256 Salacia, The BloodChild of the Sea (2/2)
”Do you want to continue taking care of Salacia?”
This time, the old man interjected.
”Please wait a minute. If you are taking it back, how will my granddaughter take care of it?”
”Simple. I'm inviting you three to my base.”
”But…”
The old man hesitated. It was the same for the two children.
”I won't force you three. But, with the state you three are living here, it's better to live somewhere else. If I'm correct, you three are also experiencing harassment from the Cristobal Family, right? I'm telling you, the people in my base live better than most people here in this place.”
Mark's words turned the man's expression into a very complex one.
”I'm sorry. We can't just decide this immediately. We don't even know you.”
”Alright, I'll come back here next time before I leave the settlement to hear your decision. Also, forget the alias I told you earlier, the name's Mark. In any case, can you tell me the reason you all seem to hate the Cristobal Family?”
Hearing that they still have time to decide, the old man felt relieved. With his experience, he found that even though the man in front of them barely had any change in his facial expressions, he was saying the truth about Salacia and his invitation.
Then, the old man, Hamlin, told Mark what had happened. It all started when they were still living in the Middle District.
In the Middle District, a normal person was able to live there if they had a relative, friend or teammate that would live together with them. However, the Mutators whose superiority complex had reached high levels would still scorn these people. That was why the normal people living in that district always felt that their necks were tied up. They had to be careful about their movements and it was better if they stayed inside their dwellings.
One day however, when Hamlin was not around, Alois accidentally bumped on the young master of the Cristobal family and was heavily beaten. Layan could only watch to the side in tears. Since the rules inside the settlement about murder could not be broken, the poor boy was spared with his life but the beating he received left scars on his body.
It was fine after that and since Hamlin was a Mutator, he received compensation for what happened to keep quiet. However, another issue came when they found Salacia.
Since it was impossible to hide Salacia the first time they found her near the port, many people witnessed it. It reached that same young master and offered to buy Salacia. However, who would want to do business with the person that hurt and left inerasable scars on his precious grandson? That was when the men from the Cristobal family started harassing them.
His Silver Card was also revoked and he was reissued with a White Card. They could only leave the Middle District and live in this poverty stricken Outer District. Since there was a lack of houses and dwellings, Hamlin built one for whatever material he could get his hands on and it was this small tattered home.
Of course, the harassment did not stop. Rumors that slandered Hamlin and his grandchildren started to spread. All of the rumors were about the reasons why a Mutator like Hamlin and his family was thrown out of the Middle District. Even though none of the rumors were true, no one would believe Hamlin even if he defended his family.
Furthermore, there were times that they would be disturbed in the middle of the night because of a rock hitting the walls of their house and roof. Sometimes, a person from the Cristobal Family would also send their men to ask for Salacia but of course, Hamlin declined them at gun point. Even though they were under orders of someone, no one in the right mind would gamble with the gun pointed at them and they all left cursing. It was until Mark came who was not even faced while a gun was pointed at him.
”Why is that young master too persistent about Salacia?”
Mark asked and the old man sighed.
”Because of a woman.”
”A woman?”
”You see, the young lady of Salvador family had a hobby of collecting strange things, animals and creatures that appeared. I heard that they even bought a few slimes similar to what we have from the people of Death Valley and those were her favorite. She also heard about ours and offered a trade but since Layan had already taken a liking to it, I declined. They peacefully accepted my rejection unlike that young bastard of Cristobal Family. I bet that he wanted to get ours to gift it to the young lady to gain favor.”
The old man told the story while clenching his fists.
”That young master, what did he look like?”
”He's handsome man who is twenty five years old. His hair that is about as long as his nape is dyed blond. He always wears an expensive looking leather jacket…”
Hamlin described the young master's appearance and Mark immediately realized that he already saw the person. In any case, his view of the Cristobal Family was getting worse.
”Give me Salacia.”
Mark told Layan and she immediately followed.
”Be careful, she might attack.”
”Don't worry.”
Before Layan could even hand Salacia to Mark, the [BloodChild] was already on the verge of jumping towards Mark's hands. When she landed on his hands, Mark stealthily made Salacia absorb his blood. Its grayish white color then changed and its color was mixed with a tint or red and black.
Layan was surprised. She wanted to ask what happened but before she could even speak…
TANG!
TANG!
TANG!
”Hamlin! Come out!”
Trouble came knocking on the doors… Literally…