Chapter – 19…
Zeid’s innate talent lay precisely in this area.
He seemed to know exactly how to make the children turn their arrows of hatred on each other, tearing themselves apart fiercely.
Judging by the tension that instantly filled the air, his plan seemed quite effective.
After Zeid left with a twisted smile, Milena sniffled and began hastily gathering the kidney beans from the wooden tray.
“What do I do…? If, if the production doesn’t increase as much as he expects… Zeid will be disappointed…”
As Milena dug a small hole in the dirt floor, buried the bean, and pressed it down with her finger, something amazing happened.
From the spot where the bean was planted, a small sprout emerged, and vines gradually began to grow.
[What’s this? So this kid can use magic too?]
“Hmph, even so, you can only produce a pittance.”
Kam anxiously bit his nails while glaring at Milena.
“R-right. Compared to Zeid, my magic is crude…”
The vine grew only about a hand’s span before stopping. And as soon as she picked a few beans, it withered away, its life force spent.
After repeating the same process about three times, Milena leaned against the wall, looking exhausted, as if she had run out of magical power.
The number of beans gathered on the wooden tray was barely around ten.
[No, wait. Her aptitude doesn’t seem bad, so why is the result so pitiful? Those damned Bellegotte bastards are ruining several innocent kids!]
A voice filled with anger, as if this situation was deeply unpleasant, echoed in my head.
Anyway, that was the reason why Milena, despite possessing a relatively valuable food production ability, was looked down upon by Zeid’s group.
“Hey, Number 14! Didn’t I tell you to clean up this trash right away? It stinks and attracts bugs!”
“S-sorry! I’ll clean it up right now.”
Milena, who had just leaned against the wall, hurriedly pushed herself back up, flustered under the pressure from Zeid’s lackeys.
Kam, instead of helping a fellow sufferer, just watched Milena and sneered mockingly.
“Ah, so annoying! Hey, Number 28, Number 29! Zeid said you’re dirty and stink, so get washed up properly. Show me your hands.”
Having passed by Milena, one of Zeid’s lackeys reached out towards Liliope.
“We only got a few purification magic stones in the last supply box, so we’re using them sparingly, but you look so filthy like a beggar that we’re using a precious one on you. You should be grateful!”
The moment the small stone-like object he was holding touched her body, a cool sensation swept over her entire being.
She felt all the filth—the sticky blood, sand, and dust clinging from head to toe—instantly vanish completely.
And the next moment, the boy from Zeid’s group who made eye contact with Liliope gaped foolishly.
“Huh? Wha, what? I didn’t realize it when you were dirty, but your face is so…?”
For some reason, he seemed flustered looking at Liliope.
“You, uh… You don’t cry for your mom every night, do you? You’re gonna see a lot of rough stuff here, think you can even catch a cockroach by yourself?”
Liliope stared expressionlessly at the boy, who was now sweating profusely, and then averted her gaze at his continued nonsense. This made the boy even more flustered.
“No, I’m not that bad of a guy, okay? So, uh, don’t cry? Huh?”
Who in the world was he saying was crying? It was a remarkably novel bit of nonsense.
But even Liliope thought she looked somewhat pitiful.
‘Is it because my eyebrows and the corners of my eyes droop weakly?’
Liliope didn’t like her own appearance, which always seemed vulnerable and laughable no matter what.
But objectively speaking, Liliope’s appearance was less ‘pitiful’ and more somewhere along the lines of delicate and sorrowful.
Like seeing a rabbit caught in a downpour makes you want to scoop it up without thinking, or seeing a squirrel about to be eaten by a snake makes you want to instinctively shoo the snake away.
That kind of mysterious aura, which evokes an instinctive sense of pity from people, was embedded in every feature of Liliope’s face.
Especially when she lowered her gaze, her abundant eyelashes shaded the light in her pupils, making her look as if she was gloomily holding back tears.
“Wh-what do you mean she can’t catch a cockroach? This girl just bit my hand…”
Kam, who had also looked momentarily dumbfounded upon seeing the cleaned-up Liliope, muttered in disbelief, but no one was listening to him.
“Whoa, so the blonde is the younger sister and the black-haired one is the older sister? This one’s no joke either. I’ve never seen a girl who looks like this before.”
The children, who had now surreptitiously gathered around, whispered among themselves, looking back and forth at Liliope and Caliona as if they were spectacles.
“Are you guys really street orphans like us?”
“You should’ve gone to a poorhouse or something to get adopted by a rich person instead. Why did you come to a place like this?”
“Hey, you think there are that many kind-hearted rich people in the world? If you’re unlucky, you get taken away and sold to a brothel or something. Consider yourself lucky if that doesn’t happen.”
Liliope wasn’t pleased with the unnecessary attention, so she bowed her head so her face wouldn’t be visible.
But seeing that, someone seemed to misunderstand something else. The boy from before, who was still fidgeting nervously beside Liliope, flinched as if stung by a bee.
“Ah! Ah, right! Now that I think about it, we haven’t shown the newbies the magic circles yet! Wait a second!”
Suddenly, he scurried off somewhere and came back holding something from a duffel bag.
“Huff, puff! H-here, I’ll give you this! Zeid allowed it, so we can lend it to the newbies, okay? Make sure you memorize at least one of these by tomorrow morning. Got it?”
What he pressed into Liliope’s hand were a few small, crumpled pieces of paper folded in half.
On them were drawn magic circles that looked complicated at a glance.
“Huh? What are you suddenly doing?”
“What? We always do this much for newbies, don’t we?”
Even as his companions sent him bewildered looks, the boy paid no mind and spoke to Liliope in a softer tone.
“Ahem, ahem! I guess we ended up showing you some rough stuff right from the first day. But we’re not that harsh, you know?”
“…….”
“You just got here today, so you don’t know yet, but the outer mansion is vast and full of dangers. This area, which only has bugs, is relatively livable, but that doesn’t mean you want to rot here forever, right? If that’s the case, it’s better to try and escape with us.”
“…….”
“But if you don’t want to be treated as worthless like them, you have to pull your weight. Still, if you can use any one of these magics, Zeid won’t use you as mere bait. So, memorize at least one magic circle and practice it whenever you get a chance. You understand what I’m saying, right?”
Liliope examined the magic circles drawn on the paper.
Plant Cultivation Magic, Healing Magic, Sensory Amplification Magic, Cleansing Magic, Light Magic, Detection Magic.
As she had suspected, there were no powerful, offensive magics like Zeid’s Fire Magic.
[I see, I see. So the supply boxes contain not just hints for the test, but also papers with magic circles drawn on them? No wonder, among these destitute kids, there are some who surprisingly know how to use magic.]
‘Right. Of course, a guy like Zeid would never share any magic that could potentially threaten him with the other kids.’
Naturally, this was to monopolize power within the group.
So, it was obvious that any papers containing other offensive magics were likely disposed of on sight, preventing the other children from seeing them.
“Idiot, just because she sees a magic circle doesn’t mean she can immediately replicate it. Zeid’s the only one among us with that kind of ability.”
“Hey, why are you discouraging her like that?”
“Wh-what? *Our* girl?”
“Yeah! And even this clueless Number 14 can mimic magic, right? We were just unlucky and got duds, but maybe one of these magics has good compatibility with her.”
The boy continued to encourage Liliope even while being criticized.
“The way I see it… Light Magic seems like it would suit you well! You’re blonde, after all! Anyway, it just seems to fit!”
[What does being blonde have to do with Light Magic, you utter fool…]
“Trust me, okay? Try practicing Light Magic from now on! You’ve got nothing to lose anyway!”
The inside of the cave soon became bustling and noisy.
Watching them, it seemed like everyone had already forgotten that someone had just died on the very spot they were standing.
Liliope, whose already non-existent appetite had completely vanished, crumpled the paper in her hand.
She already knew, but this was not a place to stay for long.
Staying here would only mean seeing more unsightly things and suffering more indignities.
It was at that moment.
