chapter 39
Meanwhile, Brandon only planned to play along with Lumina for a bit before leaving.
In truth, although he had suddenly become someone with only a limited time left to live, he remained more dedicated to his mission than anyone else.
That mission was to investigate Lumina.
He intended to observe her closely and, before dying, report to Lucius what kind of child she really was.
A thoroughly professional mindset.
From what he had gathered so far, she seemed like someone caught up in strange delusions.
She thought she could detoxify the poison created by the Doctor? The real antidote would only be in the Doctor’s possession.
‘That’s something you’d only say if you don’t know the Doctor.’
On top of that, the chances of finding a solution in a slum filled with people who had never received proper education were zero.
Just zero.
“I think it’s here.”
Hearing the cute girl’s voice, Brandon snapped out of his thoughts.
They stood in front of the house the children had pointed out.
Calling it a house felt like a stretch—it was barely four walls and a roof, on the verge of collapse.
The shabby door looked like it might come off its hinges if knocked on too hard.
So Lumina hesitated for a moment.
Was it really okay to touch this door?
But she couldn’t just barge into a stranger’s home either.
Just as she was about to knock—
“Useless!”
Because the place had no soundproofing at all, a man’s rough voice rang out clearly from inside.
“The potency is too strong—I can’t use it properly! This isn’t what I asked for!”
“B-but…”
“I don’t need excuses!”
Crash—!
A violent noise echoed from within.
Without further hesitation, Lumina decided to break the door.
Bang—!
Since it wasn’t even locked, the door swung open crookedly with a single kick.
“Hello!”
A man in his mid-to-late thirties, a teenage girl lying on the floor, and medicine ingredients scattered everywhere.
The cramped interior made everything visible at a glance.
“Who are you?!”
“A customer!”
“A customer?”
Lumina recalled what the children had told her.
“I heard you sell medicinal ingredients here. Was I wrong?”
“I don’t know where you heard such nonsense, but get out right now!”
Snorting slightly, Lumina looked at the agitated man.
She had come to the right place.
Even if she didn’t know Erica’s appearance, she recognized the man’s face from her previous life.
‘Erica’s stepfather. What was his name again…? Well, no need to remember that.’
In her previous life, there had been someone widely praised as a genius in herbal medicine.
Erica.
‘…No, actually her stepfather.’
He had gained both wealth and fame by publishing groundbreaking papers and earning academic recognition.
A pearl in the mud.
That’s how everyone praised him.
For about six years.
‘Then at some point, he started acting like an idiot. When people found it suspicious and investigated…’
By then, the real genius—Erica, who had written the papers and even developed an unknown antidote—had already died, unable to endure the abuse.
The empire was thrown into chaos when it was revealed that the “genius” they had admired was actually a fraud who stole his stepdaughter’s achievements.
“Oh, so this isn’t a medicinal shop? Then I came to the right place. I’m here to take Miss Erica.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Well, if you insist, it’s only proper that we answer.”
As she said that, Lumina poked Brandon in the side.
“Huh?”
Brandon, who had been standing there blankly, made a dumb sound.
Unlike his son Ash, their timing was completely off.
Clicking her tongue inwardly, Lumina gave up and spoke quietly.
“Mister. Money.”
“Huh?”
“Give me money. Hurry.”
She urged him.
Before he knew it, Brandon had placed his entire coin pouch into Lumina’s hand.
The heavy weight—
Very satisfying.
“Anyway, like I said, I’m here to take Miss Erica.”
“You little brat, what right do you have to say that? Get lost!”
Naturally, he had no intention of complying with such an uninvited guest.
But if someone doesn’t listen, you make them listen.
Lumina reached into the pouch.
“I don’t have the right—but I do have money.”
“What? Money?”
“Yes!”
With a cheerful reply, Lumina scattered Brandon’s money into the air without hesitation.
Clatter—
It all happened in an instant.
Shimmering gold coins rained down like glittering drops.
“W-what the—?!”
Startled by the sudden shower of shining objects, the man panicked.
And then—
People who had been watching for a chance—slum children and adults alike—swarmed in like starving beasts.
“What are you doing?!”
In an instant, the place turned into chaos.
As the man flailed helplessly, someone who picked up a coin shouted—
“I-it’s real gold!”
That cry triggered a frenzy. People rushed in, dropping to the ground to grab the coins.
“Now’s our chance. Let’s go.”
Taking advantage of the chaos, Lumina grabbed Erica’s wrist. Without waiting for an answer, she ran.
“W-wait!”
“This is no time to wait! Move your legs!”
Swept up in the moment, Erica ran alongside Lumina, her shorter legs moving quickly.
Though there was a noticeable height difference, Erica somehow ended up matching Lumina’s pace.
“Hah… hah…”
They had run quite far.
Lumina caught her breath, panting.
Looking around, they were well outside the slums. Brandon, with the longest legs among them, easily caught up.
“I scattered the coins pretty widely, so they’ll be too busy picking them up to chase us anytime soon.”
Lumina reassured Erica, who kept glancing back nervously.
Then she removed her black hood.
“That must’ve been shocking, right? My name is Lumina. Nice to meet you, unni.”
She deliberately left out her family name.
But her appearance alone made it obvious she was a noble, and Erica looked at her in confusion.
“Why me…?”
“I heard rumors!”
Lumina said brightly, her pink eyes sparkling.
“That there’s someone around here who can make excellent medicine even with low-quality ingredients.”
“That’s not me, that’s my mother…”
Erica’s voice trailed off, as if she was bad at lying.
“Oh come on, word is you’re even more skilled than your mother.”
At that, Brandon glanced between the two in disbelief.
He had never heard anything like this about Erica.
There was no rumor from the underworld that Brandon didn’t know—especially not from the slums.
So how did Lumina, who had supposedly never left home, know?
She was clearly lying—but her bold confidence made it hard to dismiss.
“Actually, I came because I have a request.”
“…A request? For me?”
“Yes!”
Lumina nodded.
“Before I explain—wait a second. Mister!”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes! When was the last time you washed?”
“Do I smell?”
“Yes! So when was it?”
“…At dawn today.”
“And before that?”
“I bathe every dawn.”
Brandon felt strangely miserable as he sniffed his clothes.
There was no smell.
Being mistaken for someone unwashed made him feel oddly down.
Ignoring him, Lumina nodded as if confirming her suspicion.
“Unni, have you ever encountered a slime?”
“Y-yes…”
“Then you’ll recognize this.”
Since slums had poor security, encounters with monsters weren’t uncommon.
Lumina pulled out a transparent cylindrical vial. Inside was something neither liquid nor solid.
“Have you ever seen a slime that can’t maintain its form and keeps melting? I want you to fix that slime.”
Fix a monster, not a person?
Erica looked confused.
Not just Erica—Brandon also stared at Lumina like she was insane.
‘It’s not like I can openly talk about Legion in a place like this.’
Swallowing the truth, Lumina met Erica’s gaze.
Right now, monsters were simply seen as evil beings dealt with by the Legion.
But in the future, research on monsters would truly begin.
Because of Erica—
Her papers would change everything.
“Three days.”
Lumina held up three small fingers.
“That’s the time I can give you.”
“….”
“I’ll provide anything you need during that time. And if you succeed, I’ll guarantee you a bright future.”
Erica hesitated.
“Your mother is still being looked down on while earning money, right? If you accept, you won’t have to live like that anymore.”
Flinch.
“And you must have thought about not wanting to live in hiding anymore.”
Living in the slums due to poverty, hiding her identity as an incapable Legion by using her mother as a shield—
And in the future, watching her stepfather take credit for her work.
Surely, she had wanted to escape it all at least once.
“What I’m offering right now might be your first—and possibly last—chance to stand in the light.”
“But I don’t know if I can…”
“You can. Because I believe in you.”
Everyone else here doubted her.
But Lumina didn’t.
“So your answer only needs to be one of two things: yes, or no.”
With her soft, childlike appearance, Lumina pressed firmly.
“What will you do?”
Standing at a crossroads, Erica squeezed her eyes shut.
Soon, she gave her short answer.
