# Chapter 13
Anyone could see it was a lie.
“So, because I resisted your ability, I’m special, and that’s why you want to become friends. Is that what you’re saying?”
But there was no reason not to exploit his lie. It’s always best to dig into the gaps when the other person shows vulnerability.
Ben nodded his head vigorously at my words. His face looked swollen with anticipation.
“Yes!”
“And your method of becoming friends is to keep approaching me?”
“Yes!”
His eyes sparkled innocently as if he knew nothing.
“…You definitely don’t have friends.”
I’m not sure if people hate him, but he certainly doesn’t seem to have friends. If he had even one friend, he wouldn’t behave like this.
Approaching someone recklessly showed a complete disregard for the other person. It’s not like I had friends either, but at least I knew that such an approach wasn’t good.
But if he was this clueless, I might be able to manipulate him well. Since he himself said he wanted to become friends, it shouldn’t be difficult.
His appearance suggested he wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed. But his mind, unlike his appearance, was surprisingly pure.
Even when he was using mind control, I couldn’t have imagined he’d be like this… I just thought he was an S-class hero with a bad personality.
Of course, this version of Ben was more convenient for me. Such a person would be that much easier to use.
“First of all, to become friends, you must unconditionally listen to what the other person says.”
I added a bit more lies to test his naivety. If such a rule existed, no one would have friends by now.
Who would want to become someone else’s slave just to be friends?
“…Is there such a thing?”
But Ben believed these absurd words at face value. After tilting his head for a moment, his eyes shone brightly.
I can’t believe he really believed it. I thought he would call me out on this nonsense. In reality, no one would believe such ridiculous words.
But contrary to my expectation, Ben naively believed me. I had said it on the off-chance, but now it seemed possible to drive Ben away.
“Yes.”
I watched his reaction as I spoke firmly.
“Then… do you have any requests?”
Ben, who had transformed from a cunning snake to a trapped rabbit, cautiously opened his mouth. His eyes trembled slightly, seemingly nervous about what request I might make.
I struggled to suppress the corners of my mouth that were trying to rise at his complete acceptance of my words. Good. Now I don’t have to see Ben anymore.
If things go this way, I might only meet him when I need to extract information about Alice later. Not filling time with useless chitchat like now.
“Don’t come within a 2-meter radius of me.”
My words came out quickly at the thought of finally being able to drive him away.
“T-That…”
His face turned pale, as if he had just realized he was trapped.
I drove in the final nail toward him.
“If you cross that line, we’re not becoming friends from that day forward.”
* * *
The full moon that Boss had mentioned arrived. I gazed at the moon brightening clearly from Hans’s house.
The full moon sparkled ethereally. The image of the moon was reflected largely on the river flowing below.
Even in the rippling water, the moon never left its place.
I was waiting because Boss said we would meet, but I couldn’t understand how he would find his way here.
To come here, he’d have to hide his appearance. Is he coming with Zenon’s ability? But the content didn’t seem to warrant that level of precaution.
Rather than serious, it was more pleasant… that kind of thing. My questions continued to pile up.
Before I knew it, the hazy clouds had cleared, and the full moon began to emit brilliant light. The bright moonlight illuminated the room. My gaze unconsciously went to the moon in that light.
The sight of light pouring down slowly embedded itself in my vision. My heart raced violently at the full moon that seemed like it would swallow everything. The pounding of my heart spread throughout my body.
“Ugh…”
My body felt strange. The blood throughout my body boiled as if flowing backwards. This shouldn’t be happening. My body was perfectly fine until just now.
But why couldn’t I control my body? My body, which had lost its will, slowly collapsed.
My hand, which had moved to grab the railing, futilely grasped at empty air. My body tumbled ungracefully onto the cold floor with a dull sound.
But for some reason, I couldn’t turn my gaze away from the moon even at that moment.
The moonlight that had filled my vision gradually distorted. Unable to find a clear image, my vision began to flicker.
It was a painful moment where my body twitched on its own. It felt as if flames were engulfing me.
I tried to understand the situation while maintaining labored breathing. But with the moon reflected in the water being the last thing I saw, my vision finally closed.
* * *
Not long after Kay collapsed, his appearance gradually began to change. Kay’s form, surrounded by moonlight, began to shrink.
He, who had been an adult, changed from a teenager to a child, and eventually into a form that couldn’t even be considered human.
Kay’s brown hair transformed into short fur covering his entire body, and pointed ears sprouted on his head. His hands and feet all changed into short beast-like limbs. A bushy tail grew from his tailbone.
Pointed ears, a bushy tail, short brown fur. Even a long snout. Kay’s appearance was undeniably that of a wolf.
The only difference might be that he was an infinitely small wolf pup for an adult wolf.
The tiny body twitched, and the ears began to move slightly. Kay’s eyelids, which had been closed, lifted.
They were golden eyes that emitted light even in darkness, different from his brown eyes. Kay, seemingly conscious, blinked his eyes for a moment and began to look around the room.
The all-white room felt devoid of any human presence. Kay’s eyes, which had been examining the surroundings thoroughly, gradually wavered.
This wasn’t it. There was somewhere else he needed to go. Kay tentatively took a step back.
Turning his body, he walked with quick, small steps toward the veranda. Kay’s eyes gazed at the world beyond the veranda. His eyes, which had not adapted to the bright light, gradually began to find direction.
Kay’s nose bridge twitched. As if tracking someone’s scent, he sniffed for quite some time before fixing his gaze on one spot.
Found it. That was where he needed to go.
Kay’s golden eyes shone brightly. He leaped fearlessly from the veranda.
The chilling wind swept over Kay, but he paid no mind. Rather, he ran swiftly through the air, increasing his speed more and more.
Despite his small body, his speed was so swift that it wouldn’t be visible to the normal human eye. Moving instantaneously to the rooftop of another building, he kept his legs moving without rest.
Kay’s mind was filled only with the instinct that he needed to see him.
* * *
In the pitch-black night, colorful lights gathered to create a single painting. The night view, which would have immediately drawn exclamations of admiration from ordinary people, was met with indifferent eyes by him.
To Boss, the view from the first floor and the view from the top floor of an apartment were not much different.
They were just equally boring. That’s why normally, blackout curtains would have been hanging on the windows.
But today, the curtains were brightly drawn back. Not only that, despite the approaching winter weather, the windows were wide open.
Because of this, the warm air that had been circulating inside had disappeared, and cold air swirled around.
However, Boss still had no intention of closing the doors. It was only natural. After all, he was waiting for someone to come through the window.
Sitting on the sofa, Boss smiled leisurely. Even the usually boring scenery seemed quite pleasant at the thought of being able to see him.
His elegantly extended fingers tapped the armrest out of habit. When would he appear? The red eyes hidden within his jet-black hair shone quietly.
He hadn’t expected to have to wait for the full moon. Though it had been several years already, the fact that there was a moment of waiting still felt unfamiliar.
It wasn’t like this at first. It was just for amusement. Something unseen had appeared, so he was curious, that’s all.
He had considered it an existence that didn’t need to be waited for, one that didn’t matter if he didn’t see it.
“When did I start waiting…”
The words that even he hadn’t been conscious of seeped into the empty air. By the time Boss tried to reflect on those words, a silhouette began to appear through the window.
At the familiar shadow, he stopped his thoughts and looked at the small figure. After sniffing around for a moment, it caught a familiar scent and rushed straight toward Boss.
“Kyaang…!”
A small wolf pup circled around his feet. Its tail wagged ceaselessly as if it had met its owner. Looking at Kay, whose eyes were shining brightly, he let out a short laugh.
“It’s been a while, Kay.”
Bending his waist, he gently stroked the head, which was only as big as his palm, and Kay nuzzled his face against that hand.
Boss burst into laughter as Kay kept moving his head as if showing affection to his owner. The soft touch wasn’t unpleasant.
Who would think this was Kay? He had the superpower of a wolf-human. But there was something that even Kay himself didn’t know about that fact.
Namely, the fact that he turns into a wolf pup on the full moon.
Wolf-humans are sensitive to the full moon. Since it’s a day when desires manifest to their fullest, they lose their reason. A day when they act only according to instinct, closer to beasts than humans. That was the full moon.
He realized this when Kay manifested his ability and faced his first full moon.
He was briefly puzzled by the wolf pup that broke through the window, but it didn’t take long to realize that the wolf was Kay. Strangely, even in the state of a wolf pup, his scent remained.
