Chapter 65. Neighbor (1)

A white crack appeared in the pitch-black consciousness.

Squeak.

The light seeping through the small crack gradually awakened Yurie's deeply sleeping consciousness.

“Ugh...”

A groan, as if complaining about not wanting to wake up.

With it, Yurie's long eyelashes trembled.

Finally, Yurie's eyes, which had been closed for a long time, slowly opened.

As her thoughts began to clear, the first of her five senses to react was her sense of smell.

‘...Cigarette smoke?’

This acrid smell was undoubtedly from burning cigarettes.

As she sniffed, a gruff voice reached her ears.

“If you’re awake, stop lying there and get up.”

Recognizing the familiar voice, Yurie opened her eyes.

‘Huh? Where am I?!’

Startled by the unfamiliar ceiling, Yurie sat up abruptly.

“Ouch... Not here?”

She had anticipated a severe pain throughout her body but, strangely, there was none.

It wasn’t just that.

“...Why do I feel so refreshed?”

After such physical exertion, she shouldn’t be feeling fine, right?

This shouldn’t be possible?

Normally, she would be struggling to breathe and groaning in pain by now.

But her current state was incredibly refreshed.

Even her empty mana core was now brimming with energy.

It felt as if she had eaten something good and slept for several days.

As if hearing Yurie’s thoughts, the voice spoke again.

“If you keep lying there, you’ll start to shine with grease.”

Yurie’s head snapped in the direction of the voice.

Her eyes widened.

“Huh? Coco...”

“Tsk!”

“...What?”

“Miss? Are you trying to get up?”

“A, Miss?”

“Calling me ‘Miss’ at my age is too much, isn’t it?”

“...Coco?”

“Yeah.”

A black woman with a lit cigarette in her mouth.

She was none other than Coco, the snack stand owner Yurie had met a while ago.

The only difference from before was that this time she was wearing a white gown used by healers.

Yurie tilted her head in confusion and asked.

“...Did the snack stand go out of business?”

“After I went to such lengths to save a dying person, why are you suddenly treating my shop as if it’s out of business?”

“Then, what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I have a side job.”

“...You have a lot of jobs, don’t you?”

“In an organization that’s short on manpower, one person often has to do the work of many.”

Huff.

With her legs crossed, Coco exhaled smoke with a face full of irritation.

Yurie frowned.

“Even so, shouldn’t you avoid smoking in front of patients?”

“Patient? Where’s the patient?”

“Obviously...”

Yurie hesitated for a moment.

Then she turned her shoulder to check.

“Hmm...”

Her shoulder moved much more smoothly than usual.

Not stopping there, she got out of bed and tried bending her waist.

She even jumped up from her spot.

Thump, thump.

“Hmm, really...”

Her body felt so light that it was bewildering.

Coco, as if to show her this, took out a new cigarette and lit it.

“Where’s the patient?”

“...There isn’t one. But why do I feel so good?”

“Consider yourself lucky. The things you consumed while unconscious would have cost millions of points.”

“Huh?”

“There was a special order from the Chief. The promising young master the Sword Master is interested in should be taken care of properly.”

“...”

“Normally, I would just apply some medicine and be done with it, but... the impression you made that day was so strong that I took special care of you for a few days. After all, medicine works better when applied by an expert.”

“...Didn’t you say it was a side job?”

“It’s a side job, but I didn’t say it lacked expertise, did I? Your body condition is excellent, isn’t it?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Enough with the pleasantries.”

With that, Coco stood up and took off her gown.

“Now, let’s get back to my main job. Starting now, I will begin the basic training for the 50th batch, Yurie Holland.”

“...?”

“What, looking at me like that?”

“Isn’t your main job the snack stand lady?”

“That’s a side job too. My main job is to be a black sword slave, someone who can be trampled on by anyone from above. At my age, I’m stuck with this job, babysitting a newbie. Tsk.”

Huff.

The thick smoke from her cigarette was filled with irritation and resignation.

“Ah... Yes.”

“Understood? Sit down there. I need to finish explaining and get off work.”

“Got it!”

Intimidated by the mysterious atmosphere, Yurie quickly knelt on the bed.

Coco then gave Yurie a brief overview of life in the Cradle.

“First, the silver coins issued by the Cradle are called points... You’ve used them once, so you should know. Let’s move on.”

Waving her hand, Coco continued.

“Second, there will be a monthly evaluation at the end of each month. The evaluation is based on who accumulates the most points. If you don’t want to be kicked out of the Cradle, work hard to gather points.”

“Understood.”

“And lastly, our help for the first-year batch ends here. From now on, you need to survive on your own.”

“Got it, got it.”

The information was incredibly simple.

Of course, Yurie, who had known the Cradle would be like this, nodded without much concern.

Coco’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“You’re not surprised? The others turn pale as corpses when they hear this?”

“Eh, it’s not that surprising, really.”

Yurie shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

Then, realizing something, she stiffened and raised her hand.

“Can I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“The others turned pale when they heard this... Does that mean the others have already heard this?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because while everyone else was waking up, you slept for five days.”

“Five... Five days? I slept for five days?”

“Yes. By the way, you were the last to wake up among the 50th batch.”

Yurie’s face crumpled at her response.

‘Damn, I slept for five days?!’

No wonder her body felt so unusually refreshed!

If she had slept for five days, even a dying person would be up and about!

Normally, it wouldn’t matter much if she slept for five days or a month.

But the problem was that during her sleep, the other 50th batch members had already scattered and started moving.

‘I should have secured a base earlier!’

Yurie, who had arrived on the mainland before others, had planned to secure a base early but everything went awry when she met that pervert.

Thump.

As Yurie sprang up, Coco gave her a mocking smile.

“By the way, the regular assembly for the first-year batch is every Monday at 9 AM.”

“...What day is it today?”

“Sunday.”

“...”

Yurie’s gaze shifted to the window.

The sun high in the sky.

In other words, there was only one day left until the regular assembly.

There was no more time to waste.

Her body was in top condition.

She could move immediately.

“Damn it! I’m going!”

“Yeah, take care.”

With that, Yurie rushed out.

Soon, she could be seen running hard through the forest.

Coco took out a new cigarette and lit it.

‘Interesting.’

The reason she had been with Yurie for the past few days was not only to take care of her but also to observe her.

‘Her skills are at the boundary between unofficial 1st rank and official 1st rank.’

She was already close to official 1st rank, so with a small push, she would reach that level.

But that was all.

From what Coco had observed, there was nothing else particularly unusual about her.

‘How did she manage to take fifteen steps?’

Unofficial 1st rank.

It wasn’t a particularly high level among the batches.

There were plenty of children in the Cradle who were at the official 1st rank.

Yet, with just an unofficial 1st rank, she had taken fifteen steps?

That was impossible.

Even among the 50th batch, those at a similar level had only managed to take three or four steps.

‘Of course, even at the same level, there can be a huge difference in skill...’

But Yurie was even more extreme.

A child who couldn’t even handle the strong sword, a symbol of official 1st rank, was doing things even official 1st rank couldn’t do. It was impossible not to be curious.

‘In many ways, she’s an interesting child.’

Amidst the thick smoke from her cigarette, Coco’s eyes sparkled with interest as she watched Yurie enter the forest.

* * *

Yurie ran through the forest, looking for a suitable hiding place.

The criteria were the same as before.

Good for defending against external intruders.

Not too far from the central area.

Has a secluded training space.

She quickly checked various places, and each time, her face contorted.

‘Damn, I’m really late.’

The last time she came, the places she liked were already taken by the 49th batch.

Now, even the decent spots were