A Remarkable Person
After Seoha's first outing, for the next few weeks, a rare bit of heartwarming gossip circulated through Porern, the gathering place of the slums.
"Hey, Malkor. That orphanage on 4th Street."
"The one run by that young woman?"
"Yeah. That rundown haunted house. I was passing by for work, and get this—the kids were wearing some pretty pricey clothes."
"What bullshit. Who'd dress up orphans like that?"
"That's what I'm saying. The shop guys said the amount of food supplies they're buying has shot up too. Whatever that director's up to, she's clearly struck it rich."
The self-proclaimed ruler of the back alleys, Malkor, pondered his subordinate's words.
...Is that for real?
He always weighed several factors when selecting targets: how much they could pay, how much risk was involved. Misjudging that and ending up with chump change for his efforts? No thanks.
He'd ignored the orphanage so far because it wasn't worth the trouble. But if things had changed?
"Definitely unusual."
He'd seen the orphanage kids plenty of times before. All in ragged clothes, faces like walking corpses. Standard for this line of work—nothing odd about it.
But after circling the area and doing some light probing, his subordinate's report checked out, surprisingly.
She doesn't seem like the type to actually care about the kids.
No one dresses a scrawny kid in fancy clothes out of love. Why would someone who doesn't even feed them properly sink money into that?
Yet here it was happening. Someone who'd never given a damn about kids suddenly turning over a new leaf? Unlikely.
Smells like money...
Dressing kids up like that meant she'd satisfied her own greed and still had enough left over for 'charity.'
"She must've hit it big at some gambling den—too cheap to even fix up the crumbling place."
His subordinate's words solidified his conclusion. He made up his mind.
Kids always turn a profit somehow.
If it didn't pan out, he could sell them off outside the city through his 'business,' make them do grunt work, or return them for a fee.
Even if the director showed up herself...
"Heh heh heh. This is mouthwatering."
He was a businessman who valued efficiency and rationality. Objectively, this was a solid target.
The church won't get involved this time either.
A little gesture of goodwill on his end would suffice. Worth a shot.
And his nether regions agreed.
What was the orphanage's role?
[Taking care of the kids.]
...Why the normal answer all of a sudden? What's going on? Has your brain fixed itself?
[You're not exactly all there either.]
Anyway! 'Taking care' of kids involves a ton of angles.
According to Piaget's theory of cognitive development in pedagogy, kids go through various stages as they age.
What does that mean...?
...You know. That thing. The stages thing...
I saw it on YouTube once...
How hollow is knowledge that evaporates the moment you're cut off from modern civilization...
All I had left after getting tossed naked into a novel was a sharp mind and a warm heart.
[Bullshit.]
"Shasha, sorry, but facts."
Point is, kids need to build knowledge as they grow, and right now, that's not happening.
Bluntly put, from a few days of observation: 'These kids... hardly any of them can read.'
I bought them books, and they just skim the pictures and shelve them...! How are they supposed to know if the princess is having a touching reunion with the prince, or if it's a TS virus plot?
But this is an opportunity...!
If I teach them to read and build intimacy on the side...?
Gradually spend more time together, and maybe reset our relationships to normal.
"From today, study with me..."
"Yes?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Sorry."
"No, my bad."
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
Damn...
The silence hurts more.
The plan was perfect...
There'd been faint laughter from the room before I entered... but the moment I stepped in, the air turned funeral-heavy.
Like a wake.
My mentality, grown like a hospital room plant, couldn't take it—I regretted it to my bones!
"Ally."
"......"
"Alice?"
"...Me, Director?"
Sorry. Nicknames are too advanced.
I thought we'd gotten closer these past few days.
"No cooking today—read to the kids instead. And read whatever you want too."
"But..."
"What if the priests come to inspect and the kids can't read a single letter?"
"Yes...! Got it."
"Good, thanks."
No way was I bracing for awkward silence twice, so I delegated to Alice (professional term: slacking off).
Fire put out for now. Teaching and caring for kids is adult work, but since the adults are hopeless...
A little more laziness won't hurt.
[No matter how you slice it, prepping poison beats this pointless crap.]
"Then why didn't you use poison on Kiara in the future instead of losing?"
[......It's my turn to talk. Quiet?]
Pouting, huh. Sulking.
Plan to bond with kids: (semi-forcibly) terminated.
Kiara's off somewhere plotting my death—no sign of her despite days of searching.
"Finally some me-time. Not planned, but..."
Result: holed up in the director's office with unexpected free time.
Past-life Seoha would've leisurely reread novels, but present-life Luagwen? No such luxury.
Too much to do.
Like assessing the situation.
"How could you plan to sacrifice kids as offerings while expecting church sponsorship?"
[...]
"My turn now. Answer properly?"
[You can't avoid the church no matter what you do here. An orphanage without their support would look more suspicious.]
"Fair point."
Logical... damn it.
[No real inspections anyway. Bribe 'em, and funding flows. Efficient.]
"True..."
Dirty reality I don't wanna accept, but can't deny.
Well... she did succeed in the sacrifices, ultimately.
If not for natural disasters like Kiara, who knows.
Can't do much about acts of god—pass.
"If the church's influence reaches the slums... I'll run into them eventually, like it or not."
If they'd done their job properly, I'd have met them already.
Problematic.
Common knowledge from the original: only priests and a few can sense Evil God powers used by heretics.
High-ranking ones can spot heretics even without active powers.
Fire vs. magma matchup...!
I was already cautious, but after that short trip outside days ago, even more so.
Security here's worse than I thought.
No matter how good I am, if someone causes trouble and priests investigate?
A casual inquiry could snag me.
Conclusion: obvious.
"Gotta train a bit after all."
Not my thing—moving, fighting.
But at least enough to escape a priest encounter.
Cleared the novel stack from the desk, pulled out a different book.
Fundamentals of Mana and Its Applications—one I'd asked Alice to grab at the bookstore.
Basic text on mana use, essential for anyone scrapping in this world.
"Shasha, you know how to handle mana?"
[Of course.]
"Good. Teach me."
Did original Luagwen use basic strength boosts? Vague—cut before a full page.
[With the authority I received, no way it was just that. Damn novelists and their exaggerations...]
You got cut before using it...
If she reads this thought, training's toast—emptied my mind fast.
Mental peace... mental peace.
Even with authority...
Nope. Keep thinking, and 'you're screwed' pops out—flipped the book and fled to the text.
Skimming the basics didn't take long.
Not 'cause I'm a genius.
[Why read this? Your body already has complete mana circuits.]
"Huh...? No need?"
[This level's for circuitless normies. Sit on the floor here.]
"Free pass, teacher?"
No volume in main story, yet this growth buff...!
Didn't expect possession perks here.
Like Dad coming home not with 1,000-won bread bundles, but Daijeon strawberry shiru.
[...That punk. If not for my body...]
"Hehe, fancy wine tonight."
Spread a blanket in the office center.
Ingenious design to prevent bone-chilling distraction...!
[Quit yapping. Close your eyes.]
Quiet to avoid scolding, focused.
[Your heart already has mana circuits. Focus on feeling them.]
"..."
Heart. Heart...
Eyes closed, heartbeat audible.
Not pounding strong... weak pulse, just like me.
...Hmm...
[Feel the mana circulating your body.]
Like qi gathering in wuxia...
Never done circuits or qi gathering.
Key is imagery. Mental picture.
Mana flows from heart like qi, circulating body to fingertips.
And that mana feels chilly...
[Don't open your eyes yet.]
Hold the cold.
[Now, imagine moving that cold at will.]
First instinct: concentrate to a point, blast out.
No... wreck the place.
Absurd thought in my most unrealistic life moment.
But can't help what pops up.
Before stray thoughts derail, decided.
Spread it wide.
Like thin film everywhere, spider pulling threads through cracks.
Wide. Seamless.
[Lee Seoha!!! Open your eyes!!!]
"Whoa! Nearly broke focus."
[I'm not shouting. You're perceiving it that way.]
"Ah..."
Luagwen's mana was blue as its chill.
Like aurora dragged underground. Spectacle.
Blue mana blanketed everything—like underwater.
Healthy person? Superhuman.
Each mana ripple brought sensations: distant footsteps, chatter, kids' movements here.
"Shasha. She really is a remarkable person."
Personality aside.
Worlds apart from minutes ago.
[Blue... where'd she train magic?]
"Huh?"
[Never mind. Be grateful. Not your talent—mine.]
Yes, yes, great one.
Wanna savor this heightened sense longer, but not hysteria blocking—another entity.
【173 days】
【170 days】
"Lifespan's dropping?"
[What? Deploying mana like a brute tires you out—normal. Reel it in quick.]
...Luagwen'd freak if she knew. Can't handle mana freely in this body.
So much for good news. Six months? No complacency.
Find a fix fast.
One quest done, feels like bigger ones attached.
"Hold on."
Reeling in post-feel was simpler.
As mana withdrew, kids' presences flickered on/off—then,
"...Guest—no, comrade's here?"
Something eerie, like Luagwen’s cold mana.
[Malkor... back-alley rat?]
Dangerous presence appeared, vanished.
Here. At the orphanage.