Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty: Society’s Distortions 2
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry—”
“I won’t do it again, never again, please forgive me!”
“…!”
The children gathered in the courtyard were trembling violently. They had been scolded and overwhelmed by Julius’s magical pressure, leaving them utterly terrified.
Julius, having returned, said while cautiously gauging Karen’s expression:
“…Are you disillusioned with me, Karen?”
“I’d say that was an excellent display of intimidation. You have to genuinely frighten them so they regret what they’ve done.”
“Come to think of it, you grew up in the adventurer district, didn’t you, Karen?”
Julius said with a relieved expression.
The culprits who had been summoned by the director were truly shameless.
Before Karen and Julius, they showed no signs of remorse, and when asked why they did such a thing, they gave a ridiculous answer: “Because we wanted to try throwing stones.” At the director’s urging, they offered a hollow “sorrry,” nothing more than lip service.
For Karen’s part, she would have been fine with just giving the misbehaving children a verbal warning. Julius probably felt the same. However, not everyone in this world was as lenient and kind as Karen and Julius. If they threw stones at other nobles or adventurers, it wouldn’t be strange if they were killed. In some circles, an adult’s kindness meant hammering into children the harsh truth that they had done something irreversible when they misbehaved.
It was mainly the custom of lower districts like the adventurers’ quarter. The orphanage seemed to follow the same approach, and at the director’s request, Julius had intimidated them—resulting in this scene.
Even the priests, who should have possessed C-rank or higher magical power, were trembling, so the children—especially those with little magical power—wouldn’t have stood a chance. It was clear that every single child regretted what they had done.
At first, when they were brought before Karen and Julius, the children had defiant eyes, but now they all had pale faces, tears streaming down, trembling violently. While elderly people’s hearts might stop from such treatment, the children showed no such signs, and though some had fallen on their bottoms or wet themselves, none were injured. Karen concluded there was no problem.
“I’m glad it seems you all understand what you’ve done—”
Karen fell silent when her eyes met those of a girl among the children who, while her cheeks were stained with tears, still retained strength in her eyes. She had red eyes like burning flames.
Karen looked at the director and asked:
“What kind of child is this one?”
“That’s Teresa. She’s thirteen years old, born to an adventurer family.”
“Her magical power?”
“F-rank.”
Karen’s eyes widened.
“With F-rank magical power, she can maintain that expression after being hit with Mr. Julius’s intimidation…?”
“Karen, should I intimidate her once more?”
“If her spirit didn’t break from that first one, nothing will break it.”
Tim had also once been a troublesome child of the unbreakable type. Even when kind adventurers intimidated him or beat him up, trying to drill into his body the fear that there existed people in this world you must not defy, he wouldn’t give in. Thanks to that, Karen had been forced to make potions many times.
Occasionally, such children existed. Thor had also been the type who was fine even when intimidated, but Thor was a smart child who understood when Karen properly explained the reasoning, so there was no problem.
In the adventurers’ district, it was said that children who didn’t yield to intimidation would eventually become successful adventurers. Thor had been like that too. However, if this child’s magical power were F-rank, it would be a harsh road ahead.
Karen posed to Teresa the question she had been thinking of asking one of the children again:
“Hey, can you tell me why you threw stones at us?”
“…Because all adults only look at us based on our magical power.”
While glaring at Karen with intense eyes, the girl still answered. However, Karen tilted her head slightly, not quite understanding the meaning.
“We won’t be chosen anyway, but not being chosen without doing anything is frustrating.”
“Huh?”
“So I threw stones. If it’s because of something I did, it’s still better.”
“Um, what do you mean by ‘not being chosen’?”
“You came to take a child with high magical power as your adopted child, didn’t you? Together with your husband.”
Because she had little magical power, she wouldn’t be chosen—for adoption, apparently.
Karen cried out:
“We’re not! Married!”
“Not yet, anyway.”
“We just came to make a donation, okay!? I’m still nineteen! Children and all that are way in the future!”
At Karen and Julius’s words, the girl said irritably:
“It doesn’t matter either way. Anyway, I won’t be chosen, right? Above all, because I’m a bad child. That’s why I’m being scolded. I did something bad, so it’s natural. Even if I’m killed, it can’t be helped.”
With burning eyes, the girl spoke defiantly. It was obvious she bore wounds in her heart. Not trauma from Julius’s intimidation, but surely from the circumstances that led to her being abandoned.
“The children seem to sincerely regret their actions. Could you perhaps forgive them now?”
That was the director’s signal. Karen and Julius exchanged glances and nodded. There was one child who showed no regret and had steeled herself, but there was no need to involve the other children for the sake of that one child alone.
“Thank you. Then, if you’ll excuse us.”
Expressing her gratitude, a priestess led the children, including the girl, away. Karen and Julius moved to the office with the director and proceeded to talk once more.
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