ADELAIDE'S POV
The biting wind whipped strands of my golden hair into my eyes, momentarily blinding me as I walked the familiar path toward the aquifer.
I took a deep breath, letting my eyelids close as the darkness and coolness caressed my skin. The soft whisper of the wind enveloped me, carrying memories I preferred to keep buried.
The world had always been relentless and cruel, especially for someone in my position. Memories of the incident that changed my life forever flooded my mind, unwanted and painful.
As it had been every weekend since my husband's death, this routine had become my new normal.
The journey to the nearest aquifer to collect water was just one of the many responsibilities now weighing on my shoulders.
"Not everyone in the shelter can afford to have water at home," I reminded myself as I adjusted the empty buckets in my hands.
My thoughts inevitably turned to Arceus; Ars, as I affectionately called him. An involuntary smile spread across my lips as I thought of my little treasure.
He was the greatest gift I could have received, the sweetest and most charming two-year-old a mother could wish for. And I don't say that just because I'm a doting mother, of course not, hehe.
I want to be a strict and fair mother.
Sometimes I worried that he was too sweet for his own good. The shelter was no place for such a small and innocent child.
I want you to have a good and normal life, my little Ars, I whispered to the wind as I walked, but this place… this place is full of people willing to do the unspeakable to survive.
As a mother, I couldn't help but feel like the luckiest person in the world every time I saw my beautiful baby, who filled my days with joy and laughter. He was truly special, perfect in his own way.
His hair, identical to mine, framed those extraordinary crimson eyes that mesmerized me every time I gazed into them. "He's just adorable!" I thought with maternal pride.
The last six months had transformed my life completely. Though the beginning was tough, I could no longer imagine my existence without him.
I wish this peace would last forever, I silently pleaded as I continued my path. However, there was something more to Ars, something I couldn't quite explain.
During the time we'd been together, I noticed patterns in his behavior that intrigued me and, at times, unsettled me.
—He's just like his father. —I murmured to myself, recalling when he started crawling.
The pride I felt in that moment nearly brought me to tears, but I had no idea of the challenges that would follow.
It was impossible to take my eyes off him; in the blink of an eye, he'd escape the house. My little sun wasn't even aware of the dangers lurking in this place.
His curiosity was insatiable.
I was fascinated watching his head, which seemed disproportionately large for his small body, constantly turning as he tried to absorb every detail of his surroundings.
As I approached the aquifer, surrounded by limestone rocks and permeable sediments, my thoughts grew darker.
The circumstances surrounding human birth were truly absurd and unjust. Some were born with a golden spoon in their hand, while others, like me, had to forge it with their own hands.
Some are born with a golden spoon in their hand, others have to forge it themselves. By sheer luck, some are born from the sperm of a fortunate bastard.
Just because they were lucky, they were conceived from the egg of a disgustingly wealthy woman.
Effort?
It could only be called effort if swimming faster than other sperm could be considered an act of merit.
Others might be endowed with extraordinary talent; one capable of forging a clay spoon into a golden one if given the chance. The inequality in human birth was the same everywhere in the world.
I myself had experienced the whims of fate. As a captain of one of the expedition teams, I had proven my worth.
Achieving E-rank as a hunter at eighteen was a considerable feat, especially considering that even the lowest rank, G-rank, required passing tests designed to prevent the unnecessary deaths of reckless youths.
In all my years of service, I had only seen a handful of D-rank hunters, and not a single C-rank hunter, if they even existed.
Upon reaching the aquifer, I rolled up my sleeves, revealing my pale, untanned skin. Years of hard work had left their mark on my arms, now thick and strong.
Suddenly, a black shadow stealthily approaching lunged at me. My vision filled with giant jaws armed with razor-sharp teeth.
Crunch.
I swiftly dodged the attack of its thick, sharp legs and drew the bone knife from my waist.
The knife pierced the center of the cockroach's mouth, which was equipped with multiple mouthparts working in coordination.
Calmly, I advanced and drove the knife deeper. With the added force of the cockroach's attack, the blade sliced through its neck and protruded.
The collapsing beast also pushed me back as blue blood spilled. On both sides, two cockroaches charged as I crouched to retrieve the knife.
I observed that these cockroaches measured just over a meter long, endowed with long, constantly moving antennae, an elongated, segmented body with six powerful legs ending in sharp claws that allowed them to climb and move agilely, along with a massive, robust structure covered by a thick, hard exoskeleton that blended into the absolute darkness.
I was lucky; killing a cockroach wasn't easy unless you stabbed it in the head, its only weak point. I silently thanked my stars for not having brought little Arceus.
Its carapace was extremely hard and resistant to physical attacks, with a rugged surface marked by numerous protrusions and sharp spines that served as natural defense.
Quickly retreating, I thrust the knife and pierced the head of a cockroach speeding by.
The other cockroach moved behind me, ready to attack swiftly.
I moved and straightened up quickly.
Even so, I took a bite on the arm from the cockroach before I could do anything, and fresh blood flowed from my arm.
If I hadn't reacted in time, it would have torn my arm off.
—Arrrgh! —I cursed silently, frowning hard, trying to stay calm as I wielded the knife in my other hand.
But at the last moment, the cockroach suddenly moved and slightly twisted its torso to the right.
The blade missed its head, instead sliding to the concave point where the armor plates joined, and struck one of them in the center, sliding helplessly over the adamantine chitin.
Instead of killing the beast with a decisive blow, I ended up causing it no harm.
Worse still, I was defenseless. The next instant, the cockroach struck me hard with its carapace, sending me flying.