Pathetic Self

*yawn*

["Finally awake are we?"]

Winter said with a sigh of relief in his voice.

["Huh! Where are we?"]

Robin said as he started checking his surroundings.

["Why were we sleeping under a tre-"]

Robin started to remember events before his blackout.

["*ahem* Regarding the fact why we are camping outside"]

Winter stopped mid-sentence as he saw Robin frightened.

Peter also started to wake up at this point.

["What's happening?"]

Even for someone as dense as Peter, it only took a moment to understand the situation.

He suddenly stood up and took an aggressive stance together with Robin.

["Hmmm...do you think you can fight me head-on even after witnessing what happened back there? Rather why are you so alarmed?"]

Winter asked as he was leaning towards a tree.

The two of them became tenser.

["*sigh* This will get us nowhere. Fret not, if my goal was to harm you then you guys won't be standing there like that."]

Winter sighs.

The two of them slowly dropped their guard.

[He's right, after witnessing his strength I don't think we can even come close to this guy...just what were we thinking rescuing this monster from...]

Suddenly Robin's face became grim as he remembered the death of his comrades.

["Michael...he's dead...Rachel..."]

Robin stopped as he was speaking.

["Wait...Michael...how can he die!?"]

["You're right, there's no way someone like him died just like that"]

Peter also became serious.

["Sorry to butt in your conversation like that, but as you can see, I am getting impatient and I want to find Irene as soon as possible. That knight didn't know where that kid is being kept right now, so my only clue left are you people. Since healing magic can't wake a person who's knocked out from mana exposure and you were Irene's subordinates, I couldn't scan your memory, lest you are rendered brain dead. So care to tell me about your priestess?"]

Winter said as he touched his chin.

["Who are you anyway?"]

Peter looked at Winter with a determined look.

["You may call me Winter. And if you are wondering how I am affiliated with your priestess, then just know that the person she was waiting for was none other than me."]

["I was also arriving at a similar conclusion but you look so young...no that's beside the point. You might as well be the same person and we will buy some part of that story but please think from our perspective, we can't simply accept you as our savior."]

Robin acknowledges Winter to some extent.

["But..."]

Peter was trying to object as Robin stopped him.

["This is the only logical decision, just leave all the thinking to me"]

Robin calms Peter.

["Since it's you...I will follow."]

Peter gives in.

["Good! Now we are in an agreement. I will provide you with power, you will provide me information."]

Winter claps.

["Even we don't know the exact location of the priestess."]

Robin starts pondering.

["There's someone who might have more idea than us."]

["You mean...Michael right?"]

Peter said.

["Yes...I believed that even if all of us died, he will definitely survive. Even though I was carrying the priestess's will...I still believe he should be the one selected instead of me"]

Robin's eyes were filled with tears.

["Even though you are not the smartest one in our group, You have the best commanding abilities. Pull yourself together, are you doubting priestess's decision?"]

Peter hits Robin at the back of his head.

["You're right this isn't like me at all."]

Robin slaps himself in his cheeks.

Then starts thinking.

["....Huh!...how'd I miss something so crucial!"]

Robin suddenly shouts.

["Rachel...she said they will leave our relatives live if we surrendered. We all grew in slums, we have no relatives left if they put us bunch in jail!"]

["You're right!"]

Peter also shouts.

["I think there's more happening in the background than I thought and if there is a plan we were talking about which I didn't devise...it must be Michael. Or maybe I am overthinking things."]

["No! You always underestimate yourselves, Robin. Your hunches are usually always spot-on. There's a reason you're the captain of our team. Have some confidence."]

Peter tries to push Robin's morale.

["..Thanks! Peter"]

["But it's still too early to start making assumptions. I think we should at least visit 'that' location before making any assumptions."]

["Are you sure we should expose 'that' place to this guy"]

Peter pointed at Winter.

["There shouldn't be a problem. In any case, our group is basically dissolved."]

Robin puts his hand on Peter's shoulders.

["Mister, let's visit an area inside the slums."]

["I suppose we have no other choice."]

Winter sighs.

...

Robin's POV

I was born in the slums. There were a lot of people like me, I was nothing special. When technology suddenly improved in Elvia, we were moved to the extreme corner of the city, most of us who resisted were killed by the Empire. My mother was also one of them. I was six when I became an orphan. Every day we scavenged food from waste the nobles used to throw. I used to fill my stomachs with whatever I found edible. Every day was a war for us people of slums. People used to fight on the garbage dump every morning trying to get the best food they can. Not to get under any adult's radar I used to grab whatever I could with my little hands and make a run for it.

One day while scavenging for food, I met a big guy with the same tattered clothes as mine. I thought he was there to steal my food so I started running. Suddenly a girl who seemed of equal age bumped into me from the front. I thought I was gonna be beaten for running instead of obediently handing over the food. But to my surprise, the big guy offered me his hand and said ' Did I startle you? Everyone around here calls me Peter.'

Suddenly the girl stood up and said 'Ouch! who told you to run so fast? Anyways, I am called Petra and I manage the food of us kids'

'So...uh...can I go now?' I was surprised by everything around me so I just wanted to run away.

'Where do you wanna run? Do you even have a place to go?' The girl replied.

'I....' I was embarrassed to say anything.

'Hehe! come with us, we have built small shelters just for kids like us' The girl offered her hand.

I guess I was too scared, I simply just turned and tried to run. But Peter stopped me and said 'You can run if you want but at least come with us for a while...or we will steal your bread'

I know he was just trying to intimidate me back then but I was very scared and surprised so I decided to go with the flow.

What I first saw there was a view I will never forget. For the first time, I saw people in slums happy. It was a small area a bit deeper into the slums. There were a lot of kids who looked the same age as mine and had small shelters made from the mud where they could rest. Wondering I asked 'Is this heaven?'.

'Haha! it's nowhere near heaven kiddo! But we try to remain as happy as we can even in these conditions.' A beardy old man suddenly appeared behind my back.

'Mister Strong, you're back!' Petra exclaimed.

'Who is he? Is his name really strong?' I softly mumbled.

'No, my name isn't something special...I am nameless. But these kids started calling me strong because I was a little bit powerful than others. Haha! I am also the caretaker of all the kids present here. And now you are also going to join these kids. Guess my workload is increasing.' Mr. Strong replied.

'Yeah! Mr. Strong is veeeery powerful, he also knows magic.' Petra said with a cheerful smile.

I was a bit wary of others so I started going back slowly when Petra suddenly holds my hand and stops me 'You know how the world treats us right? This might as well be your last opportunity to join the other side of the world...Don't you want to eat fresh food and sleep with a filled stomach? Don't you also dream of not being looked at like trash? Don..don't you also wish to smile happily once a day...thinking that everyone around you is also happy? Don't you want to *whimper* *whimper*...'

Just like that, she started crying, but I don't know why....but I also started crying very loudly...No, I suppose I know the answer...It was because that was something every one of us dreamed of but that's it, we knew it was never going to happen. We knew it was always going to be a dream.

After what happened that day, I also started living there. Nobody messed with us because of Mr. Strong. We also learned magic from him, Michael and Petra were the best at magic. Peter had good raw strength, then there was this silent girl...Rachel, she never said much but always cooperated with others. Everyone was assigned specific tasks according to their forte. I wasn't particularly good at anything so I used to cheer everyone around me. There were a total of forty-six children from ages six to ten. I started having fun around them. I still wasn't able to sleep with a full stomach...but I was happy...happy that I got an opportunity to just be here and I hoped these days to continue.

Days passed by until one day a noble visited...I guess it was due to rumors about people in slums knew magic was rising. He was a pretty high-ranking noble, or so everyone around me said. I think they said he was a Royal researcher of the Empire.

He initially looked like a friendly man. He offered us a lot of privileges like better shelters and three-time meals. It looked a bit off, I guess it was after he came...Mr. Strong never smiled after that. We, being innocent beings we were, accepted the offer. Slowly the environment around us changed, I was twelve back then. I noticed kids going to a tent that was nearly built. They said it was for monitoring the sanitary conditions in the slums. After a week, I saw Petra going there every night. One day I wasn't able to contain my curiosity. What I saw back there was a scene something I would never forget my entire life.

Petra was tied to a chair...a person wearing a mask was torturing her to an extent a word can't describe I thought she would die any moment, then they gave her a drug which made all her wounds heal in a moment, the process continued and they gave a different type of drug each time. I watched, but didn't had the courage to utter a single word. There was a sound barrier around the tent, which prevented sound from reaching outside. I was cursing myself for being weak, for not being able to protect smiles of people around me. But I was also a kid or maybe that was how I convinced myself to not do anything.

I was a wreck when suddenly a hand rested on my shoulders.

*swish*

-----To be continued-----