---o---
"What are you thinking about? Get in."
Fu Zhu opened the door and tossed Cifera inside. Fortunately, she was agile enough to land steadily with a light spin, but the movement still aggravated the wound on her thigh. Golden blood began to gush out as if it were free.
Cifera's face went pale, and she could no longer hold her stance, collapsing to the floor.
Seeing this, Fu Zhu frowned slightly. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a Golden Apple, and casually threw it to her.
"Eat this. It'll help with your injuries."
Cifera caught the Golden Apple and examined it closely, turning it over and over in her hands. After confirming it was solid gold, she carefully put it away. Then, she tore a strip of cloth from her own clothes and began to wrap it around her thigh.
Fu Zhu was a bit stunned by this.
"Why aren't you eating the Golden Apple? I don't know if Chrysos Heirs are physically stronger than normal people, but if you wrap that muddy rag on your wound, you're going to lose that leg sooner or later."
After a moment of silence, Cifera tightened the strip of cloth on her leg and looked up to meet Fu Zhu's gaze.
Fu Zhu looked into her eyes and saw that they were completely devoid of light.
"I want to sell it. That way, I can buy more food and live a few more days."
Fu Zhu fell silent. So that's why she had been patting him down earlier—she had been planning to steal his money.
Seeing Fu Zhu's silence, Cifera looked around the room. Besides the window behind her, the only other exit was the door Fu Zhu was standing near. And that window was latched shut. It would take a few seconds to open it, more than enough time for Fu Zhu to catch her.
Cifera gritted her teeth and held the Golden Apple back out to Fu Zhu.
"If I can't sell it, then I'll give it back to you."
Fu Zhu didn't take the apple. Instead, he asked, "I've already given it to you. You can assume it's a gift. You're not going to keep it for yourself?"
Cifera licked her cracked lips, her eyes filled with reluctance as she stared at the Golden Apple in her hand. "You already saved my life."
Hearing her answer, Fu Zhu let out a somewhat inexplicable laugh. He then raised his hand and, with a wave, a thousand loaves of bread rained down from the ceiling, completely burying her in a pile.
Cifera struggled to poke her head out from the mountain of bread. She grabbed a loaf in disbelief and sniffed it. The rich scent of wheat filled her nose! She touched it—it was incredibly soft, and she could even feel a faint warmth, as if it had just come out of the oven!
Cifera turned to look at Fu Zhu. He had, at some point, sat down in a nearby chair and was sipping a bottle of SoulGlad.
"You… why are you doing this?"
Fu Zhu took a swig of his drink and held up two fingers.
"Two reasons. First, you're one of the Chrysos Heirs, and I have some questions for you. Second, back in my hometown, you'd get arrested for stealing money. But if you tell anyone you're starving, my people would give you a pile of food without a second thought. After all, we've been afraid of starving just like you."
Cifera silently lowered her head, grabbed a loaf of bread, and began stuffing it into her mouth. After a few ravenous bites, a tear she didn't even notice fell from the corner of her eye, landing on the bread.
She continued to eat the bread, one tear-soaked bite after another, a desolate smile occasionally gracing her lips.
"How can a city like this exist… it's nothing like Dolos…"
Fu Zhu heard her muttering but didn't comment. He just quietly watched her eat. After she had finished three loaves, he stood up and stopped her hand as she reached for a fourth.
Cifera, who had been moved by his words just a moment ago, saw his action and her eyes dimmed. She let go of the bread.
Of course. Just as I thought. How could there be a city where people give food away so generously and unconditionally?
The next second, Cifera found herself being lifted up and tossed into the bathroom.
Fu Zhu closed the bathroom door and said to her from the other side, "Shoving food down your throat when you're starving will kill you. Go take a bath and get some rest first. Don't worry, you've already touched all this bread, so I don't want it. I'm not as poor as you think."
Inside the bathroom, Cifera, who had been regretting not taking the chance to eat a few more loaves, finally felt a sense of relief after hearing Fu Zhu's words. She walked over to the bathtub and began to fill it with cold water.
A while later, Fu Zhu watched as Cifera emerged from the bathroom, still wrapped in her own tattered rags. He couldn't help but frown. He immediately slapped a crafting table down beside him and made a set of leather armor, which he then tossed to her.
"It's not the best-looking, but it's better than those rags. Put it on for now. I'll take you to buy some new clothes later."
Cifera nodded. Not caring whether the leather armor looked good or not, she began to strip off her rags right in front of Fu Zhu before pulling the armor on.
Fu Zhu closed his eyes. It was true that back in the Siren Kingdom, none of the sirens wore clothes, but that was their custom. He couldn't force them to wear any.
Cifera was different. She was human. He couldn't just watch her casually.
"I'm done."
Hearing Cifera's voice, Fu Zhu opened his eyes.
Although the leather armor wasn't particularly flattering, it couldn't hide Cifera's porcelain-white skin and fine features. Her soaking wet, white hair clung to her skin, and her cat ears twitched every now and then, making her look utterly pitiable.
Seeing her like this, Fu Zhu couldn't help but sigh.
She's still just a child. This world is too cruel.
Lygus, you really deserve to die!
"Come here."
Cifera obediently walked over to Fu Zhu. He then picked up a towel from the side, placed it on her head, and began to dry her soaking wet hair.
The girl clearly didn't know how to properly wash herself; she hadn't even bothered to dry her hair.
Feeling the touch on her head, Cifera's thoughts drifted back to her childhood when she was adopted by her foster mother. Back then, her mother would often dry her hair just like this after her bath.
As she thought about it, the tears started to fall again.
Just then, a tissue was held out to her.
"I don't have that many hands. Wipe your own tears. After you're done crying, have a proper meal, and then pull yourself together."
Cifera took the tissue and, with a heavy sniffle, gave a small nod.
"Mm…"