Chapter 5: Homunculi Ritual Arc - The Selfish Homunculi

The morning, every student of Mesh is inside their classroom, looking at the board in front of them. Looking at the blackboard, the teach hands moving the chalk, drawing concept and knowledge for the students. The teacher looks focused, the students extremely attentive to each of the concept, drawing them up in their journal book for them to read.

This current classroom is filled with nobles. A person with white hair, crimson red eyes, and extremely pale skin looked at the window, staring at the field where a young man with Auburn hair is getting used again without remorse. She looked at the person, her heart somehow relating to what this young man is experiencing.

A fool, they call him. An extremely helpless fool that is lacking in the art of mage craft, known as a talentless idiot of a yes-man that would say yes to anything that is asked of him with a foolish smile. The person that is staring at the window, glance endlessly at the helpless fool being barraged with spells from the other students of the academy. The one doing it is the lower class, trying to hit him for practice.

No fool would volunteer in such dangerous practice, but this fool did it when asked, she found it weird, irregular, yet there was some honest beauty that comes with it. The fool this person with white long hair and crimson red eyes have been watching was called Arden, she only learned of this person after coming into the Mesh Academy, two years ago. She was someone that came from a workshop and learning her use, she only saw the world as hateful, unworthy, and disgusting. Even the beasts that they call as 'demi-humans' in the northern continent of old was more morality uplifting than the humans she met so far.

Yet the human she sees, the selfishly foolish human named Arden was someone that piqued her interest. She was amazed at this human’s selfless attitude, it may be foolish, yet she could see that it was his genuine desire to help, almost as if doing so were like eating sweets to him.

Will he help her?

The lady with white hair wondered, she kept a façade of innocence, yet inside her heart was that of a cruel lost child, a selfish being lost in her role as a sacrifice for the fools in this academy. The academy to her is nothing than an Academy that caters to the nobles; the commoners are merely risen up to become foot soldiers and tools for the nobles to use to their own territory.

In her understanding, the nobles are in a trouble. Due to the war, people are dying out, most of the useful ones go to the battlefield in the middle of the continent to earn fame and money, in order to become people less than a commoner. Achievements bring rank, and once they have rank, fame then the chance of them being a minor noble or taken in by some nobles are high. Becoming a part of a noble’s army, and working under them is better than being a kingdom’s tool for war.

The war against the overlord of the northern continent has brought death and wealth to the Kingdom. The Southern Continent of Old, gains profit by selling weapons, rations to the frontlines, while the Northern continent is doing so to plunder, and resell them to their own countrymen to keep them feed, a cycle of greed and need.

So this Academy was nothing but a production area, an area where the livestock is fed, then thrown into the fray and be used. She hated the idea of this academy, and even though she kept an innocent façade to fool the nobles before, she was cursing on how her birth was only to be used for tools. So finding someone that was selfless was a surprise, even to her, the foolish magus that attends this academy was a surprise.

Will he able to help her?

The crimson red eyes of hers wavered as she looks at that selfless person. Her fate was sealed, before long she will be thrown to a ritual, to be used as a fuel for their own sick game of testing the mettle of the nobles aiming to become knights and mages. Even though they are greedy, selfish, pompous and arrogant, the nobles in the Academy had the right bloodline to act the way they are. They have the potential to become greater than anyone simply because of their superior bloodline, carefully bred to become superior. Through Eugenics the nobles became talented figures that can look down upon the commoners.

She, Melina of Berg was a homunculus created as a tool, containers and sacrificial dolls to be used for the nobles. Whether as a partner in bed, a tool for war, a fuel for war, she was only meant to be used. Her birth was simply destined to end up as someone that has no choice. Her role, as ‘Melina’ was to act as the ritual sacrifice for the testing of mettle for the nobles, a sheep that would have to be bled for them to summon lesser souls to fight, and test their mettle, confirming their aptitude that would allow them to be at ease.

Melina of Berg was masked as a noble, but in reality, she was merely a puppet that was brought by Lazlo Berg, her deliverer to this academy, the shepherd that would lead her to her demise.

She hates it all. The remorseless nobles that think nothing of the Homunculi’s of Berg as tools and sex toys. She hates them to the degree that even as supposed to be a puppet, she awakened emotions. She was the longest lived tool of the nobles because most people like her only lasts for twenty years.

She was an exception; hence her role in the next ritual of mettle was exceptional.

Afternoon, Melina escaped her master Lazlo and went to the training fields. She saw the exhausted Arden, lying on the ground covered in bruises and hits. He was wearing the volunteer uniform, a simple sleeve, pants, and leather boots that are enchanted to make the wearer survive. A common garb in the war zone, but used as clothing for volunteers. He was glowing with green light; a recovery spell is making his wounds heal.

“Good afternoon.”

“Hi...are you okay?”

She said looking down at Arden. Hugging her knees, she looked at his body. Still glowing, enchanted with the garb, it made his self-healing better. The clothing was quite well made after all. Despite it being a simple garb use in a war zone.

“Do you want me to help you?”

Melina said. Arden who was facing the skies looked wearily at the noble, his brows going up and down in wonder, wondering if the noble was either helping him or making fun of him.

“You look at me as I am tricking you.”

“Not really, of course, please help me.”

Melina flicks her fingers. A ball of green light appeared on the tip of her index finger. It grows bigger and turned into a sphere that eventually landed on Arden’s torso. His chest grows brighter, his self-recovery increased and before long the bruise on his body eventually disappeared. Arden looked surprised how fast it is.

“Thank you, Miss Noble.”

“It’s okay.”

Arden sat up. He stretched his arms, took a breath and made a foolish smile at Melina. She greeted that smile with her own brand of a fake smile.

“A noble thanking me and helping me, that’s new.”

“Haha, you must be really surprised.”

“No one is kind to this fellow. But I don’t mind.”

Arden sat on his legs. He looked at Melina, engaging her in a talk.

“Why come here, Miss Noble?”

“I saw you making a fool of yourself. I thought I might help you since you help us a yesterday with those boxes.”

“I don’t think that was worth thanking me for. It was natural.”

“I see. You really quite helpless aren’t you?”

“That’s what they call me. But I don’t mind at all.”

Melina eyes slightly close. Her eyes made a glint as she looks at Arden. He tilted his head to the right, wondering if he has done something to suddenly make her look at him with a glare.

“Why are doing this?”

“Because I want to?”

“Is that the truth?”

‘Yes.”

‘It doesn’t give you any merit though. Everyone is calling you a fool.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Is that really the truth?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have motives for doing this?”

“Not really, I just want to help.”

“Is that really it? No schemes, no hidden motives, just a pure desire to help? Or do you get a reward for doing all of this?”

Arden raised his left brow. He began wondering what she wanted to make him say. Melina was adamant in finding out what his true nature is and continued.

“No reward, I never get any of them at all.”

“Is that the truth?”

“Like I said, it is.”

“Why do this? I don’t understand. There is no merit, reward, or even thanks for you to have here. Yet, you foolishly agree to anything, as if you are a doormat.”

“I just feel like doing it.”

Arden scratched the back of his head. His eyes looking at the afternoon sky before pointing it back to Melina’s eyes.

“People would actually ask that all the time. I just want to help people. I need no reward. I am not even asking for their thanks. I am not doing this get thanked. Not doing for any motives. It is just a simple wanting to help. But yet they wouldn’t believe it.”

“No fool would believe you.”

“Indeed, but that is the truth. Nothing but the truth, I just want to help people.”

“So it is a hobby for you?”

“No, I just want to help them.”

Arden couldn’t say anything else other than that. It was a complex matter for him. He didn’t want to explain it to Melina, thinking she wouldn’t get it.

“I have no words to say. You are helping because you want to? Is that really all to it?”

“Yes, I am sure. I just want to help people. Is that bad?”

A smile came upon his foolish face. Melina saw that raw innocence despite his vacant eyes that people would think that he was scheming inside. Most people don’t believe Arden because of his eyes that lack light. It was two pairs of cold eyes that make his words unreliable.

But Melina saw through beyond those eyes. She saw the clear raw innocent that the young man in front of her wants. He wasn’t lying at all. He just really wants to help people. Rewards, merits, or thanks are something he doesn’t need.

“I see...you truly are as foolish to what people say.”

Melina smiled...her smile this time was not that usual façade of a smile. The smile she showed to Arden was a genuine smile, a smile of a little girl who found something good in her life. She truly believes that there was nothing worse than a human. But right in front of her was someone that different.

Seeing this smile Arden felt something wrong. What he saw was a smile of a weary person. It was a lonely smile that felt like she found something worthwhile.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmm, I am...just fine.”

“...”

Arden could not believe her. He was someone that dealt with people. Despite his reputation of someone that people usually avoids. He interacted with different kinds of people through his helpless wanting. So seeing that smile Arden knew that it was a smile of a person that was craving for help.

“I don’t know what your name is Miss. “

“Ah. I am Melina.”

“I see, Miss Melina, if you need help please look for me. You can depend on me milady.”

“Okay.”

Melina said nonchalantly. After that, she stood up, patted her skirt and walked away. Arden looked at her lonely back. There was something that he was concern about looking at it.