Chapter 8 of Maknae Ontap (8/299)

* * *

The child burst into tears, overwhelmed by fear.

Behind the frozen deacon, the priests murmured.

"Is this a drawing of a practice novice? Don't they usually draw themselves as princesses?"

"Maybe to Sae, our priests are more impressive than princesses."

"It looks like our temple is in the background."

"Wow, it's filled with sparkles."

"And Sae is holding the deacon's hand tightly."

"Even hearts are all over the deacon…."

But the deacon….

"Thud, ang gada… Huh, thud, thud donganya… (Sae, huh, I won't take it… Huh, Sae is not a thief…)"

Wow….

The priests looked at the deacon as if he were trash.

The deacon reached out his hand toward the child, but the child took a step back and avoided it.

The child ran to Randal.

"…."

For the first time, the deacon, who had been refused by the child, stood frozen in the position he had reached out his hand.

"Scary… (Scary…)"

Muttering, Saelica hid her body between Randal's legs.

The priests nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, it's understandable to be scared."

"When the deacon scolds me, my legs tremble. How could such a small child endure it?"

"Even I felt my heart tighten just now."

Randal picked up the child, who had buried her face in his legs.

The child did not resist Randal's touch.

Not only did she not resist, but she also burrowed deeper into Randal's embrace.

"Sae, are you scared of the deacon?"

"Um…."

"The deacon is your partner, right?"

"No…."

"Is the deacon not your partner?"

"Um…."

Randal gently consoled the child, but the content was peculiar.

The expressions of the listening priests became subtle.

'This is on purpose.'

'He's just confirming it, right?'

Holding Saelica like a concubine who had given birth to the heir, Randal turned to the deacon with a gentle and kind face.

However, there was a strange glow and vitality on his face, more than usual… Was it just a feeling?

"Deacon, since Sae is so scared of you, I'll take her away for now."

"…."

"If she stays away from you, she might calm down."

"…."

"Then, I'll go now."

Randal passed the deacon confidently and left the office.

The deacon stood there, silent.

In his hand was the drawing Saelica had made.

* * *

"How long are you going to stand there?"

The deacon's sharp question made the priests snap back to reality.

There was a mountain of work to be done.

The deacon received reports with an unwavering attitude, as if nothing had happened.

After reviewing all the reports, the deacon left his seat for a moment.

The priests sighed and chatted.

"The deacon is not at all shaken."

"Well, why would the deacon care about such things?"

"I thought he might be different."

"Haha, haven't you seen the deacon for so long?"

They laughed and went to the deacon's desk to help sort the documents, so the deacon could work more comfortably with so much to do.

While sorting, a mana shell (a communication and computing artifact powered by a mana network) caught a priest's eye.

On the crystal screen was the page the deacon had been looking at.

How to befriend a child

'What is this? Did I see it wrong?'

Rubbing his eyes, the priest hesitantly touched the search bar.

Immediately, recent search terms appeared.

Things children like.

Do children dislike music boxes?

Things they like more than pudding.

Ranking of gifts children love

"…."

Staring blankly at the screen, the other priests approached, curious.

"Why? What are you looking at…."

"Ah…."

The deacon….

They all became solemn.

* * *

The next morning.

Randal braided my hair into two pigtails.

He showed me a mirror and smiled.

"Our Sae looks like a princess."

Randal is really kind.

He learned how to do this because I was still feeling down from yesterday.

"Randy, kiss!"

Feeling guilty, I hugged Randal tightly.

Seeing him smile made me feel better too.

"Shall we go now?"

Randal extended his hand, and I hesitantly asked.

"Are we going to the deacon?"

"Hmm…."

"Will I get scolded if I go?"

Randal wore a troubled smile.

I know.

I'm not in a position to decide whether to go or not.

Considering my goal to become a practice novice, I should go and make a good impression.

But I was so scared.

Just thinking about the deacon's gaze made my heart race.

Randal bent down to meet my eyes.

"If you don't want to go, you don't have to."

"Really?"

"Sure."

A part of me, the adult part, whispered that I should go.

But.

"I don't want to go. I don't want to see the deacon."

Just as I said that, I felt a piercing gaze from somewhere.

Looking up, I saw someone standing in the doorway.

It was the deacon.

'Why is the deacon here?'

He had never been to my room before.

Shocked, I just stared at the deacon, unable to react.

The deacon raised an eyebrow and called out to me.

"Sae."

He extended his hand toward me.

Normally, I would have run to him and clung to him before he even reached out….

'Ugh, I'm scared…'

The image of the deacon from yesterday, who seemed like he could kill me with just a look, overlapped with his face.

I hid behind Randal.

"…."

The deacon said nothing.

Thinking he might leave, I peeked out, only to meet his eyes.

"Are you really not going to see me?"

How dare you, a mere child, decide whether to see me or not?

—This made me shrink even more.

I hid my face behind Randal again.

The elder behind the deacon sighed.

"Deacon, you shouldn't speak to her like that."

"I wasn't scolding her."

"Speak more kindly, please."

"I was already kind enough."

"No, try speaking like Randal."

The deacon's gaze turned to Randal.

Randal was patting me and telling me it was okay.

Somehow, Randal's shoulders looked more confident than usual.

"Sae."

The deacon's voice was close.

Startled, I looked up—.

"…?!"

A rabbit was looking down at me.

A soft, cute face.

Adorable, white ears standing up.

A plump belly and chubby feet.

It was a very lovely rabbit plushie.

"Wow…."

Reaching out without thinking, the rabbit plushie was lifted up.

"Are you really not going to see me?"

The rabbit plushie dangled beside the deacon's face.

On one side was the scary deacon.

On the other side was the cute rabbit friend.

After a moment's hesitation, I slowly reached out and grabbed the rabbit's foot.

I couldn't help it.

Our eyes met.

At that moment.

"Ah?"

The deacon lifted me up.

Suddenly, my view was high, and I instinctively hugged the deacon tightly.

"Here."

The deacon placed the rabbit plushie in my arms.

Soft and warm.

…The deacon doesn't seem to be a completely bad person.

He was scary yesterday, but….

"…Thank you."

As I greeted him, the deacon cleared his throat.

Afterward, the corner of his mouth curled up arrogantly as he looked at Randal.

I was carried to the office in the deacon's arms.

While the deacon worked, I played with the rabbit plushie on his lap.

The priests who came to report glanced at me curiously.

"The bald… No, the statue with the broken hair part."

Could they be talking about the statue I broke?

I tensed up.

If it was about property damage, I would have no excuse this time.

'It's okay. I'm tough!'

I was used to getting punished.

I had to act mature when receiving punishment.

"Upon investigation, I found this strange symbol that appeared and disappeared."

The paper the priest handed over had a geometric symbol drawn on it.

"Black magic?"

"Yes."

Black magic was cast on the statue?

'That's strange…'

I felt a strange aura and tried to examine it closely, but dropped it.

Well, a subtle, hard-to-detect aura is a characteristic of black magic.

"Wasn't this statue a gift from Parmenas when the deacon was inaugurated?"

"Despicable! They sent a cursed statue as a congratulatory gift?"

"We must punish them immediately!"

This time, no one pointed out the elder's speech habits.

Everyone felt the same way.

But someone shook their head.

"No."

"Sirius!"

"Protesting now would be pointless."

"Black magic was found in a statue from Parmenas. This is grounds for a complaint. It's a matter serious enough to get expelled from the Octagon."

"Proof?"

"Of course, the symbol disappeared, and the statue is now just a regular statue. But the aura of black magic still lingers."

"That doesn't prove it was a curse from Parmenas."

"…!"

A statue from the Parmenas temple with black magic wouldn't be enough proof.

Especially when Artemis is weak and Parmenas is strong.

"Instead, it could backfire. They could claim we staged it."

"…."

"Weak ones can't protest. The words of the powerful will be the truth."

Sirius's eyes were calm and cold as always.

But I knew he was angrier than anyone else here.

His clenched fists, white with tension, spoke for him.

The atmosphere in the office grew heavy.

Everyone knew Sirius's words were the reality.

After all, they had experienced the pain of the weak more than anyone else.

"Sae, you did a good job breaking the statue."

Was Randal trying to change the mood? He suddenly praised me.

"What a remarkable child."

"It seems the statue was a replica of the deacon, and it led to this result."

The atmosphere quickly became warm and friendly.

The elder, who had always found me cute, whispered to the deacon.

"Considering everything that has happened, can we assume it's not related to Parmenas?"

"Instead, we uncovered a plot by Parmenas."

"Hmm…"

The deacon stroked his chin.

I looked up at him, heart pounding.

Just accept it!

Say it's fine!

At that moment, the deacon looked at me.

I seized the opportunity to make my request.

"I want to stay with Randal."

"…."

"Staying with Randal means I can see him more often."

"…."

"Let me stay with the deacon too!"

The deacon, who had been staring at me blankly, suddenly pinched my nose.

Ouch!

* * *

After Saelica left, the deacon asked the priest in charge of investigating how the child had ended up at the temple.

"Any results?"

"I received a report this morning. It's the same as the previous one."

There were suspicious points in the previous investigation, so another investigator was sent to verify it from the beginning.

"He'll be back soon. He'll bring the orphanage teacher who knew the child."

"…Was she in an orphanage?"

"Yes."

The deacon fell silent, looking at the seat next to him where the child had been sitting.

* * *

I hummed a tune and gave the rabbit plushie a flower.

"This is for Bunny."

It was my first time playing with a plushie, and I was having a lot of fun.

"Should I give one to Randal too?"

I picked more flowers.

More for Randal than for the deacon.

…Not that I was planning to give it to the deacon.

Then.

"72!"

I was startled by the familiar number.

Looking up, I saw Tom, the orphanage teacher, and a priest approaching.

"Teacher…."

"How did you end up here? Do you know how worried I've been?"

Tom hugged me tightly.

I was taken aback by the embrace.

It was the first time a teacher had hugged me like this, and I didn't know how to react.

"Phew, how did you end up in such a place? Let's go back."

"Sh, shut up."

"What?"

"I don't want to go."

Tom's face turned cold.

His angry gaze made me shrink back.

The fear I had learned from the past gripped me.

"72, you're causing trouble again. You named the children, didn't you?"

"What happens to a child who misbehaves?"

The orphanage teachers never hit the children.

It was the largest orphanage supported by Parmenas, so there were always visitors.

They were always careful not to leave marks on the children's bodies.

Instead of physical punishment, they made the children reflect in the reflection room.

It was called a room, but it was a small box where I could barely fit.

Inside the dark, cramped box, I couldn't even see my own body.

I had to keep reflecting.

Continuously, continuously.

Until the lid, which seemed like it would never open, finally did.

'…I thought this wasn't a big deal.'

Compared to what I experienced at Parmenas, this was heaven.

But why am I shaking so much?

Maybe I've become weak because this place is too comfortable and nice.

"72, you should listen to your teacher. What happens if you don't?"

"N-no… I want to stay…."

I shook my head in fear.

I wondered why he was trying to take me back.

The Parmenas priests weren't interested in me yet.

I thought they would just do a cursory search and leave….

'Oh, right. I'm the property of the Parmenas temple…'

The children in the orphanage were the property of Parmenas and needed to be managed properly.

The teachers were more like managers of the temple's property than caregivers.

'They haven't noticed that one child is missing yet.'

They were trying to avoid being caught during the next inspection.

They couldn't afford to take responsibility for poor management.

I knew what would happen if I went back.

"Sh, shut up…."

"Stop being stubborn! I came all the way here because of you!"

"Sir, the child doesn't want to go. Sae wants to stay here…."

The priest who came with Tom tried to intervene.

Tom sighed and said to the priest.

"This child is under our orphanage's management. Is she now part of this place?"

"…No, but—."

"Excuse me."

Tom twisted his lips into a sneer.

"You can't raise a child properly by giving in to their every wish. Discipline is about controlling and managing the child. Do you understand?"

It was a bold statement for a mere orphanage teacher to make to an Octagon priest.

There was a clear difference in status between them.

Tom had picked up this attitude from frequent interactions with Parmenas priests.

"Let's go."

Tom grabbed the back of my neck roughly.

I dropped the rabbit plushie in my hand.

"Ah, no!"

I shook off Tom's hand and reached for the rabbit plushie.

"This!"

Angry, Tom grabbed me.

My hand swiped the air, unable to reach the fallen rabbit plushie.

I stared at the raised hand, tears welling up.

I came here to take revenge.

To return the treatment I received before the regression.

But now I realized.

I came here to live.

To live properly this time.

And here, for the first time, I felt truly alive.

There were many times I was anxious and worried—.

The damp cookies Morgan gave me.

The mint chocolate the believer sister gave me.

The pudding Randal gave me, thinking of me.

Derrick, who teased me but laughed when our eyes met, and the priests who smiled at me.

And.

Instead of dodging the incoming hand, I hugged the rabbit plushie tightly.

I didn't want to let it go.

But no matter how long I waited, I felt no pain.

Instead, I heard a choking sound.

Looking up, I saw Tom's arm wrapped in something.

A powerful and intimidating holy force.

"Dea, deacon…!"

Tom, pale as a ghost, gasped.

The deacon's eyes slowly moved to look down at him.

"Explain."

"I, I was just disciplining the child…."

Tom stammered, sweating profusely, as if wondering how he had been so insolent.

"Disciplining."

The deacon's slow gaze passed over Tom and met my tearful eyes.

The moment our eyes met, a sharp edge appeared in the deacon's gaze.

The deacon spoke as if grinding his words.

"How dare you lay a hand on Artemis's practice novice."