“Sang, Adolf, it’s you two again! Instead of resting in your rooms after lunch, you’re out here fooling around!”
The sudden voice startled both Sang and Adolf. The former, utterly shameless, immediately raised his hands and declared, “Sister Lilian, this isn’t my fault! Adolf dragged me out here!”
Adolf: “???”
He had never seen such a shameless person.
Right then, the voice behind them couldn’t hold it together anymore. With a “pfft,” it burst into laughter.
Sang and Adolf realized something was off about that laugh. They turned around and sure enough, it wasn’t Dean Lilian at all, but a golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty of a girl.
Luna’s face bloomed with laughter.
Sang and Adolf rolled their eyes in unison. “Luna, can you stop pretending to be Sister Lilian to scare us!?”
Luna ignored their complaints and shot back, “Watermelon, you’ve got no loyalty at all, throwing Adolf under the bus like that!”
Sang shrugged and rolled his eyes again. “Anyway, Sister Lilian wouldn’t blame Adolf. She dotes on him the most!”
“Hee hee hee, true enough~ I like Adolf too. Watermelon’s the one I can’t stand!” Luna chimed in.
Hearing Luna’s words, the young boy Sang let out a helpless sigh.
As mentioned before, Adolf was mature, steady, resilient, always thinking of others, brimming with a sense of justice, and protective of the weak. With his handsome looks and well-proportioned build, he was the most popular kid in the orphanage—even Sister Lilian spoiled him rotten.
By contrast, in everyone’s eyes at the orphanage, young Sang was just an average-looking guy with a mediocre build, a bit of street smarts, and a lazy slacker who did nothing but goof off all day. If he didn’t tinker with all sorts of weird gadgets, no one would probably remember him much.
At that moment, Luna clasped her hands behind her back, her smile radiant, her exquisite blue eyes curving into pretty crescent moons. “So, what are you two doing here anyway?”
Sang jumped in first. “Adolf said he’d treat you to some meat as your birthday gift~!”
In this world where the Blood Race reigned supreme and humans scraped by at the bottom, unlike his original world, treating someone to a meal of meat was a pretty great birthday gift. Filling your belly always trumped everything else, material or spiritual.
Luna clapped her hands, beaming with delight. “Thank you, Adolf!”
Soon after, Sang, Luna, and Adolf decided to grill the wild chicken and rabbits right there at their secret base—under that big tree.
It couldn’t be helped. There were just too many kids at the orphanage; it was impossible for everyone to get a share of meat. That was reality.
In this harsh world, a little selfishness was only natural.
While Luna handled the barbecue, Adolf—perhaps bored out of his mind—didn’t waste a second. He seized the chance to practice his swordsmanship, standing in the midday sun not far off, swinging the rusty iron sword over and over until sweat soaked his clothes, revealing his sturdy frame.
That rusty iron sword was actually a birthday gift from Sang and Luna a few years back. It might have looked beat-up and rusted, and it had nearly wiped out all the money they’d scraped together from picking up cigarette butts over the years, but Adolf treasured it like a priceless heirloom.
A little while later, Adolf must have gotten tired of practicing alone. He suddenly turned to the young Sang, who was lounging on the grass under the tree, and called out loudly, “Watermelon, wanna have a spar? It’s been ages!”
Sang’s brow furrowed at the suggestion. He drawled lazily, “Nah…I don’t wanna. I never beat you anyway.”
This was a world that prized martial prowess over scholarship, where knights were the noblest calling. Whether adults or kids, almost everyone dreamed of becoming a knight.
That was exactly why, in the entertainment-starved orphanage, kids’ mock battles were a popular pastime. From a young age, the boys would play knight games in the yard—basically just brawling to see who was toughest. Adolf almost always crushed the competition.
In fact—and you probably guessed it—young Sang was actually holding back. He’d lose in the first round every time, earning a reputation as the weakest kid in the orphanage. It wasn’t some ploy to play weak and catch them off guard; it was purely for self-preservation.
If Adolf was your run-of-the-mill genius, then Sang was a once-in-a-century prodigy. In a world ruled by the Blood Race, a human genius like that could spell real trouble.
What if some Blood Race noble decided genius blood tasted extra delicious and snatched him up as a blood servant? That would be a nightmare.
Adolf pressed on stubbornly. “C’mon, just play with me a bit…I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Luna chimed in, “Watermelon, you can’t be such a wimp!”
Sang rolled his eyes—honestly, he spoiled these two way too much. After a moment, he sighed lightly. “Fine, fine. Just a quick round.”
Since it was just kids messing around, Sang and Adolf each grabbed a small wooden stick to stand in for a knight’s blade.
As for the outcome, no need to spell it out—Adolf won handily, of course.
Within ten moves, Sang was flat on the ground. He didn’t look pitiful, though—just listless as he said, “I give up.”
Luna watched with zero surprise, smiling faintly. “Adolf’s awesome. Watermelon, you suck.”
Adolf was still a kid at heart. Though his face stayed straight, his eyes held a hint of smug superiority. He extended a hand to Sang in the victor’s pose. “Watermelon, you okay?”
Sang shook his head, taking the hand with a wry smile as he got up. “Sigh, I told you I didn’t wanna. Now I’m all dirty.”
As someone from the modern world—a bit of a slob back home, truth be told—he’d grown oddly germaphobic here. Mostly because hygiene standards in this world were abysmal. Everyone else was filthy.
“Watermelon, you should train with the sword too. Getting stronger’s always a good thing,” Adolf said earnestly.
Sang waved him off lazily. “Nah, not for me. My dream’s not to be some knight. I just wanna be a chill slacker, land a decent job, marry a hot wife, and live the good life~ Besides…”
“Besides?”
“Besides, I know you’ll become a great, powerful knight, Adolf. You’ll protect me and everyone else.”
As he spoke, young Sang flashed his usual lazy yet bright smile, like a carefree dimwit with no worries in the world.
Adolf paused, staring at the carefree boy, then nodded with fierce determination. “Yeah. I’ll protect everyone.”
At the same time, not far off where she was prepping the roast chicken and rabbit, Luna overheard Sang’s words—especially the bit about marrying a pretty wife. She turned to gaze at the nonchalant boy sitting on the ground, a thoughtful look crossing her face.
About half an hour later, the roast chicken and rabbits were ready. Sang, Luna, and Adolf sat in the afternoon shade under the tree, digging in heartily. Luna especially could hardly keep her mouth from watering at the sight of the golden, oily bird.
Even so, before they tucked in, Luna wrapped a chicken leg and wing in lotus leaves. Sang and Adolf weren’t surprised—Luna dreamed of becoming the orphanage dean like Sister Lilian. She was a gentle yet lively girl.
That leg and wing were for Sally and Hugo, the youngest boy and girl in the orphanage. They were at that age where they needed all the nutrition they could get to grow.
That left just the roast chicken wing in Sang’s hand and the chicken leg in Adolf’s. Noticing Luna’s gesture, Adolf handed his leg over to her.
Luna blushed a little, grateful. “Thanks, Adolf.”
Adolf replied steadily, “No need to thank me. It’s your birthday—you gotta eat plenty.”
Young Sang eyed the pair’s sweet exchange, then glanced at his own chicken wing. He thought for a second—hey, today’s my birthday too. No sharing for me; straight to eating.
That was one reason Sang wasn’t popular at the orphanage. To the other kids, he came off as a tad selfish, especially hanging with Luna and Adolf all the time. It made him look even worse by comparison.
Over the next half hour, the three of them devoured the chicken and two rabbits like a whirlwind.
Bellies full, they sprawled under the tree. On a scorching summer day like this, lounging in the shade, feeling the breeze, and dozing off lightly? Pure bliss.
This slow-paced pastoral life was honestly pretty great.
If there was meat every day, sticking around this remote Kaen Town for life didn’t sound half bad.
Just as young Sang was lost in such thoughts, an urgent shout from Sister Lilian, the dean, rang out from afar. It snapped Sang, Luna, and Adolf back to reality as they were about to nod off.
All three looked up to see Sister Lilian, dressed in her nun’s habit, jogging over, drenched in sweat and looking frantic.
“Sang! Sang! Sang!”
“Come back to the orphanage with me, quick!”
The young Sang paused for a moment, his brows furrowing tightly in confusion. “Did something happen?”
“You… you’ve been chosen! To become the True Ancestor’s Blood Servant!!!”
