Chapter 6: (6) Syuzia
'Showing kindness will bring me nowhere. If that were enough, she would not have been like this. Hmm, or wait, does she even need any kind of mental support at all?' Lucas was not knowledgeable in psychology, but he could tell that Syuzia did not seem to be in despair or anything like that.
Lucas was set on adopting her, but he wanted to try to build a good relationship with Syuzia. Growing closer to her means, he could influence more of her decisions. Making it easier for him to keep all the protagonist's arms away from her.
With that in mind, Lucas opened his mouth: "Why aren't you playing with the other child?"
Luckily, his voice was not sharp like an inquisitor.
Syuzia's brows twitched after hearing the question.
"...Because I have no interest in it." A very simple answer.
"That's so? I am curious, what did you do before coming to the orphanage?" Lucas looked at the rashes all over Syuzia's body, her hand was filled with them too.
"....The secret investigator told me to not talk about it to anyone," Syuzia spoke in a small voice.
Lucas's eyes flashed with a sharp light hearing this, it was a major lead!
It could possibly lead him to win over Syuzia.
Hence, Lucas spoke with no hesitation: "No need to worry, I am with them too. You can see the caretaker there, right? She is watching over us."
Lucas thought calmly: 'You don't trust me, but you must at least trust the caretakers working here right.'
Being pointed at, The caretaker felt strange. Receiving Syuzia's gaze made her body freeze instantly. She looked on with a hardened face, she wanted to go away, but she could not break the regulations!
Syuzia's eyes glowed seeing this, thinking internally: 'She is staying? This man must be speaking the truth then, normally she would move away the moment I see her.'
'And, I can't sense his presence, so he is stronger than me. He must be with those black suit guys.'
Syuzia trusted Lucas's words after a little thinking.
"Ah..." Looking at the caretaker, who appeared like a statue, Lucas understood the reason behind it immediately.
Syuzia's staring almost appeared like she was glaring at others, planning on a way to kill them, It was really terrifying, and Lucas felt chills too.
"From where do you want me to start?" Syuzia questioned with a calm voice.
Lucas smiled, "From the beginning, you can tell me everything about yourself. Of course, you can hide personal information."
Things went a lot smoother than he thought.
Liveliness suddenly appeared on Syuzia's face, it seemed she was interested in talking about her past. A thin smile pasted itself on her face.
Syuzia spoke with more energy in her voice: "Have you ever heard about the underground arena?"
"Yes," Lucas answered with no idea in his head, it would be suspicious if he didn't know.
"I was born and raised there. We must fight with our life in line to make it past the day, there was no kindness presented to the enemy."
Syuzia's story went like this.
Even in the ruthless atmosphere of the underground arena, there was someone who showed kindness to her. It was the woman who raised her from childhood.
"It was Mama." Syuzia smiled beautifully.
Though a dark story unfolded.
Anyone trapped in the underground arena was never a normal person. Syuzia's mama, Vanessa, was the same. She was a woman with the hobby of torturing her victims, both while fighting in the arena and in her free time.
"But it was alright, Mama hurt me, so it showed that she loves me right?" Syuzia showed a deep scar on her shoulders, caressing it like the most precious thing in the world.
"For Mama's sake, I fought in the arena as a substitute many times. Every time I won, Mama praised me! I felt like I could do anything to hear her praise again and again. I can kill as many opponents for it." Syuzia smiled with joy.
"That's so? I get how you feel, everyone wants to be praised by the person they love and admire, right?" Lucas sympathized with Syuzia, feeling melancholy internally.
"Yeah! That's the reason I never screamed even when Mana crushed my fingers and healed them with potions. Or even when she pokes a hot steel piece into my eyes!"
"She praised me saying: 'You are my masterpiece'. It was so exhilarating!" Syuzia's eyes glowed in a fanatical glow.
Lucas felt his mind freeze for a second, before rebooting: 'This 'Mama'....she is a psychopath for sure. I want to kill her myself right this instant, she is just disgusting. I should visit the underground arena, once I am strong enough....or nevermind, too much effort.'
And as for Syuzia, her mind was messed up too. Though it was not some psychological disease, it was still too dark for many people.
Lucas patted Syuzia's head, saying: "You worked hard. I am sure your mama would have been proud of you."
Syuzia smiled, deepened by a level, hearing Lucas's words. It was the first time her interests were acknowledged by others.
The secret agents looking into her matter had hardened expressions the whole time they heard her story. So she could not get into telling the story back then.
[Ding! The female lead, Syuzia relationship has deepened by 2 points. Current: 2(Friendly)]
[The story has deviated from the original path, Levon's protagonist aura -25, Host villain aura +25. Obtained 500 villain points]
[Syuzia female lead aura -25, host's villain aura +25. Obtained 500 villain points.]
[Ding! The host has stolen an opportunity from the protagonist — obtained 500 villain points.]
Only after seeing the notification did Lucas notice the changes in his surroundings. Many kids and caretakers were staring at him and Syuzia with shock on their faces. It was that much of a shock to them.
Syuzia had never spoken with a smile to anyone in the past. No, it would be a huge thing if she didn't stare with her deadly eyes at anyone who talked to her.
Didn't she appear like a normal child now?
The caretakers were aware of Syuzia's backstory a little, not everything, but they were aware that she killed other people in the past. Therefore, they were scared and hesitant to take care of her.
Levon also looked at the interaction between Lucas and Syuzia from a distance. Feeling an indistinct emotion rising within him, he had tried speaking to her too but was mostly ignored. He felt displeasure rising towards Lucas too.
[Ding! The protagonist, Levon, feels jealousy towards the host — 200 villain points obtained.]
Lucas got up from the floor, and extended a hand to Syuzia: "Let's move to a quiet place, shall we?"
Syuzia held Lucas's hand, feeling the many gazes around her too.
Walking up to the caretaker, Lucas spoke in his usual sharp voice: "Lead us to the garden."
Lucas still remembered seeing an image of a garden on the main page of this orphanage.
The caretaker didn't say anything and just led them both to the garden quietly.
Swish~
The fresh air outdoors drifted through the air, bringing along the slight scent of flowers.
Seeing the scene of Lucas leading Syuzia to one of the benches, the caretaker stood in the distance. She was curious as to what Lucas wanted to do. But, her interest slightly shifted to Syuzia after seeing her smile.
'If that man can take care of her away, many of the caretakers would not be uncomfortable while taking care of the children.' The caretaker thought.
Sitting on the bench with the shade of a tree covering it, Lucas told Syuzia to continue.
"But....a few months ago, Mama suddenly became rougher with me. I knew that she was angry, so I withstood it silently like always." Gloominess appeared on Syuzia's face.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone