"Shinichi, Shinichi! You little brat! What are you daydreaming about? Where's today money?" The sudden rough shout brought the pale and skinny boy back to reality. Tattered and ill-fitting clothes hung loosely on his body, and his black hair had an unhealthy yellow tinge.
Numbly walking to the low table, he pulled two coins from his dirty pocket and placed them in the ceramic jar on the table.
"Only twenty yen? You useless thing!"
The rough voice sounded again, but the boy named Shinichi showed no reaction. After depositing the money, he silently walked to a corner of the dilapidated temple and crouched down.
Following him, more than a dozen children of various sizes, dressed similarly to Shinichi, lined up to put all the money they had begged for that day into the jar.
Watching the coins pile up in the jar, the bald man sitting behind the low table wore a satisfied expression.
The bald man had a strong, muscular build. Though his hunting clothes weren't particularly luxurious, they were worlds apart from the tattered clothes of Shinichi and the other children.
Clearly, the man was a beggar boss who controlled orphan beggars to earn money for him daily. Such people were not uncommon in all of Matsudaira County.
The bald man was called Obei Saburo. He controlled twelve children, the oldest being fifteen and the youngest just six. But regardless of their age, in Obei Saburo eyes, they were all merely tools for making money.
While Obei Saburo counted the money, Shinichi and the other children received their dinner - a small bowl of stale rice topped with two wilted, blackened green vegetables.
Eating such meals every day, it was no wonder these children looked so haggard.
Yet each child ate urgently, for not eating could truly mean starvation.
As Shinichi gulped down his rice, his seemingly emotionless black eyes secretly glanced in a certain direction.
After dinner, Obei Saburo pocketed the large handful of coins and went out to enjoy himself.
As for Shinichi and the others, the group of still-hungry orphans had no thought of playing around. They each found a spot in the ruined temple to lie down and sleep.
As night gradually fell and the bright moonlight spilled down, a small figure quietly walked out of the dilapidated temple. Calm black eyes scanned the surroundings, and after confirming no one was around, Shinichi opened his mouth and softly called out.
"Eni, Eni..."
Rustle!
Suddenly, from the nearby bushes, a small shadow darted out.
The next moment, a furball rolled into Shinichi arms.
With black and white intertwined fur, a bright red tongue, and a pair of sparkling eyes, the black Shiba Inu wagged its tail affectionately and barked at Shinichi.
"Woof woof!"
Stroking the little Shiba Inu Maru-ni, a hint of tenderness appeared in Shinichi previously emotionless black eyes. He fished out a rice ball he had saved from his pocket and fed it to Maru-ni.
Shinichi lifted his head, looked at the moon in the sky, and softly murmured.
"It's been three years, huh."
Three years ago, Shinichi wasn't called Shinichi, and he wasn't even in this country called Japan. Back then, he was just an ordinary student who never imagined that one day he would encounter a miraculous story that only happens in novels and anime.
He had transmigrated.
When Shinichi opened his eyes and saw his small, thin body and heard the language spoken by those around him that was completely different from his previous life, he realized it- he had transmigrated.
Unlike the protagonists in novels and anime, Shinichi didn't have any special abilities, and as an ordinary college student from another world who couldn't speak the native language, he couldn't make any waves in this foreign country.
As an orphan, Shinichi didn't even have a surname.
He had no choices, and through a twist of fate, he ended up being recruited by Obei Saburo along with other orphans as a tool for making money. He spent three years in this daze.
As Shinichi was playing with Maru-ni, a figure quietly approached from behind.
Whoosh!
The previously quiet Shinichi suddenly sprang into action, turning around and tackling the figure to the ground.
Immediately, a surprised cry rang out "Wah! Big Brother Shinichi! It's me!"
Five minutes later, the little boy with a runny nose was grinning with his missing front tooth, chasing after Maru-ni playfully.
Shinichi silently watched this harmonious scene before him.
After some time, the tired boy came to Shinichi side, hugging Maru-ni.
Sniffling, he said to Shinichi.
"Big Brother Shinichi, you're always like this. Your expression is too stiff. Look, even Maru-ni doesn't dare to play with you when you have such a cold face. Can you smile a little more?"
Perhaps moved by the boy carefree smile, Shin'ichi nodded, which was rare for him. The little boy happily took out half a dorayaki from his pocket and put it in Shinichi hand.
"A kind grandma gave this to me this morning. Big Brother Shinichi, I saved half of it especially for you. Cheer up, okay!"
Looking at the half dorayaki in his hand, Shinichi felt a strange emotion stir in his heart.
In the three years since he had come to this world and become an orphan, he had seen too much darkness and evil.
In those three years, the land behind this dilapidated temple had become the burial ground for four children bodies, all of whom had tried to escape from this place.
Obei Saburo cruelly controlled these pitiful children.
To prevent his money-making tools from running away, he used various methods, including threats and bribes. He even train informants among the children to monitor the others constantly.
If anyone tried to run, Obei Saburo would make that child understand the meaning of a fate worse than death.
In such an environment, these dozen or so children lived in darkness and fear every day, losing the innocence and happiness that should have belonged to their age group.
Instead, they became numb and indifferent.
The only exception was Toshihiro, who stood before Shinichi now.
Although this child was only five years old, his cheerful personality was not affected at all by his surroundings. The smile on his face never dimmed, and his emerald green eyes always brimmed with energy.
It was hard to imagine that such a lively and lovable child as Toshihiro could be an orphan beggar. In fact, the cheerful Toshihiro was more popular among the common people than Shin'ichi and the others.
Every day, Toshihiro always collected the most in their begging, and naturally, Obei Saburo treated this money tree with a pleasant demeanor.
Toshiro said almost the same things to Shinichi every day.
"Smile, Big brother Shinici, why don't you smile more?"
Among the group of orphans, Toshiro actually liked Shinichi the most.
Although he was cheerful, children intuition is very sensitive. Subconsciously, he could judge who truly cared for him.
Compared to the other companions full of jealousy and greedy smile, Shinichi cold expression masked care and attention, which was what Toshiro liked the most.
"Big brother Shinichi, today I heard a story from old man Tanaka who sells fish. He said that you shouldn't go out alone at night, or you'll encounter scary man-eating demons! The demons are afraid of sunlight, so they only come out at night! They have long, sharp claws and make roars more terrifying than wild beasts!" Toshiro spread his little hands, pretending to be scary as he tried to frighten Shinichi.
"Demons? In this dilapidated temple, there are things more frightening than encountering ghosts." Shinichi murmured, looking back at the ruined temple.
In his heart, this broken temple was far scarier than man-eating demons, but he had been planning for two years.
Soon, very soon, he would escape from this hell!
"But old man Tanaka also said that besides man-eating demons, there are demon hunters who protect humans by defeating the demons and maintaining peace!" Toshiro waved his little arms.
Stroking Toshiro hair, Shinichi said softly.
"Toshiro, how about Brother Shinichi takes you to Kyoto in the future? There are lots and lots of delicious foods and fun things there, with street stalls selling candied haws everywhere."
Toshiro eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Yes! Let's go to Kyoto! Brother Shinichi, you can't go back on your word okay!"
Shinichi didn't take the story of man-eating demons to heart.
Who would believe such stories meant to deceive children? However, this story did sound strangely familiar.
In his previous life, he seemed to have heard similar stories in some anime recommendations.
What was it called again?
Demon Slayer?
But it didn't matter anymore...