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「Oh... Lorenzo!」

「Oleena, you're still here? Dinnertime's almost over, go get your food. We've got an overfilled stockpile to choose from...」

「I'll be there in just a minute...」

The young girl had sat by her mother's side from the morning. The bond between them was stronger than the forces who marred their lives.

That was one thing the Church couldn't take away from them.

I grabbed a chair and joined her.

「You really love your mom, don't you?」

「It's only natural... Papa abandoned us when I was but a weanling. All on her own, she had to raise me—a difficult task made only harder by the unprosperous little hamlet we lived in. Not once did she ever complain. She would just continue working her hardest to secure a living for us.」

An enigmatic smile lined Oleena's lips. I couldn't help but admire the pure affection that emanated from her words.

「What about you Lorenzo? Do you love your mama?」

She sprung a seemingly innocuous question on me. Swept away by the tender mood, I couldn't hold myself back from answering.

Thus for the first time in this world, I blabbed about my previous life.

「Haven't seen her in a while... But yes... I suppose I do.」

「Aha! Is that why you stood up for us yesterday?」

「Yes, yes, laugh at me all you want. The selfishness tied to projecting myself onto you aside... it's still a noble cause, isn't it? Eh... don't divulge any of that to another soul... especially Melyn. She'd tease me without end.」

She chortled at my candid reply and outstretched her pinky finger. Her smile widened to a playful beam.

「It's a promise then—a secret between us and us only. I quite like the sound of that...」

「I don't...」

I wrapped my pinky around hers. It was fascinating how the pinky promise existed in a fantasy realm so detached from the old world.

A lot from this realm makes little sense historically... But I'm gradually piecing it together...

Ga-chak!

「Ya kids are still 'ere? Dinnertime's nearly over...」

In from the door came Maksa with a stack of notes in his hands. I was somewhat aware of what they contained.

「Maksa... are those results from the examination?」

「Mm. Though... I have to say, Lorenzo, I'm unsure on th' results...」

「Unsure..?」

Oleena swiftly got off her chair and confronted the resident healer. Unsure was a worrying prognosis from a certified doctor.

「Is mama going to be alright?」

「I've already spent all o' last night extractin' th' dust from 'er body... but repairin' 'er brain circuits'll take several months. Since she's high on th' priority list, ya can expect her t' fully recover by next year. We're also enlistin' th' help o' ani casters from neighborin' districts, so th' manpower issue sh' be resolved... T' sum up though... we're definitely savin' everyone.」

The girl let out a breath of relief. I was glad no lives were to be lost from this incident. But his initial remark begged the question...

「What's the part you're unsure of then, if not the recovery of the infirmed?」

「Th' symptoms... they don't look right...」

He flipped through his notes and reported his findings. Conclusively, there was something more sinister to the experimenting they'd endured.

「It wasn't just Nixie that caused this..?」

「Mm... th' pink glowin' veins come from a reaction with another chemical. Nixie addicts don't typically display such a manifestation otherwise... I 'ave yet t' uncover th' nature o' this unidentified substance...」

The revelation unsettled me.

I felt as though the fragmented intentions of our enemies were slowly forming a discernible pattern.

Expatiating the hundreds of scenarios that flashed before my eyes would take up another book... so in short, I'll say this: something was coming.

I didn't know what exactly, but there was undeniably an impending threat on its way.

Seyna wasn't far off the mark... at this rate, the slum dwellers truly will be forced into conflict...

Ga-chak!

Another interruption from the door. This time, Thonvir's head peaked out. His scar from yesterday had completely healed.

I calmed my racing thoughts and faced him with a placid stare.

「Ah... Lorenzo! There ya are! Yesterday's gang gathered up 'ere again eh?」

「Do you need something, kid?」

「Um... can we talk alone..? By th' headland.」

The ragamuffin shot a wink at the girl, who immediately trotted to the door.

「Alright, I'll go have dinner now. You two have fun.」

「O-Oleena..?」

She ran off, leaving me with the fidgety little boy.

Maksa took his leave amidst our exchange and tended to the patients.

「Let's head off... shall we Lorenzo?」

I was wary of his suspicious movements but figured a private talk would serve as a decent respite from my fruitless ruminations.

We left the clinic and headed for that landmark spot.

Trailing behind him, I spotted some of the children playing together in the woods. Some were the orphans, while others were from our village.

Didn't take long for them to mingle.

The headland, or promontory as I called it, was secluded from the rest of the dinnertime hubbub. The fond memories I shared here with Rysef seemed so distant.

Upon reaching the top of the rocky cape, Thonvir slapped his cheeks much to my confusion.

「Lorenzo!」

「Yea..? You alright buddy?」

「C-close yer eyes!」

I struggled to grasp the purpose of his abrupt request.

「Are you professing your love to me or something? You're a good kid, but sorry... I don't swing that way...」

「N-no?! How'd ya reach that conclusion ya ninny?!」

His flustered reactions were priceless. With that out of the way, I acceded to his request and sealed my eyelids shut.

Then, something soft pushed its way into my hand.

I reflexively held my hand up and opened my eyes.

「My handkerchief..! It's all clean!」

「Consider it an extension of me apology...」

He avoided looking at me and reddened like a ripe apple.

「Y-you didn't have to... Could've kept it as a good luck charm you know?」

「Good luck charm?! If anythin' that rotten piece o' cloth was th' reason Ysolva was nearly slashed ya ninny!」

「Haha... was it now? My memory's fuzzy.」

The boy sighed and waved his hands at the forest behind us. From the gaps between the greenwood came children who flocked to the promontory in droves.

A mixed crowd of the orphans and village kids had surrounded us.

What in God's name..?

「Woah... what's with the cult-like congregation? Trying to reenact Lord of the Flies and publicly execute me?」

Ching! Ching! Ching!

Thonvir revealed the pouch I lent him yesterday, held it aloft, and shook it around.

The solitary gold coin in my pocket paled in comparison to the accumulated wealth I could physically hear from the leather purse.

「What are ya waitin' fer..? It's yers.」

「H-huh? Sorry, I don't follow... Those are reparations for my threats remember? Why would you—?」

「Aaargh! Not everythin' has t' be an apology ya know?!」

He forcefully hurled the stuffed pouch to my gut, eliciting a pained groan.

「L-listen ya ninny! We got off on th' wrong foot yesterday! But dwellin' on that stuff'll make things weird! We've done nothin' but apologize to each other since our first meetin'! There are words other than "sorry" ya know?!」

He clenched his fist and shakily pointed it towards me.

「So... um... what I'm tryin' t' say is... let's put all th' crap behind us and start over. We 'ave a lotta respect fer ya, and want t' set things right. Money is meanin'less if ya don't have a use fer it, so this is our way of givin' back t' ya. Handkerchief's also a part o' that deal... um...」

I was utterly speechless.

Completing the assemblage of guttersnipes, were Melyn, Oleena, and Ysolva, who cut Thonvir's touching speech short.

「Alright! That's enough from Thonvir. Everyone, what do we say to Lorenzo for saving us?!」

At her command, Thonvir's sentiments were amplified by the voices of three dozen children. Even the ones who previously avoided me chimed in.

「Thank you, Lorenzo!」

I stood motionless as the words sunk in.

They were words I'd hear all the time back in Battleshift, but only now did I feel the weight of them.

「Alright! Good job everyone! You did a better job than Thonvir, which isn't saying much!」

Oleena's facetious assertions only further embarrassed the young boy.

「Oleena! I told ya I wasn't fit fer th' role! Why push me into it ya ninny?!」

「Come on, Thonvir! Relax! You did way better than I thought you'd do! I expected you to piss your pants and run off!」

「Why ya..!」

Ysolva squeezed in between them and hugged her older brother, effectively defusing his anger.

「I thought ya did great big bro! Ya can give a speech better than anyone I know!」

「Y-Ysolva...」

Oleena however, snickered at their heartwarming display of siblinghood.

「Aww... Your sister needed to step in to defend you! How adorable!」

「S-shut up ya ninny!」

All the kids broke into a chorus of laughter, much to Thonvir's chagrin.

I, on the other hand, remained stock-still at the sight in front of me. An indescribable warmth emanated from it. One that was, vaguely nostalgic.

A familiar touch on the shoulder brought me back to my senses.

「Zozo... you alright?」

「O-oh... Melyn...」

「Are you mad at us? I know this came out of nowhere but...」

「No. Of course not. I'm just surprised is all...」

「It was Oleena's idea. She thought you'd still be bummed out by your fight with Rysef yesterday, so she wanted to let you know how grateful everyone is. She really cares about you.」

「I'd like her more if she could tone down the cheekiness though.」

The thief girl hugged me from behind and gently spoke to me as the children squabbled in the background.

This too was familiar. Her soft breath no longer alarmed me. I'd grown used to her company over the time I spent here.

「Hehe... I may not agree with how you did things... but look around. The orphans are no longer shackled to that awful underground factory because of you... You've saved their lives, Lorenzo... Without your intervention, they wouldn't be laughing with us right now...」

She leaned on me with her lithe body.

「From now on though, you hold responsibility. With their lives on the line, you can't afford to mess around like you did yesterday. Playing with fire will only burn you and everyone you know, so please Zozo, don't waste the opportunity you granted these kids with... Petition all you want for change, but never give in to haste... For their sake...」

Her views clearly stemmed from a tragic past with the Church. There was no doubt about that.

As she left my side and seamlessly integrated herself into the quarreling rug rats, I thought about my responsibility to these people. It wasn't hard to figure out, in hindsight.

This was my home now.

My former guild, TradingJacks was simply a distant relic of my tenure as King of Battleshift.

The Lakua Village was now a place I could actively work towards improving. No, the Lakua District was.

The emerging peril of the Church, the food shortage we were experiencing, and the biggest sticking point in restoring the Lakua District, the city slum dwellers.

It was a lot to handle by myself, but together with Melyn, Thonvir, Ysolva, and Oleena... I was sure we could solve it.

As they continued to engage in lighthearted banter and roughhousing, I looked to the endless white sea alongside the fringes of the Jazgan continent.

The peerless fog mirrored the uncertain future that was to come.

I promise... I'll save this dysfunctional district and this country along with it.

The Lakua slum dwellers—their strings of fate intertwined with mines.

Alone they were thinner than a spider's thread, but together they formed an unbreakable weave that would far extend beyond my dreams of riches.

We would prevail. And with me fully committed, we were bound to overcome this onerous task ahead of us.

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