Chapter: 324
“Hello! I’m Evangeline!”
Out of nowhere, the girl with black hair introduced herself as Evangeline.
The girl raised her guard towards the stranger holding her arm.
She had been warned by the old man, who had helped her adapt to life in the mine, that she should be cautious of anyone suddenly touching her.
Since she hadn’t suffered any losses by following the old man’s advice until now, she glared sharply at the girl in front of her, focusing intently.
However, looking at the smiling face of the girl gazing back at her, she felt like a fool for being so wary.
…Now that she thought about it, the old man probably warned her about male slaves who would suddenly touch her.
Looking again at the girl in front of her, she noticed that she seemed smaller and weaker than herself.
If the girl tried to force anything, she could definitely resist.
Thinking that way, the girl decided to ask what the reason was for being grabbed.
“…What do you want?”
“Ah! Hehe, I almost forgot to say that!”
The girl laughed as if she had forgotten, then grinned and exclaimed.
“Let’s play together!”
“…Huh?”
Hearing that, the girl couldn’t hide her surprise.
It reminded her of the old man’s stern warnings.
“There are many things to be careful about, but if someone suddenly tries to touch you or tries to entice you to play, be especially careful. They are sure to be dangerous.”
The girl vaguely understood what “playing” meant.
When she had inquired with the old man about it, he said it was still too early to explain in detail, but she remembered seeing a male slave ask a female slave if she wanted to play together that night.
The girl recalled the subtle expression on the face of the female slave upon hearing that, and the tortured moans emanating from the male slave’s tent that night.
As that memory surfaced, the girl’s face turned pale.
“When other people come, she said there would be a child to play with! Hehe, let’s play together!”
The girl, who suddenly insisted on playing while smiling, felt extremely dangerous.
“Ugh…!”
“Ah! Wait a minute!”
For that reason, the girl shrugged off the hand of the girl holding her and ran away without looking back.
*
“…I’m telling you, that’s what happened. I almost got into big trouble. Everyone, be careful.”
The next day, while having lunch with the other slaves, the girl recounted the terrifying incident she had experienced the day before.
However, contrary to her intention of giving a warning, laughter erupted among the other slaves for some reason.
“Wahaha, haha!!! That was quite a big deal, wasn’t it!”
“Haha! Look here, old man. Didn’t I tell you that no matter how young they are, they need to know certain things? I suppose it’s time for me to personally show them what adult games are—”
“Hey, what in the world are you trying to show a child? Ahem… Anyway, it’s also my fault for not explaining properly. Child, what that girl meant by playing is—”
And through the old man’s explanation that followed, the girl learned that the “playing” the girl had mentioned was something entirely different from what she had known.
Although she never really found out what adult games were in detail.
In any case, she realized that the girl wasn’t as dangerous as she had thought.
While nodding her head, thinking about the girl she had seen the day before, she suddenly grew curious about the identity of that girl and asked the old man.
“By the way, who is that child? It seems I haven’t seen her around here.”
“Haha, well, she’s a child who lived in a different area. Well, I’ve only heard about her through stories…”
This underground mine had been operating in this manner for over 10 years.
The number of slaves already inside and the depth of the tunnels they had dug were substantial.
Thus, the slaves didn’t all live in one place but were divided into several groups, each gathering near their respective workplaces.
However, the girl was able to get information about the girl from the old man, who had been working in the mine since the beginning and was well-connected.
The girl, Evangeline, was said to have been born in this mine by chance.
Her parents were sold here as slaves, and her mother had already been pregnant with Evangeline without knowing it.
Naturally, Evangeline should have been aborted.
If a slave becomes pregnant, they cannot work and those who cannot work do not survive in this place.
But perhaps, fueled by the determination to save the child, Evangeline’s mother continued to work diligently while carrying her.
And the mine owner, Davis, didn’t bother her. (The old man added his opinion that it was like gaining a free slave, as long as she performed her tasks properly.)
Evangeline’s mother worked until the day before giving birth, and miraculously, she gave birth to Evangeline but passed away right after, as if she felt her duties were complete.
After that, Evangeline grew up in the hands of her father, who became a widower, but when she turned three, she lost him too due to a mine collapse.
However, other slaves who had formed a bond with him took care of the orphaned Evangeline, allowing her to exist as she did now.
The old man concluded his story, then gently patted the head of the girl, who was wide-eyed amidst the other slaves who were wiping their tears.
“Well, the child has that kind of backstory. She probably heard that there’s someone her age here and became curious enough to come. Just think about it… There’s only the two of you here who don’t know the outside world. I would prefer if you could become friends with that child.”
Until now, the girl had felt like an alien among the slaves.
She was the only one who didn’t know the outside world.
But today, she learned something.
She realized she wasn’t the only unique presence.
Just that made her feel warmth in some corner of her heart.
Besides, the old man had told her to get close to that child, and she had misunderstood something yesterday.
“So… if I see her again, I’ll ask her to play together.”
“Haha, that sounds good.”
If she met the girl again, she resolved to ask her to play together.
Before finishing up for the day, of course.
“…I’m tired.”
Labor wears people down.
That was the same for the girl.
Long hours of labor were exhausting enough to wipe out anything from her head except for the need to rest.
However, as she was wearily heading back to her tent,
“Hey… hello!”
The girl with black hair from yesterday showed up.
“I was surprised when you suddenly disappeared yesterday! Anyway, let’s play! Together! Okay?”
Despite the possibility that she might feel hurt for disappearing without a word, the girl still came with her cheerful face to insist on playing.
The girl looked at her and thought.
…Ah, I’m tired.
But recalling what the old man had said and her previous resolution,
She let out a sigh and nodded.
Maybe it was for the best to join today, even if it was tiring.
“…Alright. Let’s play together.”
“Yay! Really?! Yippee!”
The simple reply of agreeing to play made the girl feel as if she had gained the world.
Seeing that expression, the girl rolled her eyes and asked.
“…Okay. But, what are we going to play?”
“Hmm… then how about hide and seek? Let’s play hide and seek!”
“…How do you play hide and seek?”
“It’s simple! One person becomes ‘it’ and has to find the other people hiding! What do you want to do? Should I hide or be ‘it’?”
“…Then I’ll hide.”
“Alright! Then I’ll count up to thirty, and you hide until then! Okay, here I go! Start! Hide well~! Your hair may show! One—”
Hide and seek.
It was a game she had never heard of before, but the reason the girl said she’d hide was simple.
She thought it might be less tiring to hide than to seek.
She sat down behind the closest rock as she listened to the girl counting with her hands over her eyes.
“Thirty! Okay, I’m coming!”
Sitting back against the rock and catching her breath while hearing the girl yell that she was coming to find her,
“I found you!”
“…You found me.”
She was so poorly hidden that the girl immediately discovered her spot.
However, thinking that after being found she could rest, the girl said to the other girl.
“…Well then, I’ll get going.”
“Huh? Aren’t you going to switch ‘its’?”
“…No, I’ll call it a day since I was found.”
Saying that, she dusted off her backside and stood up, glancing at the girl to see her reaction,
“Hehe, alright! Thanks for playing with me! It was fun!”
The girl said with a wide smile as if she wasn’t disappointed at all, then waved her hand and sprinted off, shouting.
“Then let’s play again tomorrow!”
…Huh? Tomorrow?
Feeling an uneasy vibe from the girl’s words, the girl realized it was already too late as the girl had left.
*
And the next day.
“Once again…”
After finishing her work and returning, the girl found the same girl standing in the same spot as yesterday, and a shiver ran down her spine.
Raising her head high, the girl was looking around, obviously waiting for her.
If caught, she would surely ask her to play again.
But today, she just wanted to rest.
So she considered rejecting her and walking past when suddenly, she caught sight of the girl’s eyes.
Eyes brimming with excitement.
Something about those eyes made her lose the will to refuse right there.
So the girl decided to take another approach.
“…I guess I’ll hide until she leaves.”
She would just hide until the girl got tired of waiting and left.
The girl slyly glanced around to find a spot that wouldn’t be visible to the girl.
Yes, behind that big stalagmite pillar should work.
She tucked herself behind the stalagmite and waited for about 3 minutes.
Then, after those 3 minutes, she cautiously peeked out, thinking if she could slip away now.
“I found you!!”
The girl was standing right in front of the pillar with a beaming smile, making eye contact just as the girl peeked out.
“Wha?!”
The girl, startled, screamed and fell over, landing hard on her backside.
Looking down at her, the other girl chuckled and said,
“Hehe, you must like hide and seek too! If you want to avoid being found, you should hide better next time!”
“Uh…? Uhm…?”
“Anyway, since you’re found today, that’s it, right? Let’s see each other again tomorrow!”
Leaving the dazed girl with her quick words, the girl dashed off somewhere.
“What… what was that?”
The girl felt something was off, but it was already too late.
*
“Again?!”
Sure enough, the next day, the girl was waiting in the same spot once more.
Seeing the other girl in that position, the girl felt a chill run down her spine.
If she didn’t escape from this, she felt like she would be tormented endlessly.
“…I’ll hide.”
So instinctively, the girl made the decision to hide.
She successfully concealed herself in a spot that would be hard to notice.
But,
“I found you!”
“Eek?!”
“Whee! Today was fun too! See you tomorrow!”
Once again, the girl was found.
And just as she predicted, she became caught in an endless game of hide and seek with the girl.
“I found you!”
“Ahhh!!”
The next day.
“Ah! Found you!”
“Wait, how…!”
The day after that.
“Yay! Found you!!!”
“I thought for sure I wouldn’t be found this time!”
Each day, the girl would think of how to avoid being found, yet,
“Hehe, found you!”
“Again, again! How is this happening…?”
No matter where the girl hid or how hard she tried, the other girl always found her.
And thus, today as well, the girl was found by Evangeline, who wore her ever-cheerful smile.
“Hehe! Today was fun too!”
The girl knew nothing of the outside world.
But playing hide and seek with the girl, Evangeline, taught her one new thing.
So the girl could now reply.
“…Yup, me too!”
With a broad smile, just like the girl in front of her.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.