It was a hazy world.
In a world that might have been a dream, I was catching horned rabbits.
One horned rabbit could be dealt with, with my life on the line.
Two meant I had to run away on the spot, and with three, survival was uncertain.
And that day, I was being chased by five horned rabbits.
It was because I had inadvertently disturbed their burrow under a tree.
The horned rabbits were small, but they moved on all fours.
I couldn't escape them with the running speed of an ordinary human.
To survive, I had to roll on the ground the moment they thrust their horns.
Gasp!
As always, I rolled on the ground as I saw a horned rabbit charging at me.
The chasing horned rabbits were scary, but what was more terrifying was the mockery of people who just watched me.
— In all my life, I've never seen someone being chased by a horned rabbit.
— Are they mentally unstable?
Giggle
I wanted to cover my ears from the blatant laughter, but I couldn't in the midst of fleeing.
It was embarrassing, but to survive, I had to seek the help of someone strong.
The person I sought that day was Choi Jinhyuk, a burly man managing the hunting grounds.
— Pant! Pant!
— Please save me just this once.
With desperation, I ran towards Choi Jinhyuk.
However, what approached me was his cold gaze.
— Ah, this is crazy...
I reached out for help but then stopped in my tracks.
Suddenly, the thought of dying crossed my mind.
Why must I live like this?
With that question, I opened my eyes.
"Uh..."
It was a dark room.
Relief washed over me as I saw Sophia sleeping soundly next to me.
'Thank goodness.'
It was a dream.
I placed my hand over my chest to calm my pounding heart, then realized.
The current situation was far better than when I was alone hunting horned rabbits.
I should be a little kinder to Yeoreum from now on.
With that resolution, I was about to close my eyes again when I heard rustling sounds inside the tent.
'Huh?'
Someone was rummaging through the tent.
The footsteps were heavy; it definitely wasn't Yeoreum.
Could it be a thief?
I wanted to wake Sophia, but once she fell asleep, she wouldn't wake up easily.
It seemed better to handle this on my own.
I cautiously tried to open the container's door, but the rusty door made a creaking sound.
Creeeak-
The metallic sound echoed strangely in the darkness.
Realizing this, the intruder inside the tent held their breath.
This was definitely a thief.
I grabbed my bow and arrows and quickly went outside, and at that moment, someone ran out of the tent into the darkness.
The nearby street lights were all turned off for sleep, but thanks to the exceptional eyesight of the beast-kin, I could see the figure completely.
'...Who is that?'
It was a man I had never seen before.
In his hand, he held my clothes that I had mended yesterday with thread and tape.
"My clothes–!"
Why would such a well-groomed person resort to theft?
I reflexively aimed my bow at him, but I had no real intention of shooting.
Even if he was a thief, I didn't want to shoot an arrow at a person.
Realizing I had no intention of attacking, he started to flee into the distance.
Maybe he didn't see my bow due to poor eyesight.
"St–stop right there—!"
I ran after him with my bow in hand.
Normally, I should have been faster, but the dozens of arrows rattling behind me with every step prevented me from closing the gap.
The bow I was holding was also quite heavy.
"Give me back my clothes—!"
The distance between us grew.
I thought about abandoning the bow to chase him, but without it, I had no means to confront him.
In this situation of neither here nor there, the thief was getting further away.
Feeling it was all hopeless as I just watched his retreating figure, a burly man suddenly appeared and blocked the thief's path.
Thump-!
The fleeing man, unable to stop his momentum, collided with the burly man.
The man who appeared suddenly was Choi Jinhyuk.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Choi Jinhyuk grabbed the thief by the collar with one hand and lifted him up.
His immense strength rooted me to the spot for a moment, then I cautiously approached Choi Jinhyuk.
"My–my clothes were stolen..."
"Here."
As Choi Jinhyuk squeezed the thief's hand, the latter screamed and dropped the clothes.
I quickly picked up my clothes and took a step back.
It was because of his intimidating demeanor in my dream.
"I heard someone had their clothes stolen, looks like this guy was the culprit."
Grrr-
Annoyed by the groaning thief, Choi Jinhyuk grabbed his face with his large palm.
The thief dangled helplessly in his grip, looking somewhat pitiful.
Well, people in this world probably wouldn't die from that.
"By the way, why are you here at night?"
"...I was on duty."
"Ah..."
Even great adventurers like Choi Jinhyuk take turns standing guard.
I nodded and stood there blankly.
Unsure of what else to say.
"This guy will be taken care of by the guild, go back and sleep. It's still night."
"Thank you for your help."
"Yeah. There won't be any more danger, so don't worry and get some rest."
"Alright..."
I nodded gratefully to him and headed back to the container.
Maybe Choi Jinhyuk, like me, is also trying to become a better person.
Otherwise, there was no reason for him to help me like this.
'Everyone wants to become a better person.'
Realizing this, the Choi Jinhyuk from my dream no longer bothered me.
✧✧✧✧✧
The next morning.
Stretching and rising from the mattress, I noticed someone's presence near the container.
"Hmm..."
The distinctive, cautious footsteps were familiar.
It must be Yeoreum.
I rubbed my eyes and walked out of the container.
"You're here..."
"Oh, did Gyeoul wake up?"
Yeoreum approached me, holding a coffee in one hand.
I admired her diligence for being up and about so early in the morning.
"You came early this morning."
"Yeah. I heard about the thief at Gyeoul's place yesterday. So, I came early."
"Ah."
I wondered what had happened to that thief.
Looking involuntarily towards the tent, Yeoreum tapped my shoulder.
"Here, this is what the thief stole from Gyeoul."
"Oh!"
It was the outfit I treasured the most.
I hastily took the clothes from her and held them up to the rising sun.
'Thank goodness.'
There were no tears or additional dirt.
It was just as I remembered it.
Though I thought I had let go of my attachment, seeing it again made me unexpectedly happy.
"I got everything back from the thief last night. I did well, right?"
"Yes, thank you. But why did that person steal my clothes? They aren't even clean."
"...Well, he was trying to sell them."
The thought of selling these dirty clothes was shocking.
"Why would anyone buy such dirty clothes?"
"Well, hehe..."
Yeoreum showed an awkward smile.
I understood it was something she couldn't tell me.
'Surely it's not what I'm thinking?'
No way.
It couldn't be.
My body is that of a child, it's as flat as a board, there's no flesh of a mature woman anywhere.
I shook my head, trying to dismiss the suspicion, but doubt lingered.
"Maybe that person was a pervert."
"...Where did you learn such a word?"
"I just know...?"
Isn't it a word that's not too difficult to learn?
Looking up at Yeoreum, confused, she patted my shoulder.
"Beast-kin are rare, so it seems things like their clothes can be sold at high prices."
"The clothes?"
I looked down reflexively at what I was wearing.
How much could it possibly be sold for, to make it worth stealing?
My curiosity was piqued.
"Just to be clear, you shouldn't sell them, okay? Bad people might use them for the wrong reasons."
"Yes..."
Wrong reasons.
I knew well that she meant sexual reason.
I didn't want it either.
"Let's end this topic here. Talking too much about bad things is not good for mental health."
"Okay."
As if the body follows the mind, that kind of meaning.
It wasn't exactly wrong, so I decided to change the subject.
"But you're carrying a weapon today?"
Yeoreum had a sword strapped to her waist.
Seeing her usually unarmed, it felt quite out of place.
"Today I'm going to a dungeon."
"A dungeon?"
"Yes. It's a new gate that appeared yesterday, and it's a high level. Ah... It might be a bit scary for Gyeoul."
Yeoreum scratched the back of her head.
She looked somewhat apologetic.
"Why?"
"Well, I heard that the monsters coming out from there are horned rabbits."
"From a high level dungeon...?"
"Yes. It's strange, so I looked into it, and it's really just a dungeon with only horned rabbits. Usually, when this happens, there's something hidden, but I'm not sure what it is."
Something hidden.
I was suspicious, but couldn't be certain.
Maybe to someone 'without mana' like the old me, a mere horned rabbit dungeon could feel like a high level dungeon.
But surely that wouldn't be the case.
<+>
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