The next morning, Elric dragged his exhausted body out of the slums.
The entire city seemed indifferent to the disappearance of the slums.
In fact, many people even appeared satisfied, believing that the beggars' disappearance was a good thing for the city.
Elric wore an oversized adult coat that hung down to his knees, making him look particularly clumsy.
His stomach ached with hunger; he hadn't eaten anything the night before.
His mouth was dry, and he felt weak in his limbs.
To make matters worse, the silver coins they had saved up were lost in the chaos.
Along the streets, many others like him, who had fled the slums, sat homeless by the roadside, their faces full of despair.
The passersby cast scornful glances at these vagrants, showing no sympathy, regarding their existence as a burden.
Elric clutched his worn coat tightly.
As he walked down the street, he noticed a little girl in a fine dress, accompanied by her maids, distributing free food. Hunger overtook his thoughts.
He hurried forward, hoping to get some food.
But there were too many poor people crowding around, all desperate to get their share.
He was too small and frail, and the crowd soon pushed him to the back, far from the food distribution point.
By the time it was finally Elric's turn, the maid apologetically spread her hands.
"We've run out of food."
Though Elric felt disappointed, he nodded politely and turned to leave.
Just then, the little girl in the fine dress suddenly called out to him.
"Wait a moment."
Her voice was clear.
She then turned to the maid and said,
"Give him my portion."
Only then did Elric notice that the girl had intricately braided golden hair, clearly from a wealthy family.
Her demeanor stood in stark contrast to the maids around her.
The maid hesitated for a moment but ultimately obeyed her young mistress.
She walked to the carriage, retrieved a delicate lunchbox, and handed it to Elric.
Elric accepted the lunchbox, his eyes full of gratitude, and he thanked the girl and the maid with a polite, soft voice, though filled with sincerity.
"Thank you."
When Elric opened the lunchbox, he found food inside that he had never seen before.
His hunger was so overwhelming that he disregarded appearances, grabbing the food with his hands and shoveling it into his mouth.
The long-forgotten feeling of fullness made him forget everything, and he devoured the food until his stomach ached, unable to stop.
The little girl, seeing this, quickly ordered the maid to take the lunchbox away, forcing Elric to stop.
The maid swiftly packed up the box and barrels, and the little girl turned to head toward her luxurious carriage.
Elric watched her retreating figure, his small, emaciated frame standing in the street as raindrops began to fall. He called out weakly,
"My name is Elric.
If you ever need my help in the future, I'll be there.
Thank you for the food today."
The little girl paused slightly, turned back, and said indifferently,
"You should focus on getting enough to eat first."
Elric stood there, feeling complicated.
The little girl quickly boarded the carriage, which disappeared down the street, leaving Elric standing alone.
Not long after, the sky began to drizzle, and the cool rain seeped into Elric's ragged coat.
Elric walked alone in the rain, his footsteps heavy, each step splashing in the puddles.
At that moment, the door of an old tavern creaked open, and a middle-aged man carrying a barrel of wine stepped out.
Seeing a small child standing all alone in the rain, with bare feet on the cold ground, the man couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity.
"Hey, kid over there, come here."
He called out loudly.
It wasn't until the man called out three times that Elric finally snapped out of his daze and realized someone was addressing him.
No one had ever called him "kid" before; they always called him a beggar.
Elric cautiously approached, a habitual smile of ingratiation appearing on his face, a survival instinct he had honed over years of living on the streets.
"Mister, do you need my help with something?"
This was his instinctive response after years of street survival.
Whenever he met someone, he always put on that pleasing smile, addressing men as "sir" and women as "lady."
Hoping to get some charity or help.
He still didn't dare get too close, afraid that his dirty appearance would disgust the middle-aged man.
"Come inside and sit for a while. It's raining out here."
The middle-aged man pointed to his tavern, his tone calm.
Elric froze at these words, momentarily thinking he had misheard.
He stared blankly at the man, unsure how to react.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man frowned, put down the wine barrel, and gently took Elric's arm, leading him into the tavern.
The tavern wasn't large, and the interior was simple.
Due to the rain, there weren't many customers, only a few people scattered around.
As Elric stepped inside, a wave of warmth hit him, a stark contrast to the cold rain outside.
The middle-aged man spoke to the woman behind the bar.
"Let the kid stay here for a while. The rain's getting heavier."
The woman looked up at her husband, nodded silently.
She didn't say much, just continued with her work.
Elric carefully walked over to an empty stool and sat down, feeling nervous and uneasy.
He glanced around, noticing that while the people in the tavern had seen him, none of them paid him much attention.
They only glanced at him before returning to their quiet conversations.
The middle-aged woman brought a steaming cup of milk to Elric's side and gently placed it on his table.
Elric quickly whispered his thanks.
The woman gave him a slight nod, said nothing, and returned to washing cups and bowls.
In the tavern, a few men continued their low conversation.
One skinny man, while chewing on a sausage, said to the person across from him,
"Did you hear? The Crow Gang and the Wild Dog Gang fought in the slums yesterday."
"Why?"
A bearded man took a swig of his drink, frowning.
"Isn't it because the Crow Gang stole a shipment from the Wild Dog Gang, so the Wild Dogs went looking for trouble?
Then things escalated from arguing to fighting, and they even sent in their psychics.
One of them was a third realm psychic."
The skinny man finished and took a sip of his drink.