expression hid nothing—ears and tail gave her away.
"Today is Gyeowol's rest day. She needs to rest well to train hard later."
"Ah... Yes..."
The wolf-woman bowed and stood. The lizardman followed.
"The little chief will come again!"
Thwack! Thwack!
The lizard beastkin whipped nearby trees with his tail. Branches rained down from above. Clearly a side effect of the girl's remodeling—poor thing, his intelligence diminished.
"Ch-Chief? It's not confirmed yet..."
"Eh? Really? But the chief will be an amazing chief!"
"Q-Quiet! Be quiet!"
The wolf-woman dragged the lizard back. As she shrank into the distance, she shouted, "We'll come again tomorrow!"
"Y-Yes...?"
Come tomorrow for what? Why announce everything so loudly? Bewildered, I looked around—then the lizardman bellowed the loudest shout I'd ever heard.
"Chief! From now on, Chief Gyeowol!"
"Ch-Chief...?"
Why was I the chief? Was I the most outstanding among those the girl remodeled? Trembling, I fixed my eyes on her. Maybe she was a monster beyond my imagination.