Chapter 18
When my parents died, when I was betrayed by a friend, and when I abandoned my brother to run away, her mind was endlessly shattered, and now she couldn’t survive without cursing someone.
She was going crazy, but she didn’t even realize it.
“Pia, come on and get yours too!”
Before long, as the kids finished getting their meals, Lian smiled and called out to Pia. Pia twisted her lips into the best smile she could manage and grabbed a plate to get her food.
“If you don’t like salad, you can hide it between the bread. It actually tastes pretty good that way.”
Whenever Pia saw Lian’s innocent smile, her insides twisted. There was this indescribable alienation, something she could never have, just stuck to Lian’s grin.
She fiddled with the fork that came with her plate, her eyes landing on Lian’s nape. An impulse she couldn’t understand echoed in her mind.
“Lily is sitting over there.”
“Ah, thanks.”
Hearing Lily’s name made her murderous intent fade.
“My brother, my brother…”
Pia approached Lily with her plate.
“Ugh… this tastes weird.”
Lily grimaced as she ate her salad reluctantly. She wanted to be picky, but after so long on an empty stomach, she couldn’t leave food untouched.
‘I have to help her!’
With a bright smile, Pia walked over to Lily. At that moment, a fork suddenly swooped down onto Lily’s plate.
“Yum.”
“Huh? That was mine, right?”
Lily looked at the person who just swiped her salad with a confused expression. Pia stopped and turned to see where Lily was looking. Nero was munching on the salad with his cheeks slightly flushed.
“…Want to trade it for some meat if you don’t like it?”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“Yeah, but I can’t give you much.”
“Okay! Thanks!”
Nero watched as Lily’s face lit up with joy, his eyes growing wide like he’d seen an angel. His cheeks were adorably red. After Lily gave away her salad, Nero passed her three pieces of meat from his plate.
“Oh? Me too!”
Another kid sitting next to Nero poked their fork toward his plate. So, Nero quickly shoved his plate out of reach and shouted,
“No!”
“Why not?”
“…Because this is enough for me!”
Nero started gobbling up the salad. Pia watched him with an empty gaze. Just then, a worried voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Pia, are you okay?”
“Eh..?”
“Your hand is so pale.”
Noah, who had just returned with his meal, pointed at her hand. Only then did Pia realize she was holding the fork so tightly that the plate was trembling.
“Ah, maybe I’m just shaking because I’m hungry.”
“Really? Should I ask Lian to get you some more?”
Pia silently stared at Noah and thought.
‘Opportunist.’
She remembered learning that word back in her affluent days and managed a smile.
“Thanks for worrying, but I think it’s better if I eat quickly.”
“Yeah? Then let’s hurry up and sit.”
Noah headed over to join Lian and Nero.
“Wait, Nero, why did you get so much salad?”
“Uh, well… I wanted to eat it…”
“But you don’t like veggies -…”
“I do! I just started liking them, that’s all!”
“Really?”
Noah tilted his head, confused, and plopped down across from Nero.
“Then should I give you mine?”
“Nope, this is enough for me.”
Pia sat across from Lily, eyeing Nero while her hand trembled, still gripping the fork. The impulse hit her again.
Her emotions thrummed like a train with broken brakes. Unlike before, this time she couldn’t contain her cruel urges. The moment she leaped from her seat, gripping the fork so tightly her hand turned white,
“Anyone want more salad? There’s plenty left!”
“Eh, but Nero was -…”
“No, I’m fine! I’m stuffed!”
As Lian approached, carrying a bowl of salad, the tense atmosphere melted away, and Pia slumped back into her seat.
“Pia, do you want some?”
“No, I’m good.”
Pia refused with a smile, taking shallow breaths to calm herself.
Thud.
“…?”
Her plan to cool down by shoving some cold salad in her mouth flopped the moment she tried to stab a piece of vegetable, and it slid off the plate, slick with dressing.
Thinking it’d be easier to scoop it up with the fork, she tried again, but—
Clatter.
The veggies tumbled onto the plate right in front of her open mouth. She fumbled with the fork like a kid, and Noah leaned in to offer help.
“Need another fork?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Pia managed a tiny smile before furiously wielding the fork, but the salad mockingly resisted, dropping pieces outside the plate.
“Phew…”
She hadn’t eaten even a single piece of salad, so she switched her target to meat. This time, with no hiccup, she snagged a piece.
For some unknown reason, a sense of triumphant glee swelled within her. Just as she popped it in her mouth and bit down,
“Pfft!”
She choked.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
As tears streamed down her cheeks while coughing, Noah patted her back, looking concerned.
“Are you okay?”
“Cough, yeah… thanks.”
Pia groaned through gritted teeth as she awkwardly managed to thank him. After quite a struggle, she finally finished her meal.
*
Ever since Lania visited, Mia hadn’t done any experiments for over a week. She was too busy casting some mysterious spell all over the house. Plus, she seemed to have business outside, going out more often.
Thanks to that, I ended up with a lot of free time. During those spare moments, I helped Noah teach the kids.
“This is 1, and this is 2.”
Starting with simple counting.
“Be super careful with fire. And for knives, especially, be more careful—if you mess up, you could hurt yourself!”
We taught them all kinds of stuff, including some simple cooking methods.
‘These kids are so clueless it’s like teaching a bunch of rocks.’
Noah taught them how to speak properly, and how to read and write. Once they started talking a bit, Pia jumped in to teach them manners.
Although Pia didn’t seem super keen on teaching the kids, she started taking it seriously after Lily insisted she wanted to learn alongside the others.
Classes were held in the dining room or any spare room available, and today, Noah and I were instructing the kids in the dining room. With a relaxed mindset, we handed out paper and asked the kids to draw whatever they wanted.
The kids were drawing on leftover paper Mia had said was okay to use.
The pens they used were goodies from Mia.
When Lania visited, she was so impressed with the cookies and juice that she offered to give the kids whatever they wanted. So, we requested some suitable pens for the children.
Since we specifically asked for pens the kids could use, we managed to gather one for every kid.
Scribble, scribble.
The kids were all hunched over, diligently drawing with their lips pressed tightly shut.
“Feels kinda peaceful, doesn’t it?”
“…Yeah, it does.”
Noah and I had nothing much to do, so we just blankly watched the kids while chatting softly.
“Seems like the kids are learning faster than I expected.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised too.”
“I want to read them some fairy tales once they can talk a bit more… I’m even thinking of making some.”
“Oh, that’s a splendid idea!”
Noah’s mention of fairy tales made me think about the fairy tale books from the comedy world.
‘In the comedy world, fairy tale books were sometimes used as summoning or prophecy texts.’
When the kids joyfully said, “A dinosaur appeared,” a real dinosaur would crash through the city. The ground shook, and the kids’ bodies floated up and down as if they were on a chaotic ride, without the slightest idea, focused solely on their fairy tale.
After finishing the book, the teacher would say, “Well done!” with a smile, or they’d whisk the kids away while the little ones clung to the teacher’s side. Generally, it’s safer to stay close to the teacher who exclaims, “Well done!”
‘Maybe I’ll just let them be.’
Worried about a potential disaster, I suppressed the urge to step in and help.
“I’m a bit concerned since I don’t recall much.”
“Why not brainstorm some ideas with the kids? Let them come up with the story together.”
“…! That’s a fantastic idea!”
Feeling flattered by Noah’s encouragement, I chuckled and shrugged, and Noah smiled warmly in response.
“Big bro! I’m all done!”
Nero’s cheerful voice chimed in between us. He flaunted his clumsy drawing filled with circular shapes and lines.
“This is you, this is me, and this is Brother Lian!”
“And this one?”
Noah pointed to a character in a skirt with flowers doodled on its head, and Nero’s face turned beet red as he stammered,
“That’s… a secret.”
Noah’s jaw dropped in shock at that statement.
“Noah, you were just thinking, ‘My little brother has secrets from me?!’ right?”
“…! How did you know?”
Noah spun around to me, his face a mix of bewilderment. It was hilarious how the word ‘SHOCKED’ was practically written on his face.
“Because it’s all over your face.”
“What? Seriously?”
Flustered, Noah started touching his own face, and both Nero and I burst into laughter.
“Pfft, haha! I mean… it’s just your expression gives it all away.”
“Oh, so that’s what you meant.”
Noah turned crimson and shyly looked away.
“Big bro, I finished too! Here!”
“Me too! Here!”
Just as they were starting to learn polite speech, the kids came rushing over, holding up their drawings. The kitchen was filled with a suspiciously peaceful ambiance.
*
“Phew… I can finish the rest later.”
Mia checked the state of the protective magic wrapped around the mansion over and over before heading to the research lab.
“Now then… Shall we resume the experiment?”
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