episode_0032

Several people who received bread came to me to thank me.

“Thank you… .”

I didn’t say anything to them, just memorized their faces and moved away.

The slums are large, and there are many hungry people.

What this means is that Anonymous and I have to go around and do the same thing over and over again.

If you respond to each one, it will never end.

“The slums are so big… .”

I wonder if I can finish it today.

As I was muttering and rubbing my face, Moo-myeong came up to me.

“Master.”

I didn’t have the energy to answer, so I just turned my head and looked at the nameless person.

“What will you do with those who follow you?”

Anonymous nodded his head behind him.

Naturally, I rolled my eyes and glanced behind me, and saw that the people from the slums were following me.

Hmm, am I the one who didn’t eat bread earlier?

I would have liked to have given them enough bread to fill their stomachs, but I did not have enough, and to filter out people, I need people like that.

Besides, there will surely be those among them who have eaten bread but are still hungry and will chase me.

It’s not that I don’t understand them.

It’s strange that I don’t chase after someone who throws normal food on the floor for the first time in a while.

If there hadn’t been an anonymous person next to me, wouldn’t he have run up to me and taken the bread?

“Tsk.”

If I were a man, I wouldn’t have to worry about these things, but there are many things that make me look easy when I’m a woman.

Of course, I was short even when I was a man… .

It doesn’t matter.

I kicked the calf of the nameless person next to me for no reason.

“… Master?”

“Just hit it!”

anyhow.

What should I do with them? I thought deeply, rubbing my chin.

They too should know that excessive greed is poisonous… .

‘Then it wouldn’t be here.’

I don’t like to use extreme methods, but if they follow me, it will only be a hindrance.

Hmm, maybe I should kick him out.

He sighed deeply, shook his head, and grabbed the nameless man’s sleeve, calling out to him.

“Nameless, just scare them enough to drive them away.”

“Yes, Master.”

After answering, Anonymous immediately turned around and glared at them.

“Get out of here.”

I thought it was cute, like a puppy growling to protect its owner, but I kept my mouth shut and barely held back the laughter that was about to escape, fearing that if I told the truth, Moo-myeong would get upset.

But to them, the nameless figure looked different, so they got scared and quickly rolled away from us.

He approached the nameless man who must have been working hard and poked him in the side.

“Keuheup, thank you?”

Even though he said thank you, Moo-myeong’s face turned red as if he was so embarrassed.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Ahem, big. I didn’t laugh.”

“…”

Hey, is this really weird?

As a teacher, I shouldn’t have done that, but I felt a sense of accomplishment because I was able to make something strange happen for the first time in a while.

The corners of the mouth went up.

Without bothering to hide my expression, I stood in front of the anonymous person, cleared my throat, and opened my mouth with an expression as similar as possible to the expression the anonymous person had made earlier.

“Get out of here, kekeke, big, that was cool.”

“…”

Anonymous closed his mouth tightly and turned his head away.

My neck and ears are still red.

Hmm, was that a bit much? I think it was really twisted.

“Are you upset?”

“…”

“Anonymous? Didn’t your teacher ask you?”

This guy?

He was furious at the sight of the nameless man not daring to answer his teacher’s words, so he circled around the nameless man and poked his ribs.

“Eight, eight.”

“…”

“Eight, eight.”

After going around in circles like that for about three times, I was able to hear an answer from the anonymous person.

“… No, I didn’t get hurt.”

His ears are still red and his voice is still holding something back, so no matter how I look at it, it looks like he’s really twisted.

“Hey, if you’re upset, you can be honest about it.”

He poked my side again.

The anonymous man answered, trembling.

“No… .”

…

After repeating this act of throwing bread on the street about 5 times, I could see the sun starting to set.

“Nameless, I guess it’s time to get ready to go back to the inn.”

“Yes, Master.”

Since I saw with my own eyes that all the bread was gone, there will be no fighting among us over who will take the bread I threw away.

Hmm, I’m still worried though.

There will certainly be those there who will follow me and gather around a single focal point someday.

I turned my head and saw the nameless man carrying the bag.

Hmm, you look happy.

Nameless has a faint smile on his face, contrary to the filth on his body.

“Nameless, do you remember all the faces?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Okay, let’s go.”

…

Only after I had completely escaped from the slums did I cover my nose and frown.

“Ugh… .”

I think my clothes stink because I was in the slums for a little while.

“Why are you like that?”

“I think I smell something… .”

Anonymous came up to me and sniffed around.

Hmm, why is this guy like this?

I was a little surprised, but I didn’t push him away or show any sign of dislike.

“It seems okay, Master, you only smell like strawberries.”

“Daughter, what?”

How can a human body smell like strawberries?

I lifted the sleeve, held it up to my nose and sniffed.

Hmm, it doesn’t smell like strawberries after all.

“What the hell are you talking about… .”

When I looked at Moo-myeong with cold eyes, the guy sighed with a truly aggrieved expression.

Seriously, is it true?

Seeing Anmyeong feel so wronged, I wonder if it’s true.

Why, didn’t they say that people can’t smell their own scent?

He tilted his head.

But even so, I don’t remember eating enough strawberries to make my body smell like strawberries… .

As I was thinking about whether I should cut it down a bit, Anumyeong reached out to me.

“What is it?”

As the anonymous opened his hand, a delicious strawberry popped out.

“Master, come to think of it, I heard that the specialty product sold in this region is strawberries.”

“Oh.”

The specialty is strawberries!

It is disrespectful to strawberries not to eat them.

“Hmm, it’s really sweet.”

I guess I’ll have to worry about reducing the number of strawberries next time.

…

The next day, I left the inn before the sun had risen to visit the people I had remembered from yesterday.

“Master, is it okay for me not to bring anything today?”

“Okay, just bring your wooden sword.”

The anonymous man nodded reluctantly, biting his lips.

Hmm, maybe it would be better if I explained it to you.

“Anonymous, today I plan to look at people differently than yesterday.”

“Another way…you mean?”

“Yeah.”

I told my thoughts to the anonymous person.

The reason for coming at such an early hour could be said to be the secondary filter.

The morning in the slums is particularly fast.

Just as the early bird gets the worm, wouldn’t they also wake up earlier than their slum rivals to beg more effectively or scavenge through trash cans to find edible food in order to survive?

At first, we only remembered those who knew how to be considerate of others, so this time it’s time to see their sincerity.

It cannot be said that a person’s goodness and sincerity are unrelated, but they are not greatly connected.

I will not hesitate to reject those who do not make even the simple effort and just wait for an opportunity to come.

But wouldn’t it make sense to elect someone who has at least a minimal desire to escape the slums?

Excessive greed can lead one to the edge of hell, but appropriate greed can be a valuable driving force in one’s life.

Of course, I don’t think there are many such great people in the slums.

Hmm, shouldn’t we be lucky if we can find just one person?

A sigh escaped me.

If things continue this way, I wonder how much time it will take to create a proper organization, but it can’t be helped.

I’m worried about the future, because I have to lower my eyes and only accept the ignorance.

If I accept those who are half-assed, I may be able to gain a lot of weight in the short term, but in the long run, the extra weight will be detrimental to me.

It wouldn’t be so bad if I could truly sacrifice their souls to achieve my goal, but I’m not evil enough to kill people for my purpose, so I’m at least trying to gather people who can help me with my purpose.

Of course, there may be people who find this frustrating.

I’m basically a coward.

If you don’t design it safely so that I, a coward, can feel secure no matter what you do, I will be so scared of what will happen in the future that I won’t be able to sleep properly.

I was embarrassed to tell my student about my teacher’s shortcomings, so I only explained the plan I had thought of in advance.

After hearing what I said, Moo-myeong’s eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously.

“You are indeed a teacher.”

I scratched my cheek in embarrassment at the anonymous overreaction.

Hmm, even if I leave it like that, nothing comes out.

“Anyway, I plan to just watch the movements of the slums in the morning.”

“Yes, I understand.”