TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 233
Ten years ago.
From the Slum Streets, the sorrowful voice of a woman echoed.
“…Where did you go?”
The young woman’s voice reverberated without an answer, spreading sorrowfully.
The Lady wandered through the Slum Streets, muttering to herself.
Where did you go?
I told you to stay here.
You promised you’d come back to find me.
The Lady knew how irresponsible and difficult her one-sided promise to the Young Child had been, but she thought this was the only way to endure the overwhelming regret.
Even though she knew that too much time had passed for the Young Child to handle alone.
“Misa…”
The woman walked, weakly calling out her responsibility. She ran toward a passing Young Child, overlapping them with her mistakes.
“Misa…?”
The woman grabbed the shoulder of the child walking ahead and turned them around to check their face.
Hoping that this child might be the one she was searching for, she looked at the startled child’s face with trembling hands and wore a sorrowful expression.
“Who are you, ma’am?”
“I… I’m sorry.”
The Lady’s appearance didn’t look good. Her ambition to return as a successful person had vanished, leaving her in worn-out clothes as she roamed the Slum Streets.
The bag holding her clothes was tattered.
Her once-delicate hands were now covered in Calloused Skin. Though her beauty remained, the traces of hardships etched into the passing years made it impossible to erase the word “tragic” from her appearance.
She had only loved, yet she was abandoned.
She had only dreamed of a happy future, yet she received no reward. She had coldly cast everything aside to escape this bottom-of-the-barrel life, intending to return as a respectable Mother. But the Lady, who had achieved nothing, continued searching through the Slum Streets.
A day.
Two days.
A week.
And then a month.
The Slum Streets she came to, hoping to fulfill her role as a Mother with the money in her hands, only brought pain to the Lady’s heart.
Dust rolled around.
The sight of begging children weighed heavier on her than she had imagined.
If only she had chosen an Orphanage instead of the Slum, if only she hadn’t feared the rumors about children being sold there, things might have turned out differently.
The Lady belatedly realized how terrifying the outcome of her rash actions, driven by the urgency to rid herself of a burden, had been.
Back then, she didn’t know.
Her future had seemed more precious than the child’s future, and she had selfishly worn Colored Glasses, thinking it would be fine.
The Lady spent her nights haunted by nightmares of the Young Child resenting her.
Then, one day.
The Lady met a certain The Boy in the Slum.
-Have you ever seen a girl named Misa?
-Hmm. She’s about this tall, with silver hair.
-I’ve seen a The Man named Mikhail, but I’ve never seen a girl named Misa. I’ve lived in this area for a long time, but I’ve never heard that name. Not that I live here anymore.
The Boy with Red Hair furrowed his brows as he said he hadn’t seen the child she was looking for.
-Hmm… I don’t know.
The Boy spoke politely to the woman.
-Do you have a photograph?
-…
The Lady couldn’t answer.
She had no memories with the child to hold onto, and back then, she hadn’t even wanted to keep a Photograph of the child. Of course, there wouldn’t be one.
Seeing the Lady’s silent demeanor, the Little Kid replied without hesitation. He said, “You won’t find her.” It had been years, and with only a name as scant information, finding the Little Kid in this vast Slum was nearly impossible.
The Boy looked at the woman and said.
-Do you remember?
-…
-The face.
Pointing to his own face with his finger, he offered a suggestion.
-Do you remember her face?
-…
The Lady couldn’t lift her head.
Too much time had passed.
“Ha…”
The Little Kid didn’t know who the woman was.
Nor who she was searching for.
Nor whose Mother she was.
He simply thought she was one of the many people who came seeking closure for their regrets. He didn’t attach much significance to it.
With a trembling voice, the woman asked.
-What usually happens to someone abandoned here?
The Little Kid replied.
-You already know.
-…
-That it’s not good.
The Little Kid walked past the woman and said.
-Think of it positively. That’s the best you can do.
Not long after, the Lady found a discarded Teddy Bear under a corner of the Bridge.
She knelt in front of a pile of stones large enough for a Young Child to lie on and hugged the Teddy Bear, crying.
Covered in Stitched Marks.
She hugged the Damaged Teddy Bear, which had no intact parts left after all this time.
And she wept aloud in front of the Ownerless Grave.
*
Morning at the Peaceful Estate.
Humming a tune as I prepared breakfast, I placed the Well-Done Cooked Meat on a Plate, basking in the bright sunlight and the chirping of birds.
The Well-Done Cooked Meat.
I lightly poked the center of the meat with a Fork and brought it to my lips to check its doneness.
“It’s cooked well.”
It seemed thoroughly cooked to the core.
“Should I open a Restaurant?”
The Young Lady didn’t like Meat with Blood. She said meat should have a chewy texture to be good. Once, I tried serving her Meat with Blood, and she threw the Fork, saying it was so raw it could revive the calf. Ever since then, I’ve cooked the meat thoroughly. Though she eats beef tartare just fine.
Satisfied with the meat cooked perfectly to the Young Lady’s taste, I looked up at the Second Floor of the Estate.
‘She’ll probably call me soon.’
I counted to three in my head.
One. Two. Three.
-Ah… Ahhh! Air Raid Alarm…!!!
“Pfft…!”
Listening to the Young Lady’s lively morning call that brightened the Estate’s morning once again, I carried breakfast upstairs to the second floor.
*
The Young Lady, wearing a Sullen Expression, was chewing on the Well-Done Cooked Meat as she ate breakfast. Despite confirming the doneness, she looked displeased, her face full of mischief.
“…Ugh.”
Looking at the Young Lady struggling to lift her Fork, I tilted my head with a Question Mark on the Head.
“Do you not have an appetite?”
“No.”
“Then is the meat undercooked?”
“It’s not that either.”
“Then why do you look so sullen?”
Wearing a Sullen Expression, the Young Lady shook her head with a deep sigh. Then, stabbing the meat with her Fork, she spoke in an Elegant Voice.
“I’m out of money.”
“Pardon?”
“I spent all the money I had stashed away from Ricardo last time.”
The Young Lady boldly confessed to theft with an astonishingly shameless answer.
Letting out an Empty Laugh, I questioned why the Young Lady was sulking. It wasn’t just about stealing money, but also about where all that money had gone.
The Young Lady lowered her head gloomily and said.
“I bought Pajamas and Chocolate, so it’s all gone. And I gave some to Ricardo’s Friend too.”
“My Friend?”
“Yeah.”
Nodding her head, the Young Lady spoke, thinking about Hans, who was absent due to personal matters.
“I saw Ricardo’s Friend in The North last time. That guy with glasses and an ugly face.”
“He doesn’t have an ugly face, though.”
“To me, he’s ugly.”
Knowing this already, I gave a small Smile and nodded, acknowledging the Young Lady’s rather high standards. I had been wondering how to talk about Hans, but thankfully, since the Young Lady considered him a Friend, there was no need to overthink it.
Counting the remaining money with her fingers, the Young Lady said.
“Since I gave it to Ricardo’s Friend, I considered it a Compensation Fee.”
“…”
“Ricardo wouldn’t pay a Friend Fee anyway.”
“…That Friend probably has a lot of money, though.”
“Huh?”
“That Friend is wealthy. He doesn’t even pay taxes because of his Illegal Activities.”
“So he has more money than me?”
“Yes.”
“Eeeek!!!!!!”
Clenching her Fist tightly, the Young Lady vented her Resentment. Like someone who had been scammed, she declared she’d make him cough up the Compensation Fee she had given him for no reason, and then, as if her appetite had returned, she began to eat the Meat deliciously.
When the Meat on the Plate was almost gone, I placed the Cookies I had prepared as a snack on the Young Lady’s Dining Table.
“Poop!”
“No, it’s Cookies from the Tea Party.”
“Ugh… Who made these?”
The Young Lady frowned as she looked at the Cookies, which resembled a giant pile of poop.
“They look incredibly unappetizing.”
With a small Smile, I answered the Young Lady, asking where her conscience had gone for stating the obvious so confidently.
“You made them, Young Lady.”
“Eek!”
“The Cookies with the most leftovers are the ones you made, Young Lady.”
The Young Lady pushed the Cookies away and shook her head vigorously.
“I didn’t make those.”
“Are you planning to make the Cookies orphans?”
“Those aren’t the Cookies I made. Yuck.”
“The Cookies will feel hurt.”
“Yuck. Eating those will give me a stomachache.”
Smiling, I urged the Young Lady.
“We need to move a little faster today.”
“Huh? Where are we going today?”
“Yes.”
With a small Smile, I told the Young Lady.
“We’re going Dining Out today.”
“Dining Out?”
“Yes.”
The Young Lady widened her eyes. Perhaps the Meat she had just eaten had digested, as she drooled slightly and looked at me with an excited gaze.
“Are we going to Friends of Forest?”
I answered vaguely.
“Something similar.”
“Huh?”
“Since we’re going with the Boss of Friends of Forest.”
“Why are we going with them?”
“I heard a Rival Restaurant has opened.”
With a Satisfied Smile, I told the Young Lady.
“Oh, and of course, the Proprietress will be paying for the meal.”
“Really?”
The Young Lady erased her disappointed expression and nodded enthusiastically.
“Then that’s fine.”
As expected, the Young Lady couldn’t resist anything free of charge.
And so, we arrived.
In front of the Restaurant with a sign that read ‘Youlam’.