Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 004
Chapter Title: Someday
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Someday,
Splash, splash.
Sewage rising up to my ankles.
A stench that could rot your nose off.
In the pitch-black darkness of the sewer.
There, I was,
"Uwheeek! What a total sucker this idiot is! Kekeke!"
utterly reveling in ecstasy.
A geyser of respect and glory bubbling up from the depths of my chest.
So what if he's a little brat? He's got money.
So what if he's rude? He paid up.
It's fine. Totally fine. Even if he's small now, that's okay.
He's got a big future ahead, so his chest will grow big too,
and someday, he'll definitely turn into an S-rank big-titted beauty, right?
"Huh? You think I'm praiseworthy? Aigo... you dumb bitch."
The fawning smile on my lips had long since been washed away by the sewer shit-water.
I pulled a heavy pouch of silver coins from my pocket and jingled it. Clink, clink.
The sound was so delightfully crisp.
This was the hymn of capitalism.
I wanted to dump them out right then and count, but it was too dark, so I saved that joy for later.
Instead, I reached deep into my pocket and pulled out the ring I'd hidden away.
A ruby that glowed red even in the darkness.
Just looking at its sparkle made it so tantalizing, my thing throbbed hard.
If I were three years older, I'd be jerking off right now.
"Just kill some time, smear on some muck, and head out?
Ah, yeah, jackpot."
I leaned against the wall, humming a tune.
Squish!
"Huh?"
Squelch.
"Ah, fuck."
A flash of pain shot from my ankle.
I reflexively kicked out.
Something soft and furry tangled with my foot and flew off.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Two red eyes glared at me from the darkness.
It was a pretty big sewer rat.
"You crazy little rat bastard..."
Daring to bite the body of a slum-dweller as lofty as the heavens?
I touched my throbbing ankle. It was wet.
It'd bitten pretty deep; blood was trickling down.
"Damn it, what rotten luck."
I grimaced and shook off the bloodied hand.
Rabies would be a real pain in the ass.
Suddenly, irritation surged up.
But then.
"......Hmm."
The dark red blood on my hand. And the bite marks from the rat.
I looked up toward the sewer entrance, where light filtered in from beyond the darkness.
Outside, waiting for my return—
or more precisely, the safe return of her stuff—was that sucker girl.
My brain started spinning fast.
"...How about hiking up the appearance fee a bit?"
I twisted my lips into a smirk.
And then,
Drip—
Without hesitation, I squeezed my ankle hard.
A sharp pain stabbed through, and blood spurted out.
I smeared it thick on my palm, then roughly rubbed it on the back of the hand holding the ring,
my calf, and my knee.
"Nice makeup."
Finally, I dunked the ring into the muck once and pulled it out.
It dulled, losing its shine.
But that would only make my value shine brighter.
"This is Oscar-worthy, no doubt."
I limped forward toward the light (this part hurt for real) with exaggerated drama.
Preparations complete.
Time to film the touching reunion scene.
Creeeak.
The rusty hinges scraped harshly.
That grating noise tore the boundary between dream and reality.
"......"
Rinea struggled to open her eyes.
The ceiling spun dizzily.
Fever raged through her body like it was on fire, and her throat was parched dry.
"At least you're alive."
A woman leaning against the doorframe stood with her legs crossed.
Heavy makeup, cheap dress with her chest fully exposed.
A colleague doing the same work as her.
"Beat...?"
"Yeah, it's me.
Was just about to tell Master to haul your corpse away if you were dead."
Beat clicked her tongue and approached the bedside.
"Ugh... what's that rotten smell?"
She wrinkled her nose,
then pressed the back of her hand to Rinea's forehead.
"Still hot. Better than yesterday, though."
"Yesterday...?"
"Yeah, you idiot. You've been out cold like a corpse for two whole days."
Two days. Rinea's pupils shook.
"Then... Leon?"
"No idea."
She shrugged.
At those words, Rinea tried to sit up, but staggered.
Beat frowned and pushed her back down.
"Lie still."
"Ha... but,"
Rinea's voice trembled.
Slum kids disappeared fast.
No matter how, it was rarely in a good way.
"Don't mope. He'll be back soon."
"...How do you know?"
"Who do you think was watching over your sorry ass while you were laid up like this?"
Beat nodded toward the bedside.
A basin of water and a damp cloth.
"Think it was me? Or that stiff Master?"
She snorted.
"Your kid."
"......"
Rinea's eyes reddened.
Her memories were fragmented,
but that faint, cool touch she'd vaguely felt was Leon's.
Those small hands, tending to her all along.
"He kept at that crap for two days straight, then just left a bit ago. With your slop bucket."
"Ah..."
"What a stubborn little pest... jeez."
Beat waved her hand dismissively, annoyed.
But Rinea's anxiety didn't subside.
If anything, a bigger worry crushed her chest.
Two days.
She'd been lying here, unable to earn.
Of course...
"Hey, Beat."
Rinea reached out a skinny hand and grabbed Beat's skirt.
"One favor..."
"Ah, what now."
"Has Leon... eaten?"
Her voice quivered.
"We have nothing to eat. That child must've starved for two days..."
"So?"
"Even leftover bread... please? I'll pay it back. Tonight even, right away..."
Beat irritably shook off the hand gripping her skirt.
"You really think I'm a sucker or something?"
"Beat..."
"I've got customers waiting. My nose is to the grindstone too."
Beat turned away brusquely.
But as she grabbed the doorknob, her hand paused briefly.
Maybe because of the stifled sobs from behind her.
She let out a deep sigh, then muttered without opening the door fully.
"That tough little shit isn't gonna starve out there somewhere."
"......Huh?"
"Just lie there and sleep."
Bang.
The door slammed shut.
Rinea stared blankly at the closed door.
Right. Leon was a strong kid.
Different from the others.
Cunning and smart.
But...
Gurgle.
The pathetic sound from her own stomach.
If even her belly was this empty, how could that little one be full?
Rinea pulled the blanket over her head.
All she could do was pray, and she hated herself for it fiercely that afternoon.
Bang.
I slammed the door shut and sighed.
Maybe a bit too harsh.
But even thinking that, I didn't regret it.
Keep indulging that melodrama, and my days ahead would only get more exhausting.
And Beat remembered.
This morning,
[Hey, gimme some titty milk.]
[Fuck, again?]
[Takeout this time.]
That kid stubbornly squeezing her breasts,
finally managing to fill a bowl to the brim and toddling off with it.
"Sigh... how many brats am I nursing?"
She smiled bitterly, self-mocking.
Mother and son,
both creepy as hell, she thought.
The air outside the sewer hung heavy.
Sharl tapped her shoe heel impatiently on the ground. Tap, tap.
...How long does she plan to make me wait?
"Milady, perhaps we should go now."
"Even if we wait longer, there's no guarantee he'll return."
No guarantee of return.
True enough, he wasn't trustworthy.
He was slum trash, after all.
He might dig around, give up, and bolt,
or even if he found it by luck, run off with it.
Or...
"I've heard that places like that are full of rotting corpses and filth, building up poison gas. So..."
"Quiet."
Sharl snapped at the knights.
But even her eyes wavered.
...Impossible after all.
Throw a few silvers, and he'd risk his life? Ridiculous...
Squelch—
That was when it happened.
A sticky sound came from the black maw of the sewer entrance.
"......!"
Sharl and the knights' gazes locked on it simultaneously.
Something was crawling out from the darkness.
First came a mud-caked hand.
Then sewage-matted hair.
And...
"Hah... hah..."
With ragged breaths, the slum boy's appearance was revealed,
utterly horrific.
"Wh-what the..."
One knight gasped.
The boy's limbs were drenched in blood.
Dark red stains from who-knows-where—or what fight—mixed with filth and dripped down.
His limping leg looked ready to snap any second.
But the boy didn't collapse.
He staggered forward, one step at a time toward Sharl.
"Don't come closer! Stop!"
One knight instinctively reached for his sword.
The grotesque sight felt threatening.
But Sharl raised a hand to halt the knight.
"Move."
"But milady, that thing getting close..."
"I said move."
Sharl shoved past the knights and stepped forward.
The nose-stinging stench wafted over, but she didn't cover her nose.
Instead, she looked into the boy's eyes.
Even through the filth-smeared face,
those blue eyes burned with fierce light.
The boy approached and stopped.
Then, with a trembling hand, he slowly raised it.
A tightly clenched little fist. It slowly uncurled.
Twinkle.
Amid the muck and blood, a red gem gleamed brilliantly.
"......Ah, this..."
The boy's cracked lips moved.
"It's dirty... sorry."
Sharl froze at his words.
His whole body soaked in blood.
Looking like he might keel over any moment.
Apologizing for mere filth on the ring?
Sharl silently reached out.
The knights panicked to stop her, but
she ignored them and picked up the ring from the boy's palm.
Clammy, disgusting sliminess.
But,
the warmth from the ring.
It was the boy's body heat, the temperature of his spilled blood.
For a moment, it felt like the ring was a living heart, numbing her fingertips.
"......Ha!"
Even her own knights avoided the filthy place.
Yet this lowly thing had crawled through that hell.
A thrill pierced her chest.
"Not bad..."
She swallowed the words rising to her throat.
She was blood of the Kaintrea Ducal Family.
Showing emotion easily wasn't how you handled inferiors.
"......Hmph."
So, she deliberately snorted.
She pulled out a handkerchief and made a show of wiping the ring.
"You got it. You're stinking, so back off a bit."
"......Ah, yes."
The boy staggered back a step.
In that instant, as if tension released, his legs buckled.
"Eh...?"
Thud.
The boy collapsed into the mud.
Head bowed, only gasping breaths from that small back.
"Hey!"
Sharl called urgently, but no reply.
"What are you doing! Water! Get water!"
She yelled at the knights.
The dumbfounded knights fumbled for canteens.
She snatched one, twisted off the lid herself.
And without hesitation, pressed it to the boy's lips.
Not minding the filthy sewage staining her dress sleeve.
"Drink! Hurry!"
Drip—
Water droplets spilled onto the dirty ground.
Half overflowed,
half slid into the boy's mouth.
His small throat bobbed, gulped, gulp.
Desperately, like rain soaking parched earth.
Looking down at him,
'......Mine.'
Possessiveness welled up.
Couldn't let a guy like this rot away.
If she did... well, it would mean her eye for talent was off,
a disgrace to the Kaintrea name.
A long while later, the boy lifted his head.
Face somewhat cleaned by the water, grinning hehe.
"Ahaha... sorry, ah... thank you."
Seeing that foolish smile, Sharl hardened her expression deliberately.
She held out her hand to the knight captain beside her.
"My purse."
"Pardon? But... we gave the silver pouch earlier..."
"The whole thing. All of it."
The knight flustered, rummaged at his waist,
and handed her a small pouch deferentially.
Sharl tossed it unceremoniously into the boy's arms.
"Take it."
"......?"
"Medical fees. And reward."
The boy's eyes went wide.
Sharl crossed her arms, chin raised, looking down.
"You didn't think that pittance earlier was all, did you?"
"...Pardon? Ah... I..."
"I properly reward those who do good work. That's our family way."
It wasn't.
Strictly speaking, the family way discriminated by status.
Applying it to lowly slum trash like this
was a decision Sharl de Kaintrea made on the spot.
"And."
"......?"
"I'll see you again. Don't die till then."
A faint, arrogant smile curved her lips.
With that odd satisfaction, Sharl turned,
"Let's go."
The knights snapped out of it and followed.
Fading footsteps.
Left alone in the trash heap.
The boy sitting in the middle
kept his head bowed until they were completely gone.
.....
.....
"......Gone?"
A moment later.
"......Pfft."
The held-back laughter burst out.
"Haa... damn, girlie. Posing like that is hilarious."
Laughter leaked out like incontinence,
forcing me to bend over desperately and clamp my mouth shut.
Only after things quieted down completely did I finally lift my head,
"Alright... time to check the take, yeah?"
Dum da da. Dum da da.
Humming a familiar tune,
I decided to inspect today's pay.
First, the advance pouch.
"Forty-three... forty-four... forty-six."
46 silvers. Excellent.
Money Rinea would need to sell her body over twenty times for.
"Uwheeek!"
Seeing more silver coins than ever in past or present life,
pre-cum practically drooled out.
Being precocious for my age means this, huh.
Next, the second pouch.
"What's this... a lucky charm bag?"
A fancy velvet pouch in vibrant colors.
Much smaller than the first, in size and apparent contents.
"Hmm... a modest bonus, I guess."
Disappointing compared to her posing about "pittance."
But no matter. More coins are always good...
Flash—
"...Huh?"
...Did I see wrong?
Flash! Fwaash!
I rubbed my eyes, thinking it was an illusion.
Ah, hands dirty. Fuck.
Anyway... not the point,
I flipped the pouch and dumped into my palm.
Three. They clinked lightly.
Not the shitty brown,
nor the silver that sustains a day in this world,
"......Gold?"
Gold.
Shards of the sun,
saviors of my life.
Not just three? Three whole ones.
...A voice echoing from somewhere.
[Hi? I'm the noble girl who's gonna be a busty beauty in the future.]
[I don't carry pocket change in my purse, y'know?]
"Ahh..."
You bitch—no, you,
you're the real deal.
Just you wait.
Someday, I'll fuck you.
...Once you're bigger.