Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 557

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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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First, I needed to determine today’s exact date.

‘And I need to check our numbers.’

The personnel who would fight in the coming battles, both present and future.
And most importantly.

‘I have to change first.’

I need to awaken my ability.

But no one could predict when or where an ability would awaken.
Even Kale Heniatus—didn’t his ability awaken only after joining the Company?
So realistically, it was nearly impossible for Kale Heniatus to intentionally awaken his future ability right now.

‘…But I have experienced the sensation of awakening an ability.’

That feeling of seeing a new world unfold before me.
If I relived that sensation and exposed myself to experiences similar to ability awakening, wouldn’t my ability awaken a little faster?

‘…It’s fine if my ability doesn’t awaken at the Central Shelter. But it would be helpful to have it when facing an Unranked monster.’

Kale Heniatus’s expression hardened, and Grandmother Kim grasped his hand resting on his abdomen firmly.

Whoosh—
In that instant, I saw a golden light enveloping my abdomen.
Without thinking, I opened my mouth urgently.

“Grandmother, I’m fine!”
“Fine, you say.”

I felt the pain in my abdomen fade away.
The bruises and wounds on my abdomen must have healed immediately.
It was Grandmother’s healing ability.

“…Why waste your strength on unnecessary things?”

Grandmother Kim’s healing ability could only be used on external injuries, and her usage was limited to a set amount per week.

The number of uses didn’t matter—for bruises or contusions, she could use it dozens of times over, but for fractures or severe bleeding, frequent use wasn’t possible.
The amount of healing consumed varied depending on the severity of the external injury.

That’s why Park Jin-tae wanted Grandmother Kim’s power to be used primarily for treating their precious combat assets—those who could fight monsters—rather than wasting it on trivial matters.

At Kale Heniatus’s words, Grandmother Kim drew a warm smile.

“Worthless? No, this is important work.”

The grandmother rose to her feet and gestured for Kale to get up as well.

“Kim Rok-soo. Let’s go inside.”

Kale slowly pushed himself up, buoyed by that warm smile.
The pain was completely gone.

“Hey, you foolish bastard!”
“Hyung!”

Kale Heniatus turned at the sound of his name being called.
He saw figures rushing frantically out of the Shelter.

A college-aged student and a high school student hurried over and helped support Kale.

“Hey, are you okay?”
“Hyung, are you alright?”

Ah. These people were here too.
Lee Jin-ju. Lee Sung-won.
They were siblings and awakened individuals.

‘Of course, the other awakened ones mock their abilities.’

These two possessed abilities that were currently deemed useless and ridiculous by others.

‘…And these people too.’

He was dead.
Kale Heniatus felt his chest constrict in that instant, as though the breath were being squeezed from his lungs.

“I’m fine.”

Yet his face and voice betrayed nothing of his turmoil.

“Oh, playing tough, are we!”

Lee Jin-ju scoffed, but her eyes—fixed upon Kim Rok-soo’s form—were brimming with concern.
Kale Heniatus gently withdrew from the supporting hands of Lee Jin-ju and Lee Sung-won, then moved forward on his own.

“Let’s go inside.”

The siblings regarded the impassive Kale Heniatus for a moment, then shook their heads and followed after him.

“Just accept our help. Why do you walk so slowly?”
“Brother, I’ll go in first and check! Come when you’re done working!”

Each person within this Central Shelter had their own tasks to complete each day.
Of course, such tasks were only given to those who had earned Park Jin-tae’s recognition.
Kim Rok-soo had not received such recognition, and thus found himself subjected to petty harassment disguised as errands.

“It’s rather heartwarming, isn’t it? The way those two rely upon each other.”

Grandmother Kim gazed at the siblings’ retreating forms, a tender smile gracing her features.
Kale Heniatus did not answer, but instead watched them depart.
On and Hong came to mind.

“Grandmother.”
“Yes?”
“What day is it today?”
“Today?”
“Yes.”

Grandmother Kim, who had been regarding him with a puzzled expression at such an odd question, soon answered in a gentle voice.

“Today is the 24th.”
“October?”
“That’s right. Why the sudden interest in the date?”
“No particular reason.”

October 24th.
Kale Heniatus etched today’s date into his memory.

“…Damn it.”
“…Rok-soo.”
“My apologies. I just remembered something frustrating.”

I offered Grandmother Kim a small smile despite my harsh words, noticing her worried gaze.
Grandmother Kim’s eyes widened briefly at seeing me smile for the first time in ages, then she nodded with a gentle smile of her own.

I walked beside her while my thoughts churned inwardly.

‘Damn it all!’

Curses were all I could think.

One day from now.
October 25th, midday.
The Central Shelter—the heart of the entire world—collapses.

It would be the beginning of a catastrophic event that would plunge people, who had barely adapted since the Great Cataclysm, into despair.

‘Only one day left?’

I stepped into the Central Shelter.

“Well then, I should get back to work.”

Grandmother Kim departed to her post, and I took in the sights within the Central Shelter.

‘This really is the early days.’

The first floor of the building beyond the Main Gate was teeming with a diverse crowd, each absorbed in their own tasks.
Not a single one of them spared me a glance.

‘Everyone’s too busy trying to survive.’

Kale Heniatus moved forward toward his quarters.

Past the vicinity of the First Floor’s Main Gate stood a half-height partition wall.
Beyond it, I could see people living in cramped quarters pressed tightly together.

They were in circumstances similar to Kim Rok-soo’s.

Those who had failed to awaken their abilities and possessed no particular skills or talents that the world currently needed.

‘Of course, as time passes and society rebuilds itself, people will eventually realize that’s no longer true.’

Yet they too were each performing the tasks assigned to them.

Thump, thump.
Kale Heniatus passed by them and continued forward.

The 2nd Layer of the Central Shelter was where the ‘awakened individuals and humans of practical value’ resided.
The Lee siblings had their bedroom on the 2nd Layer.

‘Though calling it a bedroom or residence would be generous given its deplorable condition.’

A space to shelter from rain and wind was considered a residence, and if one was fortunate enough to have cloth to use as blankets, that was considered luxury in these times.
Simply securing enough food to survive each day was a blessing.

‘Park Jin-tae’s Group did share what they found, though.’

Park Jin-tae’s Group ventured outside to gather things that could serve as food.
All while evading and fleeing from monsters.

‘There are times when they fight, but unlike the future, even Grade 3 monsters were still overwhelming at this point.’

Even those who had manifested their abilities couldn’t properly utilize them yet.

Abilities could be developed and refined—a process referred to as ‘advancement.’

‘But now is not the time to attempt such things.’

The entire foundation of society had crumbled.
There was no electricity.
When night fell, everything was swallowed by suffocating darkness.
At least the Shelter had braziers scattered throughout that held eternal flames, preventing it from being completely consumed by darkness.

Kale Heniatus walked forward while gazing down at his own hands.

‘I’m wasting away.’

His body was truly skeletal and emaciated.
Park Jin-tae’s Group distributed only enough food to keep people alive.

‘That way, everyone in this Shelter could receive their share.’

Obtaining food was not an easy task.
Even Kim Rok-soo received only enough to survive, managing to live on meager rations.

‘Of course, those deemed valuable received far more provisions.’

Because of this, several ability users who were on good terms with Kim Rok-soo would sometimes share their own food rations with him.

‘…The world isn’t entirely barren.’

No matter how desperate the circumstances, the hearts of those living within them weren’t completely withered.

That was why Kale Heniatus didn’t consider Park Jin-tae an evil man.

‘In other places, there are many that don’t even distribute food.’

There were many who didn’t care whether others starved to death or not.
In such circumstances, Park Jin-tae, while dismissing and looking down on people like Kim Rok-soo, at least ensured they could survive.

‘Well, he did beat rebellious types like me. Or rather, he particularly hated only me.’

But at least when facing monsters, he maintained enough leg strength for people to escape.
Though he made the Central Shelter his own kingdom, he upheld certain principles.
He didn’t cross the line that humanity shouldn’t cross.
And he possessed the willingness to share his own food rations.

As I grew older, I came to understand.

‘Perhaps this structure has persisted precisely because Park Jin-tae elevated capable individuals.’

In this age where all social systems have crumbled.
How many ability users would willingly share the provisions they had painstakingly gathered?
Yet because Park Jin-tae treats those with ability fairly, this food-sharing system has managed to survive.

‘And Park Jin-tae currently ranks among the strongest offensive ability users.’

It was no accident that Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk entrusted him with this responsibility.
Park Jin-tae was an exceptionally powerful dealer and could also fill the role of a capable tank.
And the combat strength of those who followed Park Jin-tae, including Lee Chul-min, was respectable compared to the early days.

‘I will use Park Jin-tae.’

Plans began to form methodically within Kale Heniatus’s mind.

‘And there is Grandmother Kim, as well as Lee Jin-ju and Lee Sung-won.’

Beyond them, there were other people necessary for this endeavor.

Kale Heniatus returned to his quarters.
The place where Kim Rok-soo had stayed in this Central Shelter.
The far end of the First Floor.
Right beside the collapsed ceiling.
Near the rear exit of the First Floor.

“…The rain leaks through everywhere here.”

Unlike other locations, it was Kim Rok-soo’s spot where rain seeped through the cracked ceiling.

“What are you muttering about all of a sudden?”

At that moment, a voice reached me.
A gravelly voice, carrying the weight of the world’s grime.

“After you chose that spot for yourself.”

That’s right.
Just as that person said, Kale Heniatus chose this place.

Park Jin-tae assigned the First Floor to the incompetent Kale Heniatus, and Kale chose this leaky spot as his own.

“Why? Suddenly want to move somewhere else? When did you stop pretending to sacrifice yourself?”

Kale Heniatus sighed and turned his head away.

“Sir, if you’re looking for a fight, why don’t you go somewhere else?”
“Kekeke! A fight, you say!”

Kale Heniatus’s gaze fell upon the middle-aged man lying right beside him.
There was nothing below both his knees.
At the same time, he was one of the humans that Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk had rescued.

His name was Jang Man-su.

“Hey! You got beaten up by Park Jin-tae and his group, right? Are you okay?”

Jang Man-su lifted his neck and leaned it against the wall.

“Those damn bastards. Where do they get off beating someone as frail as this! May they be struck down by heaven!”
“I’m fine. Grandmother Baker treated my wounds.”

Kale Heniatus sat down in his spot, right next to Jang Man-su.

“Huh? Grandmother Baker? My, why does she take such good care of you? What kind of good person treats your wounds like that?”
“Does it bother you that I’m receiving treatment now?”
“Aw, that’s not what I meant, is it? Kekeke! I was just making conversation! It’s a joke, a joke!”

Kale Heniatus quietly observed Jang Man-su, who spoke to him with a sly yet playful tone.

Jang Man-su.
He had lost his entire family in the Cataclysm.
He had a wife and two children on his way to work that day, or so he had said.
When Jang Man-su barely managed to return to the building where his home was, everyone was already dead.
And there he encountered the monster that had killed his family.

He had merely fled for his life, desperately evading monsters to return home, or so he claimed.
And during that flight, he had imagined.
He imagined his family alive at home, pictured himself evacuating them to safety, away from the monsters.

But when he arrived home to find his family dead and came face-to-face with the monster, he lunged at it without hesitation.
The word “flee” never crossed his mind, he said.
He felt as though he could only survive by tearing that monster before his eyes to shreds.

And to that monster, he lost both legs below the knees, and Jang Man-su had resolved to simply die as he was, he claimed.
A world without family held no reason to live, he had said.

But the Team Leader had saved him, and now Jang Man-su was merely a man who continued living because breath still filled his lungs.

“Sir.”
“What?”

Kale Heniatus gazed at him quietly for a moment, then lowered his body.
He drew closer to Jang Man-su.

“Sir.”
“What the hell, why are you suddenly acting like this?”

When Jang Man-su looked at Kim Rok-soo, bewildered by his unusual behavior.
Kale Heniatus whispered softly.

“Help me out, would you?”

Confusion settled across Jang Man-su’s face.

“Me? You’re asking me? What help could someone like me possibly offer? Did you take a hit to the head or something?”
“Sir.”

Kale Heniatus whispered so softly that others could not hear.

“You awakened your ability recently, didn’t you?”

In that instant, Jang Man-su’s pupils trembled.
His mouth fell open, and shock flooded his face.

Kale Heniatus smiled as he observed him.
It was a smile tinged with sorrow.

Jang Man-su had also died on the day the Central Shelter collapsed.
While fighting.

‘Kehehehe! Thank goodness! This time I’ll go first while protecting it!’

He had said his ability awakened shortly before the Central Shelter crumbled.

And that memory of him remained with Kim Rok-soo, and when he became Kale Heniatus.
It made him choose a shield first.

“Sir, your ability is a shield, isn’t it?”

Jang Man-su froze and said nothing.

‘How did he realize my ability had awakened?’

Even after awakening an ability, there was no outward difference from ordinary people.
Therefore, it was impossible to know unless the ability was demonstrated or mentioned first.
Of course, there were ability users whose appearance transformed, but Jang Man-su was not one of them.

‘Yet Kim Rok-soo figured it out?’

And even the nature of the ability?
He could only be astonished.

Kale Heniatus whispered to him then.

“The Central Shelter will collapse soon.”
“What, what?!”

His mouth, which had been sealed in shock, opened wider at this even more alarming revelation.
Jang Man-su’s voice rose as his face filled with astonishment.

“Shh.”

Kale Heniatus quieted him gently and whispered with utmost discretion.

“And I know about the Central Shelter that will be created.”

What in the world was this bastard talking about?
Jang Man-su stared at Kim Rok-soo as if he were seeing a stranger for the first time.

“Sir.”

Yet Kim Rok-soo’s eyes were more serious than ever before.
One word. One word at a time.
Each syllable that Kim Rok-soo uttered, as if making a vow, reached Jang Man-su’s ears.

“I intend to ensure that everyone in this place survives and relocates to that Central Shelter.”

Barely, Jang Man-su managed to continue speaking.

“You— you, how do you know such things…?”

A smile spread across his face.
The corners of Kim Rok-soo’s mouth lifted.

“Because I’ve gained an ability.”

A very powerful ability—one that allows me to know the future.

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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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