TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 151
In someone’s dream, hazy as if shrouded in mist.
The owner of the dream was crouched down, tossing pebbles into a sewer where filth flowed.
The owner of the dream was a little girl with a small, delicate frame. She had silver hair that shimmered like the Milky Way scattered across the night sky, and she sat with her frail shoulders hunched, as if she might disappear at any moment.
Melancholy.
Everything was unfamiliar to the Girl.
‘Plop.’ With the sound of the pebble dropping into the sewer, the Girl sniffled.
-Mother…
The Girl’s world, abandoned by her parents, was overwhelmingly vast. Although it was cold, the world her parents had once protected was everything to her.
Even being insulted as dirty.
Even having coins thrown to the ground out of pity felt frightening and difficult for the Girl.
The Girl was always holding onto hope.
She believed that if she just slept for one night, the parents who had abandoned her would come back to get her.
That was the promise her parents had made to her as they let go of her hand, even as she clung to them.
The Girl comforted herself, thinking she was different from Those Kids who were filthy, and lingered like an Abandoned Puppy in the place her parents had left her.
-Why aren’t they coming…
Outside, the voices of children laughing and chatting could be heard.
The Girl disliked hearing the laughter of children who were happy about receiving a tin full of coins today.
After all, it was money that would disappear after buying just one toy. The Girl couldn’t understand why they were so happy.
It was money far too insufficient to escape the slum.
Just as her mood grew darker and her sniffles intensified.
‘Tap.’ The Girl felt someone’s touch on her head. A touch that was timid yet gentle, indifferent yet warm, and full of mischief.
The Girl rubbed the crown of her head with her palm, feeling a sharp pain, and turned around.
-Who is it!
-Who else could it be? The most handsome beggar in the world.
Before her stood a boy with Red Hair.
The Boy’s face was obscured by a Black Shadow, making his expression hard to discern, but the warmth radiating from him and the mischievous tone in his voice told the Girl that the Boy was smiling.
The Boy smiled and spoke to the Girl.
-Kiddo. What are you doing?
-None of your business.
-Wow, so prickly. As expected of a Protagonist.
-What!
-Nothing~ Just saying you look great today, too.
The Boy, unfazed by the Girl’s sharp reaction, smiled lightly and brushed it off.
Ordinary children would have backed off upon seeing the Girl’s negative attitude, but the Red-Haired Boy did not.
The Girl disliked the Boy.
She was annoyed by the Little Kid talking to her.
She was irritated by how he kept approaching her, acting as if they were close.
I’m different from you.
I’m different from you abandoned ones. Thinking this, the Girl pushed the Boy away.
-The seat next to you is empty, huh?
Ignoring her rejection, the Boy made a light joke and sat down next to the Girl. The Girl pretended not to notice the Boy’s Bitter Smile as he sat on the damp ground.
All the Girl, who was new to everything and unfamiliar with it all, could do was coldly reject him.
The Boy sat next to her for a long time without saying anything, then began humming a tune.
-Mother hides in the island’s shade…
The Boy’s singing voice, which the Girl heard for the first time, didn’t sound bad.
-When Mother goes to gather oysters in the island’s net…
It was sorrowful and somehow struck a chord deep in her heart. Though it wasn’t a well-sung song, it was a tune that lingered in her ears no matter how much she tried to ignore it.
-The baby stays home alone, watching over the house.
The Girl simply hugged her knees and listened to the Boy’s song.
-Listening to the waves… Ah↗ Cough… Is my voice cracking?
The Girl disliked the Boy.
She disliked how he kept acting like they were close.
And.
The Girl liked the Boy.
As the Boy’s sorrowful song, carried by his mournful tone, came to an end, the Girl turned her head to look at him.
-Wasn’t that good?
-Terrible.
-I’ll do better next time.
The Boy flicked her on the forehead with a smile.
-Kiddo.
As he always did, the Boy pulled out a piece of Chocolate from his pocket and offered it to her.
The Girl didn’t mind the Boy’s dirty hands as he handed her the Worn Wrapping Paper.
-Eat it yourself.
*
Late evening.
Mikhail, gasping for breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead as he woke from sleep.
That dream again.
The nightmare, containing old memories that always hid without showing their face, had returned once more.
After not dreaming it for a while, he thought it would fade away, but the dream knocked on his door whenever he was about to forget, bringing back sad memories and pounding at his heart.
It was a long time ago.
A very long time ago.
By the count of years, it was a memory from more than a decade ago, yet it still tormented Mikhail.
“Enough, stop coming out already.”
How long are you going to torment me?
It’s time to stop now.
I know. I know I’m a Bad Person.
But… I have to live my own life too, don’t I…
Mikhail hugged his knees on the bed and buried his face. As if letting go of his Emotions would make him cry at any moment, his shoulders kept trembling as he struggled to catch his breath.
“Huuu… Huuu…”
The mistakes of the past weighed heavily on Mikhail.
A Little Kid abandoned by his parents in the slum.
The gentle image of the Red-Haired Boy, who always called him Kid, lived on in Mikhail’s memory.
And the guilt over what he had done to the Boy only grew heavier.
His vow to never kill anyone with his own hands again and his Obsessive Fixation on Justice were nothing but acts of Atonement for the wrongs he had committed.
He knew.
How pathetic his Stubbornness was.
And that Ricardo’s words were realistic advice.
-Are you an idiot?
Mikhail knew that the blunt words, devoid of consideration, were advice that struck a nerve.
But.
Even he had a Stubbornness that refused to break.
-Run away!
-…
-Don’t just stand there, run…!
Having failed to protect the Boy’s final moments, all Mikhail had left to cling to was his crude Stubbornness.
“Sigh…”
Mikhail slowly began removing his sweat-soaked shirt.
Swish. The shirt slid off his Slender Shoulders and fell to the floor with a soft thud, revealing his pale, bare skin.
Mikhail’s body, with its alabaster-like white skin, was too delicate and alluring to be considered that of a man.
Mikhail gazed at his reflection in the Mirror.
“…”
He simply lowered his head, gazing at his own reflection.
Should I take a walk to ease this suffocating feeling?
Mikhail picked up a bandage from the desk and began wrapping it around his chest.
Skillfully wrapping the bandage around his chest, Mikhail silently observed himself, a bitter smile forming as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
“…It’s suffocating.”
*
“Hup! Hehehehe!”
The Peaceful Estate was tranquil as always.
The Young Lady, tossing a rubber ball to Gomtangi in the yard, was exercising her arms with a smile reminiscent of a Villainess.
“Fetch!”
-Gom!
“Hehe!”
Admiring Gomtangi, who brought the ball back like a boomerang, the Young Lady seemed pleased. Although she made a comment comparing Ricardo to the bear, saying, “Ricardo can’t do this,” which irked me, I wasn’t petty enough to be swayed by such trivial provocations. I simply smiled and gazed at the expansive yard.
“Throw it.”
“Okay.”
“Throw it as far as you can. I’ll prove the difference between a mere bear and a human.”
“Okay…!”
Since it was a matter of preserving human dignity, surely this could be excused.
To catch the ball before Gomtangi, I set my sword down on the ground and gathered strength in my legs.
“Huuuuup! Eeeek!!”
With the Young Lady’s spirited shout, the rubber ball flew through the air. Swallowing hard, I braced myself and focused my strength into my legs.
-Thud.
As the ball fell weakly to the ground, I stared at it with an awkward expression.
The Young Lady, wearing an embarrassed smile, looked at the ball lying on the ground.
“Hmm…”
Seeing my disappointed expression, the Young Lady gave a sheepish grin.
“Heh!”
“…”
Our awkward gazes met.
Perhaps too much enthusiasm is a bad thing. Just as I was about to thank the Young Lady for teaching me such an unexpectedly profound lesson and bent down to pick up the ball—
-Gooooom!
Gomtangi wagged her tail as she picked up the ball from the ground and walked over to the Young Lady.
“That Bear Cub.”
“Pfft. You lost to Gomtangi.”
“Throw it again.”
The Young Lady continued throwing the rubber ball until her arm began to cramp.
“Stop…!”
“No.”
“Hiiiik!”
*
Hans was shedding tears of emotion.
“Magic…!”
The Magic Tome Hans received wasn’t an extraordinary one. Of course, that was only true by Ricardo’s standards, given how much he knew.
The Magic Tome Hans received was one of the tomes that should have been returned to the Heretics.
Hans, the Archbishop of Greed, who had spent a long time searching for the tome with fanatical obsession for magic, might have thought it fitting that it returned to its rightful owner.
Magic Tome ‘Black Wall.’
Hans, who had received the Magic Tome—an Ultimate Barrier Magic and the most troublesome spell for the Protagonist’s group in the Original Work—swallowed his tears and swore loyalty.
And.
“Hmmnya…”
Olivia was watching Hans, who had concealed himself.