The buff man who led her into the dark building quickly introduced Emilia to the rest of his teammates. “This is Josh, Jessy, Morgan—”
In total, there were twelve women and ten men, for a total of twenty-two members.
Considering that the team arranged by Noelle to assist her was spread throughout the country, though, this was already quite impressive.
”Hi everyone! As you may know, I’m Emilia, and I need all of you to help me get things in this place in order.”
The crimson-haired girl only greeted them briefly before getting to the point. “Since the officials are keeping me under close watch, it won’t be easy for us to meet often. I’ll trust you to follow my instructions to the best of your ability, alright?”
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By the time Emilia returned to the park, most of the children she had met before were already asleep on the benches, except for two.
”Big sister is back?!”
”What’s in that big bag?!”
Of course, listening to their companion’s excited exclamations, it didn’t take long for the rest of them to wake up.
Emilia just ruffled the naughty little girl’s hair with a grin. “I naturally wouldn’t break my promise.”
Under their heated gazes, she leisurely opened up the big canvas bag, revealing a whole bunch of chocolates and cookies inside.
Of course, she closed it before they could start snatching anything.
Looking at their pitiful eyes, the crimson-haired girl sighed softly. “I know life has been hard for you, and big sister wants to help, but you have to be obedient and believe me, okay?”
Naturally, she couldn’t just ignore their plight after having seen them dig through the trash, but just giving them a meal once was far from enough.
If she wanted to bring change, she definitely had to start with what was in front of her first, and then proceed from there.
For these children, she had specifically arranged food, lodging, and future care in a different town, both to avoid the government’s eyes and their past.
Of course, whether they could come back in the future after everything was done and dealt with would be entirely up to them.
Seeing the little carrot heads nod rapidly, the crimson-haired beauty couldn’t help but smile. “Then, you see that van over there?”
Following her slender finger, the children quickly spotted a very suspicious-looking black van parked at the corner of the open park.
”I want you to take this bag and get into its back door, and my friends will take you to a place that will help you. You will get clothes, food, and will also be able to go to school soon.”
The ones who were the youngest looked at her with stars in their eyes, but some of the older ones couldn’t help but hesitate.
Although this ‘big sister’ was so kind, beautiful, and generous, they weren’t completely oblivious to the dark nature of the world they were in.
Emilia didn’t want to embarrass them or make them think too much about things, so after a brief moment of contemplation, she gently slid down her muffler and gave them a smile.
”Big sister won’t deceive you. Will you… believe me?”
Although her beauty was enough to leave some of them completely stunned, one of the older girls who had looked the most suspicious before immediately jumped in excitement.
”W-We trust big sister! Don’t worry, we’ll go now, princess!”
Emilia blinked in surprise as the girl snatched the bag and rushed to the van with all her might. “… my face really is quite useful, isn’t it?”
Cynthia wanted to scoff at her narcissism, but she had to admit that Emilia’s appearance was really quite on point, even with her level of aesthetics, so the effect it had on mortals went without saying.
Plus, what kind of villainess would her partner be if she were to be humble?
’Wait a minute… I feel like I’m missing something important here?’
Of course, the children who followed the older girl to the van were even more confused than Cynthia.
”Susy, why are you suddenly rushing off like this? That big sister didn’t even tell us her name!”
The girl gave him an impatient look before urging them to get on the opened back of the van. “Get in first if you don’t wanna regret it. I’ll tell you soon.”
The little children didn’t need to be told twice, and the older ones already had some trust in Susy, so they got inside despite their reluctance.
A suspicious man from the front quickly got off and closed the door shut before the van started, and the woman in the driver’s seat turned around to face them with a kind smile. “Children, wait for a while and don’t snack on what the princess gave you too much, okay? Once we get home, there should be dinner already waiting for you.”
When the man got back in his seat, the woman turned her head back and started the van, no longer giving them another look.
All the curious little eyes turned back to Susy, who puffed out her chest with pride. “When I was trying to get us some food, a kind old man took me into the cafe and let me have cake, and I saw big sister on the TV there.”
”Eh? Is big sister someone famous?!”
”Does she work in movies?”
”I want to watch her movies!”
Susy hesitated for a while before shaking her head in confusion. “I-I don’t know, but I heard her speak, and… she’s a really good person?”
Thinking about it again, if what she saw and heard was really just a scene from a film, then she had been a little too rash.
But then again, would a movie star need to resort to things like trafficking them for money? Susy didn’t think they would need to do that. After all, weren’t they all rich and famous?
Fortunately, her bet seemed to pay off, as when the van parked in an underground parking lot and the shivering children were led inside through some strange corridors, there really was a large and sumptuous dinner waiting for them!
Smelling the delectable food that they hadn’t dared to imagine even in their dreams just hours before, even stuffing their bellies full of snacks in the bag seemed to have had no effect on the ravenous hunger that overwhelmed them at the moment.
Fortunately, none of Emilia’s subordinates cared too much about them following etiquette, and just let them eat right out of the bowls and serving trays as long as they didn’t fight or snatch from each other.
Of course, since there was plenty to go around and they were all friends in the first place, none of them would waste their time fighting when they could stuff more food into their bellies.
As for any suspicions… they had long since flown right out of their little heads as they wholeheartedly praised the angel who had smiled upon them today.
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In contrast to the cheerful children, Emilia’s mood was actually a little more complex as she returned to the Blue Lotus villa.
”Although I was able to help them this time, how many others in the same situation have ended up tragically here already?”
Given how easy it had been for her, Emilia imagined it couldn’t be too hard for people with bad intentions to get away with taking these children away for all sorts of nefarious schemes, from organ trade to prostitution.
Just the mere thought of it made her clench her fists in rage, and Emilia couldn’t help but blame herself for not coming over sooner.
After all, while it was true that she needed to establish some reputation and precedent for her plans to have the maximum effect in the shortest time possible, it wasn’t something she couldn’t make up with some more time and hard work.
If it could have saved a few more little angels like the ones before, Emilia felt it would have been well worth the effort.
Cynthia could feel her partner’s complex mood, and feeling curious, she couldn’t help but ask. “What kind of convoluted logic is running in that stupid head of yours now?”
”…”
Emilia was in too much of a bad mood to get angry or exasperated at her partner, so she just told her what was on her mind.
Cynthia immediately burst into laughter. “Did you not see the reaction of that little girl who looked so suspicious before? Why do you think she suddenly agreed and led all of those undecided idiots away?”
”Wasn’t she just charmed by my beauty?”
Cynthia couldn’t help but be shocked. “… How shameless?!” Then she puffed out her chest in pride. “As expected of my villainess! Although I don’t understand why you indulge them so much, it’s naturally to be expected for those monkey brains to be in awe of our immortal beauty.”
This time, it was Emilia’s turn to be speechless.
Cynthia coughed in embarrassment. “Listen, from what I could see, the little girl recognized you from somewhere. She even called you princess, did she not? Would that have happened if you just came here without any preparations?”
Looking at the girl’s enlightened expression, the raven-haired girl felt even more proud of herself for being so smart. “Anyway, the point is… don’t second guess yourself! Since my villainess is naturally smart and efficient, there is no need to regret the decisions she’s already made, is there?”
Plus, just a few more mortal lives… what difference did it make? Naturally, knowing her partner, Cynthia knew it would be stupid to say such a thing out loud, lest she get spanked by the rebellious villainess needlessly.
Emilia nodded thoughtfully as she took out the plastic bags to store the contents of the dug-up tunnel so she could dispose of it later.
Shocking as it was, there was some wisdom in Cynthia’s words.
Regretting what had already happened wouldn’t change anything, and what mattered most now was how to make things better in the future.
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