Enigma of Sin

The evening drew near as Kayn spent his time inside the Villa studying array books and playing with Lara. He also didn't forget to activate his Void Star technique during this time so that he could further cultivate his Demonic Dragon Heart's progress.

Kayn even stayed later than usual in order to personally rock Lara to sleep before tucking her into bed. He felt a little guilty as recently he had been relying more and more on the avatar to take care of her at night. He just had a nagging feeling that she could tell the difference between the avatar and the real thing.

Kayn moved silently through the night and didn't even bother activating his stealth spells as the sky was covered with clouds, so the moonlight wasn't shining through. He would only activate them once he was nearing his target's residence.

The guard he was targeting was on patrol during the daytime and had the night off, the information on him stated it would be best to find him after he had been drinking, but Kayn had other plans. He would just find when he had his guard down in the safety of his own home as his exact address was listed on the sheet.

Kayn almost didn't select this contract as he thought the guy should be thrown in jail for life, not murdered. The information on him said that none of the people he injured actually died because of wounds given by him.

However, the other contract he considered was an even less ideal situation. He doubted the guy who decided to name him Jester would be kind enough to let him see other contracts.

The guard lived in a barracks complex where each guard was given a one-bedroom style apartment with two shared baths per floor, one for men and one for women. Kayn snuck in through a hatch at the top of the building and made his way to the listed apartment, keeping his Mana Sense active all the while.

It would practically be impossible for any of these normal guards to find him, but he still didn't want to accidentally run into someone when they sleepily left their room to bathe or something. His luck was weird in these situations if he referenced his college life back on Earth, living in a dormitory.

Once he arrived at the 3rd floor, he quickly found apartment 309 and picked the lock. It was a simple mana reading lock which usually only opened with a unique card filled with mana, but Kayn was able to just overload the system to shut it down.

Once Kayn entered the bedroom, he immediately started to lose his will to actually complete this contract as laying in a small bed in the corner was a little girl who couldn't be more then 8 or 9 years old. Making a small child an orphan didn't sit well with him and the contract information stated nothing about the man having a child.

From first appearances, she had the same blond hair as the man in the larger bed, and there was even a series of drawings along the wall depicting a happy family of mother, father, and child. But as he continued looking at the drawings, the mother vanished, the girl obtained deformities to the right side of her body, and the father was always frowning.

Kayn then noticed a small assortment of drawings on the floor and decided to walk over and glance at them. The drawings continued depicting the little girl with deformities and fire on the right side of her body, with black everywhere else in the background.

Kayn saw a piece of paper hidden slightly under a spare blanket near the girl's bed, and curiosity got the best of him. He carefully slid the paper out from under the blanket, thankful that his gloves provided noise reduction.

Except now a frown appeared on his face. This drawing was of the stick figure father using some kind of whip or belt to hit the child on the back while yelling at her. The words were illegible though, so Kayn guessed that she wasn't actually ever taught to read or write.

He didn't want to believe it, but just in case, he approached the small girl and cast Void Eye while gently touching her head with one finger. He was horrified with the results. The right half of the girl's body was covered in what Kayn could only assume to be burn scars, her back had several wounds and scars, and there was bruising to her wrists.

'Why?! Why would a father do this to their own child?!?' Kayn screamed inside of his mind before turning to look at the supposed "father" who was sleeping in his bed. If his concealment wasn't broken when he cast Void Eye on the child, it definitely was now as killing intent radiated out of his body directed towards the man.

The man quickly shot awake feeling the suffocating feeling pressing down on him, but before he could even utter a word his mouth was covered and an electric shock struck his chest. Without even knowing what happened the man's heart stopped. He was dead.

Kayn kept his attention on the little girl to ensure that she was still sleeping, and even cast a spell on her that would keep her asleep for a while regardless of the noise.

After searching around the apartment and any hidden spots, he eventually found a stack of documents and a ledger that depicted the various crimes he covered up, sales he made, and more.

He stuffed them all into his sash while grabbing a few things that were laying around the apartment, namely a dagger and rope. Then he carried the dead man's body and jumped out of the bedroom window.

There was a large archway that one had to use to enter into the barracks complex with a guard out front. The man was supposed to be on duty, but he was sitting on a chair and yawning while he lazily held a spear in his hands. Nothing ever happened around here, especially at the barracks, so he often took naps while on duty.

However, after tonight he would probably be fired for not noticing what was going on just behind and above him. Kayn had tied ropes around the guard's arms and hung him from the archway with all of the documents and his ledger attached to him via a dagger that was stabbed through them into his chest.

There was also a bag of money tied to his leg with instructions to return it to the rightful owners after examining the ledger, or else. Though, Kayn really didn't have any intention to follow up with this threat.

Now that Kayn had seen how this man treated his own child, he felt no remorse in killing him or treating his body like trash as the man was hung in the undergarments that he slept in. Taking a deep breath, Kayn returned to the apartment through the window and picked up the child, now seeming frailer than ever as he looked at her in his arms.

Even her face was marred by burn scars. Kayn couldn't help but feel sorrow as he saw the trauma she experienced with every scar and bruise on her body. He wondered what truly happened to the mother, but he guessed that the family had lived somewhere else before and it caught fire.

The mother probably sacrificed her life to save her child or the child accidentally started the fire which killed the wife. This was only speculation though and he didn't think he would ever know. Children would often block out traumatic events from their memory and Kayn had no intention of bringing up the topic with her.

It was still the middle of the night, so Kayn made the decision to run all the way back to the inner ring. It was riskier as he had to carry the girl with him, but he was still confident in his own ability.

Kayn barely made it over the wall of the inner ring when the sun was fully ablaze and the light of dawn had set in. He quickly set up the Villa in a dead-end alley and entered inside.

Leaving his avatar to take care of Lara for the morning, Kayn made his way to a room where he placed the little girl who was still sleeping. He had acted on impulse when he took her and now he had to figure out what to do with her.

First and foremost, he would heal her wounds and scars, but that was the extent of his ideas. He didn't want her to wake up to a strange man in front of her, and he also couldn't just leave her in the streets. His only option was an orphanage, but he didn't know if there was one in the inner ring.

He began the healing process while also grabbing one of the two communication crystals he had stashed away in the Villa. It was early, but Kayn knew the person he was calling would be awake, if she ever even slept at all.

"Well, hello Kayn. How are things going on your end?" Charlotte asked as soon as the call connected.

Kayn then proceeded to tell her about his current situation and the circumstances that led him there. He stated that he would inform her later of everything regarding the mission, but right now he needed to solve the problem that was the child in front of him.

"There is actually a shelter that acts as a school and orphanage here in the inner ring. It is run by a friend of mine, so I should be able to get her a spot there without issue. Just bring her to the White Hand Society when you finish healing her and I'll take care of the rest."

Charlotte was a little surprised by his actions, but considering his own family's fate, it made sense that he wouldn't leave a little girl alone in a guard barracks room near the slums to fend for herself.

If she was found there, she would most likely end up in an orphanage where the kids had to work tooth and nail for even a scrap to eat.

The difference in treatment and care which orphans could receive in each layer was lamentable, but the same could be said about the rich living in the inner ring versus the poor living in the outer ring. Money and power determined one's place in this world, and that was just how it worked.

The call disconnected after Kayn thanked Charlotte. He watched as the girl's face began to return to how she should look without scarring. The more progress Kayn made, the more the expression she wore seemed to ease. She was finally starting to look more comfortable in her sleep.

After she was healed fully, Kayn took her to the White Hand Society, keeping her asleep as he didn't want her to take up yet. Even if he was a piece of shit as a father, this child probably still loved him simply because he was that, her father. He felt a little guilty about killing him and taking her away, but it would be for the best for her in the long run, at least he hoped.

Kayn arrived at Charlotte's office and knocked on the door. She then took the frail, but now healthy-looking child from Kayn's arms when she opened the door.

She couldn't help but marvel a bit at the work he had done, unless the description he gave wasn't nearly as bad as it actually was. However, she doubted that he lied and knowing Kayn, he probably undersold it a little.

Seeing that Kayn was turning around as if trying to run away, she understood a bit of how he felt as she had many years of experience while Kayn was still an infant in her eyes. He had far too much burden on his shoulders already, and now he might even add worrying about this child to them, so she decided to offer a way for him to help her himself.

"People are allowed to sponsor children at the shelter. It provides them with more toys and specialized learning experiences so that the children live a happy and fulfilling childhood while also learning all they need to be successful adults.

"Otherwise, just typical reading, writing, and arithmetic classes are provided. Sponsoring her would give her individualized lessons to help further her education at a faster pace. I was planning on sponsoring her myself without telling you, but if you would rather be the one to provide the money, that works as well."

Kayn's eyes lit up and without him turning around he stated that he would be back in a little while after visiting his home. In reality, he just went far enough away from the White Hand Society to make it seem like he was traveling back and forth as he brought the Villa out and entered inside.

He returned to Charlotte's side a couple of hours later with 50 gold coins and Lara in his arms. He didn't see the little girl around anymore, so Charlotte must have dropped her off already.

"Will this be enough?" Kayn asked as he handed Charlotte a small coin bag containing the gold coins. When she looked inside, even she was a little surprised as one gold per year was more than enough for a child to reach adulthood while being provided with the best care possible at the shelter.

This amount of money was nothing to her in all honesty, but for normal people or even lower core stage mages it was a lot.

"Honestly, it's far more than enough." Charlotte shook her head as she tried to remove a few coins to give back to Kayn.

However, he stopped her actions with his next words, "In that case, ask them to give her 25 of those when she becomes and adult and leaves the orphanage. Any extra they can use to increase the other children's education or daily lives."

Charlotte gave a worried glance at Kayn, but seeing that he wasn't showing any expression on his face, she guessed that he was dealing with what he felt in his own way.

"I can do that. Anyway, sit and stay for a while, I'll make some tea and we can chat about your experiences." Charlotte began walking away before reaching into a cupboard and bringing out a teapot and filling it with water.

Kayn sat on a couch and held Lara tightly, feeling that he needed the comfort of family more today than usual. Lara didn't seem to mind, she only gazed up at Kayn's face with curiosity.

"Why is Papa sad?"

Kayn looked down at his sister who still called him papa before giving her a sad smile and rubbing her head, "You'll learn in time little one."

The following few hours were filled with conversation about Kayn's experiences with the Black Hand Society as well as other topics, such as his Demonic Dragon Heart and theoretical changes which could lead to improvements that Charlotte had come up with.