Toggle menuSearchUser menuHome/I Became the Leader of a Shadow Organization/Chapter 1Updated: June 30, 202613 min readChapter 1: Cleansing the World (1)
Chapter 1. Cleansing the World (1)
I merely stated obvious common sense.
"Slavery is wrong."
"Forcing children into hard labor? Is that something a human being should do? Children have the right to grow up innocent."
Things most modern people would agree with.
...Well, this is a medieval fantasy world, though.
'Just because I was reincarnated into a medieval fantasy world doesn't mean the way I think as someone who lived in the 21st century is going to change.'
I only made a few sincere remarks every now and then. Not publicly either. Only when I was with people close to me, and only very occasionally, I just made a few sincere remarks. And yet...
"Your words awakened us, Leader."
"This world, stained with discrimination and persecution, has no answer but to be burned down and purified, just as you said."
"...The time for revolution has come, Leader."
Somehow, things had gotten out of hand.
""All for the utopia you dreamed of.""
Before I knew it, I had created a shadow organization.
By the time I came to my senses, I had become the most dreadful mastermind in the Empire.
...Just where did everything start going wrong?
* * *
My hobby is shopping for orphan slaves.
...Saying it like that makes me sound like some kind of human garbage. Naturally, I'm not buying them to use them for forced labor.
"You truly are an unusual customer. Buying expensive slaves only to wastefully set them free. Why in the world would you do such a thing?"
Five months ago, I hit my head and became aware of my previous life.
Even if this is a medieval fantasy world, I am a modern person.
"I'm not the strange one. This world is strange. Messing with kids is a bit much, isn't it?"
Children who should be around kindergarten age were in chains and about to be put to work, so just standing by and watching that would be too cruel, wouldn't it?
And so, I visited the slave trading house again today.
The slave merchant asked me in a cautious tone.
"Are you perhaps the child of a noble family?"
"I'm a commoner. The money that keeps coming in to buy slaves doesn't come from family wealth, but from my handmade soap business."
"...Handmade soap?"
"I have my own secret method."
A hobby enjoyed by any person of refinement.
That is, of course, reading web novels.
I had read quite a lot of alternate history novels too.
The development where a protagonist dropped into an old era makes and sells soap is a classic among classics.
I remembered the soap-making method I had seen in novels. Thanks to that, I somehow managed to prepare a way to earn money.
"Self-made, are you? That is impressive. Please continue to use us often in the future! It is hard to find slave traders who have even received imperial certification and do business as honestly as we do."
A state-approved slave trader.
The sound of it is far too violent.
I understand that this is a world where slavery is taken for granted, but still.
"Would you perhaps be interested in a bundled product? We recently received a group of slaves who were caught committing robbery together. For you, dear customer, I can specially offer a bundle of twelve at half price!"
My head started to feel a little dizzy.
What were they, pencils? Selling people in bundles by the dozen was hard for the mind of a modern person to endure.
Seriously, there isn't a single thing about this damn Empire that I like.
"That's enough. Just show me what you usually do. Young orphans, kids who became slaves because they had no money and stole food."
I sighed and said that.
But the slave merchant showed a slightly flustered expression.
"...Are there no children to show me?"
"No, well. There are newly arrived twin siblings. But I am not sure whether they are goods we can sell to customers."
He started saying something strange.
Was he perhaps laying the groundwork to overcharge me?
When I narrowed my eyes slightly and glared at the slave merchant, he spoke with an expression that looked genuinely wronged.
"Eyes as red as blood. Born in December... Well, I'm not certain about that part. But their traits match the Seven Great Calamities from the prophecy, so I have been wondering whether I should dispose of them according to the orders from above."
"Uh... So you're saying you're going to kill them because their eye color is red?"
"Yes, well. That is correct. We have not confirmed their birthdays yet, but the order was to eliminate dangerous elements in advance."
The emperor was obsessed with some bizarre prophecy and was capturing and killing children. I had heard the story, but I didn't think it would really be like this.
If they were left as they were, those twins would be executed together.
After hearing that story, I made up my mind.
"Sell me those children."
"Pardon?"
"Two little kids who were caught stealing food couldn't possibly be some big shots like the Seven Great Calamities from a prophecy. You said you couldn't even confirm their birthdays, and only their eye color matched, didn't you?"
"Uh, uh... That is certainly true."
"Then sell them to me. If you refuse, I'll look for a different slave trader from next time on."
At my words, the slave merchant showed a hurried expression.
"W-Why would you say something so disappointing? Of course, if you want them, dear customer, I must sell them to you. I will guide you, so please follow me."
The slave merchant showed me a business smile.
Perhaps worried that I might leave right away, he quickly guided me to where the slaves were.
Soon, I saw children locked inside an iron cage.
Both siblings had blue hair and red eyes.
They looked about ten to twelve years old.
"Neither of them has a particularly obedient personality. I am worried they might be rude to our precious customer."
"They were forcibly tied up and locked in an iron cage. It'd be stranger if they acted nicely. I want to talk to these kids without you around, so just hurry up and leave."
"Yes, I will be waiting outside."
The slave merchant bowed his head and stepped back.
After confirming that the man had left, I opened my mouth. No, to be precise, I was about to open my mouth first.
"...What are you planning to make us do?"
The twins spoke to me first.
Their bodies were thin, as if they had starved for several days.
Even with bodies like that, they somehow kept their guard up.
"Are you going to strap bomb vests on us and use us as suicide soldiers? Or are you going to take out our hearts and use them as ritual sacrifices?"
I was about to say, What kind of gruesome things is a child saying? But after hearing what followed, those words vanished from my mouth.
"It won't work anyway. We survived together somehow every time, and we'll definitely survive this time too."
I wondered why the things these kids imagined were so brutal.
So it wasn't imagination, but experience?
This insane Middle Ages was truly hard to endure.
The rotten Empire. A mad world where commoners were treated as consumables, and if they offended a noble even slightly, their entire families could be exterminated. It wasn't as if I had almost died only once or twice either.
'This rotten Empire really needs to be flipped upside down completely... Well, it's not like I have the ability to step forward myself, though.'
There was no way overthrowing a country would be easy.
I let out a deep sigh and said, "Don't worry. I'm just planning to set you free."
This time, the one who was flustered was not me, but the other side.
Their expressions went blank for a moment.
They looked as though they doubted what they had just heard.
"...You're going to set us free? Does that make any sense?"
But from my perspective, that reaction was even more absurd.
Wasn't this something far too obvious in the first place?
"Does it make sense for orphans who are only about ten years old to become slaves just because they stole some food because they were hungry?"
The more I saw, the dizzier this medieval world made me. But I had been a modern person, and I wanted to remain a modern person from now on as well. I wanted to uphold the duties that should be upheld as a human being.
"To begin with, slavery itself is unethical. Treating a single person as property. How does that make sense? Where did human dignity and basic rights go?"
It wasn't as if I was some human rights activist. But if anyone saw children barely ten years old trapped in an iron cage without even being fed, they would think this wasn't right.
So I had only said something completely obvious.
"...I don't understand."
My obviousness did not apply here.
A two-eyed person in a village of one-eyed people. Well, they were values from hundreds of years in the future, so it would be stranger if they did apply here.
"Showing goodwill without any price in return. There's no way such a convenient story exists. The stupid kids who believed in things like that were all dragged away and killed long ago."
Their eyes were filled with suspicion.
To begin with, these two twins had survived in this era without any guardians. If they had been easy to trust others with little caution, they would have been corpses long ago.
I thought for a moment, then came to a conclusion.
"If goodwill without a price makes you uncomfortable... Well, then this works out. How about coming under me and working?"
They're scared because there's no such thing as free help in this world, but I'm saying I'll help them anyway? Then offering them work should be fine.
To begin with, it was something I often did.
If I simply freed orphans, they would only starve. So I tended to try to find them jobs that suited their aptitude.
"There's something I'm planning right now, too."
Besides, this was just when I was about to expand my soap business.
'I can hire them as the first employees of my soap company.'
They still looked deeply wary, but I could unravel that.
I immediately began a heartfelt speech.
* * *
"Have you ever thought like this? That the people of the Empire are disgusting. That they smell worse than corpses."
The speech began confidently from a reincarnator.
There was no particularly deep meaning contained in it.
"There's an unbearable stench, I mean."
This wasn't exactly a metaphor or anything.
I said they smelled because they really did smell.
Because medieval people don't wash very often. What I meant to say was, 'Don't people smell awful? Join my soap company and improve the Empire's hygiene with me.'
"From nobles to those even higher than them. The stench coming from those who pride themselves on being noble is even worse. To think they believe they can cover that dreadful smell with perfume."
But to the twins, those words sounded different.
They had no choice but to sound different.
'...He's criticizing the corruption of the nobles this openly? He's even criticizing the imperial family all together.'
It was something said by a person who had claimed that all humans were equal and that slavery was an evil.
The hypocritical imperial family and nobles are disgusting. Even if they pretend to be noble and try to hide their vile atrocities, the stench coming from that rotten hypocrisy cannot be covered. That was the only way it could sound to them.
"Of course, you can't say things like this openly. Because it would be obvious that you'd make the whole world your enemy."
The man approached.
He approached while making his golden eyes shine.
The man smiled as he spoke.
"But you know. This is what I think. Even if it means making the whole world your enemy, aren't there times when you have to correct what is wrong?"
It's fine to make everything in the world your enemy.
If it was for the sake of completely overturning this rotten world. This Empire where people could not live as people...
He was prepared to make even the world his enemy.
"Won't you lend me your strength too? Together, we'll purify what is dirty and exterminate the germs."
That proposal was far too dangerous.
Making the world your enemy was not an empty boast. A world where people could live as people. A new order built after driving away the hypocrites giving off a foul stench.
The path they would have to walk would certainly be a path of thorns.
"Of course, I'm not forcing you. The choice is yours. If you don't want to work with me, I'll find you an orphanage or another job. To be honest, that would be easier."
However, the words of refusal did not leave their mouths.
Because they knew better than anyone.
How terribly rotten and festering this world was. How much that stench ate away at people's hearts.
"But if you want to work with me, if you agree with my story and think you want to walk forward together with me..."
The man reached out his hand. The revolutionary dreaming of a new Empire said, "Let's make this world clean."
Let's burn this rotten world down and purify it all.
Chapter 1: Cleansing the World (1)Comments (1)Please sign in or sign up to comment.
MMelomabout 13 hours agoYou forgot "—with soap" sir HAAHHAAHAHAHAHAH
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Toggle menuSearchUser menuHome/I Became the Leader of a Shadow Organization/Chapter 2Updated: June 30, 202612 min readChapter 2: Cleansing the World (2)
Chapter 2. Cleansing the World (2)
"Let's make this world clean ourselves."
An ambitious sales proposal.
Calling it a soap business makes it sound a little modest, but what we're truly aiming for is improving the hygiene of the world! Let's make a world where one shower a day is common sense!
I subtly tried to appeal to them by presenting a slogan like that, but.
"...How pathetic."
What came back was an utterly cold reaction.
...I guess kids really do want to do things like being magicians more than selling cleaning supplies. It does lack a bit of style.
I had half given up while thinking that, but…
"I can't stand how pathetic I've been until now."
What suddenly came flying in then was a curveball.
The child spoke with a face that seemed to be recalling the past.
"I always thought about it. That this world is too hideous. Why did we have to be born into such a terrible world and suffer under terrible people? I did nothing but resent the world."
The children looked gaunt at a glance.
They had even been captured as slaves in a place like this to begin with. Their lives must surely have been hardship beyond words.
"It's laughable. There are people like you who strive to change the world. Yet someone like me just cried because I was sad, prayed to God to please save us, and wasted time."
But what was reflected in those eyes was not despair. It was the face of someone who had wandered and wandered, then finally found a goal.
Eyes that looked forward and burned with determination.
"I will no longer beg God for miracles."
The child looked up at me proudly.
Her eyes, which had already been red to begin with, burned even brighter and sparkled.
"I will change my fate with my own hands. I will fix this rotten, decaying empire together with you!"
I truly liked that ambition.
I really did like the ambition, but there was one last thing I had to confirm.
"Are you confident you won't regret it? What we have to do is overturn the common sense of the world."
What we had to do from now on would be harder than expected.
I was not exaggerating, for real.
Overturning common sense was that difficult. It makes my head spin, but in this world, a guy who bathes once a week is evaluated as someone who keeps himself clean.
We had to change the perception of tens of millions of people.
Common sense says there is no way that could be easy.
"There will be people who look unfavorably on us for trying to cleanse the world. Many will attack us."
Who are you to tell us to wash because we're dirty!
I haven't washed for a month, but I sprayed perfume, so isn't it fine! All my friends do this too, so why are you making such a fuss!
A lot of people like that would pop out.
...I was not joking. Seriously.
You should not expect common sense from medieval concepts of hygiene. Because these are things I actually heard just a few days ago.
I carelessly gave advice and got cursed out by the bucketful.
"Literally speaking, it means making the world our enemy. I once almost died after saying the right thing in front of a noble too. Trying to stand against the world with only a few people is close to impossible."
Infants right before birth have weak immunity, so.
I asked if it wouldn't be better to wash hands for hygiene. And she just got angry, saying who was I to interfere and all that.
This damn empire was truly beyond salvation. It would be an incredibly grueling fight.
"Are you prepared to stake your life on that impossibility?"
The national hygiene improvement and cleansing project. And, while we were at it, making money by selling soap too.
Were they prepared to jump into this business?
I looked at the child and asked seriously.
"...It is a thorny path."
The child looked into my eyes.
"It is a thorny path."
I told that child only the honest truth. But what formed on the child's lips was a smile, as if there was no need to think about it at all.
The child smiled brightly and declared proudly.
"I will walk that thorny path together with you."
She passed. She absolutely passed.
For such an ambitious talent to join us. I began to get the feeling that this business might explode in a big way.
Riding the momentum, I declared proudly.
"Good. Let's change this world together."
Then the child smiled gently.
"Yes, let us change this world together."
"We'll begin by expanding the soap business! We'll secure funds and widen our influence while improving the hygiene of the people of the empire! Let's make this world filled with stench clean together!"
"Yes! First, we will expand the soap business...?"
But in the middle of speaking, the child wore a blank expression.
Why were her eyes suddenly so round?
Just as I was about to ask, the slave trader approached. It seemed he thought that, after giving us this much space, we must have reached a conclusion.
"So... have you slowly made up your mind? For someone like you, I will specially discount them by up to about twenty percent!"
A 20% discount.
The slave trader was carrying out some quite aggressive marketing.
When the child saw that slave trader, she muttered quietly in shock.
"T-this is insane. Like a fool, I leaked information about the organization..."
"Hm? Do you have something to say, kiddo?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing. The soap business! We were simply talking about the soap business, just as that person said."
The child panicked while breaking out in cold sweat, as if the memory from earlier came to mind, the slave trader said.
"Ah, come to think of it, you said you were running a soap business. Did you perhaps make these children a recruitment offer? They are slaves, so you can make them work without their consent. You truly are kind."
"Yes, well. I was thinking of increasing the scale of the business. I thought I might take this chance to train successors as well."
Had she perhaps been afraid of the slave trader?
The child, who had suddenly shrunk back, gone pale, and started watching his mood, finally regained her composure after hearing me explain to the slave trader.
"...To think you even foresaw this kind of situation and prepared an excuse in advance! And on top of that, even in such a situation, you escaped naturally without the slightest agitation."
The little kid muttered something quietly to herself.
The slave trader glanced at that sight.
Symptoms of talking to herself. Strange remarks whose context was impossible to understand. In other words, defective merchandise. The flow of thought that he had to quickly hand them over.
"If you buy them as a set now, I will cut thirty percent."
The man proposed the price to me in an urgent voice.
Well, if he was going to discount them, I welcomed it.
I had been going to buy them anyway, so there was no reason to hesitate.
I quickly completed the transaction with the imperially certified slave trader.
"Please use our services again next time, dear customer!"
A slave trader recognized and protected by the nation.
He was an existence that made my head spin. But because of that, compared to other slave traders, he played fewer tricks and at least kept what he was supposed to keep.
The transaction ended peacefully without any particular trouble.
I released the chains that had been bound around the children.
Then the child cautiously whispered into my ear.
"...There will be no such incidents from now on. What we are trying to do is simply sell cleaning supplies. I have clearly committed it to memory."
"Uh... is that so? I'm glad you understood."
I had even openly said we were selling soap, so I didn't know why she was only saying she understood now.
Until I returned home with the two children.
The older sister repeatedly looked all around and stayed alert, as if she were playing at being some kind of secret agent.
The younger brother made up a password and shared it with his older sister as he played.
...The children's personalities were very, very eccentric.
I would have to take good care of them in various ways.
* * *
The twins' names were Rang and Ren.
The older sister was Rang, and the younger brother was Ren.
The one who had kept talking to me was the older sister. Unlike the easygoing and proactive older sister, the younger brother was the timid and weak type. The siblings' personalities were complete opposites.
'...Both of you were born in the wrong era.'
They had been filthy because they could not wash properly. But when my specially made modern-style soap and the washing tools I had implemented as much as possible displayed their power, everything changed.
The children became completely soft and fluffy-clean.
It was not at the level of, "They could become celebrities." They had visuals where it would be a crime if they did not become celebrities.
'If this were the modern world, they would have done well as child actors, idols, or whatever else, but to think even children like these nearly became slaves after starving and stealing bread. What kind of world is this, where living is this hard?'
As expected, I hate the empire. A world where even children with talent and aptitude must worry about surviving right now instead of spreading their dreams is terrible.
A country like this really needs someone to overturn it.
"Boss, why is your expression so dark?"
"No, it's just. A world where a child can't live like a child really is wrong, isn't it? Thinking that made me a bit sad."
"...As expected of you, Boss. To think you usually have such deep thoughts. You are always immersed in contemplation, deeply agonizing over how to change the world into a better place!"
No, I really was just lost in idle thoughts. But Rang talked about contemplation and all that over it.
Her evaluation of me was excessively high. Well, I suppose it was only natural since I had saved her from being captured as a slave.
"More importantly, why are you calling me Boss?"
"Uh... because we are comrades who will cleanse this world together from now on, aren't we? You are the one who showed us a dream and guided us onto the path we must follow. So of course you are Boss."
The kid followed me too much.
Her eyes sparkled brightly with admiration.
My thought had only been a light one, that the people of the empire smelled, so I wished they would wash a bit, and that I should spread soap while making some money.
"Let's overturn this empire together."
But perhaps she had been more deeply moved than I expected, because she looked full of anticipation.
...In that case, it would be better to live up to those expectations.
I couldn't disappoint a child whose eyes were shining like that.
I smiled and tried putting on a little bravado.
"Right. But don't narrow your field of view too much. We intend to reach not only the empire, but the entire world."
"The entire world in our hands...!"
"Right. I'm thinking of chain stores too."
As I spoke, I paused for a moment.
This was a bad habit of a reincarnator. Modern terms that did not suit the Middle Ages would sometimes pop out like dialect.
"You don't have to worry about it. It's a word used in my hometown. No one uses it anymore, but I still haven't gotten used to that."
At my words, Rang wore a complicated expression for a moment.
I searched for something suitable to change the topic.
"Anyway. Since you two have joined as well, it would be better to slowly begin our activities in earnest."
At the words I brought up, Rang and Ren's eyes shone.
They looked full of motivation.
As the boss, it was truly a pleasant sight.
"If we are beginning our activities, then surely... are you thinking of scattering a manifesto containing our ambitions all across the empire?"
But maybe because they were still children. They knew less about business than I expected.
Well, I could just teach them, so it didn't matter much.
"Scattering flyers is important too, but it's too early for that. Let's handle the small things first."
Scattering store flyers before even starting sales.
I understand wanting to start the business quickly. But shouldn't we properly finish the groundwork before that?
"Small things?"
"Yeah. There's one thing I've had in mind since before."
Two pairs of eyes looked up at me.
I declared proudly in front of the children.
"We are going to mass-produce weapons that will cleanse the empire. To eradicate the filthy things eating away at the empire without leaving a trace."
Chapter 2: Cleansing the World (2)Comments (1)Please sign in or sign up to comment.
MMelomabout 13 hours agoThe twins: "Weapons?!"
Boss: —soap...
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Toggle menuSearchUser menuHome/I Became the Leader of a Shadow Organization/Chapter 3Updated: June 30, 202612 min readChapter 3: Sort Your Trash Thoroughly (1)
Chapter 3. Sort Your Trash Thoroughly (1)
Rang was horrified by the story I brought up.
With a blank look on her face, she opened her mouth and asked.
"...Th, that's a small matter, Boss? Mass-producing weapons that could completely overturn the Empire?"
But I smiled playfully and said.
"It is a small matter. A small matter I can finish whenever I set my mind to it. I have at least that much ability, after all."
At the end of the day, I was happy that the kids were following me so well. It should be fine to bluff a little here.
Besides, it was not like I was lying.
I had already been thinking about mass-producing my special soap for a while. I could not keep making it by hand forever, could I?
If I was going to start a proper business, I needed to scale things up.
"My goodness... As expected, Boss, you are incredible."
At my story, Rang's eyes sparkled brightly.
I could also see Ren, hiding behind Rang, looking at me over her shoulder with sparkling eyes. Hm, I must not disappoint them.
I really was glad I had made at least some sort of plan.
"I've already arranged in advance the method to mass-produce our weapon to purify the Empire, my special soap, and everything necessary for it. I can put it into action whenever I set my mind to it."
"...'Soap,' you say. You mean the weapon that will purify the trash giving off a foul stench. Understood."
Purifying the trash giving off a foul stench. It was not exactly wrong, but the way she said it was far too blatant.
"You sure phrase things pretty aggressively. I understand how you feel, but always be careful with your words. The high-ranking people of the Empire give off a hideous stench, yet they hate being called out on it."
The more I saw nobles, the more ridiculous they seemed.
They would kill someone for the crime of insulting a noble just because that person frowned slightly at their stench. Can those bastards not smell themselves?
If you stink, you should think about washing.
They were at a level where I seriously wondered whether they were even human.
"...Indeed. We never know where or when someone might be eavesdropping on our conversation. It would be best to be as careful as possible with our words."
"Yeah, be as cautious as possible just in case."
I agreed that nobles smelled.
But imagine if words like, "Those guys smell like food waste, so let's purify them with our soap," reached a noble's ears.
Your head would be chopped off right then and there.
"But it is certainly joyful news. I would like to secure as much 'soap' as possible. There are far too many people in the Empire giving off a foul stench. So that not a single one of them is left out, and all can be purified."
"Yeah, I thought the same, so I came up with a plan in advance."
I immediately rummaged through the drawer.
What I pulled out was a handmade map. A map of the geography around here that I had painstakingly drawn, stroke by stroke.
I pointed to one building drawn on the map.
"This is the place we'll be visiting today."
In the modern world, if you want to mass-produce something?
You contact a factory. But in a medieval fantasy world, there is no way to find a fully mechanized factory.
However, there was a place that could serve as a substitute.
"I've already made an appointment with the workshop owner."
A workshop that produced alchemy supplies and the like.
At that place, my soap could be produced well enough. If I simply told them the manufacturing method, they would probably be able to mass-produce it right away.
It was a facility absolutely necessary for the business.
"An alchemy workshop. I see. When it comes to handling explosives, there are no experts better than them."
"Hm? Explosives?"
Rang flinched at my words.
Rang looked around in an oddly wary manner and said.
"Ah, no, it is nothing. We are only approaching them with the intention of making soap, after all. Explosives are delicate. I simply thought that a workshop capable of handling such things would also be good at making soap."
Was there any need to be so wary when making soap?
That was what I thought, but then I realized.
Indeed, there was a need to be wary.
No, security had to be prioritized above all else.
Was that not only natural when considering the times?
"When we visit the workshop, I'll have to make sure to tell the craftsmen clearly. Information about what exactly we are making there must never leak outside."
"Yes. We must warn them that even if anyone in the Empire, even the Emperor himself, comes to question them, they must not disclose the information."
This damned medieval era did not even have such a thing as copyright.
Rang's words felt slightly excessive, but considering the medieval average, the stricter the security, the better.
'If the manufacturing method gets stolen here? Everyone will immediately start mass-producing copies and sell them. There's no way medieval people would respect intellectual property rights. This has to be carried out in absolute secrecy.'
We would have to be careful about industrial spies as well. We would also have to make sure no one inside leaked information.
Mm... There were more things to be careful about than I thought.
"Well, first we need to discuss the contract. Let's deal with the details after we handle the immediate problem."
But that was still a matter for the somewhat distant future.
It was not even certain yet whether the contract with the workshop would go well. For now, it would be better to focus on that task first.
"...Let's go, kids. This is our monumental first activity."
I stood up with renewed resolve.
* * *
One tip I would like to give to anyone reincarnated into a medieval fantasy world.
Do not expect anything from the Middle Ages.
There is always a floor beneath the floor.
The moment you relax and think, 'This must be the bottom. Surely it can't go any lower than this?' you will be slammed straight down into the basement.
Just like the scene entering my eyes right now.
"So... you want to form a cooperative relationship with my workshop?"
Yellow hair and blue eyes.
To put it nicely, he looked reliable. To put it bluntly, he was a plump middle-aged man who looked as if he had just devoured an entire cow.
The workshop owner was looking down at me with an arrogant expression.
"Yes, I came here to form a cooperative relationship, but..."
I frowned slightly and asked.
"What is wrong with those children? Are they sick or something? They seem to be assistants working in this workshop."
This damned Empire had no such thing as human rights.
I knew the treatment of workers was rock-bottom too, but no matter what, this was too much.
Those little children had nothing left but bones.
"Ah, those slaves? They're probably in bad shape because they're starving."
The workshop owner answered in a calm voice.
Anyone listening would think someone else had starved them.
He had not even fed those children, yet he shamelessly talked as if it had nothing to do with him.
"Such ungrateful bastards. They even complained about the food I went out of my way to give them. So I've been starving them as punishment for two weeks now."
My head grew dizzy once again.
This damned medieval Empire.
These bastards were even more beastly than beasts.
I usually avoid using the word barbaric because I think it is a little too harsh. But this really could only be called barbaric.
"They complained about the food?"
"Yeah, they spat out all the food I went out of my way to give them."
"Just what kind of food did you give them?"
"I had some leftover sandwich from before. I even cut off the moldy parts before giving it to them, but they were being dramatic."
Hearing even that story only made me even more dumbfounded.
It is fine if you cut off the moldy parts?
Mold is like a flag.
A flag saying, "We have already occupied all of this food."
"...Food with saliva on it spoils easily."
"That's what I mean by being dramatic. I'm telling you, I was considerate enough to cut off the mold and only give them the clean parts. But they gagged just because there was a little saliva on it? If that isn't insolence, then what is?"
"Well, of course they would vomit if they ate spoiled food."
"I said I removed all the mold before giving it to them! Are you deaf? No, seriously, how many times do I have to say it before you understand?"
He fed spoiled food to children, then threw a tantrum because they vomited and supposedly did not know how precious food was. How could a bastard like this even exist?
And yet, the other party got angry as if I were the strange one. Profanity seemed like it would burst out of my mouth at any moment, but…
"Still, it would be better to give them at least the bare minimum of food."
There was no meaning in speaking human words to a beast.
For beasts, one had to use a language specialized for those bastards.
"...If a slave dies, that is a loss, isn't it? So even for the sake of your own profits, please give them something to eat."
Even if I angrily asked whether he did not feel sorry for the children, he would probably say, 'Why? They're slaves. Why are you interfering when I'm handling my property however I want?'
Here, I needed to persuade him by connecting it to profit. With that judgment, I tried to persuade him carefully, but…
"Aren't you meddling a bit too much? Do I look like I don't even have the money to buy a few new slaves? I can just buy new ones."
As expected, he did not listen at all.
"You seem to have picked up some strange rumor somewhere. I did lose some money gambling, but I haven't fallen that far, you know? If you keep provoking me like that, this won't be fun."
I had never heard any rumor like that.
Perhaps because trash only saw trash, it seemed he had taken my words as a sneer, like, 'You don't even have enough money to buy slaves?'
As if he did not want to hear any more, the man picked at his ear and stood up.
"And just how long are we going to keep chatting? I'll bring the contract, so talk about the contract instead of meddling."
The workshop owner left his seat for a moment to bring the contract.
I was certain.
That contract would not be proper.
I could not even imagine what absurd conditions and ratios he would try to push on me.
This was an unconditional refusal.
When he returned, I would tell him that the contract discussion was off.
While I was thinking of a polite refusal...
"...The stench is overwhelming."
What stabbed my nose was a terrible smell.
A foul odor filled the air. From our earlier conversation, I had guessed that the bastard was someone far removed from cleaning.
But this was beyond imagination.
Food waste was scattered everywhere. A pigsty would probably be twenty times cleaner than this workshop. It was not that I could not guess where this smell was coming from. Rather, there were too many places I could guess from, and the sheer amount of trash scattered around made me dizzy.
"The stench is overwhelming, Boss."
And I was not the only one who could smell it. So there were normal people even in this damned Middle Ages.
In a world where not washing for a month was the norm, there was someone like me who valued cleanliness. What welcome news.
"Yeah, the stench is overwhelming."
I stretched lightly and spoke.
"We should clean up the trash. Just being in the same space as it is enough to make me nauseous."
Just where was this smell coming from? If the environment was like this, it would be bad for the health of the workshop children too, so we needed to clean it up quickly.
"...How should we handle it, Boss?"
Rang asked with a serious expression.
How should we handle trash?
"Obviously, we should sort it for recycling, right?"
"Yes? What is recycling?"
At Rang's question, I realized my mistake.
"Ah, sorry, that's something from my hometown. It has nothing to do with the current situation, but I got mixed up. Back in my hometown, we usually gathered the trash in the neighborhood, crushed and compressed it, then boiled and melted it down until not even a trace remained."
Because I had lived in Korea for so long, my words slipped out every now and then.
"They even melted trash down and made it into bags. Thinking about my hometown for the first time in a while makes me miss it. Ahaha."
I chuckled as old memories came to mind.
...But why is everyone reacting like this?
Chapter 3: Sort Your Trash Thoroughly (1)Comments (1)Please sign in or sign up to comment.
MMelomabout 13 hours agoThis is funny lol. The boss here explaining what recycle is for 'literal' trash and the twins understood it at recycling people HAHAAHAH
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Toggle menuSearchUser menuHome/I Became the Leader of a Shadow Organization/Chapter 4Updated: June 30, 202611 min readChapter 4: Sort Your Trash Thoroughly (2)
Chapter 4. Sort Your Trash Thoroughly (2)
"...So. In Boss's hometown, they melted down unsalvageable trash and used it to make bags?"
Rang asked in a tense voice.
Well, yeah. They did make things like eco-bags out of recycled plastic. I'm sure I'd gotten one or two here and there.
"Yeah, I had one or so myself. It wasn't that unusual, so a lot of people probably had them."
"Not just you, Boss, but most of the people from your hometown? They carried out something like that openly?"
"Huh? Why would anyone be ashamed of that? They put trash to good use. If anything, it's something to be proud of. I'm sure everyone from my hometown would think so."
Using eco-bags to prevent environmental pollution was something worthy of praise, wasn't it? Those small acts were what protected the environment.
At my words, Rang was rendered speechless.
Seeing that, I added one more thing.
"Though it's just a story from my hometown, so I doubt you'd really understand."
Waste sorting, eco-bags, and all that. It would be stranger if people from the Middle Ages understood any of that.
Originally, I hadn't even planned to bring this up. But then... after hesitating for a moment, Rang nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, perhaps that method is better for the world when it comes to unsalvageable trash. I did wonder if it was a little extreme, but if that is what you believe, Boss..."
With eyes that seemed to be steeling her resolve, she said,
"I will harden my heart as well."
I had no idea what she was bracing herself for, but I corrected the twenty-first-century information that had slipped out earlier.
"Well, just forget what I said earlier. Like I just said, we don't have the tools to do that kind of work here anyway, so I think it'd be better to just deal with it simply."
"By dealing with it simply, you mean..."
Where did people throw away trash in the Middle Ages?
Public trash cans? Recycling stations?
As if this damned empire would have anything like that.
The whole world was basically one giant trash can.
In that case, I did wonder if we should just dig a hole and bury it somewhere.
"We'll burn it all and purify it."
Digging would make my hands hurt.
When would we ever finish burying trash with a shovel?
It was too much of a hassle, so burning it would be the best option.
"...I shall carry out your command."
Rang lowered her head to me with a solemn expression. But of course, I had no intention of sending only them.
"No, there's no need to carry out anything. I'll clean it up with you."
I was an adult, after all. I couldn't just leave the trash cleanup to the kids. Obviously, I had to work with them too.
So I said I'd join them. But Rang and Ren shook their heads with grave expressions.
"No. We must do this."
"I-I'll prove it. I'll prove that we're ready to follow you, Boss. We still can't be like you, Boss, but we'll prove that even with our own strength, we can purify trash!"
Their attitude was far too serious.
I didn't think throwing away trash was something they needed to talk about so gravely. Well, environmental protection was an important matter.
More than anything, it was nice to see the children trying to do something on their own. It was rare to find children this proactive.
I smiled warmly and said,
"Alright. Be careful out there."
* * *
Leon, the owner of the workshop, smiled.
'A big fish has taken the bait. It even crawled in here on its own.'
A golden goblin. A commoner with plenty of money but no power to protect it. Perfect prey had come right up to him, practically begging to be eaten.
'He wants to sign a contract? Start a soap business together?'
He had never heard such a ridiculous joke in his life. Perhaps that inferior brain of his failed to understand this, but contracts were originally made between people.
There was no need for humans and livestock to make contracts and commoners were livestock.
Just as sheep offered wool, commoners existed to offer taxes and labor to nobles like him.
What he had come to retrieve now was not a contract.
—Srrrrrng!
A sharply honed blade.
The sword gleamed as it reflected the sunlight.
Why on earth would there be any need to trade with livestock?
He only needed to slaughter it with this sword and take its flesh.
The silver coins that man had prepared for the contract would be put to good use. Burying the death of a single commoner would be easy.
His great Imperial Majesty cherished his people, but...Those lowly livestock bastards were not people anyway. It was something His Majesty was said to often say in private.
Once he killed that one white-haired man, he wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.
Ah, would it be three people he had to kill?
He would have to silence those brats too, so they couldn't do anything foolish.
Leon was smiling while thinking such thoughts.
"Part of me kept looking for you. So this is where you were."
A voice came from behind him.
When he turned his head and looked back, he saw a brat.
Blue hair and red eyes. One of the twin siblings he had seen earlier. Those brats had come looking for Leon, unaware of what awaited them.
The target he had already decided to kill had come to him on their own.
'Even the heavens are helping me.'
He had been racking his brain over how troublesome it might become if the brats started screaming noisily and ran away.
He never imagined they would walk in here of their own accord.
The corners of Leon's mouth split into a grin, curving like a crescent moon.
And then... the child smiled too.
"S-Sis. Let me, let me do it! I realized something wonderful thanks to Boss. I want to repay him."
"Alright. I'll leave it to you."
The siblings were conversing with each other as if nothing were wrong.
Leon's face colored with bewilderment.
Had these bastards gone insane and lost their minds?
A giant man about two meters tall was holding a sword, openly revealing hostility, and glaring at them with murderous intent. No matter how empty-headed those brats were, trembling in fear should have been the natural reaction.
And yet they were utterly calm.
"H-Hello, mister."
The timid-looking boy shyly approached.
Even though his opponent was holding a sword, he did not hesitate in the slightest. In fact, his face even looked a little excited.
Did he really not understand the situation?
Leon frowned and opened his mouth.
"You bastards have all gone cra—"
But he couldn't finish those words. Because an utterly incomprehensible sight unfolded before him. What entered his vision was a bizarre phenomenon.
'Huh? Huhhh?'
He was burning.
The brat's body was burning.
"A-Actually, I don't really like stepping forward. Because everything burns when it touches my hands. I didn't want people to be hurt, so I decided not to get close to anyone."
This was not some hallucination or optical illusion.
He could feel the heat. It was unbelievable, but heat that felt as if it could melt his entire body was reaching his skin.
"But I learned from Boss. He said it's okay to burn things. That they should be melted down instead. That all bad people who make the world filthy should be burned and purified."
Even though his entire body was burning, the child was smiling.
The corners of his mouth were split into a strange smile.
"I-I'm a coward, so I don't think I can go as far as melting and processing someone into a trophy like Boss. But still, I'll try to be as brave as I can."
His voice was trembling timidly.
Yet there was a smile on his lips.
The gap between his voice and his expression was far too grotesque.
Leon's hands began to tremble like mad.
His legs shook as if they might give out at any moment.
'H-He's just a brat. Just one kid.'
There was no way he could be afraid of a mere child. As a noble, he couldn't possibly fear some slave brat like that.
Even though he knew that, the trembling did not stop.
Instead, it only grew worse.
"Don't worry. Boss said that stinking hypocrites are better off gone. So we're doing a good thing. You're going to be 'purified' thanks to our Boss too, mister."
The boy spoke with a tone full of innocence.
That innocence terrified Leon more than anything else.
If only that child had cursed him or if he had come to assassinate him under the orders of some other noble. Then it would not have been this terrifying.
But the child wore a pure expression.
Burn the wicked and purify them. He had truly been influenced by such an ideology.
"D-Demons... you demon bastards..."
Leon muttered as if possessed. But when Rang heard those words, she only let out a mocking laugh.
"Unbelievable. You starved and neglected little children, and yet you're calling us demons?"
The girl snorted.
"...Now that I think about it, Boss shouldn't know about my brother's power. So how did he tell us to burn our enemy so naturally? Just how far ahead is Boss seeing?"
The girl smiled as she spoke.
"To serve that man, we mustn't let our guard down either. If we stand around blankly, we'll only become a burden to Boss."
"L-Let's work hard, Sis."
"Yeah, let's do our best together. According to his will, so that we can overturn the empire and establish Boss's nation."
He was coming closer.
The child was gradually approaching him.
Terrified, Leon shouted.
"W-Wait... I'll do anything! I'll do anything, so please!"
But the child did not listen to him.
Just as Leon had done to the slaves of the workshop, the boy treated every plea as the cry of a beast and let it pass by.
He ignored Leon's pleas as if they had no value at all.
"I-I'll reflect on my actions and repent!"
Nor would he be given any chance to repent.
He was not truly reflecting on anything. Even now, he was trying to come up with a way to strike those brats from behind.
How could someone who did not repent truly atone?
"Don't worry. I'll help you. Just as that man said, we're going to burn away the wickedness and make you clean."
His body caught fire.
Leon's body caught fire.
The last thing reflected in his eyes was the smiling children.
Red-eyed demons who looked exactly like the Seven Great Calamities of prophecy.
"Everything is for the ideal world that he envisioned."
His vision blurred.
His consciousness grew distant, and his eyes closed.
And so, one evil man was purified by fire.
* * *
...Why did it smell like grilled meat?
Unfortunately, I had a sensitive nose.
Whenever I opened a free soup kitchen in the slums as a hobby, grateful hugs were nice, but my nose had always been tortured by the smell of medieval people.
That very nose of mine detected something strange.
What on earth was going on?
I walked toward the source of the smell. It was a villa right beside the alchemy workshop. Probably a place used by the noble I had seen earlier.
As I approached, the smell grew stronger.
'Something's burning?'
What the hell was burning?
Flustered, I opened the door.
When I opened it, I saw that, sure enough, it was not a major problem.
A villa that had turned completely into a sea of fire.
The children waving at me from inside the burning room.
Our kids were just having a human barbecue party...
...Huh?
"You have arrived, Boss? By the way, Boss, you really did have everything planned. It is certainly an efficient judgment."
Rang smiled brightly as she spoke to me.
"If the merchant dies, the goods are free. The workshop is ours now."
Chapter 4: Sort Your Trash Thoroughly (2)Comments (1)Please sign in or sign up to comment.
MMelomabout 2 hours agoUhm... Awkward
MMelomabout 2 hours agoLol
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Toggle menuSearchUser menuHome/I Became the Leader of a Shadow Organization/Chapter 5Updated: June 30, 202612 min readChapter 5: Human Rights as a Matter of Course
Chapter 5. Human Rights as a Matter of Course
My head feels dizzy.
It feels like my mind is about to go blank, but I take a deep breath.
For now, I looked at Rang and asked.
"What the hell happened?"
"That noble drew a knife and threatened us, so we returned the favor."
He suddenly pulled out a knife?
Was the contract just a trick, and he was trying to kill us and pocket the money?
'Thank goodness the kids are safe. Thank goodness this place was an alchemy workshop. There were plenty of Molotov cocktails lying around nearby that could be used to counterattack. But seriously, what the hell is wrong with that noble bastard?'
He wasn't just targeting me, but even trying to kill children. He really was trash.
"You handled it well. If anyone asks, say there was an accident during an alchemy experiment. This was self-defense. The moment he tried to kill kids, there's no need to treat him like a human being."
Rang looked at me and exclaimed in admiration.
"As expected, Boss, you are always prepared."
"Yeah, you guys just came here to clean up the trash. You shouldn't end up in trouble because of human garbage like that."
"Yes, we merely cleaned up the trash."
The children didn't seem to have a single injury.
That was a very good thing, but I still couldn't help worrying, so I asked.
"...Are you guys really okay? You're not shocked after seeing something rough?"
But what came back was an answer so mature it almost felt excessive.
"We're fine. We've seen worse."
"Ah."
Come to think of it, they had said things like having their hearts taken out as alchemy materials, or almost being used as suicide soldiers on the battlefield.
They were children who had gone through every hardship imaginable. They were different from me, whose most dangerous experience in life was rushing into a fire scene to save an old person who was trapped.
Pitiful children who had lived such a harsh life that people like me, who had lived peacefully, couldn't even imagine it.
So of course they had no choice but to become used to sights like that.
Did I pointlessly touch on something painful?
I was worried about that, but Rang smiled brightly.
"Do not worry. We are not that weak. We may not be able to catch up to you, but we will make sure not to get in your way. We will assist you as much as possible, Boss, so please trust us."
Seeing that made a pleased smile form on my face.
How could a child be so mature and admirable?
"I trust you even if you don't say that. I do trust you, but."
I was smiling when I realized something important.
"More importantly, let's get out of here quickly. It's dangerous."
A burning villa was not a good place to have a conversation. It was a rare sight, but I didn't want to keep watching it.
I also didn't want to keep inhaling smoke.
At a glance, it didn't look good for the kids' health either.
At my words, the two little ones nodded.
We quickly came out of the villa.
"...It sure burns well."
The remains of the noble were probably still inside.
But I didn't feel particularly sorry.
I wasn't compassionate enough to pity someone who abused children. I also had no intention of praying for his soul.
I stared at the giant bonfire and fell into thought.
As for the fire... the workshop was some distance away, and the ground was sand. We didn't have to worry about it spreading.
What bothered me was the issue of our plan from here on.
How we acted from now on would be the key.
"Since we have already obtained a workshop, we can begin acting quickly. Even the heavens are helping us."
Rang spoke in a slightly excited voice.
The one who spoke from behind her was the younger sibling.
"S-Sis, but will it really be okay? A noble died, after all. What if an investigation or something starts?"
A noble had died.
We might be connected to it and punished.
Ren seemed a little scared by that thought.
I calmed the frightened Ren.
"There's no real problem with that. He said it himself, didn't he? That he lost some money gambling. And the villa was a complete mess. Why would a prideful noble live out here in the countryside for no reason?"
Even that guy must have had a nose. The reason he had to live like a dead rat in one corner of this filthy countryside.
If you thought about that, wasn't the answer obvious?
"He was hiding because he was drowning in debt, obviously. His acquaintances probably won't even know he's dead. They'll just think he hid somewhere again."
Would there be CCTV in the Middle Ages? Would there be police?
There were guards, but they didn't do their jobs properly anyway. Even if we got caught, we could just slip them some bribe money and be done with it.
"So you came here after planning even that, Boss."
"...Don't say weird things. What plan?"
I am a human from a 21st-century civilized society.
If you kill a merchant, doesn't that mean the goods are free? He was a bad guy who tormented children anyway, so let's deal with him in the name of justice.
I do not start things with that kind of thought.
This was an accidental incident, an accident.
I had no intention of doing anything that extreme.
...Though I also had no intention of throwing away treasure I had obtained by chance.
"Still, it's true that getting our hands on an alchemy workshop is huge. Without needing to rack our brains over contract or distribution issues, we can mass-produce soap in this workshop right away."
We could proceed faster than expected.
A much bigger harvest than I had thought.
"Yes, you mean 'soap.' I will make sure to prepare it. In quantities enough to completely purify the Empire."
"Don't be too hasty. For now, it's enough to make enough to use on the upper class of the Empire. The nobles."
What we were about to do from now on was viral marketing.
If we scattered samples among the higher-ups as a test, they would spread word of mouth on their own, saying this was insane. Wouldn't it even become a trend?
"...The execution of the plan is not far off."
"Yeah, this will be the moment we first reveal ourselves to the world. It would be better to prepare properly."
The framework of the business was beginning to take shape to some extent.
Now it really was a startup.
As I was feeling emotional about that, Rang threw a question at me.
"What will you do with the slaves who were working here as assistants? Their skills will be useful. And if they reveal what happened here, things could become troublesome, so..."
"Stop."
I cut Rang off. Because I could guess what words would come next.
"I have no intention of forcing cooperation. That would be freeing slaves only to grab their leashes again and work them. It would be like trampling on my own beliefs with my own hands."
"I apologize, Boss. My thoughts were shallow."
I thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.
"...It seems I'll have to talk to them a little."
* * *
The slaves who had been confined here as assistants in this workshop.
I gathered them all in one place, then declared.
"Your master is dead. So now you can live freely. There is nothing binding you anymore."
What I expected was at least some kind of joyful reaction.
When I freed children from slave traders, they usually became so happy that they even cried. But for some reason, the reaction this time was a little strange.
Their expressions didn't look happy at all.
"If you're worried about how you'll live from now on, you don't have to worry. I'll support you to some extent so you can live normally. I also know an orphanage."
Were they worried that they would starve to death because they couldn't find work? Thinking that, I told them I would help, but their reaction was the same.
This was... rather than not being happy about being freed.
"I-It's all right. W-We want to work under you! Escaping from slavery. We never even dreamed of such a thing."
It looked closer to the fact that they couldn't believe it.
Come to think of it, I had seen that noble's personality with my own eyes. They must have been worn down after being tormented and tormented by a guy like that for so long.
They had given up on expecting that they could live normal lives.
They had resigned themselves to the belief that miracles would never come anyway.
Just living while desperately trying to please the other party so they wouldn't be punished must have already been overwhelming.
'I really don't like a single thing about this damn Empire.'
It was a world where it was difficult to even accept goodwill as goodwill.
You could tell just by looking at them now.
"W-We know a lot of techniques too! S-So please don't throw us away. Please don't sell us to a slave trader!"
Just how much had they suffered to become like this?
After cursing the Empire several times in my heart, I put on a serious expression. Then I looked at the slaves and opened my mouth.
"I'm not saying I'm going to throw you away or sell you off. I really, truly want to help you live freely."
In the Empire, nothing is a given.
Not washing at least once every seven days.
And not living like a human being either.
"Until now, you were only made to serve under a noble, so you probably never got to play properly, eat properly, or do the things you wanted to do. I don't like that."
At my words, everyone showed blank expressions.
As if they had no idea what I was talking about.
The children looked as if they could not understand it at all.
"You've finally been freed, so why would you go out of your way to serve someone else? You should live happily, doing what you want to do."
"...W-Why are you saying such things? D-Didn't you need an alchemy workshop? A convenient slave, with even a leash and a contract brand engraved into them, is right in front of your eyes."
There was a convenient slave right there, so why not make use of them?
The answer to that was far too obvious.
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
"...Pardon?"
"I believe that, I was taught that, and I lived thinking that was natural. No matter how messed up this Empire is, I don't want to compromise on the way I live."
I am a modern person.
I have no intention of compromising just because I fell into the Middle Ages.
This disgusting Empire.
Even if this was a nation where making children slaves was considered natural, wouldn't it be too disgusting for me to also accept that as natural?
I did not want to follow the ways of the imperial family and those in power.
"So leave and do what you want to do. Play as much as you want, eat what you want to eat, and live while smiling."
I want to help as many people as I can.
If I expand the business and increase my influence, the number of people I can save will also increase.
"Why would you do something like that for people you met for the first time today..."
"I don't understand why you keep asking about something so obvious."
Why would I go this far for them?
There was no need to even ask that.
It was obvious.
"Children have the right to grow up like children. Without complicated worries like, Will I starve to death? I don't want to be sold off. They have the right to grow up purely, smiling and playing around."
Of course, I know too.
That in this Empire, something like that is a dream.
"All human beings have the right to live like human beings. It's something so obvious. But this damned Empire is a country where that obvious thing isn't easy."
But so what?
Just because the world was like that, I couldn't live like a barbarian too.
"So, well, what else can I do? I have to change it. Right now, the only ones I can save are you, but someday, I hope I can create a country where the things that should be obvious become obvious."
So I had only said something extremely common-sense.
A statement most modern people would agree with.
I had simply spoken it out loud without thinking much.
...So why do they all look like that? And why are they bowing their heads to me?
Chapter 5: Human Rights as a Matter of CourseComments (0)Please sign in or sign up to comment.
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