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Thonvir had shot up and clenched his fists.

Seyna and I were surprised by his exclamation—even Melyn stayed quiet. Ysolva stood on the sidelines and witnessed her brother take center stage.

「Ya talk as if we don't have a say in this! Don't go makin' decisions on our behalf!」

He trudged towards me and grabbed me by the shirt. His golden eyes reflected anger over my lack of reluctance in giving them up.

「Hlanu, Lakua, none o' it matter t'me. Ysolva is me world, and like a hero from legends ya saved me world.」

「Then wouldn't it be best if you—」

「Lorenzo! Are ya gonna lie again?! Don't forget ya have a promise t' fulfill ya ninny! We're goin' t' that Rysef bastard and we're goin' t' live in th' village! That's final! I don't care 'bout th' Church or Zalgrough's cronies! As long as I get t' live with ya and repay ya fer savin' me sister, safety is th' least o' me concerns!」

E-eh..?

His prickly exterior had molted, revealing his true feelings. Pride was nothing in the face of his unadulterated gratitude.

I almost blushed with how honest he was being.

Seyna sneered at the boy's saccharine words. Although her convictions were respectable, her demeanor was unpleasant to the core.

「Yes, yes... that's lovely and all, but you do not speak for everyone here, boy. Don't involve your childish admiration in matters of life and death. It's clear which of our districts is most suited for harboring excommunicated outcasts like you.」

She twirled around and raised her tone.

「Since we're getting nowhere with this, let's try democracy shall we?! The majority decides where all of you will end up! No hard feelings right?!」

「I don't care what th' others think. Ysolva and I are stayin' regardless o' th' outcome!」

「Aw pipe it down you brat. I'll haul you back if you resist. Trust me, you'll be grateful down the line. Now then, excluding the unconscious, all in favor of receiving Hlanu's protection raise your hands! Come on!」

She waited for an answer, but none arrived. The children blankly stared at the Viridescent Queen who was steadily growing impatient.

「Did you not hear what I said? We at the Hlanu District will accept you with open arms! Warm meals, fresh water, healing magic and clean beds await you there! All is granted at the low, low cost of lifting those scrawny limbs of yours. Is that not an exceptional proposition?」

Again, staunch silence.

Had her offer been rejected? Or were the orphans too afraid to speak out?

Living under the tyranny of adults had crushed their senses of individuality.

The way Seyna commandeered the conversation was no different than how Zalgrough and his grunts ran operations underground. She was painfully oblivious to the fact.

Thonvir broke the dead air and grabbed the reins of this impromptu referendum. He wielded an indomitable spirit, no matter who he faced.

「Yer district may have all th' amenities we need, but it lacks one crucial aspect.」

The splayed fingers stretched high above the boy's head reaffirmed his position.

「A ninny we can trust with our lives. If Lorenzo isn't there with us, then we're not goin'.」

Seyna curled her lips at the boy once more. She genuinely saw him as nothing more than a deluded brat.

It was only when his sister joined in, that her contemptuous smile slowly faded.

「I-if big bro wants t' live 'ere, I'll live 'ere with him!」

「Don't be swayed by him, girl. Decide what's best for your brother by voting for Hlanu. Don't you feel bad seeing him work hard for your sake? Our district will allow you two to live the rest of your childhoods in comfort and security. It's too good of a deal to pass up...」

「T-thank ya fer th' offer... but sorry. Big bro is right... Lorenzo saved us from those bad people... runnin' off t' an easy life without repayin' him makes us no better than those bullies who hurt us.」

The Viridescent Queen tapped her foot with every sentence Ysolva spouted out—the siblings had firmly sided with Lakua. It was a significant blow to her district's name.

But she didn't hedge her bets yet. Only two of the sixteen orphans had made a choice. If she won the favor of the remaining fourteen children, we'd have no choice but to yield them up.

Or so she promptly believed.

One by one, the children began raising their hands. Melyn and I gaped at them as two hands turned to four, and four hands turned to eight.

In the end, all sixteen kids had vouched for us and the Lakua District, leaving Seyna a sore loser.

She audibly groaned at the results.

「This is why I hate brats... they never know what's good for them. Too bad though! There's sixteen orphans, and seventeen rescued test subjects. Your votes combined don't even add up to a majority decision! So... shall I propound a compromise?」

I didn't like her phrasing. Neither did the children. Seyna was one to play by her own rules.

「Let's assume seventeen of the remaining "inactive" votes belong to Hlanu. That automatically means you lose, doesn't it? And seeing as nearly half of the total votes—all of you—inanely decided on that dysfunctional village in the woods... well it's fair to say most of you won't be satisfied with the outcome, should Hlanu emerge as the victor.」

A false premise. She shamelessly chose to deceive us under the presumption she was bound to win. The children may not have been aware of it, but I was.

And seeing Melyn's crimson eyes smolder with antipathy, it was safe to assume she was aware of it too.

「Therefore... I elect we scrap this election idea altogether, and instead seek council from the District Master you're all so fond of, Rysef! Let's directly ask him in that village of his whether he prefers to keep you over there or transfer you over to Hlanu! Simple as pie!」

Thonvir downheartedly dropped to his knees. His hate for the Ashen Thief had not subsided, and deep down he knew what Rysef's answer would be.

That rat! She's planning to snitch on us!

I needn't explain what would happen if Seyna contacted Rysef about the orphans and test subjects we rescued.

He'd undoubtedly shove all responsibility on her to avoid being targeted by the Church. The spineless oaf would simply ignore the orphans' wishes to save himself the trouble.

I couldn't let that happen. Not after Thonvir and Ysolva declared their desire to stay in the village.

Two shots left in my pouch. I wondered if I should pull out my ballistette and take aim.

Thankfully, my rash thought of action was defused by the cries of a young girl.

「I, OLEENA, VOTE FOR LAKUA ON BEHALF OF ME AND MY MOTHER!!!」

She stood up from her mother's cold embrace and cemented her feet on the ground. Her curly violet hair violently swayed in the night breeze.

「Hm? Oleena? You're one of the guinea pigs aren't you? Step away girl, you're in an injudicious state. Go back to keeping your mother—」

「They never pumped me with the things they pumped into mama. I'm in my right mind! And young as I may be, even I know you're not to be trusted!」

The Viridescent Queen didn't count on any of the narcotized prisoners to still be sane. The exact moment she realized her oversight was indelible to me.

Seyna was grasping at straws by now.

「Girl, are you really going to let yourself get swept away by the sentiments of these strangers? We at Hlanu can cure your mother of her ailment! Isn't that what she'd want?!」

「You don't know the first thing about mama! She travelled all over Jazga to find money for our starving village! Nobody forced her to! She did it of her own accord! And once she was promised enough funds to feed everyone back home, they used her! Used her and her kindness! Do you know how long it took me to track her down?! What it was like to find your own mother teetering on the brink of death?!」

「And what? Is that all supposed to imply something?」

「You're all the same. Every last one of you. You adults promise to grant all our wishes, only to exploit us for your nefarious agendas. Mama would never entrust her life to you!」

Her distrust was wholly apparent. She pivoted on her heel towards me and plainly announced her vote.

「So on her behalf, I choose to live with Lorenzo. Not only did he stand up for me back in the cell block, but he also came back for us. There's no one more fit to live with—he's neither an adult nor a liar!」

She's wrong on both accounts, but I'll accept the praise...

It seemed as though Seyna had heard enough. She refrained from pursuing the orphans any further, and accepted their opinions as reality.

In retrospect, she did back off rather quickly...

「It's settled then. Seventeen out of thirty-three. A narrow win, but a majority withal. So be it. Issues dealing with children always end up being monumental wastes of time I suppose.」

The Viridescent Queen sauntered to the edge of the raised platform and inspected the knocked-out thugs. Among them, one had caught her eye.

「By the way, I'll be taking the handless one. You've definitely improved your fighting style since last month. I'll give you that. At least I won't return empty-handed.」

「Zalgrough..? Why him..?」

I watched as Seyna carried Zalgrough and hopped off onto an intact chunk of street.

「Don't you know boy? He's from my district. Given that we're district neighbors, it's not too uncommon to see our slum dwellers mingling with one another. Whoever devised the tenets was probably an idealistic fool who believed everyone would follow the rules to a tee. To be that out of touch with reality and view your fellow man as beings capable of machinelike obedience... I can understand how the Church came to be.」

As she uttered her nugget of wisdom, an army of shadowy figures from the rooftops came jumping down onto our platform. They surrounded us bearing weapons and defensive stances.

Leading them was a tall hooded woman who greeted us with a familiar voice.

「Lorenzo? Melyn? What in Vel's name is going on here?」

「L-Lia..?」

She also noticed the Viridescent Queen who was on her way to a nearby manhole.

「A-and master Seyna? What brings you to our district?」

「Just bringing back a subject of mine. You know how slum dwellers are. Lack of discipline nowadays eh?」

「Huh...」

Lia took stock of her surroundings, as the Sentinels waited for her command.

Ruined streets, buildings on the verge of collapse, disheveled children, motionless slum dwellers with glowing pink veins, and a pile of unconscious thugs. It was a lot to unpack.

To add to the confusion, Seyna thought it'd be fun to wave her hands and leave me with a cryptic message.

Everything was at sixes and sevens when the Viridescent Queen was involved.

「It's weird isn't it?! How we happened to run into each other?! Whoever's been supplying the info brokers with tips must've counted on us following the breadcrumb trail back to their base! Someone's pulling the strings Lorzinzo! I'm sure of it, hahaha!」

What a troublesome woman... She has a knack for instilling paranoia in everyone she meets...

Her farfetched remarks understandably stayed with me. She did correctly surmise the Church's involvement—her intuition was worth considering.

That being said...

As the Sentinels scrambled to restrain and secure the thugs, I was left wondering how to face Rysef and break my raid on the drug factory to him.

But above all, I wondered how I should shoulder the lives of these orphans.

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