Genshin Impact: Fatui's Resplendent Sword

"Good morning, Mother."

"Hmm~ good boy."

In the morning, the children gathered in the cafeteria. According to the clever Clervie, they would be given the time to spend on themselves after breakfast.

Half to the afternoon, exactly at ten o' clock, they are to gather in a classroom where the agents under Crucabena will impart them with mandatory knowledge. A single blunder would get them thwarted by the instructor's long ruler. Heins glanced at Clervie's little hands, where mean gashes veiled under the scarred skin could be seen.

Twice, the instructor would kick them, beating them until they're black and blue.

Thrice, they will be pinned as a trialist for the trial next month.

Due to this trial, the relationship between the children are tense and competitive. It was so competitive it became toxic. Each room accommodate up to five children.

Clervie's room originally only accommodated three children, but now that Heins and Peruere joined the fray, it became complete.

'Coincidentally' Crucabena always picked two children from different rooms. The case of roommates becoming trialists simultaneously never really occurred. This worsened the relationship between children of different rooms even more.

So a question arose, if two children that failed thrice came from the same room, what would happen? Clervie fearfully said that instead of two, there would be four trialists when the trial will be held next month.

In the cafeteria, Heins sat with his 'little siblings'. The passing children casted them cold looks and provocative exclaims. A girl deliberately nudged the cartoon milk Mervien has enthusiastically fetched from the food court, spilling it all over her food.

Heins calmly watched as more and more provocative actions occurred. His 'little siblings' are relatively calm, indifferent to the provocation of other children. They are clearly tempered iron, not weak and soft in the slightest.

This scene breed a twisted sense of relief. It's a good thing Crucabena sneered at his request to deprive all children of their trial yesterday.

Is it unreasonable, since the other children were also forced into this cruel situation? No doubt about it.

Is it right to feel a sense of satisfaction when he realized that Crucabena's rejection to his proposal wasn't exactly an unsatisfactory result, since these kids were so annoying even though they were forced to act that way in order to survive? Perhaps.

Is he still a naive boy back when he was still living with his beloved father, a properly taught boy who couldn't even stand the sight of a bleeding ant? Far from it.

Conclusion: Heins acknowledged the fact that he cannot be a person who willfully help others. Even helping sometimes must be treated like a case, where pragmatism must be included.

As for Peruere, well, Heins kindly shoved the boy's food up his throat and kicked his liver, smashing him against the cafeteria's wall when he tried to mess with Peruere's food tray.

Was it a bit too mean? Maybe. Was it worth it? Peruere giggled, so yes, definitely worth it.

Hm, perhaps a shot to the liver was quite an overreaction, Heins grasped his chin as he muttered, ignoring the boy who screeched like a banshee, startling the other kids.

"Wow! Big brother's so strong!" Mervien and Clervie jumped on their seat as they clapped happily. Beside Mervein, Yhamin laughed boisterously, sending jeering looks towards the provocateurs.

"Hehe!" Peruere smiled smugly, resembling a smug kitten, willfully rubbing her face against his arm.

"It was a pity that the girl was too fast. Sorry Mervien, I couldn't avenge you." Heins playfully apologize as he dumped Mervein's milked tray and threw it at the screeching boy.

The girl giggled, clearly pleased with Heins, "It's fine, big brother. I'm used to it. But It feels really good when big brother ruined that boy!"

As they laughed with each other, their hands moved naturally, gathering a fraction of their food for Mervien

To avoid meaningless confrontations, Clervie, Mervien and Yhamin usually spared a quarter of their meal with the unlucky one among them that got their food jumbled by the shenanigans of the cafeteria. Heins and Peruere naturally followed the suit.

Heins glanced at Crucabena, who merely smiled at the chaotic scene of the cafeteria. Their gaze met in the air, but the Hearth's Director just winked like a playful caretaker.

He reverted his gaze away, his mind active.

For a kindergarten to be operated this way, solely driven by the goal to create a 'King'...

As expected of Crucabena. That's all Heins could say.

She was so heinous even her own daughter, Clervie, couldn't escape her clutch.

What a sick harlot.

The fact that the orphans must call her Mother was not just a cherry on top, but a whole jar of chocolate syrup. It was so sweet it was disgusting.

After the meal, Heins and co left the cafeteria. The children trembled in fear as he passed their seat, his crimson eyes glaring and hollow. They subconsciously created a path for them, their eyes looking at him and the screeching kid back and forth.

The instructors overlooking the cafeteria watched it all coldly. The kid was the one who initiated the situation, and if he couldn't handle the consequences, that's his mistake. Let the pain be his form of repentance.

In the courtyard, a beautiful garden could be seen, its green scape bathed in the warm morning sun. Heins took a hefty breath as he leaned on a thick trunk, trying to find a moment of peace.

His little siblings, the title they forced him to acknowledged, went on to their 'business' near his vicinity. Clervie went around trying to find intriguing objects she could play around, while Mervien and Yhamin tried to play house, which they failed miserably at it.

He laughed when Yhamin accidentally dropped the makeshift doll, their 'child', when he tried to cradle it from the wife, Mervien. Mervien was worse. She tried to act like a happy wife, only for her to kick the 'child' away due to her uncontrolled excitement, sending it across the garden.

Far away, Clervie was curiously observing a dragonfly when it was swatted away by the hurled doll, making her dumbstruck.

"O-Oh, oh no!"

"They're terrible!" Peruere huffed as she hugged her jar of spider. The cute round black little thing crawled around the jar, its shiny black beads that is their eyes prominent.

"Big brother, look at my spider! I take care of it so good it crawled around in excitement!" Peruere happily lifted the jar to his face, her Xs glimmering crimson. Heins observed the crawling spider, and he must admit that it looked very cute.

"Have you named her yet?"

"Why would I?" Peruere tilted her head, perplexed.

"Well, a pet usually contained your sentiment for it, and a name could act as a proof of your connection with it. For example, you call me big brother because we have a close relationship, so maybe you could do the same to it, but only in reserve."

Peruere furrowed her cute eyebrows, trying to understand his words. After a while, her face turned red as she concluded, "S-So your actually my pet, big brother?"

Heins chuckled at her silly remark and tugged her soft face, "No, you silly. It was just an analogy, so don't take it literally. Just discern it as a form of affection for your spider. I am different, since I could force you into things, like this!" Heins tickled her tummy, reducing her into a laughing mess.

"I-It's big brother's fault. Ah!"

After a worthwhile lesson, little Peruere tried hard to take in the oxygen as she complained sulkily, "Okay! Peruere got it! Big brother is not a pet! Bambi is! Hmph!"

Peruere, for no apparent reason, decided to name the spider Bambi. Heins tried to correlate it with some of the etymologies he knew of, but found that none of them could define it. In the end, he merely inferred it as a child's willfulness.

"Bambi!"

Peruere giggled loudly as she fondly caressed the jar.