At the foot of Black Flame Mountain, near the refugee shelter.
The road leading to the shelter had become even muddier after the heavy rain. On the ground where rain and soil mixed, many thin, weak people curled up on the earth or against the corners of walls.
Elliris pressed Nino’s arm against her coarse cloth shirt, which was covered in straw scraps. Hidden beneath were their two staves — which had been disguised as two cracked pieces of withered wood for the time being.
Both of them were using illusion masks to take on the appearance of people with yellow skin and black hair. Elliris had performed her role convincingly by smearing a handful of dirty mud across her face, then doing the same to Nino before messing up her own long black hair. Elliris, who usually had a straight and elegant back, deliberately hunched over, looking exactly like a little beggar.
Nino was not doing much better. She leaned on one of the cracked wooden “staves,” limping along as she pretended to be a cripple.
“Stupid Sister Elliris, you just had to make me play the cripple. It’s so uncomfortable to walk…” Nino, her brows knitted into a knot, began to act spoiled again.
Elliris gave her a gentle nudge with her elbow and said in a soft voice, “Nino, just bear with it for a bit longer. That old woman from earlier said that the cultists take away the physically strong refugees every night, and no one ever comes back.”
However, Elliris failed to pay attention to the path ahead. Just as she stepped forward, the “solid ground” beneath her feet suddenly softened, and she sank downward instantly.
“Whoa!”
The mud instantly submerged her calf. She had to exert a great deal of effort to clumsily pull her leg out of the mire, leaving her lower half covered in pitch-black, foul-smelling sludge.
Elliris looked at the filth on her calf, her small face wrinkling like a bitter melon, her expression practically screaming that she had lost all hope in life.
‘It’s fine, these were already the torn white silk stockings from before. No need to feel bad, no need to feel bad…’
‘Well… today’s headlines…’
However, the tattered cloth boots on her feet truly looked even more hideous now.
Seeing Elliris’s adorable expression that looked as if she were about to cry, Nino’s mischievous side suddenly emerged.
“Oh my~ Nino would have definitely noticed this mud pit. But then again, Sister Elliris, have you been eating too many sweets lately? Did you get fat? Is that why you couldn’t pull your foot out for so long?”
The moment those words were spoken, Elliris’s face turned bright red. She was flustered!
“You big dummy, Nino! Say… say that again! I—I’m not fat! You’re the one who’s fat! I don’t believe this; I’m definitely going to drag you into this mud pit with me today!”
In fact, Elliris didn’t dare deny it. When she had been bathing last time and pinched her belly, there really was a bit of extra meat.
“No, no, no! Sister Elliris, I was wrong! Don’t—don’t keep pushing me from behind!” Seeing that she was about to fall into the mud, Nino could only beg for mercy.
“It’s fine, Nino. If the both of us are covered in mud, we’ll look more like beggars, won’t we?” Elliris said with a gloomy expression, her features twisted into a mock-menacing scowl.
After playing around for a while, the two finally arrived at the refugee shelter.
Elliris’s gaze swept across the crowd. Not far away, two men who looked like guards with fleshy faces were kicking an old man who was trying to beg for bread. A hard leather boot stepped firmly onto the old man’s withered, thin hand.
Nino’s breathing suddenly quickened, and a faint glow of ice crystals appeared at her fingertips, but Elliris caught her in time.
“Don’t be impulsive.”
Elliris lowered her voice and held a finger to her lips in a “shush” gesture toward Nino.
“It’s not time yet. We need to cast a long line to catch the big fish. Nino, there should be guards changing shifts or coming here to snatch people later. We’ll wait a bit longer. Showing weakness or acting pitiful will both work.”
The two found a secluded corner to sit down, constantly observing the situation of the guards.
Nino deliberately loosened the laces of her cloth boots, making every step she took as a “cripple” look as if she were about to fall. Beside her, Elliris also put on a face full of sorrow, looking utterly disheveled.
Very good. The two sisters had successfully blended into the suffering masses to experience life.
***
“Sister, I’m hungry…” Nino made her voice as thin as a thread, trembling as she hugged Elliris’s arm. Her messy black hair stuck to her cheeks, deliberately obscuring those sharp, bright red eyes.
Elliris observed carefully. The refugee shelter was an abandoned church with a large hole in the dome. Sunlight leaked down onto the dirty straw covering the floor, and the rising dust was mixed with the smell of mold and sweat.
A few thin children were fighting over a piece of moldy bread. The adults leaning in the corner nearby were clearly ill, their eyes filled with a sickly haze.
Elliris pulled out half a wheat biscuit and a box of cookies from her robe. The two sisters feigned a small struggle over the food, doing so to attract the attention of the guards who were gradually approaching.
“What’s the shouting about!” One of the fleshy-faced guards kicked the pile of straw next to them, a thick wooden club in his hand.
“Newcomers? Don’t you know the rules? Where did you get food this good?” The guards held the power of life and death here. They frequently snatched any valuable food from the refugees, leaving them only the moldy scraps.
Elliris’s wheat biscuit and cookies were both snatched away. The guard didn’t even leave them any moldy food, instead pointing the thick wooden club at Elliris’s head.
Scared, Elliris hugged Nino tightly and recoiled, her shoulders shaking even more violently.
‘Could someone please give her an Oscar already?’
Elliris looked up at the guard, her eyes filled with fear. “I’m sorry… we… we just got here. We didn’t know the rules.”
The fat guard suddenly grabbed Elliris’s slender wrist, causing her to let out a soft gasp. “Mm… ah~”
Nino suddenly stood up and shouted at the guard, “You—you… you’re not allowed to bully my sister!”
After those words were spoken, the guards, who had originally thought about letting the sisters go, suddenly became interested.
“Oh? One little gimp and one ugly brat. Your parents sure were something to produce the two of you. What’s the matter? Should I start by bullying you today?”
The fat guard gave a sudden push. Fortunately, Nino had prepared herself beforehand and fell onto the straw pile, so it didn’t really hurt.
“Ah! …It hurts so much.”
Fine, it seemed that after staying with Elliris for so long, Nino was now possessed by the spirit of a Best Actress as well.
“Please… please let us go. We’re new and really… didn’t know the rules.” Elliris brushed aside the messy hair on her forehead from the side, looking at the guard with teary eyes.
The guards were not blind, after all. They immediately discovered that Elliris did indeed possess a fair amount of beauty.
“Oho! So this little girl is actually a little beauty! Hart, go check on that other gimp. I bet she’s not bad either.”
The other guard grabbed Nino’s arm, pushed aside her messy hair, and examined her closely.
“Yeah, they both look pretty good. Kane, these two are healthy enough. How about we take them back to headquarters and present them to the Boss?”
The two fat guards broke into lecherous, wicked laughter. Under such a gaze, the sisters could only huddle together, trembling against the straw pile.
Before long, the two guards whispered a few words to each other then walked over to the sisters, their tone flat but carrying an unquestionable severity. “Wait for the shift change, then follow us. Before the Boss gets you, let us enjoy you two little chicks first.”
Elliris immediately put on a bewildered expression. “Officer, we… we just wanted to find something to eat…”
“Shut up! You’re coming with us later, so stop your yapping!”
Elliris and Nino were truly a miserable pair of star-crossed lovers.
Near noon, the relief guards arrived. Elliris and Nino followed the previous guards out of the refugee shelter, the sunlight shining on their dirty faces.
Elliris quietly gave Nino a look. Nino understood and nodded in response.
They didn’t know what was waiting for them, but it seemed that this game of disguise had only just begun.