novelraw Chapter 415 : Yami
Chapter 415 : Yami
Chapter 415: Yami
Yami timidly poked his head out and looked toward the line in front of him.
He had already been waiting here for quite some time. It seemed that the people in front were fewer, yet also not, as armed Holy Guard often dragged away those who tried to cut in line, hauling them to the back. But still, the entire line felt endless.
Why did it feel like the whole of Blood Harbor had come out?
But thinking about it, it made sense. Those Castel people had gone crazy and opened a literacy class. The key was, they even gave food to the people who went—Heavens above, one could both learn to read and eat?
Yami had no idea what use literacy could be, nor was he interested in it. He only intended to go through the motions, but the free meal was different—free food!
Blood Harbor was now a wasteland, and surviving was already difficult enough. Hearing that there was free food, nearly everyone who could move had come.
Perhaps it was just some noble’s whim. Maybe in two days it would be gone.
The waiting made Yami’s head dizzy. Just as he was nodding off, he suddenly heard a girl’s voice from ahead:
“Name?”
Yami dazedly lifted his head, realizing that at some point there was no one else before him. In front of him was a long table with a missing corner. A brown-haired girl tapped her pen impatiently on the table.
“Name?”
“Yami!” He jolted, waking up a bit. “My lady, may I ask if this is really—”
“The literacy class runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Two meals are provided. No age restriction. How many people are you signing up?”
How many? Yami scratched his head in confusion, then his eyes widened. “No… no age restriction?”
“Yes, everyone who can come will get food.”
Yami’s hands trembled as he whispered, “I… I have a neighbor, Granny Penny, she… she probably can’t do much work anymore.”
“She can join. Who else?”
“She has a granddaughter too.”
After speaking, Yami felt his face burning with shame. Yet if they could get this free food, perhaps Granny Penny’s family might survive.
Granny Penny had once had two sons and several grandchildren, but all had died in the rebellion. Now she and her granddaughter lived in the slums, waiting for death.
Yami had no ability to help others—he could hardly feed himself. All he could do was register two people for the literacy class.
Who knew how long the free food would last? But every extra day meant an extra day of survival for the two of them. That was already something precious to Yami.
So despite his burning cheeks, he still registered their names.
The girl doing the registration said nothing, simply wrote down the names. Yami gave his thanks and hurried away, not even hearing the rest—he did not dare face such a kind girl.
In this muddle-headed way, Yami completed the registration and went back “home.”
Home was only a random shed that had not yet collapsed.
Yami thought everyone would attend the literacy class, since free food was a rare blessing. But after asking around, he found many people had been recruited for work instead.
Working not only provided food but also paid some Leo. However, it required strength. Yami, frail as he was, thought it best to eat a few free meals first before seeking work.
Strangely enough, jobs were now easy to find. Yami remembered when finding work had been extremely hard, with everyone scrambling at every hiring. Now workers were accepted on the spot.
How odd. Blood Harbor truly was no longer the same.
Rebellions had happened many times. Nobles remained nobles, poor lads remained poor, and many familiar faces never returned.
But this time, something felt different.
Yami did not understand. His days drifted by in confusion. After telling Granny Penny the news, he carried back a dried fish she had forced into his hands.
On the way, he saw a small cat. After a moment’s hesitation, Yami broke off the fish tail and handed it over, scratching its chin.
The next day.
Yami got up very early. He planned to arrive ahead of time—who knew how much food there would be? If he came late and missed out, that would be terrible.
He indeed arrived early. At the hastily built “school,” only a few people had gathered.
Yami saw the same girl from yesterday, the one who had registered his name. He greeted her, intending to slip away, but she called him back.
“You! What was your name again? Mia?”
“It’s Yami.”
“Good, Yami. You came just in time. Help me sort out the lesson plans.”
Yami scratched his head and hesitated, but stepped forward.
“Do you know how to read?”
“No.”
“Do you know arithmetic?”
“No.”
The girl glanced at Yami. His face was full of innocence.
Zoe sighed. “Forget it. You can at least count, right? How far can you count?”
“Very far.”
“At least as far as your fingers, I hope. Later, help me hand out the lesson plans. They’re just simple arithmetic problems. If you can’t calculate them, just use your fingers.”
Yami nodded. He was fairly confident in counting. More or less.
“There are 1,232 students in total. Each person gets one literacy booklet. Five people make one group, ten groups make a class. Each class must have at least two copies of the Holy Text. Yami, later you’ll put one booklet on each desk. I’ll fetch the Holy Texts—eight books per crate. Let me calculate…”
Zoe scratched her head, troubled. Without paper, she could only calculate in her mind.
“Five times ten is fifty. 1,232 divided by fifty is… two hundred forty—no, twenty-four. What are you doing?”
Yami had already carried several crates to her side, standing quietly.
“Seven crates in total.”
Zoe froze, then widened her eyes. “How did you calculate that?”
“Just counting.”
“What’s thirty-five times twenty-four?”
“I don’t know.”
“There are thirty-five coyotes, and each coyote has twenty-four ears. How many ears in total?”
“Eight hundred forty.”
Zoe gasped sharply. She tried to check her calculation mentally, but her mind was too muddled. She could not work it out.
After a while, she gave up in frustration and asked him directly, staring into his eyes: “How exactly did you calculate that?”
“Just by counting.” Yami shrank back nervously. Why was she so agitated over this? Wasn’t it just counting?
“Tell me in detail how you counted. You have a technique, don’t you?”
Yami nodded quickly.
“I knew it. Tell me your technique.”
“Start by counting from one to thirty-five, then repeat twenty-four times. That way, you get the answer.”