Chapter 327 – Side Story Two. The Girl in the Orb (Three)

“Hee-hee-hee.”

Veronica quickened her excited steps, dragging her suitcase while holding an open parasol.

Her pace gradually sped up.

She couldn’t hide her excitement.

Because this was the first time she had returned to Sector 49 since setting out on her journey.

‘I wonder if Molta and Yulpin are doing well?’

The two younger brothers she had left at the Bookstore.

They weren’t related by blood, but they had been together since the orphanage days and were like family.

「Leave the Bookstore to us, Noona.」

「We’ve grown up too. The time when we needed a guardian is long past.」

When she left this place, they had put on quite the manly act.

‘Surely the Bookstore hasn’t gone under, has it?’

At the ominous thought that suddenly surfaced, Veronica shook her head side to side.

Hmm, no way.

They should be twelve this year—that’s old enough to take care of themselves and handle the hardships the world throws at them.

Besides, the Hotel kids said they’d help with running the Bookstore too.

She passed a few streets like that.

In the distance, a familiar building came into view.

[Bookstore Veronica]

‘At least the sign is still the same!’

A deep sense of relief welled up.

Continuing her walk, she observed the Bookstore.

The second-floor window, originally used as a living space, was open, and beyond it, she could see bookshelves and the figures of customers.

‘They expanded the shop!’

Moreover, the exterior, including the Wall and entrance door, had also been stylishly renovated like Bookstores in the upper Sectors.

The well-decorated book display stands had even come outside, attracting the attention of passersby.

It seemed her younger brothers were doing better than she’d thought!

Veronica couldn’t hide her proud and joyful heart.

Planning to surprise them secretly, she pulled her brimmed hat low and went inside.

Ding-a-ling!

“Welcome!”

Along with the bell on the entrance door, the man at the counter boomed out a greeting.

Through her hat-obscured vision, she saw a distinctive jawline with a well-groomed mustache.

Nod.

Veronica gave a small bow with her body, kept her hand holding the brim, and quickly headed inside.

Someone I don’t know…?

Did they hire separate staff…?

Veronica was puzzled but was soon distracted by something else.

“Wow…”

Perhaps they had purchased the adjacent vacant shops and knocked down the Walls, as the Bookstore had expanded not only upward but also to the sides.

Furthermore, the floors were integrated, with skybridges stretching here and there replacing parts of the vanished ceiling.

Quite a few customers were strolling through the splendid interior, examining books.

Veronica moved her feet as if enchanted.

‘This book still hasn’t sold.’

‘Ah! This is the one I set aside to read later myself.’

‘…There are so many more books now. Can they handle all this inventory?’

While scrutinizing every corner of the Bookstore, she also looked for Molta and Yulpin.

But they were nowhere to be seen.

The initial excitement faded, and anxiety and unease began to grow.

‘Could they have been bought out? So my brothers were kicked out?’

Her heart sank.

Veronica approached the tall, bearded man who was giving instructions to the staff and asked,

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you while you’re busy, but could I ask you one thing?”

“Yes, Miss. Go ahead.”

“Weren’t there two boys at this Bookstore?”

“Boys?”

“Yes. Two boys. One has gray hair and a scar on the back of his neck, the other has black hair and sharp eyes, and also…”

More physical characteristics were listed.

The bearded man, who had been studying Veronica intently, suddenly widened his eyes as if realizing something.

And then.

“Veronica Noona?”

“Huh?”

Startled, Veronica reflexively looked up, and their gazes met completely.

A voice of joy burst out.

“Look who it is! Veronica Noona! It’s Noona! Yulpin! Yulpin! Come here quick! Veronica Noona is back!”

“What? Noona’s back?”

The mustached man at the counter jumped up and strode over.

‘Wh-what?’

Veronica was utterly bewildered.

Why was her name coming out of these men’s mouths?

An incomprehensible situation.

Her thoughts froze for a moment.

Without realizing it, Veronica took a step back and shouted.

“St-stay back!”

Flap!

The parasol spread open like a shield.

The two men, who had been approaching with arms spread to hug Veronica, halted.

“Noona, what’s wrong?”

“It’s us, Yulpin and Molta.”

My brothers?

These big, bearded men?

Hiding behind her shield, Veronica boldly cried out.

“Don’t lie! You villains! What did you do to my brothers! Y-you didn’t sell them to slave Merchants, did you?!”

The two men looked at each other awkwardly.

“She doesn’t recognize us.”

“Is it because of the beards?”

“Could be. Beards greatly affect a person’s impression.”

“Noona, it’s really us. Your beloved brothers, Yulpin and Molta.”

Veronica peeked her head over the parasol, examining them closely.

“You two being my brothers Yulpin and Molta, that can’t be…”

Her voice trailed off.

Certainly… something felt familiar.

They just looked older because of their height and beards; their voices seemed to be going through puberty, and their faces still retained a boyishness.

“You… are really Yulpin and Molta?”

“Yeah, I’m Yulpin.”

“I’m Molta.”

“Then tell me the weather on the day we first met Grandpa…!”

“It was a cloudy day with thick fog since dawn.”

“We were too scared to even go outside.”

After that, she showered them with more questions, but the answers came smoothly every time.

Veronica finally had no choice but to acknowledge that the two were her brothers.

“Ha, but even so, how did you grow so much in just two years!”

Molta and Yulpin’s eyes met.

“Philip Hyung said it. Growing boys can change overnight.”

“Trials that don’t break a boy only make him stronger. After that, a boy grows beyond recognition.”

“Hmm. Right, right.”

Veronica felt dizzy.

…What kind of trials did you go through while I was gone?

Veronica sat at a table on the second-floor skybridge and listened to her brothers’ story of what had happened.

The success of the Bookstore owed much to the help of Philip’s Hotel.

“Actually, business was slow at first. In this Sector, books are only for those who read.”

“You could say literate people are rare.”

So the idea they came up with was to teach people to read and cultivate future consumers.

“At first, we only taught the Hotel kids.”

“Only picked the smart ones.”

It didn’t take long for kids who could freely read and write to spread through the streets.

Adults, finding this strange, asked about the situation, and the kids answered.

「Reading? We learned it.」

「Learned? Where on earth?」

「Over there.」

After that, adults came.

Asking if they could learn to read too.

“There was no reason to refuse.”

“It was the situation we hoped for.”

And so the literacy classes began.

Little kids teaching reading?

Suspicion and pride quickly crumbled.

Because people actually succeeded in learning to read in a short time.

「I heard the Bookstore teaches reading for free.」

「It’s true, they just teach that precious reading study for free!」

With the rumors, more and more residents began flocking to the Bookstore.

“It wasn’t just one or two. Because of that, we now hold regular weekly writing classes here.”

“Hmm, so we’re using the back room exclusively as a classroom.”

The students were all lower-class residents.

Having had no one to impart knowledge to them, they had lacked opportunity until now, but their academic enthusiasm was truly remarkable.

And.

Having grasped the tool of literacy for the first time in their lives, they naturally began to take a certain action.

“They started buying books.”

“Any book in a field they were interested in.”

Books were originally expensive items for lower-class residents to afford.

Molta and Yulpin deliberately sold books at a steep discount.

They didn’t want to deprive people of the chance to acquire knowledge.

If they stuck to the original price, they probably wouldn’t have been able to sell books at all.

“In other words, we adopted a low-margin, high-volume strategy.”

“Hmm, as the number of class attendees increased, books flew off the shelves. We had more work to do, though.”

After that, Bookstore Veronica continued to prosper into its current form.

Veronica couldn’t close her mouth.

‘If all this is true…’

It meant her two brothers, joining forces, had sparked a wave of change in a backward community.

“You guys are for real…? These aren’t made-up stories…?”

“It’s true. Otherwise, how would the Bookstore look like this now?”

“We didn’t do it alone; among the Hotel kids, there were many with good business sense who helped a lot.”

Their voices felt sincere.

Recalling, she thought she had seen shabbily dressed residents sitting leaning against Walls reading books on her way here.

It was a scene born from the good influence of Bookstore Veronica.

‘I thought they were just kids.’

My brothers have grown up so reliably without me noticing.

Veronica’s eyes welled up with tears.

She slammed the table and stood up.

“Kids!”

“Noona!”

“I missed you!”

The siblings spread their arms to hug each other.

But the moment she saw her brothers’ faces, Veronica flinched and stepped back.

“Noona?”

“What’s wrong?”

“…….”

…Even so, haven’t they changed a bit too much?

Where did my small, cute, precious Molta and Yulpin go?

‘First, I should tell them to shave off those beards.’

Ding-a-ling.

The sound of a bell from below the railing.

Looking down, she could see Ray and Curiosa at the entrance, looking around.

The two spotted them.

Ray, who gave a slight nod of greeting, turned his gaze toward Molta and Yulpin.

Ah, he probably won’t recognize them.

I should tell him who they are.

Just as she was about to speak hurriedly.

“Molta, Yulpin, long time no see.”

“No!”

Veronica unknowingly cried out in an aggrieved voice.

“How on earth did you recognize them?”

“What do you mean, how?”

“Molta and Yulpin!”

Ray looked at the brothers.

He tilted his head as if he didn’t understand Veronica’s reaction.

“Anyone can see it’s Molpin and Yulta.”

“As expected of Ray Hyung.”

“We knew you’d recognize us.”

Ver protested again.

“No! No! How can you tell at a glance! They’ve changed so much! Their jawlines have thickened! They’ve grown weird beards around their mouths!”

“Noona, that’s too much.”

“A beard is a symbol of manhood.”

Ray finally realized Veronica was talking about appearances.

Although the coordinates of their facial features had shifted to different positions and the contours of their faces had become about twice as thick as before.

‘I don’t really feel much difference.’

Even looking sideways, they were Yulpin and Molta.

Putting aside the change in appearance, there was decisive proof that the two were Veronica’s brothers.

“The Vessel’s emotions are the same.”

“Ah.”

Veronica understood.

Ray had a special method to identify others.

“And Veronica, boys naturally grow like bamboo after rain every time you look away.”

“That’s something Philip said, right?”

Ray made a rare expression of surprise.

“How did you know?”

“I knew it! Philip, when did he go and taint the kids’ minds with words like that again.”

Afterward, the two came up to the second floor.

Veronica asked Curiosa.

“Curie-nim, how was the place you visited?”

The place you visited.

It meant the site of the old orphanage.

She felt a concern for her, similar to the resolve of that kid, Philip.

It made her feel oddly tickled.

Curiosa cleared her throat and spoke.

“Ahem, nothing major came to mind. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations. I did pick up a toy, but I’m not sure yet if it was something I used.”

“But you don’t know yet! They say memories aren’t retrieved all at once but slowly revived, right? If you visit a few more times, something might come back!”

The encouragement and support, more enthusiastic than from the person concerned, left her momentarily speechless.

The weight that had settled heavily on her heart after finding no harvest at the old orphanage site seemed to lighten a bit.

“…Yes, you’re right.”

Under the bright lights of the Bookstore.

Curiosa, she thought.

It’s too early to give up hope.

It’s okay to try a little harder.