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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: A New Life
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"What's with that reaction? Anyone would think you actually like begging."
Theo asked, dumbfounded, and the other children nodded in agreement.
Only Loan failed to understand the question.
'Why is he asking something so obvious?'
When he thought about it, he had more good memories than bad.
The time he spent laughing with Mother Pauline was more precious than being bullied by the other kids at the dormitory.
And after he started begging alone, he enjoyed practicing with mana every day.
The people who passed by were all kind to him, so he never felt particularly uncomfortable.
To Loan, the streets were a very comfortable place.
"What… really?"
"…"
"Can I ask you something? From the day you came to this shelter until today, how did you live?"
Theo asked, unable to comprehend. Seeing no reason to refuse, Loan told him the truth.
From the day Helen died to the day before, when he had fled as if pursued.
Just as Blake had, Theo and the other children's eyes grew red.
"Living like that, you must have gotten used to begging."
Theo muttered to himself before wiping his tear-stained eyes.
Then, he smiled and looked at Loan.
"You don't have to go out begging anymore. The kids in the main building all have their own duties. The members of the Reading Circle just have to manage the library and reception hall and greet guests. Our room is in charge of the library."
"Oh…"
"You won't have to suffer on the cold streets, and there's no one here to bully you, so once you get used to it, you'll find it very comfortable. Trust us."
He spoke as if trying to soothe him, and Loan couldn't keep a somber expression any longer.
"Alright, then, let's all give a warm welcome to our Loan. It's nice to meet you, Loan, the boy who likes to beg!"
At Theo's lead, the children who had been looking at Loan with pity burst into laughter.
"Welcome, Loan!"
"We're glad you're here!"
"…"
Loan couldn't easily adapt to the bright atmosphere he had never experienced before.
To suddenly come to such a fine place from what was no different from a detention center. The children seemed very kind, too.
'There really are a lot of good people in the world. But is it okay for me to suddenly be living so well…?'
A short while later, after the lights were out.
Lying in a clean, soft bed, Loan finally felt a sense of relief and could at last allow himself to be happy.
'Today was another strange day.'
He had been chased by strangers called the Union, but all things considered, it had been a very fulfilling and interesting day.
He had figured out how to use mana and could even use it, albeit in a small way.
On top of that, the fact that he would learn to read starting tomorrow made Loan incredibly excited.
'I'll be able to read books.'
Pauline had told him that all the world's knowledge was contained within books.
He had always wished to know more about everything, and now that wish was about to come true.
Perhaps the people who had cared for him were truly watching over him with love.
A year had passed since Pauline left.
As he began a new and unfamiliar life, Loan buried his face in the clean pillow and made no sound for a long time.
* * *
There were a total of twenty Reading Circle members in the main building, housed in four separate rooms.
These children, known as the Reading Circle members, were the object of both jealousy and envy from the other children in the main building.
It was only natural.
The members of the Reading Circle interacted most closely with the patrons, so they always ate good food, wore nice clothes, and, if they were lucky, could even leave the shelter to be adopted into a fine family.
That was why Loan becoming a member was such an exceptional event.
The whispers behind his back were ceaseless.
"I heard he came to the main building from begging on the streets."
"How did a commoner who can't even read get into the Reading Circle right away?"
"The vice director is supposedly very fond of him. Isn't that strange?"
But the gossip didn't last more than a week.
Loan's reading lessons, which had begun in the dead of winter, were over in less than a week.
Loan memorized the entire children's dictionary and also memorized and understood both the *Children's Grammar: Structure* and *Usage* volumes.
"You're really smart, you know?"
Amy was genuinely surprised, but Loan didn't understand why.
He couldn't see why it would take any longer.
Loan surprised Amy even more when he began to read books aloud.
He was simply reading as his emotions flowed, yet Amy showered him with praise.
"My, what will you do if your voice is as handsome as your face?"
"And how did you even think to distinguish the narration from the dialogue with your tone?"
"This is so good. It makes me get more immersed in the story."
"At this rate, you're more than ready to participate in the Reading Circle right now."
Her reaction was quite effusive, but Loan himself didn't pay it much mind.
First of all, he found reading itself to be fun.
Besides, if he worked hard as he was told, he would soon be able to get what he wanted.
So Loan diligently focused on the tasks given to him, and a few weeks passed like that.
Then one day.
"…and they lived happily ever after."
Just as Loan closed the last page of the final fairy tale book in Section 1.
"Loan! Bring me the books you read today."
Amy's voice echoed through the library, located on the third floor of the main building.
Loan gathered the books from the desk and hurried over to Amy.
Amy was leaning against a window where the late winter sun cast mottled light, stretching.
"Let's see. *The Earwig Isn't Lonely*, *Wise Bellice*, *The Golden Pig's Delicious Droppings*, *The Hairy Bride*. Hmm… let's go with *The Hairy Bride*."
Loan took the book Amy handed back to him and opened it to the first page.
He cleared his throat and began to read.
"Once upon a time, in a certain village, there lived a very beautiful girl. The girl was dearly loved by all the young men of the village, but she, too, had a secret worry. It was that on the girl's knee…"
Amy, who had kept her eyes closed until the end of the story, slowly opened them at the sound of the book closing.
A smile had already formed on her slightly moist eyes.
"I almost wondered if this was the same story I knew. Such a sad and beautiful reading. Thank you, Loan."
"…"
Loan felt embarrassed.
He had only done his homework as assigned, so why was he being thanked?
"Alright, that's enough fairy tales for now. From now on, let's move on to the novels in Section 2. Good work."
"Thank you, Miss Amy."
Loan was thrilled to have finished reading the children's fairy tales.
'Now I can read the books in Section 2.'
The shelter's library was divided into two sections: children's and adults'. The books Loan wanted to read would mostly be in Section 2.
"May I read a little longer before going back to my room?"
"Go ahead."
Loan entered the Section 2 reading room.
The Reading Circle children were bustling about, reading books and practicing their recitations.
Loan walked over to where his roommates were.
Theo was startled.
"Loan, you're in Section 2 already?"
"Yeah. I got permission today."
Knowing what a big deal that was, the other children who overheard the conversation all shook their heads.
"What are you? I'd believe you if you said you already knew how to read."
"Miss Amy was a good teacher."
"Huh?"
Theo snorted at Loan's words.
Just then, Lily slipped into the conversation.
"You'll be reading the same books as us now. In that case… want to read this?"
For some reason, a blushing Lily handed a hardcover book to Loan.
"*How the Reincarnated Duke Loves*… Come to think of it, everyone seems to read only romance novels. Is this one of them?"
"Yeah, most of the patrons who come to the Reading Circle are noble ladies or young mistresses, so these kinds of books get a good response. They're the kind of books that make your heart feel all fluffy, or make you feel a little itchy somewhere, or warm a corner of your heart. And you might shed a tear or two during the sad parts."
"Ah…"
That was something he didn't know.
As Loan let out a small sigh, Theo patted his shoulder lightly.
"No matter how interesting the book is, the reader has to stay composed. It would be a disaster if the reader got swept up in their emotions and started laughing or crying. Listening and feeling is the guests' part. We have to read aloud, but we must not get carried away by our emotions. It's not easy."
"I see. That makes sense. Thanks, Lily. I'm going to look around for some other books to read. I'm curious since it's my first time here."
"Okay. Sure."
Lily averted her gaze slightly and stepped aside.
Loan walked between the shelves, taking in the indexes.
After one lap, Loan settled himself by a shelf filled with general humanities books.
Most of the things he had wanted to read were in this section.
Books that could satisfy his curiosity about the world.
'I'll be reading the novels for work anyway.'
He raised a hand and ran his finger along the spines of the books, reading the titles.
'*Biography of William I*, *History of the Seven Duchies*, *The Grafton Kingdom and the Birth of the Union*…?'
He paused abruptly at the last title.
The Union.
It might be the very reason he was in the main building.
Loan pulled out the book and began to read it right where he stood.
The first thing he saw was a picture shaped like a large loaf of bread.
A map of the 1 Kingdom and 6 Duchies.
Dunton was located at the southwestern tip of the kingdom's territory, written in tiny letters.
'I was living in such a remote and tiny place. Just how big is the world?'
With that thought, he began to read the book.
Loan learned—
That the world had been reorganized into a '1 Kingdom and 6 Autonomous Duchies' system after Grafton, one of the duchies, won a long war.
That an organization called the 'Union' was established under royal command to suppress war and look after the people's livelihood and security.
That for over 200 years, the Union had served as the sword and spellbook of the kingdom and the duchies, striving for the peace and stability of the world.
He learned all of this through the book.
'So that's what the Union is. Then it should be a place with good, kind people…'
Why had Blake run away like that?
Was it because begging was a bad thing?
That couldn't be it.
If it were, the local officials would have stopped him, but no one ever had.
In fact, he had even seen Blake sharing a smoke and joking with an official.
What was certain, at any rate, was that the Union was not on good terms with the shelter, and for some reason, the shelter was keeping the events of that day a secret.
Blake, whom he had met later in the main building, had said something similar.
'Those guys? Looks like Manson's crew hired some mercenaries. You were targeted because you earn a lot of money. But it turned out for the best, didn't it? You get to work in a warm, comfortable place.'
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Because either Blake or one of the main building's staff was lying.
If so, it was more likely that the staff, who had been talking without knowing Loan was listening, were telling the truth.
'I shouldn't check this book out.'
He wanted to learn more about the Union, but he thought it best not to leave a record on the checkout list.
Loan picked up a handful of books that seemed unlikely to cause any problems and found a spot in a corner by the window.
And through the books, he began to gaze into the world he did not know.
Time flew by.