Chapter 63

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After cooking the oatmeal in water until it became soft, I added milk and seasoned it with the leftover salt.

It's not really a proper dish, but I tried to make it like the porridge I remember from my previous life.

Since there were more children, I added more water, so it turned out a bit runny, but the salt made it taste not bad.

"Alright, it's done."

When Emma turned around, the children had already lined up with their cups in hand.

"Hey! You guys, this oatmeal is for the big brother, not for you to eat!"

The boy warned the children, but they didn't budge. They were all very hungry.

"There's plenty, so it's okay."

I took the cup from the child at the front and served the makeshift porridge.

"Be careful, it's hot."

While the children nodded and blew on their porridge, the injured man, drawn by the smell, woke up.

"...Huh? Who are you?"

He tilted his head, seeing the unfamiliar trio of brothers.

"Big brother!"

"Hue? What are you doing!"

The boy hugged the man.

"Stupid big brother!! I was worried about you!"

He patted the man's chest in a way that seemed to make a "pokapoka" sound effect.

The man, who didn't seem to understand what was happening, tried to calm the boy down despite the not-so-painful attacks.

"Hue, calm down a bit. I'm sorry, I don't know what I did wrong?"

"Big brother, you might have died! Stupid, stupid!"

The boy, who must have been very anxious, started crying on top of the man.

Then he remembered that the man had been injured yesterday when he tried to stop the carriage.

Strangely, he didn't feel any pain. His injured leg was covered with something purple.

Georg offered the makeshift porridge to the man, who was patting the boy's head.

"Can you eat something?"

The man's throat made a gulping sound, but he didn't try to take the porridge.

"Where did you get this? Hue? Did you steal it again?"

"I didn't steal it! They gave me money for it!"

The boy's body trembled at the man's words, making him even more suspicious.

"Please eat it before it gets cold. You can think about it later."

With Georg's words, the man, who couldn't refuse a meal after a week without food, took the porridge.

"Delicious!"

After the first bite, he started eating the porridge enthusiastically.

"Please eat slowly and chew well. Your body might be shocked."

While serving seconds to the children, Emma called out to the man, but he didn't seem to hear her.

By the time the large amount of porridge was almost gone, William finally explained the events of the day.

"So, Hue, you were stealing again, weren't you?"

The man hit the boy on the head and turned to the trio of brothers.

"I'm sorry, this is my little brother. He used to make a living by stealing, and even though he's had a hard time, he still has a bad habit of stealing when he's in trouble."

The brothers, surprised by the man's apology, which didn't seem to fit someone from the slums, laughed and said it was no problem.

"Besides, I don't know how to thank you for treating my injuries and preparing a meal. Honestly, I'm grateful. I'm Harold. I take care of the children around here."

"I see. We just happened to be able to help. I'm Georg, and that's my brother Emma and William."

Emma, who was dressed as a boy, was introduced as a brother.

"Ah, I'm Hugh. Call me Hue."

The boy, who had been hit on the head, rubbed his head and smiled.

It seemed that Harold's waking up had brought back the smiles.

"Still, there seem to be a lot of young children around here..."

Georg, who had traveled between the slums and the citizens' district several times that day, was puzzled. From what he could see, there were only children younger than himself and Emma, and no adults in sight. The only adult he saw was the thin man in front of him.

"Recently, there are more job opportunities. Once you're an adult, even if you're from the slums, more places will hire you, so when you're old enough to work, you can leave the slums."

Harold explained, somewhat proudly, that there were many jobs available for the past year due to the reconstruction of buildings destroyed by the coup. However, the man, who was old enough to work, was not working...

"Well, yesterday was just bad luck. I got injured and worried these guys."

The man, who had been petting the children's heads, seemed to be reflecting on his actions. The children, feeling satisfied and assured that the man was okay, started to feel sleepy.

"You guys can stay here tonight. It's not safe to wander around outside at this hour."

While talking to the man, the trio of brothers had fallen asleep. Even without a soft bed or warm blankets, they slept soundly, showing their strong nerves.

The next morning, Emma was the first to wake up.

She was woken by the sunlight shining through a hole in the ceiling onto her face.

"Mmm... Martha... It's bright... Huh?"

Feeling that the sensation wasn't the same as her usual soft bed, she opened her eyes.

Seeing Georg and William sleeping next to her, she remembered the events of the previous day.

"Hey?"

The man was nowhere to be seen.

Even if his injury wasn't severe, it should have taken a while for him to be able to move around.

Wondering where he had gone, Emma stretched and got up.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry."

There were children sleeping all around, and she stepped on one.

"What are you doing?"

The boy, who had been stepped on, rubbed his eyes and looked at Emma.

"I was wondering where Harold was."

"Big brother? Ah, he's probably drawing in the next room."

"Drawing? What? Hey?"

The boy fell back asleep, so Emma decided to check for herself and left the room.

The entrance to the next room was leaking much more light than the room they had been in.

She squinted and peered into the room.

"Wow!"

The wall in front of her had completely collapsed, revealing a bright blue sky.

"Did I wake you up?"

Harold noticed Emma and turned around.

"What is this? Amazing!"

Behind Harold, the entire wall was covered with a vivid painting.

The realistic and detailed touch made it seem as if she had wandered into a botanical garden. The quality was far beyond that of an amateur.

"Hehehe, pretty good, right?"

The man proudly showed Emma the wall he was using as a canvas.

"Wow, it looks real! The perspective is spot on, and the shading is perfect... Most of all, the colors are incredible. It's hard to achieve such vivid colors with any paint."

"Huh?? Oh, yeah."

The man looked at Emma, surprised by the unexpectedly professional praise.

He had been told by Hue that she was a child from another slum, but from last night's conversation, she seemed like an educated adult who could think for herself.

"Who are you, really?"

Harold looked at Emma suspiciously.

Emma, satisfied, looked back at the man.

As she had suspected.

The boy called the man "big brother," but the age difference between Harold and the boy seemed more like that of a parent and child than siblings.

Only Emma, with a spider on her head, had noticed this.

Perhaps she would have noticed even without the spider, given her innate abilities.

Despite being very thin, Harold had intelligent orange eyes, slightly darker orange hair than his eyes, and a tall stature when standing.

He was quite a handsome older man.

If the king was a wild, muscular, and handsome man, then the man in front of her was an intellectual, subculture, and handsome man. Even his withered appearance had its own charm.

"Hey, can I see you drawing?"

The colorful painting was made with the same type of red ink that had been poured in front of Joshua's shop. Unconsciously, she had reached her goal, but more than that, Emma longed to see the handsome man drawing seriously.