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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Flow of Light
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"Wake up! Time for work, everyone!"
At the dorm supervisor's command, the children scrambled to their feet.
They hastily pulled on the clothes they had worn the day before and left their rooms, barely rubbing the sleep from their eyes.
In front of the dormitory, carriages were waiting to take the children to their respective begging territories.
"Loan? Starting today, you're going to District 1."
A section chief Loan had never seen before beckoned to him with a flick of his finger.
Loan climbed into the first carriage and surveyed the faces of the children inside.
They were the same kids he saw every day in Dorm Room 1, and among them was Balder, the biggest of them all.
At nine years old, he was the de facto leader of Room 1 and the ringleader in ostracizing Loan.
Balder's eyes met Loan's, and he grinned.
"This is perfect. Things are different outside the dorms."
It sounded like a declaration of war.
But the words, which should have been frightening, didn't bother Loan in the slightest.
Ever since the incredible experience of the previous night, he'd felt a strange sense of reassurance.
"Huh?"
Seeing Loan's lack of reaction, Balder scowled.
But when the section chief climbed into the carriage, he had no choice but to adopt a docile posture.
After the carriage set off.
The chief handed each child two pieces of dry bread. One for breakfast, the other for lunch.
The chief spoke.
"You all will be working in District 1. We've got a new kid today, so I'll go over the rules again."
Like the other children, Loan gnawed on his dry bread while listening to the instructions for his first day of work.
District 1 was the main road leading to Danton's residential area.
The street, handsomely lined with trees, was the most profitable spot for begging.
For that reason, it was primarily assigned to children under ten, who were more likely to evoke sympathy from the well-to-do.
"Manson's gang has been eyeing our territory lately, so be careful."
Since it was a lucrative area, other begging crews were constantly trying to claim District 1.
Manson's gang was the most notorious among them.
They and the shelter's gang had Danton's begging world split between them.
"Alright, once you're dropped off, find a spot and get to work. Anyone who doesn't meet their quota gets no dinner, so you'd better figure it out."
As the carriage entered the main road, it began to stop and start repeatedly.
The earlier you got off, the worse your spot. In other words, fewer people passed by, which meant poor earnings.
The children who were dropped off later showed expressions of relief. A good haul meant a slightly more generous dinner.
As the children were dropped off one by one, only Balder and Loan remained in the carriage.
Balder seemed quite displeased by this, glaring at Loan as if he wanted to kill him.
"Next, Balder."
Unexpectedly, Balder was the next to be assigned a spot.
Baffled, he questioned the chief.
"Huh? Sir, but I'm always the last one to get off."
Smack—!
In an instant, the chief struck Balder across the cheek.
Balder's grimy cheek immediately flushed red.
"Talking back first thing in the morning. Just get out when I tell you to."
Still fuming, the chief raised his arm again.
Balder flinched, his body tensed, and he climbed out of the carriage with tears welling in his eyes.
Even so, he didn't stop glaring at Loan.
After the carriage started moving again.
The chief said to Loan.
"It's your first day, but you're getting the best spot. Do you know why?"
"I'm not sure, sir."
Even after seeing Balder get hit, Loan didn't feel particularly intimidated.
The chief stared at Loan's face for a moment before nodding.
"It's because of that pretty face of yours."
It was the director's philosophy.
He believed that the better-looking kids brought in more money.
"So keep your head up so people can see your face. And try to look as sad as possible. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
After getting out of the carriage, Loan headed to the spot the chief pointed to.
It was a place with its back to a building wall, near an intersection bustling with foot traffic.
Loan placed his collection tin in front of him, sat quietly on the ground, and began his work.
The street was crowded with people.
On foot, on horseback, or in carriages.
Despite the world being in turmoil from a long famine and political unrest, this small, remote city of Danton remained unchanged.
It wasn't so much peaceful as it was uneventfully dull.
That was likely because, though small, it was a commercial city where commoners, merchants, and minor nobles freely conducted their economic activities.
Near its main intersection.
People heading from the residential area to the commercial district, or vice versa, passed ceaselessly in front of Loan.
At one point, as Loan was watching them quietly.
The morning sun filtered through the trees and fell upon his face.
Loan naturally squinted, then kept his eyes closed for a while.
"..."
A child, amidst the morning clamor, who had been gazing somewhere with green eyes, suddenly closed them and remained perfectly still.
He looked as if he were deep in meditation, or perhaps dozing in the morning sunlight.
The sight strangely captivated the passersby.
Like a sculpture, both pitiful and yet exuding a mysterious aura.
Clink—!
Coins began to pile up in his collection tin.
Any other beggar would have bowed their head in gratitude, but Loan had no time for that.
He was that deeply immersed in the world of light clusters.
'It's just like the world I see with my eyes open. It just looks different.'
The people were the same. Each was a cluster of light, varying in size, density, and shade.
The faint particles of light floating in the air were pushed aside by the passersby, scattering and then gathering again.
The random flow was incredibly beautiful.
Occasionally, when a human-shaped aura of light drew near, the clinking of coins would follow like music.
'The more I focus, the clearer it becomes.'
By scrutinizing the world with his mind's eye, he could perceive the density and movement of the light with growing precision and clarity.
His range widened, and his perception deepened.
It even felt as if time were slowing down.
After some time had passed like this.
Loan saw a somewhat familiar shape approaching him.
He opened his eyes. It was, of course, Balder.
With one cheek swollen, Balder stood before Loan, flanked by two other boys.
"What's this? How did you get so much?"
Balder's attention was first drawn to Loan's collection tin.
Even Loan could see it was a considerable amount. He had never collected this much, even when he was with Pauline.
Balder glanced around before reaching for Loan's tin.
Loan quickly hid it behind his back.
"Huh? Look at this little punk. Are you gonna hand that over or not?"
"No."
"No?"
Balder wore a look of disbelief.
"You think you can act tough just because the chief likes you?"
He glanced behind him, and one of the other boys answered with a sycophantic grin.
"The chief won't be back around this time. He only comes at the end of the day."
"You hear that? So hand it over while I'm asking nicely."
Loan wasn't the least bit intimidated.
Instead, he slowly rose to his feet and replied.
"You heard me, too. I said no."
Was it because seeing the auras of light had given him the belief that there were forces protecting him?
Loan wasn't afraid.
'Even if I give this to them, I doubt I can avoid a beating.'
What was bound to happen would happen.
He figured it was better to confront them now while there were only a few of them.
Loan himself didn't know where this newfound courage came from.
And so, he calmly allowed the boys to push him into a back alley.
A dark alley covered in graffiti.
The ground was a mix of all sorts of trash and filth, a stark contrast to the clean main street.
There.
Loan stood facing the three boys.
"Looks like getting a good spot has gone to your head."
Loan didn't answer Balder's taunt. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes.
Not having to look at that nasty face instantly put him at ease. He focused.
Within the faint mist of light that floated in the alley, only three gentle, luminous figures remained.
Did his posture look like one of resignation?
"What's this? Giving up already?"
Balder sneered and suddenly charged.
The distance between them closed in an instant.
Balder was a year older than Loan. He was also a head taller. His fairly solid fist flew toward Loan's face.
Loan calmly observed the process.
'As I thought, the clusters of light in the air are pushed forward first.'
It felt as if time were slowing down.
It was like a warning.
There was no need to take the hit.
Swoosh—
Slightly turning his body, he stuck out his foot. Unable to stop his own momentum, Balder tripped over Loan's foot and slammed face-first into the ground.
It was an incredibly hard fall, accompanied by a sickening crunch.
"Aargh!"
With a single scream, Balder clutched his face and rolled on the ground.
In the process, he covered himself in the filth from the alley floor. But he was in too much pain to care.
It hurt too much.
"Huh?"
The unexpected turn of events left the other two boys frozen, unsure of what to do.
But Loan, too, was quite shocked.
'So I can do this.'
His ability to see the auras of light had manifested a practical use. He was both pleased and curious.
What would happen if I were the one to move?
With that thought, Loan left Balder groaning on the ground and took a step forward.
His eyes were still closed, which struck a profound fear into the remaining boys.
"St-stay back!"
They stammered, backing away.
Fortunately, Loan didn't come any closer, suddenly stopping in his tracks.
From Loan's perspective, he was simply observing and wary of the new auras of light approaching the alley entrance—
Just as he thought.
"These brats are getting bold, coming into the alleys now?"
At the sound of the voice, Loan slowly opened his eyes.
The newcomers were a bald man and a bearded man. Two adults who looked like vagrants.
Loan knew instinctively.
'Manson's gang...'
The boys who had been backing away reflexively moved forward to avoid the men.
Then, comically, they retreated behind Loan.
In that moment, Loan looked like their leader.
The bald man looked at Balder, who was groaning on the ground, and said.
"What's this? Looks like they were fighting amongst themselves."
"Probably sorting out their pecking order."
"So, does that mean this pretty little thing beat that one?"
"Hey, you better be careful. You could get seriously hurt."
The bearded man chuckled and gave the bald man a shove.
The bald man picked up a wooden plank from the ground and replied.
"Nah, I always give it my all. Can't go easy on them just 'cause they're kids."
"Damn right. When you stomp someone, you gotta stomp them good."
"Huh?"
The bald man tilted his head.
That wasn't the bearded man agreeing with him.
The voice had come from behind them.
Startled, the members of Manson's gang spun around simultaneously to see a well-built man standing there.
It was the District 1 supervisor from the shelter.
"Ah, I was wondering where you'd all gone off to during work hours..."
The supervisor let out a deep sigh and strode into the alley.
The bald man reflexively swung the wooden plank at the supervisor's head.
But the supervisor raised his arm to block it first.
Crack—!
It was the plank that broke.
As if he hadn't felt a thing, the supervisor slammed his other fist into the bald man's face.
It happened in the blink of an eye, and the bald man was sent flying.
The supervisor didn't stop there. He pounced on the fallen man and rained down blow after blow.
"Like this! Like this! No holding back! To the very end! With all your might!"
As he shouted, he continued to strike relentlessly until the bald man's face was an unrecognizable mess.
The horrifying sight of blood splattering everywhere made the children squeeze their eyes shut, and the bearded man fled in terror.
Amidst it all, Loan thought.
'Why is its color like that? And why is that one doing that...'
The supervisor's murky aura of light, undulating like a wave, looked utterly fascinating.