Chapter 44

44

Click.

"Lila, this is what happens when you don't listen to me. Reflect on it."

The principal's voice came from outside the door. What is this hopeless situation?

"Why does this always happen?"

Why does this always happen?

People who begged to be saved from the horrific war forget the past once peace arrives and repeat the same mistakes.

Human trafficking.

This was also rampant during the war, but it was banned when the Golden Emperor unified the continent.

The emperor also officially abolished the slave system along with the ban on human trafficking.

There were cases where the families of traitors or those punished for crimes were reduced to slavery.

However, the unreasonable practice of being born into slavery and remaining a slave was eliminated.

Thanks to this, the number of slaves has significantly decreased compared to the past.

Since the establishment of Silphia, the condemnation of witches and evil has also decreased, and the trading of young mages has gradually disappeared.

'But I never thought I would be the one involved in this.'

I didn't think the world was completely clean, but I never expected something like this to happen in an orphanage.

And I never thought I would be locked in this dark room.

The reason I was locked up is simple. The principal said something strange today, and I refused.

No, I couldn't agree to hit a perfectly fine girl.

Common sense tells me, why hit a child who has done nothing wrong?

Even if I don't make a big distinction between good and evil, violence is not acceptable.

However, the other children followed the principal's orders immediately. If told to hit a child who was just playing, they would hit them, if told to wait, they would wait, and if told to eat, they would eat.

When the children behaved well, the principal gave them candy.

The children were desperate to get one more piece of candy.

'It's a chaotic time.'

We can't call it a peaceful era yet.

Many children became orphans due to the war. New orphans are being created, and existing orphans grow up and have children who become orphans.

The aftereffects of war do not easily disappear. It has only been 30 years since the end of the war.

If you include the small acts of revenge by those who lost family in the war and the sporadic minor battles, peace has not lasted even 10 years.

There are still many children without parents.

The gap between the rich and the poor has widened since the end of the war.

People who have no way to earn money have turned to unreasonable and sometimes immoral, commonly known as criminal activities.

Even the emperor who unified the continent cannot embrace all the people who have been devastated by the war.

The first to benefit are the privileged classes.

The children are just victims who receive no benefits.

'Is this what they call education?'

This seems to be the method the principal chose instead of violence.

The children have nothing. They have no clothes, no place to sleep, and no food. Without the principal, the children would starve to death.

The principal is making the children feel this pain deeply and brainwashing them to follow her orders to get something.

It seems she is trying to brainwash me too.

Hehe, but who am I? As long as I have my pocket dimension and my familiar, I am the invincible Hella.

'First, I'll use magic to teleport lightly...'

I raised my arms and blinked a few times.

I waved my arms around and then lowered them when I saw the bracelet on my wrist.

Embarrassed, I rubbed my palms on my clothes.

"Oh no."

Hehe, magic doesn't work?

'Now that I think about it, I had this on.'

Even though I tried not to use magic for a few days and avoided looking at my wrist, I completely forgot about it.

Even if time is a great healer, I shouldn't have forgotten this.

'Does memory degenerate when you become a baby?'

Who would have thought that when I left home, I would end up in a human trafficking orphanage and meet a strange mage who would put a mana control device on me?

I know it's an irresistible force, but it's still frustrating.

If I could use magic, I could survive somehow, but the damn mage put his own mana control device on me.

I couldn't use the tiny bit of mana I had left.

Why did the mana control device come off that guy's wrist!

'...Mana control device?'

Now that I think about it, that guy definitely had a mana control device on. He took it off his wrist and gave it to me, so it's certain.

'Was he a mage?'

I didn't realize it because I couldn't sense his mana.

If so, I should have confirmed his face.

'Who walks around exuding such evil aura?'

I remember most mages.

There are two main reasons why a mage would wear a mana control device.

One is when their mana is too strong, and their control ability is lacking, causing an overload on their body. The other is when they don't want their mana to be detected by others.

'What should I do?'

Now that I know I can't use magic, I've lost my motivation.

I lay down and rolled around on the floor.

Of course, I had the confidence that I wouldn't die since I was supposed to be sold, so I had the luxury to do this.

'If I go back now, I'll die.'

I could imagine how happy Sharent Clown and the servants would be when I disappeared. Thinking about it made my stomach hurt a little.

Now that I think about it, it might have been better to enter the academy and run away later.

I was too curious.

'There's not much a three-year-old can do...'

Tears... or snot, trickled down my nose.

'If I had known this would happen, I should have held on a bit longer.'

No matter how much I thought, there was only one choice in my current situation.

'Pretend to be obedient and look for a chance to escape.'

I closed my eyes, thinking this.

Sleeping is the best way to conserve energy. Maybe because I'm young, I fell asleep as soon as I closed my eyes.

* * *

"Here, try sticking your hand with this."

The principal held a small knife in front of me.

I stared at the sharp tip of the knife. This was the result of obediently following the principal's orders for a week.

I hit the children when told, took the beatings when given, and waited when told to.

After a week, a knife was placed in front of me. I wasn't afraid or scared.

My mind was calm.

It felt like I had returned to a distant past.

To the time when I jumped into the war at a young age and killed everything in front of me without distinguishing between good and evil.

I could understand a little how foolish and naive I had been when I became a baby in the Clown mansion.

'This is what it is.'

Now I understand clearly.

The principal is using the orphanage to train the children and test how far they will go in following orders.

And by using candy as a reward, she ensures that the children will follow anyone's orders.

'This is actually quite good.'

I thought the principal was smart.

She is very suitable for training humans.

She doesn't look scary and seems to forgive anything with her gentle words.

Moreover, the rewards for following orders are clear, even if it's just a piece of candy.

I stared at my palm and slowly brought it to the knife.

Compared to the past, this level of injury doesn't hurt or itch.

If I followed the principal's orders, my basic needs were provided without any lack.

Thinking about my childhood, I could endure this.

It wasn't long after the war ended, and the continent was filled with rotting corpses.

I drank foul water and was so hungry that I wanted to tear apart the rotting corpses infested with rats and maggots.

'Just a little longer.'

The moment the principal sells me to the robe man, and the robe man removes the mana control device to use me, I'll open my pocket dimension, take out the mana stone, and teleport away.

The plan was already in my mind.

I moved my hand slowly.

The tip of the knife touched my palm. I took a deep breath and was about to apply force when—

Bang!

"Shelina."

A voice that shouldn't have been heard in the noise seemed to reach my ears.

"If you shed even a drop of blood, you won't be able to return to the mansion."

"Choke!"

Yes, a voice that shouldn't have been heard here.

It was a soft and composed voice.

A man who always looked impeccable, exuding an almost annoying level of composure and dignity.

Despite my disbelief, I slowly turned my head.

Sharent Clown stood in the doorway, blocking it, having broken down the door to the playroom.