Chapter 3
Before it was even early evening, Moa, who had fallen asleep, woke up in her dream just after midnight.
“Som… Som in my dream…”
Tears welled up in Moa’s eyes.
It was a dream she had never seen before, where Som appeared alongside a group of unusually kind people.
Fearing she might lose the memory of the scene, Moa couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes.
“She said… to wait here.”
Moa clearly remembered that Som had asked her to wait at the Jinryong residence.
“If I stay here, maybe I can meet Som!”
She had been an enormous help to Master Gaju, and she resolved never to leave without meeting Som.
With that thought, Moa opened her eyes—and something strange caught her attention.
– Main Mission: Repel the Assassin
· Before Spirit Contract
(Incomplete Contact Error. Contract Required)
· Reward: Control Over Beast Transformation
“What… what is this?”
Words were written on the ceiling, moving along with her line of sight as she sat up.
They glowed softly with a blue light, like letters in a video game floating in midair.
‘Is this… some kind of word puzzle?’
From Moa’s perspective, the text appeared incomplete, like: “Main □ Mission: Repel □ Assassin □ …” with gaps scattered throughout.
Whenever Moa’s gaze drifted, the letters blurred slowly, and when she tried to focus again, they became clear.
Because of her dream about Som, the letters felt somehow connected to him.
Was it because Som wasn’t there that the text seemed… glitched?
“Main… mission… assassin?”
Difficult words that a five-year-old should not have been able to read came smoothly from Moa’s mouth.
Though they were written, they sounded as if someone had spoken them directly into her mind.
“…Assassin?”
She recalled instantly: Jin Saheon had called those bad men “assassins” earlier!
The letters flashed one last time before vanishing instantly.
In that moment, the air in the room felt chillingly frozen.
Moa hugged herself and widened her eyes.
“It must be those bad men!”
Her lips trembled violently.
She grimaced in fear but remembered the scene where Jin Saheon threw the rock.
“If I tell Master Gaju, he’ll handle it!”
At that moment, a black shadow slid across the window from outside.
A small crack appeared in the glass, like a thin line.
A hand, concealed with a black night sleeve to hide the skin, gently opened the window.
“Master Gaju! There’s a bad person!”
Moa clung with all her strength to keep the window from opening, shouting bravely.
After a moment that felt like hours, darkness flashed like lightning.
“Dare enter my house…”
A familiar low voice: Jin Saheon.
Bang!
The wall trembled as the assassin was brutally thrown out the window.
Jin Saheon leapt after him, deliberately tossing him out of Moa’s line of sight.
Instinctively, Moa grabbed the dagger that had rolled next to her bedding.
At that instant, a vision flashed before her eyes.
A space bathed in red, dazzling and almost painful to look at.
A man in dark green robes, his face hidden.
“Check the conduit without fail.”
The assassin in a black night sleeve bowed: “Yes, sir.”
“Ah!”
Startled, Moa dropped the dagger to the floor.
The vision vanished, leaving only a plain piece of iron.
Yet one phrase lingered in her ears:
-
Check the conduit without fail.
The casual voice was unsettlingly chilling.
Moa shivered, trembling at her fingertips, without understanding why.
The next morning.
Moa, still shaken by the night’s terror, peeked out from under her blanket.
– Main Mission: Repel the Assassin (Success)
· Reward: Ability to Control Beast Transformation
Moa studied the text carefully.
“Control over… beast transformation… what does that mean?”
As she rolled her eyes and murmured, a sudden tingling ran across her ears and tailbone.
She reached to scratch—
Swish.
The sensation of hair and fabric brushing past, and her ears and tail slipped right in!
“Eeek! My ears… they’re gone!”
Panicked, Moa touched her head.
But when she thought of her ears, they popped back out—perky and alert.
“Wow… I can transform however I want?!”
In and out, just as she wished, her ears and tail obeyed her perfectly.
“Hehe.”
Moa had grown up being careful, aware that Total Officer or Sehee occasionally peeked at her ears and tail.
It had always been uncomfortable, so now that she could hide them, she was pleased.
She discovered something else while experimenting.
When her ears and tail were out, her body felt light, and outside noises were clearer.
When hidden, her body felt heavier, and her senses dulled.
“So that’s why I avoided trouble yesterday because of my ears and tail!”
Her impressive agility yesterday, sharper than most adults, had been thanks to this change in her body.
She reasoned everything out well and realized that hiding her ears and tail didn’t erase her memories.
“And this dagger…”
The dagger, which had rolled under the blanket during yesterday’s chaos and avoided being taken, only showed visions in her beast form.
Wanting no part of that eerie voice, she threw it away as if handling something dirty.
“Sigh.”
Then, with a sulky face, she hurriedly folded her blanket neatly.
“Ha, pretty!”
A habit learned at the orphanage, her blanket—which was usually crooked—was perfectly square today.
With this, she thought, she wouldn’t be mistaken for one of the household staff!
As Moa’s eyes sparkled with pride, footsteps sounded outside the door.
“Miss, I’ll bring in the bathwater.”
Sehee had come to wake Moa.
She set down a wide basin and towel, then gasped when she saw the child.
“Oh, your ears and tail…?”
“Yes! I can do this now!”
Moa proudly folded and unfolded her ears several times, and Sehee exhaled in relief.
It would be easier to manage her outside if she appeared as a normal child.
“Hiding your ears and tail outside is definitely more convenient. If they’re too noticeable, someone might try to grab you.”
Moa accepted this as the minimum rule for staying at the Jinryong residence.
“I’ll make sure to hide them!”
Sehee gave Moa a little scare—a necessary measure to ensure the child would keep her secret.
After getting the promise, she quickly washed Moa’s face and served a delicious breakfast to redirect her attention.
Sehee reported on Moa’s condition.
She noted with admiration—and a hint of pity—how diligently the child had folded her blanket.
Even if Master Gaju might not care about such a trivial matter, she wanted someone to acknowledge the child’s effort.
“So she wasn’t just running errands carelessly.”
Jin Saheon clicked his tongue internally and decided to give Moa a reward.
A reward that allowed her to go out to the Cheongbindang courtyard during the day!
“Miss folded her blanket so well that Master Gaju said it was commendable. You may go out to the courtyard as a reward.”
“Really? Wow!”
Moa, already eager for a walk, jumped up excitedly upon hearing Sehee’s words.
“I’ll bring clothes and shoes suitable for going out. Wait a moment.”
Sehee left to prepare, and Moa waited alone, brimming with anticipation.
“I can’t wait to go…!”
Just as she laughed softly,
Creak-
The door opened cautiously.
“…Who is it?”
Moa tilted her head as a gentle figure bowed.
“I am Chunsim, formerly in charge of Cheongbindang’s household duties. It is an honor to personally serve such a precious young lady.”
Her eyes scanned Moa’s soft, platinum hair and bright blue eyes.
“Umm, where is Sehee?” Moa asked.
Chunsim’s eyes twitched slightly.
She had read Moa’s awkward reaction, having never considered herself a precious young lady.
“Is there anything I should do? Why are you looking for Sehee?”
“Uh, it’s not that…”
Moa had actually been curious about Sehee’s whereabouts.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say that in front of someone else, and she hesitated.
“If it’s not rude… may I ask which family your young lady comes from?”
Although still a child, Moa’s tone did not convey that of someone being commanded.
Chunsim spoke gently, careful to maintain respect in case the child was genuinely noble.
“What’s a ‘family’? I’m Moa from Saessak Orphanage.”
Even though the world had no orphanages, Chunsim understood she was an orphan.
Her expression changed instantly, politeness dropping, her lips curling.
“…A commoner orphan?”
Moa had never heard “commoner” before but sensed the tone was negative.
“Orphan” was painfully familiar.
Even without fully grasping the meaning, she nodded reflexively at the word “orphan.”
“…I see, so that’s it.”
Chunsim’s face twisted completely, showing disdain for a lowly orphan of commoner birth.
“Hahaha!”
The harsh laugh made Moa’s eyes widen.
“So Sehee was only taking care of an orphan.”
