Chapter 8
A gap appeared in the previously empty space, and a black hole formed.
“Oh, it’s opening?”
This was the pocket dimension created by Arthia, her longtime friend and the head of the Mage Tower.
‘No magic power needed.’
‘No magic power?’
‘Yep! You can open it anytime and anywhere you want. Now, you can store herbs here. There’s no need to pack them separately when you go out for treatment.’
‘Oh.’
‘What do you think? Do you like it?’
‘Yes.’
‘It’s much more useful than that Kainel, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Hehe!’
It was such a delightful gift that she couldn’t help but give the answer he wanted.
Above all, there were no limitations on storage, which was perfect for Grace. She could easily store countless herbs.
Moreover, with preservation magic cast on it, it became even more useful.
“They said it’s connected to the soul.”
That was what Arthia had said when she first received this space.
Since it was connected to her soul, there was no need for a separate activation word; she could open it just by thinking.
It seemed that even though her physical body had changed, she was still connected to it.
“There are still a few pages left.”
Ceres confidently thrust her hand into the black space.
A moment later, a piece of paper tied with a string emerged.
This was also created by Arthia; it was a magical item that teleported the user to the desired location upon tearing the paper.
‘It’s precious.’
She didn’t know how things were now, but back then, the amount of magic required to move from one place to another was substantial.
Kainel had coveted this teleportation magic item as well.
“Sell it. I’ll give you as much money as you want.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Then you’ll come to see Grace more often. I can’t bear to see that.”
“Why don’t you try actually experiencing how much you can’t stand it? I’ll help you.”
“Go ahead if you can, you frozen human!”
“You lot! Kai, put the sword away immediately! Alti, if you use magic here, you’ll be banned from entry for half a year!”
“Ugh! Half a year is too much, Grace!”
“Shut up! Both of you get out! Don’t disturb the patients!”
“It’s strange how they always fight whenever they meet.”
One was too cold, and the other was too lively, perhaps?
They say opposites attract, but these two didn’t seem to be that way.
In any case, as a result, Kainel had never used this teleportation magic item even once.
“Gur Village… Gur Village…”
After checking the coordinates of the village several times, Ceres tore the paper.
Swish!
Bright light burst forth, and in an instant, her figure vanished from that spot.
***
“Aeri, have you finished serving the meals?”
“Yes, I just finished.”
A woman in her mid-thirties approached Aeri, a girl in her early twenties, as she came down the stairs.
“It’s nice to have meat dishes for a change; everyone seems to be enjoying it. We’ve been serving vegetarian meals for a while now.”
“Right.”
“By the way, that meat… it’s that one, right? The lowest grade that’s hard to distribute to the market…”
“Aeri, watch your mouth.”
“Ah! Yes!”
At Julie’s admonition, Aeri hurriedly covered her mouth with her hand.
“Our nursing home only uses the highest quality ingredients. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Arnold Nursing Home, located at the edge of Gur Village.
The newly built, luxurious white building housed quite a number of people living there for care.
Arnold advertised that everything, from ingredients to herbs, was provided at the highest quality.
Of course, the reality was quite different.
Using expired ingredients was a given, and despite the invoices, there had never been a case of prescribing the highest quality herbs to the patients.
A nursing home that looked splendid on the outside.
Still, the reason it could continue operating without issues was that most of the residents living there were elderly individuals with limited mobility and significantly diminished cognitive abilities.
The patients shared another commonality that allowed the nursing home to operate freely.
That was the absence of visiting family members.
No one disputed the recommendation to refrain from visiting for the sake of the patients’ peace of mind.
In fact, the guardians were all very pleased because they could shift the burden of not visiting onto the nursing home’s regulations.
“How is the child in the last room?”
“I just took care of her.”
“Did you check if she ate?”
“Well…”
“Aeri!”
This was the first time a loud voice erupted from Julie.
“Oh, no! I was really busy. I served almost all the meals by myself today!”
Aeri complained with an innocent tone, but Julie’s fierce gaze did not relent.
Among the many patients, there was one in particular that the caregivers paid special attention to, and that was the seven-year-old girl, Yulia.
However, the fact that they were paying attention didn’t mean they were taking good care of her.
“Tsk, hurry up and follow me.”
“Yes.”
Seeming intent on checking herself if Yulia had eaten, Julie walked ahead, with Aeri following closely behind her.
“By the way, Julie.”
As she quietly followed, Aeri couldn’t understand the situation at all.
Finally, she threw out the question that had always been on her mind.
“Why do you have to watch over that child to see if she eats? You don’t do that for other patients.”
Of course, it was their job to check and take care of the patients’ well-being.
But when had they ever cared about such things?
‘But why this little kid?’
They always checked if she had finished her meals and thoroughly blocked any contact from her family.
The letters from the child’s family were also collected and never sent.
‘Why?’
They didn’t do this for the other patients.
What if the letters contained negative remarks about the nursing home? They checked those too.
But unlike Yulia, they hadn’t completely cut off the relationships with other patients’ families.
“You just need to do what you’re told.”
“Yes.”
Faced with Julie’s sharp glare, Aeri couldn’t ask any more questions and quietly followed her.
After all, whether the child was isolated or her relationship with her family deteriorated didn’t concern her. As long as they were getting paid, it was all that mattered.
Click.
“Yulia, did you finish your meal…!”
Moments later, upon entering the room at the far end of the building, both Julie and Aeri were unable to finish their sentence.
“Wh-Who are you?”
“……”
A stranger standing next to the sleeping child slowly turned to look at the two.
In her hand, she held a bowl of soup that the child had left uneaten.
“What are you doing?”
Realizing this fact, Julie rushed over to the woman, unable to hide her embarrassment.
“Uh, um!”
However, when Julie reached out to snatch the bowl away, the woman took a light step back, leaving her grasping at air.
The woman gently caught her as she stumbled, nearly falling over.
The woman’s violet eyes sparkled with an unusual chill as they locked onto Julie.
“Is this the food made from the finest ingredients and the highest quality herbs?”
“Th-That…!”
At the woman’s words, both Julie and Aeri’s faces flushed with embarrassment.
The food presented was in such a pathetic state that the word “highest quality” lost all meaning.
It didn’t seem like the question was meant to elicit a response, as the woman’s gaze returned to the bowl.
“How interesting.”
…She didn’t seem the least bit amused.
Why did that slight upward curl of her lips send shivers down their spines?
Unbeknownst to them, both Julie and Aeri swallowed dryly.
“But, who are you?”
It wasn’t until after a long pause that Julie regained her composure and asked the same question again.
She clearly wasn’t one of the staff here… Could she possibly be related to the child?
Could she be family?
‘That can’t be.’
The head nurse had certainly said so.
No one would come to visit Yulia.
So, they were supposed to just manage well.
As long as the sky didn’t flip upside down, there wouldn’t be any problem regardless of what they did, right?
“……”
The woman, as if teasing the anxious Julie, didn’t react for a while. She merely continued to stare intently at the child who was still sleeping soundly.
“…Sister.”
“Yes?”
After a long while, the woman’s response caused both of their eyes to widen in confusion.
“I’m this child’s sister.”
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Comment