That night as well, Marin went to the basement of the mad scientist.

But she didn’t find him there anymore. The whole basement was empty. Only a large sack and a letter remained.

[I had a breakthrough thanks to you! I’m leaving! Take these coins and live your life.]

Marin slowly opened the pouch and her jaw dropped at the amount of money.

One year? Two years? No, she could finish her whole schooling with this amount. Once she’s out, maybe she could even apply for outside schools based on scholarship.

“T-Thank you!” Marin knelt in front of the letter and cried for a long time.

Then, she silently left the place, still not fully believing that she’d never have to return again.

Once she reached home, the illusion in the basement was lifted.

Varian lifted his foot from the mad scientist’s throat.

“Y-You! Why are you meddling? Who are you? I have connections with the big boss of this region! If you touch me, I’ll—eek!”

Kacha!

With one stomp, Varian broke the old man’s neck and made the world a slightly better place.

“In the end, I still ended up meddling.” Varian sighed and snapped his fingers.

A black-light appeared on his fingertips and enveloped the table. The table slowly began to dissolve into powder and then the powder began to break down further and for the naked eye, it began to disappear. After thirty minutes, everything inside the basement was gone.

“Big boss of this region…” Varian looked to the fortress at the center of this region and narrowed his eyes.

He didn’t want to start a war. But he’d sure as hell end it.

Thankfully, the next four days passed peacefully.

“And then the Abyss Emperor said… ‘How did you grow so strong in a single year?”

Marin listened to the fairy tale Varian narrated with bright eyes.

Since she didn’t have to bear inhuman pain to earn her school tuition, she had been earnestly studying for the past few days.

Varian felt that she should also have some fun. So, he began narrating some stories to the little girl.

At first, she was hesitant. But she quickly grew intrigued and immersed herself in the journey of the heroes.

“…And that’s it for today.” Varian smiled at her.

Marin pouted, wanting to protest, but nodded slowly. She’d been forced to mature because of this environment. So, she never acted willfully.

As he was about to leave the Inn, the Inn Owner Garcia greeted him with a stiff smile. “Ah, guest Kyle, thank you for taking care of my daughter. Have a good day.”

She stood behind the counter of the Inn, her hands behind her back and her eyes looking down.

Varian frowned. Unlike others, Garcia never gave off the smell of the drugs. But now, there was a light smell on her.

Even though it’s been only a few days, he saw this woman’s struggle.

She alone had to maintain this Inn. Though calling it an Inn would be a stretch since barely anyone resided other than two or three guests including Varian, it’s a modest restaurant with people with regular visitors.

Garcia couldn’t afford to hire anyone. She cooked, served, and cleaned all by herself.

On top of that, her son Deigo, the brawny lizarn would always get into fights and come home injured.

While she kept a brave front before her son and tended to his injuries, Varian heard her sobbing every night.

She seemed to be living like this for a long time. Yet, she never took drugs. But today, she did.

Why?

“Garcia, two set meals!”

“Hostess, a drink for four!”

Hearing the guests shout, Garcia gave him an apologetic smile and ran off to the kitchen.

Shaking his head, Varian left the Inn.

Just a few minutes after:

Kacha!

“You bitch! What is this shit? Is this meat in the bread or bread in the meat?” A lizarn grabbed her throat and slapped her hard.

“I…Cough…S-Sor…” Tears spilled out of the woman’s eyes but instead of fear, her eyes were full of sadness as she stared at the man threatening her.

“Let it go, Hernand. She’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, let’s go back to the casino.”

“I brought us some drinks.”

Hearing the persuasion of the three fox-men, the lizarn man threw loosened his grip.

Garcia slumped onto the floor and coughed out violently as her lungs sucked in the air madly.

“Hmph! It’s my stupidity to expect something from this bitch!” The middle-aged lizarn man sneered.

Walking to the counter, he opened the drawer and stuffed the cash into his pockets while cursing. “Stupid bitch, can’t even earn enough.”

Then, he turned around and was about to exit when he felt a pull.

Garcia held his boot and looked at him with teary eyes. “P-Please…Please don’t…I”

The man’s face twisted violently and he kicked her in the stomach. Garcia curled up on the floor and sobbed as the four men walked away.

As the pain grew unbearable, her consciousness grew blurry. Before she fainted, she saw a young face covering her eyes.

— — —

“Please don’t!” Garcia screamed.

Then, her eyes slowly opened.ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

She was on her bed. The guest and her daughter were seated on small tables, looking at her. The sun was already setting.

“I…” Garcia sat up and bowed her head. “I-I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

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“Why are you apologizing?”

Garcia looked up at Varian and said with trembling lips. “I-I fainted and missed your lunch.”

Varian sighed. “No, I put you to sleep so you can rest for longer.”

“B-But the Inn.”

“Closed for today,” Varian said and put a few coins on the table. It was more than what she could earn in a week.

“N-No! I can’t tak—” Garcia shook her head but Varian pointed a finger at her and she froze in place.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Varian said in a plain tone.

“Y-You’re really going, big brother?” Marin tugged his sleeves weakly.

These few days, he told her a lot of stories, helped her study, and silently healed her injuries. Marin enjoyed being with him. In her harsh life, he’s her solace.

But things had to end.

Varian nodded at the little girl and turned to Garcia. “Before I leave, I will clean up the man who robbed you today. You didn’t take any accommodation fee, so this will be my payment.”

At his words, both Garcia and Marin gasped.

“NO!” Garcia nearly staggered out of the bed and grabbed his hand tightly. “P-Please don’t do anything to him!”

“He kicked you, robbed you, and called you things. Why are you pleading for him? Are you afraid of revenge? I’ll take care of—”

“He’s my husband!” Garcia said in a bitter tone.

Varian opened his mouth in shock for a moment before he shook his head. “Then it’s worse. I’ve seen him only once till now and all he does is steal your money to drink and gamble.”

Garcia signaled to Marin who obediently left.

“He wasn’t always like this.” Garcia looked out of the window, at the slum buildings that sprawled all across this region. “He’s a very talented doctor.”

“P-Pardon?”

“One of the best in his batch. We used to live on that side.” Garcia pointed to the golden peaks in the horizon—the tall, rich buildings—on the other side of Ubiq.

“Then why did you come here?”

Garcia’s face darkened and she lowered her head. “A rival of his mixed a drug into his lunch. Hernand operated an important person after that and messed up. That patient was killed and Hernand’s medical license was revoked. Then, the people related to that bigshot came after us. We had nowhere else to go.”

Varian exhaled.

That wife-beating alcoholic gambling addict had a story that he didn’t imagine.

“He’s a very caring husband, a very loving father, but they…” Garcia clenched the sheets and gnashed her teeth.

The whole time he knew her, Garcia was always calm. This was the first time she showed an angry expression.

“They…kidnapped him, fed him drug after drug for days, weeks, and broke him.” Her nails dug into her palm and blood slowly spilled into the white sheets.

The tears in Garcia’s eyes shook as she forcibly held them back. “After coming here, he tried to turn things around and give us a good life.

Because he’s a doctor, we were able to get on our feet here quickly. He worked very hard, taking no leaves. He set up this Inn so that I wouldn’t feel useless, he paid the tuition for Deigo.

B-But they came for him again. And warned him not to ever act as a doctor. They said…a murderer cannot be a doctor.”

Varian exhaled deeply.

Garcia looked at the ceiling blankly. “Since then, he got into alcohol, his addiction grew worse and he started gambling. My husband is a good person…but he’s broken from the inside.”

Saying so, she took out a packet from inside her sleeves and poured it into her palm.

Without hesitation, she was about to take it when she suddenly realized Varian was staring at her silently.

“S-Sorry…I got too emotional and…”

“You were clean when I entered this place six days ago. Now, you reek of that stink. Why are you doing this to yourself?”

Garcia’s calmness broke and she yelled at him. “Then what should I do? My husband is broken and steals money I save up for my daughter’s studies. My son doesn’t listen to me and is fighting on the street, I don’t even know if he’ll come back alive. My daughter has no future and will probably have to sell herself. What do I even do?”

Varian looked at her calmly and said. “Even if you have nothing, you can always have hope. But if you go down this path, then you’ll lose even that hope.”

“H-Hope?”

“Yes.” Varian nodded.

Garcia looked at him with a wry smile. “What hope do people like me even have? People who live in this hell have no hope.”

“There is always hope,” Varian said strongly. “Always hope.”

Garcia slammed the bed with her thin hands. “There is no hope. It’s only delusion. No one cares about us. We aren’t even living things to them. Those people see their pets as more precious than our lives. “

“Then so be it.”

“W-What?”

“It’s better to be deluded into a hopeful future than despair at a hopeless one. Is it not?”

“What are you even saying?”

“I’m saying that it’s better to think you’d be saved one day and live a good life than believe it’s all over and throw yourself into a self-destroying path,” Varian said. “Maybe someday, your hope will come true and someone will save you all.”

Garcia scoffed. “Who will save us? A hero from the sky? The Emperor you told my daughter about? The gods of myths?”

Varian sighed. “Maybe one. Maybe all. Who knows.”

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