Only I Am A Reader
chapter-156

"Ho!"

Despite the importance of consolidating an action plan for the next year or so, Leo didn't forget to act upon one indisputable task, consuming as much food as he could!

Even though his current body wasn't a bag of bones like some of the other orphans that had been picked up, Baekho's body was undoubtedly malnourished. Although Leo knew that his stomach didn't have the ability to digest everything, he still had to fill it up as much as possible. There was obviously a reason as to why they were given such a generous meal!

"Yeon!"

Following Leo's example, Yeon strangely managed to fit all the food in front of her into her petite body. Two hours later, the statue-like guards moved out again, taking the group of children out of the dining hall regardless of whether they had eaten their fill or not.

Some children planned to save the food for later, but their wishes weren't entertained. The guards solemnly guided the children over to a long tunnel filled with small caves on both sides, pushing the kids in at the same order they had taken seats before firmly sealing the stone doors.

"Move."

Although they had just eaten the meal of their life, most of the children were almost terrified to death by the time the stone doors had been reopened. For all they knew, they could be imprisoned inside for life.

Only Leo was particularly unaffected, the future final boss's life wasn't shown in great detail enough to rival the protagonist's, but enough of it was mentioned for him to draw a time map about the upcoming events. He had simply taken the time to get some deep sleep since he wasn't sure when he would get one after that, the current day wasn't as simple as the first one.

'It's okay.'

The same thing couldn't be said about Yeon. Although she was smart enough not to cause a ruckus, Leo had seen the pain in her eyes when his own stone door was being sealed. Even now that they were out, she stood closely to him, a different kind of fear condensing in her big eyes, this was the fear of separation. Leo could only silently calm her while the guards were busy taking the rest of the children out.

'She is abnormal.'

Although he kind of understood the situation from Baekho's point of view, Leo realized how abnormal the little queen was as a real person. Familial bonds were very strong, but fear of life-imprisonment would normally triumph over other emotions. Leo felt like he understood the relationship between them a bit more.

"I w-w-w… want to go out!"

Most only feared the guards more after their night of eternal darkness that they lost the ability to speak up. However, there was still someone who lost his wits to the point of acting up, though that only earned him another chop to the neck.

"You have already lost the right to ask for that."

The one who knocked out the kid was surprisingly the gentle-looking speaker from the day before who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. His calm words accompanied by the scene of a child being taken away didn't seem to match.

'Instructor Han.'

Leo firmly remembered the contradicting man's name. He took the name Iyeolhan to seem fierce, but his gentle face and body structure definitely didn't match. There were several future scenes where the great instructor was teased about it to lower the intensity of certain events.

"The numbers this time aren't too bad."

'Gentle Han' casually praised the crowd as they settled back into the gathering hall. However, this was all his own doing. Through sacrificing the tender fourth the day before, and the freaked out child from just now, the deterrence was too great for orphans who relied on wits to survive on the streets.

"Very well. From this moment on, you shall forget whatever name you were called with. The only thing you need to remember is your number. Only by surviving till the end will you have the right to reclaim your name and even more!"

After finishing his bowl of soup the day before, even Leo was surprised to see a number inscribed on the bowl's bottom. Not to mention that the 'rooms' were assigned to them according to this number, these numbers had now become their names.

"Why are you silent? Reply properly!"

'This is it.'

"Understood!"

"Understood…"

"Under…"

Making use of this chance, Leo loudly replied, guiding the whole crowd to break into acknowledgement! Yesterday and now were different, this was the time to show some courage!

Although Leo had no intention to act as a leader figure, he firmly planned to be a person of interest. He was confident in proving his strength with enough time, but the Heavenly Strength Society required both strength and personality!

"Mhm, report your names!"

Instructor Han emotionlessly nodded without showing any form of interest, calling out strongly as the first person in the first row tried to reply in a fluster.

"Ch-"

Kiakkk!

A guard appeared beside the child before he managed to finish what he wanted to blurt it out. He wasn't knocked out like his predecessors, but the sound of his pain resounded out in the hall, his arm appeared to be dislocated.

"I said your names!"

"F-five!"

The pain almost numbed the boy's senses, but a flash of clarity made him realize his mistake! Since they had to forget their names, the only word representing their identities were their numbers!

"Eleven!"

"Thirty-one!"

"Two…"

The crowd of children broke into a disorderly counting session like a broken choir. Even Leo's expression hardened from the sight. This was a great contrast to what he had experienced as a child at this age.

"Ninety-Nine!"

"One… Hundred!"

As if to prove that she was special, Yeon's assigned number just happened to be the first three digit number in comparison to Leo's last two digit number. By the time the count reached the end of the rows, the group of children were transported to their destination in the same fashion. The kids' eyes similarly widened as they did the same day. Only…

"Here we are!"

There was no sign of happiness on their little faces.