Chapter 174: Daily Life at the Orphanage and the Dense Goddess
Once rescued, Ariel bid farewell to her bedridden life as a test subject.
However, her physical condition did not take a turn for the better.
Although she received formal treatment and checkups, along with new prescriptions, her daily life was still spent in a wheelchair, frequently requiring intravenous drips to combat the toxins inside her body. Furthermore, because her body continuously generated poison, she required far more nutrition than an ordinary person. Aside from relying on IV drips for supplementation, she had to consume easily digestible liquid food just to barely stay alive.
As for the kind of nutrition that promoted growth, that was a luxury.
Consequently, her physique constantly remained in the form of a little lolita, though she had not completely stopped growing. Precisely because she did grow a little, she managed to gain a bit of physical strength, allowing her to walk with crutches for short periods. Despite this, she still had to spend most of her day sitting in a wheelchair, so the things she could do were naturally limited.
For instance, she could watch television in the orphanage's main hall, read books, or do embroidery.
Even so, she still preferred watching television. Perhaps because she had grown accustomed to watching it since childhood, she felt uneasy if she didn't watch it.
The television broadcasted current events: "MA Energy's Revolution of Future Technology"...
Ariel shifted her gaze outside.
In the yard, children with various unique characteristics were frolicking. Judging strictly by appearance, more than half of these children were not ordinary humans.
A girl with long ears chased a boy with green skin, a pink-haired boy threw a ball, and a boy covered completely in fur leaped nearly two meters into the air to catch it with ease. A sight like this was nothing out of the ordinary here.
In order to treat the physical defects of the chimeras, the orphanage also doubled as a hospital equipped with various functions, which was why the yard was exceptionally massive. The children, who had constantly been kept under house arrest by Potimas, could play to their heart's content.
Of course, there were also those like Ariel who couldn't move even if they wanted to.
Nevertheless, no matter who it was, everyone was highly amicable, treating one another like family. Although everyone looked entirely different, no one ever looked down on anyone else.
Ariel turned her head back to continue watching the news.
"The experimental theories of the mad scientist Potimas have been published. Does the MA Energy mentioned by the wanted fugitive truly possess such miraculous power?"
"According to relevant experts, the capabilities contained within MA Energy are simply a pipe dream and completely impractical; even fiction wouldn't dare write it this way..."
"President Ichilang of a country plagued by perennial warfare issued a statement this morning, announcing that they have successfully collected MA Energy and confirmed the validity of the theory..."
"A large number of desperate small nations have begun to invest in research one after another, and MA Energy is being widely applied..."
"President Dustin strongly opposes the use of MA Energy, a stance that has met with fierce resistance from various heads of state..."
"An energy source that does not destroy the environment and is completely inexhaustible. MA Energy is the miracle of this world; oil and electricity have been thoroughly replaced. Countries like Saudi Arabia state that oil is the true future of humanity..."
"The energy crisis has become a thing of the past, and the human world is flourishing..."
All sorts of reports emerged from the news.
Although Ariel was still young, she still understood the simplest logic, such as the law of conservation of energy. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and blessings did not drop out of thin air. Fate had long since subtly attached a price tag.
Even knowing this, Ariel, confined to a wheelchair all day, could do nothing but look on helplessly.
"You bratty kids, it's time to eat!"
The plump matron who ran the orphanage shouted out the window. Under the matron's urging, the children returned indoors while laughing and playing.
Among the children, Sariel's figure could also be seen. Her face was completely covered in dirt, and two small flowers were stuck on her head.
"Which idiot did this? How dare you treat Lord Sariel like a vase!"
Seeing this, the matron instantly transformed into a fire-breathing tyrannosaurus.
"It is not a joke, it is a gift."
Sariel stopped the furious matron, explaining with a thoroughly calm face.
"At least send a flower crown instead of treating Lord Sariel like a vase."
Although the matron understood the children's intentions, there were certain things that had to be corrected.
Except for one boy who looked somewhat downcast, the others snorted with laughter like pigs upon seeing this. The result they invited was a fist the size of a sandbag from the matron.
"Look at you all, covered completely in mud. The mud on Lord Sariel must be your doing too, right?"
"Before you eat, go take a bath for me first!"
With that, the matron hoisted two bratty kids on her shoulders and rushed toward the bathhouse.
It was such a noisy yet mundane sight, and everyone laughed very happily.
Ariel loved watching everyone laugh and play. Compared to that cold life of lying alone in bed inside the laboratory, the days at the orphanage were so warm. She sincerely hoped that this cozy daily life could continue forever.
One day, the matron raised her voice in the cafeteria, telling the little brats not to leave any leftovers. Yet there was still a girl who didn't finish her food, causing the matron to frown.
"I'm on a diet."
The children were also approaching the adolescence of fourteen or fifteen years old.
The matron rolled her eyes and scoffed, "What are you talking about with a body like a chicken skeleton? Wait until you get fat before talking about that."
"Hey, Matron, since you're clearly so fat, why haven't you gone on a diet?"
The matron teased, "To think you don't understand the charm of being slightly chubby. A little brat is just a little brat; if you don't eat properly, your chest will stay small forever."
The girl glanced at her own chest, continuing to eat with a thoroughly defiant look.
Ariel instinctively lowered her head, and well... she saw the tips of her toes. She also wanted to eat more food so she could grow up a bit. But she could only consume liquid food, leaving her highly envious of the others who could eat solid food. Yet Ariel never let such words slip from her lips.
Everyone in the orphanage had their own defects to some degree. The girl from just now looked like an ordinary human, but all sorts of animal characteristics were subtly manifested in her. Although the impact of each individual factor was minuscule, they couldn't be ignored when stacked together. The mutations on their bodies were things that even the old elf might not necessarily be able to fix; they would have to fight against their own bodies until the day they died.
And this lifespan until death was bound to be shorter than that of an ordinary person. Not a single one of the children felt they would live as long as an ordinary person, which was why they began to consider the future at an early age. Their awareness was the first to grow into adulthood, even if they weren't certain whether they would survive long enough to become adults.
Just as everyone was eating, Lord Sariel forcefully escorted two children covered in wounds back into the room. Seeing this, Ariel silently complained in her heart, "Another two kids who know how to pick fights."
Every time they went out to stir up trouble, they would be lectured by Lord Sariel and brought back. The physical capabilities of chimeras were stronger than humans; running into human children resulted in severe injuries at best, and they might even lose their lives if things went wrong. That was why Lord Sariel immediately materialized to stop them.
They weren't the only ones causing trouble. Those few who could go outside managed to stir up trouble every single time, and every single time Sariel had to go resolve it personally.
In truth, only a handful of people could actually go out. Ariel couldn't go out due to health issues, and the other children couldn't go out because of their appearances. Although this area was the countryside, and the situation of the orphanage had been explained to the surrounding residents, it didn't mean people accepted them gladly without any conditions. Especially different people of the same generation.
It was also a common occurrence for the kids to be pelted with stones when they went out. However, pelting stones was merely the behavior of a few extreme, bratty kids. Yet from the children, one could catch a glimpse of the local residents' true thoughts regarding them. Unwelcome as they were, the moment they caused trouble, those residents developed even more objections, thereby entering a vicious cycle. Therefore, Sariel personally took action to prevent trouble from brewing.
To avoid causing trouble for Lord Sariel, the children didn't particularly like going out. Except for those few problem children.
One of the problem children was currently being held by Sariel, struggling desperately.
"Let go of me! Let go of me quickly! I can still fight!"
As it turned out, Sariel really let go upon hearing this, and the problem child fell flat on his face.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Why did you let go?!"
Sariel looked somewhat wronged. "You are being unreasonable."
Some people felt that Sariel was deliberately provoking him, but the children all knew that this was just the adult's normal state. Lord Sariel basically showed zero facial expressions, always keeping a poker face, and was completely out of touch in many aspects. She clearly knew that many children didn't understand profound principles, yet sometimes she conversely failed to comprehend things that even children understood.
Just like just now with that problem child, Sariel hadn't intentionally played him, nor was she angry; she had merely objectively pointed out the contradiction in the boy's words and actions. She was just that elusive—clearly knowing everything in terms of knowledge, yet instantly becoming an absolute failure when it came to common sense and human emotion.
Only later did Ariel find out that Lord Sariel was an Angel, and the thinking processes of humans and Angels were entirely different. Angels were fiercely loyal to their mission, choosing not to think about anything outside of it. But Sariel was somewhat different; she was a stray Angel, and was therefore relatively closer to humanity.
The other child who had been brought back clamored, "Next time I see them, I'm going to beat them to a pulp."
Sariel stated, "Violence is wrong. It is a crime."
The boy refused to submit, gnashing his teeth. "They were the ones who looked for trouble first! They look down on us, they look down on the orphanage, and they look down on Lord Sariel too!"
Ariel understood his feelings very well. They were family—irreplaceable family. When family was insulted, how could one swallow such an insult?
"Even so, violence is wrong."
"Why?!"
Sariel's answer was simple and brutal: "Because it is stipulated by the criminal law."
The boy asked again, "Is the criminal law absolutely correct?"
"No. But if you do not abide by it, you will be sanctioned."
Sariel did not utter a single word regarding good, evil, or morality; she merely taught them that using violence would get them caught, and then told the other party:
"If someone says something to you, use your mouth to refute them."
These words caused the boy to fall directly into silence. The brats in the neighborhood discriminated against them simply because they were chimeras. The unalterable fact of their birth provided the material for their verbal abuse. Even if they argued back, the other side single-mindedly despised them; what was the use of debating with such fellows? People wouldn't listen to your reasoning, yet you couldn't use violence either—this was simply too high of a difficulty level.
Sariel noticed a clue, continuing to guide him:
"Worry to your heart's content. Contemplate what is the most reliable method and what is the most foolish method. Daily worries—worries make a person grow."
Ariel was highly skeptical. Could worrying solve the immediate problem?
Sariel's words were absolute truths, but as for whether they were applicable to the situation at hand... well, that remained unknown.
She felt that, as expected, Lord Sariel was a bit out of touch, but her intention of caring for the children had indeed been conveyed. Just on this point alone, they had received salvation.
×××
[100 Ps = 1 Bonus Chapter.]
[25 total review = 1 Bonus Chapter.]
[] Patreon:
➔ Unlock advanced chapters & exclusive supporter roles in discord!
➔ For 50 adv chapters. [email protected]/Prince_of_LanLi