A week passed.
Li Xiuman still wandered around White Bear City as its resident monster.
On Number Zero's end, it had already secured enough of Fantes's trust and was gradually drawing closer to his conspiracy.
When she went to treat that girl, she had already begun to gain her trust.
The girl referred to as the sacrifice was named Alice.
It was an incredibly cliché name.
Her father was a farmer who had no choice but to sell her due to their poor circumstances.
She was later purchased by Fantes, brought into the dungeon, and turned into a host for a special creature.
Exactly what Fantes planned to do with Alice, Li Xiuman did not know.
Nor did Li Xiuman have any intention of rescuing Alice.
He was certainly no saint—though for a skeleton, he possessed far too much of a conscience, practically a bleeding heart among skeletonkind.
In fact, Li Xiuman often lamented over being such a bleeding heart.
He was constantly getting hurt in this dog-eat-dog world because he was too honest.
The prerequisite for saving Alice was that she had to be worth the cost of his efforts to rescue.
Yet the truth was, neither Alice's identity nor her personal value was worth the price he would have to pay to save her.
Unless he figured out exactly what that thing parasitic inside Alice was, and it caught his interest.
On the street, Li Xiuman once again passed by the White Feather Merchant Association.
Perhaps due to the wondrous Elemental Magic of this magical world, the construction speed here was astonishing.
The construction of the White Feather Merchant Association was more than half complete.
It would probably open for business before long.
Li Xiuman loitered around here, also wondering if he might spot the big boss behind the White Feather Merchant Association.
And then drag them out into the wilderness, beat them up, and make them burst with gold coins.
After all, such a wealthy big boss would surely drop a ton of gold coins.
Such were the dangerous thoughts of a skeleton.
...
Meanwhile, on Number Zero's end.
As usual, it went to the basement to treat Alice.
In the cold basement, Number Zero saw Alice bound in chains and silently prepared to administer treatment.
After all, since Li Xiuman was not controlling it at the moment, Number Zero could not speak.
“Sister Teri, have you come to treat me again?”
Alice looked at Number Zero and stepped out of the darkness, dragging her chains with a metallic rattle.
With some effort, she dragged the heavy chains with her slender limbs.
Watching this, Number Zero couldn't quite understand why one human would treat another human this way.
Was this normal for humans?
With its current logical capacity, it was difficult for Number Zero to think any deeper.
Although performing missions alone and interacting with humans during this time had further improved its understanding.
However, the experience of taking care of Alice had given Number Zero a peculiar feeling toward her.
It was like adopting and caring for a pet.
“Sister Teri, I don't resent my father.”
“He had no choice but to sell me. Father only did it to survive.”
There was no hatred in Alice's expression; she fully understood her father's helplessness.
Number Zero merely listened quietly, trying to comprehend and learn.
“I don't hate Viscount Fantes, either.”
“Because I never imagined I'd actually be worth eight gold coins. Those eight gold coins should be enough for my family to get through this winter.”
“Mother will also be able to sew a few new clothes for the family, and the broken tiles on the roof can be replaced with new ones.”
“When it rains, the roof won't leak anymore.”
Alice thought with all her might, but she couldn't seem to think of anyone she should hate.
Who should she hate?
“Sister Teri, who do you think I should hate?”
Number Zero's movements paused for a moment, as if it were also thinking.
But it was destined to be unable to answer.
“I won't hate anyone.”
“If a price like this is all it takes to let my parents live that kind of life...”
“...To live in a house that doesn't leak, and spend this entire winter in warmth...”
“...And even save a bit of money...”
“...How could I possibly feel hatred?”
By this point, the treatment had concluded.
Number Zero left the cell as usual, locking the iron door once again.
The next day.
Number Zero wanted to go treat Alice again, but was stopped by Fantes.
“There is no need to go today,” Fantes said.
Then, he added, “She's dead.”
Dead?
Number Zero seemed to find this difficult to comprehend.
Inside, it felt a strange sensation... Was this the emotion called sadness?
It felt just like when a pet one had raised passed away. This was the first time it had ever felt such a sensation.
This made it... very surprised.
It committed this feeling deeply to memory.
“Killed by her father.”
“The scene was truly amusing,” Fantes continued, speaking with a boastful swagger.
“She only knew that her father had sold her because of their poor harvest.”
“But she didn't know that I was the one who had my men tamper with her family's fields.”
“That was what caused them to harvest not a single grain, forcing her father to sell her.”
Fantes said, holding up eight fingers.
“After buying her for eight gold coins, I didn't expect that she wouldn't hate me at all.”
“Nor did she hate her father.”
“On the contrary, she was very happy that the gold coins she was exchanged for would improve her family's situation.”
“What a perfect seed! A seed like that can brew the most evil, purest hatred in the world!”
“I had my men rob her father of his gold coins, and then let the bully of her village forcefully violate her mother.”
“Contrary to her delusions, her home plunged straight into hell.”
“Then, I captured her father and her driven-mad mother, and told her everything.”
“Finally, I reunited their family—in the colosseum.”
“Only one could live.”
“A maddened mother, a wretched father...”
“...And the sacrifice who had brewed a perfect hatred!”
Fantes looked in the direction of the colosseum as he spoke.
A surge of dark energy rose continuously, like a low-hanging dark cloud, blanketing a portion of the sky over White Bear City.
“It seems He is very pleased with my sacrifice!”
“...Boom!”
The colosseum collapsed, and a monster emitting dark energy all over its body slithered out from within.
It looked like a giant, writhing mass of black flesh.
It had thick, pitch-black tentacles growing all over it, looking incredibly evil.
As it writhed forward, it crushed house after house.
It seemed to possess a giant human face, vaguely recognizable as Alice's.
Except at this moment, the face was hideous and contorted, warped under endless hatred and fury.
“Look!”
“Teri!”
“This is my masterpiece! It is enough to reset this entire White Bear City!”
“And I, the future Count Fantes, will step forward after this monster has destroyed a portion of the city and left Count Wit completely helpless!”
“I will become the hero of White Bear City! I will become Count Fantes of White Bear City!”
“I will become the lord of this city!”
Rate on N.U.
