133 - - overlapping past

Leaving the dingy shop, the red-haired man walks to the end of the narrow passage.

The only light on the street comes from the narrow light windows of the stores on either side of him, as boards are placed between the roofs to protect them from the rain.

The long unmaintained road is quite difficult to walk on, as the cobblestones are missing here and there.

However, Straccia moves through the alleyway without making a sound.

Thor silently followed behind him, thinking that it was because he was used to walking in the darker labyrinths of the depths of the earth.

The alley began to meander and meander.

Suddenly, at a fork in the road, Straccia, with her package down, disappears as if sucked in.

Thor follows her, but he feels a sense of déjà vu in front of him and slows down his steps.

The smell of stale air wafted through the air, and there was a lot of trash scattered on the ground.

It looked much like the back alleys that Thor used to frequent at one time.

The same way you can almost hear the cries coming from the shadows of the old wooden planks against the wall.

Stratchia walked further and further into the alley, not caring about his dirty feet.

He stopped at what appeared to be the end of the alley and suddenly pounded the wall with his fist several times.

When Thor caught up with him and looked at him quizzically, he heard a creaking sound and saw a narrow gap in the board fence.

Immediately, a faint light leaks out from inside, and it turns out to be a sliding door.

At the same time, the identity of the person who opened the door is revealed.

It was not a cat as Thor had expected, but it was a child as big as Moo, judging from the height of the shadow.

The child, who had been looking out through the small door, seems to have realized who the knocker is and puts both hands on the door in a panic.

A deafening sound of wood scraping against wood was heard, and the sliding door was immediately thrown wide open.

It's the Lord!　Hey, guys, the Lord is here!"

A young voice echoed through the narrow passageway, followed by the sound of multiple footsteps rushing from the back.

In no time at all, a crowd of children had gathered, overflowing the doorway and surrounding Straccia.

"Good evening, Mr. Oji!"

"Wow, it smells good."

"Did you bring me something?"

Most were redheads, but there seemed to be a mix of blondes and children with horns on their foreheads.

Most are as tall as Thor's navel.

"They all seem to be in good health."

"Yeah, I've been good!"

I'm hungry!"

"Well, you can have this. It's the Choiya owner's special.

One of the children received the package and his eyes lit up when he noticed that it was still warm.

He holds the package carefully so as not to drop it, and rushes to the back of the door.

The other children cheered and followed in an avalanche.

Stratchia, who had lost all his friends in the blink of an eye, turned around and gave Thor a self-mocking smile.

"What a fleeting pleasure! Children's minds change so quickly, don't they?"

"I used to hear her sweet voice begging only before I fed her," he said.

"Hmmm, I understand that, but I still spoil them."

"I can't help it. That's the way it is."

As if something had been communicated, Thor and the others looked at each other and lifted the edges of their lips in a small gesture.

"No, my prince. We are always grateful to you. Thank you so much.

The girl holding up the candlestick behind the door suddenly interrupted the men's conversation.

She was about the same height as Thor's chest.

From the sound of her voice, it seems that they are not much older than each other.

Her red hair was cut at her neck and her eyebrows were well-shaped.

However, her blue eyes are shaded and her cheeks seem a little gaunt.

"You look the same, Eckliea."

"Yes, please come in. It's a dirty place there, too. ......"

The girl called Eckliea was not being modest, and the house certainly looked much the same as the alley in front.

The floorboards were rotting, and the feeling of stepping on them was indescribable.

The paneling looked as if it would crack at any moment, and the pillars had fine cracks.

Thor's honest impression is that he is surprised that the house has not been demolished.

In the center of the not so spacious room, there was a table that rattled and on it was the package that Straccia had brought earlier.

The cloth had already been unwrapped, and the deep dish that had been inside was now exposed.

The children's eyes lit up as they smelled the steam coming out.

However, they were not fighting each other like beasts, but rather the older children seemed to be neatly dividing the food among the mismatched wooden plates and handing them to each one of them.

There seemed to be another bunk in the back of the room, and I could see that the children were carrying the dishes to that bunk as well.

Perhaps noticing Thor's gaze, the girl casually added a few words.

I apologize for my rudeness. Some of the children are still unable to get up.

"I see. ......"

Thor looked around casually at the children as he returned the conversation.

On closer inspection, there were very few children who appeared to be in good health.

Most of them had noticeable scars on their faces and necks, as if they had been burned.

"If you brought me all the way here, maybe it's ........."

"Yes, these are the people who escaped from the Bossalian disaster. We feed them from time to time."

"Are the parents out?"

No, most of them gave themselves up to let these children go.

Thor frowned slightly at the words that came back.

It seems that only about thirty children are in this house.

"What else is here?"

"People from wealthy families have gone to the inner city because they have contacts there. We're not even ...... looking at that ............."

At Eckria's hesitant reply, Thor scratched the underside of his chin in silence.

It is true that few families would take the trouble to welcome a child with severe burns.

I glanced at Eckria's right cheek and chin, where the whiteness of the skin was noticeable.

The smell mixed with the tallow of the candles seemed to be the scent of the girl's rouge powder.

Not many stores would take the trouble to use a person who looks as bad as she does.

So they cover their scars with make-up.

When we asked her about the details, we found that Eckria, the oldest of the girls, was the only one who went out to work.

The other children scavenge in garbage bins in the back alleys or help clean out food stalls for leftover food.

The outer town may be lively with fancy adventurers, but once you step into the backstreets, reality sometimes awaits you, as it did for these children.

The outer city is a bulwark against the threat of the miasma, so everyone is accepted.

But because of this, it has also become a dumping ground for those who have lost their way and don't want their pasts questioned.

Thor watched without saying a word as the children gorged themselves on meatballs and round potatoes with glee.

The sight of them reminded him of the young children of the Purple-Eyed Tribe, but he knew that he did not have many hands to offer them.

The same could be said of Straccia.

No matter how strong he is, he can only hold so many palms in his fists.

The long-haired young man shakes his head slowly and quietly asks Thor

"These children will never be anything if they stay as they are. But if their homeland is restored, a way may open up for them. Will you help us, brother?

"You knew I wouldn't say no, so you brought me here."

Saying this, Thor placed his outstretched hand lightly on the back of the girl's hand.

Eckria's face tightened in surprise at the sudden action, and she looked at Straccia with a light gasp.

Then she looked sadly down at the prince, who remained silent, interpreting the meaning of a guest brought out of the blue.

Thor's eyes, a mixture of resignation and regret, remind him of himself a long time ago.

It was very similar to the gaze of the boy who suddenly lost his hometown and arrived in this town with his dying childhood friend and an old man.

Anxiety and impatience about the future, anger that can only be swept away by unreasonableness.

The feelings of that time still seemed to be smoldering somewhere in Thor's heart, even after all these years.

One of the reasons why Straccia brought Thor along was to inspire him by showing him the devastation of the children.

Another reason may have been to confirm the action of the second-in-command, Ninessa, who had cleaned out her old wounds.

And if you are Thor, who knows the same pain, you can't help but help.

"Look, it's healed."

".............................. What?"

The girl blinked a little, not knowing what had happened.

Then, perhaps noticing that her cheeks were not tight, she reached out her hand in surprise.

Eckria's eyes gradually focus on Thor as she repeatedly touches her face.

"What ...... is ............?"

The girl understood two things.

The ugly marks covering her cheeks had disappeared completely.

And perhaps it was the man in front of her, brought by Straccia, who had done it.

In the next moment, the girl's mouth emits a moan of emotion that rises up like a muddy stream.

"Ugh ...... ugh,ugh,ugh ...... ugh,ugh ............"

Tears, which had risen suddenly and unbearably, began to trickle down her cheeks.

At the sight of Eckria sobbing, even the children who were eating stopped eating in a hurry.

As everyone's attention is focused on her, the girl utters a cry as if she is trying to squeeze it out.

Oh, thank you ......, thank you ......, thank you. How can I ...... help you in return?"

"I'm not going to take your money, don't worry. All right, let's start with the ones with the worst symptoms first. Will you show me the way?"

"What?　Oh, um, ............ eh?"

"Yes, yes, please keep it a secret from the temple."

Saying this, Thor puts his outstretched index finger to his lips.

The girl smiled as if a flower was blooming for the first time, which was a funny gesture for a grown-up.