Chapter 81 – Family
The gazes of the slum residents on her way were everything but friendly. At best, it was indifference to her passing by. At worse, it was disdain or repugnance. She ignored them all, only focusing on reaching the well. Once she was there, she drew some water from it. It was unclear and muddy water but was still the best that was available in this forsaken place. She used it to clean her mouth and body, removing any trace of what just happened as best as she could.
While doing this, she looked down on her body. Her chest was bulging over her torso while her waist and butt were taking some forms. She hated how she was so obviously getting more effeminate. It wouldn't be long before those low lives stopped being satisfied with a blowjob because of her youth. The thought made her shiver. She could very much imagine the fate that awaited her. She had seen it happen to others too many times already.
She shook her head and swiftly dried herself. She had to go back home now. After making her way through the labyrinth-like alleys of the slum, she eventually arrived at a small and dark back street. In the middle of it stood a bunch of pieces of wood and cloths, organized to create a makeshift shelter.
As she approached, a boy left it to check who was coming. He smiled as he noticed it was her.
"Rin. Welcome back."
"Yeah…"
A smaller boy then left the shelter and ran toward her, jumping into her arms.
"Rin! Ouelkom bak!'"
She hugged his small form back, appreciating his body heat. Her brothers looked just like her, with black fur, triangular ears, and a slim tail. These two were the sole solace of her life, the reason she could go on every day. Her most precious family. She gave a slight smile.
"I'm back, my treasure."
"Hehehe!"
Her baby brother giggled happily in her arms before leaving her and running back into the dilapidated shelter. Amongst the three of them, he was the only one who didn't feel bad about living here. This was all he had known since he was born, after all. In the same way, she was practically his mother since she looked after him since his birth.
She gave the piece of bread to her other brother, who accepted it with guilt on his expression. She never told him what she was doing to get the adults' protection but he wasn't a fool. He was roaming the streets of the slum just as much as her and he was hearing all sorts of things. But she didn't care. She was their older sister. She would do anything for them.
Once they were settled in their home, they ate a frugal meal, with the two older siblings sharing the hard bread and the younger one swallowing the better food they had. Aren looked at their younger sibling happily eating before glancing her way.
"Do you think he'll come today too?"
"Don't think about it. We shouldn't rely on him in the first place."
"But… he's been coming every day for a week."
"So what? He'll get bored of it eventually. Just like all the others. It's just a game for people like him. A game they play to make themselves feel good."
Her brother turned his head away and the discussion halted there. She watched Orun eat his food, finding comfort in his pure and innocent behavior.
Once the meal was done, they put the food away and focused on their tasks. Orun still needed one of them to always stay with him since he was so young and they had to alternate who kept an eye on him. It was Aren's turn for now and Erin gazed at them distractedly.
She knew she didn't have a lot of time left before the worst happened to her. She still remembered the time they had to escape from Makji with their father. The trip had been hard, especially because their father was in bad health. They initially rented a small place but their father's condition deteriorated quickly. He passed away from sickness soon after and the children were left to their own devices, ending up in the slums. Because Orun was still a newborn baby at the time, they had to use any leftover money from their father to buy the services of a surrogate mother for her milk. They were left with nothing after that but it was a small price to pay to save their brother's life.
As for their mother, none of them knew anything about her. By the time Erin was old enough to understand the world around her, her father and Aren were the only beings in her life. Their father was a good person and he loved them dearly. However, now that she was older, she realized that their situation had been weird. He was inside the house most of the time to take care of them, only leaving it on rare occasions. It was unknown where his income was coming from.
Years later, their father came back with the newborn Orun as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Soon after that, they had to flee the country, for a reason their father hadn't disclosed either. Even though she and Aren had asked him many times about their mother and the reason for needing to escape, he never answered their questions.
As for her current situation, it wasn't like she had no plans at all. After spying on rich children for a long time, she managed to overhear the secret to increase in rank. She had been training her magic since then, aiming to become a rank 1 sorceress. Even that small increase in rank would give them a better chance in life. Unfortunately, it was a lot harder than expected. She knew that simply hearing a few pieces of advice on that one time was far from the full tutoring rich kids received but she wasn't ready to give up yet. This was her only hope, the only thing she had.
She closed her eyes and focused on the flow of sel inside her body.
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