I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

[I want to escape, but I can't. I'm too weak. I get out of breath just running into the yard, and it takes all my strength to climb over the wall. And every time I'm about to reach the gate, I get caught and brought back.]

He's playing games, you know, like a cat playing with a mouse, toying with its prey until it's exhausted, until it loses its will to fight and stops resisting.

You must not give up, absolutely not—you told yourself this.

【But……】

The sounds of children playing outside are enchanting, but the curses coming from friends outside the door are even more heartbreaking.

They don't understand why you don't obey the priest, so they can suffer less and not feel so much pain.

You remain silent, unsure how to respond. Even if you wanted to say something, your weakened body simply cannot support you.

Seeing that you did not respond, the children began to unleash their resentment without restraint, whether it was directed at you, the priest, or the church.

You can only listen quietly and accept their complaints.

As dusk fell, the twilight rays peeked through the thin gaps, gently caressing your wounded face and waking you from your drowsy state. You moved your arm, instinctively reaching out to touch the paper-like gold that lay on the ground, but soon, the laughter of children echoed outside, and the gold on the ground slowly receded, bit by bit, until it disappeared completely.

You know, it was those playful children who were sealing the only crack in the window with mud. You could feel their gaze peeking at you through another crack—that pure, innocent gaze.

They treated it as just a game.

Finally, you gave up, ceasing your pursuit of that faint light and simply resting as much as possible to try and endure the torment of the night.

Tonight, as always, it hurts a lot.

As always, the priest took out medicine at the end to heal himself, whispering in your ear in his usual gentle voice, like the whisper of a devil.

At this moment, only the priest shows you a hint of tenderness—even if you know it's just your imagination.

The lingering pain in your body, the persistent smell of blood in your nose—you've gotten used to all of that.

You've grown accustomed to the children's laughter, their complaints, and even the priest's whispers.

[I want to agree]

[I want to give in]

It hurts so much, I don't want to feel this pain anymore.

I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten in ages!

[It's not a big deal, is it? After all, the priest provided food and lodging, so giving a little in return shouldn't be a problem, right?]

Besides, with so many people, it won't be your turn every day, right? It's just every now and then, so just bear with it, it's not a big deal.

I'm so hungry and so sleepy, but I can't sleep, or I'll wake up in pain.

I want to agree...

However, I cannot agree to this...

This is wrong, so do not give in... wait, keep waiting, and you will be saved.

Do you believe that one day, light will shine upon this place?

Hold on, wait with hope, just like your name suggests—you've told yourself this countless times.

In the quiet of the night, a small body curled up in a corner, silently shedding tears in the darkness.

Chapter Five: The Girl from Afar

"whee……"

In a blur, I could hear the sounds of children playing outside again.

"Is it morning...?"

With difficulty, Xi Wang opened her eyes and looked at the only remaining patch of light on the floor. She struggled to support herself and moved to the small patch of light, carefully reaching out to feel the warmth of the sunlight on her palm.

Thanks to the food the priest brought him yesterday, he had a little more strength to move around today—after all, the priest considered him his property and couldn't let him die directly.

However, correspondingly, tonight... might be very difficult.

"........."

Thinking of the pain she might face tonight, Xi Wang pursed her lips, withdrew her hand, curled up in a more comfortable position, and began to rest... trying to have more strength to face the torment tonight.

It's impossible to survive by remaining unconscious; you'll only be woken up by ice water or by the pain of coarse salt being rubbed on your wound.

Subconsciously, I touched my arm where the scars still remained, and a slight pain returned—it was a knife wound left by the priest a week ago, but it was almost healed now.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m still a child and my metabolism is fast, or something else, but Xi Wang’s wound heals very quickly. It will be almost completely healed in about a week. If given more time, it won’t even leave a scar. The priest noticed this and even liked it. After all, this would make him more “unrestrained”.

Even if he recovers, phantom pain will still remain... but he has gradually gotten used to it, to the point that he has almost become desensitized to the feeling of "pain", but he still feels pain.

How long has it been? How long has it been since I was locked up here?

How much longer will this last? Is there any chance of rescue?

"........."

The thought of such despair for the future filled Xi Wang with an indescribable sense of grievance.

I want to go out... I want to eat properly... I want to get a good night's sleep...

She instinctively curled up into a ball, trying to hide the tears that were about to spill over.

I don't want to be hit anymore... I don't want to be scolded anymore... I don't want to feel pain anymore...

I really want to agree...

"whee……"

Outside, the children's playful noises continued; something good seemed to have happened today, and they all looked very excited.

But none of that has anything to do with Xi Wang.

After a few minutes, Xi Wang seemed to have released all the pent-up emotions she had been feeling these past few days. She wiped away her tears, regulated her breathing, closed her eyes, and tried to slowly fall asleep.

Tonight will be a tough night, so I need to get some rest.

However, accidents always happen unexpectedly.

"Boom boom boom——"

"Hello~ Is anyone inside?"

A crisp sound rang out along with a knock on the door.

Hello~ Is anyone there~?

It was the voice of an unfamiliar little girl, but her unique energy was conveyed through her words, making it easy to imagine that she was a lively and lovely girl.

However, Xi Wang did not reply, as that would be too much of a waste of energy, and if the priest found out, he might be even more upset tonight.

"Don't knock on the door, he won't answer you. If you want to see him, you can come here."

I heard a familiar voice; it was the child who lives here speaking.

Then I heard the familiar sound of moving things around, and soon the sunlight shining on the ground shrank.

"He's here! Come quick!"

A familiar voice came from the window, as if confirming through the crack that Xi Wang was within sight of him, and he quickly called out to the side.

The sunlight on the ground returned to its original size, and then quickly shrank back again.

"Oh, isn't someone here?"

She spoke in a light and cheerful tone.

"Hello~"

"........."

"Huh? Didn't you hear me? Hmm... Hey~ Can you hear me~ There's a cute girl calling you here~"

"........."

"Don't call him, he won't talk to you, and it's better to talk to him less. He's a bad kid."

"[Bad kid]? How is he bad?"

"Um...I...I don't know either, but if the priest says so, then it must be true!"

The child who was asked the question was clearly stumped and shook his head to indicate that he did not know.

“But he’s been locked up here ever since the priest brought me here, so he must be a very, very bad kid, which is why the priest has kept him locked up.”

"Hey~ Even if there's something wrong, you don't have to lock someone up for so long, do you?"

She didn't seem to understand, after all, how bad would a child have to be to be locked up indefinitely?

"There's nothing we can do. It's his fault for refusing to change. The priest said he could be released if he reformed, but he just won't, even though the priest talks to him every night."

"……chat?"

Somewhat surprised, she shifted her gaze to him inside the room. The dim lighting did not obstruct her view, which is why she saw the scars covering his body.

If it's just chatting, would it really be like this?

bang bang-

She gently tapped on the wooden board sealing the window, trying to get his attention, but he remained unmoved, quietly curled up to one side, seemingly asleep.

"Let's go, let's go~ If we stay here too long, the priest will scold us."

"……Um."

She hesitated for a moment, then smiled and left with the child.

After all, she was just passing through this city and chose to stay here to rest because it seemed to take good care of children. However, now it seems that something is not quite right here...

"........."

I glanced back at the warehouse, located in the church’s backyard, next to a cemetery. Almost no children liked to go near it. Even during the day, there were only a few sounds of children playing, completely different from the noise in the front yard. If it were night, it would probably be as silent as death, just like the cemetery on the other side of the wall.

And yet, in such a place, a child lives... no, it should be said that a child is imprisoned. This doesn't seem right at all, does it?

The girl decided to come back and check again in a little while.

"........."

They've left... That's great.