Chapter 43: The Sea of Swamps
“Look over there.”
He pointed towards the inner part of the empty lot.
“…What is that?”
Sue’s face instantly paled. The boy, as if understanding her feelings, fidgeted nervously and said,
“She’s my friend. Can you help her?”
“……”
The boy’s friend was a very petite, skinny girl.
“You filthy little bitch!”
Sue flinched at the sound of a man’s booming voice. A thud echoed through the air. A scene she couldn’t believe unfolded before her eyes. The small, frail girl was being repeatedly beaten by a large man.
“I told you not to come here during the barrier inspection! You crossed the bridge anyway?! There’s a limit to my patience!”
Sue looked away as the man’s fist, larger than the girl’s face, struck her head. Her body stiffened. She turned to the boy, who was clutching her robe with tearful eyes, and asked urgently,
“What about the… the others…?”
“They won’t help. She’s from the Wastelands.”
The Wastelands.
Sue understood everything with that single word.
Her mouth went dry. She looked around, hoping against hope, but the few people who passed by the empty lot all ignored the scene. They walked past Sue and the boy with indifferent expressions, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
‘That’s… that’s how it is…’
At least for the people of this village. For the people of Atlantis. It wasn’t strange for them to see a small child, half the size of a grown man, being beaten mercilessly. The only one who was truly worried about the girl was the boy with the buzz cut who had brought Sue here.
“You little piece of trash…!”
“Stop it!”
Sue cried out involuntarily as the man’s fist swung through the air once more. The fist stopped just before it hit the girl’s face.
“Who’s there?”
The large man threw the girl aside and glared at Sue. He didn’t look as intimidating as she had expected. In fact, he was dressed more neatly than the other villagers. Just like Sue.
“…Stop hitting her.”
Sue said, her voice tense.
A noble? No, maybe the son of a merchant from a nearby town.
The man seemed to be thinking the same thing as he looked Sue up and down. He scoffed.
“Hah. Are you some high-born lady? No, I guess not.”
“……”
He put one hand in his pocket and ran the other through his hair.
Sue, trapped in the man’s shadow, felt a surge of fear. But she didn’t show it and glared back at him.
Sue checked on the little girl, who was lying on the ground, coughing. Her nose was bleeding. But her injuries didn’t seem that serious, as she sat up and wiped the blood from her nose without Sue’s help. The man chuckled, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“That cockroach. She’s as tough as a monster.”
Sue glared at him, her anger flaring.
“What are you doing, hitting a child like that? You’re a grown man!”
“Don’t act all righteous. Who are you? I’m the heir to the Pellington Trading Company. You’ve heard of us, right?”
She hadn’t. But judging from his confidence, he must have been the son of a wealthy merchant.
The man smirked when Sue remained silent.
“Whatever. You’re an outsider, right?”
“…”
“Then don’t interfere in our village affairs. This girl is trash from the Wastelands. She has the nerve to come here every day… As a major sponsor of Emnon, I have the right to discipline her. It’s part of maintaining order in the village.”
He wasn’t wrong. Sue was an outsider who had nothing to do with Emnon, and it wasn’t wrong to throw stones at a Wastelands resident who had trespassed. The man clicked his tongue and rolled his wrist.
“And she had to come during the Knights’ inspection, of all times. If this gets out, we’ll be in trouble.”
“…Then she just has to go back to the Wastelands, right?”
Sue narrowed her eyes and spoke quietly.
“I’ll take her back to the Wastelands, so please stop hitting her today.”
It didn’t matter whether he was truly ‘disciplining’ the girl for the sake of the village or just taking out his anger on her. Or even what kind of suffering awaited her back in the Wastelands.
The most important thing was that she didn’t get hit any more, not while Sue was watching. That was all.
The man stared at her in disbelief.
“Oh, look, a saint has arrived. A saint.”
“…”
“I told you not to interfere in our village affairs. Was my advice that easy to dismiss?”
“It wasn’t easy to dismiss. That’s why I’m asking you to stop, just for today.”
“….”
It was a stubborn plea, but Sue desperately hoped he would just let it go. She even imagined herself pulling out her Skia medal if she had to, but fortunately, the man seemed reluctant to argue further and backed down easily.
“Fine. I don’t want to get into a fight with an outsider either. Consider it a favor to our merciful saint.”
“Thank you.”
Sue bowed her head in gratitude, ignoring his sarcasm.
“Well, she’ll be back tomorrow anyway.”
With those words, the man left the empty lot, his face bored and disinterested. As soon as he was out of sight, the boy with the buzz cut came running out from the bushes.
“Airan! Are you okay?!”
The boy, who called the girl Airan, hovered around her anxiously. As if concerned by his worry, Airan wiped the blood from her nose with a grin.
“I’m fine. I’m strong! …Whoa!”
Airan tried to stand up, but she lost her balance and swayed. Sue quickly caught her.
‘She’s putting on a brave face…’
“Wait a minute.”
Sue knelt down and brushed the dirt off Airan’s clothes. The clothes were already patched and worn, so it didn’t make much difference. Airan patiently endured Sue’s clumsy touch.
“Thank you!”
Her voice, filled with cheerfulness, was unexpectedly bright for someone who had just been beaten.
After the situation calmed down, Sue spoke awkwardly.
“Um… Little one.”
“I’m not ‘Little one’, I’m Airan!”
“Okay, okay, Airan.”
“Yes! I’m Airan! Tony, you asked this sister for help, right? You’re amazing! What’s your name, sister? Where are you from? Can you use magic? Are you strong? Your red hair is pretty! Your eyes are red too? Pretty!”
Airan, excited, started chattering, her thoughts spilling out in a jumble.
“You even beat Mr. Pellington! You’re the best! Amazing!”
“R-really…? Well… I guess I am pretty amazing…”
Sue’s ego swelled at the sudden barrage of compliments, her lips curving into a smile. It was unexpected, but perhaps people really did thrive on praise.
“Anyway, little… I mean, Airan. It’s getting late, so let’s go home. I made a promise with that Pellington guy. Can you do that?”
“Okay! I’ll keep my promise because you’re a nice sister!”
Airan gave her a thumbs up. Sue chuckled at her cheerful gesture.
She had messy, brown bobbed hair, a gap in her front teeth from a missing tooth, and old, worn clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in a while. She wasn’t a particularly attractive girl, but she smiled more brightly than anyone Sue had ever met.
Sue was also good at smiling, but it was just an act.
“I’m going home too if you’re going back to the Wastelands. Mom will get mad if I go to the bridge.”
Tony, the boy with the buzz cut, said, wiping his nose.
“Okay! See you later, Tony! I’ll come play again tomorrow!”
“You’ll just get beaten up again…”
“We can just hide and play! It’ll be like playing hide-and-seek with Mr. Pellington!”
Airan replied, her voice full of optimism. Tony scratched his head, seemingly troubled by her endless positivity.
“Ugh… Whatever! Just hide well, like you said. I’m really going now. Oh, and thank you for helping Airan, sis!”
Tony waved goodbye and left the empty lot. Sue and Airan waved back enthusiastically.
“Let’s go, sister!”
Airan grabbed Sue’s hand. Her hand was small and rough. Sue awkwardly held her hand back.
“Airan, the place you live…”
“The Wastelands!”
“Uh, yes, that’s right. The Wastelands.”
She didn’t want to say it out loud. Sue gulped, watching Airan, who didn’t seem to mind.
“Let’s go together. I’ll take you there.”