After leaving the Magic Tower, Victoria first went to the market to buy some things, then carrying a bulging cloth bag, she crossed the bustling main street of the Imperial Capital and turned into an increasingly secluded alley.
Greg followed far behind her, maintaining an appropriate distance to avoid being noticed.
He watched Victoria walk through several streets before finally stopping in front of an alleyway hidden behind tall buildings.
This place was practically a corner forgotten by the city.
Low, dilapidated wooden shacks huddled together haphazardly, their roofs covered in blackened thatch, with some even half-collapsed.
The ground was a muddy dirt path, and the air was thick with a damp odor mixed with the smoke of burning low-grade firewood.
A few ragged children crouched by the roadside, their thin faces covered in dust, their eyes carrying a numbness and emptiness unsuited for their age.
But when they saw Victoria's figure appear at the entrance of the alley, those numb eyes instantly lit up.
“Big Sister Victoria is here!”
“Big Sister Victoria!”
Like seeing swallows in spring, the children swarmed out from every corner and gathered around Victoria.
Their clothes were tattered and worn, some patched up, and some didn't even have shoes, stepping barefoot onto the muddy ground.
Although they had smiles on their faces, those smiles made one's heart ache.
They were simply too thin, so thin that their cheekbones protruded sharply and their arms were like dry twigs.
Most of these children were the offspring of fallen imperial soldiers.
Their fathers had died in battle during the border wars, and their mothers had remarried after receiving the pension, abandoning them here.
No one watched over them, let alone cared for them. They could only rely on helping each other and the occasional charity of kind-hearted people to scrape by.
Victoria squatted down, placed the cloth bag on the ground, and opened it, revealing the bread, dried fruit, and cheap candies inside.
In the gentle tone of an older sister, she said, “Take your time, don't push. There's enough for everyone.”
The children lined up, receiving food from Victoria one by one.
Their movements were careful, as if they were holding some precious treasure.
After receiving a piece of bread, a little girl didn't eat it immediately. Instead, she brought it to her nose to sniff it first, and only then took a tiny bite, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.
A little boy next to her couldn't wait and stuffed the entire piece of bread into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a squirrel's. He choked until his eyes rolled back, forcing him to run to the water butt and gulp down a few mouthfuls of murky cold water to recover.
Looking at these children, Victoria felt a deep wave of sympathy welling up in her heart.
This wasn't her first time here.
She had stumbled upon this place by chance during a walk when she was in a bad mood, shortly after the preliminary defense ended.
The children here reminded her of the village she used to live in.
Since it was located on the edge of the kingdom, it was also very impoverished. But even so, with her parents and Silvia's company, her childhood had been far better than that of these children.
So, within her capabilities, she wanted to do her best to help the children here.
“I didn't expect that even the Imperial Capital would have a place like this.”
A familiar voice sounded from behind her.
Victoria spun around abruptly and saw Greg stepping out from the shadow of a dilapidated shack, a complex expression on his face.
“Greg?!”
Victoria's eyes widened. “Y-You followed me?!”
Greg spread his hands with an innocent look. “What do you mean followed? I was just showing concern for my Junior Sister. Seeing you sneak out alone, I was worried you might run into danger.”
“Who would run into danger?!” Victoria's cheeks flushed slightly, though whether from anger or embarrassment was hard to tell. “And your way of showing concern is way too creepy!”
“Hey, what about this is creepy?!” Greg retorted.
As the two bickered back and forth, the children surrounding Victoria curiously sized up the big brother who had suddenly appeared.
They had never seen such a good-looking person before.
Greg's sharp, well-defined face was practically like a prince walking out of a fairy tale to these children who lived in filth and disorder year-round.
He was a perfect match for Big Sister Victoria, who looked just like a princess!
A little girl tugged at Victoria's hem, looking up and asking in a childish voice, “Big Sister Victoria, is this handsome big brother your boyfriend?”
Victoria's face instantly turned bright red. Just as she was about to deny it, “This gu—”
“That's right,” Greg beat her to it. Squatting down, he smiled warmly at the little girl. “My name is Greg. I'm Big Sister Victoria's boyfriend, so I'm not a bad guy.”
Upon hearing that Greg was Victoria's boyfriend, the other children all wore relieved smiles.
Meanwhile, Victoria grit her teeth, grabbed Greg by his collar, and dragged him aside.
Her face was crimson, a flame of embarrassment and anger burning in her gray eyes as she demanded in a hushed whisper, “W-Why are you talking nonsense?!”
Greg spread his hands helplessly. “Come on, if I didn't say I was your boyfriend, it would be hard to gain their trust with a face as overly handsome as mine, wouldn't it?”
“Think about it. A handsome, adult male stranger suddenly appearing in the slums would definitely scare the children. But if I'm Big Sister Victoria's boyfriend, it's different. They'll see me as one of their own.”
Victoria froze for a moment. Though extremely unwilling, she had to admit he made sense.
She bit her lip and asked, “Then why do you need to gain their trust?”
Greg said as if it were a matter of course, “Because I also want to do what I can to help them.”
“You're actually that kind-hearted?” Victoria asked.
Greg rolled his eyes. “I've always been like this, alright? I'm a human being, not a beast, and I certainly don't have a lolicon complex. Isn't it perfectly normal to feel a bit of sympathy when seeing a group of kids like this?”
Victoria stared at him for several seconds, trying to find a trace of deceit in his expression, but ultimately found nothing.
She could only begrudgingly accept this explanation, releasing his collar. “...Fine, you pass.”
Greg smoothed out his rumpled collar and then surveyed the surroundings.
His gaze fell on the children's tattered clothes and dirty little faces, then looked at the drafty, dilapidated shacks all around before letting out a soft sigh. “I see the roofs are leaking and the doors are broken. Why haven't you helped them fix any of it?”
Victoria, who had been aggressive just a second ago, awkwardly averted her eyes in the next. “Because I'm not very good at fixing things. I was worried I'd end up collapsing the entire shack myself, so I never touched them.”
“Heh, a magic prodigy with zero practical skills. Fascinating,” Greg laughed.
Rate on N.U.
