Chapter 18

On school holidays, I used to stroll around the capital. My small pleasure was wandering through the commoners' district rather than the noble district, but since Ryu was born, I haven't had the chance to do so.

Today, I had planned to spend time with Ryu, but it seems he has gone out to play alone outside the capital. If I call him, he will come back, but there's no need to do so. Perhaps he has made good friends in places I don't know about.

Thus, I ended up wandering aimlessly through the capital and found myself in the commoners' residential area. Small houses were packed closely together, and the alleys were intricately intertwined.

There were no landmarks, so I might get lost. I remembered the way I came, but simply retracing my steps would be boring. It was more interesting to proceed blindly and end up in unexpected places.

Turning a narrow alley on a whim and venturing deeper, I heard children's voices. They sounded like they were fighting, with voices that seemed to be insulting someone.

"Your hair is creepy."

"I know, this guy is the devil's child. He doesn't have a father, right?"

"Ugh, does your mother like devils?"

I could also hear the stifled sobs of the child being insulted. I didn't intend to intervene in children's fights, but the harsh insults changed my mind.

The voices were coming from the street on the other side of a house, so I leaped over the house and landed silently.

Three boys were surrounding a boy with chestnut-brown hair. They were about 7 years old.

"What are you doing?"

When I spoke, the three boys turned around, startled.

"W-What? It's none of your business."

"Bullying one person together isn't cool, you know?"

I was dressed in a simple dress and a hat to hide my hair, the outfit I wore when I went out in the capital. They probably didn't expect a noble lady to be here.

"His hair is black, right? He's the bad one, not us."

The chestnut-brown hair of the boy was the closest to black I had seen in this world. Even Patrick, whose hair was almost white, used to care about it, so I could understand why the boy was a target of discrimination.

"Not everyone with black hair is a bad person, you know?"

"But it's black, right? Even you think he looks like a villain, don't you?"

They didn't seem to question the discrimination against black hair. It was partly because they were children, but adults might also harbor disgust without showing it. I realized again how serious the discrimination against black hair was in this country. I had resigned myself to being discriminated against, but seeing the chestnut-brown-haired boy made me think I had to do something about it. Perhaps I had become numb to the discrimination against myself.

"I don't think his hair is black."

As the boys stared in confusion, I took off my hat and revealed my hair.

"True black is like this."

The boys, seeing my hair as black as the night, started to fuss, looking as if they had seen something unbelievable.

"Is it a real devil?"

"Is it the demon king?"

"Hey! Don't be scared, he's just a normal human."

The leader of the boys tried to calm everyone down by saying he was a normal human, but he didn't seem to notice the self-contradiction in discriminating against normal humans.

"Some people call me the demon king. From now on, don't call chestnut-brown hair black. It's unpleasant to be lumped together with them."

As I said this, I made a black sphere float around me with magic. They screamed and ran away, their faces twisted with fear.

"Help!"

If this could lighten the bullying against the chestnut-brown-haired boy, that would be good...

"Thank you for helping me."

Hey, chestnut-brown-haired boy, if you run away with them, my efforts to be the bad guy will be in vain.

"Go on, run away. Your hair isn't black."

"No, it's okay. The problem is my hair."

The boy smiled a fragile, almost broken smile. I see, he has already given up, just like I did in the past.

"My name is Yumiera, what's yours?"

"My name is Phil, I'm 6 years old."

He was 6 years old. I regained my memories of my previous life at 5, so it wasn't much different.

I was more mentally stable because I had my previous life's memories and understood that discrimination was baseless. Phil, without those memories, must have deep emotional scars.

"Do you have any friends, Phil?"

"No, I don't."

"Are your family kind to you?"

"I don't have a father, but my mother is kind."

He only had a gentle expression when talking about his mother. I think having a kind family is his only emotional support.

"My parents don't even want to see my face. Actually, I haven't even met them yet."

"Wh-What...?"

"But recently, I made a friend. And I have a cute child too."

"Wh-What? You have a child, Yumiera-san!?"

Ah, you latched onto that.

Right, wouldn't it be good if Phil became friends with Ryu? Phil and Ryu would make friends, I would be relieved to see my son make friends, and everyone would benefit. I think it's a great idea.

"He's not my child, but he doesn't have any friends either. Would you like to meet him?"

"Y-Yes, if it's okay with me..."

"Is it okay that he's black?"

"Yes! I don't care about hair color."

He's not just black, he's black all over, but that's fine.

"Where are we going?"

I had brought Phil to the outer wall of the capital. Thinking about it, he seems to lack caution for following a stranger.

"Wait here for a bit. I think he'll be here in about 5 minutes."

I cast a dark magic spell into the sky to call Ryu.

"Ah, you used magic just now. Are you a noble, Yumiera-san?"

He's surprisingly perceptive. His way of speaking is also quite mature. Boys at this age are usually rambunctious, but perhaps it's due to his environment.

"Sort of, but don't worry too much. My rank is low."

A baron is technically considered an upper noble, but it's unlikely anyone would find out if I don't say anything.

"Ah, he's here."

It hasn't even been 3 minutes, so Ryu must have been nearby. I pointed to the sky, where Ryu was flying straight toward us.

"Is that a dragon? It's the one that recently came to the capital."

"Yes, that's the child I want you to meet. Ryu is a kind child, so don't worry."

Ryu flew straight to me and landed with a loud thud.

"Ryu, this is Phil. Be nice to him, okay?"

Ryu growled at Phil as a greeting. Phil, seeing this, fell backward in shock.

"A-Ah..."

Phil seemed too scared to speak. Hmm, perhaps this wasn't a good idea. Ryu looks cute and friendly when you look closely, but that's rarely conveyed.

"Nice to meet you, Ryu-kun."

Surprisingly, Phil, still on the ground, reached out to touch Ryu's nose. Ryu, feeling ticklish, stayed still.

"Are you okay, Phil? Not scared?"

I lifted Phil up from behind and helped him stand. He began to speak softly.

"I've been treated badly because of my appearance... So, I don't want to be disliked because of my appearance. Ryu-kun looks scary, but he didn't do anything when I touched him, so maybe we can be friends..."

"Phil, you're a strong kid."

Patrick once said my heart was strong, but truly strong people are like Phil.

"Do you have any friends, Yumiera-san?"

We were flying on Ryu's back. Phil, who was initially scared, now seemed to be enjoying the scenery.

"Yes, his name is Patrick. What about him?"

"I couldn't make friends on my own, so I think Yumiera-san is amazing."

That's not true. Patrick was the one who spoke to me first and approached me.

"I'm the same as you, Phil. He spoke to me first. I had almost given up on making friends."

Phil was startled by my words about giving up. He must have also given up on healthy social interactions.

To prevent more children like Phil, I thought I had to do something about this problem.

But how do you eliminate discrimination?