Chapter 3: 3

“Noooooo! H-Holding hands doesn’t mean we’re dating! Cancel!”

 

Jackson managed to shake my hand away. That boy immediately dragged the underlings and ran away.

 

“Hmph, it’s not a big deal.”

 

“…Hey, Sol.”

 

“Why.”

 

“Let go of my hand.”

 

“Ah, yeah.”

 

I let go of his hand coolly.

 

Bell turned his face away and looked into his palm. Are there any marks left on his hand?

 

“Why. Did I hold you too painfully?”

 

Bell was startled.

 

“No, I’m okay!”

 

“Then I’m glad. Alright.”

 

Is he in puberty already? He reacted strangely to skinship.

 

Anyway, what am I going to do from now on?

 

The original female lead of [Rank 99th] is the daughter of a count, and she grew up gracefully by attending boarding school. When her family collapsed, she continued to do temple chores, and it wasn’t long before she was revered as a saintess, saving her husband and the world.

 

In the process, there was no place for these filthy orphanages or people from orphanages to get involved. In other words, I have to take care of my own future.

 

In any case, at the age of 10, it’s difficult for me to either pretend in childcare or find an investor and convert the genre into business.

 

Above all, I don’t know when the original story is. Is the female lead still young too? Or is the original story already on the verge of destruction of the world?

 

But as I was thinking with a serious expression on my face, Bell came up to me and said.

 

“…Sol.”

 

“Yeah, why?”

 

“Ah, you looked like an adult earlier.”

 

As an adult, of course.

 

But why is he hovering next to me? Is he trying to apologize for being harsh?

 

“Again, what else do you have to say?”

 

“Didn’t you ask the year before? This year is the 521 year of the Holy Calendar.”

 

“Thank you for letting me know.”

 

Boy, you’re a good kid with a little bit of pride. Without realizing it, a warm smile crept across my lips. Bell flinched for a moment.

 

“Why are you smiling?”

 

“Uh, you’re pretty.”

 

“What, what pretty!”

 

I ignored that boy’s voice and looked out of the window. The sky was cloudy, and sleet fluttered in the wind. It was winter.

 

Anyhow, it’s the 521 year of the Holy Calendar.

 

…I have no idea even after I heard that. I’m not a fan of [Rank 99th], how would I know what happened and when?

 

Even the author kept making mistakes, that’s why intellectual comments were often given.

 

Well, the world will be saved by the main characters. Let’s just take care of my future like an extra.

 

I turned to Bell and asked.

 

“When will the meal come out?”

 

Thus, my life in [Rank 99th] began.

 

***

 

This is roughly an orphanage in the northern part of the continent. The main income is a subsidy for a temple.

 

The priest came to visit once a week, and that was the day the children washed their faces.

 

…Not a shower, but a face wash.

 

The facility, run by a director and one teacher, didn’t wash the children in time. Most of the children didn’t even know how to wash. Water was precious, and all that was left was water from the melted snow, so leaves were floating around. Besides, the coldness in the bathroom blew away the will to wash.

 

Still, I washed myself well every day. This was the reason.

 

A child asked me as I was shaking and washing myself.

 

“Why do you wash often? Aren’t you going to be adopted by a nobleman?”

 

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

 

“I think you’re suffering for nothing. You need to be dirty to be adopted well!”

 

The other children nodded their heads.

 

“That’s right. Those who are messy will be given a lot of food because they’re pitiful.”

 

“When the nobleman comes, you must not wash for a week!”

 

It seems that nobles come to donate once or twice a month and adopt children.

 

Are they politicians who come to bathe in welfare facilities during the election season? The world is the same here and there.

 

…But there’s something even weirder than that.

 

“Is that really an adoption?”

 

“What else if it’s not adoption? Skinny kids like us can’t even be used as servants!”

 

The children naively nod their heads. A suspicion swelled within me.

 

The world of [Rank 99th] has an unusual resource. It’s called ‘mana pearl’ and is a precious metal similar to ‘magic stone’ in other novels. It was originally buried in the ground like a gold mine.

 

However, research has shown that mana pearls can be extracted from very few human bodies. The next course is, obviously, those pieces of shit’s human experiment!

 

The description of the original story was short.

 

[The greedy nobles provided wanderers and orphans with no place to go to the wizard’s laboratory in search of manapearl. Most of the victims disappeared with a few drops of test tube blood. However the experiment didn’t stop. The thought of making up for the loss only earned the eyes of the nobles from greed.]

 

I don’t know if that research started in this era, but wouldn’t it be better to save myself as much as possible?

 

I don’t want to die in a human experiment.

 

Instead of stating that fact directly, I spoke around.

 

“Yes, no nobles would use a child like me as a servant. But they might give me as a meal to the monsters in the lab, right?”

 

“No way…!”

 

“I don’t trust nobles because they’re crooked. Take care of yourself too.”

 

As I have repeatedly said, the world is a place like a gem. Of course, I admit that it’s cold here. The meal is not good, and the hygiene is poor.

 

The orphanage director wields his falcon far more often than he talks to the children.

 

However, the place that used to be considered the center of hell may be a one-day experience course in hell. Just like my life has been.

 

I’m going to have to keep washing up in the future.

 

Beyond the confused children, his hair was messed up yet his face was clean like mine, Bell who strangely looked elegant murmured.

 

“The nobles… That’s right, they’re trash.”

 

***

 

That statement was soon proven.

 

One day, the Director smiled and invited the children to the dining room.

 

“Children. The Count is coming next week. And only one! One of you is going to be adopted.”

 

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“Wow!”

 

“Does everyone know what to do?”

 

“Yes! Pitiful and polite! Small voice!”

 

“That’s right. No matter what, you should never say anything back.”

 

“Yes!”

 

I could only say by mouthing. It’s annoying. Don’t teach the kids to be servile first.

 

Of course, the Director didn’t notice my small rebellion.

 

“The Count sent you a present in advance!”

 

“Wow…?”

 

The cheers of the children quickly subsided.

 

The Director proudly pointed out his fingertips. The ‘gift’ placed on the table at the end was a melon. The children’s faces were gloomy.

 

“Is that a ball?”

 

“I can’t believe you said it’s a ball! It’s a sweet fruit from the south.”

  

 

“Fruit…”

 

The children who didn’t know what melon tasted like were bored. On the other hand, my mouth was salivating. I don’t even know when was the last time I ate fruit!

 

The assistant teacher cut the melon into pieces with a large knife. The flesh was slightly orange in color. Ah, I’m drooling.

 

When the children saw it, they seemed to have a good appetite. With a twinkle in their eyes, they received a piece of melon from the Director.

 

“‘Thank you’, do it.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“You have to bend your back more. Will you do that if the Count comes?”

 

“T-Thank you!”

 

After bending over several times, that child was able to move to the side and eat the melon.

 

That ungrateful human. How can you make children scorn just for a piece of fruit? Fortunately, the smiles of the children who ate the melon were a little comforting.

 

“Wow, it’s so soft.”

 

“It tastes better than bread!”

 

The children licked their sticky palms one by one. The other kids lined up with their eyes full of anticipation, but there was only one. There was a child who didn’t stand in line. It was Bell.

 

It seems that the Director noticed too late.

 

“Hey! You… There, black hair!”

 

“…It’s ‘Bell’.”

 

“Anyway, why aren’t you eating?”

 

“Because I don’t like melons.”

 

Huh? Does he know what fruit this is? But it seems that I was the only one who noticed the incongruity. The Director was annoyed.

 

“What does it have to do with what you like? If it’s given to you, you should eat it!”

 

“I won’t eat it.”

 

“…Since when did your taste matter?”

 

The Director jumped up from his seat and looked at Bell. Soon the assistant teacher clung to Bell’s back and caught him so he couldn’t escape.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Bell, open your mouth.”

 

“No, ah, I won’t eat it!”

 

“You have no choice. Are you sure you will be educated before the Count comes?”

 

The moment the assistant teacher grabbed Bell’s chin and the Director tried to shove a piece of melon into his mouth. I hurriedly clung to their legs. He said he didn’t like it, why are they tormenting him!

 

“Stop it, don’t catch the kid!”

 

“Why else are you… What’s your name?”

 

“My name is ‘Dear Boss.”

 

“What bullshit!”

 

Although the two of them were distracted by the nonsense, the limit was clear.

 

The moment my assistant teacher pulled me away. The director also succeeded in putting a piece of melon in Bell’s mouth.

 

“Isn’t it delicious? It’s delicious, so why did you say you don’t like it?”

 

“Ugh… Coughl!”

 

“Who wants to eat again? … Ah. Haven’t you eaten yet?”

 

The Director looked down at me and twisted the corners of his lips and smiled. Damn it.

 

Because of the physical fight we had earlier, the cut melon rolled over the ground. There was a lot of dirt on the soft flesh. The Director would have liked the situation even more.

 

“You got the right topping for you, didn’t you? Come on, open your mouth.”

 

The Director shoved the dirt-covered flesh into me. I shook my head, but the more I resisted, the more his smirk grew. Damn it. I shouldn’t have intervened.

 

The moment when something dirty finally touched my lips—

 

The screams of children were heard.

 

“Ahh!”

 

“Teacher! Bell is weird!”

 

The Director and I turned our heads at the same time.

 

Right beside me. Bell’s face was red. With tears in his eyes, he made a squeaky sound.

 

The assistant teacher shouted first.

 

“What’s the matter? Is it stuck in his neck?”

 

No. The melon piece that Bell threw up was rolling around. The Director seemed to be in panic too.

 

“Kid, kid. If you didn’t want to eat to that extent, you should have told me, huh?”

 

Bell didn’t respond to the bullshit. The only thing that came out of his throat was a groan.

 

Is it because Bell, who always stared at them even after being beaten, suddenly became like this? The Director and the assistant teacher were visibly bewildered.

 

“Would you like to rest a little? I’ll make you go to bed early today!”

 

“Director, what if the child dies? If it goes wrong, the next subsidy will be cut!”

 

“So, are you going to call the priest now? How far away!”

 

I don’t think they’re going to call a doctor. I can’t help it.

 

I approached Bell and squatted down. The Director said, confused.

 

“Kid, uh… Dear Boss…?”

 

Oh, damn it. I got goosebumps.

 

“My name is Sol!”

 

“Like I care! What are you doing?”

 

“Bring some pillowcases. Roll it up to the thickness of one’s forearm. Others bring new clothes and wet towels.”

 

The children moved faster than the adults who were dazed.

 

Jackson has rolled up the pillowcase. I held it behind Bell’s neck to secure the airway.

 

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