Chapter 41: Future

Later that day, Zarria was walking by the school they’d built to see the progress of the new students. They were currently on a short break.

The children were grouped by age, but the lessons they took were the same. After all, everyone was starting from zero.

“Hello, Lady Zarria!” the kids greeted her with innocent smiles.

She awkwardly smiled back.

It was almost hard to believe that just about a week ago, these children were living in unimaginable conditions.

Truthfully, Zarria was permanently scarred by what she had discovered about their clan. Even now, she felt like she had to personally apologize to every single one of these kids. The guilt she bore was not easily shakeable.

She continued walking, passing by the sturdy buildings, a safe and fun space for the children to learn.

’Mother really went all out,’ Zarria thought after seeing the simple but well-equipped school.

She then reached the playground. Seeing the kids happily play with their friends eased the guilt in her heart at least a bit.

Then, she saw Eunice and Rose sitting at a bench. Both were holding one book while trying to decipher how to read the text on it.

“Let’s look at the previous page, I think I’ve seen this character before,” Eunice suggested.

So, they flipped back the page.

“Teacher said this is ’Nu’, but this one has a small line on the top. Ughh why is studying so hard?!”

Rose giggled at her friend’s frustration.

“They’re totally different characters, Eunice. Also, if you look closely, this one without the line, ’Nu’, has a bigger circle.”

Eunice scratched her head.

“I’m too stupid for this.”

Upon hearing Zarria’s footsteps, they raised their gaze and looked at her in shock.

“I can help you,” she said with a faint smile.

The air between them was still a barrier.

It had already been established that Zarria had nothing to do with the clan’s wrongful acts and Eunice had also apologized for saying those mean words to her. Since then, she had been trying to get closer to them and understand them, but as expected, it wasn’t going to be as easy.

“Lady Zarria,” Eunice uttered, staring at her in a trance.

Then, she and her friend both stood up and lowered their heads.

“Please help us! Our test is coming tomorrow and we’re pretty sure teacher is gonna cook us!” she added.

“Cook? What do you mean?” Zarria asked, confused.

Eunice scratched the back of her head.

“Oh, sorry. That was just a dumb slang we use in the slums,” she explained.

“Ahem… What I mean to say is… we’re dead. That test is gonna kill us.”

Zarria gave them a firm, determinated look.

“I’ll make sure you’ll kill it instead,” she replied with a terrifying grin.

…

….

( TWENTY MINUTES LATER )

“We’re truly cooked…” Eunice mumbled, tears welling up in her eyes.

Zarria, her eyes blazing in passion, grabbed the red-haired girl’s hands firmly and then said:

“Don’t give up! I know you’re smarter than this. Look, these characters in the first column all represent curve sounds. If you can differentiate between them and the straight sounds, you will learn basic reading in no time!”

Eunice’s soul escaped through her mouth.

“There’s so much to memorize…”

Zarria sighed while Rose just laughed.

There was a reason why children started studying these lessons at an early age. It was because their brains absorbed information much faster and the older humans get, the harder it would be for them to learn. Zarria couldn’t imagine learning the Tianmin or Hiraza writing systems now that she was seventeen, so she could understand Eunice and Rose’s struggles.

But that was more reason to not give up. In this world, it was very necessary to be properly educated to have a decent life. They would also be contributing to society more.

A moment later, their break was over and it was time for them to return to class.

Rose bowed down once again and said:

“Thank you for teaching us, Lady Zarria.”

She nodded.

“If you need more help, just tell me.”

And with that, all the children went back inside their classrooms.

’Well, there’s no rush. Learn at your own pace and I’m sure you’ll succeed eventually.’

As Zarria was about to turn and leave the school premises, she saw in the corner of her eye a familiar person, but also someone that wasn’t supposed to be here. A tall, blonde young man was inside one of the classrooms of the younger batches.

Julius stood beside the teacher who seemed to be speaking about him to the children.

Immediately, a bad feeling grew in Zarria’s heart.

“What… what is that bastard doing here?”

Before she knew it, she went running towards the classroom and barged through the door, startling the children. All eyes fell on her but her focus was on Julius.

Zarria turned to the teacher who was wearing an anxious expression also.

“What’s going on?” Zarria asked, breathing heavily.

The teacher looked at Julius, her eyes full of hesitation.

Before she could speak, the blonde young man said:

“Oh, Zarria. Good to see you here.”

She glared at him wordlessly, trying not to scare the kids even more.

“Cousin, what are you doing here?” she asked calmly.

The teacher looked at Zarria with eyes pleading for help. And it just added to the uncomfortable twisting inside her stomach. Something wasn’t right.

Julius glanced at the innocent children with a gentle smile. And when he turned back to Zarria, that smile deformed into a malicious grin.

“Nothing really important, I was just…”

His creepy smile stretched wider.

“… feeding the kids.”

Zarria’s face suddenly paled, her heart fell into an abyss.

Questions popped up one after another in her mind. In this school, the only way to legally enter was to have an identification tag for students or staff. This was done for their protection. Julius didn’t only not have a tag, but Zarria also warned the guards to not let him in.

’How did he get in…?’

’Did someone give him a tag?’

Her heart rate was rising by the second, sounds fading into nothingness.

“No need to thank me, by the way. I’m just glad to help,” Julius said.

Zarria looked at the kids.

Right now, they were humans…

’Ah… fuck it.’

Zarria stepped forward and grabbed Julius by the collar.

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