episode_0021

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

I swallowed a laugh as I watched the children clamber onto my body.

Am I cultivating hope for these young sprouts?

Taking the children, who were climbing on me like caterpillars, I moved to a spacious classroom.

Nacha had left a long time ago, saying she had some work to do and asking me to look after the children.

After scattering the children, who had gathered in small groups in the spacious classroom, I said, “Alright, it’s the long-awaited art time!”

“I prefer tag.”

“Yeah, it feels like hunting.”

Have you ever hunted before?

I made the chattering children sit on the floor and distributed several sheets of drawing paper that Ms. Chris had prepared.

Their faces brightened as they faced the pristine white drawing paper.

Children this age need to cultivate their imagination.

I handed the children charcoal wrapped in paper, then rubbed it on my own sheet of drawing paper and began to draw.

“Alright, draw whatever you want.”

“I’ll… draw my older sister.”

“Meat, I like meat. Meat is everything!”

Woah, woah.

The children, who had been chatting among themselves, were soon absorbed in their drawing paper, each beginning to draw their own picture.

As I watched them, feeling pleased by their cuteness, one child approached me and whined.

“I don’t know what I want to draw…”

“Hmm, how about drawing your friends? Or you could draw me.”

“Ohh!”

The child immediately lay down and, with quick strokes, quickly rubbed the charcoal, completing a picture.

A stick figure stood in the center of the large drawing paper, holding bread in one hand and a brush in the other. As I tilted my head in confusion, the child spoke.

“Here, it’s you!”

“Thank you…”

My first fan art ever.

To create such a perfect masterpiece with dirty hands.

You should be a painter too.

I patted the child’s head and tucked the rolled-up drawing paper into my arms.

I’ll have to frame this and keep it.

Seemingly pleased with my reaction, the child immediately immersed themselves in drawing on another sheet of paper, creating a new picture.

I stood up from the floor and looked around. Some children were drawing themselves gathered in small groups, while others were drawing Nacha holding hands with someone.

There was a drawing of everyone standing together at the orphanage, looking at something, and even a drawing of what appeared to be Nacha knocking someone down.

The children’s doodles were good drawings, imbued with their unique innocence.

Rub, rub, rub, rub, rub.

The youngest child, lying prone at the very end, was blankly rubbing charcoal onto the drawing paper.

As I stretched my neck out of curiosity, wondering what they were doing, Bang! The classroom door burst open.

Couldn’t you open it more gently?

“…! Amy, that. No.”

“Huh? Ah, my drawing!”

The uninvited guest was none other than Nacha.

Nacha, soaked in sweat from running, snatched the drawing with black charcoal marks and, Rip! tore it on the spot.

What? She tore the child’s drawing? Is she crazy?

“Waaah, the priestess tore my drawing…!”

“There, there, stop, stop crying…”

“Waaah, Mister, waaaah!”

Giggle!

“Hmph!”

I playfully tapped the blubbering youngest child’s mouth with my palm.

The youngest, who had clenched their fists in frustration, seeing the other children laugh at the sound they made, Pffft! burst into laughter too.

The strange atmosphere soon returned to normal, and the youngest, having stopped crying, lost interest in the torn drawing and began looking at the other children’s pictures.

“Nacha?”

I looked up, watching the youngest child sniffing and mingling with the others, only to find Nacha had disappeared.

“Shall I go get the priestess?”

“Yes.”

“You must not fight, and stay friendly, okay?”

“Yes~!”

I turned away from the now quiet children and went out into the hallway.

I quickly stepped out and looked around the hallway. Nacha was huddled in a corner somewhere, her face buried in her knees, her shoulders trembling.

Why is she wallowing in self-pity over there?

“Rival.”

“…What is that…?”

“It means you’re my worthy opponent.”

“…Why am I your worthy opponent…?”

“I acknowledge you. To tear a drawing so mercilessly on the spot.”

“…That! I shouldn’t have done that, not for the children’s sake, nor for my own.”

Uh-oh, something feels unsettling.

But that’s one thing, this is another.

What’s wrong needs to be corrected.

“There’s no such thing in drawing. You just draw and play.”

“You…don’t know.”

“Yes, I don’t.”

“…?”

I don’t know why Nacha tore the drawing or why she’s worried about the children.

But Nacha’s actions were wrong.

“If you like and cherish children, sometimes you need to show it with words rather than actions.”

Or is it the other way around?

“…Alright.”

“If you understand, hurry up, stand up, and hug them.”

“…No, I don’t want to. Why would I hug you?”

“Not me, hug the youngest.”

“…! You, I hate you, you’re a trickster, you made me misunderstand!”

Nacha, angered, suddenly stood up.

Nacha, pushing her sweat-soaked hair behind her ear, glared at me.

What’s with that look? I hate office romances, you know?

“…Disgusting.”

No, she’s the one who looked at me like that.

“I have to go back. I rushed here while working with Ms. Chris.”

“It’s the sorrow of a working mom, I suppose, so it can’t be helped.”

“…? Anyway, put the children to bed later. I’ll be back late tonight.”

“You work that late? What do you do?”

“It’s a secret.”

Nacha had never talked about herself.

A woman with many secrets, that kind of woman is naturally attractive.

…No, what am I saying? I shouldn’t have an office romance. I slapped my cheek, clearing my head of such foolish thoughts.

“Alright, leave it to me and go quickly.”

“…I’ll apologize to the youngest when I get back.”

“Do as you please.”

“Hmph.”

Nacha snorted and gracefully disappeared.

I looked out the window to see Shabriliang, now brightly illuminated by the reddish sunset.

Looking at it like that, it looks like it’s on fire.

Lost in such idle thoughts, I returned to the classroom and encountered a bizarre sight.

Rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub, rub. Scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape.

The children, lying prone on the floor, were blankly rubbing the drawing paper.

Even though the charcoal, as long as a finger, had worn down, the children continued to rub the paper, smearing even the charcoal on their hands onto it.

Seeing the children each taking on a large sheet of drawing paper and drawing, I instinctively pulled them away from their drawings.

“Kids?”

“…Mister?”

As I pulled them away from the drawings and patted their heads, one by one, the children came to their senses.

Feeling uneasy at the bizarre sight, I made them hold hands, then took the youngest’s hand and left the classroom.

“What? Where are we going?” “But I haven’t finished drawing…” “Me too, me too.”

“Let’s wash our hands and eat. And tonight, we’re going to bed early.”

“Food? What’s for food today?” “Where’s the priestess? Where did the priestess go?”

“The priestess went to eat bread.”

Thump!

The children’s eyes filled with betrayal. No, is going to eat bread really that shocking?

“We like bread too!” “B-bread, bread! Bread!”

“Alright, then tonight’s dinner is bread!”

“Yay!” “I want meat.”

The empty classroom.

Something emanating from the window, illuminated by the reddish sunset, seeped into the floor.

Creep, creep, creep.

A grayish spiderweb crawled like an earthworm across the floor.

It began to gather the eight sheets of drawing paper scattered on the floor, arranging them as if matching a sequence, combining them into a single picture.

A single picture, completed like a perfect puzzle.

It dared not capture even a fraction of the true entity’s beautiful form.

Seen through the children’s pure, innocent gaze, devoid of true awe, it couldn’t reproduce even a speck of its original form, yet that alone was enough.

I received permission, and this will become a passage…

A gigantic spider seeped into the wall. The peaceful day has ended, and this place, which became a beacon of hope under an arrogant name, will become a blazing lighthouse.

Our kingdom, our time, our home.

I don’t dislike Dreamland, but… I too want to build a nest in a new place.

The passage has connected, and the children will regain their true forms.

I too wish to reveal myself as soon as possible. Will you welcome me with a smile, having come at your invitation, or will you turn away from me like her?

Whatever happens, I want to see you soon…

Why are children these days so energetic?

The children, who had been lying quietly in bed, suddenly bounced around the room as if they had drunk an energy drink.

Clichéd sayings like “If you sleep now, you’ll grow tall” or “You’ll become pretty”—which used to work on me—didn’t work anymore.

Only when I sternly told them, “If you don’t sleep now, I won’t play with you,” did the children finally lie down.

I flapped my sweat-soaked clothes and opened the classroom door.

Whoosh!

I should stick the well-drawn pictures on the wall so they can be seen later.

But the classroom was empty. No—it wasn’t even a classroom to begin with.

“This is… my room?”

Looking at the corner of the ceiling, I could see my little spider’s diligently built house.

But the little spider was nowhere to be seen.

Wondering where it had gone, I looked around but couldn’t see it.

I opened the closed door and exited, but…

“Huh?”

Inside a household I’d never seen before.

Stew, flowing from an overturned pot, gave off a fragrant aroma.

The door, which had closed at some point, opened again, and I faced a completely black room.

I’ll skip this one.

Thump! Whoosh!

I closed the door and opened it again, and this time, it was an unfamiliar scene again.

A chaotic situation, as if all passages were jumbled together.

In times like these, there’s only one way.

I wrapped an unknown person’s blanket around my body, focusing on my arms and legs, rolling myself up.

I transformed into a thick mummy.

My preparations were complete…

Jump!

Shatter!

I smashed through the old window and threw myself out, landing face-first on the cold stone floor.

As I cast off the blanket covered in glass shards, I saw the full view of Shabriliang.

The setting sun appeared aflame, and a surging lake embraced the city walls.

A bizarre sight: mountains were inverted and flowing downwards, and waterfalls surged upwards from the ground.

Amidst the chaotic scene where the entire world’s landscape was jumbled.

…The place I must go is decided.

I immediately turned and headed towards the outskirts where the orphanage should be.