Chapter 17 (2/2)

“I’m Ink Riesekraft, 10 years oldI’m an amnesia¹!”

“Even if you say it like that…”

Flamm looked tired

And then, Ink faced toward her

Seems like it’s Fla attention to her

“I’m Flamm Apricot, 16 years old…oh, I haven’t really introduced ed their introductions, perhaps now they had clear ideas about each other’s identities

Flamm honestly lowered her head

“Sorry about that, I coht now an adventurer for now”

Ink nodded her head a lot of times as she mumbled “hm, hm,” as she listened to Flamm

Afterwards, Milkit, Sarah and Eterna continued in order

“Eterna Lynnbow²…you mean, the Hero?”

Well, it was expected that she’d be surprised on Eterna’s introduction

And thus, the woirl surprised puffed her chest as she looked somewhat proud of herself

“Which ht you’re just someone with the same name”

“Yeah that’s the case…soathered…It’s unexpectedNo, should I say lucky insteadLooks like they have good econoirl with a suspicious gaze as she looked like she’s in it for thethat statement of hers, they need to know her true character

If she’s just a runaway girl then that’s fineThey can just send her back the next day

“Alright, now you’ve to spit the truth”

“I lost ht not be able to answer you know?”

“You’re sorely mistaken if you think you can slip aith thatWe couldn’t possibly take a child in whose background we don’t know”

“W-Why do you say I’

She was a child after all

“I’m more surprised that you didn’t think that we haven’t found out yet”

She gave too erous

If she planned for this runaway, her parents would have been looking for her by now

If it gets serious, they hts

They want to quickly hear about where she belongs before the officials treated the case as an abduction

“Well…the memory loss was a lie, but I don’t knohere I came from”

“No no, there’s no way that could happen”

“I’ around wildly, and then I didn’t know”

“You weren’t at your home?”

“I think I was in some sort of facility”

“Then do you knohat facility—”

“I never heard about it”

They were about to say no way, but it doesn’t see around

It seems like she truly didn’t knohere in the capital she lived in

Would that even be possible?

Was she raised where her guardians were too overprotective?

“But you see, there were also other children in that placeFuwys, Rook, Nect, and even Mute!”

She revealed that there was at least 4 children the sae as Ink in that facility

Which means the place that she described could be narrowed down to several choices

“Is it perhaps the Orphanage in the West District?”

“I don’t knowBut anyways, there are other children too”

A place within a lie where other children are also present

Thinking that way, there’s no other place but the orphanage

“Do you reuardian?”

“About Mother³?”

“That’s not a nah?”

There’s quite the possibility that the nun taking care of the children in the orphanage is called Mother

…Even stillIs it even possible for her to not know the real name of her Mother?

Or is her name truly is Mother?

“I know soe, so I could ask around in the West Church toister we could know right away too”

“Sorry to involve you in this, but thank you”

Flamm bowed her head to Sarah

Flamm doesn’t know anyone froet close with anyone from the church save for Sarah

And it was obvious since just several days ago they were just about to be killed by a beast that they made

Even after that, they couldn’t find any decent information about Ink

She said that she climbed the stairs as she escaped, that their food there was delicious, or that Mother was very kind

It was questionable, however, to judge if Ink was speaking without hiding anything

Either way, if they know that she is fro would be resolved

For now, there are no other choices but to wait for a contact from Sarah that would come tomorrow at the earliest

To send Sarah all the way to the church in the Central District, Flaether with her

As they were, Eterna silently walked up to the the questioning earlier

Milkit was quiet too, but she tends to not participate much in their conversation

In other words, Eterna was the only one to act different than usual

She stood right in front of the two, and with a serious expression, she spoke in a low tone to make sure Ink couldn’t hear her;

“There’s still a lot that the girl’s hiding”

“I thought so tooWe couldn’t get any information as of why she ran away from that place anyways”

“Well, that too, but…it was faint, but she smelled a bit like me”

“Smelled like you?”

Flamm approached Eterna and took a whiff, but she received a sharp chop on the top of the head as she said “Not that!”

“Ow…then what did you mean by smell?”

Flamm asked as she rubbed her head, and Eterna answered as her eyes peered off into the distance

“It’s like…she’s not nor unnatural about her”

“I don’t think you’re unnatural though, Eternsan”

“You’re such a blockhead so it’s obvious that you don’t notice”

“Why do you have to be so mean…”

“I think I understandI think she felt a bit off, and she feels like she’s got a different feel than other children, right?”

The description is too abstract that Flareed that the feeling is indescribable by words, which only irritates her

“Anyways, let’s quickly find her hoet too deeply involved with her”

“I’ll coet it done by then”

Everyone thought that e

Even if she’s not a child froes in the capital

Sarah will look into it tos to by then

The next , Sarah immediately departed from the church in the Central District, sent by her fellow nun

Her destination was the church of the West District

It wasn’t a place you could go casually, so she doesn’t have hts posted there had been to the Central church, they had been acquainted then

They were the two knights that took away Dain’s underlings when Rich’s bag was stolen

The uardroo and stood up and said “Yo, glad you could come” with a friendly tone

And then one of the two approached Sarah and pet her head as if playing around with her

“Wa, stop that, Ed! My hair’s gonna be a mess!”

“Oh, so you’ve paid attention to your hair now eh? You’ve grown up now haven’t you?”

Despite that, the man called Ed still continues to ruffle her hair with his hand

His face showed a s so, didn’t she?”

“Well I can’t really help it JohnnyThe irl I just wanna touch herYou know, like when an owner sees his dog or soht?”

“I’d be troubled if you’re asking ree”

Johnny showed a bitter smile

In the meantime, Sarah who still had her hair !” as she tried to shook Ed’s hand off, and Ed said “sorry, sorry” as he let her head go as he laughed it off

Colared at the e to yell at the about Ink

“Yesterday soirl, so are there any issues about children going e?”

“No, I don’t think there’s anything”

“Yeah, everything is the definition of a peaceful dayWe had nothing to do that we got so bored”

Peeking behind the two into the guard roos scattered on top of the table

It turned out that they truly didn’t have anything to do, so Ed and Johnny are betting or some sort

“Her na coI didn’t hear any requests fro for a lost child either”, Ed said

And then when Johnny who takes his job seriously agreed to him, then that’s the truth

“Then how about Fuwys, Rook, Nect or Mute? Have you heard of these names before?”

“I couldn’t possibly re out the nae in double ti with each other and handed over the naister

“Let’s see…Ink…Ink…”

They started by searching for Ink’s name, but they couldn’t find it

Afterwards they looked for Fuwys, Rook, Nect and Mute letter by letter, but even after going through it one by one with their fingers, they couldn’t find thee huh…Then what’s next is…”

“A child that doesn’t exist…looks like that, isn’t it?”

Ed grinned toward Johnny as he said that

Johnny also laughed with his nose to the sudden change of topics

“Aah, thatEvery night there are weird sounds echoing around the orphanage, and a child that doesn’t exist appears”

“What’s that about?”

“It’s a ruhtsIt has becah”

“But Johnny probably doesn’t knowThere’s a continuation to that topic”

Perhaps because Ed likes this type of gossip, he started talking

“There’s actually a secret facility below the church in the West District, and they’re doing experi the children froonna be possibleEven if just one child went e uproarAlso if the ruuys, won’t they? The people at the top won’t stand for that”

“Johnny’s no funHow about you, Sarah? You’re interested, right?”

“……it really is interesting”

Though her interest was beyond just the interest of occult

Perhaps the rumor Ed told her was more than just a rumor

There’s no smoke without a fire

Someone who knows about the existence of the facility accidentally leaks it out, and now it’s being concealed as a ruhts—It wouldn’t be unthinkable for that to be the case

“It seems like an experiin?”

“No I don’t know if the plot is that detailed, but just…GodAnd with that, they’re planning to implant God’s power into the hu in the monster she found in the research facility in the cave?

She sed the saliva that had built up in her mouth nervously

“And then the children are made to wield the power that can only be described as the power of GodsThey’re also said to have the ability to co to lose out to them if they do exist”

You could hear a divination from Maria too, but it’s not like you can do it at any time you wish

But she had a revered position of a Saint, if there is a child that can constantly communicate with God, they will definitely be treated as a God in human form

“And the name of that plan is—!”

The er toward Sarah, and as if it’s his signature, he said,

“The Helical——”

But he stopped before he could finish his sentence

“Co…r……e?”

And then, with hishalf open, a weird word flows out of his mouth

“Ed?”

Worried, Johnny came close to Ed whose condition turned weird

And then, he put his hand on Ed’s shoulder, and Ed’s head jumped

“A…Aah…the Helical…Children…?”

“The…first…”

“Oy, Ed, what…happen—ed!?”

What was reflected on Johnny’s eyes was—another one of Ed’s head growing out of his neck

It grew just like a branch of a tree, and itsrepeatedly

“Ed…Ed! What’s going on…!”

Johnny felt soaze there

As he did, a sphere of black, white and red sinks itself into his thigh

“UWAAAA!! GET AWAY! DON’T GET INN!!”

He desperately tried to gouge it out with his hand, but it was too late

The eyeball had already sunk in, and then—he grew another leg

He shed cold sweat on his forehead, and after feeling the sensation again, he looked up toward the station ceiling

As he did, he saw countless eyeballs looking down on hi even worse than that

His blood froze, his face twitched, and he felt a cold chill running up his spine

But he couldn’t run away, thinking that his third leg would be dragging hi at the eyeballs raining down fro

Fortunately, those eyeballs doesn’t seeh

The only probleerous the moment he comes in contact with it—but at least he could stop it on its tracks

“S-Sarah, run away!”

“B-But…”

“It’s fine, just run! I don’t knohat the hell this is but it’s not so we can take on!”

“U…Uu……”

“That’s what Ed would want too!”

Johnny yelled at Sarah with a pale face

She accepted theher lips as she said “I’m sorry”, with a pained expression

Ed had lost hi non-hu Johnny’s body one by one

His consciousness is fading

His body is gradually turning into so that is not huned hiure that was already far away, disappeared as she turned the corner

Confirh, and with a smile, drew his last breath