Actually, It's Not Dangerous!
In the end, I couldn't hold back my tears and burst out crying right in front of the police. Here I was, a guy who'd lived for over twenty years, throwing away even my pride and sobbing like a baby all alone...
Why cry over something like that? I'd decided all on my own that this was some other world, convinced myself it was too dangerous to step outside, and holed up in that house for a whole year, living in lonely isolation. But now it turns out it's exactly the world I knew—how could I not explode with pent-up frustration? If I could, I'd go back in time and give my past self a good thrashing.
Sure, it was my fault for jumping to conclusions about isekai and all that, but come on—using magic in the modern world? That doesn't make any sense. Plus, I respawned deep in the mountains, so just peeking out a little wasn't enough to see the outside world. I had no choice but to assume the worst.
Five minutes after being dragged away by the police while half out of my mind with tears, I'd somehow stopped crying and was stuffing my face with the delicious food they'd given me. Delicious, that is, if you count the small triangle kimbap a young officer had grabbed in a hurry from the convenience store after I said I was hungry.
But that triangle kimbap was more than enough to stop my tears. Forget my original goal of securing food supplies—those tasteless scraps I'd been making. This kimbap they gave me was way better. After starving for so long without anything tasty, I wolfed it down without a care for the stares around me.
But man, it's so good... Proper food after a whole year...
"Um... kiddo?"
Hm? Still mid-bite into the kimbap, I turned toward the voice calling me. A middle-aged man with an awkward expression was bending down slightly, smiling as he looked at me.
"Do you happen to know your parents' phone number?"
Parents? Parents... Nope, don't have any.
Oh, right—I'm in my witch outfit. Guess they don't think it's too weird? With the hood back on, it's not super visible, but it could peek out. Luckily, he doesn't seem too bothered. If I'd brought a pointy hat instead, they might've thought I was cosplaying.
But should I answer properly? Uh... words aren't coming out.
After a moment's hesitation, I shook my head instead. No parents—that much is true, at least. Casually, I popped more kimbap into my mouth.
The police knew their stuff, though—they'd warmed it up in the microwave just right: not too hot, nicely warm, with the rice grains still fluffy and alive. Every chew sent those grains popping like fireworks all over my mouth.
This is the pinnacle...!This is why people live.
"Ahem, sorry to keep interrupting, kiddo."
?
Why call again?
"Do you live with anyone?"
I shook my head again. Not like I know a single soul.
Oh! If I say I have no ID, maybe they'll make me one? They wouldn't think I'm some illegal immigrant and throw me in jail, right? I look pretty young—surely not jail.
At first, I thought dragging a crying mess like me here might be risky, but when I said I was hungry, they fed me and worried about me. Is this what human kindness is?
Made me feel oddly good. Well, yeah—I'm a Republic of Korea citizen, after all. Even if I don't know the details right now.
Anyway, running away wouldn't do me any favors, so I'll stay put. Unless they try to arrest me—then I'll use magic and bolt. No money, no connections, but jail? No thanks.
Why'd they bring me here, though? Makes sense for police to take me to the station, I guess. They even asked for my parents' number. Obviously, no parents, so I said no.
After hearing my answer, the police disappeared into the room beyond. Not being a cop myself, no clue what they're up to. Sending me to an orphanage or something?
"Orphanage...?"
Ugh, no thanks. I was originally from here, so I want citizenship, but that means doing whatever they say, right? Ah, head hurts.
Maybe step out for some air. Glancing sideways, the man was chuckling at his phone. I can sneak past him. A simple perception-blocking spell should do it.
……
"Haa... what do we do?"
The young male officer sighed, thinking of the kid in the room.
They'd gotten a tip about a suspicious person, so they went to check. Sure enough, there was someone tiny—really tiny—wrapped head to toe in some cloak or hood. Couldn't just ignore a report like that, so they asked her to come along, and suddenly sobbing came from inside.
Thinking maybe a woman, they called the female officer to remove the hood—and there was a little girl bawling her eyes out. She looked unkempt, unmanaged, with an old hood, so they hadn't realized at first. Looked like elementary school age, so they rushed her to the station.
This was getting complicated.
"No relatives, lived alone... does that even make sense...?"
She's just a kid. No way she survived alone.
"She was eating it like it was the best thing ever, though."
The female officer spoke pityingly. The kid had said she was hungry and started crying again, so they dashed out for triangle kimbap. She stopped crying the second she saw it and devoured it like a feast. Combined with her neglected appearance, it was heartbreaking.
"Abuse, maybe?"
Not something to say lightly. Sure, unknowns had been popping up lately. It hadn't been long since the "gates" started opening, spawning monsters. In the early chaos, tons of people vanished.
Years later, stability returned, people got used to awakeners, and the missing started coming back one by one—often as awakeners themselves or with weird powers.
But this kid was blatantly off.
"One of those from back then? But..."
She clearly knew she had no parents and had lived alone all this time. Weird outfit aside, no strange powers, no memory loss.
"Regardless of who she is, we can't just let her go out there."
The middle-aged man sighed. She was young, no ties. Couldn't just send her off like that in good conscience. If she had someone to go to, easy—but no. And none of them could raise her till she was independent, even if they housed her a night or two.
"Haa... this is messy..."
Poor kid. No way she'd survived alone, and she knew for sure she had no parents. Hopefully "parents not here" meant "not around right now," but she'd said definitively "none," so probably not.
"This is beyond us. We need to check her identity first."
"What if she has none?"
"No way parents are that awful..."
Not reporting a kid missing till now? Unthinkable. If true, the internet would explode.
The man grimaced bitterly.
"For now, give her whatever she wants..."
"B-big trouble!"
The woman who'd gone to check on the kid burst in, frantic.
"What happened?"
"The kid's gone!"
Forgetting to catch her breath, she shouted. Vanished in that short time. But wasn't someone watching her?
"S-sorry! I looked away for a second, and poof—gone..."
"You idiot!"
The man smacked the young officer who'd followed late, then stood up. Didn't know where, but had to find her fast. Leave her be, who knows what could happen. Could be disastrous.
Sure, stability now, Korea's safety decent—but that's on main streets. A little kid alone, no parents? Disaster waiting.
"Find her quick! If you don't, you're all dead meat!"
Finding her first—deal with the rest later.