While Satin is keeping the mad old man distracted, Cain makes his way down to the penance room. Most of the children were playing outside and the rest were either in the library or in their rooms studying.
‘What’s the point of studying?’
Cain was skeptical. There are plenty of Orphans not just in Cloverland, but everywhere. Those who ended up on the streets after staying in an orphanage were relatively on the lucky side, since many children that reached an age old enough to understand their situation, already spent their life on the streets.
A child who could read and do basic math would have an easier time finding a job, but unless they are particularly smart or talented, they wouldn’t receive any better treatment, and they would also earn the same wage as an illiterate child who couldn’t even count past three digits.
‘We’re just like spare parts.’
Why would anyone treat us well when there were many more children to replace us? Studying more is only futile. But despite this line of thinking, Cain found himself in the library. The human heart is complex, and there are things we still do despite thinking they’re meaningless. For Cain, reading was one of those things.
“If you’re stupid, you won’t even know when you’re being taken advantage of.”Cain muttered this half-hearted excuse to himself as he stepped into the basement.
According to Satin, the old man had killed Tim in the innermost room. Cain suspected that this wasn’t his first rodeo.
‘His process was too smooth.’
The whole process of harming Tim, realizing the failure, and then cleaning up the mess was too seamless, it’s as if the penance room was built for this exact purpose from the start.
‘Then did Satin almost get killed too?’
Satin often went to the old man's study at night. But it was the first time he hadn’t returned by morning.
Back then, Cain had thought Satin might have gotten up early and gone out. They weren't close enough to wake each other up, so Cain hadn't been too concerned about Satin's absence.
He hadn't thought much of it at the time.
But when breakfast time came and Satin still wasn't in the dining hall, it started to raise concerns. One of the children asked where Satin was, and Tim responded, “Satin’s in the penance room.”
Tim isn’t a keen observer, so he must have heard it from the old man. Tim had always been interested in the old man’s research. Perhaps thinking he too could become a wizard if he won the old man’s favor, he often wandered the second floor west corridor.
‘The old man ended up keeping Satin locked up all night and eventually brought him out.’
Satin had come out alive, but Tim hadn’t. What could be different? Though there were rumors of children being locked in the penance room after fights, Cain never believed things that he hadn’t seen with his own eyes.
‘If it's as Satin says, this is a place where bodies are disposed of. There's no way he'd let children in here carelessly.’
The children had arrived at the school at different times, even those who acted as if they knew the place only knew what they were told when asked.
‘There might be something here.’
Cain inspected the first room, nothing unusual. Second room too, no signs of anyone having been there. It was only when Cain reached the last room that he found something. The door had faint soot marks. Judging by the fingerprint impressions, it’s either the old man or Satin had left them.
‘Better clean this up.’
The old man wouldn't have left traces so carelessly. It must have been Satin, rushing out.
Cain wiped the fingerprints off the door with his sleever before entering. The room was dim. Though some light filtered through a small window, it wasn’t enough to illuminate the entire room.
Cain didn’t rummage around aimlessly, he focused on the floor. Though uneven, it still looked ordinary at a glance. Running his hands over it, he found a handle.
‘Ash.’
As the dust and ash settled, a hidden space was revealed. It was barely large enough for an adult to curl up in. A small child could fit in more easily.
Looking down at the ash-filled space, Cain recalled the events before he was brought here.
During the winter, vagrants’ bodies would appear everywhere, and no one would step forward to clean them up. After a while, the government sent cleaners. The cleaners would gather the bodies in a pit outside the west gate of Cloverland. People would also discreetly leave the frozen bodies of stray dogs and cats there.
Once enough bodies have accumulated, the site will become a crematorium. Burning so many bodies takes a long time. While magic could have quickly disposed of them, no wizard would bother helping with vagrants and wild animals. The government certainly wouldn't want to spend money on it.
The ashes would be buried right there, and any bodies brought in later were simply burried without burning.
Cain who had the scene and thought, if souls lingered where bodies rested, that pit must be home to thousands of souls. And now, looking at this place, he thought it might have its own share of lingering souls.
During dinner, Satin and Cain sat separately. Since they shared a room, they had plenty of time to talk. There was no need to arouse suspicion by conspiring in front of the other children.
After dinner, when the children dispersed to their rooms, Satin and Cain returned to theirs. Although there was no lock on the door, they didn't worry. Since observing over the past few days, they noted that no one visited this room at night.
‘The kids seem afraid of Cain.’
It wasn't likely due to his age, probably his demeanor. He rarely smiles and his tone was far from friendly.
‘That makes me look more approachable by comparison.’
Satin knew that the original wasn't a good person. If he appeared kind and gentle, it was only because he was pretending to be. Judging people by their demeanor alone was flawed, but trying to explain that to children would be useless. How could they understand what they couldn't see?
"Why are you staring at me like that?" Cain asked gruffly, uncomfortable with Satin’s gaze. Satin shook his head indicating it was nothing.
Though this room wasn’t as soundproof as the library, it was quiet enough, so they spoke in low voices.
"I went to the basement earlier. You were right."
Satin didn’t feel offended with Cain’s suspicions of him, it is something worth verifying afterall.
"The kids who supposedly ran away probably died down there too. That crazy old man." After muttering a curse, Cain sighed and asked Satin, “What did he say? Did you tell him you wanted to be his apprentice?”
“Yeah, and somehow it seemed like…he took it for granted.”
“It seemed like you just wanted to gain his favor?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
When Satin hesitated, Cain urged him to continue. Satin awkwardly smiled and replied, "He didn't do anything."
"What do you mean he didn't do anything? You just left?"
"He told me to go back for now, and said he understood my intentions."
Cain frowned, looking somewhat perplexed, which Satin understood and said, "I thought he would make me do something, or at least test me.”
If the teacher was aware that killing children had to be kept secret, Satin thought he might be tested in some way, like how bad people would test people’s loyalty, by involving them in their crimes.
They say sharing sorrows halves it, whether that’s true or not, sharing a crime definitely halves the guilt. Not the sentence, but the guilt. Assuming, of course, one feels the guild in the first place.
But the teacher didn't give any such command. There wasn't even a hint of such an expectation.
"Does that mean he doesn't trust me yet?"
Cain didn't respond immediately. He seemed deep in thought, rubbing his chin. Then he spoke abruptly, "Maybe he didn't think there was a need to test you."
“What do you mean?”
When Satin tilted his head in confusion, Cain hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Because you seem too normal."
“Is that a problem?”
“You lost your memory, but you’re living as if nothing happened. The other kids don’t feel any particular awkwardness around you.”
“Mhm, isn’t that a good thing?”
“It’s not about whether you’re doing well or not, it’s more about the fact that it doesn’t feel real.”
Satin, not fully understanding, stared at Cain's face. Cain pushed his bangs back and sighed,"In my head, I know you've lost your memory, but when I look at your behavior, it feels no different from before. It's like the essence of who you are remains unchanged, regardless of your memory."
"So, you mean the teacher thinks I'm exactly the same as before?"
“Yeah, a snake-like opportunist.”
Was Cain using such an expression to annoy him, or did he genuinely think of the old Satin that way?
In any case, Satin, who considered his former self and his current self as entirely separate, didn't feel particularly offended.
‘Well, it’s not wrong to say I’m a snake-like opportunist.’
Come to think of it, the teacher had said something similar. That even though he had lost his memory, there were still parts of him that remained the same. If what Cain said was true, the teacher might not have felt the need to test Satin.
"Well, that’s good then. It means I don't have to struggle to gain the teacher's trust."
"If my guess is right, then yes."
Hope is necessary. However, too much expectation is never a good thing. Even though he thought it was a good outcome, Satin didn’t completely let his guard down about the teacher. Cain also didn't seem relieved, as if everything was resolved.
Credits:
TL: Sajin
TL comments:
TL: The way I imagine Cain would sexily push back his bangs.
