In the blink of an eye, it had already been a week since Lucian brought Angelina home.
For Lucian, having one more person at the table wasn't a big deal at all. Taking in a cute girl like Angelina felt like a blessing anyway—he finally understood the emotional satisfaction of being the uncle who takes in a Running Away From Home high school girl.
But Angelina was a good kid who insisted on paying rent with her labor.
Seeing how responsible she was even at her age, Uncle Lucian was moved to the point he almost cried.
So Angelina came to the Kitchen every day to help him out, and having an extra pair of hands in the back was definitely convenient.
…And honestly, watching Angelina in an apron was good for a man's mind and soul.
She was a high school girl. A soft, fresh seventeen-year-old JK.
And she was wearing an apron, bustling around at his side. Sometimes when their eyes met, she'd flash him a sweet little smile.
Angelina was truly an Angel—someone who deserved to be canonized so the whole world could Worship her!
Once the hectic morning rush was over, Lucian took out a small box of sugar.
"Angelina. Special red sugar for replenishing blood—have one."
"Mm."
The adorable Angelina picked up a piece of Red Sugar and popped it into her mouth, her cheeks puffing up like a squirrel.
With a bright smile, she said, "Lucian, your candy is really sweet. But it tastes a bit different from regular sugar. What did you use to make it?"
Lucian replied lazily, "Trade secret."
After all, he couldn't exactly tell her it was made with his own blood.
As the owner of a food establishment, Lucian cared a lot about hygiene.
Even if his blood had special properties, if he heard someone was feeding him food made with their blood, he'd be disgusted to death.
And he didn't understand why his blood tasted sweet in the first place. It's not like his blood sugar was high.
Setting Lucian's grumbling aside, after eating the candy, Angelina soon broke into a sweat. She fanned her flushed face with both hands.
"Haah… it's so hot. My heart always races after eating your candy, Lucian. Why does that happen?"
Lucian gave her a thumbs-up. "Stimulates blood circulation. Good for your body."
That was, of course, an excuse.
In reality, the Originium Crystals inside Angelina were reacting—they were being destroyed, or rather, reverted back into normal human cells.
The higher the infection level, the stronger the reaction. Some people got so overheated they rolled around in bed.
Because everyone on Terra had at least some Originium Crystals in their bodies, even people without Oripathy would react after eating it—just with varying intensity.
Lucian couldn't tell Angelina the truth about who he really was, so he used this excuse to have her eat a piece every day and keep the Oripathy under control.
His blood worked extremely well. The deeper the infection, the more dramatic the effect—the fusion rate between normal cells and Originium would drop rapidly.
But once it hit a certain threshold, the treatment effect weakened drastically.
If she continued taking it long-term, she could be completely cured one day—though it would take a year or two.
There were more aggressive methods that would cure her instantly.
But that wasn't something Lucian would ever do to the current Angelina. He wasn't that much of a monster.
Keeping things as they were now was fine.
Lucian finished cleaning up the Kitchen, then said to Angelina, who had just taken off her apron, "Croissant can handle the rest. Let's go train."
"Yes! Mr. Lucian!"
Bright-eyed and full of energy, Angelina clenched her tiny fists.
Lucian didn't just have her helping in the back Kitchen.
He had asked Angelina what she wanted for herself, and she said she still wanted to continue working as a courier.
Penguin Logistics also handled regular transport jobs, and Angelina's abilities were a huge help. Naturally, Lucian was happy to support her.
So he was teaching her how to use her Originium Arts properly, helping her gain better control.
Lucian led Angelina—who trailed closely behind him—into the Slums. They weaved through twisting alleys until they reached a makeshift playground.
Angelina looked around in amazement. "Every time we come here I'm amazed! This was built by people in the Slums, right? It's incredible!"
"It's not that impressive." Lucian shrugged. "The Slums have their own kind of wisdom. If there's something they don't have, they make it themselves. That's how everyone lives."
There was obviously no professional track or grass field here.
But following the simple idea of "making do with what you have," they drew lanes with chalk, used water pipes for goalposts, stacked tires into castles—just enough to create a playground for the kids.
The children who weren't able to help the adults were the ones with the most free time. If they didn't have somewhere to play, they were bound to pick up bad habits like petty theft. No one wanted that.
So back when Lucian had first gotten to know everyone in the Slums, he had built this place. Exusiai even used to come here to play soccer with the kids every day. Lucian just hadn't told Angelina that.
A hero shouldn't brag about past achievements. Angelina didn't know about Lucian's old days in the Slums, and there was no need to bring it up.
Lucian said, "Take out your staff."
"Okay!"
Angelina dug into her travel bag and pulled out a foldable staff. Once extended, it was nearly as tall as she was.
Though it was called a "staff," it wasn't the wooden wand a mage might carry in a fantasy story. It had a sleek industrial design, made from composite plastics and a little metal.
As long as something could channel Originium energy, it counted as a staff—whether it was a sword, a shield, or even clothing.
The Guardian Gun that Sankta liked using was also technically a type of staff—just a specialized model designed to fire bullets.
Lucian rarely dealt with these things, so he was curious. "These days even staves look pretty high-tech. You bought this yourself?"
"Mm!" Angelina nodded brightly. "My parents bought it for my birthday, back when I wasn't Infected yet. In Siracusa, regular Originium devices aren't regulated, so ordinary people can buy them. But I didn't seem to have much talent. I practiced for a while but couldn't activate any Originium Arts. Then after I got infected, suddenly I could… I guess that was lucky, huh?"
Angelina's smile was sweet and pure.
Originium Arts weren't exclusive to the Infected. As long as someone had a staff, even a regular person could activate Arts.
But that depended heavily on talent. Some people went their whole lives without ever activating Originium Arts—which, in a way, was a blessing.
Angelina had been one of those people before she was infected.
But once she became an Infected, her Originium Arts blossomed instantly. The staff she once couldn't use became something she could wield with ease.
It was, in its own way, rather ironic.