Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 11
Ron’s eyes and mouth slowly widened in shock.
“T-that can’t be! You think drawing lines on a pumpkin will turn it into a watermelon?”
His excessive denial caught me off guard, and I couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
For a merchant’s son, he was surprisingly terrible at lying.
“Fine, fine. I won’t ask for watermelons, so stop pouting.”
I ruffled Ron’s hair—he was a good two spans taller than me—and then greeted the Merchant Leader.
“Well, I’ve completed my business here, so I’ll be taking my leave.”
I turned my head sharply and didn’t forget to bid Ron farewell as well.
“Take care of yourself. Though you…”
Despite my words, his flushed face betrayed him.
I teased him one last time with a silent smirk, then slipped out of the Trading Caravan with a quiet giggle.

✦ ✦ ✦
After concluding a satisfactory transaction with the Ageratum Merchant Company, I decided to take a stroll through the Market, where vendors had spread their wares.
Market prices were a reliable indicator for understanding the economic situation.
There was a certain charm in observing how prices had shifted from what I remembered.
I rolled a hard candy I’d received from Ageratum around in my mouth as I wandered through the Market.
“Hmm, is it around here?”
Truth be told, though I’d made it sound plausible, my real purpose for coming here wasn’t sightseeing.
The Black Market Shop—nestled in an alley near the Central Clock Tower, tucked between the sprawling Market stalls.
The place where I’d falsely accused Cecilia of running ability-user trades.
“I knew it would come to this.”
It seemed the Security Guard Force had connections after all.
Upon learning their trading operation had been discovered, they’d apparently fled in haste, abandoning the shop with all manner of goods scattered inside the broken doorway.
Well, given that Cecilia’s guilt was confirmed the moment she fled hastily, it didn’t matter what happened to this place.
I’d only stopped by out of idle curiosity.
Having satisfied my curiosity, I shrugged my shoulders and turned back without hesitation.
“Hmm…?”
That was when it happened.
Right in front of the defunct shop, in the space between alleys, a single gaunt child lay collapsed and sprawled on the ground.
The Market had plenty of food that could be stolen and plenty of food waste, so it attracted many hungry souls.
The problem was that merchants saw them as nothing more than unwelcome nuisances to be driven away.
“They weren’t beaten, were they?”
I bit my lip and approached the collapsed child.
As I drew closer and examined them carefully, the child flinched and stirred slightly.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem they’d been beaten by anyone.
However, the child’s body was covered in small wounds everywhere, testament to how they’d been living.
As I slowly lifted my gaze, I saw the face of a boy with a hardened expression.
He was struggling to force his weakened body upright.
Lustrous black hair and green eyes.
The moment our gazes met, I narrowed my eyes. His face seemed oddly familiar.
Had I encountered him in my previous timeline?
My mind was racing with possibilities when the child, seemingly unaware of my presence, stared into the void and muttered.
“I’ll eliminate… I’ll eliminate everything.”
The instant those words—words I couldn’t believe came from a child’s mouth—reached my ears, a face flashed through my mind like lightning striking my consciousness.
Good heavens. Is this the one who single-handedly sparked an Empire-wide war later on?
I’m meeting a pan-Empire criminal in a place like this Market?
In my previous timeline, he was infamous. Notorious, rather.
Wanted posters bearing his photograph were plastered across the entire Empire, and news about him always dominated the front pages of newspapers.
No wonder his face felt so familiar, even though I’d never met him before.
One man against the entire Empire.
The reason such an impossible feat was possible was because he was an Abiliter who commanded monsters.
A so-called monster tamer.
“Are you alright?”
I knelt down to roughly match the child’s eye level.
“Everything… eliminate…”
Thump.
His strength had already reached its limit, and he collapsed within moments.
It seemed he’d been conscious all this time through sheer willpower alone.
The fact that he’d lost consciousness while thrashing about near this shop suggested he harbored some deep grudge.
Sigh.
I ran my fingers roughly through my hair and exhaled in exasperation.
“Growing up in such an environment, and he hasn’t gone dark? How does he manage?”

✦ ✦ ✦
I hoisted the boy under his armpits, grunting with effort as I hauled him back to my home.
Once there, I applied medicinal herbs to his injuries and carefully dripped sugar water into his mouth.
Whether my efforts bore fruit or not, the boy’s eyes fluttered open within half a day.
“You’re awake?”
I quietly closed the book I’d been reading and rose from my seat.
His face hardened instantly, his eyes narrowing with wariness as he asked.
“Where am I?”
“A house where people live. Where else would it be?”
After surveying his surroundings and confirming there were no immediate threats, he relaxed slightly.
“I’ll be leaving now.”
“You’re free to go. But at least eat something before you do, won’t you?”
He ignored my kindness entirely, bolting upright from the bed and limping toward the door as if to leave immediately.
I clicked my tongue disapprovingly.
“In that condition, you won’t make it more than a few steps before you collapse again.”
I hadn’t expected gratitude for saving him. I would have been satisfied if he’d at least accepted my help gracefully.
“I don’t know what happened to you, but if you want revenge, you need to take care of yourself first.”
At those final words, the boy froze mid-step and slowly turned to face me.
“I don’t have time to eat.”
“What on earth is going on?”
He stared at me intently with those deep green eyes before finally speaking.
“I have to rescue my twin sister.”
“Your twin sister?”
My brow furrowed slightly. I’d never heard that he had family.
If he did, the Empire would never have let them live.
They would have executed them together under the guise of eradicating the seeds of evil.
“So that’s why you were at the Black Market Shop? To rescue your sister?”
Though I couldn’t fathom why he’d been lying unconscious on the ground.
That place was where ability users were kidnapped and brought for illicit dealings.
The actual auctions happened elsewhere, but that location served as the intermediary hub.
The boy’s face contorted at my question.
It wasn’t the sort of information an ordinary child would know, after all.
He apparently decided it was best not to become further entangled and moved to leave again.
“Then, consider that your answer. I’ll be going now.”
“Wait.”
I swung my legs leisurely from the chair, stopping him with casual authority.
“You must have seen it yourself. The Security Guard Force discovered that place not long ago, and everyone scattered. Even if you go back, there’s nothing you can do.”
“Then… who do I need to threaten and where do they live to find out where my sister is?”
Ha, so the little criminal prodigy was already plotting extortion. How resourceful.
“Let’s put the threats on hold for now.”
The trading location that should have existed intact has vanished because I revealed the Black Market Shop’s location to the Security Guard Force.
When I think about it, I bear some responsibility for this too.
“I’ll help you. My ability might allow me to determine whether your sister is alive or dead.”
It happened in the blink of an eye.
He, who had been gripping the door handle as if about to kick it open and storm out, closed the distance between us in an instant, unable to hide his excitement.
“You’re an Abiliter, right? Where has my sister been taken, and what is she doing right now?”
“Whoa, calm down. My ability is ‘Foresight,’ so I can’t know current information. The information I can obtain is extremely limited.”
I gently pushed his shoulder back—he’d drawn uncomfortably close.
“Besides, even if I activate my ability, it doesn’t mean I can always find answers.”
Only after hearing my explanation did he manage to suppress his excitement. The speed with which he regained composure suggested he was more rational than I’d initially thought.
“What must I do to receive your help?”
“Cooperate willingly. So, what’s your name?”
“…Raspi.”
“And your sister’s name—the one who was taken?”
“Rosemary.”
“That’s a lovely name. …Wait? Rosemary?”
In truth, my claim about having ‘Foresight’ and being able to determine whether his sister was alive was merely a stopgap measure.
I’d simply spoken those words to give him, who looked so unsteady he might collapse at any moment, even a brief respite.
But the problem was that among the people I knew, there was a woman named Rosemary.
And she had the same black hair and green eyes as the boy standing before me.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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