Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: 6. Slaves Are an Excellent Source of Labor
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“What’s the reaction from that guy?”
“Any guy with a brain will back off on his own. It won’t even take a week.”
“Same old story. Who does a mere commoner think he is...?”
A luxurious round table. A gathering of orphanage directors who had set up orphanages in the capital.
The plump man who had just arrived took a seat, sneering. The thought of that arrogant commoner tucking tail and running already put him in a good mood.
“So what about that land? You’re really going to buy it at a premium?”
“As if. A guy who doesn’t know his place and sticks his nose into our business is obviously in dire straits. A young commoner orphanage director like that? His life must be a total mess.”
“True... I’ve heard provincial orphanages are all vulgar, unpleasant places.”
“But orphans are all the same anyway. Lately, they’ve been causing all sorts of trouble, and it’s a headache.”
“Just lock the troublemakers in solitary for a week. They quiet down after that. All you have to do is swing the whip.”
“It’s not a bad idea to lock them in individual rooms from the start so they can’t pull any stunts. Windows are a luxury for the likes of them anyway, so you can maximize the number of rooms efficiently.”
“That’s a brilliant idea!”
True to form as orphanage directors, they chuckled while discussing how best to “educate” the orphans.
The plump man checked the time and muttered.
“I’ve already sent word, so if we wait a bit longer...”
“He’s here.”
“...!!”
The orphanage directors, already treating Yujin’s flight as a foregone conclusion, now pondered how to seize the land and building. For a commoner who dared meddle in noble affairs without knowing his place, this was mercy enough.
Before the plump man could finish, an elderly gentleman with a finely groomed mustache emerged from the shadows beyond the round table, his voice deep and resonant.
The table fell silent for a moment at the fact that no one had noticed him until he was right beside it, but the plump man quickly spoke up.
“Y-You’re quick. So, you carried out the commission properly, right?”
“That’s what I’ve come to discuss.”
The old gentleman addressed the nobles at the table with casual disdain, yet not a single one dared object or shout him down.
After all, he was the head of the information guild, a figure even great nobles showed respect to.
Rumor had it that an organization challenging the guild’s influence had been wiped out by him alone. To the court nobles at the table—including the plump man, who lacked any real martial prowess—he felt like a living sword.
If the rumors that the information guild was the imperial family’s arm were true, he was effectively the emperor’s direct subordinate. A court noble without territory, reliant on imperial favor, couldn’t afford to trifle with him.
Thus, the plump man could only nod along with the condescension.
Jingle!
“Here you are.”
“W-What’s this...?”
“Breach fee. Since I couldn’t complete the commission, I’m returning double the fee as per regulations. Count it.”
“W-Wait! Breach fee? What do you...!!”
“Just as it sounds. Background check on Orphanage Director Yujin? Impossible to perform. Even if requested again, it’ll be refused. Consider yourselves warned.”
“That doesn’t make any sense! Why for a mere commoner?!”
“Then I’ll be off.”
As the plump man and the other court nobles expressed shock and fury at the unexpected turn, the old gentleman vanished into the shadows as suddenly as he’d appeared.
The angry voices faded as he stepped out of the secret hideout and stood before those waiting for him.
“Let’s head back.”
“Understood.”
“But, Head, are you sure this is wise? They may be low-ranking, but they’re still court nobles. If they complain formally, it could get troublesome...”
“Well, yes. Normally, I would’ve ordered it carried out.”
“Then why...?”
“What can I do? As his disciple, I must obey my master.”
“Pardon?”
──Refuse any commissions to investigate or harm Yujin. Otherwise, we’ll see if your body is tougher than my philosophy.
“I can’t die getting beaten at my age.”
The old gentleman shook his head, recalling his master’s “philosophy” (鐵學). He prided himself on being one of the empire’s top fighters after years of real combat and training, yet even he couldn’t defeat his master.
He chuckled, thinking of his teacher still wandering some street in the empire, exploring and teaching the ways of iron (鐵).
‘Yujin, huh...’
He recalled the young man he’d met just days ago, the one his master had asked him to protect.
At the same time, he glanced back at the court nobles gathered at the table.
“If they’d just set aside their pride a little, they might realize...”
The reason the information guild head had personally come to refuse the commission and pay the breach fee. The reason he seemed to prioritize a mere commoner like Yujin over them.
The old gentleman pondered if those low-class court nobles could ever figure it out, then shook his head and dismissed the thought.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Unfortunately, he didn’t even have time to waste on those court nobles right now.
Unlike when he’d entered the round table room, he checked his posture and stepped forward with clear tension.
...It was time to meet the princess.
*
Beeeep───
Renee opened her eyes at the blaring noise. Her tiny room, barely big enough to stretch out in, came into view. With no windows, the only light came through the door.
As always, Renee quickly folded the rag she used as a blanket and hurried outside. Soon, a sharp voice echoed from the end of the drab hallway.
“No. 37, 10 seconds late for roll call. No food today.”
“...Yes.”
“Can't even keep time. Tsk. The rest of you, dismissed for breakfast.”
“““Yes! Thank you!”””
Renee shouted as loud as she could and joined the other orphanage children heading to the dining hall. Though still in their teens, when they should greet friends, chat, or play, the hallway of dozens of kids was eerily silent.
Only footsteps echoed, and despite heading for breakfast, the air was thick with anxiety.
The dining hall they arrived at was...
“............”
Clink. Clink.
No different from the hallway. No chatter among the children. Just the sound of utensils.
The sharp-faced “nanny” who’d called a child No. 37 earlier scanned the room with piercing eyes.
“No. 82! What do you think you’re doing?”
“Huh? Oh, no. This is...”
“Hand it over now!”
Spotting something, she strode to No. 82, struck their wrist with a switch, and snatched what they held. A bruise bloomed on the child’s wrist, but the nanny ignored it, reading the note. Her face flushed with rage.
“Causing trouble again! What? ‘Let’s play’? Don’t you know this disrupts the entire orphanage?!”
“I-I’m sorry. I’m sor───”
“Last time you met like that, you dirtied the floors with mud! Orphans like you are gluttonous, rude, ignorant, nothing but problems! Instead of praising the director who gives you food and beds, you pull stunts like this?!”
“T-Teacher.”
“Everyone here! Stop eating and back to your rooms! No food today, and three days confinement! No one leaves their room!”
“...Yes.”
At the nanny’s command, the children set down their food and stood. Despite starving all day and three days locked away because of No. 82, not one glared at them.
Such group punishments weren’t rare, and more importantly, they all secretly understood No. 82’s actions.
‘I was like that at first, too.’
Orphans had no parents. But that didn’t mean they didn’t crave love and attention. If anything, being orphans made them cling harder.
At first, Renee had tried treating the nannies and director like parents, seeking affection. But the only adults she met showered her with contempt, scorn, and abuse.
Even venting through orphanage friends wasn’t possible in this tightly controlled environment. They called orphans by numbers, erasing names and individuality.
Renee thought it must be like the prisons she’d heard about in back alleys, though she’d never seen one.
Clang.
“Reflect thoroughly in there!!”
The heavy door shut, plunging Renee’s room into darkness. Only a sliver through the tiny door window remained.
A boxed-in space, just big enough to lie down, with only a rag for sleeping and a chamber pot.
Her first full-day punishment here had been hell. No one to talk to, nothing to see, no window—suffocating, unable to relax.
New kids screamed to be let out and got yelled at. Renee had too, at first. She even missed those voices now. But she knew it’d add days to confinement, so she stayed silent.
Now the orphanage’s senior, Renee curled up in the corner like it was routine.
From experience, the best position to endure this stifling space. And one where the room’s single ray of light hit her eyes exactly.
It wasn’t blinding. It wasn’t much light anyway, and seeking it in darkness was instinct.
‘...Should I be grateful, though?’
In moments like this, thoughts multiplied. Recalling the nanny’s “director’s grace,” Renee reflected.
Unlike back-alley days, they got food, beds, safety. The director’s grace, though she’d never properly seen him.
But why...
Lately, Renee often thought the alleys had been better.
‘At least I was free then...’
Safety without freedom. Freedom with danger.
Which was better? Renee couldn’t decide. She had no choice anyway.
Begging to laugh, run, escape, or be let out changed nothing.
This cramped room would be her world forever. She’d rot here. Forever...
Click.
“You’re Renee, right? No. 1.”
“...H-Huh?”
She’d thought it would go on forever.
Someone quietly unlocked Renee’s bolted door and entered. A girl who looked younger than her.
Seeing her face, Renee recalled her number: 103, the new orphan from yesterday.
That was it. New or not, no names, no talking, faces only at meals.
But No. 103 had casually left her room and come straight to Renee’s.
“Introductions first. I’m Tricksy.”
“Uh, um... No. 103.”
“Not 103. Tricksy. So you’re Renee?”
“W-Wait. I mean, this is...”
It was so unexpected she panicked, but more than that, Renee felt lost.
Her first real conversation in years—not one-sided abuse, but mutual talk. She had no idea how to do it.
Watching Renee, Tricksy—no, 103—sighed.
“Tsk, can’t blame you in this place. Different flavor of hell from Happy Orphanage, huh?”
“H-How?”
“How what?”
“How’d you get here? How?!”
“Just, y’know. I’m good with handicraft.”
Handicraft? That’s it?
Just good with handicraft let her unlock a bolted door, traverse the hall, evade nannies, and find Renee’s room exactly?
To Renee, it was incomprehensible. Tricksy waved it off, uninterested in details.
“Pick a lock, steal a key, done. Anyway, saw papers in the director’s office—you’re Renee, first orphan here.”
“...G-Go back quick. If they catch you here!”
Talking or huddling was the orphanage’s ultimate taboo. Renee pushed Tricksy’s back, fearing the punishment.
“Wanna switch jobs?”
“Huh?”
“Not a dump like this, but a real... proper ‘orphanage.’”
At Tricksy’s words...
“That’s why I came here.”
“...Heh.”
“To tell you about a place where you eat what you want, do what you want, live free.”
“Tell me... more.”
Renee gazed at Tricksy, and the faint light shining behind her.
In this stifling darkness.
The one ray of light.