PASP Chapter 32

After receiving a formal education, he could realize how narrow a well his previous world had been. He also came to understand how hard his brother had struggled to raise him in such a confined space.

D’Élysée was aware. He knew he had been particularly spiteful towards his brother today.

He knew full well that his brother wasn’t a bad person. He was just a little resentful. That he only came to see him now. Though it was hardly justified, he intended to tease him a bit.

‘How happy will he be.’

Though it was past midnight. He would never dream that I’d come to visit tonight.

At the thought of meeting his brother right away, a quiet smile spread beneath his helmet.

***

Egru wandered through the dark streets. But he didn’t get far before slumping down in a corner of an alley. The wind in the lightless street was chilly.

‘I-I’m too hungry…’

His mouth was sour.

Egru looked down at his cheese pouch and shook his head. The same went for the wheat bread. He wrapped it up tightly again and carefully tucked it into his breast.

Woof! Woof!

It was then that he heard a dog barking. In the back alley visible beyond the passage, a large dog was being fed.

The chef who had set down a rusty metal bowl smoked a cigarette and went back into the shop. The big dog stuck its nose in the bowl and began to eat ravenously. Its whip-like tail wagged excitedly.

‘Wow….’

Egru naturally plucked some weeds growing beside him and ate them. It was to stave off hunger.

‘Ah! That’s right!’

I-I’m supposed to try doing bad things.

‘What would Levian do?’

Egru staggered to his feet. He swallowed hard, eyeing the dog food in the distance.

He deliberated for a while. But the execution was instantaneous.

Egru quickly snatched the dog food and ran away.

“?”

But something was strange. He couldn’t hear any sounds of pursuit. There was no barking either.

His holey boots gradually slowed. Egru paused for a moment to look back.

“Whine…”

The big dog wasn’t chasing him but was whimpering in place. There seemed to be something wrong with its hind leg bones, as it couldn’t walk well. Sniff. Egru’s eyes instantly reddened.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Egru went back, sniffling. He decided to give up on being a bad person. To begin with, if it had been Levian, he wouldn’t have even glanced at dog food.

“You must have been hungry too. Here…”

Egru squeezed his eyes shut. He braced himself to be bitten the moment he returned the food bowl to the dog.

“!”

But instead of sharp teeth, something wet and flat brushed up his cheek. The big dog carefully licked his chapped skin.

Saliva dripped from his pale green cheeks. It was slippery and warm. Egru smiled sheepishly with his dirty face.

“Sh-shall we eat together? Really?”

“Woof!”

The big dog nudged the dog food bowl with its long snout. Egru sniffled, overwhelmed with emotion.

“I-I was going to steal it…”

“Woof! Woof!”

“Thank you so much…”

Egru and the big dog sat huddled together in a corner of the alley.

The dog’s food bowl was full of leftovers with human bite marks. Cigarette butts, tissue scraps, fish bones, and gum were mixed in. Among them, the fish head and rotten raw potatoes looked particularly appetizing.

“Here, you eat first.”

Egru gave the tasty parts to the big dog. When he picked off the meat from the fish head, the thin tongue licked his pale green palm clean. Grinning at the ticklish sensation, Egru then gobbled up the fish innards.

“Sniff.”

Egru swallowed his tears, somehow overcome with emotion. As his stomach gradually filled, the world looked different. Though the difference was truly minute, it was a bit more vivid and clear. That alone was enough.

Until now, dreaming of happiness had been a luxury. But he decided not to live like that anymore. D’Élysée had found his place, and Levian had eliminated the huge debt.

He decided to think positively. He didn’t want to quit after only causing hurt. From now on, he would live to improve himself.

‘I-I’ll change myself…’

I must never disappoint anyone again. Then maybe D’Élysée and Levian will look back at me.

With a full stomach, he felt a renewed strength to live. Though he hadn’t achieved anything yet, still. He felt confident that he could do anything.

‘I-I’m going to live. I’ll succeed more splendidly than anyone…’

I must become a brother D’Élysée can be proud of.

The life of being beaten and kicked is over now.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Egru expressed his gratitude while stroking the big dog’s fluffy forehead. The big dog stuck out its tongue and wagged its tail.

“Th-this is to apologize.”

Egru tore off half of the wheat bread and handed it over. The big dog chewed it a few times, then swallowed it whole. Egru smiled brightly.

Sniff sniff.

“Huh?”

The black nose suddenly burrowed into Egru’s breast. It seemed to have caught the scent of cheese.

“N-no, not this. I’m sorry.”

“Woof!”

“I-I’ll definitely buy you some later. Will you wait?”

The big dog whimpered and backed away. Egru smiled broadly again. For the first time, he had made a friend other than Levian.

“Bye, bye…!”

Waving his dirt-covered hand, Egru parted with the big dog. The big dog spun around in place and barked loudly a couple of times. It seemed to be saying goodbye.

‘H-he didn’t say not to stop by home…’

Egru strode forward with determined steps.

He decided to stop by home one last time. It was time to pack his belongings to leave the system.

[Belovud yonger bruther D’Élysée, deer frend Levian. I’m sory for cauzin so moch truble al this tiem. I’l defintly cum back somhow.]

Scribble scribble. The awkward sentence was finally completed. Though he wasn’t good at writing, Egru left a letter with all his heart and soul.

He took out the last items to pack one by one. Various objects spilled out from the top of the bed.

What Egru called a bed was the bottom drawer of a 3-tier chest. He curled up and slept in a space layered with dry grass and old clothes.

Of course, there was a normal bed, but it belonged to Levian. They would sleep together on the days he visited, but when alone, Egru favored the drawer bed.

“Hmm…”

Egru carefully considered whether each item was absolutely necessary. Only after three rounds of checks did he put the approved items into his bundle.

A paper frog folded from a newspaper. A pretty colored pebble. A single sock embroidered with green grape beads.

An empty cigarette pack. A wad of tissues. Two pairs of holey socks. One set of old clothes. A few doodles D’Élysée had drawn when he was young.

Among them was a picture with “Family” scrawled on it. In fact, he had wanted to take a family photo, but lacking money at the time, they had postponed it for later.

‘A-and then…’

One day, D’Élysée drew a picture of the family himself. It was an incredible talent. In the picture, two people were holding hands and smiling, and he said he had colored the yellow and pale green by crushing wildflowers and weeds with stones.

Though the colors had faded a bit with time, it was still a peerless masterpiece to Egru.

Egru suddenly reflected on his current situation.

‘E-even now…’

To think he couldn’t afford to visit a photo studio even once. Would there even be a photo studio that would accept a demon hybrid in the first place?

“!”

He quickly shook off the gloomy mood that was about to set in.

He could change from now on. There might even be more opportunities to make money outside the system. Egru stroked the picture once and tucked it into his bundle.

Rustle.

He didn’t forget the half-remaining wheat bread either. With not a penny to his name, any food was precious.

‘O-once I leave the system…’

Who knows how long it will take to find other work.

‘I’ll have to fetch water on my way out…’

It would take quite a walk to find a village outside the system. Obviously, he couldn’t use the train. Levian seemed to think he had a check worth 300,000 gold coins, but.

“…”

Egru was a penniless man, rich only in spirit.

‘N-now, really for the last time…’

The moment to check the cheese pouch had come. Egru fumbled to untie the cloth string.

Twelve pieces of truffle cheese. And the demon stone.

After counting them one by one with his index finger, he was about to tie it up tightly again when—

Bang bang bang―!

A sound like someone trying to break down the front door rang out. Startled, Egru turned his head toward the entrance.

‘Is-is it Levian?’

Did he come drunk again? Has his anger subsided?

“L-Levian? Is that you?”

Oddly, there was no answer. Only the doorknob, which Levian had broken several times already, rattled.

“?”

Something was strange.

‘Usually, he yells at me to open the door. Wh-why isn’t he saying anything?’

Though he hesitated twice, Egru still gathered his courage.

‘Th-that’s right, I’m not scared.’

Levian won’t hurt me. He’s raised his hand a few times, but he’s never hit me. He just storms off, chewing out profanities.

Egru slowly got up.

‘I-I’ll tell him properly.’

That I won’t depend on you anymore. That I’m going to leave to find my own life now!

Bang bang bang―!

“J-just wait a moment, Levian. I’ll be right…”

Thud!

This time it wasn’t a knock. It was the sound of a heavy object striking the front door handle.

Egru froze in place, turning pale. There was no time to do anything. The weak door, which let the wind whistle through, broke easily.

Creeeeak.

The gap in the door slowly widened.