Elda Nehu
"Do you know the house of the Nehu siblings?"
He smiled and spoke in a friendly manner, completely different from everyone I' d ever talked to.
"I know it well," I said.
Then this man slyly asked if I really knew my own family.
I answered honestly, putting on a pitiful expression.
"And the last one?" he asked.
"A weak child who needs help to escape from a worthless family. That name is Elda Nehu—me, of course."
"Stop joking around."
Kids in the slums who act pitiful and beg for help, making themselves sound pathetic—those who see through it know it' s all a lie.
And the man in front of me seemed like one who could tell. When I told the truth, he didn' t believe I was Elda.
Then he played a psychological game, lowering the price, and I played along with my role.
The role of a lying kid who wants to be taken in.
"One copper coin."
When he said that, I pretended to look stressed and quickly shouted, "Fine! I' ll tell you the way!"
And with the instincts of a slum kid—money comes, information spills.
I stretched out my hand, took the coin, and tucked it into the pocket sewn into my shirt by Sister Calika.
If I' d been greedy and given the information right away for three coins, he' d have thought I was lying, and I wouldn' t have been able to trick him.
They' re going after kids anyway, right? Might as well stop by and do some good to help them.
So I gave him directions to the hideout of the child-snatching gang, along with some landmarks.
If he asked about something else, I might' ve helped, but when it comes to my family, I' d never let him find my sisters unless I was sure he meant well.
The result? He half-believed, half-doubted me. That meant I' d successfully tricked him.
I grabbed my wooden bucket and took another route, circling around in case they followed.
I pulled the cloth plugging the leak, letting the water drip out little by little to lighten the bucket.
To avoid the sound of water hitting the ground, I let it trickle down my leg.
Slum folks have sharp ears, so whoever' s tracking me isn' t that skilled.
Two of them, maybe? To catch one kid? They' re definitely not here for anything good.
I quickened my pace slightly, listening for sounds the whole time.
If they rushed me, I' d drop the bucket instantly.
Luckily, they didn' t charge until I reached my destination.
I swung the wooden bucket through the cloth door of the house I' d targeted. The bucket sailed through easily.
Slum houses are as cramped as rat holes, so the people inside jolted awake, screaming when the bucket hit them.
"Ow! What the hell?!"
I shouted inside, "Get 'em!"
Then I ran full speed.
The homeowner charged out with an iron rod.
"Who wants to die?!"
The trackers ran right into Yaz, a local thug who loves picking fights with the weak.
While escaping, I kept listening. Besides Yaz' s fighting noises, there were footsteps chasing me.
Just one left.
I darted through alleys and squeezed through gaps only a kid could fit.
I wanted to hide quietly, but the guy used fire magic to burn behind me, so I couldn' t.
He was pissed about having to chase me, sometimes shooting fire magic ahead to block me.
I didn' t dodge—I ran straight through the flames, even though it burned my whole body. Better than stopping or circling and letting him catch me.
Time' s almost up.
My body can' t keep going for long. My heart' s slowing, and breathing' s getting hard.
I reached another house, my next target.
I took a deep breath and shouted, "The guild' s here to take you down!"
Boom!
"Ow!"
A fireball exploded into my back, sending me flying into another abandoned house.
The fire burned my back, the smell of charred flesh filling the air.
I bit my finger to stifle my screams.
I' d hit my limit.
I couldn' t… breathe…
I had to hide. I crawled, my heart feeling crushed, my vision blurring.
I dragged myself into the house' s latrine, a tiny room with a wooden partition and a bucket. When it' s full, you dump it in the canal.
An abandoned house like this is where people come to relieve themselves since no one' s responsible for emptying it.
I pulled the bucket filled with waste and maggots over myself, covering my body, and curled up inside.
I' d rather die in this filth than be tortured and give up my sisters' location.
I love you, Sister Tiara, Sister Calika.
Tears streamed down as my heartbeat stopped.
*****
Calika Nehu
The carriage passed through the city gate easily. The guards only asked us to open the window so they could look inside.
They were shocked and stared at me but didn' t even question or search us.
They even gave their names and home addresses, saying to come to them if we had any problems.
I could only give a dry smile and wave before closing the window, goosebumps rising.
I' m not used to being treated this kindly at all.
The carriage headed toward the slums. I was about to get off, but Lady Lera hadn' t woken up yet.
The ice horse turned its head to look at me and nodded toward the slums.
I realized it wanted me to give directions.
"Go straight ahead," I said.
The ice horse followed my directions perfectly.
Wow, this ice horse is so smart.
With the carriage' s speed, we neared the house in no time.
It wasn' t even morning yet, but the alley near my house was lit up with blazing fires, and I heard a girl' s screams.
I clenched my fists and shouted without thinking.
"Turn into this alley!"
As the carriage turned, I saw the source of the fire—my house.
I propped Lady Lera against the other side and rushed out toward the house.
"Sister Tiara!"
I was about to beg that Sister Tiara wasn' t trapped inside.
But in the flames, I saw someone writhing and screaming—it looked like Sister Tiara.
"Sister Tiaraaaa!"
I ran through the crowd, charging into the fire without a care for my life.
Whoosh!
But before I reached it, the flames were swallowed by ice and extinguished.
As the ice melted away, I ran to Sister Tiara, who was burned beyond recognition, hugging her and calling her name nonstop.
"No! Sister Tiara! Wake up! I' m back! Sister, please! Wake up! Answer me! Sister Tiara! Don' t leave me! I' m begging you!"
I pressed my finger to her nose but could barely feel any breath.
"It' s too late. She' s too far gone," Lady Lera said, appearing beside me, shaking her head gravely.
"Please, save my sister! Lady Lera, I beg you! I' ll do anything! Please!" I sobbed, tears streaming.
"I can only prolong her condition for now. Without an S-rank healer or an elixir from a dungeon above the 100th floor, there' s no saving her."
"Do it! Please, keep her alive!" I pleaded through tears.
Lady Lera nodded. "Lay her down and step back."
I gently placed Sister Tiara down, reluctant to let go—she seemed like she could stop breathing any moment. But I trusted Lady Lera.
"Absolute Zero."
A powerful blue magic enveloped Sister Tiara' s entire body. Soon, she was frozen solid, her body white.
"Ice Coffin."
Lady Lera created a luxurious, beautiful ice coffin to encase and protect Sister Tiara further.
"Don' t worry. She' ll stay alive until the Absolute Zero spell is lifted. The ice coffin won' t melt unless it' s hit by high-level fire magic."
"Thank you. Thank you so much," I said, bowing deeply to Lady Lera, unashamed.
Then I remembered Elda.
I looked at the ruins of the house—no other bodies. I turned to the people who' d watched Sister Tiara burn without a care.
They were all frozen by Lady Lera, only their eyes moving.
"Why did you do this to my sister?! Where' s Elda?!"
I clenched my fists in rage. We' d never hurt or provoked anyone.
Why did these people have to do such cruel things to my family?