Misha Greenwood (1)
After being possessed into this other world, I learned a few hard truths. Jack was poor. He had no friends. The only connections he could claim were a handful of acquaintances from his fan club. As for family… it seemed he had none.
I used that vague phrasing because every memory of his family had been wiped clean, as if by some cruel joke. I knew almost everything about Jack, yet his childhood simply did not exist—like a restricted zone that had never been there at all. So I concluded he had been a complete orphan.
“Well… that doesn’t really matter. I’m not exactly the social type myself, anyway.”
A cabin no one ever visited. That was my place. With nothing to eat and no money, I was living off the land. Luckily the nearby stream was full of fish, so as long as I cast a line I never had to worry about going hungry.
“Catching and eating the fish myself tastes amazing. Man… a quiet life of simple contentment isn’t half bad. If it weren’t for Walpurgis Night, I could probably keep living like this forever.”
Right. Walpurgis Night. I had to leave the Academy before that disaster hit. There was the option of hunting down Runes and growing stronger, but that would mean snatching the power-ups meant for the protagonist and wrecking the original story. I hated that idea too. So I decided the simplest path was to cause enough trouble to get myself expelled.
“That’s the easiest way. After all, an academy in a novel is basically a battlefield where chaos is guaranteed to break out.”
My plan was straightforward: just stop showing up. Enough absences and any school would kick you out. In other words, I was aiming for academic probation and eventual expulsion.
“Until they throw me out, I can just keep fishing and living like this.”
Dozens of days had passed since the possession. I had spent them alone in the cabin, doing nothing but eating. It wasn’t bad… but it was starting to get boring. Especially the food situation. Fish and the occasional bit of hunted meat weren’t enough. I needed variety.
“Maybe I should head to the market. Eating the same thing every day is getting old.”
I had no money, so I filled a basket with the fish I’d caught, hoping for barter. My steps toward the market felt light. Walpurgis Night was still far off, and I already had an escape plan. Avoid that one catastrophe and there was nothing left in this world for me to worry about. I could just drift along and enjoy the quiet life. No goals, no stress. Maybe it was even better than Korea.
“Thinking about useless things is a waste of time.”
Like how to get back home. That was a dead end. Once you get possessed, that’s usually the end of the story. I’d never read a novel where the guy returned. I was probably the same.
“Let’s just find something to eat.”
Even the finest scenery is best after a meal. Once I reached the market I started carefully eyeing the food stalls. Plenty of things looked delicious.
“Mister, how about trading this for some fish?”
“Huh? What’re you—oh, it’s Jack.”
“You know me?”
“Is there anyone around here who doesn’t? Not chasing after girls today?”
“I quit that. Trying to live quietly now. So… any interest in a trade?”
“We only take cash.”
“That so?”
It wasn’t just that stall. Almost no merchant would accept barter. The moment they saw me they treated me like a peddler and shooed me away. In the end I sat on a nearby railing, looked up at the sky, and sighed.
“Guess it’s the same everywhere. No money, no respect.”
Then I spotted someone getting even less respect than me. A girl with both hands bound by rope… no, an elf. A ragged elf was being dragged along by a middle-aged man, flinching under the crack of a whip.
“Damn it! You useless, stupid thing!”
“I-I’m sorry, Master!! Please stop hitting me!”
“You’re the one making me hit you! Idiot! How can you not even run a simple errand without bothering me? Nothing goes right because of you! If you’re going to make me suffer this much, just die already! Die!”
“Ahh… Master… but I haven’t eaten anything for three months… I have no strength left…”
“That’s your excuse? You elves don’t even need to eat!”
“That’s only when the World Tree is nearby. Without its blessing we have to take in nutrition from food just like humans.”
“That damn World Tree again! Always with the excuses! Want to die right here? Die and go to the World Tree? You lot believe you gather at its side when you die, right? Fine, I’ll kill you myself! Take this!”
“Ahh… it hurts…”
The brutal beating continued. Passersby either watched with amusement or cast pitying glances and moved on. I was watching the scene like it had nothing to do with me—until my eyes met the elf’s. Even while being whipped, the nameless elf stared at me intently, as if she had just spotted a rare unicorn. Maybe that gaze pulled me in. Before I knew it I was walking toward them. The elf’s owner noticed me and spoke.
“What do you want?”
“That’s enough. The elf looks exhausted. No need to torment her that badly.”
“What? This is education! Education! You know how arrogant and stuck-up elves are! If you don’t beat it into them they keep climbing all over you! And this worthless elf is completely useless! I’d hand her off to anyone if I could!”
“Then just set her free.”
“You don’t know? Every elf has to have an owner! Releasing one without permission is a crime!”
“Ah, I didn’t know that. Then I’ll take her off your hands. That work?”
“What…? For real? W-well, if you’re willing, fine by me. But be careful. That elf… she brings misfortune wherever she goes.”
The middle-aged man tossed the whip aside with the look of someone who had finally rid himself of a bothersome growth, then fled at high speed as if afraid I might change my mind. The elf whose owner had suddenly switched trembled like a leaf in the wind.
“Uuuu… uuuu…”
“Stop shaking and eat this.”
“What… is this?”
“Fish I caught. Just eat. You said you were hungry.”
“I-I can really eat it? There’s no poison, and you won’t kick me in the stomach after I finish or anything, right?”
“No, so just eat.”
“Ah… b-but elves don’t accept meaningless kindness…”
Yeah, they really were an arrogant race. Even in this state she was fretting over elf pride. Kind of impressive, actually. But the way she was drooling told me that pride wouldn’t last long.
“I said eat.”
“Th-then… I’ll eat! Refusing kindness isn’t the true way of an elf either!”
The elf grabbed a fish from the basket and tore into it with practiced ease. Watching her devour the raw thing like it was delicious made me hungry too. Could you even call that sushi? Well… I’d heard somewhere that elves were so nature-attuned they often ate food raw without cooking it.
“Nom nom nom. Ah, it’s so good.”
“Eat slowly. I’m not going to snatch it away.”
“Yes… b-but.”
“What?”
“W-why are you being so nice to me? In my experience, people who show excessive kindness usually have an ulterior motive… W-what’s yours?”
“Ah… that? Nothing big.”
I scratched my head as I answered.
“I told a little lie recently. Said I got a girlfriend. Just in case someone demands proof—like ‘If you really have a girlfriend, show her’—I need someone to play the part for a bit. If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“Eeeek! You’re not hoping that after we pretend to be a couple we’ll gradually get closer and end up as a real couple, are you?!”
“No! Why is your delusion so detailed? It’s creeping me out!”
“I’m sorry! Honestly, you’re not my type!”
“You’re not my type either, big-eared elf! Enough with the fantasies!”
She had a surprisingly airheaded side.
Hmm… but calling her “elf” all the time felt awkward.
“Right, what’s your name? For the record, I’m Jack Slave.”
“Ah, I’m Misha Greenwood. Please call me Misha.”
“Hmm… Misha. Got it. Then let me ask you something, Misha.”
“Yes? Wh-what is it?”
“Earlier. Why were you staring at me the whole time? When that guy was beating you. You looked at me like you’d found a unicorn. Why?”
“Huh…? D-did I do that??”
“Don’t play dumb. I’m pretty sharp about that kind of thing. Honestly, that’s what made me step in and save you.”
“Umm… w-well, how could I not stare?”
“Why?”
Misha glanced sideways at me, stumbling over her words.
“It’s… distracting, you know?”
“What’s distracting?”
“When I see someone whose soul and body are mixed so unevenly…”
“…What?”
“You. You said you’re Jack Slave, right? But you’re not really Jack Slave, are you? You’re some completely different person who took over Jack Slave’s body.”
“…………..”
“I can tell just by looking.”
Misha’s blue eyes shone with a clear, luminous light.
Those eyes were seeing straight through to the truth.