Chapter 430: The Ones Who Remain
Every day, those adorable children would place flowers and pray at your grave.
They would say, "I wish I could have met Grandpa too."
To them, she had become their Grandma, and her husband had become their Grandpa.
They truly were like a family.
No, they were family.
"I told you before, didn’t I? I wanted to entrust them to you because you are such a loving person. I can now say with complete confidence that my judgment back then was not mistaken. Thanks to you, those children learned what love is."
Children who had been sold by their parents, abandoned by their parents, lost their parents, and lived each day thinking only about surviving.
"There are many kinds of love, but I believe affection can only exist because there is someone to receive it. Those children accepted your affection, and because of that they grew up healthy, cheerful, and kind."
She had never raised children before.
That was why she simply cared for them with the hope that they would grow into happy people.
She gave warm meals to children who were skin and bones.
She gently treated children who trembled in fear of violence, telling them they were safe now.
She carefully washed their dirty little bodies.
She stroked their backs so they could sleep peacefully.
"I’m sure they will pass that love on to others. Thank you. Truly, thank you. I’m grateful that I met you. And..."
That smile made the old lady happy.
"More than anything, I want to thank your husband for bringing someone like you into this world."
To her, those were the greatest words of praise she could ever receive.
The reason she was who she was today was because of him.
Because her husband had saved her, she could now smile and honestly say she was happy.
Otherwise, she would have died alone somewhere, unnoticed by anyone.
Instead, she met the man she loved, she met Qiong Xing, and she met those children.
Thanks to Qiong Xing, people came to know about her, and about the man she had loved more than anyone despite him being a beastmen.
"...That makes me so happy. Hehe... I’m so happy that I feel like I could live a little longer."
She knew that was impossible.
Even so, she wanted to live just a little longer.
Together with the people she had met because of him.
"I’m glad to hear that. By the way, Ars helped prepare today’s meal. It turned out delicious, so please eat plenty."
"It sounds wonderful. I feel like I could eat as much as I wanted."
Laughing softly together with Qiong Xing, she followed him to the room, where she happily accepted the plate that was shyly offered to her.
..
Hand in hand, they were led into a dimly lit room lined with cages packed full of people wearing collars around their necks.
Seeing the slaves up close for the first time left Ars at a loss, and the countless pairs of eyes staring at him made his legs freeze.
"Are you scared?"
"...A little."
Hearing Qiong Xing’s gentle voice and feeling the warmth of the hand holding his, Ars finally let out the breath he had been holding.
He felt pathetic for being frightened by something like this, but Qiong Xing did not mock him.
Instead, he smiled and nodded.
"That’s perfectly fine. Just don’t ever think this sight is something normal. I’m not saying slavery itself should be denied, but there are people in here who have been imprisoned despite committing no crime. Neither you nor I can save everyone, but at the very least, don’t ever look down on them."
Though they were slaves, Qiong Xing said they were still people, no different from themselves.
"It’s true that I once bought Elias and Cari as slaves, but I never intended to overwork them or treat them badly from the very beginning."
Ars had already guessed as much from the beastmen who lived with him, but it also fit Qiong Xing’s personality.
"There are reasons we’re here to buy people today as well, but that doesn’t mean I want anyone to treat them carelessly."
"I know."
After his parents died, his relatives treated him as a burden.
He survived by stealing every day, barely managing to make it through one day at a time.
Compared to that, there was not much difference between him and the people inside these cages.
If things had gone just a little differently, he too could have been captured by some rotten adult and sold as a slave.
"So if you see someone you think would be a good fit, let me know. Beastman would be preferable, but a human would be fine too."
"Okay."
The reason they had come today was to bring more helping hands to the house.
Ars himself had not particularly felt they needed more people, but...
"The old lady said her legs have been hurting, didn’t she? She’s managing for now, but if she falls one day and can’t get back up, I want someone who can help her."
After hearing that, Ars quietly nodded.
He had been worried about his grandma for a long time, so he was grateful that someone wanted to help take care of her.
Then Qiong Xing said something that surprised him even more.
"I’m thinking of buying a slave. I considered hiring someone instead, but honestly... you can’t completely trust strangers, can you?"
Paying wages to hire someone was the normal thing to do, but Ars knew there would always be dishonest adults looking for an opportunity.
With a slave, however, that risk was much lower.
Qiong Xing had no intention of forcing anyone to obey, but with a slave collar in place, there was far less chance of someone turning violent in anger or secretly bringing suspicious strangers into the house.
"I could choose someone myself, but you and the others are the ones who’ll actually be living with them. I want you to choose someone you all feel comfortable sharing your home with."