Later, Snow learned that the abducted children were kept in a sealed room for several days until they were too weak from hunger and exhaustion to resist. Then they were brought out and branded with the mark of the Nameless, making them easily become perpetual slaves of the bandit village.
After Snow and the other surviving children were branded with the mark of the Nameless, they were taken to a dilapidated wooden hut where there were dozens of dirty and emaciated children, most of them around the same age. Inside the small hut was an older girl who skillfully settled the newcomers into the hut, providing them with minimal care in the cramped space until they could sit up on their own.
Snow’s branding was different from the others; it was dangerously close to his neck, nearly burning his carotid artery and taking his life. However, despite being branded in the most perilous spot, Snow was the first child to recover. He got up and approached the girl who distributed food at intervals and checked everyone’s wounds. Snow knew very well that this was not a place of rescue but rather a resting area at a turning point, and after recovering their strength, they would only face more suffering.
The work began quickly.
At first, the children were assigned tasks of moving things, fetching water, and then feeding and taking care of livestock. There wasn’t much to eat; they would only have one meal a day, and whether they ate the cold leftovers in their bowls or not was up to them. It was simply a choice between starving early or continuing to survive. If they made a mistake, they would be brutally beaten. When they were beaten to the point where they couldn’t even move a finger, the girl responsible for taking care of them would bring them back to the wooden hut to apply medicine and rest temporarily.
Snow learned quickly no matter what task he was given. He remembered and acted quickly and rarely made mistakes. He never cried or slacked off because he knew it would lead to a beating or missing a meal. But the other children never seemed to understand this.
Food was scarce, and the children around him would fight over it. They would eat their own food cautiously and then aggressively snatch food from others. They often got into fights over this, and life under the nameless was disconnected from civilization. There was no need for language or reason. Everyone was like a two-legged trapped animal, fighting for survival in the bandit village to avoid beatings and starvation. Snow knew they were just unable to bear the feeling of hunger. Although he was hungry himself and wanted to eat more, he didn’t want to waste energy in physical fights. He silently ate as much as he could until his food was taken away.
In the blink of an eye, this painful and unbearable life they had to get used to had already lasted for a year. Thoughts of escape or rebellion had long been burned to ashes under the searing pain of the brand, and no Nameless would ever entertain such absurd ideas.
The following winter, the Light of Snow descended. The nameless children, who had endured so much hardship, rarely lifted their dirty faces to the sky, each showing a surprised expression. The people in the village also caught a bit of joyous atmosphere. But even so, punishments did not decrease, and rations did not increase. The children, whose spirits were drawn away by the first snow, made mistakes one after another. They were beaten several times and had no food for several days. The joyous expressions they had initially worn had long disappeared.
In these days, whenever the food was brought out, it would be snatched away. Snow couldn’t eat much at all. He watched the children, who had been hungry for days, and realized he was hungry too. But in the end, he decided to give the food to the other children.
Snow always felt like he had no strength left to have emotional reactions. The first snow should bring happiness and excitement, but Snow just watched it fall and continued his work. He should feel angry when the food was snatched away, but he remained indifferent, without even a hint of regret.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“It’s so cold…” Even though he felt like it should be very cold and he should be very hungry, he should miss the voices of his parents, and he should hate these bandits, but he couldn’t cry, and he couldn’t get angry.
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The withered tree grew on the cliff edge at the village entrance. Below was a steep and dangerous mountain wall. Even if one didn’t die from falling, they would likely be impaled to death by the winter-bare branches. Whether one fell or was pierced, it was uncertain if they could climb back up.
Snow shook his head. He knew speaking probably wouldn’t be understood by anyone. Simple actions were the best form of communication. But the starving children didn’t give up. They pulled and tugged at Snow’s clothes even harder, and even resorted to childish and rude pounding, demanding Snow climb up and pick the leaves for them.
Snow thought that perhaps only by plucking the dried leaves and crushing them in front of the children, or even letting them eat them, would they relent. So, in the end, he had no choice but to climb the tree and prepare to pluck the leaf.
There was some snow accumulation on the branches. If he wasn’t careful, his feet would slip. There weren’t many dry spots on the crooked and slanted branches where Snow could exert force. What was originally a simple climbing action became quite strenuous.
After finally reaching the top of the tree, the branches beneath his feet made cracking sounds.
‘I need to get down quickly,’ Snow thought anxiously. He reached out to grab the dry leaf and quickly began to retreat downwards. However, as soon as he moved, the branch supporting Snow’s weight suddenly snapped, and before he could even call for help, he plummeted off the cliff!
He collided with the mountain wall all the way down, feeling the terrifying speed of the fall. Instinct prompted him to scream, but his throat felt as if it were blocked, and no sound came out. Suddenly, there was a pulsating heat on his back, followed by something piercing out near his shoulder blade, but it didn’t cause any pain.
Snow didn’t even know what it was, but he had already fallen onto the densely intertwined branches below with a dull thud.
The instinctive response to impending death caused Snow’s limbs to convulse, but then there was a sudden intense pain piercing into his left shoulder socket, forcibly waking up Snow’s consciousness. The unbearable pain made him furrow his brow and weakly gasp for air.
This was it, just as Snow had thought from the very beginning, his world, his happiness, had all disappeared. What was left in the end was called despair.
“Well, he doesn’t have to work from this moment on,” suddenly heard a lively voice from afar, forcefully dispersing the despair echoing in his heart.
Snow opened his heavy eyelids to find the source of the voice. Before his gaze could focus, darkness leaped into his sight. There were hands reaching out to him, carefully bringing him down from the branches. The warmth that he hadn’t felt in a long time immediately enveloped his entire body.
“Your Majesty, what’s going on? This is… the Hero!” Another unfamiliar voice appeared, filled with hostility.
Then more voices surged up, surrounding him with words like ‘kill’ and ‘despicable.’
Snow tightly closed his eyes, the words and clamor making him feel frightened, but unfortunately, the pain was so intense that he didn’t even have the courage to cry.
Suddenly, he felt warmth spreading in the painful areas, gradually soothing the burning wounds, and his whole body seemed to regain mobility.
“Your Majesty! What are you doing!” The voice full of hostility came again.
“Is there a village nearby? I want to send him back.” The slightly warm fabric gently wrapped around Snow as the person holding him let Snow lie against their chest, calmly responding.
‘So warm…’ Snow could hear the person’s heartbeat, even this rhythmic deep sound made him feel cozy.
‘Even though it’s black, it feels warm,’ Snow thought, wanting to see clearly who this warm person was. He rubbed his eyes and looked up, but couldn’t make out his face.
“What are you talking about! Have you gone mad? Your Majesty, even if you’re being wilful, there should be a limit! Sheltering the Hero, it’s the most ridiculous joke in the history of the Demon King!” The same voice roared with even more hostility, followed by more angry shouts, making Snow shrink in fear.
Because of fear, Snow’s first reaction was to seek help from the person holding him. He clenched his fingers, gripping the black clothes tighter. Why he felt this person would surely protect him at that moment, Snow couldn’t quite understand, but the person didn’t disappoint him.
Sensing Snow’s terror, the person lowered his head and gently smiled at Snow. “You have a name, right? What is it?”
It was a very beautiful face, even more so because he had a pair of eyes mixed with blue and purple. Snow had seen this color before, in the moments when the village, the sun, and everything woke up as the day shifted into night.
The color of dawn.
“I gave myself a name, it’s ‘Thrett Fyndrilval Ellyad,’ but you can just call me Thrett. So, where is your village?”
Snow stared at him, momentarily mesmerized and forgetting to respond. The person thought Snow didn’t want to answer, so he introduced himself first, then asked the next question. But in reality, Snow really wanted to tell this person his name.
‘I’m Snow, Snow Ryuu Blaika,’ he said, pure as snow, bright as a lamp, and always mindful of the blessings from the Goddess, finally adding his parents’ surname.
‘My name is Snow,’ he thought, determined to speak this time. Snow was about to tell him when he shook his head in confusion, asking him to wait a moment, but couldn’t help sneezing first. It was still so cold.
Seeing him sneeze, the man named ‘Thrett Fyndrilval Ellyad’ immediately took off the grey scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around Snow in circles. Suddenly, Snow felt warm. He wanted to talk to him, but for some reason, his throat trembled uncontrollably, as if every cell in his body was resisting this person
“Will you still feel cold?” Thrett smiled at him again, asking.
Snow shook his head. The scarf still retained Thrett’s body warmth, making him feel incredibly warm. Snow also liked the way this person smiled; it was infectious, making him want to respond with a smile as well. Unfortunately, his frozen cheeks prevented Snow from making any expression.
Oh Ellyad 😭 .
Thank you for the chapter.
ˁ•ᴗ•ˀつ～ 💞