In a room, a scientist was sitting in front of a microscope.
While she was focused on her work, she received a notification on her computer screen.
As a serious and important person, she only allowed important messages or information to be notified. So when the notification appeared, he immediately opened it.
After opening it, she found an attachment with information about a blue-eyed, red-haired girl.
"Another special subject... Hmm?"
She read through the information and immediately called someone.
About 10 minutes later, a woman entered hee office.
"Can you explain this?"
The woman had been the one who had recorded and examined each child's condition before. So when she saw the image on the computer screen, she immediately understood the meaning of the question.
"It's as I wrote, Doctor. This girl has been deeply infected with magis energy. However, she still maintains consciousness."
"Have you discovered the reason?"
"We found some anti-magis drugs in her bag, and we think she might have used them..."
"...But a child her age wouldn't know about those things."
"Yes. When we talked during the examination, she mentioned being saved by someone. It's likely that person taught her."
"That's still not enough. I think the infection has been going on for over a month. A normal human would have died or turned into a monster by then."
"The girl ate almost all the candy I served her. She didn't seem to realize what was in the candy and enjoyed it very much. However, she didn't display any wild behavior and remained well-behaved."
"Just give her special care. Although the infection is the deepest so far, it's not serious. We'll proceed according to the established order."
"Understood, Doctor."
After the woman left, the scientist returned to the monitor. "Dahlia... A high-quality human. Who would have thought the government would miss this one? It seems they've gotten lazy and haven't done a more detailed examination."
*****
In a bathroom, the sound of rushing water could be heard from the many showers being used simultaneously.
As soon as Dahlia found her room, the first thing she wanted to do was sleep on a soft mattress... until she remembered how dirty she was.
In the refugee camp, she could only shower once every few days because clean water was scarce.
But in this orphanage, Dahlia had almost everything she needed, except a bathtub.
The bathrooms were small cubicles with scattered showerheads that could be adjusted to choose between warm and normal water. Not hot or cold, just warm and normal water.
Dahlia initially felt it was a bit inadequate, but she remembered that the shelter didn't have a bathtub, and they had to bathe either sitting or standing. So there was no way she could enjoy a hot bath... She had to be grateful for what she had.
When Dahlia bathed in a clean, well-equipped place, she remembered her parents and the maid who always helped her bathe.
Without them, Dahlia had no choice but to do everything herself.
Rubbing her back became incredibly difficult. Her hands could reach each part of her back easily, but applying pressure was still a bit difficult. Even with the bath sponge, Dahlia still felt it wasn't enough, and worried that her back wasn't getting thoroughly clean.
Washing her hair became unpleasant. Hazel or her mother used to massage her head while she washed it. Now she had to do it herself... or rather, skip it and wash it as usual.
With her hair not having been properly cleaned in weeks, and for someone who had always had help, it was a bit of a struggle.
No matter how many times she scrubbed and rinsed, the smell of dirt and dust lingered.
Her beautiful hair, once shiny and soft, was now somewhat stiff and dull.
She could only hope that regular washing would restore its beauty and softness.
After half an hour in the shower, Dahlia looked at herself in the mirror.
She checked the cleanliness of her teeth, ears, hair, back, groin, and other parts of her body.
Once she felt clean enough, Dahlia felt quite satisfied and finished her shower.
Dahlia dried herself with a towel and quickly put on a simple set of clothes she had found in her bedroom closet.
Upon arriving in her room, Dahlia carefully combed her hair to straighten its tangles.
After finishing, Dahlia intended to rest. However, as soon as she sat down, a voice came over the speaker, announcing it was lunchtime.
Feeling uneasy, Dahlia left the room, and followed some children who were probably walking to the dining area.
It didn't take long for Dahlia to arrive at the cafeteria.
Dozens of children gathered and trying to get a place in line came into view.
Dahlia saw the stacks of trays on the tables and took one.
The cafeteria was quite spacious, but the sheer number of them made the waiting area cramped, forcing them to squeeze through.
Dahlia tried to be patient and navigate the gaps between the children to make her way to the queue.
Like the other children, she didn't want to take too long. So, with that in mind, she squeezed through and managed to get in line.
The orphanage served a variety of delicious food for the children, from which they could choose as they pleased. However, not all children could choose as the stock was limited.
Dahlia glanced at the beautiful cake in front of the child next to her. There was only one left, and she wasn't getting any. So, she had no choice but to take another cake, or not take it.
Dahlia looked back and saw that some of the children had finished choosing, only having three types of food and one drink.
"Looks like I have to choose," Dahlia thought.
Dahlia had never eaten in any of the canteens because her parents forbade her from eating there. Since Dahlia seemed to be a child with special needs, she always brought lunch from home. So when she was asked to choose...
"Hey, hurry up! I've been hungry for a while."
"Right! Take whatever you want and leave. There's no point in thinking too much. The food here will always be varied."
...It would take a while, because she had to focus on deciding which food she could eat. Especially since she had been suffering from stomach aches and discomfort in the refugee camp.
She initially thought she had been poisoned, but if the food there was poisoned, other people should have been affected too. And if it was just her, she felt it was impossible. With how bad those people were, they had no reason to poison her.
It was then that she realized that not all food was suitable for everyone.
"Hm? Are you new here? You can have four types of food, you know?"
Dahlia was surprised to hear the cafeteria manager standing in front of her... And with that, she became excited, and somehow, she forgot to choose her food carefully.