Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: A Child as Cute as a Scruffy Maltese
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Sien, who had seemed about to fall asleep, said she was heading to the back alleys, and the maids, the holy knight, and that little brat all tagged along.
Naturally, Pat and Matt, who had received orders from Matthias, also secretly trailed behind Sien.
They thought she was just going to some random back alley. But Sien specified the alleys quite precisely.
Ant Street, Pinea Street, Charlotte Street. Three places like that.
The peculiar thing was that all three were gypsy enclaves, places where they ran their scams.
‘Gypsies scam everywhere in the back alleys, so... it must be a coincidence.’
A villain's instinct stabbed coldly at his chest, but no matter how he looked, Sien was just making cute faces. Completely oblivious.
Ted cautiously countered the child's innocent expression.
“Why go to the capital’s filthy streets on purpose, Lady Sien? The security isn’t good.”
Pat and Matt eyed the stiff holy knight uncomfortably.
He didn’t even know the first letter of loyalty.
Right now, Pat and Matt were acting as nannies behind the child on Matthias’s orders. And this was the level of loyalty that couldn’t even go to a gypsy back alley?
If Sien Mirmod turned vicious, Ted would be on his knees right now.
But contrary to the villains’ hopeful expectations, Sien puffed her chubby cheeks and said coolly, casually,
“Um, just cuz.”
“There are a lot of gypsies there... it’s dangerous.”
“It’s fiiiine. Ted and Ashid will protect me!”
Her beaming smile held not a shred of doubt or negativity. Anyone would fall for that pure grin.
In fact, the boy called Ashid and the holy knight seemed to have fallen for Sien long ago, grinning like proud dads.
“Th-then, l-let’s go!”
...Especially that little Ashid kid, who showed a level of loyalty like he was possessed by a ghost.
Pat and Matt stared at them with stern, serious expressions.
‘She is cute.’
‘But we’re different from them. We won’t fall for a kid’s charm.’
There must be a reason Sien was heading into the gypsy world.
Maybe it even connected to Matthias’s orders: ‘If anyone’s corrupting Sien, bring them to me.’
A flash of realization streaked through Pat and Matt’s minds.
‘The ones who corrupted her might be the gypsies.’
The world called them ‘filthy gypsy scum,’ but at least Pat and Matt knew. The gypsies had something special.
They probably did all sorts of sleight-of-hand tricks that could captivate a child.
Even ordinary alley brat leaders wouldn’t dream of entering gypsy turf.
‘Anyway, he told us to leave her be.’
They faithfully followed Matthias’s command, trailing Sien’s heels into the gypsy enclave.
***
I picked up a holy knight with divine power to threaten Axel Mirmod.
With this divine power, I could deal physical damage to Axel.
But that wasn’t enough.
The most vulnerable part of a person is their psyche. In the original story, Melodia effectively attacked that part to defeat Axel.
I needed to grasp his psyche firmly and gain the upper hand, and the one who could fill that role was a shaman.
‘I need a gypsy who’s good at talking, loyal to me, and can enchant Axel.’
After sleeping soundly and playing all day, I remembered original story info I’d dozed off and forgotten on the day I ate pine needles.
The first shaman Melodia sought was in the empire’s gypsy enclaves.
That shaman was said to be ‘truly’ mystical, ‘truly’ amazing, reading people’s minds like an open book.
Even kind Melodia got turned away at the door. She visited the shaman three times but couldn’t win him over. That’s why she eventually got one from the eastern continent.
Melodia regretted not securing a gypsy shaman forever.
So, if I got a gypsy shaman, I’d have a slight edge in handling Axel.
‘I’m only five, so I can’t go to the eastern continent. I have to follow Melodia’s failed route but succeed.’
Since Melodia visited three times, the novel had brief descriptions of the shaman’s haunts and appearance.
A gypsy living in a gypsy enclave.
A black mole next to the lips or not, brown hair.
Age roughly between 10 and 50.
Rough, straightforward speech.
Gender unknown.
Very vague info.
‘What the hell? A mole next to the lips means there is one or there isn’t. ‘Or not’ what? Age 10 to 50 is basically all ages!’
Finding the shaman with these hints was like finding Mr. Kim in Seoul or a needle in a sandpit.
But I couldn’t do nothing.
Thinking of my little family under me, I steeled my resolve again.
‘I feel like the head of a poor household...’
That thought sobered me like a splash of cold water.
I clenched my fist and pondered Axel again.
‘To catch Axel Mirmod, who’s obsessed with curses and jinxes, I need to research sorcery myself.’
An orphanage appeared before my eyes.
It seemed dedicated to gypsy kids.
‘Yeah, let’s search there first!’
I knocked energetically on the orphanage door.
“Helwo! Can you teww me a wittle about the stweets-.”
“Oh my god...”
The director’s eyes widened.
As I tilted my head in confusion,
“This is the grubbiest baby I’ve ever seen!”
“U, uwu...?”
The maids had dressed me extra grubby since I was going to gypsy turf... I looked down at my soot-stained underclothes and patchy coat, sighing sadly.
“Oh dear, looks like a Maltese with tear stains. Abandoned, huh? Come here!”
I got mistaken for a dumb scruffy mutt by this gypsy grandma.
She even scooped up my tiny body and carried me inside.
I quickly signaled Ted and Ashid it was fine, then sighed hugely as I dangled undignified.
At least I was inside the orphanage now, so good was good.
***
“So... you’re looking for someone.”
Thanks to Ted and Ashid rushing after me, and the muscle maid sisters, the scruffy Maltese misunderstanding got cleared up.
But this director... showed no sign of letting me go.
“F-first... sniff! Let’s do that.”
“Krng!”
This director had some real experience.
She sat me on her lap, wiped my nose, even washed my face. Total pro at childcare.
Under her hands, I nearly dozed off like a real Maltese but snapped to.
If I were a normal five-year-old, I’d have passed out from exhaustion, but luckily, I wasn’t normal.
“Uwu...”
“The person you’re looking for is a gypsy?”
“Yesh. Fowtune-tewwing. Impowtant mattew.”
I used the exact excuse Melodia gave in the original.
“Fortune-telling, huh...”
The director’s warm expression hardened sternly as she looked down at me. Her permed fluffy hair and red-rimmed eyes didn’t make her look like a regular auntie—she seemed mystical.
“Yes, the old folks said gypsies are born under prophecy stars.”
This director already looked mystical.
I blinked up at her with trusting eyes.
“People who can prophesy aren’t common. Or rather, almost none.”
“......”
“It won’t be easy to find.”
If a gypsy herself said ‘hard to find,’ it really was.
“But I have hints, so...”
I sparkled my eyes to look pitiful like a scruffy Maltese.
Sure enough, the director wiped the soot from my face and gave a hint.
“Yes... hmm, they’re ordinary gypsies too, so they’ll be where gypsies gather.”
I nodded quietly.
Okay, where gypsies gather...
***
It felt easier to ask around inside the orphanage than hunt gypsies in the alleys for info.
I told the director petting me like a scruffy Maltese that since I was here, I wanted to volunteer.
I used to be an alley boss, so I wanted to play with the kids!
The director wiped the grimy black smudges from my chubby cheeks and nodded.
‘What do gypsies like?’
Pondering, I decided to find someone who seemed to know the most about gypsies. Inside the orphanage, of course!
‘If you’re volunteering, our Maltese... no, baby can play with the kids. The knight outside cuts grass, maids carry supplies.’
Following the director’s excellent assignments, we scattered.
Ted wouldn’t let me go alone, so muscle-overflowing Deadri sis stepped up.
‘Extra hands are good.’
Hearing the director’s proud voice, I headed to room 201 as she directed.
The orphanage was two stories, room 201 for kids 10 to 15. And she added not to be too shocked by anything there—gypsy kids were rough.
I tiptoed down the hall with Deadri sis, scampering quietly. Felt like hide-and-seek, so fun. Giggling, I went to enter 201.
Gypsy kids would listen to me...
“Hey, you think I’m a joke?”
I froze.
“Huh? I asked if you think it’s funny.”
The closer I got to 201, crashing sounds and fighting voices rose.
The orphanage vibe felt off.
“Baby? Why-.”
“Shh. Go away fow now.”
I shushed Deadri sis and pushed her from the door. My tiny hands easily shoved her.
Seeing her a bit away, I cautiously peeked through the crack. About seven kids inside 201.
They surrounded a kid in the center whose face I couldn’t see well.
“Say it again, huh?”
“......”
“Ah, with that loose mouth of yours, say it again.”
Total gangster drawl. Even clenched fist threatening.
“B-boss. Endure it. Director might come-.”
“Ah, bullshit. I said no. Whether that fucker dies or I go down, we’re ending it today.”
I bulged my eyes. The boy called boss tensed his toes.
‘That stance, flying kick incoming!’
The ‘boss’ boy’s foot was poised for a kick.
I stared at his sharp foot, couldn’t hold back, and flung the door open.
A sharp-eared gypsy kid spotted me.
“B-boss. There’s some girl outside!”
All eyes turned to me.
Even the kid in the center who’d almost gotten beat looked my way.
I boldly clenched my fists and faced them.
“Vio-wence is bad!”
The cocky-looking boss boy approached me.
“What’s this fluffy chick?”
Blue hair, golden eyes.
Deep blue eyebrows already scratched, cheek scarred.
Total thug look.
But even that seemed ethereally beautiful.
“Hey, not your business, scram.”
I clenched my fists. Planning to fix his mouth.
Then a deeply outraged, sinister voice echoed behind me.
“You just...”
Huge-as-a-mountain Deadri sis appeared.
She ground her teeth with a grim face, even using Pft dialect.
Receiving all eyes, Deadri sis cracked her knuckles.
“What’d you say to our baby?”
Crack, crack.
The joint pops echoed in the quiet room.