Chapter 3: Punk City's Human Boy (2)

The morning mealtime at the orphanage ends with the older children heading out, leaving only the younger ones behind.

Those who leave work to earn money until dinner time.

The subsidies provided by the government or institutions are woefully insufficient to run the orphanage.

Though one might think the children wouldn't earn much, they can at least save on lunch expenses.

That alone keeps the orphanage barely afloat.

“May the children return safely today as well.”

The Orphanage Principal prayed with her head bowed towards the cross.

After praying, she cared for the children who were too young to go out and remained at the orphanage.

Caring for them involved teaching them letters and common sense, then letting them play inside the orphanage.

Watching the children frolicking in the playground, she thought of the children who had gone out.

She sent them out to earn money by running errands, but in reality, less than half of them actually did so.

Most of them often fell into bad paths.

Gangs, Scavengers, Child Mercenaries...

Teenagers in their prime seemed to find holding a gun so cool that they often went down those paths.

Besides looking cool, it was also because they could earn more money than running errands.

Even in this current group, there were a few children who joined gangs.

- What's this tattoo all of a sudden?

- That, Sister... It's just... for fun.

Most of them, still having some conscience, tried to hide their tattoos or make excuses so as not to worry the nuns.

But their attempts were meaningless.

She'd been running this orphanage for several years.

She knew which gang had what tattoo and where they placed it.

Still, she pretended not to know and turned a blind eye.

She loved the children and knew how dangerous gangs were.

She knew the sorrow of meeting a graduate of the orphanage at a funeral home.

Nevertheless, there was nothing she could do.

The reason the orphanage could remain safe as neutral ground in the slums was because the children from here were members of various gangs.

Some of them were even gang executives, so gunfights were prohibited near the orphanage.

In other words, gangs were a necessary evil for the orphanage.

‘Come to think of it, even in a place like this, those children grew up so well…’

But even in the mud, flowers bloom.

There were children who didn't stray down the wrong path and grew up well like ordinary children.

Amon and Sonia.

They did not lose their goodness even in this environment.

One bad apple spoils the bunch.

But conversely, a single lotus flower blooming in muddy water can cleanse the water.

The murkier the water, the more the lotus stands out.

There were two such lotuses.

Thanks to them, there were more children in this group who didn't go down the wrong path compared to other groups.

Just a few years ago, children who joined gangs would invite other children, and the children who grew up watching them would join gangs, creating a vicious cycle.

But this group at least wasn't openly promoting gangs.

The Principal was truly grateful for the two children who were like lotus flowers.

It was because of their arrival, as if sent by God, that she could dream of a better future.

At the same time, she felt sorry.

Their talents were like jewels.

So brilliant that they couldn't be covered even by mud.

If they had met good parents, they could have spread their wings in a wider world.

‘I wonder if I’m holding them back…’

Listing their talents was endless.

Beauty that rivaled child actors, excellent athletic ability, and sharp minds.

But among their many talents, what made them truly special was their Divine Power.

Divine Power was a special ability that appeared in one out of tens of thousands of people.

Almost everyone was born with Magical Power, but not Divine Power.

Magical Power was easy to replace, and most of it could be replicated with other skills, but the miracles created by Divine Power could not be replaced by other resources.

Therefore, those with Divine Power were talents that corporations, governments, and religions were eager to recruit.

The Principal realized their Divine Power because of an incident when they were nine years old.

A fight between the children that started over nothing.

She saw Divine Power emanating from Amon as he tried to stop the fight.

- You shouldn't fight with your friends. The only ones you can use violence against are Heathens, Beasts, and Monsters.

Amon subdued his friends with somewhat disturbing words.

Among them were many races inherently strong, like Orcs and Beastkin, but Amon easily subdued them.

He emitted such an overwhelming amount of Divine Power that even the Principal, with her limited knowledge of Divine Power, was instantly certain.

The orphanage was turned upside down that day.

Later, Sonia’s Divine Power was discovered in a similar way, and the orphanage was turned upside down once more.

Two possessors of Divine Power in one orphanage.

The Principal toasted to this group, calling them the blessed generation.

But the joy was short-lived.

Divine Power was a power everyone desired, but Amon and Sonia were two people.

It meant that not everyone could have Divine Power.

In this world, there were plenty of corporations imbued with the mindset of destroying what they couldn't have.

The Principal's sense of crisis, recalling that fact, rang alarm bells.

Fortunately, she was the only one who recognized their Divine Power at the time.

As long as she kept her mouth shut, the children were safe.

‘Of course, corporations and governments weren't easy either…’

But there were no perfect secrets in this world.

Sonia's Divine Power was moderate enough to be concealed within the orphanage, but Amon's overwhelming Divine Power was so intense that everyone outside the orphanage could notice it.

As a result, company employees and government officials suddenly started visiting the orphanage after that day.

Along with donated goods and subsidies.

It wasn't difficult to figure out their intentions.

But the Principal played dumb.

Even if someone tried to sound her out,

- [By the way... do you happen to be able to sense Divine Power, Principal?]

- [No, not at all.]

She acted like she knew nothing about Divine Power.

There were numerous leading questions, but she didn't even react.

As a result, the organizations couldn't get any information beyond the fact that there were Divine Power possessors in this orphanage.

In this precarious standoff, the organizations couldn't cut off their support, and the orphanage gradually became more affluent.

So far, it was a good thing for everyone.

But the more affluent the orphanage became, the more the Principal’s heart felt constricted.

‘Am I suppressing their potential?’

Deceive your allies first if you want to deceive your enemies.

For the sake of secrecy, she only vaguely told the children themselves that they had special powers, thoroughly concealing the fact that they possessed Divine Power.

She had no intention of monopolizing them.

It was simply to protect them.

It was a choice made out of love for those children.

But no matter how much it was for their sake, she always lived with guilt, as if she were suppressing their talents.

She rested her arm on her prosthetic leg, bowed her head, and closed her eyes to relieve her guilt.

“Lord, please let those children return safely today as well.”

There's no finger that doesn't hurt.

But as humans, there are fingers that hurt more than others.

That's why the Principal offered a slightly more special prayer for her sore fingers.

Even though she knew the other children would feel left out.

***

On their way back after finishing Goat Beastkin Johnson's errand.

It was another ordinary day.

Deliveries were finished by successfully avoiding the gunshots heard from somewhere.

Ding-dong!

A notification arrived on Amon and Sonia's phones.

It was a message stating that $75 had been deposited into their accounts.

$75 for 8 hours of work.

A price that told the minimum wage for delivery workers to go to hell.

But they didn't complain.

Sonia and Amon were pure humans who hadn't received Genetic Enhancement Treatment, Nano Machines, or Magic Engraving Treatment.

Comparing their workload to that of professional delivery workers was a shameless act.

Besides, they weren't desperate for money right now.

Rather, $75 was considered a lot of earnings at the orphanage.

Combining this amount with their monthly allowance would give them savings enough to dream of a little luxury.

Therefore, they were satisfied with their earnings for the day and headed home.

The familiar sounds of gunshots in the distance and police cars rushing somewhere.

Amidst that everyday life, Amon and Sonia crossed the street, swinging bags filled with french fries for their younger siblings.

While Amon carefully looked left and right, wary of the possible appearance of speeders who ignored traffic signals, Sonia spoke to him.

“Amon. Are you going to tithe that too?”

“Yeah. Of course, I have to.”

Blessed with looks and talent.

Amon didn't want to be an ungrateful beast.

Sonia nodded after hearing Amon’s answer.

“Then, can I tithe with you too?”

“Of course you can. Why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“But those kids make fun of us, calling us suckers for doing that.”

“Ah, those kids?”

Amon thought of the ‘those kids’ Sonia was talking about.

They were what you would call a bad crowd.

You know.

The kind that preferred fists over words, misdeeds over good deeds, and curses over kind words.

The kind that bullied innocent children, claiming that the world being this way was the reason they were twisted.

Amon wasn't particularly close to them.

It was because they had tried to establish dominance over Amon and ended up getting beaten up collectively.

After that, they didn’t directly mess with Amon, but they changed their strategy to isolate him as much as possible.

Thanks to Amon’s shining(?) personality, that strategy didn’t work very well.

Them teasing Sonia was also part of that.

They called tithing a sucker’s move to try and paint Amon as a sucker.

But Amon didn’t care.

Instead, he persuaded Sonia about how good tithing was.

“Tithing is like a ritual for me to remember to be grateful.”

“Grateful?”

“Yeah. Gratitude for being blessed like this, gratitude for having spent the day safely, gratitude for meeting a good person like you. It’s to maintain these feelings.”

At the end of his explanation, he didn’t forget to add that tithing wasn't compulsory and should be done as one’s heart dictates.

Sonia was quickly persuaded by Amon’s gentle explanation.

“Then, I should tithe too so I don’t forget to be grateful for meeting Amon, right?”

“If that’s what you truly desire.”

The existence of ‘those kids’ had long been forgotten in Sonia’s mind.

Their conversation naturally shifted to the topic of everyday gratitude.

Gratitude for being able to grow up in an orphanage despite being orphans.

Gratitude for the Principal who was devoted to them.

Gratitude for adults like Johnson who made up errands to give them pocket money.

Looking back, they could find things to be grateful for even in this crappy world.

“And I’m grateful that I can eat a lot of meat thanks to you!”

Amon awkwardly turned his head at Sonia’s words.

If what she said was true, wouldn't he own about 30% of her chest area-

He held onto that crazy thought.

Amon agreed with her.

As they talked, they almost arrived at the orphanage.

Wondering what tonight's dinner menu would be, Sonia happily ran ahead, and Amon followed behind her.

However, there were people blocking their way at the corner just before the orphanage.

‘Speak of the devil.’

Those kids.

A group of delinquent teenagers with sloppy clothes and annoying looks.

In short, bullies.

Whenever he saw them, Amon would recall how this ill-fated relationship began.

It wasn't a very complicated relationship.

They hit puberty earlier than others, mistook it for talent, acted like bullies, messed with Amon who was minding his own business, got thrashed, and held a grudge.

That was all.

Since then, they tried to harass Amon whenever they got the chance.

Since it mostly ended meaninglessly, Amon wasn't very interested.

Amon stood indifferently, waiting to see what kind of event they had brought this time.

The leader of the bullies, a kid named Jimmy, tried to provoke Amon, but seeing Amon’s continued indifference, finally got to the main point.

“Hey, punk. Do you know what this is?”

He took off his shirt.

A white snake tattoo.

It belonged to the <Children of the Snake> gang.

It was a fairly large gang in this city.

After showing his tattoo, Jimmy waited for Amon’s reaction.

Would he panic and blurt something out?

Or would he act tough despite being scared inside?

But Amon’s reaction was different from what he imagined.

“Yeah. Must've been tough filling the quota. Work hard starting tomorrow.”

He wasn’t interested.

Jimmy tried to retort, but couldn't because of the word ‘quota’ that came out of Amon’s mouth.

The white snake tattoo was a temporary tattoo given by the Children of the Snake to fill the quota before a demonstration.

The fact that Amon mentioned that meant he already knew their structure clearly.

Indeed, Amon knew the meaning of the white snake tattoo well.

‘How can a 50-year-old tradition continue unchanged?’

There was a sub-quest where you had to differentiate between executives, regular members, and quota fillers.

It was okay to deal with the members, but if you dealt with the quota fillers carelessly, a chain quest could be triggered, requiring careful control.

...In Amon’s case, he preferred just knocking them all out with a bat.

Anyway, Amon wasn’t particularly intimidated by Jimmy’s white snake tattoo.

There was no reason to.

That tattoo was like henna that would wash off with saliva, so there was no reason to be scared.

“Sonia, let’s go.”

Amon passed the bullies with bags full of french fries in both hands.

The bullies tried to block him, but...

“Uh-oh? These are snacks for you guys and your younger siblings, are you sure?”

...There’s no business in front of food.

The bullies hadn't been able to work because they were running around saying they were joining a gang.

With no money in their pockets and barely managing to get lunch, the temptation of french fries was too strong.

Besides, you have to pick your fights.

If, by any chance, those fries fell on the ground and became inedible, they’d be cursed in every language in the world by the orphans and the nuns.

Just imagining it made the bullies full enough to skip dinner.

They had no choice but to make way for Amon and Sonia.

It wasn’t that they succumbed to hunger, not at all.

Snicker.

Finding their appearance quite cute, Amon gave them a bag, telling them to eat a little before dinner.

The group was disbanded by Amon's sabotage.

Their loyalty to Jimmy was worth less than a bag of french fries.

“Eat moderately since you have to eat dinner. Clean up well before you come in so the kids don’t catch you.”

Amon left those words and went to the orphanage with Sonia.

Jimmy’s friends urged him to eat with them.

Jimmy wanted to kick the bag and ask if they had no pride, but he held back, fearing he’d lose his few remaining friends.

Instead, he squeezed out his remaining pride and refused, saying he wasn't hungry.

Jimmy turned his gaze from his friends to the direction Amon had gone.

‘That orphan punk dissed me?’

Grinding his teeth, Jimmy resented Amon.

Today was another victory for Amon.