Dark Organization (1)

She wondered why there were so many street stalls in the square, but it turned out that today was the night market.

She only found out about this when she went down for dinner and, seeing the hall empty, asked the innkeeper.

“Night market, night market… Hmm.”

Yona pondered, stroking her chin with her hand wrapped in holy cloth.

Night market, huh.

There wasn’t anything like that in Evian.

In other words, she had never been to a night market since coming to this world.

She was curious.

“Rubina.”

“Eep, yes!”

Rubina, who was struggling with a boiled potato using her fork, was startled by Yona’s call and dropped her fork.

Catching the fork that fell straight under the table and placing it back in Rubina’s hand, Yona patted her head.

“Want to go to the night market?”

After kicking away Alec’s behind who insisted on coming along, Yona walked holding Rubina’s hand.

Although it was already night, luminous stone street lamps lit up the surroundings, and since it was the night of the market, people were bustling about, making it almost indistinguishable from daytime.

“Mom- I mean, sister.”

“Hm?”

It sounded like she called her mom.

Well, it’s not really important, so Yona looked down at Rubina.

With a slightly flushed face, Rubina avoided Yona’s gaze and asked.

“What kind of place is a night market?”

“A night market, well. It’s a market that opens at night, but…”

Yona had never been to a night market either, so it was quite difficult to answer.

“It’s just a place with lots of things to see and eat, you know, that kind of place.”

“It must be expensive.”

This doesn’t seem like something a 10-year-old child would say right away.

Yona inwardly sighed and waved a small leather pouch in front of Rubina.

The pouch, containing a few copper coins and two or three silver coins, jingled as she shook it.

“Sister has a lot of money. Don’t say things like that. If there’s something you want to eat or try, just tell me without worrying. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

Rubina answered in a small voice.

Satisfied with that answer for now, Yona was about to start walking again when Rubina’s tiny voice was heard once more.

“In two days… we’ll part ways, is it okay to spend money on me?”

After hearing that, she couldn’t just walk away.

Yona stopped and knelt on one knee in front of Rubina, who had stopped with her, to meet her eye level.

“Who said we’re parting ways in two days?”

“But… today at the orphanage-“

“Do you think sister is going to abandon you at the orphanage?”

“……”

Rubina didn’t answer.

She kept her gaze lowered, unable to look at Yona directly.

“If you’re doing well at the orphanage, sister will definitely come to see you. When I come to visit, I’ll make sure to ask if Rubina has been doing well, listening to the guidance teacher well, and not fighting with friends. So we’re not parting ways. Right?”

“…Yes.”

“You can say ‘yeah’ too. It’s okay for you.”

“But.”

“I told you it’s okay to say ‘yeah’. You called me mom before, didn’t you?”

Rubina didn’t answer.

As Yona waited for a moment and got up after patting Rubina’s cheek, she heard it.

A very small, tiny voice saying, “Yeah-“

As soon as some unknown liquid spurted from his mouth, flames lit up the sky.

The flames burning brightly at the end of the iron rod sometimes spewed long flames like a dragon’s breath depending on the man’s skill, and sometimes seemed to go out and reignite as they entered and exited the man’s mouth, eliciting exclamations from the spectators.

“Sister, sister! Look there, he ate fire!”

“Yes, that’s amazing.”

It is an interesting skill.

Yona nodded, taking a bite of the unnamed grilled fish she was holding.

It tasted better than expected.

There was almost no fishy smell, and it was grilled until just before burning, so while the skin was crispy, the inside was moist, making it tasty.

Rubina seemed to like it too, nibbling away at her fish skewer, making Yona think that maybe it would have been fine to buy her fish dishes for lunch instead of the meat sandwich.

“Is it delicious?”

“Yes, I mean, yeah. It’s delicious.”

“Good, eat a lot.”

Yona was about to pat Rubina’s head with her right hand instead of her left hand holding the grilled fish, but she hesitated.

If that strange tattoo-like mark on her right arm were to transfer to Rubina, it would be a big problem, so she just left it at that.

The moon was bright, and with the addition of the orange streetlight glow, people’s faces seemed to shine with an orange gloss.

As if day and night had switched, even though it was clearly time for everyone to go home and prepare for tomorrow, so many people had faces full of smiles without a trace of worry or concern.

“This place must really be good to live in.”

“Huh?”

Yona took the skewer from Rubina’s hand as she was fiddling with it, now left with only the head and tail after eating most of it. Then she placed her own skewer, which was still half uneaten, in Rubina’s hand.

“Everyone’s smiling. That’s why I said that.”

“They’re smiling?”

“Yes. Rubina, you smile when you’re in a good mood, right? Everyone else is smiling too. They’re smiling because they’re in a good mood. Having many reasons to smile means it’s a good place to live.”

Rubina, who had just taken a bite of the fish skewer Yona gave her, looked up at Yona.

She looked like she had something to say.

“What is it?”

“Then, does Uncle Alec like you too?”

“…Huh?”

What’s this about all of a sudden.

Yona tilted her head and looked down at Rubina.

“What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“Uncle Alec always smiles when he looks at you. Doesn’t that mean he feels good when he sees you? If seeing someone makes you feel good, doesn’t that mean you like them?”

“Of course he likes me.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’m Evian’s best healer. Someone like Alec should be happy just to see a healer of my caliber as a teammate. Isn’t that natural?”

“Is that so?”

“That’s how it is.”

Yona snorted.

It’s only natural. How many times has Alec been saved from death thanks to me?

It’s natural for him to feel good just seeing me, he should be carrying me around and serving me if anything.

“Come on, let’s go look around some more.”

“Sister, what’s that over there?”

“That? Oh, what is that?”

“Is this all ice?”

“Yeah…”

Since she had already said something before, she couldn’t bring herself to say it was expensive, so she handed over six copper coins and received a wooden plate.

On top of the roughly shaped ice flowers piled up like a mountain, various syrups were drizzled, and a few pieces of fruit were scattered on top. This was undoubtedly shaved ice.

Feeling like her voice might tremble, Yona tensed her throat and barely managed to answer.

“It’s cold…”

“Y-yes. This is called shaved ice. Shaved ice.”

“Shaved ice…”

“Come on, let’s go sit over there and eat it.”

Fortunately, there was an empty bench.

Thinking how great the timing was, Yona quickly went to the bench and sat down, then patted the seat next to her, calling Rubina.

As soon as they sat side by side on the bench, Yona picked up the rough spoon – which was really just a piece of wood with a shallow groove carved into it – and scooped up a generous amount of shaved ice with plenty of syrup and a couple of fruit pieces, then pushed it into Rubina’s mouth.

“Ugh-!”

With her mouth full, Rubina’s eyes widened at the cold sensation and unfamiliar taste she was experiencing for the first time.

After rolling her widely opened eyes around, Rubina looked at Yona.

“Shishter, thish ish sho delishioush!”

“Yes, I know it’s incredibly delicious. So you eat it. Sister doesn’t need to eat.”

The sense of loss for the six vanished copper coins would probably grow stronger the more she ate it.

Unable to say that, Yona quietly watched Rubina eating the shaved ice.

Every time the shaved ice decreased a little, Rubina would glance at Yona, and each time Yona nodded, Rubina eventually ate the shaved ice without even looking at Yona for approval.

But being a child, Rubina put down the spoon after eating less than half of the shaved ice bowl.

“I can’t eat anymore…”

“You’re done already?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re not lying because you want to eat more, are you?”

“No, I really can’t eat anymore.”

Yona stroked Rubina’s head with a smile full of warmth.

This time with her left hand, not her right.

It was fortunate that Rubina was sitting on the left.

“Well, Rubina wouldn’t lie. Because lying makes you a bad child. Right?”

“Uh, uhh…?”

Rubina was startled.

This was an unexpected reaction from Rubina.

But Yona didn’t notice Rubina’s strange reaction.

“If you’re worried about me, you can eat more. Don’t hold back just because of me if you want to eat more.”

“R-really, I can’t…”

“Okay. Speaking of which, Rubina. When you enter the church, you must never lie. Understood?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Something terrible happens if you lie. The Celestial God will go ‘you rascal-‘ and…”

Lying is one of the top taboos among the 10 great sins taught by the Celestial Church.

The 10 great virtues and 10 great sins are the first things learned when entering a church orphanage.

They start by teaching children like this not to lie.

In that sense, Yona had said it lightly, but Rubina remained silent for a long time with her head bowed.

“…Rubina?”

Suddenly feeling that something was strange, Yona called Rubina’s name several times, but Rubina didn’t answer.

“…did…”

“Huh?”

A very small and feeble voice was heard.

Yona brought her ear closer to Rubina.

“I, I… l-lied…”

“You lied? About being able to eat more shaved ice?”

What kind of lie could a child have told?

Yona still had a smile on her face as she patted the back of Rubina’s neck.

“Come on, what lie did you tell? About the shaved ice? Or something else? If you tell sister honestly, I might forgive you-“

“Really… really…?”

Rubina suddenly lifted her head and looked up at Yona.

Her large black eyes were brimming with tears that seemed about to spill over at any moment.

“Of course! What kind of lie was it? Tell me honestly.”

“The, the orphanage…”

“The orphanage?”

What could this be about?

Yona was momentarily confused.

What could Rubina have lied about regarding the orphanage?

“The orphanage… I didn’t want to go… but I said I liked it… Waaah!”

Finally, Rubina started crying loudly.

With the characteristic hiccupping sobs of children mixed in, it became impossible to understand what Rubina was saying.

“Sis-sister… Un-uncle… Together, hic! To-together…!”

“Together?”

“Wanted to… hic! Go… sniff!”

Oh.

So-

She didn’t want to go to the orphanage, she wanted to go with us, but she couldn’t say that and lied that she liked the orphanage, is that what this is about?

“I’m sho-hic! Sorry…!”

Rubina started wailing in full-blown sobs.

Now Yona was the one who was flustered. She had just thrown out a casual comment, not expecting things to escalate like this, and moreover, Rubina saying she didn’t want to go to the orphanage and wanted to come along?

Realistically, that’s a bit difficult.

Is it just difficult, or is it completely impossible?

“First, okay? Rubina. First, calm down a bit, drink this…”

She tried to give Rubina some shaved ice to calm her down as she was wailing and hiccupping, but at some point it had fallen from Yona’s lap and had already completely seeped into the sand, disappearing without a trace.

Since only half was eaten before disappearing, it was like throwing away three copper coins.

“F-first. Rubina.”

Yona’s mind was in complete disarray, unable to judge how to handle this situation.

Her mind, which had been so sharp in front of monsters, was now in chaos, unable to organize her thoughts.

“First, okay? Rubina. Wipe your tears.”

She wiped the tear stains from Rubina’s eyes with the hem of her nun’s habit.

What should she do now?

With Rubina wailing like this and hiccupping, she needed to give her something to drink, but leaving the child alone here to go get something was out of the question, and Rubina wasn’t in a state to be taken along either.

“Oh my, the child is crying a lot. Did something happen?”

It was a voice she had heard somewhere before.

Turning quickly at that voice, she saw a man right in front of her.

A black mole on his forehead, and a single hair visible in the glow of the luminous stone street lamp.

“The, the gate guard?”

“I thought I’d seen this little girl before. What happened?”

“Well… uh, a bit. Yes.”

“Oh dear…”

The guard seemed to be off duty, wearing casual clothes instead of armor.

With a worried expression, the guard looked back and forth between Rubina and Yona’s faces.

“The child needs something to drink. The hiccups are bad.”

“Y-yes, I think so too. I was about to go buy something…”

“Ah, then hurry and go. I’ll watch the child.”

Yona brightened at those words.

She had been at a loss about what to do, but fortunately, an acquaintance – and moreover, a gate guard – offered to watch Rubina, which was truly lucky.

“Th-then I’ll leave her in your care. I’ll be right back!”

“Take your time. I’ll keep her safe.”

When Yona finally returned to the bench with two fruit juices she had bought for Rubina and the guard, Rubina was not on the bench – and the guard was nowhere to be seen either.

Only an unfamiliar couple sat on that bench, chattering and giggling about something, but there was no sign of Rubina anywhere.

At her feet, the traces of the seeped shaved ice were still there, but the girl who had been eating that shaved ice so well was nowhere to be found.