To Deprive a Deprived Person

“Quick, quick!”

“We’re leaving behind anyone who’s slow!”

“Wait up!”

Children dashed along an unpaved street, a typical scene in the slums. Despite it being midday, the merchants lining the street in their shabby stalls yawned lazily, waiting for customers to approach without putting much effort into calling them over.

“That’s more expensive than before.”

“Yeah, really.”

“It’s gotten pricier!”

The children were browsing through the items at various stalls, but every stall showed signs of inflation compared to before. This was due to the rapid population growth in the city of Kamur, which had caused the prices of land, housing, and even food to skyrocket. These rising costs had reached even the slums. The foodstuffs used at the stalls here were often of dubious quality, not sourced through legitimate channels. Items like scraps of meat unsuitable for sale were processed into sausages, but lately, even those were often made from spoiled meat or meat from goblins unfit for consumption.

“This is still a pretty good deal, y'know.”

“Don’t hold it against us, it’s just business.”

The stall owners, with forced smiles, explained their situation to the kids who voiced their dissatisfaction. However, for these hungry, growing children, that explanation didn’t matter much. They were provided food at the orphanage run by the Sister, but their hunger was never fully satisfied.

“But over here, I’ve kept my prices steady! Best deal in the slums!” one stall owner boasted.

The children, who had grown accustomed to distrusting people from a young age, naturally cast suspicious glances at the man. After all, they were in the slums, where trust was a rare commodity.

“What’s the hold-up? You gonna eat or not?”

“Hold on, we need to discuss it first.”

The children huddled together to confer, clutching a dented mess tin in their hands. The suspicious soup with meatballs offered by the stall cost thirty madoka per bowl—a small amount for most, but for the kids of the slums, it was a significant sum.

“Here you go,” one of the kids handed over the mess tin.

“How many do you need?”

“For now... just one.”

The owner, casting a doubtful glance at the children, accepted the worn-down half-copper coins they handed him and filled the tin with the soup.

“Thanks for your business,” the stall owner said, hiding his coins in a leather pouch.

As the children regrouped, they began whispering among themselves again.

“This is way too little.”

“It’s so little!”

“Aren’t the meatballs smaller than before?”

“They think they can cheat us just because we’re kids!”

“That’s not right.”

“Should we get him?”

The stall owner, overhearing the ominous conversation, grew nervous.

“H-Hey now, no need to get riled up. Is something wrong with my special soup?”

“This soup has less than it did before.”

“That’s not true, now don’t go making false accusations.”

Feigning calmness, the stall owner internally started to panic.

“Last time, it came up to here,” one of the kids pointed to a groove inside the tin.

The soup with meatballs was clearly lower than the groove.

“Cheater!”

“Yeah, cheater!”

“Don’t take us for fools just because we’re kids!”

The children’s accusations made the owner falter.

“Even Sister says we shouldn’t trust shops that trick customers like this,” added the smallest girl, sternly.

“Wh-Who’s been filling your heads with that nonsense?”

“Yu-brother did!” the kids chorused.

“Geh?!” frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

From nearby stalls, mocking voices echoed, “Serves ya right,” “Sucker,” “That’s what you get for being sneaky.”

The sweat-drenched stall owner, realizing he’d been bested, forced a laugh.

“Hehe, looks like I misjudged the amount. Let me fix that.”

The owner quickly poured extra meatballs and soup into the tin. Satisfied, the children ordered more, leaving the owner near tears.

Later, with full bellies, the children lounged in a corner of the slums.

“Is what you said earlier really true?”

“It is! Yesterday, I saw Namari-chan and Graffy-Oneechan talking with the Sister.”

“And the puppy was there too!”

“That’s not a puppy, that’s Ekaterina, a wolf!”

“So, Yu-brother really is back?”

“Let’s go see him!”

“Agreed!” they all shouted in unison.

Not far from Kamur’s west gate stood a mansion, known to the townsfolk as the "Haunted House"—Yu’s residence. The overgrown plants surrounding the wall hid the mansion from view, making it impossible to see inside.

“Don’t clean that gold coin too hard,” Yu advised, leaning against a massive tree, one that had grown significantly due to the influence of Jade, as he read a book. He directed this advice to Namari, who was sitting cross-legged on the lawn, attempting to scrub a gold coin with a brush.

“Why not?” Namari and the small creature, Momo, who was lounging on her head, both looked at Yu in confusion.

“Gold is a soft metal. If you want it clean, just wipe it gently with a soft cloth. No need for force.”

“Got it!”

Namari had recently developed an interest in coin collecting. In front of her lay an array of coins from various countries, spread neatly on a cloth. Nearby, Nina was similarly arranging and cleaning her throwing knives, which inspired Namari to start taking care of her collection too.

For a while, only the sounds of Nina maintaining her gear and Namari polishing coins filled the quiet, occasionally interrupted by Yu turning the pages of his book. The tranquil flow of time was soon interrupted by a melodic chime—the mansion’s doorbell.

“You’ve got a visitor!” Namari jumped to her feet excitedly, while the fox-person, Ariane, and the tanuki-person, Pokori, who had been hiding somewhere, emerged and moved toward the gate.

“I wonder who it is?”

“I can guess based on all the noise.”

In the meantime, Yu closed his book, muttering, “Things are about to get noisy.”

“Oh! There he is! Everyone, Yu-niichan is really here!”

“For real, it’s Yu-brother!”

“See? I told you he was back.”

“Namari-chan is here too!”

“I’m so glad we came!”

The excited voices belonged to a group of children, led by Ariane and Pokori. They rushed towards Yu all at once. The younger children, holding hands, tried to keep up, crying out, “Wait for us!” with tears in their eyes.

The peaceful silence from just moments ago was shattered, replaced by a lively commotion.

“Namari-chan, what are you doing?”

“Whoa, that’s a lot of money!”

“Namari! What are you doing?! Hurry, hide it, or they’ll steal it!”

“Yu-niichan, where have you been all this time?”

“Why aren’t Koro and Ran here? Where did they go? Why?”

“What’s that thing on your eyes?”

“Those are called glasses.”

“Yu-niichan, is your eyesight bad?”

The barrage of “why” and “how” questions came relentlessly, not only at Yu but even Namari. The little creature, Momo, wisely hid inside Namari’s hat to escape the chaos.

“You’re all so noisy.”

“Yeah! Be quiet already!” Namari imitated Yu, placing her hands on her hips and standing firm like a guardian statue, but the kids weren’t fazed. They started mimicking her, saying, “We’re being quiet!” while raising their voices even more, making the situation even more chaotic.

“What about Koro? Where’s the dog? Why isn’t Ran here?”

“They’re not here!”

“They’re gone!”

It seemed like the chaos would only get worse, but...

“Please, let’s not cause too much of a ruckus and disturb the Master.”

At those words from Marifa, the children instantly quieted down. Without missing a beat, she also casually stepped in to distance them from Yu, making sure they didn’t crowd him. Ariane and the others pretended not to notice, averting their eyes. Tien, on the other hand, was bold, playfully adding, “Yes, yes, you all better move away before Big Sister Marifa gets jealous.”

“Koro and Ran are out for a walk.”

“A walk?”

“Yeah, a walk.”

“When are they coming back?”

“Oh, speak of the devil, it looks like they’re back.”

Yu nodded towards a direction, and the kids all turned to look. Sure enough, they saw Grafyra leading Koro and the others back.

“Welcome back!”

“Koro and Ran aren’t here!”

“But Ekaterina is!”

The kids were quick to notice something was different.

“Wait... Is that... Koro and Ran?!”

Their excitement and confusion were understandable. After all, Koro and Ran had undergone significant changes.

Koro, who used to be around 3.5 meters tall, had shrunk down to about 2.6 meters. His fur was still the familiar pitch black, resembling that of a giant wolf, but his appearance had become more striking. Around his neck, a mane of red fur, like a blazing fire, now grew, giving him the look of a Tibetan Mastiff with a lion-like mane.

Ran, on the other hand, had grown larger, now standing at about 1.8 meters tall. His golden fur shimmered with a glossy sheen, and amidst the gold were black lightning-like streaks. His once slender tail had become thicker, and his underbelly was covered in white fur instead of gold.

Though the beastman children were able to identify them by scent, it was no surprise that the other children couldn’t recognize them right away.

“Yu-niichan, why have Koro and Ran changed so much?”

“Haven’t you seen them change form before? Wait... or is this the first time?”

Yu recalled the time when Koro and Ran had evolved after consuming the magic core they obtained from defeating a plant-type monster summoned by the Great Sage. At that time, Yu had accidentally split the high-rank core in half, making it impossible to fully restore. Whether due to the high rank of the core or his limited alchemy skills, Yu had been unable to repair it, so instead, he had given the halves to Koro and Ran. This resulted in both showing signs of rank-up.

“But why did they change so much?” The children's innocent eyes bore into Yu.

“Well... who knows why.”

Yu muttered, still surprised himself that Koro and Ran had increased by two ranks. Koro had evolved from a Rank 5 Demon Flame Wolf into a Rank 7 Greater Demon Flame Wolf, while Ran had changed from a Rank 5 Golden Cloud Leopard to a Rank 7 Golden Thunder Leopard. Even Mus had warned Yu not to bring them into the city at Rank 5, though Yu ignored that. Now, at Rank 7, their presence would be an even bigger issue.

“Guess this could be a problem,” Yu said to himself.

As Yu contemplated, he noticed something strange about Grafyra’s behavior. Usually, she would greet him and Marifa properly, but this time she seemed hesitant, nodding briefly before hastily heading toward the mansion.

“Grafyra-Oneechan left already.”

“That was weird.”

Koro and Ekaterina were also acting unusual. Their steps, usually light and agile, were now awkward and clumsy.

“You’re right, something’s off.”

Yu stood up with a mischievous grin and started walking toward Koro and the others, but Ran blocked his path.

“Naaooo~” Ran let out an oddly cutesy sound, rubbing up against Yu while swatting Koro with her tail, as if trying to tell him to leave quickly.

“Koro, are you feeling okay?” freeωebnovēl.c૦m

“Woof!” Koro flinched when Yu called his name, barking softly as if to say, “I’m fine.”

“Something’s fishy here.”

With a mischievous grin, Yu brushed past Ran and approached Koro.

“Jump for me.”

Koro looked as if he wanted to protest, but with Marifa watching intently from behind Yu, he had no choice but to comply. However, when Koro jumped, he barely left the ground, hopping just a few centimeters in the air.

Yu couldn’t hold back his laughter. “What was that? You used to jump meters into the air. That was pathetic!”

In contrast to Yu’s laughter, the pressure from Marifa intensified. The children, sensing the tension, began to gather around. Then, from Koro’s fur...

“Meow.”

A soft, adorable sound came from Koro’s fur.

“Meoowww!”

Ran let out a frantic cry, but everyone just stared at her.

“That didn’t sound right at all. Koro, jump again.”

Koro reluctantly jumped again, and this time, small, fluffy balls tumbled out of his fur. The balls rolled onto the grass and blinked their large, round eyes open, letting out a chorus of “meow” and “myaa!”

“Kittens!”

“So many kittens!”

“There are so many kitty cats!”

The children were instantly captivated by the adorable sight.

“Master, it seems these are baby Tree Cats.”

Pokori, holding one of the furballs in her hand, explained their origin to Yu. Tree Cats were a type of magical feline that carried their young on their bodies, much like opossums.

“Did you guys eat their mother?”

“Shhhhaa!” Ran hissed indignantly but immediately lowered herself in submission when she saw Marifa’s stern glare from behind Yu.

“I was just joking. If you want some cubs of your own that badly, should I find you a mate?”

Ran turned her head away in a huff, clearly offended, but still plopped down on the ground near a tree, peeking through squinted eyes at the kittens, trying to appear disinterested.

“Big Sister Marifa, what should we do with all these kittens?”

“There are so many of them!”

“With this many, there’s no way Sister will let us keep them at the orphanage, right?”

“But they’re so cute!”

“We can’t just abandon them, that would be too sad!”

After searching through Koro’s and Ekaterina’s fur, they had found a total of thirty-three Tree Cat kittens. Now free of the kittens, Koro and Ekaterina stretched out leisurely, rolling around on the grass as the children chased after them, laughing.

“Are you really going to abandon these kittens, Lord Yu?!”

“I haven’t said anything about that. Maybe we can keep them to help with rodent control. I’ll send them to Nameless later.”

“Really?!”

“Of course. If I said I’d leave them here, you lot would just complain until my ears bled, wouldn’t you?”

Hearing this, Namari and the children broke out into wide grins.

“Yu, you’re such a softy. You’ll never make it as an adventurer with that attitude.”

Nina, who now had several kittens perched on her head and chest, chided Yu.

“Nina’s right, Master is too soft-hearted. It’s a bit much sometimes,” Tien added. Despite her words, a kitten clung to her maid outfit, making her lack of seriousness clear.

“They seem hungry. Since they’re still kittens, cow’s milk won’t be good for them. We should get some goat’s milk instead.”

“Since they’re Rank 1 monsters, we shouldn’t need to worry too much, right?”

Ariane and Pokori hurried toward the mansion, discussing what to feed the kittens. Meanwhile, the sound of children playing with Koro and the kittens echoed through the garden.

“Yu-niichan!”

“What now?”

Yu, who had resumed reading his book, responded reluctantly to the kids’ loud call.

“Ran won’t let us pet her, even though we just want to stroke her!”

“Yeah, she won’t let us!”

Looking over to where the children were pointing, Yu saw Ran lounging at a distance, sitting with her hind legs spread in a ‘V’ shape, teasing the kids by hiding her important parts with her tail, giving them a smug, mocking look.

“Ah!”

“That’s not nice, Ran!”

“Yu-niichan, tell her off!”

The children were easily provoked by Ran’s taunts, growing increasingly upset, while Yu sighed.

“Don’t you remember what happened last time when you were playing with Koro and almost got squished?”

“But we’ll be fine!”

“Yeah, we’ll be careful!”

“We know how to be careful now!”

“Liar. Ran’s keeping her distance for your own good, so leave her alone.”

Though disappointed, the children begrudgingly scattered, returning to play with Koro and the kittens.

“Namari, something wrong?” Yu asked, noticing Namari’s restless behavior.

“It’s almost time.”

“Almost time for what...?”

The kids, seeing Namari’s fidgeting, looked on with curiosity. Even Momo, who had poked out of Namari’s hat, seemed to be sneaking glances at Yu.

“Master,” Marifa called out.

“Hm? Oh, is it that time already?”

Yu closed his book and stood up.

“...Is it snack time?”

“Reina! When did you get here?”

Marifa glanced up, and sure enough, there was Reina, hovering above them on her broom, looking down with a stern expression.

“...You thought you could have snacks without me? The gods may forgive, but I won’t!”

Her nose flaring in indignation, Reina was ready to make a scene.

“You stayed up late and slept in until now. That’s your own fault, isn’t it?”

Reina’s earlier bravado quickly deflated as her broom lowered to the ground, landing softly.

“Snack time!”

“Did you hear that? It’s snack time!”

“Yay!!”

“Reina-Oneechan’s here too!”

“Snack time, snack time!”

“Yippee!”

The kids were quick to react to the mention of snacks, but even faster than them, Koro and Ran ran up to Yu in excitement.

“I can eat onions!”

“Me too! I’ve never had chocolate, but I bet I can eat that too!”

“I can eat nuts, you know?”

(So noisy...) Yu muttered to himself.

The beastfolk children had overheard a conversation between Yu and the Sister at the orphanage about what foods beastfolk shouldn’t eat. Ever since then, they had taken to loudly declaring what they could or couldn’t eat at any given moment, much to Yu’s annoyance. He knew that if he told them to be quiet, they’d just bombard him with endless “Why? Why?” questions, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

“Before we deal with snacks for these kids—”

“Master, I’ll be heading to Kamur to do some shopping, so I’ll let the Sister know about the children’s visit.”

“You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you? Thanks.”

Marifa nodded subtly, clearly pleased. As Yu’s servant, she believed her duty was to serve quietly at his side, never drawing too much attention to herself. Meanwhile, the children protested loudly.

“Why are you going to tell Sister?!”

“Why?!”

“Please, don’t tell her, okay?”

“We’ll get in trouble!”

“You snuck out to come here, so getting in trouble serves you right.”

Yu dismissed their complaints with a single remark.

“Namari, we have a lot of people today. Go gather some apples and strawberries.”

Originally, Yu had planned to serve a different snack, but with so many children, he decided to change the menu.

“Got it!”

The mansion’s garden, thanks to Jade’s influence, had become overgrown not only with trees but with an abundance of fruit-bearing plants. Apples and strawberries grew in such numbers that Yu’s group couldn’t consume them all, leaving plenty to gather.

Namari responded enthusiastically and sprinted off, with the other children quickly following her in excitement.

“Shall I prepare some yogurt as well, Master?”

“Yes, that sounds good. There’s a lot of us today, so let’s eat out here.”

“Right away.”

Marifa, realizing what Yu intended to make with the fruit, quickly instructed Tien and the others to prepare the ingredients and set up a ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) place for cooking and serving. In the distance, the children’s happy voices echoed as they gathered fruit.

“Yu-niichan, we’re ready!”

“We made sure to wash everything!”

“And we washed our hands too!”

Apparently, they had learned from previous reminders, and before Yu could say anything, the children had already washed both the fruit and their hands.

Yu and Marifa began cutting the apples into cubes while Tien and the others hulled and cut the strawberries. Nearby, Nina and Reina mixed the yogurt with the diced apples and strawberries.

“Here you go. You can start eating now.”

The children’s faces lit up as they took their wooden plates and spoons.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Tien-Oneechan?”

“Hehehe, I’ve been looking forward to it all morning. We have French toast waiting, made with extra care.”

“Tien, what’s with that drooling face?”

“Hah! How unseemly of me...”

Tien, who had been visibly drooling in anticipation of her meal, quickly straightened up when Marifa reprimanded her. But in her mind, she was already plotting how to get her hands on more of the snacks.

“Do Koro and the others get some too?”

“Of course, but theirs will be without sugar—”

(Wait, Koro and Ran are monsters. Can they have sugar?)

Yu glanced over at Koro, who stared back at him with a determined expression. The look on Koro’s face made Yu laugh, and he quickly prepared their snacks as well.

“This is so good! Yu, I want more!”

“Nina-Oneechan is hogging all the food!”

“...Nina is a glutton.”

“So you don’t want any more, Reina?”

“...I didn’t say that!”

As Nina eagerly helped herself to seconds, the children followed her lead without hesitation. The happy atmosphere continued as they enjoyed their sweet treats, with milk tea and yogurt-based snacks filling their bellies. Afterward, they all lay down on the grass, fully satisfied.

“You shouldn’t lie down right after eating, it’s bad for you.”

“Okay...”

Namari, who was also about to lie down, quickly stood up and repeated, “It’s bad for you!” only to be lightly smacked by Momo, who was perched on her head. The children burst into laughter.

“Yu-niichan, that was delicious. Thanks so much!”

“I had to feed you all; otherwise, you’d never stop bothering me.”

“Hey, we’re polite!”

“We have good manners, don’t we?”

Yu chuckled to himself as he watched the cheeky children.

“Whoever said you had good manners? Anyway, what’s been going on with that guy lately?”

The children blinked in confusion at Yu’s vague question, until one of them seemed to realize what he was asking.

“Do you mean Joseph-san?”

“Huh? I wasn’t asking about Joseph, but since you brought him up, I’ll ask—what’s going on with him?”

“Huh?”

The children were puzzled, but Yu laughed while Nina, who had been laughing along, yelped when Yu shot a magical blast at her rear, making her flee in mock protest.

“So, what’s going on?”

“We haven’t seen Joseph-san lately.”

“Yeah, we haven’t.”

“Maybe he’s gone?”

“What’s up with that?” Yu muttered, though inwardly he made a decision.

(I’ll check on him tomorrow.)

-------

Name: Yu Satou

Race: Human

Job: Magic Warrior, Enchanter, Sword Saint

Level: 69

HP: 4752

MP: 5307

Strength: 922

Agility: 848

Endurance: 967

Intelligence: 869

Magic: 938

Luck: 1

Passive Skills: