episode_0002

Colds, flu, and pneumonia have similar symptoms. However, none of them could be taken lightly in the slum.

If it’s just a cold, you can rely on your immunity and take time to heal naturally, but this also requires gambling. There were as many people here dying from not being able to beat a cold as there are insects.

Flu and pneumonia were worse than a cold. These terrible diseases were virtually impossible to fully cure without professional treatment.

Even if they were miraculously cured, they would always leave some form of after-effects. Most symptoms were a strange limp or an inability to speak properly. Both were common disabilities in the slum.

But that was also a product of a miracle. In typical cases, flu or pneumonia patients all die without overcoming the crisis.

Could Evelyn be free from death? Could she miraculously recover without any treatment and leave no after-effects?

Impossible. The time to believe in such fairy tales is long past. Asel brought the cold metal to Evelyn’s panting forehead and clenched his back teeth.

According to memories from his previous life, pneumonia and flu were not very serious diseases in that world. Although the mortality rate was quite high, advanced medicine had completely conquered both diseases, and if treated in time, death was almost out of the question.

But this place is different.

Is the medicine here lacking compared to his previous life? To some extent, it is true. However, it’s not to the point where they cannot treat pneumonia or flu. While a perfect cure might be difficult, if one only receives treatment from a city doctor, there wouldn’t be much of a problem.

The problem is, they cannot even see such treatment itself.

In the end, money was the problem. The environment was the problem, and the problem was the damned reality. From the moment he left home. No, it was a truth he felt deeply from when he was under his parents’ shadow. He was just slow to realize it.

“…Asel.”

As Asel was thus struggling with the pain of reality, Evelyn, with her eyes half-open, called his name. At that tranquil voice, Asel’s consciousness returned.

“Sis! Are you okay? Can you speak?”

“…Asel. You’re bleeding.”

“…What?”

“I said you’re bleeding… idiot…”

Evelyn said that and lightly brushed her finger across Asel’s mouth. Then, bright red blood followed in a line. It was bleeding from his gums splitting because he had clenched his teeth too hard. Until Evelyn spoke, Asel hadn’t noticed either.

“Don’t hurt yourself…”

Evelyn roughly rubbed the blood on her finger onto the blanket and smiled with difficulty. Asel felt a stronger surge of emotion from Evelyn’s words than from her action.

“Who’s telling who…!”

“I’m okay, Asel… I’m okay… Don’t, huff, don’t worry.”

“Nonsense.”

Asel immediately dismissed Evelyn’s words. He removed the metal that had become hot and placed another cold metal on Evelyn’s forehead.

Evelyn opened her mouth to say something about Asel’s actions, but Asel was faster.

“Wait for me. I’ll bring the medicine.”

“…Asel.”

“Don’t die before then. Don’t lose consciousness either. I’ll be back before the sun sets, so stay conscious until then.”

He didn’t wait for an answer.

Asel immediately got up and left the rotten shack. The cold winter wind blew as if freezing him to the bone, but Asel moved his steps without hesitation.

He thought about Evelyn.

His only blood relative who took responsibility for him until the end, in place of parents possessed by demons who committed murder and cannibalism. Although she was not naturally very healthy, the sight of her somehow climbing trees to pick fruit for him and smiling still vividly comes to mind.

After coming to the slum, unlike himself who rested when there was no work, the sight of her going to the factory every day without a single day off, and when she was lucky enough to get decent food, she would always share the edible parts – these sights are simply unforgettable.

Should he just watch from the side while such a person is dying? Because you don’t know when they might die, so you should at least witness their final moments?

‘Bullshit.’

Asel had absolutely no intention of doing that. Miracles are not achieved by simply praying quietly. Something akin to a miracle can only happen if you do something. Since settling in the slum, he had never forgotten that rule for a single day.

Asel forced his body, which was growing cold, to warm up and continued his steps. His destination was a drug manufacturing factory.

‘Stealing medicine by going to the city is virtually impossible.’

The city’s security is by no means lax. Even near simple peddlers, guards to prevent robbery are visible, so how could it be possible to break into a clinic and steal medicine?

Even if, by chance, he managed to quietly infiltrate a clinic, there was no way to distinguish between pneumonia medicine and flu medicine among the numerous drugs. Asel had no knowledge of medicine.

So he had to find another method. It was almost the only method and one of the things Asel was best at in the slum.

“I want to deliver drugs.”

He shouted that as soon as he entered the factory.

*

Drug factories operate more simply than one might think.

The factory owner, also the drug supplier, brings in drugs from outside, improves and produces some of them. The rest are sold and distributed.

If you ask which of the two is more important, those involved usually choose improvement. This is because improving drugs well and selling high-quality goods yields much better sales.

In that respect, the factory Asel visited was a place within the slum that was considered quite good, at least for improvement. This was information he knew because he had a lot of experience working as a delivery person here.

“So.”

Asel, sitting on the chair, focused on the voice coming from the opposite side. A middle-aged man with a sharp impression opened his mouth, looking down at him intently.

“You want to do the delivery with the highest pay?”

“That’s right.”

“Reason?”

“I need urgent cash. I have to buy medicine.”

“Medicine, huh…”

The man, the factory owner, mumbled that and sank his back into the sofa. Then he chuckled and took a sip of coffee.

“Do you know how strange it is that I am meeting with you alone like this right now?”

“…I know.”

Just a few weeks ago, when Asel spilled the drugs and they all turned into powder worse than sand. The supplier of the drugs being transported at that time was the factory owner before his eyes. Asel not only ruined that delivery miserably but also vanished without a word for several days.

Because of that, the factory owner not only lost a customer who ordered drugs regularly but also saw his reliability with customers slightly reduced. It was a small but not insignificant loss.

And then he suddenly shows up and asks for a high-paying delivery job.

“Don’t you think there’s a limit to being shameless?”

“…”

“To be honest, I want to kill you right now and sell your organs on the black market. There are quite a few enthusiasts for kid’s organs. Whether they are simple collectors or demon worshippers, either way, I could get a high price.”

They were chilling words. But Asel didn’t tremble. This was because he knew that speaking like that was the same as declaring he wouldn’t do it. The factory owner also knew that Asel was quite sharp, so instead of continuing to threaten him, he quickly moved on to another topic.

“You said you have to buy medicine.”

“…Yes.”

“Is it expensive medicine?”

“I don’t know. I can’t know the market price. Still, it’s a common medicine.”

“So, roughly 5 silver coins? In a place like this garbage dump, that’s enough money to eat and play for half a year or more.”

“…”

“As it happens, a job with similar pay came in. The problem is that nobody wants to do it.”

It was both good news and bad news. It was good that a request remained, but the reason it remained was the problem.

Nobody wants to do it.

That means there’s a reason nobody is taking the request. A reason that dangerous to one’s life.

Without hesitation, the factory owner immediately explained the reason.

“It’s a request that came from a Necromancer.”

“……..A Necromancer, you say?”

“Yes.”

The factory owner nodded his head. Meanwhile, Asel’s face began to grow increasingly rotten.

Necromancer. Literally a magic user who handles corpses. Unlike typical magic users who convert mana into magic power, they are unusual magic users who convert it into death energy (死氣) to manifest spells. Because of that representative characteristic, the perception of them was not very good.

In reality, they are not very different from the perception. For them, intelligent life forms are nothing more than resources for magic, and human ethics or emotions are merely useless byproducts discarded at the same time as learning magic.

What they consider important are rituals and transcendence achieved through corpses. The lingering thoughts left by the dead. And personal achievement.

“What he wants is five boxes of drugs. He already paid an advance here, and he said he’ll add extra money if we hand over the goods.”

“…”

“The price of the drugs is 5 gold coins. Of that, the pay that will go to the delivery person is 7 silver coins. That’s more money than you wanted.”

The factory owner said with a grin. Asel bit his lip for a moment, then asked in a low voice.

“……It seems there’s a price for arranging the request. If not, there’s no way you would offer it to someone like me with no trust, no matter how bad the request is.”

“Haha! You’re sharp indeed. If you were born into a noble family, you would have amounted to something, wouldn’t you?”

The factory owner said that and leaned his upper body towards Asel.

“Let’s get to the point. In exchange for taking the request, I want to include you in my organization. Including your sister, of course.”

“…”

“I see you as quite decent. Not only do you have a sharp mind for your age, but your memory is also good. The fact that you ran away once bothers me, but as long as I’m holding Evelyn as a hostage, you won’t be able to run away as you please. Hmm?”

Asel shut his mouth tightly. Regardless, the factory owner continued speaking, splitting his lips into a wide grin.

“As time passes, your mind will become even more extraordinary. I’ve seen quite a few like you. Those who stand out from a young age always make a name for themselves later. I think you are someone who can do that too. I’ve never once seen someone who can pound the slum’s map directly into their head for deliveries, and instantly memorize the description of the drugs they are transporting upon hearing it.”

“…That’s an overestimation.”

“That’s for me to judge.”

Because he had spoken a lot, the factory owner moistened his burning throat with coffee and said, looking down at Asel.

“So, are you going to do it?”

The answer was already decided.