Witnessing the Protest
"Uh, well…."
The moment I asked the question, I saw those sky-blue eyes begin to tremble. Her ears and tail went stiff. Her shoulders curled inward. Watching those small hands fidget restlessly against my stomach, I hurriedly corrected myself.
"Ah — I don't mean you have to decide right this second…."
At the careful tone of my voice, Cecilia finally seemed to relax a little, letting out a soft breath.
I slowly relayed what I'd been told over the phone.
"A choice after discussion…."
"As things stand, it's more like 'it could go that way.' Nothing's confirmed, but the possibility is there. There's already a precedent with the foster care system."
According to Unho, the school enrollment of otherworlders was, at least officially, mandatory. But "mandatory" wasn't the same as "absolute." Strictly speaking, handing Cecilia over to the police had been mandatory at the time, too. In other words, things could change.
Still….
"Even so — as long as the bare minimum of safety is guaranteed… the decision is yours, Cecilia."
Blindly opposing it wouldn't do any good. Learning common sense, building connections — those were things she'd need eventually anyway. Living in this world meant there was no getting around them. Sooner or later, she would have to learn. I couldn't reject the enrollment system itself as a means to that end.
A brief silence settled between us.
"…If I go to school…."
"Hm?"
After that quiet stretch, Cecilia opened her mouth in a small, thoughtful voice. She paused mid-sentence, as if searching for the right word, then spoke again.
"If I go to school, what would I get out of it?"
What would she get out of it. An easy question, and a hard one.
"Well… knowledge you'd need to get by, for starters. Basic geography, common sense, the law…."
"Like how to earn money, or how to spend it…?"
"Yeah. Exactly."
Cecilia nodded at my answer, then slowly lowered her gaze. A crease formed between her brows. Her ears tensed and quivered. I could see the gears turning.
"…And other than that?"
"Other than that — friends, maybe."
"Friends…."
"That part depends on how much effort you put in. If it's too hard, you don't have to force it. I'm not exactly swimming in friends myself."
I tossed out the self-deprecating remark to lighten the mood a little. Hearing it, Cecilia's expression eased, and she gave a shy little smile.
"Anyway, there's still time. You don't have to decide right away."
"Okay."
"Let's eat. Want some rolled omelet?"
"Okay!"
With that bright reply, I got to my feet. I stretched out my stiff body with a long, satisfying pull, then trudged off toward the kitchen.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"Grab some eggs from the fridge for me. About four."
"Okay, got it."
I washed my hands and set about making breakfast. This morning's side dish was a soft, fluffy rolled omelet.
The soft clatter of computer keys filled the room. Looking this up, checking that. After bouncing between search results, I moved my hand to the mouse. Click, confirm, close. I repeated the process over and over.
"I'm done with the dishes."
The sound of running water that had been flowing in the background cut off with a soft tap. Rubbing a dab of lotion into her still-damp hands, Cecilia padded over to me.
"Another thing I've never seen before. What is this?"
"It's called a laptop. Uh…. …How am I even supposed to explain this."
I wanted to explain it properly, but I couldn't think of the right words. With a wry smile, I moved the mouse. Showing her would probably work better than talking.
"With this, you can look up news articles like so. I figured I'd do a proper information dig."
"That's convenient…."
Her pure, unfiltered reaction left me a little embarrassed. Feeling her curious gaze fluttering in from the side, I slowly closed the laptop.
"Huh? You're not going to look anymore?"
"I've already looked up everything worth looking up. That's enough for now."
It had been a short investigation, but productive enough. As expected, the internet was better for digging up details than TV. Less reliable, sure — but the sheer volume of information was on another level. Now I just needed to verify what I'd found, and the research would more or less be done.
Except….
"So, um…."
"?"
With the closed laptop in front of me, I hesitated for a moment over how best to say this. After turning it over, I decided ordinary was fine and just opened my mouth.
"…I think I need to step out for a bit."
"By yourself?"
I nodded at Cecilia's question. Her gaze dropped faintly as she asked again.
"For how long…?"
"Well, I might not be back until after lunch…."
"Where to?"
"There's a protest that just started nearby, so I was thinking of heading there…."
"…I can't come, can I."
"Probably not, yeah."
With each answer, I watched Cecilia's expression grow just a little more dejected. …This was exactly why I'd been reluctant to bring it up.
"To finish the information gathering?"
"Yeah. This kind of thing is hard to do with just a computer."
"I see. Then… okay. It can't be helped."
Cecilia took a step back and nodded. Her tone was even, her expression more or less ordinary. But the soft ears atop her head drooped limply, all the energy gone out of them. A beastkin trait that was nearly impossible to hide, no matter how hard she tried.
"I'll try to get back as fast as I can. Before lunch, if possible."
"Okay."
"But don't wait around forever. If it gets past one, go ahead and eat without me. There's leftover side dishes from earlier in the fridge. Soup, too."
"Okay."
Being left alone at home wasn't exactly a pleasant experience for most people. Especially when it wasn't a matter of not wanting to go out, but of not being able to — whether you wanted to or not. And for people who got lonely easily, it hit even harder….
…And Cecilia, it seemed, was a textbook case. She was clearly trying to hide it, but her ears and tail had gone completely lifeless. Even her expression had darkened, just a little. A dejected look I'd never seen on her before.
"Don't get too down. I'll be back soon."
"Hm? No, it's not like I—"
Before she could finish, I gently stroked her head.
"…Okay……."
Cecilia closed her eyes and leaned into my hand. A faint purring sound rumbled from her throat. I savored the soft feel of her hair for a moment longer, then pulled my hand away.
"I'm heading out."
"…Come back safe."
Receiving that quiet farewell, I pulled on my coat. I opened the door and stepped outside.
The destination I arrived at could fairly be described as pure chaos.
"Humans!!"
"Humans!!"
"Humaaans!!!"
If I had to compare it to something, it was closer to a cult gathering than anything else. A large park a short distance from home. I'd come here in person — the site of an anti-otherworlder protest. The most accurate way to gauge how dangerous something was, after all, was to see it for yourself.
Of course, I hadn't come to do anything actually dangerous. I just planned to observe from a distance.
"They've got energy, I'll give them that…."
Watching them, I almost felt like an actual cult had been mixed in halfway. Not that it changed the dangerous impression either way. I hadn't planned on approaching them to begin with, and now I was even more certain that keeping my distance was the right call.
A man with a microphone shouting from the center, and the throng of people around him roaring back in fervor. Most of them looked fairly old. There were so many of them, and they were so forceful, that it almost seemed like they'd seized the entire atmosphere of the park….
But before long, I realized that wasn't quite the case.
"Stop this nonsense and go home, old men!!"
"Hear, hear!"
"You're old enough to know better — what the hell are you doing!"
"Let us use the park already!!!"
"What have they even done to deserve this?"
"You lot have never felt how soft an elf's ears are, so of course you don't get it!"
A group of people I privately started calling the pro-otherworlder faction. Some simply hated the protesters' loud racket on principle, while a considerable number genuinely disagreed with the anti-otherworlder stance itself. Both the opposition and the supporters had formed their own camps, packed tight and snarling at each other. It looked like a miniature war.
And here was another surprise — the two sides were roughly equal in numbers.
"What a load of crap! Go take a nap, you old fossils!!"
"What's wrong with being old, huh?!"
"We're trying to use the park, so take your protest somewhere else! Okay?!"
"The masters of Earth are humans! Humans!!"
"You've never even seen an elf in person, have you?!"
It was a complete mess. But even a mess had its own current. I could see the atmosphere gradually sharpening toward a breaking point. Arguments grew fiercer, curses mixed in. Faces flushed red, people began seething with rage they couldn't swallow down.
"You son of a…!"
The tension hit its limit. A few of the more aggressive ones started stripping off their jackets, fists rising — and then….
"Enough, enough! Everyone disperse, disperse!!"
A cluster of police officers appeared out of nowhere and wedged themselves between the two sides, beginning to mediate. Listening more carefully, I could hear the sound of police sirens nearby. They must have been drowned out by all the shouting.
"Officer! We're just—"
"Disperse!!!"
Protester or not, the police gave no one a chance to speak, pushing forward aggressively. It was a familiar sight. I could also see officers hauling away some of the worst offenders — including the protest leader who'd been holding the microphone.
"Hmm…."
It felt a little different from what I'd seen on the news. Right now, it would be a stretch to call this place safe by any measure — but at this rate, maybe by next week….
That was when it happened.
"Hah, huff! Eunhyuk — ahem — you're Eunhyuk, right…?"
A strong hand clamped hard around my wrist. Startled, I turned to look. Two figures in pulled-up hoods were bent over, gasping for breath.
"Could you hide us for a second…?"
From under one of those hoods, a flash of familiar red skin peeked out.