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Chapter 03
Angel of the Slums (2)
After introducing Cedric to the children, I was thrown into a mild panic.
‘This world is from a manhwa?’
Now that I think about it, even the name of this place I live in—Kieto—sounded familiar.
It was the territory of the shadowy organization Cedric used to run.
Wasn’t this the area where the “Shadow Paradise” unit was born and raised?
‘I’m going to lose it.’
To be fair, it wasn’t really my fault that I hadn’t realized over the past two years that this world was the setting of a manhwa.
I mean, seriously.
How could anyone recognize it based on just a single place name that showed up in the comic?
If it hadn’t been for the status window, I wouldn’t have recognized Cedric even if I saw him.
And of course.
Unlike the charismatic heartthrob from the original, this Cedric was just a runny-nosed little brat. Other than his rare black hair and black eyes, there was almost no resemblance to his original version.
“Yus! It’s time to eat!”
While I was lost in thought, a boy outside called my name.
Rain, a boy with blue hair and cat-like eyes, was the oldest of the kids in this house.
He was small in stature, but smart and quick-witted—definitely one to watch.
‘…Wait a minute.’
I stopped in my tracks as I followed him.
“Rain, you’ll be the strategist of our Shadow Paradise. As the leader, I’ll fully trust your judgment.”
‘Aaaaah!’
I remembered!
That kid Rain—he’s a named character who later becomes Cedric’s right-hand man!
‘Oh no.’
I looked around, inwardly horrified.
‘Now that I look closely… some of these faces are weirdly familiar…’
“Yus? What’s wrong?”
This girl? She dies in Cedric’s flashback, cut in half.
“Marie! Don’t bother Yus!”
That girl? She becomes the brutal enforcer and shock trooper of Shadow Paradise.
“Yus, Yus! Look! I made a toy train!”
That boy? The one who becomes the group’s weapons engineer and inventor.
‘Damn it.’
Now that I was aware, everything clicked together like puzzle pieces.
There was no mistaking it.
The kids I’d gathered over the past two years were the same slum orphans who, in the manhwa, were brought together by Cedric.
‘Wait… then what’s my role?’
In “I Reincarnated as an Extra in Another World…”, there was no character named Justinas.
‘With this kind of striking appearance, you’d think I’d be a heroine. …Maybe I show up later in the story?’
I died just before the final season came out. Right before the final battle with the Demon King. It was such a shame.
The original novel had been completed, but I’d avoided it to dodge spoilers.
‘If I’d known I’d get transmigrated, I would’ve at least read the ending!’
While I was sighing heavily inside, someone tapped me on the back. It was Rain.
“Yus. Aren’t you doing that today?”
“That?”
Rain smirked and made a joke.
“You always make the new kids fall for you.”
I laughed it off.
“Oh, Rain. You’re too good at jokes.”
“…It’s not a joke though.”
“Well, thanks anyway. I almost forgot I needed to talk to him myself.”
“No, seriously, I wasn’t—”
I ignored Rain’s grumbling, grabbed two pieces of bread, and walked over to Cedric, who was crouched in the corner.
He was curled up, shy and withdrawn.
‘And this timid little guy becomes a crime boss?’
It was hard to believe.
And later on…
“I’ve lost all faith in this world. A world without her… it’s better off gone.”
He says this, then stabs the protagonist—his comrade—in the back!
‘No way. Absolutely not.’
After that, Cedric kills one-third of humanity. That would be a real problem.
This world has a population of about a billion.
A few people dying, fine—but if 300 million are wiped out, my quest rewards go down the drain!
‘I have to stop that somehow.’
Fortunately, Cedric was still an eleven-year-old kid.
I didn’t know who “her” was—the one who causes his descent into darkness—but if I handled him gently starting now, he could grow up to be a valued member of the hero’s party.
‘Alright. I’ve decided.’
I’m going to reform this kid.
I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“Cedric, want to take a walk outside?”
Cedric followed me out, trailing three paces behind.
When I stopped, he stopped. When I walked, he walked again.
It felt like trying to befriend a wary stray cat.
‘Feels familiar.’
I’d gotten used to this kind of thing.
To earn Good Deed Points, you had to win others over and gain their affection.
The more they liked me, the more my points would increase.
“Do you like the new house?”
“…Whatever.”
He averted his gaze slightly as he answered.
“It’s… better than being outside.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“…Why is that good?”
His eyes narrowed sharply.
“You don’t even know me, do you? Don’t act all nice for no reason.”
He added,
“You’re gathering only little kids like this… You must be up to something.”
‘Ack. How’d he figure it out?’
As they say, genius shows early. This brat saw right through my scheme to earn Good Deed Points.
I let out a sigh and said,
“You’re right. I do have a goal.”
“…I knew it.”
He straightened up, tense.
“And you think I’ll just stick around after hearing that? Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not like the other idiots in there.”
His reaction was more intense than I expected.
Well, not that it mattered. I’d win him over eventually.
“Organ trafficking? Or maybe you sell kids off as slaves? Just tell me your goal.”
He had a firm grip on my wrist now. I stared at him steadily and calmly said,
“My goal… is for you to grow up and become someone who helps the world.”
“…What?”
Cedric looked dazed, his tension suddenly evaporating.
I smiled gently at him.
“Everyone says orphans from Kieto always turn into criminals. But that’s nonsense.”
“What are you…?”
“Even if we have nothing, even if we’re from Kieto—the trash heap of the Western Continent—what kind of adults we become is up to us.”
The sweet words flowed out of my mouth.
Maybe I’d pretended to be a do-gooder for too long.
With that in mind, I recited my main quest aloud.
“I want to become someone who saves the world.”
I want to save a billion lives.
Then return to Earth, get a healthy body, become a billionaire, and live the high life.
“And I hope you do too.”
Cedric’s expression turned strange.
‘Did I lay it on too thick?’
A girl from the slums saying she wants to save the world? Hopefully I didn’t just sound like a total idiot.
I quickly added,
“Ah, s-sorry. I wasn’t trying to force you or anything! I just—”
“……”
“Was that too stupid…?”
I glanced at him nervously, and Cedric scowled.
“You do know it was stupid.”
“Haha…”
“‘Save the world’—with what? You can’t even get enough food to eat.”
“…Yeah.”
That hit right where it hurt.
My goal was to save a billion lives.
Honestly, it was absurdly ambitious. Sometimes I doubted I could really pull it off.
‘But…’
That was back when I didn’t realize this world was from a manhwa.
“I Reincarnated as an Extra in Another World…” was a classic hero story.
Even though I didn’t know the ending, I was sure it would end with the protagonist saving the world.
‘I just need to ride that wave.’
Of course, I’d have to change a few things.
Like the part where the blackened Cedric Neon kills 300 million people.
Once the world population drops to 700 million, there’s no way I can hit my goal if the story follows the original plot.
Still…
‘If Cedric just turns out good, that fixes it, right?’
I’ll raise him right from a young age so he never even thinks about going dark.
That was what I was thinking as I watched the sunset when—
“…Still.”
Cedric opened his mouth in a small voice.
“Thanks… for saving me.”
That was unexpected.
I didn’t think I’d hear gratitude this early.
“You’re welcome!”
Delighted, I turned to face him, smiling with the setting sun at my back.
“Let’s get along, Cedric.”
His black eyes wavered.
For a moment, he looked like a puppy holding in a poop emergency—then he quickly turned his head and bolted in the other direction.
“?”
What the—why’d he run?
