There's Something Strange About My Water Magic ~ Before I Knew It, I Was a Slum Orphan Thrown Into the Trash Bin ~ - Episode 12: Let Me Off the Hook, Please~

Episode 12: Let Me Off the Hook, Please~

I started trembling all over. I was unable to say anything in response to the middle-aged man’s voice. Then he spoke again.

“Hey! Don’t you understand what I’m saying? I’m asking you why you’re here, you know~?”

I opened my mouth. I was trying to answer somehow. But my mouth was so dry from nervousness that no words came out.

As I was making sounds like “Ahh…” and “Ughh…,” the man said:

“What the—? Can’t you speak or something…? And man, you stink!! You reek of rotten food!!”

“Wait a minute, were you inside the trash bin~?”

I nodded repeatedly.

“You… are you a kid from the slums? Did you sneak into the trash looking for food~?”

I nodded hard.

“Tch, there’s always some kid like you now and then, rummaging through trash for food and accidentally ending up at the disposal site~.”

“I felt something strange while transporting this bin. So I came to check, and yep—just as I thought~.”

“Hey, I don’t have any obligation to tell you this. But I’m saying it anyway because I’d feel bad later—kids like you don’t get treated kindly once they’re at the garbage processing plant~.”

“A slum brat with no family is just a slave. You’ll be worked to death until your body breaks down. And after that…”

“It’s a garbage disposal site. So there’s no problem getting rid of you. You get what I’m saying~?”

So basically, they work you like a slave. And once you’re useless… you get dumped like trash.

I nodded slowly.

“From the looks of it, you’re still a small kid. Listen! You can either become a slave and get used up, or take a chance and escape into the forest to survive… You don’t have much time, but think it through. If you go into the forest, you might find something to eat~.”

“But be warned, there are monsters in the forest. Whether you survive or not… that’s up to you~.”

Saying that, he pulled out a piece of fruit from somewhere and handed it to me.

“It’s my lunch, but I’ll give it to you. You don’t have time to sit around and eat it. A little ahead the road curves and slows down. If you’re going to jump off and run into the forest, aim for that spot. See ya~.”

With that, he turned his back to me and nimbly walked away. He was hopping lightly across the rattling trash bins.

I held the fruit he gave me tightly and used my appraisal skill.

[Rigo Fruit: Delicious] appeared.

I quickly bit into the Rigo fruit.

It was full of sweet juice. And yet tears wouldn’t stop pouring down.

Maybe it was because I ate the sweet fruit on an empty stomach, or maybe it was because I was so grateful that the low-ranking adventurer let me go and even gave me advice… or maybe both. I don’t know. But I cried while biting into the Rigo fruit.

After finishing it completely, even the seeds, I saw the curve in the road ahead.

That must be the jumping-off point.

I peeked over the edge of the trash bin and slowly lowered myself into the gap between the bin and the cart.

I waited there. And once the line of trash bins slowed to a crawl, I took the plunge and jumped down.

My knees buckled, and I collapsed. But the line of trash bins continued on past me.

Lying there, I listened quietly to the sound of the bins getting farther and farther away.

Once it got quiet, I looked up to make sure no one was around. I then forced my aching body to move and crawled into the grassy area that led into the forest.