“You, why are you wearing a nun’s habit?”

This was a world without faith. Unlike the one he came from, it had no Buddha, no Lord… There was basically no widespread faith, just a few obscure churches.

That being said, what exactly did Big Sister Lillian believe in?

It was a very strange question…

At those words, Big Sister Lillian kept wiping the skylight. She only trembled for an instant, but the movement was unmistakable. With her back to Sang, she stayed that way for a long while. Then she climbed down and gently hugged him.

“Child, this world needs hope…”

Her movements flowed one after another, so smoothly that Sang couldn’t make out the expression on Big Sister Lillian’s face.

Sang realized he’d said the wrong thing. Adults had their own fantasies, too; they weren’t as strong as children imagined. He returned Big Sister Lillian’s embrace, wrapping his arms gently around her.

“I’m sorry, Big Sister Lillian.”

“It’s all right…”

But in the end, the boy still never learned what Big Sister Lillian believed in…

……

As for the relationship between Sang, Luna, and Adolf, those three childhood friends…

Honestly, as far as Sang was concerned, there was no romance to speak of. They’d all grown up together, and with education and culture so far behind, children generally matured late. Most got engaged to someone else without understanding a thing, then received a crash course in X-rated knowledge just a few days before their wedding. The average person lived thirty or forty years, then hurried through this world and was gone…

And so.

Aside from Sang, who’d grown up a little faster as a transmigrator, Luna and Adolf felt much the same about everyone at the orphanage—familial affection, friendship, and a few vague, indescribable feelings.

Luna and Sang especially. One had been found during the day, the other at night. They weren’t siblings, but they might as well have been.

So maybe Luna’s kiss really was just a birthday present. It didn’t have to mean anything.

Time in this world was more or less the same as in the one he’d come from—twenty-four hours in a day, four seasons in a year, and twelve months from spring through winter. The main difference was the holidays. There were almost no holidays celebrated everywhere.

After all, the boy Sang didn’t even know if he’d live to see the next holiday.

A few days later.

Night.

Dinner was as meager as ever: a long loaf of bread, mashed potatoes, and a cup of water. There wasn’t even a scrap of meat. Sang really missed the food from his old world. Back then, he’d always complained about his mom’s cooking. Looking back, it had probably been the best food in the world. Too bad he couldn’t go back.

After dinner, the other children gradually returned to their rooms to rest.

Sang, Luna, and Adolf were no exception. They were heading back to their room, too.

But halfway there, Headmistress Lillian suddenly called out to Sang, Luna, and Adolf. “It’ll soon be time for Favor. The three of you are turning fourteen this year, which means you’ll come of age. It’s unlikely, but you could still be chosen… Tomorrow, we’re going to the square in the town center for the blood-drawing ceremony. Make sure you get up early, and don’t eat breakfast.”

As soon as she said that,

the children who’d already walked off turned around one after another, their eyes fixed on the three with concern.

Sang, Luna, and Adolf couldn’t help showing complicated expressions. They hadn’t forgotten about it; they just didn’t want to worry over something they couldn’t know.

Favor—in this world, humans came of age at fourteen. In the year each child turned fourteen—specifically, during that summer—the local nobles drew blood from all the children coming of age and sent it to the Central blood bank. The aristocracy, from the highest rank to the lowest, would then choose the blood they liked and claim its owner as a Blood Servant. Under Blood Clan rule, this was an obligation every human had to fulfill.

They said everyone’s blood tasted different, and every member of the Blood Clan had their own preferences.

Oh, almost forgot to mention: Favor was only carried out when someone was fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen. That meant if you made it through all three years without being chosen as a Blood Servant, you could probably live like an ordinary person.

Of course, there was no need to worry too much.

This world was just like the one he’d come from: it lacked everything except people. The population was enormous, so being chosen as a Blood Servant was unlikely.

You might be wondering how people felt about becoming Blood Servants.

In short—terrified.

Once you became a Blood Servant, you were little more than “food.” The Blood Clan was powerful and arrogant, every one of them proud to the point of haughtiness. They had no concept of human rights. To them, Blood Servants were livestock kept in pens, while the rest of humanity were wild animals left to roam.

If you were lucky enough to become the Blood Servant of a relatively decent member of the Blood Clan, you might at least get enough to eat and drink… But even then, you wouldn’t live very long. Giving blood every few days could easily leave you so anemic you died. If you weren’t lucky, you might end up with a sadist or a glutton and bleed to death in just a few days.

Headmistress Lillian noticed how anxious the boys and girls were. She rested her hands over her abdomen and gave them a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. It’ll be all right.”

“Yeah, we’re not scared!” the three said in unison.

“Go back and get some rest. You’ll have to get up early tomorrow.”

“We understand.”

……

Although all three had said in unison that they weren’t scared, they were all a little afraid. Luna most of all. The girl might be willful and unruly, but she was a real scaredy-cat.

Adolf wasn’t much better. He was probably just pretending to be calm.

Sang was probably the most optimistic of the three.

Well… that didn’t have much to do with whether he’d transmigrated or not. The main thing was that he remembered dying once already. He wasn’t quite at the point where life and death no longer mattered, but at least he was tougher than the others.

As the three walked from the orphanage hall back toward their rooms, Luna kept her head down and said nothing. Her delicate little hands clutched her clothes tightly.

When Luna reached the door to her room, Sang suddenly flashed a cheeky, slightly lecherous grin. “Luna, it’ll be okay! Nothing’s going to happen to you or Adolf!”

Luna managed a strained smile. “Yeah, Watermelon!”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

The orphanage in Kahn Town was actually a disused church. It was run-down, but its one advantage was its size: there were plenty of rooms, usually shared by two to six people. As for the beds, they were just wooden boards with a piece of cloth laid over them. They were hard and uncomfortable to sleep on.

Sang was pretty resourceful. He’d gone out of his way to gather a lot of straw from around town and used it as padding.

Sang and Adolf shared a room, while Luna shared one with the other girls.

That night.

Sang lay on his stomach, reading by moonlight. His dream was to be a total slacker, sure, but he was still a modern eighteen-year-old who’d completed nine years of compulsory education and was about to start junior college. He knew that knowledge could change your fate. Besides, he had nothing else to do, so he might as well read more.

If you’re ugly, you’d better read more.

In this other world, where the average level of education barely reached… prenatal education—no, kindergarten—illiteracy was everywhere. Sang was probably the only literate person in the orphanage, which had more than thirty children.

He didn’t know what time it was when a hesitant set of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the room. Sang got up, went out, and opened the door. Luna stood there, looking miserable and on the verge of tears.