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It’s been a week since I possessed this little girl’s body.

To survive today, I have to go out and beg.

But… today feels off.

My intuition is screaming at me not to go.

But if I don’t go, I’ll starve to death soon.

Or maybe freeze to death first.

If it were any other season, I could’ve survived by picking fruits or even eating bugs.

But of course, it’s winter, so there’s nothing—no fruits, no bugs.

In this shantytown, no one is going to share food with me.

I had to risk going far out.

Hoping my intuition is wrong just this once, I stepped outside.

And of course, disaster struck.

Probably the biggest reason why a little girl like me ended up living alone in this shantytown.

A ‘monster’ was charging at me.

Monsters are beings with abilities, trained to fight.

Only ‘heroes’ can deal with them, they say.

As someone without abilities, I can’t stop that monster.

Well, I do have an ability, but it’s practically useless.

Telekinesis that can barely move a twig.

Even lifting a small pebble makes me tremble.

I have no means to attack or defend against that monster.

All I could do was stare blankly.

“Kwaaak!”

The monster’s roar snapped me back to reality.

I turned around and started running blindly toward the shantytown.

This little body can’t outrun the monster.

I’ll be caught in no time.

Even if I make it to the shantytown, it’s still a problem.

There’s no one there who can handle this monster.

Maybe it’s better to just stand still and die than to run and die exhausted.

I stopped in my tracks and faced the monster, overwhelmed by fear.

How long has it been since I possessed this body, only to die again?

‘Life sucks…’

If I was going to possess someone, I wish I at least had a status window.

Or maybe an SSS-class ability.

If not that, then at least possess the youngest son of a wealthy family.

Instead, I’m an orphan begging for food, about to die so meaninglessly…

I picked up a nearby brick and a twig.

It’s like hitting a rock with an egg, but I feel like I need to at least scratch the monster to feel better.

I threw the brick with all my might at the approaching monster.

Swoosh—

Forget scratching.

It flew as gently as if I were tossing a dog treat.

This little girl, who hasn’t eaten properly, didn’t have the strength to throw a brick hard enough to hit.

“Kwaaaak!”

The monster seemed even angrier, as if the brick didn’t suit its taste.

It charged at me without giving me time to prepare.

Its jaws were right in front of me.

At that moment.

Kwaaaang—

With a powerful gust of wind, someone appeared and slammed the monster into the ground.

The monster died instantly, its neck broken.

…

I feel a bit unfair.

Some people can’t even scratch it and have to prepare to die…

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

The hero who saved me, a woman in a tight suit, asked.

“What’s your name?”

“I don’t have one.”

One day, I woke up as a little girl living in a shantytown.

I’ve only been called “orphan girl,” so I don’t know my name.

There’s no kind person in this shantytown to tell me my name.

“…No name? How old are you?”

“…Why?”

Why is she suddenly asking my age?

I’m grateful she saved me, but…

Asking for personal info out of nowhere is making me suspicious.

“Ah, I’m Jeong Ha-yul. Twenty. As you can see, a hero. Now, how old are you?”

“I think I’m around seven… I’m not sure. Age is just a number, after all.”

Jeong Ha-yul, sensing my wariness, knelt to match my eye level and introduced herself.

My rising suspicion vanished in an instant.

It’s definitely not because she’s pretty.

…Really.

Her eyes sparkled.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, giving a deadly smile.

“…You’re interesting.”

“…?”

I’ve never been called humorous in my life.

Her sense of humor must be unique.

“It’s the first time I’ve laughed at what a kid said. I especially like that expression.”

“…?”

Did my mind get affected by this body change?

Even hearing such a sly, fox-like comment doesn’t make my heart flutter.

I hope I don’t end up falling for a guy later.

If that happens, I should look up ways to commit suicide painlessly.

In a world full of monsters, villains, and heroes, isn’t there euthanasia for ordinary people?

Would they even accept it if I said I wanted euthanasia because of gender identity confusion?

I don’t care what they do as long as they anesthetize me and make it painless.

Wouldn’t that make it cheaper?

…Bad habit.

This habit of getting lost in my own thoughts—is it stored in my soul?

I was doing the same thing even in this new body.

Here I am, staring at a beauty I might never see again in my life, lost in thought.

Pathetic.

I finally snapped out of it and looked at Jeong Ha-yul, who was on the phone.

“Yeah… come into the next alley.”

“Who’s coming?”

“Yeah. The manager will be here.”

It’s a shame, but I thought I should leave soon.

My intuition tells me not to let Jeong Ha-yul go.

I feel like if I don’t seize this opportunity, I’ll never escape this shantytown.

Surprisingly, this little girl’s intuition is quite accurate.

I didn’t expect to run into a monster, but today felt off.

And now, this feeling is probably right too.

…If I knew this would happen, I would’ve been a bit more friendly.

Whether it works or not, let’s give it a shot.

“It’s freezing. Why aren’t they here yet?”

“Um… can you take me with you?”

“Huh?”

She doesn’t seem upset or anything.

Let’s push a bit more.

“I won’t be a burden. I can clean, do laundry, cook, and even pretend to bark if you tell me to.”

“Pretend to bark… where did you learn that?”

Jeong Ha-yul seems to find this situation amusing, as she smiles.

“You can think of me as an interesting toy.”

“Hmm…”

“I can cook too. I’ll make whatever you want, anytime.”

“Alright.”

“And I’m still weak, but my ability… huh?”

“I said alright. Let’s go.”

“Th-thank you!”

I thought she’d reject me even if I revealed my ability since it’s so useless.

So I was already thinking of ways to appeal after being rejected.

I’ll be an obedient pet. I don’t mind sleeping on the balcony. I even thought of becoming your slave.

But now that she accepted so readily, it feels a bit off.

Is she planning something?

I heard there are people who kidnap kids for human trafficking.

Crazy. I begged her to take me, and now I’m overthinking.

Maybe I’ve grown a conscience.

Just then, a car arrived.

Why did it have to be a black Starex at this timing?

It’s a limousine model, but black Starexes have this intimidating vibe.

…Surely not.

“Where did you sell the Escalade and bring this unfamiliar car?”

“You broke the door yesterday, so I sent it for repairs.”

“Ah… right, that happened.”

She broke the car door?

Does that mean she can’t control her strength?

Maybe I’m jumping from the wolf’s den into the tiger’s lair.

“But the company lent it to me for free.”

“They should, since we’re saving people. That’s part of the contract.”

At least she said it’s for saving people, so I feel a bit relieved.

“But after wrecking six cars, wouldn’t that change things?”

“…It’s already the sixth one?”

Are they… messing with me?

Whatever. Let’s not think about it.

Surely a hero wouldn’t kill a kid just because they can’t control their strength, right?

“Kid, get in first.”

“…Okay.”

She definitely said it’s the manager, right?

Jeong Ha-yul seems to accept things easily, maybe because she’s young.

But managers usually take care of things.

There’s a high chance he won’t like my presence.

“Hello, Manager!”

“Uh… uh…”

A good greeting is half the battle.

You can’t spit on a smiling face.

I smiled so hard my cheeks cramped and greeted him loudly.

Instead of telling me to get out, the manager seemed flustered.

He kept looking back and forth between Jeong Ha-yul and me, but Jeong Ha-yul didn’t even glance at him.

“What’s this? You can smile, but why didn’t you earlier?”

“…Hehe.”

You’re right. I didn’t know it would turn out like this.

If I could turn back time, I would’ve shown you the brightest smile in the world.

Before being labeled as a troublesome kid, I quickly buckled my seatbelt.

Finally, the manager snapped out of it and spoke.

“You… don’t tell me you have a hidden daughter?”

“Are you crazy? She looks about seven. Do you think I could’ve given birth to her?”

“Then what? Where did she come from all of a sudden?”

“I picked her up.”

“Picked her up? What do you mean?”

…The atmosphere feels off.

Maybe I should’ve smiled more?

Or made my eyes more curved?

“Whatever. Let’s just go. I want to take a shower.”

“Uh… you should shower… I’ll start driving now…”

I was a bit scared he’d tell me to get out, but with Jeong Ha-yul’s word, he just started driving.

If the manager is like this, I might get kicked out if I step out of line.

From now on, I’ll have to live by reading Jeong Ha-yul’s mood and being sweet.

To do that, I need to know more about her first.

“By the way, Jeong Ha-yul Hero, what’s your alias?”

“Just call me unnie.”

I hit a roadblock from the start.

I didn’t have the courage to say, “I’ll call you noona.”

Why did I have to possess a little girl’s body…

“Yes, un…nie.”

I’ll get used to calling her unnie someday…?

Seeing me hesitate, she smiled again.

That smile, which looked so pretty earlier, now gives me chills.

“Demon King.”

“Huh…?”

“My alias, it’s Demon King.”

…But you’re a hero.

…A hero, right?

Then why is your alias Demon King?

Something feels seriously wrong.