What a pleasant morning! I managed to destroy my work desk, rendering me unable to do any paperwork properly, and now I'm here picking out splinters jabbed into my skin.

  “Ow, ow, OW! Oh crap, this one is way too deep! ”

  Blood gushed out of the punctures, leaving my right hand numb. Thank the goddess I'm a southpaw.

  “Cure…” I begrudgingly whispered the Rejuvenative Spell from my left hand and treated my injuries. My wounds began to heal, but the pain will linger for at least half to a whole hour.

  How did it come to this?

  Oh, right. A frustrating report just came in from Fontaine Ethan Argalion, my contact from the Grand Arcostan Archives, and it says that the Arcostan Research Commission rendered my findings as invalid for the recent commission they posted about an anomaly in the Cierra Madriga mountains.

  Someone must’ve beat me to it. There’s been a huge number of mercenary groups and individuals that’s been chasing leads about strange sightings due to the winter season getting quite uncanny. As for the source of the seasonal unrest, there are too many conspiracies to follow that I can’t even choose what to believe in.

  Not that it matters though. I’m more concerned about how my efforts to risk my life for a great lead turned up for nothing. All that effort to travel inside a cargo wagon, squeezing my ass between crates went to nothing!

  With that, I smmed my fist down the table, and this is where we are now. Not only did I just destroy my table, now I don’t have the money to afford a new one! Even worse, my rent is due in a few days, and leaving it unpaid would mean having to scrap with other homeless Arcostans in Elevation Zero.

  I’d rather not, and not because I couldn’t take them in a fight, but I’d feel bad that they wouldn’t stand a chance. I don’t intend to make the lives of those who are already suffering even worse, but if it comes to my survival…

  “Haaaaah… What the hell do I do now?”

  I flipped through my notebook, blowing off the chips of wood wedged between the pages and read through the newspaper clippings I pasted under my other job leads.

  “Mercenaries needed for a week-long excursion, no. Lost cats run amok? No way. Star in a nightclub? The hell do I even have this with me? Pay’s good, though… Meh, only when I'm really desperate.”

  As if I'm not already desperate right now, I said mentally.

  I turned to the next page, and only one piece of paper was left. It was folded in half.

  “Hey, I remember this,” I unfolded the paper. This was a letter from Fontaine a few weeks ago. It read:

  Lucille,

  If you have time, will you be so kind as to investigate this location for me? Rumor has it that there are activities occurring that are shadier than most on Elevation Zero. This was just some gossip I've heard among the knights visiting the archives, but I'm still curious. I'll pay for this commission personally, so long as you provide a compelling story~.

  The description of the pce and the story behind the rumors were written in odd details reconstructed from what Fontaine heard from the knights. Despite the convoluted information, I had an inkling about the pce he referenced.

  Half an hour of prep work passed and I left my rundown office. I found myself in the slums of Elevation Zero. No matter what season it was, the pce was never a pretty sight. I could say Winter and Summer were the worst seasons to be here as there is little protection from the heat and cold. Lucky are the folks who managed to find or seize nd and housing for themselves while the majority of the Arcostans and foreigners fight tooth and nail to stay alive every day down here.

  The snow today was thick, around three to four inches deep. I never had much issues with the cold, but the moist seeping through my leggings made me squeamish. Ignoring my discomfort, I made my way towards a train ptform and took a train heading towards the Northeast Gate of Elevation Zero.

  “Excuse me,” I asked the clerk. “Is there space in the cargo cars to squeeze into?”

  The clerk gave me a weird look. “You sure?”

  I gave a solemn nod, and he shrugged. “Fine. Just don’t compin once you’re onboard.”

  He stepped out of the booth and ushered me to where the cargo cars dock into the ptform. Not long afterwards, the train finally arrived. The usher slid the car door open, and I thank the Goddess I hadn’t eaten anything heavy as a horribly putrid stench wafted out.

  “What in the world is in there!?” I asked, retching.

  “Animals, both dead and alive. So, are you hopping in or not?”

  “...I’d like to buy a ticket please.”

  “That’ll be four piras.”

  I forked over the money in exchange for a ticket. My wallet may be lighter, but I think this is one of the moments where I think I deserve to splurge on the luxury of comfort.

  That is if your standard of comfort are creaky, rusted seats and shattered gss panes for windows. The trains running on Elevation Zero are in serious disrepair, but I guess it can’t be helped. From what I know, they’re all being personally maintained by an old machinist named Lucca Dietrich out of his own pocket and not government funding. I couldn’t compin under those circumstances.

  After some time, I finally hopped off the train and walked a few more blocks before finally getting to where I needed to be. Just a few minutes away from the Northeast Gate where the Arcostan Selection Tournament (AKA the method of how the higher elevations cull the popution) is held every year. I think it just ended a few days ago with only a handful of survivors escaping.

  “Yep, this is the one.”

  I found myself in front of the location of interest: an orphanage.

  Despite the harsh living conditions in Arcostes, there are still some with a gold heart that tries to do good and help their fellows in surviving each day. Finding people of that quality in Arcostes is rarer than hitting diamonds in a coal mine.

  Pulling out the letter from Fontaine, his details stated that some knights who were stationed to conduct the tournament were entranced by a wonderful scent of food from the orphanage. Thinking it was strange for such a rundown pce to have good food, the knights gave a visit and were greeted by a kind, middle-aged man who oversaw the welfare of the children.

  There were quite a handful of little ones alongside a few workers. They all looked healthy and cheerful, stoked at the sight of knights from higher elevations that came to visit them.

  The knights asked if they could have a meal after inquiring about the scent, promising to be compensated for their sudden intrusion, and the orphanage owner obliged. They ate heartily and even asked for seconds, to which the owner happily obliged.

  After having their meal, they left and immediately noted that something was not right about the orphanage.

  How could that pce have so much food? The letter said. Please find out, I'm curious to know, and so are the other knights. We don't want to seize their operations personally.

  Good luck!

  -Fontaine Ethan Argalion,Record Keeper, Arcostes Grand Archives

  Sly dogs, hiring someone else to do their dirty work. As idiotic as his reasons are, he did promise compensation that's more than enough to get by for a month.

  Walking up to the front door, I knocked. Sure enough, a kind middle-aged man answered the door and greeted me with a smile. “Hello there, young dy! How may I help you?”

  “Um,” Crap, I don't know how to expin my presence here. “I was hoping maybe you would have an open position for a helper or an assistant? I know I'm going out on a whim here, but I took my chances to see if there's a job avaible at the orphanage.”

  “A job for you? Well, certainly! We could always use some extra hands to help out, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to offer a satisfactory rate for someone looking quite accomplished such as yourself.”

  Wow, what a compliment.

  “No worries about the pay! I'd think of it as merely a bonus for rendering my services to the children in need.”

  “That's great! When and for how long would you like to work?”

  “Would starting today for a week’s time be alright? It'd give you a nice window to assess my services without having to worry about paying me as much.”

  “Perfect! Thank you for your suggestion~.”

  Well, that was easy.

  Within the next hour, I was given an introduction to the children and to the other staff members which consisted of only two people: twins that grew up from the orphanage themselves named Harumi and Miharu.

  Everyone seemed to receive me very well that it was almost uncanny to see people this blissful on Elevation Zero. Not only that, but all of the children were unlike any of the ones you see outside. They all look so cheerful and always so full of energy.

  Pushing my thoughts aside, my job for the week was to teach the children in batches and keep an eye out for them when they go py in the courtyard. I was designated to teach two csses; an hour each twice in the morning, then lunch period and nap time takes pce. Afterwards, the children are free to py in the courtyard until nightfall where they’re all instructed to go inside for dinner and get ready for bed.

  They offered me lodging for the week, and I obliged despite not having any luggage with me right now. It doesn’t matter, I’m used to sleeping with the same clothes every other day.

  With that, I began my first css to teach the first batch of children. There were about forty orphans present, so I gathered the first twenty orphans into a cssroom that had seen better days. Nevertheless, I was still able to teach them some elementary-level stuff on the subjects of Language and Math. Once an hour passed, the first batch cleared out for the next batch of kids to come in and sit down for my lessons.

  All of them were eager to participate, and I admit, I’ve been getting infected by their liveliness that it’s actually making me feel kind of good that I’m somewhat able to help out a little despite my main reason as to why I'm here.

  Just as I was wrapping up css for the second batch of orphans, a wonderful smell filled the halls. The children's faces lit up, and they cheered in unison. “Lunch time! Finally!!”

  They all scrambled to the door, pushing and shoving around to leave the cssroom immediately. I tried to restore order, but they were too excited that my voice drowned over their cmor. I let it slide, I'm not going to stress myself with the added burden of disciplining children.

  I reached the dining room. The twins Harumi and Miharu were already serving portions of food to the children. The smell was really enticing! I actually got a bit excited as to what's on the menu for today.

  However, when I walked towards a vacant spot, I realized I forgot to bring my wand with me. Damn it, what a rookie mistake! I couldn't risk anyone, especially not a child, to pick that up and indiscriminately set off spells, so I made a quick dash back to the cssroom to look for it.

  “Not here, did I leave it somewhere else?”

  I sprinted to the room they loaned to me, and there it was. I mentally reprimanded myself for my carelessness and walked back to the dining hall.

  “...Huh!?” My eyebrows scrunched to see that there was no food left.

  “Oh, teacher!” Miharu spotted me and bowed. “I'm so sorry, the kids ate up all the food! I don't think we'll be able to prepare a new set of meals until dinner…”

  “Aha, is that so?” I forced a smile. “No worries, the children should have more to eat so they can grow. I'll take care of my own food.”

  Miharu bowed one st time before returning to her duties. I can't say I'm not dismayed about not being able to taste today's hot meal, but it is what it is. I made do by eating a portion of bread I brought along with me for emergency purposes.

  The afternoon went by quickly as I watched the kids tire themselves out while pying in the courtyard. Observing them py tag and other games that involved running, pushing, and tackling made me feel motion sick; they were all fast kids, and that’s not just because I’m talking like an old geezer.

  As I’ve said earlier, they were unlike the average child you would see in Elevation Zero. They were unlike any of the children you would see outside in the dismal streets of this section.

  I pulled out my notebook and a pen to write down my observations. Midway though, a ball sailed towards my feet, and I got tackled by one of the kids down towards the cold snow.

  “Hup! Oops!” The child said, picking himself up. “Sorry, Teacher Lucille.”

  “Ungh…” The force of the tackle disoriented me. The child wasn’t chubby per se, but the impact I felt… It was frighteningly strong.

  “Teacher? Oh no!” The child began to panic, shaking my arm and even getting drool over my clothing. “I think I killed the teacher!”

  “No, no…” I grunted, hauling myself up and brushing off the cold snow off my skirt. “I’m fine, little fel. No need to worry.”

  “Whew! I’m sorry, teacher Lucille! I didn’t mean to!”

  “It’s okay, I know it was an accident. Go on, return to your game.”

  “O-Okay!”

  I kicked the ball back to the snowy courtyard, and the children resumed their game. I looked at the sleeves of my robe and winced. It was drenched with saliva. Just lovely.

  I couldn’t wash it off as I don’t want my robe soaked with freezing water, so I left it as is and tried not to mind it, waiting for the time to pass until I was called to help out to prepare for dinner time.

  The other twin, Harumi, was there wheeling the various pots that contained tonight’s dinner. She looked cmmy and tired. I couldn’t bme her, cooking every day for more than forty people was a daunting task; I couldn’t even be bothered to cook for myself.

  Seeing the sorry state she’s in, I decided to offer help, to which she happily obliged.

  “Thank you, teacher,” She heaved a tired breath. “It’s been tough these past few days.”

  “You speak as if you have something daunting in your mind. May I ask why?”

  “It’s just… The suppliers arrive te around midnight, and now they’re looking to make a profit out of us.”

  “Suppliers?” I raised a brow, curious at her implications.

  “Oh, um…” She twiddled her fingers, looked around her surroundings, then came up close to me and whispered. “Suppliers for cheap ingredients that we use to feed the children.”

  “I see…”

  I don’t understand why Harumi had to whisper that detail, but before I could even process the thought, she immediately followed up.

  “Um, teacher, if you don’t mind… Will you please accompany my sister and I when the suppliers arrive? I know it’s out of your way and you must be tired from watching over the children the whole day, but please, we’d feel safer if you were there!”

  “Erm, me? I’m not exactly a fighter myself.” I lied as naturally as I breathed.

  “There won’t be any fights, I promise! I hope, at least…”

  Seeing Harumi’s fearful expression has dug a hole into my stomach. A hole filled with curiosity that might be the death of me.

  “Okay, I’ll do it.” I replied.

  “Really? Oh, thank you!” She gave me a light hug before awkwardly pulling away.

  “Um, anyway, we must begin setting the table. Dinner tonight… Haaaah…”

  “Hm? What’s wrong with our food tonight?”

  “It’s vegetable soup. The kids wouldn’t like it.”

  I let out a chuckle. “Welp, kids do hate their veggies.”

  “...Yeah, you could say that.”

  Harumi proceeded to scoop spoonfuls of soup into the bowls I id out on the table. The smell was really nice. I couldn’t imagine children hating something this tantalizing.

  And yet, when it was dinnertime…

  “Blech! Veggies!”

  “Big sis, is there no meat tonight?”

  “No meat? Booooo!”

  The kids rioted and threw a tantrum at us, compining at how they wanted meat for dinner. The poor twins were overwhelmed at trying to calm the children down, so I had to step up and help maintain order.

  “Hey, now!” I barked with a commanding tone. “Is that attitude proper to treat your big sisters that always took care of you?”

  “But Teacher—!”

  “No buts! You’ve all been very rude tonight! They made this with love and care for all of you, and you’re all acting horribly to them! Is that how you should act to the big sisters that love you!?”

  They all shut up, but instead of remorse, their faces were traced with scowls. I could feel a crackle in the air, and it dispersed as the doors of the dining hall swung wide.

  “Now, now!” The owner walked in, carrying a huge box. “Harumi, Miharu, Teacher Lucille, please leave the children to my care.”

  He walked to the middle and plopped the box down. In it were packed meals.

  “Meat! Finally!”

  “We love you, uncle!”

  “Yaaay! Hooray, uncle!”

  The children cheered as they grabbed a meal box for themselves and ate hastily. My eyes were either pying tricks on me, or did they just finish the entire meal between two to three minutes?

  “Ah, children and their hasty metabolisms!” The owner chuckled, then they turned to us. “I’m sorry, I could only afford food for the children. We’ll have to settle for the vegetable soup.”

  There were no compints from the three of us. How could I? The soup was fantastic! I admit I may have pigged out a little bit, but I guess it made the twins happy that I enjoyed their cooking.

  With bellies filled, all the children went to their quarters to settle for the night. On the other hand, the twins and I awaited the suppliers that were to arrive at the orphanage.

  It was around half past ten in the night when a carriage pulled up in front of the orphanage. There were three men with bandana masks up to their noses present for the exchange. They hopped off their carriage and hauled sacks into the orphanage with Miharu’s guidance on where to bring them.

  So this is where they get their meat, huh?

  I’d call it unsanitary, but I am yet again reminded that this is Elevation Zero.

  All of us rendezvoused inside the pantry. The smell of the sacks was putrid. Raw meat isn’t something that really sits well in my stomach.

  “Now, about our payment…” One of the masked men spoke to Harumi.

  “B-But didn’t the owner negotiate about—!”

  “I don’t care what that old geezer said. You don’t know what we went through to get the stuff you need! You’re not the one risking your lives and going through the mud. Start paying up, or things get ugly!”

  One of the men grabbed Harumi by the wrist. I instinctively reached for my wand, but she put up a good fight and even came out on top over their struggle.

  “Let go of me!” Harumi yelped, breaking free from the man’s grip, sending him tumbling over the sacks of meat they carried. He tripped over, and the sacks spilled their content.

  “No! Our food!” Miharu cried.

  I too felt like crying.

  Because what the hell am I looking at!?

  “Urp…!” A violent sickness overtook me as I witnessed what their ingredients were.

  Out of the sacks tumbled a dismembered head, followed by multiple body parts crudely cut up. The horrid stench of a rotting corpse filled the small pantry, and I finally lost control and vomited out all the soup I had for dinner.

  “Teacher Lucille!” Harumi came to my side and pulled me away. “You must leave, now!”

  “But… But Miharu—!”

  Before I could protest, I could hear thundering footsteps echo from the halls. The room flooded in with a handful of orphans.

  “Hey… It’s meat!” One of them cheered!

  “Finally! We have meat again!”

  “Hooray! I love meat!”

  The children greedily snatched up the body parts and disappeared into the darkness of the hallways.

  “Teacher Lucille, please chase after them!” Harumi pleaded. “They shouldn’t be allowed to eat it raw!”

  I was filled with dread. I’ve seen a lot of things, but this was a whole new level of screwed up. Even in my nauseous state, I followed Harumi’s request and chased after the kids. They were easy to track as there was a faint smell of blood to close in on them.

  A haunting question crossed my mind as I ran. What did she mean by ‘not allowed to eat it raw’? It drew a conclusion to me that this was not the first time these children were fed remains.

  I drew my wand at the ready should I need to fend for myself. At st, I reached the hallway where there was a door slightly ajar.

  I gently opened the door…

  “...!”

  In unison, all of the children’s heads turned. Their smiles were wide, mouths filled with torn chunks of human flesh and sinew. They weren’t the cute and adorable children I once knew a few hours ago anymore. All their facial features were slightly disfigured and horrifying.

  “Teacher!” They all cried with a joyful tone. “Do you want some too?”

  I took a step back, words stuck onto my throat as I felt another wave of nausea hit me hard. I smmed the door shut, turned around, and yelped as I came face to face with the orphanage owner.

  “...Please let them feast.” The owner said with a solemn look. “I’m desperate to keep them fed… I couldn’t possibly let them wither and die in the cold. You wouldn’t either, would you?”

  I still couldn’t reply. Fear, disgust, and insanity gripped me like a noose on my neck.

  “Please leave while you can. Take the twins with you. It’s only evident that they’re getting harder to control, and I’m afraid they’d devour Harumi and Miharu as well, should an unfortunate time come.”

  The owner slid past me and had his hand on the doorknob of the room filled with cannibal children.

  I dared not figure out what he had in mind to do, and so I ran to my room, retrieved all of my necessities, and went to find the twins in the kitchen.

  “Harumi, Miharu!” I called out. “We have to leave, now—”

  As I stumbled into the pantry in a panic, a gruesome sight awaited me.

  All of the men were dead, and so was Miharu, who had a cleaver stuck onto her head. Harumi was there, a dark expression loomed over her face… and her mouth full of her sister’s entrails.

  Her deadpan eyes looked at me. Her mouth let go of the chunks of her sister lodged between her teeth and she giggled.

  “It’s been so long… since I’ve tasted meat this good again… I only wish that Miharu would know… how sweet she tasted… Would you like to know, Teacher Lucille…?”

  Tears welled up in my eyes as I sprinted out to the front entrance and never looked back until I could see the dim lights of Elevation Zero’s streets. I fell to the snow and just absolutely lost all of the dinner I ate that night.

  I felt horribly faint, but I willed myself to haul myself up from the cold snow and towards the train station, desperately wanting to go home.

  “Ah… Finally.” I heaved with a content sigh, sitting down at a reclining chair and propped my feet up against my new desk.

  A few days passed since the incident at the orphanage. I’ve no more news about what happened afterwards, and I’ve filed my report to Fontaine.

  What details did I report? Everything. I had no concern whether they would take my word or not, but I did make sure I crafted a proper story.

  All I could assume was Fontaine loved it so much that he gave extra compensation than promised, probably to cover the trouble I’ve encountered.

  And thus, here I am, sitting comfortably at a brand new chair and a brand new desk! I smmed my fist down towards the new desk as a stress test, and I ended up bruising my hand before I could even make a dent. Perfect!

  I’ve also paid off my rent and bought necessities to hold me out for at least a month, and I still have around hundreds of Piras with me even after all the spending I did.

  Oh, I also did buy a new robe. I burned my old one; the one coated with saliva, I mean.

  I don’t think I need to be reminded of that pce ever again.