Chapter 01 - Happy Mining Slave

TN: The story is indeed dark (slavery and so) in the beginning, but just keep it inside for now. Things will get better very soon.
But if you truly don’t like it, just skip to chapter 2 or 3, you won’t miss much.

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“Look, Ferris. Today’s meal!” 

“Thank you!” 

Ferris eagerly jumped at the bread thrown on the ground by the foreman and hungrily devoured it. 

Faded, tattered dress with patches here and there. 

Bare feet firmly on the rocky ground. 

Unruly, long hair. 

From a distance, the foreman watched the girl in such a state nibbling on the moldy bread. 

Ferris, who turned ten this year, was a mining slave. 

She had been working as a slave in this magic stone mine since she could remember. 

Ferris’s day began with a makeshift bed at the entrance of the mine. 

Waking up on a worn-out futon, she crawled out of the mine, and the foreman shouted at her to dig for magic stones. 

After taking in a breath of fresh air, Ferris entered the mine and started digging for magic stones. 

Though it was pitch dark in the tunnel, Ferris had become accustomed to working in it over the years, developing night vision. 

Ferris was the only one mining in the mine. 

After digging magic stones, she loaded them onto a cart and pushed it out of the mine. 

Miners and the foreman, standing at a distance, received the cart, melted the stones in the furnace, and refined them. 

For some reason, the foremen never approached Ferris or the entrance of the mine. 

They were heavily armored and only threw food without getting too close. 

Ever since a miner who approached Ferris with labored breath collapsed and spat out blood, the foremen started talking to Ferris from an even greater distance. 

Ferris learned to speak politely because she realized she would get more bread that way. 

If the foreman was in a good mood, the amount of bread increased. 

And the foreman seemed to take pleasure in being respected by everyone. 

So, Ferris listened carefully to the words miners used when speaking to the foreman, and she paid attention to speaking politely without individual variations or accents. 

As a result, she went from receiving only a handful of bread when the foreman was in a bad mood to consistently receiving a handful. 

When the foreman was in a good mood, she sometimes even received two or three pieces of bread. 

Thanks to this, Ferris managed to reduce the frequency of her stomach growling while in the mine. 

Ferris was not stupid. 

If it was necessary for her survival, she observed, analyzed, and devised countermeasures. 

However, Ferris was too content and only analyzed what was necessary for her survival. 

Also, the limited number of people she interacted with meant she had insufficient information. 

Ferris didn’t know why she was the only one sent into the magic stone mine. 

She didn’t know why she didn’t die when she entered the magic stone mine. 

In the first place, Ferris didn’t even know that the magic stone mine was fatally harmful to humans. 

Ferris was satisfied with her current situation. 

She didn’t know there was a better life. 

Before being brought to the mine, she vaguely remembered living inside a house. 

However, that memory was so faint that it hardly had any presence within Ferris. 

Ferris only knew that having a place to shelter from the rain, receiving food, and having no one threatening her life made her happy. 

Yes, she didn’t know that the sharp pain occasionally stabbing her chest was loneliness. 

She didn’t know that the burning sensation in her chest when watching the foremen enjoy sandwiches or meat was envy. 

Ferris was a happy mining slave. 

…Until that day, when she accidentally overheard the foremen’s conversation. 

* 

It was a rare night when Ferris had trouble falling asleep and spent the whole night dozing off. 

The morning sun pierced through the interior of the mine, and Ferris vaguely opened her eyes on the makeshift bed. 

From outside, she could hear the sounds of miners preparing for work and their drowsy voices. 

“That kid still sleeping? We’re busy from early in the morning, and she’s so carefree.” 

“Seriously. If she had a bit more charm, we could take her to the inn for some nighttime work.” 

“Hahaha, joking. Stripping her wouldn’t do much; I’d lose interest in no time.” 

Vulgar laughter. 

She didn’t understand what they were talking about, but she could sense the negative emotions. Ferris hugged herself tightly, shrinking. 

“Anyway, working with that monster every day makes me feel gloomy.” 

“Yeah. Gobbling up a piece of bread that fell on the ground, she’s like a complete beast. I have a daughter too, but… I wouldn’t want to think of her as the same kind of creature.” 

Insults pierced Ferris’s small chest. 

She had never heard anything like this before. 

Usually exhausted from the mining work, she would immediately fall into a deep sleep as soon as the sun set, so she had no way of knowing what kind of gossip the miners usually spread. 

Ferris had neither common sense nor knowledge, but she had emotions. 

No, precisely because reason had a small share in her soul, the hostility directed towards her felt even stronger. 

“Hey, you guys. Cut it out.” 

At that moment, the foreman’s reprimanding voice was heard. 

Yes, it’s the foreman, Ferris thought. 

The foreman was kind. He gave her food. He provided a futon for her bed. Although brown and murky, he also gave her drinking water. People who gave her what she needed to survive were good. 

If it were the foreman, he would make everyone stop bad-mouthing her. 

That’s what Ferris expected. 

However, the words that came out of the foreman’s mouth were different. 

“Ferris is a kid with usefulness. Whether she’s a monster or a beast, it doesn’t change that she can be useful.” 

“But hey, foreman…” 

Interrupting the miner who was about to speak, the foreman continued. 

“Whatever, eventually her body will be so worn out that she won’t be able to eat, so at that time, you can do as you, please. Until then, just keep her in a good mood and make her earn. After all, that trash is happy just to get a rotten piece of bread.” 

“Hehe, you’re not wrong.” 

“A garbage girl scavenging leftovers.” 

“Ew, it stinks.” 

Mockery. 

Ferris clenched her molars tightly. 

Her chest, head, and entire body were burning with heat. 

She didn’t know it was called anger. 

She didn’t want to be with those people anymore. 

She didn’t want to work here anymore. 

For Ferris, that was enough to make up her mind.