Nowhere to Go
I have nowhere to go...
For some reason, I'd been picked up by this woman who introduced herself as Han Chae-rin. Was this what they called "cat-picking" or whatever? Well, considering she'd picked up me instead of an actual cat, it was pretty far from the real thing. Cat-picking was all about the cat choosing its owner, not the other way around, after all.
But more than that, there were bigger issues. I hadn't exactly been ordinary to begin with—though "ordinary" was a stretch—and I sure as hell hadn't looked like this. I'd been a dark-haired guy, a college student. And with this body, there wasn't much I could even do. I'd just end up a freeloading rice worm, scarfing down food without contributing a thing.
The only skill I had was magic, but what good was that in a world where science—better than magic—had already become everyday life? Why would someone want to take in a useless kid like me? Maybe it was because I looked so young. Even I could tell how I appeared now, no matter how blind I pretended to be. With my face fully exposed, I must've seemed like a plucky orphan kid who'd been scraping by on her own without parents.
Or something like that. Who knew for sure? But whatever. She'd already decided I was coming with her, so she'd handle whatever came next. If anything went wrong from here on out, I could just think to myself, You chose this rice worm. Deal with it through thick and thin.
Honestly, though, I wished someone who could actually feed and raise me would take me in. But she was a cop—probably barely scraping by herself. Was she really going to stretch herself thin just for me? Even I had a minimum shred of conscience. Sure, I called her "sis," but she looked young, like she'd only been on the force a short time. Cops like that didn't make much, which meant she had to be dirt poor, no matter how you sliced it.
Clinging to someone like that didn't sit right. I figured I shouldn't go with her after all. My heart was grateful, but I'd have to pass. I opened my mouth to say so... but no sound came out.
Truth be told, turning down someone this kind—who'd offered to take me in and even reached out her hand without hesitation—was tough for any normal person. For me, someone who hadn't spoken to another soul in a whole year, it was downright impossible.
"U-um... I-I mean... Th-thank you, but..."
I had no clue where to even start explaining my refusal. In the end, my buffering mouth produced nothing.
Sis stared at me blankly for a second, then burst out laughing. Pfft.
Eh? She laughed? Just from that?
Was my fumbling that hilarious? If I kept hesitating like this, would she laugh for me every time? I was seriously pondering my future behavior when Sis, still chuckling, knelt down to meet my eyes.
"No need to refuse. You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Yeah... yeah, I had. Living alone for a whole year wasn't easy by any stretch. Especially not in complete isolation, deep in the mountains with no internet chats or human contact whatsoever. For a modern college kid like me, it was exhausting. Add in the constant anxiety about the dangerous outside world and the fear of someone showing up, and the fatigue doubled. Pile on the resentment of Why me? and before I knew it, tears were spilling out.
And just like that, it hit me. I'd really come back. That sense of reality.
I couldn't bring myself to cling and sob, so I wiped my tears on my sleeve and held it in. Sis panicked at the sight, scolding me softly that I'd dirty my clothes and I shouldn't wipe my eyes like that.
Back when I'd first come down from the mountain, I'd cried from sheer emptiness without a thought. Had my tear glands turned kid-like along with this body? It wasn't even that sad, but the tears kept coming. Sis even pulled me into a comforting hug, saying it'd be okay now, which only deepened my self-loathing.
It wasn't so much She'd hate my real self—though that too—but more a loathing born from knowing myself.
...Screw it. I didn't even know anymore.
Once things settled a bit, I headed back to the mountain, claiming I needed to pack my stuff. Sis tried to stop me, saying I couldn't go, but I couldn't leave behind the potions I'd made or my research notes.
"...?"
Come to think of it, she'd been on the phone with someone since earlier. Who was she calling? I didn't have the guts to ask, so I stayed quiet.
Well, this house was goodbye now. It wasn't full of great memories after a year alone, but I'd grown attached in my own way over that time.
Hmm. Truth be told, the place I'd lived looked less like a house and more like an abandoned ruin. Any normal person would be shocked to hear someone had been living there—it was a total wreck.
I hoped she wouldn't freak out. Ah, we were here.
Pushing through the thick underbrush, a massive house came into view. My familiar home.
"This is it?"
Not anymore, though.
I nodded at her question.
"This is your house?"
Sis muttered with a complicated expression. I tilted my head.
Sure, it looked like a ruin from the outside, but the inside was actually pretty decent. Put a positive spin on it, and it was rustic; negatively, and it was a dump. Still, it was a proper house where I'd survived a whole year.
I strode in confidently and opened the door. It creaked a bit, but not bad, right?
"You really lived here alone?"
I nodded at her question. Why the weird face?
Hm. Maybe she was shocked that a kid like me had survived in a place like this? If I'd been my old self, maybe it'd make sense, but a little girl living solo in a deep-mountain ruin? Yeah, that'd raise eyebrows. Even I wouldn't believe it if someone else told me. No wonder Sis looked like that.
But what could ya do? It was the truth. Even if it was only for a year.
"The inside... is cleaner than I thought?"
Eh, that. No, whatever. She wouldn't know.
Anyway, there wasn't much worth showing off in my "house." Since we were leaving anyway, I wanted to hurry, so I dashed to my room, grabbed one item, and bolted to the warehouse.
Sis looked shocked that I could run like that, asking what was wrong as she followed.
The warehouse was packed with herbs, monster claws—stuff for potions and alchemy. No idea where it all came from, but no one stopped me from using it, so I didn't care. If the owner showed up now, whatever.
Come out or don't. I'd rather they didn't. I couldn't handle that.
"What is all this...?"
Sis was still dumbfounded, wandering the house with a weird, conflicted look.
Maybe I should've ditched her with an "I'll be right back" and packed alone? She'd insisted on coming, and I didn't want to go against the woman taking me in... but now I regretted it.
What if she saw this mess, envisioned my freeloading future, and changed her mind? N-no, that couldn't happen!
In times like this, I had to prove I had some use. That's why I'd grabbed something from my room.
This oughta do it.
I looked down at the small bag in my hands. My number-one treasure from my room. A genuine magic bag.
It didn't hold infinite treasures or anything, but it connected to a massive space—practically bottomless. I'd half-jokingly suggested it could handle loading/unloading with magic, but honestly, this bag alone might solve everything.
A witch handling cargo with magic bags? Great marketing, right? Obviously, I'd said it to make her laugh.
Anyway, the house was full of bizarre magic tools. This bag was the most practical.
It sucked to part with it, but for modern life... yeah, I could let it go without hesitation.
Or so I told myself. My hands were shaking anyway.
"Th-this... um..."
Should I give it or not? I clutched the bag tight with both hands, agonizing.
I couldn't see her face well, but I felt her gaze from above.
"H-here... t-take this..."
Ah, it hurt. This really hurt to give up. But I didn't want to stay here forever...
I closed my eyes and carefully handed it over. The hood hid my face anyway, but I hoped she'd see how serious I was. A witch dead-set on modern life. Man, that stung.
"No, it's okay, Seol-i."
Eh? She pushed back what I'd offered with her palm, soothing me in a reassuring voice.
Had she changed her mind? I looked up. She had a warm expression, told me to wait a sec, and fiddled with her phone.
Curious, I perked my ears—and heard something I never expected.
"Please move all the items in this house."
I might've been wrong about her all along. No normal woman would take in a total stranger kid, no matter how kind she was.
Yeah.
"Uh..."
I gave up thinking as I watched hordes of people swarm my house, carting off everything without a second glance.