Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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>Translator: Vine
>Chapter: 51
>Chapter Title: A Cage Without Him
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The plans for his confinement were steadily piling up.
With Juliana's help, Noah managed to survive in the cruel forest. They endured day by day, sharing body heat with the other children in a dark, damp cave.
They hunted small monsters and filled their starving bellies with whatever edible mushrooms or fruits they could find.
Their precarious daily life came to an end when a few of the children were attacked by a monster.
No limbs were severed, but the wounds were deep and required proper medical attention. Noah recklessly left the forest and began searching for a village. They might be captured by slavers, but it was better than sitting by and losing the children.
"A village...!"
Had their desperate pleas reached the heavens? Noah's group found a small village. There were no professional healers or priests, but there were quite a few hunters.
The village, situated on the edge of the Forest of Death, was home to people who made a living by hunting monsters. However, it wasn't a place where the truly strong gathered.
They were too weak to thrive in the Demon King's cruel lands, yet too strong to simply lay down their swords... In short, it was a gathering place for those of ambiguous strength.
Since they made their living hunting the surrounding monsters, they treated the children's wounds without much difficulty. But it wasn't free.
"We used precious herbs, so you'll do odd jobs around the village until you've paid off your debt. It's good for you, too, living on safe land, isn't it?"
In exchange for the treatment, the village chief demanded the children provide labor. With no other options and unable to live in the cave forever, they accepted his demand.
And so, Noah's group began to live in the small village, doing menial chores.
"Move it, faster!"
The children, powerless and parentless, were treated no better than slaves. They were begrudgingly given leftover food and had to sleep in a place like an animal pen, one that barely even had a roof.
Nevertheless, it was a much safer place than the Forest of Death, so the children lived each day to the fullest.
One day, just as they were starting to get used to the work, an incident occurred.
"Noah... Noah, h-he...lp!"
"Let me go!"
Hearing the scream while carrying a heavy pile of firewood, Noah threw the wood aside and ran. When she arrived, Lilly was in the grasp of one of the hunters, while Nero was clawing at the man's wrist.
Noah charged the hunter without hesitation. As if to prove her training with Juliana hadn't been in vain, she easily subdued him.
*I have to leave.*
Holding the trembling Lilly, Noah realized they could no longer stay in this village. She hid the unconscious hunter in the forest, snuck back into the village, and fled with anything valuable and edible she could find.
The village chief never imagined the children would flee back into the Forest of Death, so he hadn't bothered to post a guard. Thanks to that, she was able to escape the village with all the children without difficulty.
Afterward, Noah grew stronger at an accelerated rate as she struggled through the Forest of Death, but she also grew weary. The children accumulated more and more scars, and at times, their very lives were in danger.
Scars, big and small, multiplied on the bodies of the children, including her own.
*Rian...*
Whenever she felt herself about to break under the cruel reality, Noah thought of Rian. Recalling his gentle smile, his warm words, and his comforting presence gave her the strength to grit her teeth and get back up.
They tenaciously survived and were finally able to escape the Forest of Death completely. The children who survived the forest no longer hesitated to pick up a weapon and swing it.
After several days of traveling as stealthily as possible, they hid in the woods and followed a merchant caravan. The long procession passed through a small fortress wall and entered a large city. The children found a hole in the wall and squeezed their small bodies through to get inside.
*This place is...!*
Upon arriving in the city, Noah recognized it immediately. This was the city where she and Nero had been sold as slaves.
The city's name was Cardichan. It was a city with a massive underworld. A place where beggars and corpses were as common as insects in summer was a decent enough place for Noah's group to stay.
Thanks to the poor security, they could stay in the city despite not having identification papers. Of course, they could only manage to secure a spot in a back alley where beggars lazed about, but she was satisfied just by the fact that there was no one trying to kill or exploit them.
But that didn't last long.
"They look pretty useful, don't they?"
"One, two, three... With this many, we won't have to worry about drinking money for a while."
The weak children were nothing but prey in the back alleys. Noah drew her sword to protect them. The other children also used the skills they had honed to take care of their attackers.
Some were badly injured in the process. Noah gritted her teeth as she used what little money she had to treat the wounded children.
*I need strength.*
To protect myself and everyone else, I needed more power.
*My strength alone isn't enough.*
It wasn't enough for just her to be strong. To survive, they all had to become stronger together. At the same time, they had to form a group.
While living in the back alleys, Noah began to understand 'the way of the weak to survive'.
Afterward, Noah started seeking out and rescuing the outcast children of the back alleys. The adults who had survived there were already rotten to the core, so she took in children who at least had a future to look forward to. Of course, that wasn't her only reason for taking them in.
*Rian, if it were you, you would have made the same choice, right?*
It was the result of her efforts to emulate Rian, who had unhesitatingly sacrificed himself to protect the young children.
The children who survived the Forest of Death possessed various skills. They shared what they had learned with the newcomers and trained together.
Once Noah, who had a talent for leadership and the sword, began to formally teach the children, their skills improved at a surprisingly rapid pace.
Along with their training, Noah quickly grasped the ecosystem of the back alleys. She watched the fights between the rats who ruled the alleys and cleverly found blind spots to hide themselves.
In this way, Noah's group gradually grew in size.
One day, while they were desperately struggling to survive, Noah found Rian in a newspaper lying on the ground.
[ The Emergence of a New Star No One Could Have Imagined! ]
It had a grand headline, but the article itself was tucked away at the very end, smaller than the palm of her hand. There was a photo, but it was so small that anyone without her keen eye would have had trouble recognizing it was Rian.
Noah stared intently at the tattered newspaper.
*Rian... You really were alive!*
She had been sure he was alive, but living in the cruel back alleys, she couldn't help but sometimes think, *'What if... no, it can't be—'.* Now, that anxiety was washed away by elation.
*Rian, I will save you. No matter what.*
Noah immediately began to investigate the arena. Since they were just a group of children, it was difficult to gather any decent information.
The best they could scrape together was a rumor that 'there's a white-haired slave with incredible skills.' Even with just that much, Noah felt a dizzying sense of hope.
She wanted to rescue Rian from the arena right away, but Noah had neither the confidence to survive the journey to Jiso's territory nor the power to get Rian out.
Her talent as a 'leader', honed by commanding the children, quickly showed her the path she must take.
*To protect Rian, this isn't enough. I need to get stronger.*
Increase the size of the group, and increase the strength of each individual. And with that, create a nest that can protect everyone—and Rian.
Noah began to move with frightening determination to achieve her goal. Juliana keenly sensed that Noah was not in her right mind. But she didn't point it out.
Because in a cruel world like this, going mad was the only way to survive.
Juliana thought it would be a happier madness for Noah to make a person her paradise, rather than to become drunk on blood or drugs.
Since no one stopped her, the weight of Rian's existence within Noah grew heavier with each passing day.
To the point where it seemed 'Rian' had become her life's purpose.
As time went on, those around her noticed Noah's obsession with Rian. And like Juliana, they didn't point it out.
"It's dangerous out here, so when Rian comes back, let's have him stay inside as much as possible."
"He might feel cooped up, so how about we make a garden?"
"Then we'll need a big building."
Since Noah, the leader of the group, always had Rian's name on her lips, the other children naturally didn't forget him and missed him as well. Thanks to that, far from pointing out her obsession, they were actually fanning the flames.
In a place where Rian was not, the plans for his confinement steadily piled up.