Chapter 2 The Fireplace: Childhood Days, Pure Innocence, Unleashing One's True Nature...
[If you won't tell me who adopted Mainkun, I'll find out myself!]
The future jailer, the future duke, the current powerless child, angrily charged into the night, brushing past the executor of the Fools.
Can a ruthless assassin have brothers?
Dressed in all black, Kujavina stood silently outside the farm window, scrutinizing the faces of all the livestock.
Find him, bring him to the House of Hearths, and then find a way to get the Chosen One to kill him himself.
......No?
[Dad, Mom, dinner's ready. Remember to save some for...]
[Alright everyone, let's start eating now that everyone's here.]
At the farm where the half-demon were sold, under the care of those kind and benevolent foster parents, Kujavina found no children with black hair and icy blue eyes.
Sold? Ran away? Or died?
trouble.
*
"My brother and the rest of the family went to school in Xumi, so my mother came to take care of me?"
The tip of its tail curved in confusion as Maine tilted its head in thought.
“Yes, Maine.” Kujavina carefully observed the child’s reaction:
"It's just that we didn't have enough Mora, and you're too young, so we didn't bring you."
"oh......"
Although Maine had a gut feeling that something was off, half-demons think differently from humans, born with the straightforwardness of beasts and lacking the shrewdness of humans.
Moreover, Maine was just an infant, a kitten who had been imprisoned in a sheepfold since birth. After being taken to another sheepfold, he could only listen to the words of the red-haired peasant man and bewildered.
My brother once said that school is a good thing.
So, something good has happened to my brother and everyone else?
He counted his age on his fingers.
"One, two, three... six, is only older children allowed to attend this school?"
"Yes, the competitive games at school are very intense, and you can be eliminated if you're not careful, so only the best older kids can participate."
Kujavina would never dare to say anything like "your brother is dead" again.
She was also willing to be patient and coaxing when it came to the precious spark of life.
"So you must eat well, study hard, and grow up well." The mother lovingly ruffled Maine's soft ear, but inwardly she was cursing:
He's clearly a promising talent, so why does he have such a volatile and uncontrollable personality?
To wail and scream like a mindless beast is not the way Wang Dangyou should be.
How can we correct this so that he can maintain the indifference he shows when he kills, no matter what?
"Only by becoming the strongest child here can you help your brother!"
"Mother! You're not allowed to touch my head!"
Mainkun slapped her hand away with a claw, slapping away her earnest teachings as well.
"Your gloves are stiff today and smell like rock element, it's so annoying!"
"......you!"
Who do you think I upgraded my equipment for?!
—Stay calm, be patient with these precious seeds! I need to build a good relationship with them...I have to be a good mother.
Kujavina suppressed her anger and forced a gentle smile.
"Cravlie, go show him his bed and introduce him to his new friends."
"New—friend—?"
The kitten's vertical pupils dilated with excitement:
"I love making friends! Are they all my age? Great! I love kids my age! My family used to think I was too young and wouldn't play with me. Peipei, take me with you!"
"Hey, okay... I'm not Pepe, I'm Clementine!"
Claire, holding hands with her chattering new brother, tried hard to recall her limited social experience.
"Are the requirements for going to school really that high?"
*
Mainkuhn was not the last child the Fireplace House received.
When a hundred pairs of little shoes filled the shoe cabinet, a hundred little beds were arranged in two rows according to gender, and the laughter of a hundred children filled the communal bedroom, Mainkuhn had completely adapted to life in the fireplace house.
After all, life here is exactly the same as before. There's no need to study or work. All I need to do every day is stay with my brothers and sisters and play to my heart's content.
Not allowed to go out? They weren't allowed before, and the Fireplace House has a much larger space!
"Wow! Monster! Ghost!" The new boys, all of whom had Inazuma blood, huddled together excitedly, pointing at Maine's furry ears and laughing loudly.
"Thor, protect me! Quickly, bring me beans and salt!"
Hungry? Want some boiled beans with salt? That's not very tasty.
The cat twitched its ears, not understanding.
"Hey! Shut up!" Clementine understood and shouted as she rushed over to stop her.
"No way!" Ichiro, Jiro, and Saburo laughed at her in unison, "There are three of us, who can beat us?"
Did you understand what I meant? With a thud, the cat took off from the spot, kicked two people over in mid-air, and then pounced on Ichiro, the leader.
"Look! I can beat you!" Maine cheered, piling on top of the troublemakers.
As the sharp teeth opened and closed, Ichiro, lying on the ground, saw a thin tongue covered with barbs.
Like a brush, sharp, with white barbs.
What?! Is this something a human being should have?
No, they're different from the animal-eared children I used to bully!
This looks like a real monster!
"Waaaah! Mommy!"
"Huh? You wet your pants? Isn't it a bit much for a six-year-old to still wet his pants—oh, he's run away."
Maine, which had been knocked to the side, wagged its tail in dissatisfaction.
"What's wrong?"
He was certain he hadn't used excessive force.
"'Who can defeat us?' Doesn't that mean I should try to see if I can defeat them?"
“It’s like this again.” Peruvieri said nonchalantly, holding her sketchbook beside her. “Main, he doesn’t understand human language.”
"I told you to shut up!" Claire exclaimed helplessly. "See, you got what you deserved!"
"...No, it's clearly him who's acting strangely! He was fighting three people at once!"
Saburo cowered on the ground, too afraid to move. "Could it be...could it really be a monster?"
Only Jiro rushed forward with a pillow:
"Avenge our brother! Oh oh oh!"
"Want to have a pillow fight?!" The cat's tail stood straight up.
I want to win!
"Wait! Maine, watch your nails!"
The warning came too late; half a pillow, with its inner core sandwiched between its sides, slammed into Peruvier's face with a thud.
"..." The little girl with black and white hair covered her head and face with down feathers, and the picture book was completely covered.
"Wow, Pepe, you've become all furry too."
The culprit, oblivious to its own mortality, darted over there, leaping to grab the feathers floating in the air.
"It looks like a rabbit, can I touch it?"
Before anyone could answer, he reached out and ruffled the future servant's hair twice, frowning and saying with disdain:
"It's not as nice to pet as my tail."
"......"
Clementine: "Wait! Pepe! Calm down, calm down! Don't take my pillow!"
Maine: "Pepe wants to play too? Yay!"
Jiro: "Are you an idiot, you monster?! That expression of hers clearly said she wanted to kill you!... Waaaaah, why did she hit me too?"
"Who told you to start the trouble!"
Amidst laughter, Saburo shakily got up from the ground, looked up and saw Kujavina leading a weeping Ichiro, waving and smiling at him.
"Mother, Mainkun is so scary—"
The child cried and hugged the adult's waist, and the adult had already made their judgment in their heart.
"Cowardly and incompetent."
One hundred minus two.
*
The children's food is served in portions, which are plentiful and filling, and nutritionally balanced.
Maine took big bites of the roasted ribs, scraping even the bits of meat between the bones cleanly into her mouth with the barbs on her tongue.
She seems to have a good appetite, but actually...
"Want some sausage?"
"It smells like onions, I hate it."
Clementine forked the sausage away.
"Fried fish?"
"It smells like lemon juice, ugh."
Peruvian served fried fish.
"fruit?"
"My stomach hurts after eating grapes! No way!"
So Jiro swallowed it all.
"You're such a picky eater!"
"Little Mei, just eating ribs won't fill your stomach, will it..."
"But I really just want to eat meat, preferably fresh meat with very little seasoning and no vegetables!" Mainkuhn insisted.
“Cat food,” Peruvieri retorted.
In the end, only vegetables and dry bread were left, and nobody wanted to eat them.
“Wasteful, not good... If only my brother were here.” Maine lay on the table, her vertical pupils shining as she stared at the vegetables, trying to make them disappear on their own.
After all, cats really don't like to eat it.
"If you don't mind, I'm willing to exchange my meat products for it."
Just when he was in a difficult situation, a thin, dark-skinned girl suddenly appeared and patted him on the shoulder in a friendly manner.
"!so good?!"
"Mmm, well, there's nothing we can do about it." The little girl, with her dull complexion and dry, yellow hair, shyly scratched her cheek.
"My family didn't eat much meat before, but now that I've started eating it, I've realized I'm not really suited to it. My stomach feels terrible, and my belly is uncomfortable..."
"That's really the opposite of Maine. They're completely different."
Claire sympathetically forked the cherry tomato for her and then tore the lettuce leaves away from Pepe.
"Get well soon! The meat is so delicious!"
The cat sincerely wishes you well.
"Thank you so much, you've been a huge help!"
Everything was observed by the mother, who sat at the head of the table.
Weak.
Ninety-eight minus one.
Mond's brothers insisted on reciting poetry in the wind and rain.
"I've seen people with hairy ears like you in Mondstadt, and I can even sing songs praising them!"
"Hunter of the Katzrein~ The wind and rain cannot obscure your sharp eyes~ Accompanied by the howl of wolves, you run through the mountains... Cough cough, do I look like a bard?"
He had a fever and pneumonia, so his mother took him to see a doctor.
Ninety-seven minus one.
"I spent a year at the Order of the Church, but I haven't gone back since my family had that incident... However, I did see someone with hairy ears in Sumeru City! I didn't see him clearly at first, and I even asked him where he bought his headband, hehe~"
Sumi's sisters were very nearsighted and mistook Peipei's eyes for mushrooms, so they went to get treatment.
Ninety-six minus one.
"Can I call you Mom? My mom has pink hair too."
There was a crybaby who always missed her family, and Clementine would hold her while she slept.
"Actually, the shades are different. Mom's hair is light pink, but thank you so much anyway, Sister Clementine!"
The mother contacted a kind adopter.
Ninety-five minus one.
"Cats aren't scary! People are! They're scary! People with weapons are the scariest!"
Why do people hurt each other...?
The little girl is always scared, but she's really cute when she smiles. Mainkun likes to tease her with his tail.
...
Ninety-four minus one.
......
Sieve carefully, select slowly, Mother, gently and patiently picking away the weak, the rotten, the broken, and the powerless.
Finally, she gathered the children together and told them the great fairy tale under their admiring gaze.
"You are children born of loneliness..."
Just as the mother had expected, some of the bright orphans showed sad expressions upon hearing the sound.
"I don't count, I have an older brother, I was born to my brother."
"!?"
Once their sadness subsided, the children all looked at Maine with admiration.
"Your brother is amazing! Can we learn from him next time we have a baby?"
Kujavina: "...The House of Hearths will ensure your healthy growth..."
"Why are there only bunnies in the picture books? I want a cat, I want to be a cat, boohoo."
"What are cats? We, the Long-Maned Tigers of Sumeru, will devour you in one bite!"
"What's so great about the long-haired tiger? It can climb trees faster than I can."
The topic shifted rapidly, and all the deliberately created atmosphere was diluted by the childish noise.
"Maine, if you say another word, get out—cough, get out."
Unable to bear it any longer, Kujavina issued a warning with a dark expression.
"Olivia, that bunny has bubble-shaped hairs on its head too, just like you... Oh, okay, Mother, I'm going out!"
Maine didn't understand the warning; taking it literally, he immediately jumped happily out of the window.
There's no way around it; compared to fairy tales and stories, sunshine and grass are much more attractive to kittens.
Wow, there's a spider in the box! Can we have an extra treat?
Oh, it's dead. What a pity, we can't eat it now.
Why did Pepe hit me again?
I caught a cicada as an offering, as an apology to her spider.
Pepe and Clementine ate cake, while I ate offerings.
What are you doing! Spit it out!
I got hit again. The cicada flew away, chirping loudly. I didn't get to eat it. Waaah!
Today was also a pleasant day.
I miss you so much, brother.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Wow, someone actually wished me good luck with my first post! I'm so happy! And so many familiar names—what a pleasant surprise! I thought nobody would read it (so touching) (tears of joy)
I love you all! ! !
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