"You tell me to do this, to do that."
Yes.
I'll gladly become what you want.
===============================================================
"...I think that's enough investigating."
Tap tap. As you lightly dusted your palms, the dust on your fingertips fell away. This was the result of searching around the house for photo albums and diaries. Your nose tickled a bit.
The 11-year-old girl "Kim Gong-nyeo" was a child from a single-parent household with only a father. What's more, her father often traveled away for work, so she rarely saw his face.
Fortunately, the family had plenty of money, so she wanted for nothing. A housekeeper visited to take care of meals and cleaning, so Kim Gong-nyeo simply had to exist in this large traditional Korean house.
That was all. This wasn't a world where goblins or ogres appeared, nor was it a situation where people had to point swords at each other. Nothing special.
In other words.
"...Really, I don't have to do anything at all...?"
That's right.
Even though you had entered the body of a child named "Kim Gong-nyeo," her father was away on business in a foreign country, so there was no immediate need to explain the transformation.
Moreover, children's personalities often change, so a slight change wouldn't seem that strange.
From the beginning, this was a kind of illusion like "Gate Ascension." A fake world created for rest. There wasn't any dark, frightening story about destroying the soul of the child "Kim Gong-nyeo" and taking her place.
You could somehow intuitively "know" that part. As if the memory had naturally been engraved in your mind. This body of "Kim Gong-nyeo" was undisputedly yours.
So all that remained was lightness.
You rested your chin on your small hand, lost in thought. You didn't need to do anything. This sentence felt so complex and difficult.
Humans are creatures who feel anxious when their environment changes. Despite having obtained the rest you so desired, you were too accustomed to the speed at which you had been rushing forward until now. Honestly, you felt uneasy.
It felt like riding a bicycle that was losing momentum. As the wheels slow down, the bicycle wobbles, and it becomes difficult to maintain balance. What if you fall?
What if someone comes to take you away?
Or what if there's suddenly a magical explosion terrorist attack while you're off guard?
You trembled with habitual anxiety and curled up. Ah. Perhaps you're the type of person who can't rest. Yes. How could resting even be possible? Some duties can never be escaped—
......
Three hours later.
Whirr whirr whirr.
"Aaaah—"
You opened your mouth wide and made an "ah" sound at the electric fan. When your voice met the rotating blades, it made a strange sound that was fun.
On the wooden floor, there were no less than three empty ice cream wrappers rolling around. What's more, you... after looking around briefly, you even stuck your hand under your tank top and scratched your belly!
Ooh, that feels good.
Yes. Why wouldn't you be able to escape? You quickly adapted and were now enjoying this leisurely pace.
At the Redburn estate, you couldn't do this even in your private room. Someone might suddenly enter to deliver news. Then rumors would instantly spread that "Princess Baek-ryeom was scratching her belly in her room."
The power of words can elevate an unremarkable person to represent nobility, but bringing someone down from high to low is at least ten times easier.
But here it's different. Nobody knows you. Even if you commit the eccentricity of opening two popsicles at once, it's fine.
"...Good, good. Then let's try for a new record."
Perhaps three might be possible. If you conquered shark flavor, watermelon flavor, and melon flavor simultaneously, what kind of harmony would occur in your mouth? The thought made your heart beat a little faster.
There was even a sense of transgression. Thump thump.
You bravely unwrapped the ice cream packaging. And boldly put them all in your mouth at once. Your cheeks puffed up like a hamster's in an instant. It was very cold, but eventually this coldness would surrender to the warm body temperature of a child...
You looked in the mirror. You laughed at your reflection. There might be dozens of portraits of your younger self in the real Duke's mansion, but certainly none showing such a funny face. Obviously.
That's when it happened.
Someone strode into the house and called out to you!
"Gong-nyeo! Kim Gong-nyeo! What are you doing not coming to school..."
"...Ueh? Uaaaueh."
You tried to say, "W-who are you to intrude into my residence!" but with a mouth full of ice cream, you couldn't produce such elaborate pronunciation.
The intruder was an adult woman wearing horn-rimmed glasses. Usually horn-rimmed glasses make one's impression sharper, but she looked so gentle and plain that her innocence came through despite them.
She saw the scattered wrappers of debauchery and opened her eyes wide.
"...Eating so much ice cream at once will give you a stomachache! You're doing this again. Come to school quickly. If we go now, it can be marked as late instead of absent. It's still before lunchtime!"
"Ueeeh?"
Who are you? And school already?
The academy entrance age was typically around 15, when close combat became possible—that was the standard rule. But in this world, do you have to go to academy from such a young age?
Such questions were only possible when your mouth was clear, so you had no choice but to be taken away by this mysterious woman. She put you on the back of her bicycle and headed somewhere.
Was this really a trap set by a mad magician? Does a healing life of playing and eating all day not exist?
Do I have to go to the academy again even though I've already graduated?!
-.
Fortunately, that wasn't the case. School was different from the academy.
"Today we'll learn about angle measurements. There are right angles, acute angles, and obtuse angles. An angle less than 90 degrees is called an acute angle..."
Lectures that might be slightly difficult for young children, and.
"Pass the note sideways."
"Who keeps throwing erasers? You're dead."
"Is that comic book interesting...?"
About half the children weren't paying attention to the class at all and were just focused on playing.
Realizing this was also an extension of peaceful daily life, you held your three finished ice cream sticks and let out a sigh of relief.
===============================================================
You took back your sigh of relief.
"Doesn't Gong-nyeo seem a bit different?"
"She does seem strangely well-behaved."
"I heard she skipped school again today and got caught by Teacher Suji. So isn't she the same as usual?"
Those children. Those young children. The sparkling, curious gazes of friends gathered in small groups observing "Kim Gong-nyeo" pierced you painfully. It seemed they knew you.
Yes. You had a "past."
The child "Kim Gong-nyeo" had a record of attending school and being active, and her friends seemed to recognize you. You weren't an outsider who had suddenly appeared, but a proper member of this community.
In the case of her father, it was fine because they rarely saw each other and were far apart, but the friends "Kim Gong-nyeo" met every day at school responded sensitively to your transformation.
A new worry had arisen. What if they find out...?
When you accepted new farmers into your territory, you were quite strict in your screening. Who knows if the person entering might be a dark mage hiding their identity?
Whatever this fake world might be, people wouldn't welcome someone they knew until yesterday suddenly changing.
You imagined a dark and grim future. The villagers would tie you up, hang you from a wooden pillar, and set fire to it. And they would shout like this: "Purify the outsider!"
First, first.
You straightened your back and picked up a textbook. And you bought time to think by pretending to read. If you pretended to concentrate, they wouldn't bother you.
Should you act?
Yes, act. There would be no problem if you lived up to what these little kids expected of you. If you just showed them exactly what they thought you should be.
As that thought occurred to you, your head started to ache slightly. It was something you'd been doing all along, but it still felt like a weight on your shoulders.
If others tell you to become someone else...
Snatch!
"Taking your book! Nyah!"
"...Huh?"
What the.
The hand holding the textbook was empty. Surprised, you looked around to see a boy with a buzz cut who had stolen your science textbook and was now taking cover behind the teacher's desk.
This was a situation you had never experienced before.
What kind of crazy kid would steal something belonging to the precious daughter of a ducal family? So it would be fair to say this was a first in your life. Being pranked like this.
The feeling is... not very good. You unconsciously furrowed your brow. It was not only rude, but that expression!
The buzz-cut boy said with a sly smile:
"If you want it back, say 'please give it back'!"
"...Please give it back."
"Nope~ Not giving it back~"
"......"
A surge of anger.
You suppressed the anger that welled up. Because your opponent was a child. A kid. And you were an adult who had aged considerably. Moreover, you were a noble and a princess.
Such problems should be left to the administrator. Yes, to the person in the position of teacher. You should just let it go with a deep sigh...
But in this harsh jungle of elementary school, non-response is tantamount to advertising your weakness. The mischievous boy's pranks continued in succession.
Snatch!
"Taking your pencil case!"
He took your writing tools.
Snatch!
"Taking your bag!"
He took your bag too.
By the time you were starting to wonder if this was a school or a thief training center, during the next class period, as a boring history teacher continued the lesson, the girl sitting next to you whispered:
"Um, Gong-nyeo."
"...What, what is it? I mean, what's up?"
"Are you going through puberty...?"
"...Huh?"
The girl next to you had shaggy bangs that came down to her nose, covering her eyes, and she seemed shy. She fidgeted while watching your reaction, then whispered:
"When puberty comes... they say you change a lot. Since Gong-nyeo suddenly became well-behav— I mean, quiet, I was wondering if puberty had come..."
"......"
Puberty?
The answer was in that word. A bell rang in your head.
Yes. When going through puberty, personalities sometimes change 180 degrees with the wind of storm and stress. Then, then...?
You could act as you pleased without arousing suspicion.
And. This wasn't the Empire, and you weren't yourself. Your appearance was that of an 11-year-old little girl. Acting as you pleased would be somewhat tolerated. And even if rumors spread, they wouldn't negatively affect the real you.
You wouldn't disappoint others either.
Then. If that's the case—
"Taking your indoor shoes ba— Ugh!"
"Got you."
Crunch.
During the next break, you successfully grabbed the wrist of the buzz-cut boy as he attempted another crime. And with a smooth connecting motion, you put him in an arm lock.
The buzz-cut boy tapped the floor to signal surrender, but.
"I'll, I'll give it back! I'll give it back! Aaaah!"
"No. No, you keep it. I'll give you everything— Just scream a little more! Louder!"
"Uwaaaaaaaah!"
......
Yes.
Perhaps you, pressed down by noble education, heavy sense of duty, and the gaze of expectations, had not realized until now. But actually, well.
You might have had a somewhat fiery personality.
"Pass! Pass the ball!"
"A pass from that angle is a bit..."
"Give me the ball-!!"
Whether by coincidence or not, your personality when you started acting as you pleased—showed a considerable match rate with "Kim Gong-nyeo" from before your arrival.
Your arbitrary choice actually removed one worry. You had become the perfect Kim Gong-nyeo.
A sense of liberation.
You played honestly according to the flow of emotions and adapted quickly. You collected the hair roots of boys who played pranks on girls, and completely conquered the Sunshine Class.
The students trembled in fear and whispered.
The tyrant of elementary school had returned in just one day.
===============================================================
The girl sitting next to you was named Young-hee.
Having helped with your "awakening," you quickly became friends with her. You stuck together, eating lunch together, borrowing each other's supplies, or being in the same group during science experiments.
Young-hee was shy but kind, and had a somewhat quirky side.
"Gong-nyeo, look... there's a cat. Meow."
"I don't think it understands when you talk to it."
"If you speak with your heart, animals can understand..."
Like meowing along with a black cat encountered on the way home from school. That kind of childlike innocence softened your heart.
Also, from a noblesse oblige perspective, you wanted to be friends with her.
Young-hee was somewhat of an outsider in class due to her quietness. She wasn't being bullied, but when she needed to speak up, she would go "Ah, um, well, I... never mind." and close her mouth.
She was the type of child who couldn't express her opinion unless an outgoing kid performed the "Young-hee has something to say!!" move for her.
So you, Kim Gong-nyeo, often spoke up for her. A human amplifier, you might say. With your commands as the terror of Sunshine Class, mountains and rivers would bow—
Anyway, that was your relationship.
You were gradually adapting to the life of a child. No, perhaps it fit your heart as if you had been a baby all along. Each day was so fun and happy.
Running around beating boys with tree branches, playing soccer with friends, opening negotiation tables with the lunch duty person over a piece of chicken nugget.
If someone asked whether a grown woman in her mid-twenties wasn't embarrassed to play with little kids...
Honestly, sometimes uncontrollable embarrassment would suddenly surge, but what did it matter? Nobody knew that fact. The fact that an age-doubling event was happening inside Kim Gong-nyeo was a secret known only to heaven and herself.
If no one finds out, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. You glossed over it like that.
Then one day, Young-hee whispered in a secluded, deserted place:
"Um, Gong-nyeo... do you want to be secret friends with me?"
"...? What exactly is a secret friend...?"
"Friends who... share secrets. This is something you can't tell your mom, dad, or teachers..."
"Ah."
You understood immediately. Young-hee must have something she wants to show off.
"Today, after school... come secretly through the back gate. You have to come secretly, okay? You understand...?"
"Sure."
A secret.
Children's secrets are predictable. For example, finding and hiding a pretty-shaped pebble. Or discovering a tree hole where a squirrel family lives.
Young-hee was a child who liked to look for various ghost stories and creepy tales in the school library. Maybe she had picked up something like a talisman fallen in the mountains.
Without much thought, you followed Young-hee up the mountain path.
She kept looking around nervously, repeatedly cautioning that the secret must be absolutely kept, as she followed a faded trail. It was a path, but one that people didn't seem to use often.
And at the end—
"......"
You felt mana.
===============================================================
A dilapidated building emerges from among the bushes, showing signs of neglect. This appears to be a shrine (ç¥å ) where some entity was enshrined.
But this one is real.
You saw a whitish animal shadow beyond the sliding door of the old building. The fluctuating mana is unrefined and rough, with a streak of foul smell mixed in.
This world was one that treated monsters and mana as complete fiction. The mana in the atmosphere was practically non-existent. You thought such things didn't exist here.
But apparently they did. And if they did, it was dangerous.
"Young-hee, step back and hide behind me."
"...Huh?"
"There's something there. Don't be surprised, just calmly come back. Now!"
"Uh, uhh...? N-no..."
Clatter.
Clatter clatter.
The sliding door begins to shake. It didn't seem like a very strong force, but you weren't in perfect condition either. Without atmospheric mana, using magic as you would outside was impossible.
In this situation... the vision born from a mad magician, the power that can compensate for non-existent mana with emotions. Only "Ascension Manifest" would be effective.
But your proficiency with Ascension Manifest was limited. No matter how much you practiced, your skill level hardly increased, so you were just at the entry level. Whether you could repel that entity with this...
"Um, well... that..."
No. You must succeed. You have to protect your friend, don't you? You took a deep breath and prepared for battle, tense. Soon, clatter clatter clatter!
Just before the sliding door opened, you prepared for a preemptive strike—
Slap.
At that moment, Young-hee blocked your way and shouted with a face that looked like she might cry:
"...Friend! Gong-nyeo, w-we are friends! It's a kind divine spirit! So stop!"
"...Huh?"
"What a hot-tempered girl child. Yes, I'm different from those harmful creatures. So stop making a fuss and sit down."
Bang!
The sliding door opened completely. And what appeared beyond it was— twitch, softly shaking fox ears.
Snow-white hair, fox ears attached above the hair, and a fox tail sticking out from under a hanbok skirt. In terms of your worldview, it would be comparable to a fox beastkin, but the sensation felt closer to a spirit realm monster.
She rested her chin on her crossed legs and said to you:
"I am Miho. The fox deity protecting this neighborhood."
"...Yes! Yes! The divine spirit is, a very kind person. A very powerful person. Friend! Friend!"
"......"
But she seems more like an undead, so isn't she an enemy...?
As you wavered, unable to determine friend or foe, the fox deity Miho narrowed her eyes and questioned you:
"If anything, I should be the one suspicious. How did our Young-hee end up befriending a child like you?"
"What?"
"You, a grown woman, why are you sitting inside a little one's body?"
"...?!"
Like being struck by lightning.
You've been caught.