IRVB 01

Chapter 01

Hey, are you hungry

The god asked.

He looked like a beautiful man—tall, with jet-black hair and jewel-like red eyes.

They said gods were far more beautiful than humans, and that turned out to be true.

His voice was low, yet somewhat gentle.

It was the kind of voice so captivating that it felt like she had never heard anything like it before.

The girl nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, I’m hungry.”

“How hungry?”

The god, crouchingdown, took out a paper bag from his inner pocket.

When bread came out of it, her sparkling black eyes immediately followed the pure white loaf.

“V-very!”

“What’s your name?”

“Rodi, Brodi.”

“Alright, Rodi. Want this?”

“Yes!”

The moment he held out the bread, Rodi grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth.

She had only taken one bite, yet one of her thin cheeks puffed out full.

“How old are you?”

“Seven.”

Her dark reddish hair—who knew when it had last been washed—was tangled and messy.

Her cheeks were grimy, twitching slightly, but her black eyes alone shone brightly.

Even though the bread was thicker than her own arm, she crammed it into her tiny mouth, chewing earnestly until, before anyone noticed, the whole loaf was gone.

“…I’m full.”

Hic—perhaps because she ate too quickly, a frog-like sound slipped out of her small mouth.

The god grinned.

“Now that you’ve eaten, shall we talk?”

Her large black eyes blinked.

Brodi had been abandoned at an orphanage when she was young.

Some teachers said she had been there since she was three or four, while others said it felt like she had been born there.

So she didn’t know exactly when she had first arrived.

The headmistress had no interest in such things, and the teachers changed frequently, remembering only the children who had come in recently.

And that orphanage had many problems.

Some children were adopted quickly, before they could even adjust.

Others remained for years without leaving.

And in cases like Brodi’s, for certain reasons, the headmistress would refuse to send them for adoption and simply keep them there.

“It’s cold, but the headmistress told us to go out again today!”

The door burst open as Zeno shouted.

Zeno was Brodi’s closest friend, a boy her age.

His yellow hair curled like pasta, and his brown eyes resembled roasted chestnuts.

Still wrapped in a worn blanket, Rodi lifted her head from the chilly room.

Her long hair, somewhere between dark red and cherry-colored, was loosely tied, and her cheeks were thin—unlike a child’s.

Even so, her expressions were vivid, every frown and glance clearly defined.

Stretching both arms forward, she yawned and stretched.

“Ugh, I don’t want to go out.”

“You have to go, Rodi.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

As if she hadn’t just complained, Rodi got up briskly.

“Berry, you stay here since you’re sick.”

She pulled the blanket over Berry as well.

Berry, weaker than her, caught colds easily.

With short, shining grape-colored hair just like her name, Berry was a year younger than Rodi.

“Don’t go… What if you get scolded by the headmistress? *Cough!*”

“If I say something, she’ll listen to me. It’s okay.”

“Then take this! Share it with oppa!”

When Berry held something out, Rodi frowned slightly.

“You didn’t eat this yesterday?”

It was a snack given by noble ladies who had come to volunteer at the orphanage.

A small cookie topped with fragrant, sweet caramel.

When you bit into it, tiny pieces of savory peanuts were scattered inside.

Some of the ladies disliked being touched, while others hugged the children warmly—but the best part was always the delicious treats they left behind.

There were many children, so they each got only a little.

Rodi had thought everything was eaten yesterday, but Berry had saved half and now generously split it between Rodi and Zeno.

“My throat hurts, so I can’t eat it. You and oppa eat.”

“Then eat it later.”

Even as she tried to refuse, Rodi’s eyes kept drifting to the snack.

“Hurry!”

Berry stretched out her arm, and after hesitating, Rodi finally opened her mouth.

With her dirty hand, Berry fed her like a baby bird.

Crunch—

The moment it broke, Rodi’s eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

“Hehe, is it good, unni?”

“Mm, it’s even better because you gave it to me. Better than yesterday! Then I’ll bring lots of bread today! I’m going now!”

“Bye-bye!”

Rodi waved both hands energetically and left with Zeno.

“Yeah! Come back safely, Rodi unni, Zeno oppa!”

Berry smiled brightly, waving her tiny leaf-like hands as the door closed.

—

—

“They said it’s summer now, but mornings still feel like winter.”

The empire’s weather was fickle this time of year, swinging between cold and heat.

“Yeah. But it’ll get hot later, like yesterday. Oh! Zeno, that person has a lot of gold coins in her pocket.”

Rodi pointed at a woman in a deep morning-glory-colored dress.

She was a middle-aged woman with wavy golden hair tied halfway back.

Her gentle smile and clean appearance stood out.

“Do you think she’ll help us?”

“She looks kind to her maid, so she probably won’t kick us. Let’s try.”

Rodi and Zeno approached her with pitiful expressions.

—

—

“Wow, we got 20 dena! This has never happened before!”

Twenty coins sparkled in Rodi’s hand.

Today, they had succeeded in begging.

A huge success.

The orphanage headmistress didn’t leave older children idle.

She forced them out every morning to beg for money and food.

When they returned, she would keep everything, leaving only a small portion behind.

Zeno had already been begging for two years after failing adoption several times.

“Hold out your hand.”

“Huh? Okay.”

From the twenty coins, Rodi dropped three into Zeno’s palm.

“R-Rodi! What are you doing?”

“Zeno, hide these under the rock in that alley.”

“What?! What if we get caught?”

“She won’t come this far. If we don’t want to starve later, we have to hide some.”

“What if someone takes them?”

“No one touches that place—it’s dirty and smells. There should be a rat hole nearby.”

Urged on, Zeno ran off.

Rodi placed the remaining coins into her worn pouch.

“Let’s go. This is enough for today.”

“Yeah. I’m hungry—I only had watery soup this morning.”

Rodi looked around.

A bakery stood in the distance.

Other places wouldn’t let them in, but the bakery owner always gave Rodi a small loaf for free.

Unfortunately, it was closed today.

The owner’s health had worsened, so he only opened three days a week now.

“…I wish today were Wednesday. Let’s just get some bread somewhere else and go back.”

Her stomach rumbled loudly.

—

—

A few days passed.

“…I’m hungry.”

Today, Rodi was alone.

She was the fastest runner among the children, so sometimes she was sent out alone.

But today, she wasn’t sure she’d make it.

She hadn’t eaten properly for three days.

She had picked up two candies from the ground, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“When will the headmistress be punished…?”

Rodi had never failed to beg.

She could read people—and even see what they carried.

When her ability was discovered, the headmistress called it “clairvoyance.”

“Don’t tell anyone. I’ll protect you.”

That was only half true.

In reality, she just wanted to use her.

Rodi had gone hungry because she shared with others who failed.

Otherwise, they would be punished.

She curled up on the ground.

“Ugh… I should’ve saved one.”

She felt dizzy.

Maybe even feverish.

The sky was overcast, and there were fewer people.

“Usually someone passes by here…”

Then

“Hey, are you hungry?”

That was when she met a dazzlingly handsome god.