This country had been engulfed in war for more than twenty years.
Everywhere she looked, there was nothing but despairing yellow sand, wave after wave of heat rolling across its surface.
Even in broad daylight, meteors occasionally streaked across the sky, raising towering plumes of dust at the edge of her vision.
This was the “correction” imposed by the civilized world upon the backward one.
They reduced prosperous cities to ruins, tore peaceful lives to pieces, and transformed the bustle of the streets into wails of anguish.
Lives slipped away like grains of sand, yet they remained “righteous.” Because although the people had lost their lives, they had gained freedom.
Elysia traveled through the desert against the scorching wind, circling around the black-smoking wreckage of armored vehicles and passing through the shattered remains of bombed-out buildings.
At last, she saw a chain of hills.
Yellow sand had accumulated over them, lending them the weight of history, while cave entrances were scattered among them in orderly patterns.
As she approached, she noticed a child keeping watch on a hillside several hundred meters away.
The moment he saw her, he hurried down the slope.
When she drew closer, several burly men carrying guns blocked her path.
“Stop,” the leader shouted.
Wind and sand had carved deep marks across his face as though hacked there by blades and axes.
“I mean no harm.” Elysia obediently raised both hands.
The instant the men saw her lift her hands, they recoiled a step in reflex.
Only after realizing what she was doing did they lower their guns with lingering fear and breathe long sighs of relief.
The leader sent one of his men back to report, while the rest formed a circle around her.
Their caution was understandable.
In this land, children were used as human bombs everywhere.
Elysia stood where she was and waited in silence.
Before long, a middle-aged man with a white cloth wrapped around his head emerged wearing an expression as though he had seen a ghost.
He first told the others to lower their weapons, then walked up to Elysia and studied her.
Some details could only be seen clearly from up close.
Aside from Elysia’s beauty, which even the dust of travel could not conceal, his eyes narrowed when he noticed something everyone else had overlooked.
Even after crossing a desert ravaged by wind and sand, not a speck of dust stained her body.
A miniature biological force field.
As far as he knew, only Mu had such technology, and everyone wealthy and qualified enough to use it stood at the very summit of the planet.
Moreover, she remained perfectly calm despite being surrounded by several armed men.
She likely carried some kind of hidden defensive equipment as well.
Her identity was obviously extraordinary.
With beauty like hers, was she the daughter of some powerful figure?
What was she doing here?
“May I ask your name?” he said in the gentlest tone he could manage.
“Elysia, a traveler.” Elysia smiled faintly.
“And you?” “Rabel, a teacher.” He extended his hand, his expression softening.
“Please forgive our earlier offense.
Should you require compensation, you need only tell me.” “They were only carrying out their duty.
I don’t mind.” Elysia naturally shook his hand.
Rabel breathed a sigh of relief.
He dismissed the others and led Elysia inside.
“One of the children we took in before blew up several people, so that is why they are so cautious now,” he explained as they walked.
“This place is terribly chaotic.
It is hardly somewhere worth visiting.” “I’m traveling around the world~ This is one of my stops too.” So she is out gaining experience.
Even if she is fully equipped, her parents must have nerves of steel.
“Didn’t your parents tell you what this place was like?” Elysia fell silent for a moment.
“My parents are no longer in this world.” Rabel slapped himself viciously in his mind.
He hurriedly changed the subject.
“I’ll help you learn more about the area later.
They said you came from the other side of the desert?
On foot?” “Absolutely.” He stopped and walked a circle around Elysia but found no supplies on her.
“That is impossible.
That entire region is an active war zone.
It was bombed into a wasteland long ago.” “Perhaps it is because my constitution is rather special~” Elysia smiled slightly.
Rabel’s heart sank.
Genetic modification.
I knew those lunatics at the top would tamper with hereditary factors sooner or later and pull off something as outrageous as creating a new breed of human.
A great family had fallen, its last surviving heir had been sent to a laboratory, and after being modified, she had escaped and wandered the world.
In an instant, he imagined an entire tragic drama.
For a moment, the way he looked at Elysia became far more complicated.
When Elysia saw the shock in his expression mixed with realization, the realization mixed with pity, the pity mixed with sympathy, and the sympathy mixed with encouragement, all layered together like a pie chart, she knew he had almost certainly misunderstood.
She had no choice but to correct him.
“Um, I don’t know what you’re imagining, but I can only say that it is probably not what you think.” After hearing that, his expression became even more heartbroken.
Elysia was puzzled.
“Do you…
not follow current events?” She should have been rather famous in the European Union.
Before leaving, she had gone to tremendous lengths to shake off the reporters following her.
Rabel pointed toward the dust clouds in the distance that had yet to disperse.
“The base stations here were all bombed years ago.” War…
Elysia fell silent.
…
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the way.
Rabel led her into a cave dwelling.
The furnishings inside were extremely simple, consisting only of the most basic furniture.
The lighting was dim, the walls had not been tiled, and it felt as though a little force could scrape loose a floorful of dust.
“Our conditions are limited.
Please forgive us.” He poured a cup of hot water from a thermos and handed it to her.
“You must be thirsty after crossing the desert.
Would you like some?” “Thank you~” Elysia accepted it and drained it in one gulp.
She had not touched a drop of water for an entire week, so she truly was a little thirsty.
Quite a few children had gathered in small groups around the doorway.
They wore felt caps, and most looked reasonably healthy.
They simply stood there, watching her with wary eyes.
“Go on.
Your teacher has confirmed that she’s a good person.” Rabel waved them away.
Only then did they disperse, though several children shot her warning looks before leaving.
“They are deeply hostile toward outsiders,” Elysia remarked.
“Because they think you are the child of a wealthy family.” Rabel refilled her cup.
“This country has been trapped in war for far too long.
The rich and most government officials fled long ago, leaving only the poor behind to struggle for survival.
Their resentment toward the upper class has long since taken root.” “Is there no humanitarian aid?” “You mean the kind where they put on a show, film a video, and use it to win votes?
There is certainly plenty of that.” Rabel snorted coldly.
“Even when aid truly reaches the country, after being skimmed at every level, what remains for the people is no more than a drop in the bucket.” “This is a battlefield where great powers play their games, while the people here are nothing more than dust upon the board,” Elysia sighed.
He nodded.
“For someone your age, your understanding is already quite profound.” “Then this place…” He pointed outside.
“There is a supply line I fund at the foot of the mountain.
It passes through a humanitarian corridor and delivers a shipment of supplies every month.” Maintaining such a supply line could not be cheap.
“Why not take them away?” “There is nowhere to go.
The surrounding regions are all battlefields, and neighboring countries reject our visa applications.
Becoming refugees elsewhere would only make life harder.” The atmosphere inevitably grew heavy.
Rabel coughed softly and changed the subject.
“Tell me if you intend to stay.
Several rooms next door are vacant.
I’ll have someone clean one for you later.” “Thank you~” Elysia tactfully refrained from asking how those rooms had become vacant.
…
Dinner consisted of rice and flatbread, accompanied by some cured meat and a plate of lettuce.
Everyone gathered around a round wooden table, giving the meal the warmth of a family dinner.
“You came at just the right time.
A shipment arrived a few days ago, so we have fresh vegetables to eat,” Rabel said from beside her.
Everyone else ate directly with their hands.
Elysia alone used chopsticks, which she had carved that afternoon from a piece of deadwood she found outside.
It made her stand out sharply from everyone else.
“Um…
should I try to follow the local customs?” “It’s fine.
We don’t insist that guests conform to their hosts here.” Rabel waved a hand.
“Have you been to the Far East?” “Not yet, but I’ve read about it online.
Chopsticks seemed convenient, so I started learning to use them when I was little.” Understanding dawned on Rabel’s face.
“No wonder.
You handle them quite skillfully.” After dinner, Elysia volunteered to wash the dishes.
Once she finished, she discovered that all the children had vanished.
She searched around and eventually found them gathered in a larger cave dwelling, preparing for class.
“May I sit in?” She raised her hand to ask.
Rabel nodded and gestured for her to take a seat.
The lessons were very basic at first, consisting only of simple arithmetic and practical life skills.
However, when it came to literature and history, Rabel taught in remarkable detail.
Later, when Elysia saw that his throat had grown dry from speaking, she volunteered to take the front and share some of the things she had seen during her travels.
The children were resistant at first, but as Elysia continued, they gradually became immersed in her stories.
Desert nights were bitterly cold, yet the cave dwelling was warm.
Beneath the flickering lamplight, children worn down by war were finally able to find a peace they had not known in far too long.
After class ended, the children returned to bed one after another.
Once Rabel finished putting away his lesson plans, he went outside and stood beside the cliffside path.
In the cold night wind, he lit a cigarette.
Smoke rose slowly before being scattered almost at once.
Elysia followed him outside.
Hearing her footsteps, Rabel moved to stub out the cigarette.
“It’s all right.
I don’t mind.
I could breathe smoke like air and still never get sick.” “Forgive me.
I was not addicted to cigarettes before coming here.
The pressure here is rather intense.” “You’ve worked hard.” Elysia offered him a few words of comfort.
Creating a haven amid war must have demanded an enormous amount of effort.
“Thank you for helping with the lesson.
Your stories were excellent.
They enjoyed them.” “It was nothing~” Elysia smiled.
“Still, life here seems relatively peaceful, doesn’t it?” He pointed into the distance with his cigarette.
A convoy was moving there, appearing from afar as no more than a row of lights.
“Look over there.
There is a foreign military base not far down this road.
The so-called humanitarian corridor is actually a military supply route.
They merely allocate a little cargo capacity to humanitarian supplies for the sake of their international reputation.
Those soldiers come by every few days to collect protection money.” He took a hard drag and exhaled a stream of white smoke.
“If we don’t pay them, these children will die for ‘colluding with resistance forces.’ Heh.
Even when negotiating with them, we still have to endure every kind of deliberate humiliation.” “They are the ‘angels of the civilized world,’ sent here to fight a counterinsurgency war.
Officially, they are here to bring peace and rescue the people from suffering.” He sneered.
“But who created that suffering in the first place?
The counterinsurgency itself exists only to keep this place in chaos.
Everyone knows it.” “What have those soldiers done here?” Elysia’s voice sank.
There had been similar situations in her previous life.
Whenever foreign forces operated in war-torn regions without restraint, atrocities against civilians were never far behind.
He remained silent for a long time.
Only the tip of his cigarette burned quietly.
At last, all he said was, “That is not something someone your age should be exposed to.”