There are too many non-believers in cyberpunk – Chapter 3

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Once breakfast time ended at the orphanage, the older children went out, leaving only the younger ones behind.

The older children worked to earn money until dinner time.

The subsidies from the government and other organizations were far from enough to run the orphanage.

While the amount the children earned might seem insignificant, it at least covered their lunch expenses.

That alone allowed the orphanage to barely stay afloat.

“May the children return safely today as well.”

The orphanage director bowed her head and prayed to the cross, as she did every day.

After her prayer, she cared for the younger children who were too young to go out.

This care mostly involved teaching them basic letters and common sense; the rest of the time, they were left to play within the orphanage.

Watching the children frolicking in the playground, she thought of the older children who had gone out.

She sent them out to earn money by running errands, but less than half actually did so.

Most of them ended up on a bad path.

Gangs, scavengers, child soldiers…

Teenagers, full of youthful energy, often found holding a gun appealing, leading them down those paths.

Besides looking cool, it also earned them more money than running errands.

Even in this current group, a number of children had joined gangs.

[What’s this tattoo all of a sudden?]

[Oh, that, Sister… It’s just… for fun.]

Most of them, still possessing a conscience, tried to hide their tattoos or make excuses, not wanting to worry the nuns.

But their attempts were futile.

She had run this orphanage for years.

She knew which gangs used which tattoos and where they placed them.

Still, she pretended not to know and turned a blind eye.

She loved the children and knew how dangerous gangs were.

She knew the grief of encountering a former orphan at a funeral home.

Yet, there was nothing she could do.

The reason the orphanage could remain a safe neutral ground in the slums was because its former residents were members of various gangs.

Some were even gang leaders, and gunfights were forbidden near the orphanage.

In other words, gangs were a necessary evil for the orphanage.

‘Come to think of it, even in this place, those children grew up so kind…’

But even in the mud, flowers bloomed.

Some children grew up well, like ordinary kids, without straying down the wrong path.

Amon and Sonia.

They hadn’t lost their kindness, despite their environment.

One bad apple spoils the bunch.

But conversely, a single lotus flower blooming in muddy water can purify it.

The murkier the water, the more the lotus stands out.

And there were two such lotuses.

Thanks to them, there were noticeably more children in this group who hadn’t gone astray compared to previous groups.

Just a few years ago, children who joined gangs would recruit other children, creating a vicious cycle.

But in this group, at least the atmosphere wasn’t openly pro-gang.

The director was truly grateful for the two children, who were like lotus flowers.

Thanks to their arrival, as if sent by God, she could dream of a better future.

At the same time, she felt regret.

Their talents were like jewels.

Too brilliant to be covered by mud.

If they had met good parents, they could have blossomed in a wider world.

‘Am I holding them back…?’

Listing their talents would be endless.

Actor-like good looks, exceptional athleticism, sharp minds.

But among their many talents, what truly set them apart was their divine power.

Divine power was a special ability that appeared in only one in tens of thousands of people.

While almost everyone was born with magical power, divine power was different.

Magic power was easily substituted and could be replicated by other technologies, but the miracles created by divine power were irreplaceable.

Therefore, those with divine power were highly sought-after individuals, pursued by corporations, governments, and religious organizations alike.

The director realized the two possessed divine power because of an incident when they were nine years old.

A fight between children that started over nothing.

As Amon tried to stop the fight, she saw his divine power.

You shouldn’t fight with your friends. The only ones you should use violence against are heretics, beasts, and monsters.

Amon subdued his friends with somewhat unsettling words. Many of them were naturally strong, like orcs and beast-kin, but Amon easily overpowered them.

He emitted such an overwhelming amount of divine power that even the director, with her limited knowledge of it, was instantly certain.

The orphanage was in an uproar that day.

Later, Sonia’s divine power was discovered in a similar manner, causing another uproar.

Two individuals with divine power in one orphanage.

The director celebrated, calling this group a blessed generation.

But the joy didn’t last long.

Divine power was a coveted ability, but there were only two of them.

This meant not everyone could have it.

In this world, many corporations operated with the mindset of destroying what they couldn’t possess.

Remembering this, the director felt a surge of alarm.

Fortunately, she was the only one who recognized their divine power at that moment.

As long as she kept quiet, the children would be safe.

‘Of course, the corporations and the government weren’t easy to deal with…’

But there were no perfect secrets in this world.

Sonia’s divine power was manageable enough to conceal within the orphanage, but Amon’s overwhelming power was so intense that everyone outside the orphanage could sense it.

As a result, company employees and government officials suddenly started visiting the orphanage after that day.

Bearing donations and subsidies.

Their intentions were easy to discern.

But the director feigned ignorance.

Even when someone tried to sound her out,

[Speaking of which… Director, do you by any chance have the ability to sense divine power?]

[No, not at all.]

She acted like she knew nothing about divine power.

Despite numerous leading questions, she didn’t react.

As a result, the organizations couldn’t obtain any information beyond the fact that there were individuals with divine power in this orphanage.

In this precarious standoff, the organizations couldn’t cut off their support, and the orphanage gradually became more affluent.

So far, it had been beneficial for everyone.

But the more affluent the orphanage became, the more the director’s heart ached.

‘Am I clipping their wings?’

To deceive your enemy, first deceive your allies.

To protect the secret, she only vaguely hinted to the children that they had special abilities, thoroughly concealing the fact that they possessed divine power.

She had no intention of monopolizing them.

It was simply to protect them.

It was a choice made out of love for the children.

But even if it was for their sake, she always lived with a sense of guilt, feeling as though she was suppressing their talents.

Today, too, to alleviate her guilt, she rested her arm on her prosthetic leg, bowed her head, and closed her eyes.

“Lord, please let those children return safely today.”

There’s no such thing as a finger that doesn’t hurt.

But as humans, some fingers hurt more than others.

Therefore, the director offered a slightly more special prayer for her most precious ones.

Even though she knew the other children might feel slighted.

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On their way back after completing the errands for the goat-like Johnson, it had been another uneventful day.

The deliveries were finished after successfully navigating around the sounds of gunshots echoing from somewhere in the distance.

Ding-dong!

A notification arrived on Amon and Sonia’s phones.

$75 had been deposited into each of their accounts.

$75 for eight hours of work.

It was a pittance compared to the minimum wage for delivery workers.

But they didn’t complain.

Amon and Sonia were pure humans, without genetic enhancements, nanomachines, or magical inscriptions.

Comparing their workload to that of professional delivery workers would be unconscionable.

Besides, they weren’t in dire need of money.

In fact, $75 was considered a good earning at the orphanage.

Combined with their monthly allowance, they could even dream of a little luxury with their savings.

So, they were satisfied with their day’s wages and headed home.

Gunshots rang out in the distance, and a police car sped by – just another ordinary day.

Amidst this everyday scene, Amon and Sonia crossed the street at the crosswalk, swinging bags of french fries they had bought for their younger siblings.

As Amon cautiously scanned their surroundings, wary of reckless drivers who ignored traffic signals, Sonia spoke to him.

“Amon, are you going to tithe that too?”

“Of course. I have to.”

Blessed with good looks and talent, Amon didn’t want to be an ungrateful wretch.

Sonia nodded at his answer.

“Then, can I tithe with you?”

“Of course, you can. Why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“But those kids make fun of us, calling us suckers for doing that.”

“Ah, those kids?”

Amon thought of the ‘those kids’ Sonia mentioned.

They were what you would call a bad crowd.

You know the type.

The kind who favored fists over words, delinquency over good deeds, and curses over kind language.

The kind who blamed the world for their own crookedness and bullied innocent children.

They weren’t on good terms with Amon.

They had challenged him to establish dominance, only to be soundly beaten and develop a grudge against him.

That was all there was to it.

Since then, they had tried to harass Amon whenever they got the chance.

Most of their attempts ended meaninglessly, so Amon didn’t pay much attention to them.

Amon waited indifferently, wondering what kind of event they had prepared this time.

Jimmy, the leader of the delinquents, tried to provoke Amon, but seeing his continued indifference, finally got to the point.

“Hey, punk. Do you know what this is?”

He took off his shirt.

A white snake tattoo.

It belonged to the ‘Serpent’s Children’ gang.

A relatively large gang in the city.

Jimmy, having shown off his tattoo, waited for Amon’s reaction.

Would he panic and blurt out something stupid?

Or would he try to act tough despite being scared?

But Amon’s reaction was different from what he expected.

“Yeah, must have been hard padding the numbers. Work hard starting tomorrow.”

He wasn’t impressed.

Jimmy was about to retort, but Amon’s use of the word ‘numbers’ stopped him.

The white snake tattoo was a temporary one given to boost the Serpent’s Children’s numbers before demonstrations.

The fact that Amon mentioned it meant he already knew their structure.

Indeed, Amon knew the meaning of the white snake tattoo very well.

‘How can a 50-year-old tradition remain unchanged?’

There was a side quest where you had to distinguish between executives, regular members, and those padding the numbers.

While it was okay to deal with regular members, carelessly handling those padding the numbers could trigger a chain quest, requiring careful control.

…Amon, however, preferred to just knock everyone out with a bat.

In any case, Amon wasn’t intimidated by Jimmy’s white snake tattoo.

There was no reason to be.

The tattoo was like henna, washable with saliva, so there was no need to be afraid.

“Let’s go, Sonia.”

Amon walked past the group of delinquents, his hands full of bags of french fries.

They tried to block him, but

“Whoa, whoa—? These are snacks for you and your siblings. Are you sure?”

No one could resist food.

The delinquents hadn’t been working recently, busy running around trying to join the gang.

With empty pockets and barely enough for lunch, the temptation of french fries was too strong.

Besides, one should know who to pick a fight with.

If those fries fell on the ground and became inedible, they would be cursed in every language known to mankind by the other orphans and the nuns.

The mere thought was enough to fill their stomachs.

They reluctantly made way for Amon and Sonia.

It was definitely not because they were succumbing to hunger.

Snicker

Finding their behavior rather amusing, Amon gave them a bag, telling them to eat a little before dinner.

Amon’s act of sabotage had broken the group’s unity.

Their loyalty to Jimmy was worth less than a bag of french fries.

“Don’t eat too much; you have to eat dinner. And clean up before the others see you.”

Leaving those words behind, Amon and Sonia headed to the orphanage.

Jimmy’s friends urged him to join them.

Jimmy wanted to kick the bag away and ask if they had no pride, but he held back, fearing he would lose his few remaining friends.

Instead, clinging to his remaining pride, he refused, saying he wasn’t hungry.

Jimmy looked away from his friends and stared in the direction Amon had gone.

‘That orphan brat dissed me?’

Jimmy gritted his teeth, resenting Amon.

Today was another victory for Amon.

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