episode_0002

‘Edith, I love you.’

A voice is heard amidst blurry and hazy memories, as if submerged in water.

I hate hearing the sorrowful and calm voice that feels like it’s gouging out my chest.

Painful memories are surfacing.

Stop.

Don’t say any more.

I try to shout with a fervent voice, pushing away the memories, but the shout doesn’t turn into sound and remains in my chest.

It’s a memory I hate.

It’s a painful memory I never want to recall again.

‘……….you hear.’

Stop.

‘………you hear.’

I told you to stop.

I hate hearing people’s voices.

The sounds that come out of their mouths become lies that tie me down and plant distrust.

It has always been that way.

I believed only truth was beautiful, but there were no beautiful things around me.

Lies are ugly.

Yes.

Lies are ugly.

‘……….’

My heart became at ease.

No longer hearing the voice-

“Can you hear me!!”

“Kyaak!?”

At that moment, I jumped up from my spot at the loud voice echoing in my ear.

Just a moment ago, it was a dusky, dark space of deep blue.

Startled, I opened my eyes wide, and an ordinary home came into view.

-Rustle

The sound of a crackling bonfire and its warm heat.

The mouth-watering smell of food, which I don’t know how long it’s been since I last smelled it.

As my blurry vision returned to normal, the two people surrounding me came into sight.

“Oh, you’ve finally woken up. I was worried as you were groaning for quite a while, haha.”

It’s a face from my memory.

It’s clearly the man who killed the mid-level manager and called himself Owen.

“This place…”

“You suddenly collapsed, so I brought you here for now.”

Only then did I understand the situation.

The released shackles and my body lying on the bed.

If so, is this man’s house?

For now, my physical condition isn’t bad. The other children….

…….

……other children?

-Jump!

“The children who were caught. Where did they go…?”

“Ah, you mean those children?”

My mind suddenly became alert from the anxiety that instantly overtook me.

A scene I had never seen before unfolded around me.

The squinty-eyed man I saw in the last moment, and one woman I was seeing for the first time.

The woman, who appeared to be in her late twenties, had a pale face and was wearing a pure white gown.

It was an outfit that looked suspicious to anyone who saw it.

What could have happened to the children….

To my question filled with anxiety, the man smiled meaningfully and continued speaking.

“Hehehe, all those children went to a good place.”

“You…!”

-Whack!

My body tried to move first from the anger that surged up instantly, but the woman wearing a robe behind the man strongly smacked him on the back of the head.

Groaning from the sudden attack, he groaned as if in pain and expressed his question.

“Kyaaak……Mirnan, why are you doing this?”

“Stop talking so strangely. The kid’s expression is turning rotten.”

She sighed deeply while looking at the man clutching his head, then asked me a question.

“If you mean those children, you’re talking about the kids who were caught with you, right?”

“…What did you do with the children?”

“…Did? Diddd??”

The woman who was just moments ago asking me questions with a gentle smile suddenly hardened her expression.

On top of that, her pale face instantly flushed, making it feel as though heat was radiating from it.

She questioned me again.

“Say it again. Did??”

“…What did you do with the children?”

“Right. You should speak like that. I might not know about other things, but I can’t stand impudence.”

She tilted her head up slightly and sighed deeply.

Then, as she lowered her head, her expression, which had been distorted like an evil spirit, had somehow transformed into a gentle and benevolent-looking smile.

Her appearance gave the feeling as if she had changed masks.

“First, the children whose identities were confirmed were returned to their parents. And the children who were sold were safely escorted to the orphanage, so don’t worry.”

“……”

She isn’t lying.

Her voice’s tremor or intonation is natural.

More than that, the biggest reason.

‘My head doesn’t hurt.’

When I heard other people’s lies, my head hurt for some unknown reason.

I don’t know when this started, but considering the pain I felt in my childhood, it must have been from the beginning.

…Yes, the children are safe.

While feeling relieved on one hand, another wave of anxiety also struck.

If so, what will happen to me now?

The last words that suspicious-looking man said.

‘There is something you have to do.’

It certainly won’t be an easy task.

Judging by their appearance, speech, and behavior, they likely aren’t people doing normal work.

Even though I know judging others by their appearance is a bad habit, it was hard to change my prejudice because of that suspicious squinty-eyed man.

Added to that, their rough yet merciless actions.

Although I didn’t know what answer would come, I asked nervously.

“…What’s going to happen to me now?”

“The things you have to do are too numerous to express in words. Hmm……but the very first thing you must do is.”

-Gulp

Whatever task they give, I have no intention of performing it properly.

Although they saved the children, seeing that they brought me here like this, they probably aren’t much different from the people who were trying to sell them.

However, his answer was unexpected.

“Get plenty of rest.”

“…What?”

“Your condition doesn’t seem good, so please rest well for now. That is the first thing you must do.”

Rest, you say.

What could that mean?

It’s not that I don’t know the meaning of the word ‘rest’.

It’s just… I expected they would make me do this and that kind of difficult work.

Seeing that my head doesn’t hurt, he isn’t lying.

It’s just that I don’t know his intention.

As I looked at him meaningfully, the man tilted his head and spoke.

“Why are you looking at me with such eyes? Ah, surely you don’t know the meaning of the word ‘rest’. This, more than resting, basic education is-”

“You think I don’t know that? Don’t treat me like an idiot.”

“Then that’s a relief. Anyway, please rest well here for the time being. Your physical condition doesn’t look to be sound.”

He’s clearly provoking me slightly, yet he’s kind.

Having been dragged around and treated as less than human, hearing words like this felt strange.

“Ugh…!”

If a person who hasn’t eaten for a long time suddenly consumes food, their body cannot accept it.

In Edith’s case, the kind words the squinty-eyed man uttered were like that.

I felt something boiling inside me, and then I gagged.

-Pat -Pat

At that moment, I felt a sensation of my back being patted.

“Oh dear, are you alright?”

“…I don’t need it.”

Unnecessary physical contact is still a burden.

I strongly pushed away the arm that was patting my back, but he was smiling without any sign of displeasure.

What could be so enjoyable? Is he enjoying my reaction?

His reaction, whose true feelings I couldn’t understand at all, was more annoying than I expected.

It would have been better if he had openly revealed his true intentions.

“Anyway, please rest and recover sufficiently. It seems like you’re in a state where you can’t do anything right now.”

With those words, everyone except me left the room.

“……”

A soft bed and a warm room.

It was so comfortable it felt unreal.

***

As I left the room, leaving Edith behind, a sigh unconsciously escaped me.

Her appearance seemed more mentally cornered than I expected.

Since she’s a blank slate with nothing, I had planned to give her basic education before sending her to the academy, but mental care seemed to be more of a priority.

“Still, why is she so sharp towards the person who saved her?”

“Well, given the situation. And perhaps your way of speaking also played a part.”

“What’s wrong with my way of speaking?”

“Uh… never mind. If I say more, it’ll just hurt my mouth.”

Anyway, I safely brought the hero back.

When I found her, her body was full of wounds, but there’s a competent doctor on this side, so there’s no problem.

The problem regarding Edith has been resolved, so it’s time to solve the problems that arose during the process of saving Edith.

A moment ago, the man who was trying to hand over the children from the wax doll collector.

He is a member of the Jackal, one of the three organizations established in this vicinity.

I’ll erase the evidence as much as possible so that there won’t be conflict with the Jackal, but for Edith’s emotional development, it seems necessary to clean up the trash.

If the environment is good, emotions settle accordingly.

It’s an essential course for a child’s emotional education.

“But Mirnan, aren’t you managing your organization?”

“What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”

“I was just wondering if it might have reverted to the old days. I’m sure there’s no need to worry since Mirnan is in charge, haha.”

“I thought you wouldn’t say that after calling me. Dammit……”

Mirnan took out a cigarette from his pocket.

I know this pattern well.

He’ll stay right here until he finishes a pack.

-Hoooo

Oh, that chain smoker.

The wind blew, and the smoke tilted towards me.

I waved my hand through the air, clearing away the smoke.

“Such a fuss. You look like you’d smoke more than me.”

Mirnan once again inhaled the smoke completely and exhaled.

Mirnan, who had been repeating that action for a while, opened his mouth.

“Lately, the only ones causing trouble are those Jackal guys. Those sons of bitches… I didn’t know they were even selling off children.”

Mirnan is one of the four leaders of this street.

[Fox Den], which used to arrange drug trafficking.

He killed the former head of that place and took over the position anew.

Under the single-minded determination to clean up this damned back alley somehow, he is acting as a doctor, but… honestly, he’s a bit of a quack.

‘Suffering? Why were you snorting drugs in the first place!!’

‘Lost your eyeballs fighting? You morons.’

His treatment method is a rough, trial-and-error style learned by watching others, and he doesn’t seem to have any sense of mission as a doctor.

However, his skills are also excellent, and he treats well.

It was always amazing to see.

“Does that mean everyone except the Jackal is living cleanly?”

“That’s right. Thanks to someone, I should say.”

“Thank you for the kind words.”

Since Edith would flow into the back alley around this time, I had been working on the other organizations little by little, excluding the Jackal.

So that Edith could hear only good things, see only good things, and grow up.

If her beliefs were formed in a bad direction here, it would be nothing short of a failure, so it was essential.

“Looks like I’ll have to go to the Jackal soon.”

“…What kind of thing are you planning to do again?”

“Just, I’m going to try to persuade them to stop doing bad things. Hehehe. I don’t know if it’ll work out well.”

“Is that really persuasion?”

Mirnan looked at me with eyes full of suspicion.

I always act with good intentions and a good heart, but sometimes things don’t go as planned…

It’s just regrettable that he suspects me based on such things.

It seems he sees me as a troublemaker who only causes accidents, honestly.

Looking at such a Mirnan, I explained kindly.

“It’s persuasion, of course. Isn’t it thanks to my persuasion that all of you washed your hands of dirty work like this?”

“That’s persuasion… no. Let’s not talk.”

Mirnan rubbed his cigarette on the floor and extinguished it, as if he had a headache.

Since the smoke no longer rose, my mind became clear.

I stretched with a refreshing feeling.

“Hehehe……Anyway, I hope things go well.”

“Are you hoping for things to go well with such a suspicious face?”

“Hearing such words from Mirnan truly breaks my heart.”

“…You think I’d believe that?”

But it’s true.

Is wishing for peace sincerely, even for Edith’s sake, something that deserves such condemnation?

It has always been like this. When I say anything, people think it’s all lies.

-Rustle

I carefully looked at my reflection in a puddle.

“Hmm….”

This face that maintains a friendly smile.

I wonder if my facial muscles have been paralyzed since I was possessed, as I always have a smiling face even normally.

But is this really something to be considered so suspicious?

‘It looks good, I don’t know why they act like this.’

There’s a proverb that says you can’t spit on a smiling face.

As the proverb says, I’ve never been spat on the face while living here, not even once.

If so, isn’t smiling a good thing?

Walking around with squinty eyes is out of consideration for others, and smiling is because I’ve always been like this… but the world torments me.

“Someday, I hope everyone knows this injustice. Haha.”

“So, open your eyes properly and walk around.”

While walking with my eyes open. I’ve been pushed to the brink of death countless times, over dozens.

Yet, if I were to walk around with my eyes wide open, wouldn’t I be an idiot?

I couldn’t tell him the reason, so I answered kindly with a friendly smile.

“Unfortunately, that’s impossible? Haha.”

“…Sigh.”

The suspicion and feeling of strangeness in Mirnan’s eyes as he looked at me deepened even further.

Even when I tell the truth, he’s like this.