The people from the slum arrived 20 minutes later. There were 38 of them. They wore ragged clothes, with holes all over.
Their skin was dry and dark. The men and women were skinny, most likely malnourished from a lack of food.
"Ga!" I covered my nose as there was a foul smell.
'Young miss, you should go back to the carriage." Emily suggested. The people from the slums didn't take baths very often.
The plumbing in the slums was inadequate and people didn't have the money to buy soap.
Emily didn't want me to people in such a sorry sight and the stench was unbearable. Even the guards were wincing. It is especially intolerable since our senses are stronger.
Cultivators have better senses but until the 7th stage, you can't fully control them. That is why even though the smell shouldn't be bad, we were appalled.
"It's fine." I say. I take out a small, crystal bottle with blue colored liquid. It had a spraying mechanism attached to the top.
I approached the freshly arrived workers. They had their heads hung low with blank expressions.
They had seen how we reacted to their uncleanness but were unaffected. This was a normal sight for them. They had gotten used to such disgusted stares.
This wouldn't stop them from doing some work. It might not pay much but it gave them some meals.
"Stay right there!" I yell as they stop in their tracks.
They wouldn't disobey an employer, especially a noble one. I got as close as I could to them without vomiting in disgust.
I was this close to just writing but it was doable.
I had smelled worse during the realm wars. There were entire rotting battlefields that I had to move around for hours in.
This is nothing compared to that.
Spizz! Spizz!
I sprayed the bottle of perfume all over the people as I circled them.
Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at what I was doing.
"Why did we never think of that." said one of the young guards.
"Because we can't afford it." said an older guard that was next to him.
"What do you mean?" asked the younger one.
The older man sighed and started to explain.
"Perfumes are a product from outside of the nation. From somewhere east. They are made using unknown methods and expensive flowers.
That bottle costs 35 gold."
"We earn 36 gold a year. That's basically our entire salary." the young man said with melancholy.
I heard everything they were saying. It was true that I was wasting something expensive for a mere inconvenience. I had the right to do this as I had the wealth.
It didn't matter though as I could see the expression on the laborers changing.
They were not as blank and despondent. Poor souls, they have never smelt such a wonderful scent in their lives.
Now there was a little liveliness in those empty eyes.
"Ahem, now that that's taken care of, get to work." I commanded. With the guidance of Emily, they quickly got to work. It was going to take a while to organize and move everything.
While they were working, I was planning on telling Ryan about the way to fix his core.
It was going to tell him sometime later as it wasn't that damaged before.
Now that things had changed and it had shattered, there was no reason to delay.
I couldn't tell him now since it would just add to his pile of thoughts.
Even now, as he's lying in bed, I believe he's listing out all the things we need to do. He probably plans on finding some help that isn't me.
I wasn't that mature at this point in my life. I was still hesitating when it came to trusting my own decisions.
That wasn't the case anymore. I had changed when we went through all the wars. We had shared the responsibility evenly at that time.
I had a really good plan in mind to get a technique that could help him get his core back to normal.
I would tell him once he was healed and had cleared his mind a bit. Until then, I would have to keep my guilt buried deep. I couldn't get distracted right now.
...
...
...
The slums were a difficult place to be. The small buildings were cramped and placed randomly without any sense of planning.
The dirty streets were mostly dirt, unlike the stone paved roads covering the rest of the city.
The place was a maze where no one would willingly enter. It was inhabited by the unluckiest of society. The ones born poor turned poor or those who couldn't work and had no one to support them.
People with diseases, disabilities, and people with mental issues lived here too. These were the ones who had no relatives to rely on.
Anyone who could not get by in normal society found their place here. This includes criminals.
In a small house with a single room of 16 square meters, a small child was huddled in a blanket.
The room was dark, the only source of light being the small holes in the thin walls.
Creak...
The wooden door opens slowly as the child's head pops out of the blanket. It was a small girl of about 5.
Her hair was dull, dirty silver color. She had uneven bangs and her hair went down to her shoulder.
Her face was covered in specks of dirt. Her complexion was slightly pale, starkly different from the dark skin of the average slum dweller.
"Brother..." said the small girl weakly, as she stared at the door with her bright red eyes.
At the door was another small child, about 9 years old. He had black hair brown eyes and an average face.
Compared to his cute sister, he is plain simple. Not that looks mattered much when they were dirt poor.
"Hina, where's sister." asked the boy as he closed the door carefully.
"She said she found some work." said the girl as she sat up.
"Did she say when she's coming back?" The boy say beside his sister on the small, torn mat that wasn't too soft.
Even though it wasn't what they used to have, it was better than sleeping on the floor. The thin mat was enough for his 3 siblings to sleep on at night.
"No. She was in a hurry." said the girl sadly.
She didn't like being away from her sister for too long but she understood that she needed to make money. It was hard for a woman without a proper identity to get a job.
The job she did have was helping count earnings and goods at a food warehouse. Unfortunately, the place ran out of business recently. Leaving them without proper meals once again.
"Don't worry too much. She always comes back." said the boy, consoling his sister.
Unlike their parents who had gone missing, their sister had always been there for them.
Even if she wasn't in their sight, they knew their sister was there for them.
"Here. Eat this." The boy took out a cookie out of his pant pocket.
The girl took the cookie and started to munch on it. She wasn't going to question where her brother had gotten it. She was hungry and needed to eat.
The boy took out another cookie and ate it himself. After he was done, he took out the last cookie he had.
He gave it to his younger sister who was still hungry. After she had eaten both cookies, she stared at her brother.
He saw her gaze and shook his head. He could only get this much today. his scavenging in the nearby trash dumps was not fruitful.
There were not enough metal scraps in there for him to make something.
Both siblings stared at the ground as they remembered the life they used to live. They were once a family of 5. Living in a place that looked very different from this one.
A place with buildings so tall that you couldn't see their tops. With food so delicious that every meal was a delight.
Reminiscing about the past only hurt the young ones more so they avoided it. They had already become more mature than their age.
"I hope sister brings something today." the girl said with hope.
"Hmm..." The brother nodded.
Rumble!
Their stomachs ached with hunger. They didn't have any lunch today or dinner yesterday.
As his little sister closed her tired eyes to rest, the boy took out a thin piece of metal from his pocket. It was the length of a thumb.
It was in a strange 'u' shape that then turned back on itself.
Blacksmiths would have trouble making such a finely shaped piece that is that small.
It was a paper clip. The paper clip floated out of the boy's hand and did turns and flips. It spun as fast or as slow as he wanted it to.
This was the only way for him to entertain himself. This was the ability that allowed him to contribute at least a little food for his younger sister.