Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Irritation and Tears
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At the command to guard him well, Lianus hugged the cat protectively against his chest and subtly stepped back. Nihil had meant the words for Bella—to keep Lianus safe—but the oblivious Lianus hadn't caught on.
With his hands now free, Nihil tilted his head up slightly and stared intently at the boy.
The boy flinched back in the tense atmosphere but, noticing the other children's gazes, stepped forward instead and menaced Nihil.
"W-What? You wanna go?"
But Nihil just cocked his head and replied in an even tone.
"Why would I?"
"Then what!"
"What?"
"Why are you staring at me like that!"
"If it bothers you, I won't."
Nihil said that and turned his head away again. The boy opened his mouth to argue, but the words stuck in his throat. He'd tried to intimidate him into backing down, but the little kid wasn't fazed at all. And he couldn't just start throwing punches recklessly, or he might get kicked out.
The boy was pissed. How dare this brat ignore him like this? He hated how the tiny thing strutted around acting like some smug adult. So he reached out and yanked him roughly.
The little kid who got dragged over fell flat on his butt but stood right back up without so much as a whimper, like nothing happened. That just made it worse. He figured a hit would make him bawl.
"What the hell are you doing!"
This time too, it was the younger brother who reacted first, not the older one. The boy curled his lip in disgust.
Brothers who were inseparable? He hated seeing that. If he beat up that cocky little brother, the older one might start blubbering and beg for mercy.
"...Fuck."
The boy imagined the little kid kneeling and pleading in place of his brother, and the thought disgusted him more than he'd expected. He muttered a curse under his breath.
The older brother was stroking his fuming little brother's head, soothing him. What was so great about a useless brother who couldn't steal or scavenge, just dragged around a cat and ate like a pig?
The sight irritated the boy so much he sneered.
"Hmph, must be nice having such an obedient little brother."
"Yeah."
"......"
"......"
The conversation cut off once more.
The boy was dumbfounded. What the hell was with this attitude!
"You idiot! That was sarcasm! Don't you get it?"
"But it's good."
"I like it too!"
The oblivious little brother jumped in again with a bright smile.
The boy felt heat rising to his head. It was revolting how they clung to each other saying it was good. Useless, clueless brothers like that—leeching off their sibling and taking it for granted—should all just disappear.
The boy glared at the kid wrapped head to toe in bandages. The kid eyed him warily, then clutched the cat tight and ducked behind his "older brother."
'Annoying.'
Annoying annoying annoying annoying annoying annoying annoying annoying annoying
I'm barely scraping by, so why do you get to enjoy that? Why you!
The boy couldn't hold back his surging rage any longer and swung his fist. Then his vision spun.
"......?"
'What? Why's the ceiling...'
The boy had to figure out what just happened to him. Then a head popped into view, looking down at him. His eyes met black opal-like eyes peeking from under the hood, and for a moment, he couldn't breathe. As he stared blankly at that face, a quiet voice spoke.
"Does it hurt?"
The boy snapped to at the voice, shot up into a sitting position, and scrambled backward. Even so, he couldn't tear his eyes from Nihil.
Nihil took a step forward as the boy retreated. The boy backed up a step for every step Nihil advanced—back and back until he hit the opposite wall.
Realizing there was nowhere left to go, the boy hesitated in panic, but Nihil closed in without mercy.
The boy timidly shoved at Nihil and yelled for no reason.
"W-What!"
"You keep bothering my little brother."
"S-So what!"
"Focus on me."
"W-What?!"
The boy's face flushed beet red at Nihil's words. If Lianus hadn't whispered from behind, 'Nil, don't charm people.' he might've really fallen for it.
The boy snapped out of it and shoved Nihil hard, shouting.
"Y-You too—you make money like this, don't you?"
"Like what?"
"Selling your body for cash! Disgusting!"
"......"
The boy's bombshell accusation silenced the break room again. The shocked Lianus rushed over and covered Nihil's ears, telling him not to listen, but it was pointless.
"Why? It's the truth. How else do pretty kids like you make money around here? How do you think he got those cookies? Ha, hunting? Kids barely seven years old hunting? Please."
"Stop it! Don't insult my brother!"
Lianus finally stepped up, furious. But the boy yelled even louder.
"You're being fooled! Your brother's a filthy whore! He must've just come from fawning over some dirty pig for money!"
"No!"
"You think it's easy feeding a clueless idiot like you? Do you know what your brother does when you're not around? Face reality!"
"No! No way!"
"Your brother'll break down crying under some filthy pig just to feed you one day! One wrong move with those dirty pigs, and he'll end up a cold corpse tossed in the gutter!"
"No!!"
Under the boy's tirade, Lianus started sniffling, on the verge of tears.
Nihil watched the boy intently, but felt flustered seeing Lianus on the brink of crying.
He'd never sold his body to feed Lianus—in fact, if anything, Lianus was the one feeding him. So why was Lianus crying?
Nihil figured the cute seaweed must be misunderstanding something. He was about to correct him when he decided it'd be easier to shut the boy up. He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a chocolate bar.
The boy stared at the offered chocolate, eyes wide.
"W-What...?"
"Here."
The boy hesitated for a second, then scowled again and opened his mouth to yell. He didn't want food from some filthy whore, no matter how precious the chocolate.
"Selling your body...!"
"Don't cry."
"W-What does that..."
Nihil said calmly once more.
"Don't cry. I'm fine."
As if those were the trigger words, tears suddenly streamed from the boy's eyes.
The kids who'd been watching were stunned and exchanged glances. Lianus's eyes went wide seeing the boy suddenly burst into tears.
Nihil gazed at the boy and asked.
"Who are you?"
Who are you projecting onto me?
The boy looked up at Nihil from where he sat dazedly, then slowly twisted his face.
"S-Sob, s-sis...ter..."
"Your sister's dirty?"
"Hic, snff, no! M-My sister..., waaaah!"
The boy started bawling like a baby, heedless of the other kids. His wails drew a few guards rushing in, but the weird vibe in the break room kept them from butting in as they tried to assess the situation.
Nihil carefully sat beside the boy. He didn't wipe his tears or soothe him. Instead, the soft-hearted Lianus offered a handkerchief.
The boy kept sobbing, tears like chicken shit dripping down, but forced out his story bit by bit.
The boy missed his sister.
Her face was always a little tired, but she'd smile brightly just for him. He wanted to see that face again.
One day, she just vanished.
Everyone said the same thing: she got tired of feeding her useless, incompetent little brother and ran off.
The boy was furious. He screamed at them—how could she abandon her only family? Then he comforted himself, saying at least now he could hog all the food and his one blanket.
But soon after she left, the food ran out. Of course it did. She was the one who brought it home.
In the end, the boy had to go out.
The world wasn't kind to a boy who only knew how to eat, sleep, and whine.
One day, he begged without knowing better and nearly got his head smashed by a liquor bottle. Another day, he got caught stealing and beaten. Another, he couldn't stand the hunger, rummaged a trash bin, got sick, and almost died.
No one would let him join their group, saying he couldn't do anything. Even when he barely squeezed in, they took every scrap he earned.
The boy hated and resented his sister.
At the same time, every night he prayed to the moon: he'd yield the whole blanket, eat less, just please bring her back.
Did the moon hear him? He met his sister again.
But she wasn't his sister anymore.
A naked corpse sprawled in a filthy brothel alley.
By the time he found her, decomposition was well underway, the stench overwhelming.
Her skull was caved in from a blunt weapon, her once pretty face a bloody pulp, unrecognizable.
The boy couldn't run from the gruesome sight. He prayed it wasn't her. He wanted her to have ditched her worthless brother and run far away to live well.
His 17-year-old sister's naked body was utterly alien. Limbs twisted grotesquely, tossed like trash, not a stitch on her—so no belongings to salvage.
Instead of mementos, all he salvaged was a ring engraved with a noble family's crest, clenched in her hand till the end.
It terrified him. Dragging her naked corpse to bury in the hills was impossible. So he couldn't bury her. All he could do was cover her with his one blanket.
That was it.
Even that didn't last. The palace regularly collected and cremated bodies from dirty alleys to prevent plagues. His sister burned up with the blanket. He was grateful yet resentful they'd disposed of her.
Why dispose of the body but not care how they died?
At first, he wanted revenge. On the filthy noble who turned her into that.
But he was too useless to do anything. Just barely surviving by sponging off others.
He regretted it every day.
He should've learned to steal. Or at least asked how she made money.
When she brought food, he just scarfed it down gratefully. When hungry, he whined.
He took her caring for granted, thinking it was because she was the adult.
She'd only been... 17.