C25
Three days had passed since I received the fragment from Richard.
Now, thankfully, there was no such thing as being palm-sized.
However, if you were to ask me if I could switch back and forth between lizard and human at will, that was not the case.
"There's no place I can learn this."
Normally, I would learn from my parents, but unfortunately, I was an orphan who didn't even know her parents.
"Ugh, is it here again...?"
"I'm offended..."
"Did you see her tail? It's disgusting..."
"Why is Richard acting so strange...?"
"Has it been like this for only a day or two?"
"But don't they say that Suins are inferior to humans? They picked her up on the way. Suins without owners or parents are like slaves."
Even if they stab at a painful place, they stab it well. I pretended not to hear what the children were saying and accepted the food.
Richard is late today.
Since he said he was going to train hard, he might be training hand in hand with Albion.
"Hey, where are you from?"
I looked at the boy who came up to my side. Judging by his large size, he looked to be around ten years old.
"I don't know?"
"Is Richard your master?"
I chewed my food and smiled at the boy.
"Ugh... Don't, don't laugh! I, a human, am asking you!"
The boy yelled with a red face as if he were embarrassed because I wasn't scared.
"Yes, but do I have to answer?"
"Of course you do! I'm a human, and you're a Suin!"
I tilted my head, chewing the meat I hadn't eaten in a long time.
"Both in the past and in the present, these adults and children don't change even if the world changes or times are different."
The only thing that changed was a person's appearance.
"I'm a person. Not a beast."
"W-with such a monstrous tail... What's the difference between you and Richard?"
My appetite plummeted.
I dropped the fork as if I tossed it lightly.
"We're the same."
"What?"
"Richard and I are the same. I'm lonely just like Richard."
I couldn't make a lonely child feel much lonelier here.
"If I do something wrong, his life will disappear without a word."
I wondered if it would be good to say something about the great madman Richard would become in the future, so I got up, and a small hand landed on my head from behind.
"You spoke well, BamBam."
My eyes opened wide at the touch from behind.
"Richard...?"
"Yes, my BamBam."
I wish I could say something about the name BamBam.
"Hey, you, pig is... No. I've decided not to use that word anymore."
Richard murmured quietly but soon shut his mouth with a slap.
"Hey, damn gorilla."
Is it a fight between a pig and a gorilla?
"If you touch my BamBam again, you'll die. Next time, you'll end up in the garbage can forever."
Richard quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me. The boy's fingertips were trembling slightly.
"Aren't you hurt?"
I shook my head slowly. It was just an exchange of words, so of course, there were no injuries.
Richard re-entered the room with his mouth closed.
Then, standing face to face in front of me, he looked around my body and hugged me tightly.
"...Don't hurt yourself."
How long has it been since someone cared about me in this way?
Unconsciously, I let out a response with a sigh.
"Yes."
"Don't even leave my side. You're like my family, so stay by my side."
"I'm sorry, I ate alone because you didn't come."
"I'll come earlier next time. Today, that damn director made me go around and around doing something I couldn't..."
Listening to the grumbling voice and looking at Richard, he clearly looked dirty here and there.
It was as if he hadn't rolled on the ground just once or twice.
Still, seeing that he didn't have a single wound, it seemed like he knew how good Albion was.
"Albion had a strict temperament..."
Never again would his children die because they couldn't defend their lives.
Albion roamed the empire's rural towns every night with that wish, taking care of the children who lost their parents.
"Come to think of it, the day will come when Albion will soon depart for the capital..."
At that time, Albion will connect with the heroine.
He will also serve as her temporary escort at some events in the capital.
Then, later on, the heroine arrives at the point of supporting the Germination Time orphanage...
"This is where Richard first meets the heroine."
Now that I think about it, everyone who leaves
has a connection with the heroine.
I'm jealous.
What's it like to have a life where you only have to walk on well-established rails?
"Oh, isn't it perfect...?"
I pounded my fist into my left palm and opened my eyes.
"Bam Bam?"
Richard, who had been holding me from behind for a long time, slowly let go.
"Let's go on a trip!"
"A trip? Where to?"
"To the capital!"
"I want to too, but the director won't allow it."
"It's okay, we'll go secretly. We'll go with the director!"
"...Together with the director?"
"Yes!"
Richard smiled and nodded.
"Alright then."
I knew it wouldn't work anyway, but there was a strong signal that we would somehow match the pace. However, it would soon become a reality.
"Richard, don't become a crazy psycho, but a great nutjob."
It won't change that he'll be crazy, but it's better than nothing.
Richard sat me in the desk chair and began unfolding the blanket.
They were two blankets he had obtained from the director.
Albion wanted to put me in the room where the girls stayed, but the situation was special, similar to Richard's, so he ended up agreeing.
"BamBam, come here."
Richard smiled brightly and opened his arms for me. It was a truly heartwarming look.
As I got down from the chair and approached the blanket, the boy laid me down and pulled the thick blanket up to my neck.
"Is your tail uncomfortable?"
"Nope."
The tail was easier to control than I thought. It didn't hurt when I sat down.
"I'm glad I met you."
"..."
"You are the greatest fortune I have ever met in my life."
The boy smiled brightly and took my hands within the folds of the blanket.
[Oh, am I in the same class as her? I'm really unlucky, this is the worst...]
[Ah, do I have to group with her? I'm really mad.]
"Hey, do you know how disgusting and horrible it is that someone as dirty as you is my older sister?"
"It wasn't my intention to give birth to you... Creating and giving birth to you is the biggest failure of my life!"
I slowly closed my eyes at the old memories that suddenly came to mind and the warmth I felt in my hands.
"Goodnight, Erin."
At the end of the hushed voice, my mind sank deeply.
"...My BamBam is surprisingly bold."
Richard, who was hiding with me under the carriage seat, said.
Early this morning, Albion introduced a new teacher and said he would be away for a while.
A carriage had been waiting in front of the orphanage since early morning, so it was clear that today was the day Albion was leaving.
And I immediately dragged Richard and we hid under the carriage seat while the coachman went to the bathroom for a while.
We were supposed to reveal our presence halfway.
"The reason Albion went out this time was for the underground auction."
I remember that the largest auction in the empire was where people were bought and sold.
Slavery had disappeared on the surface, but as the vices of war still prevailed, people who indulged in such low-level behavior flowed underground.
"And there, he'll meet the heroine."
Ah, why is the female protagonist here...? It was because she was kidnapped while shopping for a while.
The guys who kidnapped the cute and pretty heroine were criminals looking for something to sell at the underground auction...
"Of course, Albion saves the heroine..."
If you look at everything like this, it seems like the world is revolving around the heroine.
"At this point, the female protagonist must have made friends with everyone in the mansion."
I'm sure she'll be loved by everyone.
How great would it be if I could be like the heroine?
"Let's go."
Amidst that daydream, I heard Albion's voice.
Richard and I quickly closed our mouths and then opened our eyes.
"Yes, let's go!"
The coachman sat in the seat.
Richard was right under him, barely breathing.
For some reason, the boy turned his head with a flushed face and stared at the man's shoe heel.
Thud
Soon, the carriage departed...
And the hell began.
