All the money I earned this time is for eating premium-grade meat to my heart’s content.
To maximize the amount of premium-grade meat I could grill and eat with my money, I judged that instead of a fancy restaurant, outdoor barbecuing would be better.
While managing to save money every day even while spending on food, I bought out all the meat at the mart.
Premium-grade meat is three times the price of regular meat, but I have the money.
Here, along with gas burners, tongs, disposable plates, steel plates, salt, and instant rice.
“Let me help you with the payment…”
With that, I bought approximately twenty servings, and without hesitation, I spent most of the money I’d saved so diligently.
Leaving the mart happily, I took my place with both arms full of meat and rice at a nearby park and prepared to grill the meat.
I’ve only seen raw meat, but already my mouth is watering.
This pristine, white fat—this thing called marbling—it feels like I’m savoring the taste of the meat visually…it’s truly fantastic.
“Swallow…”
I turned on the portable gas burner with a whooshing sound. After waiting for the steel plate to heat up sufficiently, I placed the meat on it.
Sizzle…Ah…this gratifying sound…just listening fills me with joy.
I heard that slightly undercooked beef tastes better, but I couldn’t hold back any longer.
So one bite, I bit into a large piece of salted meat without cutting it and chewed on it.
“Ugh…”
It’s delicious!
Deep, rich umami, the taste of the juice, the soft texture of the meat, an elegant and unmistakably fine gastronomic experience.
This is premium-grade beef…Ah…Right now, I feel alive.
Together with the rice, when I poured water into the open instant rice container, the fuel attached to the edges began to boil the water.
When the heating is complete, slightly opening the plastic top and placing it atop warms the rice automatically.
Then, just as I was about to grill a new piece of meat, I heard something.
“…Swallow.”
“Hm?”
From the bushes in the park, disheveled children with dirty clothes were staring at me and licking their lips.
More specifically, they were looking at the meat I was grilling.
“…It’s mine.”
I gestured for them to leave, looking at them as I held the bag full of meat tightly.
But the children didn’t leave. Instead, they cautiously emerged from the bushes and approached me.
“A…Uncle…”
“Hey, one bite…one bite…just one…”
“Shoo, it’s mine.”
I looked down coldly on the children while hugging the bag filled with meat.
They appeared extremely hungry, even drooling.
Hollow cheeks, wrists thin to the bone, protruding elbows—It seemed like they hadn’t eaten a proper meal for days, maybe even weeks.
“…Hmph.”
Thinking there wouldn’t be any scissors available since I didn’t plan to cut the meat, I sighed and picked up a disposable plate.
Using the sharp edge quickly, I sliced the meat directly on the grill. With the tongs, I placed the meat on the plate and extended it towards the children.
They rushed over like a flood.
“One bite only.”
“Mm! Aaah!”
“Ahk! Gack! Haah…”
“Uh…Uuh…”
The children grabbed the meat greedily…no, desperately.
Even though it was hot, they were too worried someone might snatch it from them, wrestling with each other as they ate frantically.
They ate like animals. Taking a quick glance at them, I noticed the rice I’d warmed was ready, so I handed the bowls to the kids.
They grabbed the rice with both hands and swallowed it down.
“Kchek! Kek! Kookh!”
The children ate all the meat and bowls, to the point that one child even spat out chewed pieces for another to pick up.
Still hungry, they were even scraping the bowls with their hands and licking the juices.
Without a word, I placed new meat on the grill for them.
“Eat slowly.”
Looking at their condition, it seemed like they were really starving. I didn’t feel like eating all the meat alone while these hungry kids were right in front of me.
Thinking about feeding the children enough before sending them off, I decided to give them rice instead of meat, so I warmed up a few more instant rice bowls.
As soon as I did, more children came running out from the bushes.
“Excuse me, may I have just one bite, Uncle! Please one bite!”
“Please! Please!”
I hadn’t anticipated this…
There were about ten kids all staring at me while I cut the meat.
As soon as it was cut, the meat disappeared. When I placed a new piece on the grill, it disappeared again.
My meat…my premium-grade meat…
“Just one more bite, Uncle…one more please…”
“Just one bite…one bite…”
“You’re asking for quite a bit.”
Ultimately, the children ate all the meat and rice.
Though I wasn’t upset, I did feel a bit disheartened as I sighed while sitting among the children whose bellies were now full.
“I’m hungry.”
“They ate all my meat…”
“I’m…I’m sorry…”
At that moment, the oldest-looking girl among the children stepped forward and bowed her head.
“Don’t apologize,” I wiped my mouth with my hand as saliva dripped from my lips due to hunger and spoke.
“Bring your parents.”
“They…aren’t here…”
“It’s not something kids with parents should be doing.”
I kinda expected that much.
I coolly confirmed that it would be impossible for them to retrieve money for the meat from their parents, and said so—causing the girl to bow her head deeply in shame.
“Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t have parents either.”
I was simply checking if anyone had parents and, if so, would introduce them to a bit of temporary work with some of the money I had left so that the children could eat properly.
Regretfully, I ate the small leftover piece of meat from the grill.
Then, hesitantly, the girl asked me a question.
“Are you…orphaned too, Uncle?”
“Orphaned?”
“Did they pass away from the monster?”
“Hmm.”
So they were orphans due to monster attacks.
Though it might be cliché for this era, it wasn’t surprising.
“I’m sorry.”
Since this conversation wouldn’t change someone’s mood for the better, I closed my mouth. The girl realized her mistake and apologized.
Then, seemingly recalling something she’d forgotten, she seemed startled and trembled.
“Uncle…what time is it?”
I checked the position of the sun and held my fingers on my palm.
At this angle, with my thumb pointing south and my middle finger east, the time the shadow indicates is…
“It’s 5:48 PM.”
“Is that really accurate?”
“Absolutely.”
Using my monster senses, I confirmed the exact time indicated by the shadow, which the girl found hard to believe as she furrowed her eyebrows.
But then she clapped and got the sitting children up.
“Quick, everyone get up! There’s no time left! Hurry!”
The girl gathered all the children and quickly left the park.
They seemed to have some urgent business, leaving without even saying thank you for the meal.
After eating my premium-grade beef…
I felt a bit dissatisfied as I cleaned up the dirty plates and gas range, glancing at the retreating backs of the children.
“Hmm.”
Truly, kids these days have bad manners…
Is it because they don’t have parents? They didn’t even know the basic courtesy of saying “thank you for the meal.”
After cleaning up the spot and setting aside the cumbersome gas burner and steel plate near the garbage bins, I looked again at where the children had disappeared.
This wouldn’t do.
I need to teach them that at least saying “thank you for the meal” is necessary.
With my improved strength control, jumping high without damaging the ground, I landed on the roof of a nearby building and spread my senses.
My monster core activated slightly, emitting low-frequency waves.
Using echolocation, a monster ability to locate prey, I ran across the roofs and stopped above the children’s heads.
The children were stealing from a truck near a restaurant.
This truck was from a nearby neighborhood, where damaged items were being collected from the ruins.
The truck was loaded with broken monster alert devices.
Between the steel cages to prevent items from falling during transport, the children’s thin arms reached in, carefully dismantling parts of the device.
“Hmm…”
Watching them quietly, I felt a strange sense of disharmony.
#
There are countless orphans resulting from monster attacks.
Similar in number to the children who live under parental protection, orphans are too many for the government to handle.
But someone needs to protect the children.
Eventually, the government promoted a policy supporting private orphanages.
Tax exemptions, government subsidies, preferential insurance rates for monster victims, and additional clauses that would relieve some issues arising from raising the children.
Many people chose to run orphanages as a business to make money, and the lack of child caretakers seemed to be filled.
“Exactly how many times do I have to tell you? Orange! Only take the orange glass bottles, not the other parts!”
“Ugh…urk…”
Na Hye-ri, having returned to the orphanage, took a blow to her stomach from the director and fell to the ground.
As the oldest, she was forcibly assigned as a supervisor and often got beaten in front of the children whenever they made a mistake.
The reason was to make the children listen properly.
The director of the orphanage, who didn’t bother to hire someone for the extra cost to care for the children, also entrusted Na Hye-ri with the role of teacher. He believed it was necessary to properly discipline them.
“You dumb brats…huff! Do you even know to whom you owe your survival? Don’t you owe me gratitude? GRATITUDE!”
“The…the children, please don’t hit them…urk! Yuck!”
When the director swung his arm, threatening the children who were cowering in the corner, Na Hye-ri clung to his pants.
The director kicked Na Hye-ri’s stomach while she interrupted his speech.
Familiar with this routine, Na Hye-ri placed her hands on her stomach to minimize the impact as she fell to the ground.
The director stepped on Na Hye-ri with pale blue bruises all over her body while looking at the children.
“Huff…huff…you’re making Hye-ri suffer because you don’t listen to me…do you understand!? You dumb kids, aren’t you sorry for Hye-ri?”
The director dramatically cried while stomping on Na Hye-ri’s head.
Na Hye-ri curled herself into a ball as blood spouted from her nose due to the heavy weight pressing on her.
The kids remained trembling with fear, unable to cry out, as the terrifying sound of feet thudding against the floor echoed.
When the panting director stopped and gave a signal with his eyes, the children cowered and avoided eye contact.
“If you keep this up, Hye-ri will die—eh? Who would be the next teacher if Hye-ri dies…you? Or you?”
“Hiiiik…hiiik…”
“Khuhuhuhu…uhuuuu…”
“Are you planning to kill Hye-ri? Can’t you act properly?”
“We will act properly…Teacher Hye-ri, please don’t die…”
“Teacher Hye-ri, please don’t die…we’re sorry…”
At this point, the director seemed to think they had understood, and he kicked Na Hye-ri towards the children.
Na Hye-ri’s body, now completely disheveled, slid across the floor.
The children held Na Hye-ri in tears.
“Urgh…khuhuhuhu…sister, sister…”
“Sister…sister…sob…sniff…”
“Quiet! Stop crying and go work now! If it’s not done by tomorrow, you’ll be the ones to kill Hye-ri!”
“Sniff…sob…”
The children clung to Na Hye-ri with their small hands and left the room trembling with fear.
The children immediately went down to the basement, where they had to assemble machinery parts.
The hefty director, having performed a task exhausting for his body, plopped into a comfy chair.
“Huff…kids who don’t listen…huff…”
