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085 Give the
Children Jobs!
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Translator : PolterGlast
The market stalls were
still crowded even in the evening. I bought skewered meats, sandwiches, and
other foods, then tossed them into my Item Box. It was getting dark, and I was
about to head back when a boy, about 10 years old, came running and almost
collided with me. I swiftly dodged. The boy, who had passed between Rosalina
and me, looked at me with a bewildered expression. I placed my hand on his
head.
"You're lucky it
was me," I said.
"Tch," the
boy clicked his tongue and ran off.
"Is something
wrong with that child?" Anneliese asked.
"That was a
cutpurse, Anneliese."
"A
cutpurse...?" She might not have understood because it was an old word, or
maybe it was a word only used in my previous world.
"A
pickpocket," I clarified.
"Oh my, a
pickpocket."
"Pickpocketing is
not good-nanodesu." Rosalina added.
"To target
Master's purse, what a reckless boy," Bath chimed in. My current main job
was Heroic Sword Master Lv35, and my sub-job was Assassin Lv41. Even if a
low-level bandit tried to pickpocket me, my senses would tell me he was
targeting my purse.
"His job was
Bandit," I noted. It was probably unavoidable for a child living in
poverty to resort to stealing to survive. The country couldn't possibly protect
all such children. I understood that. But if the former Minister of Finance and
Count Erbasil had kept their money, children like that wouldn't have to commit
crimes. I'll just have to hope for the Princess's future leadership...
"To think such a
young child is a bandit..." Anneliese was kind-hearted, so it must pain
her.
"A samurai
doesn't eat, but he carries a toothpick," Rosalina recited.
"Why does
Rosalina know a phrase like that?" I asked, surprised.
"Yamato-sama
taught me-nanodesu!" she replied. That guy, huh? Well, it's not a strange
phrase, so it's fine. And besides, that child isn't a samurai.
"Should we catch
him now?" Bath asked.
"I wasn't harmed,
so there's no need to go that far," I replied. Others might be harmed, but
catching pickpockets wasn't my job.
"However, Master
is a noble. If someone targets your purse, that person can't complain even if
their arm is cut off," Bath stated, his tone strict.
"Toi-sama. Look
at that..." Anneliese said, gesturing towards a spot slightly off the main
street. Three children, less than 10 years old, huddled together. They seemed
to be huddling for warmth.
"It pains my
heart to think that those children are suffering from hunger," Anneliese
murmured. My heart ached too, but there was nothing I could do... I thought
that, but the urge to help them pained me fiercely.
"Even if we help
those children, we can't help everyone. You understand that, right?" I
said, addressing Anneliese, but it was almost like I was trying to convince
myself.
"Yes..." she
replied softly.
"But if we lend a
hand to those children now, those three will be able to eat their fill," I
said.
"Then!?"
Anneliese exclaimed.
"Yes, if there's
a life we can save, let's save it," I decided.
"Yes!"
Anneliese cheered. It might be cheap sentimentality, but if it satisfied my
heart, then it was fine.
I bought out all the
skewered meats and sandwiches from the stalls. It was closing time, so the
vendors gleefully sold off everything.
"You children,
you must be hungry. Come here," Anneliese called out gently.
"Wh-what do you
want? We didn't do anything!" the eldest boy, who seemed to be the leader,
stood protectively in front of the other two. The two behind him, whether boys
or girls, were incredibly skinny.
"Eat this,"
Anneliese offered, holding out a skewer of grilled meat. It was from the stall
we just bought out.
"C-can we eat
it?" the boy asked, hesitant.
"Yes, it's fine.
There's plenty, so eat," Anneliese encouraged. The three children eagerly
took the skewers and bit into them. I wasn't impressed that they didn't say
thank you, but they must have been incredibly hungry.
The skewered meats
were quickly devoured, and then I offered them three sandwiches.
"If you eat too
fast, you'll choke," I warned.
"Cough, cough,
cough!" The smallest child choked, so I gently patted his back. He was
very thin.
"Do you want more
to eat?" I asked.
"You'll give us
more!?" the boy exclaimed, his voice regaining strength after eating meat.
"If you work,
I'll feed you until you're full," I promised.
"Wh-what do you
want us to do?" the boy asked, wary.
"It's nothing
difficult. It's work even you can do," I replied. It might be arrogant for
someone like me, who lived a life free of food worries in my previous world, to
say this, but "no work, no food."
"Bring your
comrades too. I'll give them work," I offered.
"Really!?"
"The condition is
that you take it seriously. Then I'll feed you until you're stuffed," I
promised.
"I'll go get everyone
right away!" the boy cried, then dashed off.
"We'll wait here.
It'll get dark soon, so hurry back," Anneliese called out gently.
"Okay!" (All
three)
The three children
disappeared into the depths of the town. I wondered if it was just my cynical
nature to assume trusting strangers so easily would only lead to trouble. Well,
I had no intention of doing anything to them, though.
"Bath. Go buy as
much food as you can from the surrounding stalls," I instructed.
"Understood!"
he replied. I handed him a leather pouch filled with money and sent him off to
buy supplies. I didn't know how many children would gather, so I had to prepare
as much as possible. Bath, with his Item Box, should be able to handle a large
purchase.
"Rosalina, go to
the nearby general store and buy some burlap sacks," I ordered.
"Yes-nanodesu!"
she chirped. Burlap sacks were needed for the work I would give the children.
***
"Well, well, so
many have gathered..." I murmured. About 30 boys and girls stood before
us. All of them looked hungry, their faces reflecting their desperate struggle
to survive.
"First, eat
this," I instructed. Anneliese, Rosalina, and Bath distributed the food to
everyone.
"No one will take
it, so eat slowly," I said. Even so, the food vanished into their stomachs
in an instant. That's how hungry these children were.
"My name is Toi.
From now on, I will give you work, so line up in a single file and come forward
one by one," I announced. The first child in line was the eldest boy among
the three I first fed.
"I don't like
pain," he muttered.
"It's alright.
What's your name?" I asked gently.
"Poos," he
replied.
"Poos, huh?
Alright, Poos, go pick up enough garbage to fill this bag," I instructed.
"Huh?" he
asked.
"Didn't you hear
me? I told you to pick up garbage. If you bring that garbage here tomorrow
morning, I'll give you food," I explained.
"Just picking up
garbage is enough? Understood! You'd better give me food for sure!" he
exclaimed.
"I keep my
promises. Pick up the garbage thoroughly. And listen, it's fallen garbage.
Don't go rummaging through trash cans. Only garbage lying on the street,"
I clarified.
"Okay! Garbage on
the street!" Poos said, taking the bag and running off.
I wasn't thinking of
cleaning up the royal capital, not really. This was just an excuse to give them
food. If they did the work of picking up garbage, they would receive food as
compensation. The children would receive compensation, and I would feel
satisfied. The garbage could be disposed of in the dungeon the next time I entered,
so I wouldn't have any trouble with disposal. That place swallows up anything,
whether it's corpses or garbage after all.
Next was a girl...
probably a girl. Honestly, it was hard to tell their gender. I handed her a bag
too.
"What's your
name?" I asked.
"Chami," she
replied.
"Chami, you also
pick up garbage from the streets and bring it here tomorrow morning."
"Okay," she
replied. I continued to hand out bags to the children one after another.
I handed out bags one
by one to use Detailed Appraisal on each child. If they were injured or sick, I
would heal them with my Holy Forgiver skill, which I had set as my sub-job.
Fortunately, none of the children had any serious illnesses so far. Their
injuries were only minor scrapes. All of them had a problem with malnutrition,
but there was nothing I could do about that with skills.
"Last child.
What's your name?" It was a boy with a slender build, similar to the
children I had seen so far.
"It's
Lilith," she replied. Huh, a girl? That was rude of me.
I used Detailed
Appraisal on the girl, Lilith.
"..." Huh?
What's with this child? She looked about 9 years old, but her actual age was
12. She was underdeveloped. No, that's not what matters, that's not...
"Ah, um... I want
to pick up garbage too," Lilith said, tears welling up in her eyes when
she saw me surprised by the appraisal results.
"Alright. Lilith,
you also pick up garbage from the streets and come here tomorrow morning,"
I instructed.
"Yes. Thank
you!" Lilith said, taking a bag and running off. It might be strange
coming from me, who looks like a girl, but she looked like a boy no matter how
I looked at her.
"Was there
something wrong with that child named Lilith?" Anneliese asked. As
expected of Anneliese. She noticed I had used Detailed Appraisal. I confirmed
no one else was around us and then answered Anneliese's question.
"That child has a
job she can change to," I revealed.
"It's not
surprising if they help with household chores from a young age, even children
can change to jobs like Farmer or Merchant, but since Toi-sama was surprised,
is it a rare job?" Anneliese asked.
"As expected,
Anneliese is amazing. You're right," I replied. Moreover, it was a job
that would be problematic if the wrong people knew about it.
"Will you protect
her?" Anneliese asked.
"Hmm... it
depends on Lilith, I guess. Even if we decide to protect her, she might find it
a nuisance," I replied.
"But you won't
abandon her, will you?" Anneliese pressed.
"That's right. I
want to do what I can for her," I conceded. For now, tomorrow morning it
is.
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