WIOHMH 78🔐

Chapter 78. The Witch’s House

“Hmm, so—you came to recharge some items today?”

“Yes, that’s right. The client wants them fully charged by tomorrow morning.”

Skadi’s long fingers swept over the items piled on the desk. They were all Arnold’s items, taken out from the ‘subspace pouch’ Birkin had brought.

Just moments ago, Birkin and Liam had followed Skadi into the shop.

With its reddish interior, it was hard to tell at a glance whether this was some kind of entertainment venue or an item charging station. But aside from Skadi, there wasn’t a single person inside.

A place that felt somewhat gloomy, yet not noisy.
That was Birkin’s first impression of “Skadi’s Charging Station.”

“Oh, I see. I thought since Liam came, you were here to recharge internal mana.”

“Internal mana?”

“What, you didn’t know? Liam Moore’s chronic condition. He’s always short on mana.”

With her free hand, Skadi pointed at Liam. He simply looked back at her, expression unchanged.

“Ever since that guy came to Deepdale, I had to act as his personal mana charger for quite a while.”

“You’ve been charging him this whole time, Ms. Skadi?”

“Mm-hmm. This is the only private charging station in the black market. Sometimes some vagrants come around saying they’ll sell mana, but you can’t really trust that, can you?”

Strictly speaking, Skadi’s shop was located deep within the alleys of Deepdale’s underground market. But people referred to the inner alleys as the black market, which is why she called it that.

The shops along the main streets—where knights conducted inspections—belonged to the underground market. The businesses tucked away in the alleyways were considered part of the black market.

Perhaps because of that, the knights didn’t bother checking the back alleys. The paths were too tangled and confusing—outsiders would easily get lost.

“I heard there’s another one over in the underground market area, but it’s pretty expensive. At that point, you might as well go to the Mage Tower. It’s pricey, sure, but their service is top-notch.”

“Then why did you come here, Mr. Liam?”

Birkin asked with genuine curiosity. Liam hesitated slightly before answering.

“…It’s the fastest.”

“The fastest?”

“Mm, we are quite fast. Kids, take all these items and recharge them!”

Skadi clapped lightly.

From who-knows-where, a group of skinny children crawled out from various corners of the shop.

About a dozen of them each grabbed an item and quickly disappeared into the back. The brief commotion died down in an instant, and the shop returned to silence.

Watching the scene, Birkin parted her lips slightly.

“…Aren’t those children?”

“Hm? Yeah. The youngest is about ten, I think. But except for that one, they’re all over sixteen—almost adults. They just look younger because they’re so thin.”

“Wait—this is child labor exploitation, isn’t it? If that’s the case, I can’t leave my items here.”

At the mention of a ten-year-old, Birkin covered her mouth in disbelief. Her shock quickly turned into anger as she tried to cancel the request.

Skadi stopped her.

“Then those kids won’t have work today—and they’ll go hungry.”

“…I can at least buy them a meal for today. Please tell them to bring the items back.”

“Think about it, sis. Do you really think buying them one meal will change anything?”

Skadi picked up the pipe she had set aside and placed it between her lips. With a cold expression, she stared at the door the children had disappeared through.

“They’re kids who can’t even attend the academy because they have no money. The best they can do is beg. With those scrawny bodies, what else can they do? Carry heavy loads? Do labor?”

“……”

“Some of them were abandoned or even sold by their parents. They’re grateful just to be able to work here. There are plenty of kids outside who don’t even have that.”

Tap, tap.

Skadi lightly knocked her pipe, and thick smoke spread through the room.

Kids who considered working in this underground place a stroke of luck. Birkin bit her lower lip, her face dark with distress.

“Can you support them until they grow up? No, right? That’s reality.”

“…You do pay them properly for their work, right?”

“Oh my. They’re official employees of this shop. I just take a commission as a broker. The money you pay goes straight into their pockets.”

Then they must be earning a decent amount. And yet—why were they still working here?

Birkin looked toward the door with a pained expression. Everyone must have their own circumstances. She couldn’t blame them—but she couldn’t help feeling sympathy.

“Alright, that’s settled for you. What about you, Liam? Here for a recharge again?”

At that, Birkin’s head snapped toward him. Liam slowly nodded and rolled up his sleeve.

As if it were the most natural thing, Skadi extended her long fingers toward him. Birkin watched the scene closely.

“…You’re going to receive mana?”

“Liam’s a regular. He’s very particular—won’t accept mana from anyone but me.”

“Ah, only Ms. Skadi’s mana.”

At last, Skadi’s fingers met Liam’s.

In that moment, Birkin’s mood dropped sharply.

She didn’t even understand why. Liam always received mana from others—so why did it feel like something had been taken from her?

She forced herself to steady her emotions.

Then—

“Ugh—ugh! This bastard, you’ve gotten dirtier!”

“…Watch your mouth.”

“How am I supposed to keep my mouth shut in this situation?! Ugh, I can’t do this anymore! That’s it for now!”

Maybe thirty seconds had passed.

Skadi’s hand snapped away, and she began breathing heavily.

Liam didn’t look any better. His usually indifferent expression had turned cold, clearly showing his displeasure.

“Seriously! Why don’t you just take mana from someone else for once?! Why does it have to be me?!”

“You know how to handle mana properly. That’s why it’s faster.”

“What’s the point of fast?! You drain more, and it just feels worse! Ugh, it’s been a while—this is disgusting.”

Skadi wiped her untouched white fingers roughly against her clothes, as if she had touched something filthy.

Liam didn’t react much to the treatment. He only looked irritated from receiving someone else’s mana.

“Rest for ten minutes, then we’ll do it again. Why did you come so late today? Now closing time’s going to be pushed back.”

“This shabby place doesn’t have customers besides me anyway. Shouldn’t you be grateful I came?”

“Wow, you’re seriously awful.”

Birkin quietly watched them before slowly stepping back.

At this rate, Liam’s recharge would take much longer than expected.

And she didn’t want to keep watching.

Even though neither Liam nor Skadi seemed to enjoy it, Birkin couldn’t shake the irritation building inside her.

After telling them she was going to the restroom, she slipped out through the back door of the shop. The restroom, according to a sign, was down the alley to the right.

As soon as she felt the cool air, a deep sigh escaped her.

“…Haah…”

“You’re the customer today, right?”

“!”

Startled, Birkin flinched. Looking down, she saw a young boy with bangs parted enough to reveal his eyebrows, staring up at her.

“…Are you part of this shop?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Birkin Redfield. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Arban.”

The boy confidently extended his hand. Having already seen Skadi do the same, Birkin smiled softly and shook his small hand.

“You said I’m the customer—was there a problem?”

“No. I just hope you’ll come again. We like customers like you.”

“…Customers like me?”

“You brought a lot of items. The older guys are happy they each got one. Otherwise, they fight over them all the time.”

Birkin let out a quiet sigh inwardly. Given the shop’s location, it probably didn’t get many customers. The few jobs they did get often turned into competition among the children.

Fidgeting with his fingers, Arban spoke again.

“I’m the youngest, so I usually get nothing. But today’s different. I think I can buy candy for my little siblings.”

“Are you ten, by any chance?”

“Yes.”

So this was the youngest child Skadi had mentioned.

Birkin almost reached out to pat his head—but stopped. Regardless of his age, Arban was an employee she had entrusted with a job. She didn’t want to treat him like a child.

Grrr—

A sound came from his stomach.

Arban clutched his belly, blushing.

“I-I’m not hungry… That’s weird.”

“Arban. How many of you are inside right now?”

“Eleven. Why?”

Birkin smiled brightly at him.

“Shall we go buy some snacks?”