Omurice for the Children

Omurice. Chik, chik. "Hoo— Baek Seol, time to eat." "Food!"

The moment I opened my eyes, the bustling laundry area was completely empty. Instead, the crisp air carried a fresh scent of grass that greeted me warmly.

Ding! Baek Seol accepted the white golden lantern flower and tucked it into her pocket.

"Hoo—" I kept smoking when I sensed someone approaching from behind.

"Good morning, Ga-eul. You're up early." "Morning, Anna." "Yeah."

Anna smiled brightly and began sweeping the floor with a large broom made of twigs.

"Why is it only kids working here?" "Huh? Because we're under the adults' care. We have to work if we want to stay." "What do the adults do, then?" "They watch to make sure we're ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doing our jobs properly, or they go outside." "Tch."

Even while answering, she kept sweeping diligently with a broom bigger than herself. At best, these kids looked like elementary schoolers. Since I still didn't know the clear conditions, I'd planned to gather more information, but I should've just killed that woman yesterday. Still, if I wasn't planning to take responsibility for these children for the rest of my life, I couldn't afford to act too hastily.

"I'll make breakfast for the kids. Call them over once they wake up." "We can't do that."

Anna, who was usually so timid and always watching for cues, answered firmly.

"Why?" "We have to drink the holy water during breakfast." "Holy water?" "Yeah."

Anna's eyes, already ringed with dark circles that looked almost moldy, trembled slightly.

"Do we have to drink it?" "Of course!" "Why?" "Huh? That's..."

Anna tilted her head. She didn't seem to know why either. Holy water. That was the word I'd overheard last night.

"Drinking the holy water gives us strength." "Is that all?" "Umm... It makes me feel a little dizzy and happy." "Bullshit." "What?" "Nothing."

I waved my hand at Anna. She nodded and went back to sweeping. She must've heard the curse that slipped out. I had to be careful with my words around the kids.

"Hoo—" "What's that?" "Huh? Kids aren't allowed to smoke this." "But you're a kid too. Now that I think about it, you look taller than yesterday." "Kids grow overnight, you know." "Really?"

Anna stared blankly, clearly not understanding, then resumed sweeping. Dry leaves scattered across the floor suggested it was late autumn. The air felt chilly.

"Haa—" Instead of breath, only cigarette smoke came out. The weather around here was so erratic it gave me a headache.

Ding—! While I kept my distance from Anna and continued smoking, a bell rang.

"Ga-eul, let's go eat." "Yeah."

Tick. Anna leaned her broom against the wall, took my hand, and led me ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠inside the building. Thanks to the treatment, her hands were smooth now. After walking a bit, I spotted the place where we'd eaten bread yesterday. Inside, the kids I'd given candy to the day before were already seated at their spots. The tables were low, clearly made for children.

Clatter. As I sat down, the woman I'd seen yesterday placed a tray in front of me. On it was a piece of blackened bread, some watery soup, and a glass of water. The soup looked like it had been made by boiling beans and leeks. It was sloppily prepared to the point of being repulsive.

"You." "Yeah." Her freckled face was expressionless, but she made no effort to hide her dislike for me.

"An important guest is coming tomorrow. Make sure your body and mind are clean."

After whispering that to me, the woman moved to the end of the dining hall. The children clasped their small hands together and lowered their heads.

"O Radiant Light. Descend upon us, piercing through the decaying darkness of this world."

—O Radiant Light. Descend upon us, piercing through the decaying darkness of this world.

As the woman chanted, the children followed in murmurs.

"We are Your faithful servants." "We will fight for Your will." "We will fight for Your glory." "Ah— Great and lonely Sanctarus. We offer our prayers from within nightmares and complete our vows that devour even our souls. U-ron-da."

—U-ron-da.

Every child and adult stared blankly into the air with unfocused eyes. An untimely silence filled the dining hall before the meal. Still, if it was about keeping body and mind clean, that was my specialty.

"That prayer was fucking garbage."

Thanks to the silence, my voice echoed louder than intended. Every gaze in the room turned to me at once.

Thud, thud. The freckled, brown-haired woman approached, cutting through the quiet.

"What did you just say?"

Chik, chik. "Hoo—"

I exhaled forcefully, and the thick cigarette smoke crashed into her face before dissipating.

"Did you shove Sanctarus's dick in your ears? Is that your boyfriend? This?"

I wiggled my pinky finger at her. Her face turned bright red.

"What the hell are you doing, dragging clueless kids into this? Your head doesn't look like it's good for much—want me to fix that for you?"

Even amid the commotion, the children's eyes, having finished their prayer, remained fixed on their water glasses. I picked up the glass from Anna's tray, and her dazed gaze followed the movement.

"Drink it." "...What?" "If you don't want to die, drink it yourself."

Smack! Out of nowhere, the woman's palm struck my cheek. The cigarette I'd been holding fell to the floor.

"Did everyone see that? This is what happens when you don't listen to adults. I hope you'll all behave properly from now on."

After glancing over the children once, the woman left the dining hall without looking back.

"Tch." My mouth stung. The metallic taste told me my lip was split.

"Ga-eul, are you okay?" "Yeah."

When I waved at Anna, who looked ready to stand up, she sat back down with a worried expression.

"Kids, stop what you're doing."

Once the woman was gone, the children who had been reaching for their trays froze.

"The candy you had yesterday was delicious, right?"

The children nodded in unison. They were cute, like little chicks.

"Today I'll make something way tastier. But first, clear the trash off the table." "Can't we just drink the water?" Anna asked on everyone's behalf, and all eyes turned to the glasses.

"That's bad for your body. Throw it away."

When I said it firmly, the children made sullen faces. There was no way that "holy water" could make you feel dizzy and happy. I'd tasted real holy water plenty of times before—it was just plain, tasteless water.

"It's much, much tastier than candy. So, only the friend who throws away the water gets to eat it."

It was a harsh choice to force on them, but it couldn't be helped. I didn't know what was in that water, but their behavior made it clear it was some kind of addictive drug. That stuff couldn't possibly be ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠holy water.

Clatter. When I openly pulled out cooking tools from my inventory, the children's eyes widened. It probably looked like magic to them. I placed an onion on the cutting board and began slicing it. The pleasant, rhythmic sound echoed through the dining hall.

Sizzle—! Even though I was only stir-frying finely chopped onions in an oiled wok, the children's throats bobbed as they swallowed. Showing them once was better than telling them a hundred times.

Sizzle—! Sizzle—! Every time I tossed the wok, the golden onions flew into the air, and the children's eyes followed them. Golden fried rice, stir-fried to perfection using my cooking skill's flame control. All that was left was to top it with a thinly fried egg and write something with ketchup. Kids usually hated vegetables, so this way they'd eat it happily. The final touch of writing with tomato ketchup would definitely make them excited.

"Anna." "Yeah."

After writing "Anna" on the first finished omurice, I handed it over. Her eyes sparkled.

"Wow, it has my name on it." "Anna, did you throw away the water?"

Anna, who couldn't take her eyes off the omurice, nodded quickly.

"Good job. Go eat it quickly."

While Anna picked up her spoon, I made another omurice and waited. Since Anna was the oldest and the leader here, if she moved, the other kids would follow. Every child's gaze in the dining hall was fixed on Anna. She was so absorbed in the omurice that she didn't notice.

Anna carefully scooped up a bite, avoiding the written part. She seemed reluctant to eat the letters.

"Mmm!" After taking one bite, Anna placed ‍‍‌‌⁠⁠‌‍‍‌⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠‌‌‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her hands on her cheeks and looked like she was in heaven. Seeing her cute reaction, it seemed like it suited her taste.

"Tasty?" "Yeah!"

As Anna began eating her omurice with gusto, the other children stared at me with sparkling eyes.

"The good friends who threw away the water, come forward one by one." "Yes!"

When I told them to come one by one, they all rushed forward together.

"Lydia." "Yeah!"

The cute girl with dark brown hair smiled brightly as she received the omurice with her name on it.

"Edric." "Yeah!!"

Edric was missing a front tooth, making him look like a little troublemaker.

"Friends who brought their food back to their seats, take one of these each."

It was an antidote I'd made using alchemy based on what I'd overheard yesterday. It was the same one Manuk had drunk, so the effect was guaranteed. I'd mixed it with fruit juice and put it in juice bottles with animal drawings that kids would like. There were grape, apple, and peach flavors, so they could choose what they preferred.

"Hanna." "Yeah! I'm here!"

Hanna, whose name was similar to Anna's, was also missing a baby tooth, so her smile was especially adorable.

"Co, achoo." "Krrrng!"

When I wiped Hanna's nose with a tissue, she smiled bashfully.

"Eat as much as you want. If it's not enough, just say so." "Thank you!" "Yeah."

The boys suddenly started eating faster. They must've been really hungry.

***

Leaning against the wall and waiting, I heard voices coming from the same room as yesterday, accompanied by a faint light.

『......』

One voice belonged to the woman who'd slapped me, and the other was a man's.

『The holy water... sell it quickly...』

Hearing curses mixed in between, it seemed they were still angry about what had happened in the dining hall earlier.

Chik, chik. "Hoo— Shadow..."

Bang! Suddenly, the door I'd been eavesdropping on flew open and slammed against the wall with a loud noise.

"Who's there?!"

The stench was so strong that I'd tried to gather a bit more information, but instead of the two people I'd expected, three figures burst out. One of them was wearing dazzlingly white armor.

"Huh? This is a bust." Click. "Hieeek!! A, a demon...!!" "It's the Saint." "Demon! It's a demon!!" "I said I'm the Saint."