Doing Good Deeds Will Bring Blessings¿

Seeing Lee Pyeonghwa reflexively knit her brows, I realized too late. Ah, crap.

“I told you not to bite your nails.”

“Just go out and buy a bagel or something, please.”

“Is that a passive-aggressive way of saying you want a bagel?”

“Does it sound like that to you?”

She looked irritable, so I figured she was short on carbs and said as much.

“If you’re tired, just say so right away. The hospital said not to overdo it and to come back immediately if you get tired.”

“Got it, got it.” I stopped chewing my nails and looked through the grimy window at Han Jaeyeong and Xuemei outside.

We’d gotten the hospital’s permission to go out for half a day, all to keep an eye on Xuemei. Right now, Han Jaeyeong was looking into the social security system Xuemei needed to enter. More precisely, due to the unusual situation of being lost in a dungeon, they were in the process of handing over custody of Xuemei, which they had been informally handling until now.

I’d heard that Liu Li, Xuemei’s mother, who had dragged her into the dungeon by force, was currently separated from Xuemei and awaiting family court trial on charges of child abuse. Of course, regardless of the trial, Xuemei couldn’t be returned to Liu Li. But there was nothing Han Jaeyeong or Yu Hanul could do about it either, since we were all Korean nationals. And in the cases of Han Jaeyeong, Lee Pyeonghwa, and me, we’d suddenly ended up in the U.S. as dimensional castaways. Strictly speaking, we were “refugees,” required to leave the country quickly unless we submitted medical opinions from the hospital. From the start, we were in no position to protect a minor child like Xuemei. At worst, we could even be punished for illegally taking custody of a child.

So after Han Jaeyeong looked into where Xuemei could be protected…

“Looks like she’ll probably be placed in a foster home again, but the problem is that New York already has so many kids in situations like Xuemei’s that there aren’t enough spots.”

Even though the International Hunter Association’s headquarters was here, ever since dungeons and monsters appeared, public safety worldwide had plummeted compared to before.

New York is New York. Downtown, where expensive buildings cluster, maintains pre-cataclysm levels of security by hiring Hunters directly. But Harlem and the outskirts are another story. I’d heard dungeon risk management there is practically nonexistent. As a result, situations like homeless people deciding that even dungeons are better and throwing themselves into them actually occur. Everyone knows it, but because of lack of capital and manpower, nothing really improves.

Capitalist society has reached the stage where even human lives are converted into money. No, regardless of country, social system, or race, wherever you go, how humans live is much the same.

The weak die first.

No different from beasts.

“Whew.”

Soon, Han Jaeyeong finished talking with the staff and came out of the office with Xuemei.

Lee Pyeonghwa sprang to her feet. “How did it go? Are they really taking her today?”

“Yes. They said if we wait here, the case officer in charge will come.”

“...I see.”

Lee Pyeonghwa looked at Xuemei with a face like she was about to cry.

Xuemei, sensing the strange atmosphere, was holding Han Jaeyeong’s hand and anxiously looking around.

“Is she going straight to a foster home?”

“No, they said she has to stay at a shelter for a while first before going to a foster family. Since she ran away from one before, they need to be more careful with the matching.”

Now that I thought about it, it had been mentioned before that she’d once failed to adapt to a foster home and ran away.

“It probably wasn’t easy for her to adapt. The language barrier, and she’s never really interacted with kids her own age either.”

I didn’t know American society well, but growing up isolated without even being able to properly use English, the main language here, it was only natural. “A strange child who can’t blend into society” was something I’d experienced too. In my case, remembering my past life meant it didn’t affect me much, but not every child is so lucky.

Lee Pyeonghwa asked, “Th-then… are we parting here today?”

“Yes. We can’t keep Xuemei with us arbitrarily anymore.”

“Does Xuemei know what’s happening?”

“Yes, we told her… Try not to look so anxious in front of her, Hunter Lee Pyeonghwa. It only makes Xuemei more uneasy.”

“Ah, yes. Sorry…”

Lee Pyeonghwa quickly rubbed her reddened nose and turned away. She seemed deeply invested in Xuemei’s situation. Well, she had spent the most time with Xuemei while we were clearing the dungeon, so maybe she’d grown especially attached.

“But still, Xuemei is so—”

"Are you okay?" a mechanical-sounding voice rang out.

Han Jaeyeong had given Xuemei a temporary translator as a gift. Of course, since it had to work without the user’s mana, what it could translate was limited, but short communication was possible.

Xuemei took Lee Pyeonghwa’s hand and patted the back of it. "Don't cry."

The child was more mature.

Hearing Xuemei speak haltingly through the translator, Lee Pyeonghwa started sniffing again.

In any case, seeing that Lee Pyeonghwa genuinely cared about Xuemei, Han Jaeyeong’s tone softened a little. “Try not to worry too much. I’ve already told one of the guilds in New York that has a business partnership with our HP Guild about Xuemei. They support children as part of social contribution. We should be able to find a foster family quickly.”

“Y-yes. Xuemei, I’ll give you my phone number later.”

“I don’t have a phone.”

“Oh, right. Then I should buy you one before we part. Is that okay? It should be, right?”

“That’d be great!”

“…Huh?”

When Lee Pyeonghwa and Xuemei were chatting cheerfully, a staff member sitting inside the office tapped on the window from the other side. Seeing them holding a stack of documents, it looked like something was missing after all.

Han Jaeyeong frowned. “I think we submitted all the required documents… Ugh, American bureaucracy… I’ll go check for a moment. Sit on those chairs over there.”

Perhaps because there were many people waiting, there were chairs set aside for visitors in one corner of the office.

While Han Jaeyeong and I were talking, Lee Pyeonghwa, who had been chatting with Xuemei through the translator for a while, rubbed her nose. “Then you stay here with Xuemei for a bit, Jeong Daon. I’ll go out for a moment.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just wait a bit!”

“Hey—”

Leaving only that behind, Lee Pyeonghwa hurried out of the office. I didn’t even need to look to know. She was probably planning to just go buy a phone or tablet and hand it to Xuemei.

Well, it’s her money to spend.

No real reason to stop her.

That left just Xuemei and me alone in the hallway. The office was busy and noisy with people coming and going, but no one paid any particular attention to the East Asian girl sitting there.

Xuemei sat awkwardly beside me, glancing around quietly.

What would happen to this child?

Han Jaeyeong had asked the guild for support, so her financial situation would improve, but that didn’t mean Xuemei’s circumstances were no longer difficult. She was separated from her biological mother who had forced her into a dungeon, and she still had to adapt to a new foster family without even having properly learned the language.

And unlike me, she didn’t have a sibling desperately trying to protect her.

“…It’s not really my place to worry about others, but…”

“Hm?”

I briefly looked around.

Lee Pyeonghwa had gone to buy a phone, so she’d be a while, and Han Jaeyeong, judging by how they looked stressed in the office, seemed likely to be tied up in talks with the staff for some time. If there was anything I could do, this was probably my last chance.

I’m neither a princess protected by knights nor a kind fairy grandmother repaying favors, but still… “I owe you one from inside the dungeon.”

If Xuemei hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been able to fulfill the “Foolish Honor” keyword. That was a debt, plain and simple, and I’m not a beast.

“Can you give me your hand for a moment?”

"?"

Xuemei tilted her head, but obediently held out her hand. When she grows up, she’ll probably learn not to give her hand to just anyone, but…

After taking a deep breath, I drew out my mana like a thin thread and began to probe Xuemei’s body.

“That feels strange.”

Perhaps sensing another person’s mana flowing through her hand, Xuemei frowned.

Seeing that, I smiled slightly. “Good. At least you can feel it.”

The fact that she immediately sensed the presence of mana meant she wasn’t completely untalented. The thread of mana extending from me quickly traced through Xuemei’s body along her veins.

“Your aptitude isn’t bad.”

Her mana circuits, and the physical material capable of bearing them, were decent. After all, even if it was a special dungeon with very little life, the fact that she survived there almost alone was encouraging in itself. If she grew as she was, she’d probably receive an evaluation of around latent C-rank potential as an adult. That alone would be enough to make a living later on, but…

I firmly grasped Xuemei’s hand, and then…

“It’ll sting just a little. Bear with it.”

Bang!

It wasn’t a physical impact, but perhaps because she felt the sudden pressure inside her body, Xuemei’s eyes flew wide open in surprise. From her perspective, it must have felt like someone had popped popcorn inside her head.

“What was that? What did you do?”

“Remember that sensation. That’s how you use mana.”

“Mana?”

Whether because the translator wasn’t very good, or because Xuemei didn’t quite understand, she tilted her head. Her eyes showed that she had no idea what kind of fortune she’d just received.

I let out a small laugh. “If this were my past life, you’d be prostrating yourself in front of me, crying and thanking me.”

Both mana circuits and the aptitude to handle mana are innate, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for later development, especially at such a young age, when the body isn’t fully formed and the mana circuits are flexible. If an archmage like me intervenes, the results are clearly different. For instance, just like this: sending mana through a child’s circuits in a single circulation.

Of course, it’s not a technique just anyone can use. If one’s control slips even a little, or the amount of mana is too great, the child’s circuits would rupture on the spot and leave them crippled.

But what’s here isn’t an ordinary mage.

It’s me.

“Now, try it.”

“L-like this?”

“That’s right.”

And following my guidance, Xuemei began to move her mana, clumsily but surely. Her control was still awful, but there’s a world of difference between having felt it once and being completely ignorant.

After the mana made a full round through her body, Xuemei looked at me with a flushed face. “That’s amazing!”

“Try to follow that feeling on your own every day. If you keep at it, your body will get healthier, and you’ll even grow taller.”

“R-really? I’ll get taller too?”

"Of course."

Her innate potential might be C-rank, but if she moves mana every day like this, she could reach at least B-rank, and depending on her stats, even A-rank. In a world where strong supernatural ability users survive more easily, this could count as a gift.

After helping her familiarize herself with the sensation a few more times, I let go of her hand.

“Wh-why?”

Xuemei looked like she wanted to feel the mana a little longer, but I shook my head. That was enough to repay my debt.

“Looks like it’s really time to say goodbye.”

Han Jaeyeong and Lee Pyeonghwa would be coming back soon.

“Think of it as having had a bad dream, and live well from now on without getting dragged into things like this again.”

Like her name, may she be as steadfast as a plum blossom that blooms even in winter.

We probably wouldn’t meet again.

Just as I was about to release Xuemei’s hand, she hurriedly grabbed it and spoke. “Big Sis.” This time, it wasn’t the translator’s mechanical voice; she said it herself.

Startled, I looked at her, and Xuemei, eyes shining, held onto my hand and spoke with clear pronunciation that showed she had practiced.

“Thank you. Let’s meet again.”