Child of Light

Volume 9: Chapter 21 – Job at the Imperial Palace

The demon soldier exclaimed, “Wah! You’re really ugly. You aren’t to blame for being ugly, but it’s wrong for you to come out and scare people. Quickly go in.”

I was enraged that he actually ridiculed me to that extent, but I gritted my teeth as I entered the Demon City, trying my best to suppress my anger.

I’ll just find a place to stay before we think of plans to rescue Big brother and the rest.

I crouched fuming in a corner for two hours. There were actually no inns that were willing to let me stay. They reasoned that my appearance would scare away their customers. Was I really that ugly?

At that moment, I suddenly heard an uproar in front of me. I stood up and headed in that direction curiously, only to find many people crowded as they looked at something.

I also walked over and found a posting of a royal announcement, and a few officials sitting in front of a long table with unknown purposes.

I studied the announcement and realized that it was a recruitment to do odd jobs at the palace. I was moved at the great opportunity. I could investigate where Big brother and the rest were kept and also have sneak a peek at Mu Zi. With my current appearance, it would be impossible to look for her, but it should be fine for me to steal a few glances of her.

I pushed through the crowd, who took one look at the scars on my face and frowned as they let me through. When I reached the table, I said, “I’m interested in doing odd jobs.”

Once the leader, who seemed to be the examiner, raised his head, he was so frightened by my looks that he almost fell from his chair. Fuming he said, “You want to enter the palace with your ghastly looks? Just quickly scram.”

I was momentarily enraged and really wanted to strike him with a light blade, but in order to rescue Big brother and the rest, I had no choice but to suppress my rage. I replied apologetically, “Officer, I’m begging you to let me in. I just want a place to scrape a meager living. It doesn’t matter if I don’t get paid.”

That soldier stood up and narrowed his eyes at me as he replied sneering, “The very sight of your ghastly face annoys me. Quickly scram! If not, I’ll be impolite.”

“Oh! Officer, you have such a temper.” I heard a sweet and charming voice.

I turned my head. It was Xiao Rou. I didn’t know she had ran out from my clothings and took the demon race’s form.

The crowd, including some of the officials, were stunned. The leader of the officials muttered, “Top grade, definitely top grade.” He started to drool.

Xiao Rou walked over to my side and rested her arm on my shoulder before she replied coyly, “Officer, what’s wrong with my brother? Isn’t he just here to earn a living? I know that you’re kind hearted so please accept him.”

The official still looked stunned by Xiao Rou as he replied, “But….But he’s really too ugly.”

Xiao Rou suddenly cried. As she cried, she said, “Officer, we siblings are mutually dependant for life. If you don’t accept my brother, I won’t be able to survive.”

The officer momentarily dazed as he hastily replied, “I’ll check to see if he has a suitable position.” Upon saying that, he flipped through the list of jobs.

The officer beside him reminded him, “There’s a job to chop firewood in the kitchen. We shall just let him do that. There won’t be any chance of him heading into the inner palace so his looks don’t matter.”

That officer nodded. “Alright, I’ll let him enter the palace to chop firewood. Little beauty, you should be satisfied with this. I have helped you with such a favour. How are you going to thank me?” Looking at his face, I really wanted to puke. His current appearance was even more disgusting than my face.

Xiao Rou glanced at him coquettishly and said, “Let’s meet at the south entrance tonight. Handsome brother, I’ll head off first. Please take care of my brother!” After saying that, she walked out from the crowd with her hips swaying .

The officers were still focused on Xiao Rou in a daze. I waved my hand in front of his eyes as I shouted, “Officer! Officer!”

The leader of the officers snapped back to reality. “What do you want?”

I asked, “What am I supposed to do now?”

The officer replied, “Do you still have any belongings elsewhere?”

I replied, “No, I’ve only myself.”

He replied, “En! Head over there and wait. After gathering all the new personnel, we’ll enter the palace.”

I respectfully agreed before running to a corner. I could faintly hear the officer saying behind me, “There’s actually such a sibling. Why do they have such huge disparity in their looks?”

Just as I walked to the corner, Xiao Rou, who had turned back to the size of a squirrel, ran and pounced over to my chest. I patted her little head and replied, “If it wasn’t for you, it would have been terrible. Thank you, Xiao Rou.”

Xiao Rou licked my hand before snuggling in my arms where she slept.

　　……

It was already afternoon when the soldiers had recruited the necessary staff, and gathered us to head out.

At a glance, I discovered that there were about 20 people, but I didn’t know what their jobs entailed. After walking for about an hour, we finally reached the royal palace. Due to our low status we walked in through side entrance. After entering the palace, the scenery completely changed. There were exotic flowers and rare herbs in the everywhere. Even though the architecture wasn’t as sophisticated as the human race, it was able to express the unrestrained spirit of the Demon race.

The soldier commanded, “Keep your eyes down and don’t look around. If not, and something happens, don’t blame me for not warning you beforehand.”

After hearing his words, I immediately lowered my head. Currently, I just want to settle down here peacefully before thinking through other things that I had to do.

The soldier led us to a small courtyard before saying, “Alright, you just have to wait here. The supervisors that are in charge of the stewarding the palace will be coming shortly to record your names and assign your tasks. This is the home of Our Imperial Majesty, The Demon Emperor. Even though you are unlikely to see His Majesty, you must be cautious as you work. Do you understand?”

Everyone harmoniously agreed. That soldier seemed to be satisfied with his awe-inspiring authority as he walked away with a smile.

Since I was ugly, there wasn’t even a newcomer that was willing to strike up a conversation with me, keeping me at a distance. However, this suited me quite well as it would save me quite a lot of trouble.

After a while, a person with a medium stature and wore the palace livery walked over with two guards behind him. There was a book in his hand that seemed to be a registry of the names of job. When he walked to the front of the group, he cleared his throat before saying, “Everyone, quiet down. You’ll all be under my supervision from now on. You’re to remember to call me Vice Manager Rui Dong or Vice Manager. Alright, everyone of you are to report your name and task one at a time, starting from the far left.”

There was a lithe Demon with an ordinary appearance at the far left. He bowed towards that Vice Manager before respectfully saying , “I am Li Cha, my role is to be a gardener here. Lord Vice Manager, please take care of me in the future.”