In Cyberpunk, There are Just Too Many Unbelievers

After the morning meal time at the orphanage, the older children go out, leaving only the younger ones at the orphanage.

The children who went out work until dinner time to earn money.

This is because the support funds from the government or institutions are far from enough to operate the orphanage.

It may not seem like the children can earn much, but at least they can save on lunch expenses.

Just that is enough for the orphanage to barely stay afloat.

“I hope the children return safely today as well.”

Today too, the orphanage director bowed her head and prayed toward the crucifix.

After praying, she looked after the children too young to go out who remained at the orphanage.

Looking after them simply meant teaching them letters and common sense, then letting them play inside the orphanage.

Watching the children running around the playground, she thought of the children who had gone out.

She had sent them out to earn money by running errands, but less than half of them actually did that.

Most ended up going down bad paths instead.

Gangs, scavengers, child mercenaries…

Teenagers at the peak of their hot-blooded youth often chose those paths, perhaps finding holding guns glamorous.

Apart from seeming glamorous, they could also earn more money than doing errands.

Even in this current batch, there were already some children who had joined gangs.

“What’s this new tattoo all of a sudden?”
“Oh Sister, it’s just… I was in a mood.”

Still, they had some conscience left, often hiding the tattoos or mumbling excuses because they didn’t want to worry the nuns.

But their attempts were rather meaningless.

Having operated this orphanage for years, she knew exactly which gang’s tattoos were placed where.

Still, she pretended not to notice.

She loved the children too, and knew well how dangerous gangs were.

She was all too familiar with the sorrow of meeting a graduated orphan at their funeral.

But there was nothing she could do.

The orphanage could safely remain a neutral zone in the slums because children from here were part of various gangs.

Some were even high-ranking members, so firing guns near the orphanage was prohibited.

In other words, the gangs were a necessary evil for the orphanage.

‘Come to think of it, those children really grew up so well even in a place like this…’

But even in the mud, flowers still bloom.

There were children who did not stray onto bad paths and grew up well like ordinary peers.

Amon and Sonia.

Those children did not lose their goodness even in such an environment.

A single loach can muddy the water, it is said.

But conversely, a single lotus flower blooming in muddy water can also purify it.

The muddier the water, the more the lotus’ presence shines.

Those two were such lotuses.

Thanks to them, this current batch had an unusually high number of children who did not stray onto bad paths compared to other batches.

A few years ago, there had been a vicious cycle where children who joined gangs would entice the other children, who would then join gangs after witnessing that.

But at least this current batch did not have an atmosphere of openly promoting gangs.

The director was truly grateful for those two lotus-like children.

It was as if God had sent them, allowing her to dream of a slightly better future.

At the same time, she felt regretful.

Their talents were like gems.

So brilliant that even mud could not tarnish them.

If they had encountered good parents, even if just by chance, they could have spread those talents to a wider world.

‘Am I unnecessarily holding back those children’s wings?’

Listing their talents seemed endless.

Looks that could outshine child actors, outstanding athletic ability, sharp intellect.

But of all their many talents, their true specialty was divine power.

Divine power was a special ability that appeared only about one in tens of thousands of people.

While almost everyone was born with some magical power, divine power was different.

Magical power was easy to substitute and most effects could be replicated through other technologies, but the miracles created by divine power could not be replaced by other means.

That’s why those with divine power were talents that companies, governments, and religions all desperately wanted to acquire, no matter what.

The director had realized the two of them possessed divine power due to an incident when they were 9 years old.

A trivial fight that had broken out among the children.

During Amon’s attempts to stop the fight, his divine power was revealed.

“Friends shouldn’t fight. The only ones violence should be used against are heretics, beasts, and monsters.”

With that ominous line, Amon easily subdued his friends.

Among them were even races like orcs and satyrs born with innate physical strength, but Amon overpowered them effortlessly.

Emitting an overwhelming amount of divine power that even the director, whose knowledge of it was spotty at best, could instantly confirm.

The orphanage was turned upside down that day.

Afterward, Sonia’s divine power was also discovered in a similar fashion, causing the orphanage to be flipped over once more.

Two divine power holders in a single orphanage.

That’s why this batch was hailed as a blessed generation, prompting the director to raise a toast.

But the joy did not last long.

While divine power was a coveted ability, only a limited number could possess it.

In this world, there were plenty of companies with the mindset of destroying it if they couldn’t have it.

Recalling this fact rang alarm bells in the director’s mind.

Fortunately, the only one who had witnessed their divine power in that moment was her.

As long as she kept her mouth shut, those children would be safe.

‘Of course, the companies and governments were no pushovers either…’

But there were no perfect secrets in this world.

Sonia’s divine power was at a manageable level that could be hidden within the orphanage, but Amon’s overwhelming divine power was intense enough for everyone outside the orphanage to notice.

As a result, after that day, company employees and government officials suddenly started frequenting the orphanage.

Along with donations and support funds, and so on.

Their intentions were not difficult to discern.

But the director consistently played dumb.

Even if someone probed her:

[“By the way… could it be that you can sense divine power, Director?”]
[“No, not at all.”]

She pretended to be oblivious to divine power.

No matter how much interrogation came her way, she did not react at all.

As a result, the organizations currently only knew there was a divine power holder at this orphanage, but nothing more.

In this precarious standoff, the organizations could not cut off their support, and the orphanage gradually became more prosperous.

Up to this point, it was good for everyone.

But the more prosperous the orphanage became, the more the director’s heart felt constricted.

‘Am I the one holding back those children’s wings?’

To deceive the enemy, one must first deceive their allies.

While withholding from them that they had divine power, she only vaguely told the individuals themselves that they had special abilities.

She had no intention of monopolizing them.

It was simply to protect them.

A choice made out of loving those children more than anyone else.

But no matter how much it was for their sake, the feeling that she was suppressing their talents always filled her with guilt.

Today too, the director placed her arm on her prosthetic leg and closed her eyes, trying to relieve her guilt.

“Lord, please let my children return safely today as well.”

No finger is without pain.
But some fingers hurt more than others for a person.

That’s why the director offered a special prayer for the painful fingers.

Even though she knew the other children might feel slighted.

On the way back after completing Old Man Johnson the satyr’s errands.

Another ordinary day without any special events.

They avoided gunshots coming from somewhere while delivering the goods, and the delivery was done.

Ding dong!

An alarm arrived on Amon and Sonia’s phones.

A notification that $75 had been deposited into each of their accounts.

$75 for 8 hours of work.

It was a ridiculously low wage compared to even a minimum wage delivery worker.

But they did not complain.

Sonia and Amon were pure humans who had not undergone genetic enhancement, nano-machine implantation, magical inscription, or anything of the sort.

Comparing their labor output to that of professional delivery workers was an unconscionable act in itself.

Moreover, the two were not in urgent need of money at the moment.

In fact, earning $75 put them among the higher earners at the orphanage.

Combined with the monthly living allowance, this amount of savings would allow them to dream of some luxuries.

So the two headed home satisfied with today’s earnings.

Gunshots could be heard from far away, police cars rushing off somewhere – an ordinary day.

Amidst that ordinary day, Amon and Sonia swung the bags of fries for their younger siblings back and forth as they crossed the intersection.

Amon looked left and right, wary of any reckless gangs that might run the red light, when Sonia spoke to him.

“Amon, are you going to pay tithes with that too?”

“Yeah, of course I will.”

Blessed with good looks and blessed talents.

Amon did not want to become an ingrate who did not express gratitude for such blessings.

Hearing Amon’s answer, Sonia nodded her head.

“Then can I pay tithes together with you?”

“Of course you can. Why couldn’t you?”

“But those kids make fun of us, calling us suckers for doing that.”

“Ah, those kids?”

Amon recalled the “those kids” Sonia referred to.

They were the typical bad crowd.

You know the type.

Those who loved fists over words, delinquency over good deeds, curses over polite speech.

The kind who bullied the poor, kind children, claiming the world drove them crooked like that.

Amon did not have a very good relationship with them.

It was because a while back, when they tried to establish a hierarchy by picking on Amon, the entire group ended up beaten instead.

After that, they didn’t directly provoke Amon anymore, but changed strategies to try and isolate him as much as possible.

Thanks to Amon’s shining(?) personality, that strategy didn’t work very well, but their mocking of Sonia was part of that.

Calling the act of paying tithes something only a sucker would do, to label Amon as a sucker.

But Amon did not mind.

Instead, he convinced Sonia of how good it was to pay tithes.

“Paying tithes is like a ritual for me to not forget gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

“Yeah. Gratitude for being blessed like this, for safely making it through another day, for meeting a good relationship like you. It’s to preserve these feelings.”

He did not forget to add at the end that tithing was not an obligation, and she should do as her heart wanted.

Amon’s gentle explanation quickly persuaded Sonia.

“Then if I want to not forget being grateful for meeting Amon, I should pay tithes too?”

“If you truly wish to.”

Before long, the existence of “those kids” had long been forgotten in Sonia’s mind.

Their conversation naturally shifted to the topic of gratitude for ordinary things.

Gratitude for being able to grow up in the orphanage despite being orphans.
Gratitude for the director who devoted herself to them.
Gratitude for adults like Johnson who went out of their way to create errand jobs to give them allowances.

Looking back, they could find things to be grateful for even in this crappy world.

“And I’m grateful that thanks to you, I can eat a lot of meat too!”

At Sonia’s words, Amon awkwardly turned his head away.

If her words were to be taken literally, then he had about a 30 percent stake in her chest area –

Catching that outrageous thought, Amon agreed with her words.

By the time their conversation ended, they had almost reached the orphanage.

Wondering what tonight’s dinner menu would be, Sonia happily ran ahead, and Amon followed behind her.

However, at the last corner before the orphanage, there were some people blocking their way.

‘Speak of the devil and he shall appear.’

Those kids.

A group of delinquent youths with sloppy outfits and shifty eyes.

Abbreviated as the Ones.

Whenever Amon saw them, he recalled how this unfortunate connection had started.

It wasn’t a very complicated relationship.

Basically, they acted like delinquents thinking their early puberty was a talent, ended up provoking the minding-his-own-business Amon and got beaten, then held a grudge against him in reverse.

That was all there was to it.

Since then, they had tried to mess with Amon at every opportunity.

Most attempts ended up meaningless, so Amon didn’t really care.

Amon stood there indifferently, waiting to see what event they had brought this time.

The leader of the Ones, a kid named Jimmy, tried to pick a fight with Amon but finally got to the point when Amon remained indifferent.

“Hey, you know what this is?”

He took off his top.

A white snake tattoo.

It belonged to the Children of the Serpent gang.

A gang of decent size in this city.

After showing the tattoo, Jimmy waited for Amon’s reaction.

Would he blurt out something in surprise?

Or would he act tough despite being scared inside?

But Amon’s reaction was different from his expectations.

“Oh, you worked hard recruiting members. Good luck showing up to work tomorrow.”

He showed no interest.

Jimmy tried to retort but couldn’t, because of the word “members” that came out of Amon’s mouth.

The white snake tattoo was a temporary tattoo given when recruiting members before the Children of the Serpent’s initiation ceremony.

Amon mentioning it meant he was already well aware of their structure.

In fact, Amon did know the meaning of the white snake tattoo well.

‘How has this 50-year-old tradition persisted unchanged?’

There was a side quest where you had to handle executive members, regular members, and recruited members differently.

Regular members could be taken care of, but carelessly dealing with recruited members could trigger a chain quest, requiring careful control.

…In Amon’s case, he preferred just knocking them all out with a bat.

In any case, Amon did not cow or anything to Jimmy’s white snake tattoo.

There was no reason to.

That tattoo was basically just like henna that would wash off, so there was no need to be intimidated.

“Sonia, let’s go.”

Amon passed by the Ones group while holding the bags of fries in both hands.

The Ones tried to stop them, but:

“Oh? This is for our younger siblings’ late-night snack, you okay with that?”

They backed down when food was involved.

The Ones were a group who hadn’t been able to work recently due to going around joining gangs.

With no money in their pockets and barely scraping by for lunch, the temptation of the fries was too strong.

Moreover, one had to consider the other party when acting tough.

If those fries ended up dropping to the ground and becoming inedible, they would be cursed out in every language of the world by the orphanage children and nuns.

Just imagining it made the Ones feel full enough to skip dinner.

They had no choice but to make way for Amon and Sonia.

It was definitely not because they had surrendered to hunger.

Snicker

Finding their appearance quite adorable, Amon gave them one of the bags, telling them to eat a moderate amount before dinner.

Amon’s distraction tactic had caused the group to disband.

Their loyalty to their leader Jimmy was not worth more than a bag of fries.

“Eat some since it’s before dinner. But don’t let the kids catch you and clean up properly before coming in.”

Leaving just those words, Amon went into the orphanage with Sonia.

Jimmy’s friends invited him to eat together too.

Part of Jimmy wanted to preserve what little dignity he had left by kicking the bag away and scoffing “Do you think I have no pride?”, but he held back, worried he might lose what few friends he had left.

Instead, he wrung out his remaining dignity by refusing, claiming he wasn’t hungry.

Jimmy turned his gaze from his friends to the direction Amon had gone.

‘That orphan bastard is pitying me?’

Resenting the innocent Amon, Jimmy grit his teeth.

Today was another victory for Amon.