SOFTIE 14

He acts like a child, so how old is he? Do magic beasts have ages? It was he himself who had just snatched up such a creature. Well, if he’d stayed there, he probably would’ve been attacked by other magic beasts, right?

“Kkyu-kkyu!”

“Ah, did you pick something?”

Yeonwoo looked up to see what Softy had chosen. He had clearly selected and handed over a food catalog, but what Softy was looking at was the dessert section. And the choice was a cookie embedded with chocolate chips.

Dessert? It was a bit different from what he’d expected. He’d naturally assumed the creature would pick some kind of meat. Since slimes were omnivores, perhaps they ate anything well?

Yeonwoo’s musing didn’t last long. It was because Softy was urging him, tugging at Yeonwoo’s clothes as if telling him to buy it quickly.

How hard could it be to buy a cookie? It looked pretty, too. Between this and the bunch of flowers, it seemed our Softy liked pretty things. People did say that food that looks pretty tastes good, after all.

He had plenty of money anyway. Yeonwoo ordered various foods, including the cookies. Having ordered a wide variety of food—enough to last a week—Yeonwoo tossed the tablet onto the table. He’d get a notification when it arrived.

“What should we do while the food is coming?”

Yeonwoo stared down at Softy. Should he look into this a bit? He’d never heard of a magic beast being discovered as a Guide, but it seemed necessary to do some searching.

It didn’t even have to be a magic beast. Were there no cases where an animal, rather than a human, became a Guide? Animals and magic beasts. In a way, they were similar.

He set Softy down.

He needed to go and look things up. As Yeonwoo moved away, Softy, who had been looking around, rushed over like an arrow and stuck close to Yeonwoo’s pant leg.

“I’m going to be away for a moment.”

The words telling him to stay home because he was going out didn’t work. He stubbornly followed right at Yeonwoo’s heels. Softy protested like a child throwing a tantrum.

“You only need to be here for a second.”

He surely understands my words. Was it my misunderstanding?

“I’ll be right back…”

“Kki-it!”

A shrill scream burst from Softy. He shook his head vigorously, signaling his refusal. Yeonwoo’s brow furrowed. Then, as if shocked, the creature’s body spread out in all directions like melting ice cream.

“…Uh, uh? What’s wrong?”

He couldn’t help but worry when the fellow who usually maintained a round shape suddenly melted. Even when he picked him up, his body folded in half. Since slimes were originally shapeless magic beasts, it wasn’t a strange occurrence, but seeing this for the first time made him anxious.

Yeonwoo checked on Softy with a deeply worried voice. The plan to leave Softy behind to look for data was cleanly erased from his mind.

“Softy, does it hurt somewhere? If you’re in pain, I won’t know unless you tell me. Ah, you can’t talk. Should we go to a hospital? Which hospital should I go to? Let’s go to the hospital together.”

Just then, Softy, who had been limp, suddenly returned to his previous round shape and stuck fast to Yeonwoo’s hand. He was like a child who had been crying and fussing, only to stop the moment his tantrum was accepted.

“…Did you want to go with me?”

As if agreeing with those words, he rubbed his body against Yeonwoo even more intensely. It felt absurd to see him return to normal after he’d worried that something was wrong with his body, but a strange sense of fulfillment rose within him.

“Why? Do you want me to not leave?”

He could tell even without hearing an answer. He hugged Softy tight with satisfaction. Then Softy climbed down and lunged toward Yeonwoo’s chest. The sudden pushing force made Yeonwoo stumble backward and flop back down onto the sofa. Taking over Yeonwoo’s lap, Softy stretched himself out.

As if he liked this position, he was like a cat that had claimed a lap. Yeonwoo let out a pleasant laugh and stroked his head with his hand.

“I thought you were weak, but you’ve got the strength of a giant. Fine, let’s stay together. Well, I can just have someone else do it.”

Who would know about international cases? Or someone who would be excited to look them up. Someone crossed his mind, but it felt quite unpleasant. While he knew the person was smart and helpful, he was one of the people he didn’t want to show Softy to.

Not that guy.

Yeonwoo placed a call to someone.

—Yeonwoo-ya! What’s going on!

“Noona, nothing’s wrong.”

—Nothing’s wrong, my foot! It’s total chaos here right now! Is it true your Guide is a magic beast?

That was fast.

—Is that really true?

“I don’t lie about things like that.”

—…That’s true.

If Ma Seongtae took care of Yeonwoo like a father, Kim Yoojung—as the one responsible for Yeonwoo’s contamination and health—worried for and looked after him like a noona.

“I have a favor. Look into whether there are any international cases of a magic beast becoming a Guide. Even if not a magic beast, cases involving animals.”

—I don’t recall hearing of any… but I’ll take a look. Oh, that’s right! That guy went over there! Do not deal with him at all! Why is a guy like that a Team Leader… Yeonwoo-ya, I have to hang up. I’m a bit busy right now. I’m preparing the testing machine. I’ll send someone once it’s ready.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

—Don’t mention it. It’s thanks to you that we’re alive.

Yeonwoo hung up. They’re preparing the test. Well, I’m not worried. He’ll definitely be a Guide. Our Softy.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Speak of the devil. Yeonwoo’s brow creased.

“Ha, he’s not the type to miss out on something like this.”

The person who rang the doorbell was that guy. He wanted to ignore it, but unless he opened the door, the guy would keep ringing it. As Yeonwoo moved, Softy wiggled his way up and settled on his shoulder.

Looking at the intercom, as expected, that crazy guy was standing there. A man in a white lab coat was pounding on the door randomly with his hands, telling him to open up quickly.

Pest.

When he wiped his face with a troubled expression, he saw Softy looking puzzled.

“Well, Softy. There are many people in the world you have to be careful of, but among them…”

—Hey! Seo Yeonwoo! Open this door right now! I want to see too! I said I’m going to see!!

A booming voice came through the intercom.

“See what. I’m never introducing him to you.”

That guy was the type who would go so far as to dissect Softy. Like Kim Yoojung, he was responsible for Yeonwoo as the Research Team Leader.

His name was Lee Taeho. He was someone like a benefactor who had enabled Yeonwoo to live until now, but he was a character Yeonwoo could never grow fond of. Developing medicine and developing devices to suppress abilities—it was all done to satisfy his own curiosity, not for Yeonwoo’s sake.

“A guy who’s so immersed in research he doesn’t even leave the lab sure moves fast at times like this.”

A magic beast as a Guide. His eyes must have sparkled. Even though the door wasn’t opened and no sound came from inside, Lee Taeho knew Yeonwoo had noticed his presence and poured out his words.

—I know you’re listening to everything I say. If you’re back, you should have come straight to me! Don’t you need medicine? I have a newly made medicine this time, so you should try it to see if it works!

“I don’t need medicine anymore. Right?”

Yeonwoo rubbed his cheek against Softy. Thinking about Lee Taeho looking at Softy with those mad eyes was utterly horrifying.

He was even in a terrible state, looking as if he’d rushed out in the middle of research. His hair was stained with oil, and unkempt stubble poked out from his chin.

“What if you catch a virus because he touched you with those dirty hands? Softy, that’s ‘jiji’. Dirty. You shouldn’t go near it.”

Yeonwoo pointed at Lee Taeho reflected in the intercom and told Softy repeatedly. His extraordinary passion for research certainly helped the world, but thinking about his childhood spent suffering because of it made him dizzy.

He was a benefactor, but also an ill-fated connection and an enemy.

—Right, right. You’re saying you don’t need medicine anymore? I know. I heard everything. The Association President said a Guide appeared? And that it’s actually a magic beast?! If such a rare thing appears, you should have brought it to me immediately… no, it’s dangerous, so you should have left it to our research team. Ah, right! Let’s do a matching rate test. I’ve got everything prepared. I’ve never heard news of a magic beast awakening as a Guide! This is the rediscovery of humanity!!

He turned off the intercom because he couldn’t stand to show any more of Lee Taeho, who was rambling and giving a speech while spitting everywhere. One look was enough to tell he clearly viewed Softy as a research subject.