Chapter 9: Broken child.

Chapter 8 – The Broken Child.

“???”

As an adult, I had no memory of holding someone’s hand, except for polite handshakes.

When I was young, I envied children who walked holding their parents’ hands, and when I cautiously asked my parents, what I received in return was the liquor bottle they were drinking from.

I don’t clearly remember being hit that day, but after that, I stopped asking my parents for anything.

But with someone whose name I didn’t even know holding my hand like this, it was hard to explain how I felt.

*Rustle-*

As I tried to get up, the chains on my wrist clinked, making the sleeping woman holding my hand open her eyes.

Her red bob and golden eyes, with a slightly sharp gaze, somehow reminded me of a cat.

She was startled when our eyes met, then cleared her throat and spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Are you awake?”

“…”

“Oh, I’m definitely not a suspicious person, I’m an Association Hunter…”

“Assoc…iation?”

“No, I mean…”

When I tilted my head at the unfamiliar concept of an Association Hunter, the woman looked flustered, clearly nervous to anyone who saw her.

I wondered why she was scrutinizing me, but the warmth of her hand wasn’t bad, so I kept looking at her holding my hand, which made the woman startled and let go.

“I… I’m sorry, I was just holding your hand, wasn’t I?”

“…”

“Still, I will never hurt you or harm you. I hope you can trust me on that.”

“…Understood.”

Hearing my reply, the woman seemed a little relieved and continued speaking.

“First, why don’t we introduce ourselves? My name is Choi Ha-yeon, from the Hunter Association… so, I’m the one who brought you out of that small box this time.”

“I am…”

[This name cannot be used.]

I tried to naturally state my name, but my words suddenly caught in my throat, and a notification window appeared before my eyes.

My original name couldn’t be used?

It was surprising, but honestly, I didn’t feel much emotion.

They said my original name was roughly based on a brand name accidentally written in a trash heap by the people called my parents, so I had no affection or lingering attachment to my name.

Then my name is…

“It’s Eun-wol.”

When I said my game character’s name, the notification window disappeared.

Eun-wol.

It was a game character’s name, but now it had become my real name.

“Eun-wol… that’s your name. It’s a really good name.”

“…”

The woman, Ha-yeon, smiled, seemingly delighted just by hearing my name.

After that, Ha-yeon brought up topics from the weather to animals, perhaps trying to ease the awkward atmosphere or melt my wariness.

Of course, although I looked like a child, my mind was definitely not young, so I showed little interest. Ha-yeon chuckled awkwardly, then let out a small sigh.

“I’m sorry, I should have saved you sooner…”

“…?”

“You must have been scared and hurt, right?”

“…”

What did she mean she saved me?

Was she perhaps saying she saved me from the newbies called the Crow Guild?

No, I wasn’t being bullied; I was just getting to know this world and adapting to this body.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“…Huh?”

In other words, she hadn’t saved me, nor was I in a situation where I needed help, so there was no reason for her to apologize.

But at my answer, her eyes trembled.

“Pe-Perhaps you don’t remember what happened?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“…”

Ha-yeon fell into thought at my reply, then carefully opened her mouth.

“If you’re okay with it, could you tell me what happened? Of-Of course, you don’t have to if it’s too difficult.”

“No problem.”

I explained to her what had happened.

“I accidentally met some people from the Crow Guild. And I was their…”

[Static.]

Just as I was about to say I became their tank, I suddenly thought it would be awkward to use game terminology in reality, so I changed my words.

“I just became their meat shield.”

“…What?”

****

Oh?

Did I mean to say ‘meat shield’?

It seemed I was so used to the nickname ‘meat shield’ that I said it without thinking.

Then Ha-yeon’s face turned pale, and she said,

“Those tra… *ahem*. Did those Crow Guild people force you?”

“No, it’s natural for me to be a shield.”

“Natural!?”

Seeing Ha-yeon’s greatly surprised reaction, it suddenly occurred to me that since I was in the form of a child right now, saying I’d be a shield might be a bit misleading.

It was usually an absurd thing for a child to say, but if she knew my abilities, the misunderstanding would surely be cleared.

“My ability is to take others’ damage… no, I mean, injuries. Instead, it consumes my HP… no, life force?”

“Life force?!”

At my words, Ha-yeon stood up, greatly startled.

It felt a bit awkward trying to rephrase game terms, but I thought I conveyed it reasonably well, so her reaction was quite perplexing.

“You don’t need to worry. It mostly recovers anyway.”

To show proof, I bit my thumb.

As expected, it didn’t hurt that much.

However, it was clearly a very small amount of damage to me, but there was more blood than I expected.

Noticing the dissonance of a game character becoming real, I decided to investigate this dissonance for a while. Just then, Ha-yeon approached, her face pale.

“What are you doing?!”

Ha-yeon was startled and grabbed my injured hand, trying to stop the bleeding, but my wound had already healed.

“Oh? There was clearly a lot of blood, though?”

“…”

“Ah, sorry. Were you very surprised? I was so surprised myself that I unconsciously…”

“Don’t worry about it. Just, from now on, you don’t need to be surprised when I get hurt.”

“…”

As I spoke calmly, Ha-yeon looked at me with a complicated expression, then carefully spoke while holding my hand.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“It’s no problem. I’m used to it.”

“Used… to it?”

Seeing Ha-yeon make a complicated expression again, I felt a question arise and asked.

“Did I say something strange?”

“…!”

At my question, she seemed to realize something and forced a smile, saying,

“No, that’s not it. It’s just…”

“…?”

“Okay, first things first… will you make a promise with me?”

[Quest: Follow the command.]

At her words, a quest window suddenly appeared, and I was flustered.

It was strange enough that a quest window popped up out of nowhere, but it was an odd message with no reward, accept, or decline buttons.

Thinking this might be another dissonance from becoming real, I brushed it off lightly and replied,

“Is it a command?”

“No, no. It’s not a command, it’s a promise.”

Because the quest window said ‘Follow the command,’ I unintentionally said ‘command,’ and her strong reaction made me feel rather burdened.

“Don’t think of hurting yourself as something natural.

****

Finally, the child opened her eyes.

But the child’s condition was more severe than I had imagined.

Her body’s wounds had perfectly healed, but the child’s—Eun-wol’s—heart had not.

“I’m sorry, I should have saved you sooner…”

“…?”

“You must have been scared and hurt, right?”

I had kept regretting neglecting the child, who must have been hurt for even longer because I mistook the box for an artifact. I finally apologized to her, but Eun-wol instead spoke to me as if she couldn’t understand.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“…Huh?”

Eun-wol didn’t understand why I was apologizing.

No, it seemed she found the act of receiving an apology strange in the first place.

“Pe-Perhaps you don’t remember what happened?”

“No, that’s not it.”

I asked if she had lost her memory due to the shock of too much suffering, but she said no and explained what had happened to her.

And then, with her small mouth, she told me, too calmly and naturally,

“I just became their meat shield.”

“…What?”

I instantly doubted my ears and froze.

But remembering I was in front of a child, I continued the conversation to gather information and check her condition.

“Those tra… *ahem*. Did those Crow Guild people force you?”

“No, it’s natural for me to be a shield.”

“Natural!?”

My voice involuntarily rose at her truly thinking it was natural, beyond just being accustomed to the cruel situation of being hurt and becoming a shield.

As I tried to calm my rising anger, I didn’t clearly hear what Eun-wol said next, but the gist of it clearly reached my ears.

“My ability is to take others’…. injuries. Instead, it consumes my… life force…”

“Life force?!”

She spoke of consuming life force as if it were using a consumable item, and I involuntarily stood up.

I knew I shouldn’t react emotionally, as it might startle the child, but Eun-wol’s condition was so shocking that it was hard to calm down.

“You don’t need to worry. It mostly recovers anyway.”

But Eun-wol, seeing my reaction, must have thought I didn’t believe her, and she indifferently bit her small hand.

Her act of naturally harming herself, as if breathing, made my reaction slow, but I quickly tried to stop the bleeding and treat the wound. However, the child’s wound had already completely disappeared.

“From now on, you don’t need to be surprised when I get hurt.”

Eun-wol spoke like a doll with no expression.

Only then did I realize Eun-wol’s true condition.

Such reactions and behaviors couldn’t have been caused by this incident alone.

Clearly, a darker and more painful past had made this small, fragile child this way.

Seeing the chains binding Eun-wol, it was highly probable that she had been subjected to experiments or lived like a s*ave.

She had suffered such deep emotional wounds there that she even considered a promise a command, and her expression was far from that of a child.

I was curious about what had happened, but I didn’t press her.

For now, starting small… very small…

“Don’t think of hurting yourself as something natural.”

It was the moment I resolved to teach the child by her side.