Chapter 993

Though she very much wanted to tell the administrator Dama this, Leon realized the excuse sounded a bit too hellish, so he explained differently:

“She’s a provisional member of our bureau, here with me to rent an apartment.”

“Oh, I see…”

After nodding in understanding, the administrator Dama frowned slightly and asked curiously:

“This child… looks only twelve or thirteen? Does your bureau really hire child laborers?”

“No, she’s looked like this for ten years. If you count properly, she’s twenty-three or twenty-four now.”

“Then how come she…”

“Um… she had a serious illness ten years ago, and ever since, she’s stayed like this.”

Illness ten years ago? And never changed since?

The administrator Dama paused, then whispered with sudden understanding:

“Is she… that one… what’s it called… dwarfism?”

“Yes, yes, exactly! That’s the illness!”

After reaching behind and grabbing the little hand of the emerald-eyed girl who was pinching her own waist, Leon continued lying with a perfectly calm face:

“It’s genetic or something—I don’t really understand these things—but she just never grows. Madame Mary, Philia prefers quiet. Please assign her a room on the sixth floor.”

“Ah, alright.”

Hearing this, the administrator Dama nodded and flipped through the resident register before asking:

“A quiet, non-street-facing room on the sixth floor… there’s only one left, rent twelve silver wheels a month. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes!”

After deciding for the emerald-eyed girl, Leon turned to Philia and explained:

“Don’t worry—I live right here. I know this place well. The facilities might be a bit old, but everything you need is guaranteed to be there, and cleanliness is top-notch… By the way, Madame Mary.”

At this point, Leon turned back, looking slightly embarrassed:

“Philia’s family suffered a disaster—someone set fire to her home, burning up all her savings, furniture, and house. So she has almost no money right now. The rent might be delayed by half a month.”

“Oh my, so that’s why she came looking for a place at such an odd time!”

Upon hearing the “dwarf girl”’s situation, the administrator Dama sighed sympathetically, casting a compassionate glance at Philia—the resilient, suffering, yet still adorable girl—and said gently:

“It’s fine. I’ll vouch for you, child. Move in first. Don’t even mention late rent—just start paying next month!”

“Th… thank you…”

“Ah, don’t be polite! We’re all struggling. If we can help each other, we should.”

The emerald-eyed girl, now bearing all the labels—“suffering from a grave illness,” “family destroyed by disaster,” “poverty-stricken,” “struggling to survive”—and still possessing an exquisite, adorable appearance, had clearly triggered the administrator Dama ’s ingrained instinct to pity the weak.

After completing Philia’s check-in, she led Leon and the girl upstairs, offering kind reassurances:

“Don’t worry, child. There’s no obstacle you can’t overcome as long as you don’t give up hope. Things will gradually get better. I’m always at the front desk—if you need anything, just ask… By the way, do you have anyone else in your family?”

“Um… I have an older brother…”

“Does he have a place to stay? If not, come too! Your big room has plenty of empty space—two or three people won’t be a problem…”

“Cough! Cough!”

Leon cleared his throat loudly, interrupting the administrator Dama , then whispered:

“The fire I mentioned earlier… was set by her own brother.”

“Ah, this…”

Hearing Leon’s words, the administrator Dama nearly lost her composure. She secretly turned her head, out of the emerald-eyed girl’s sight, and mouthed:

‘Why? How could someone set fire to their own home?’

‘I don’t get what he’s after either.’

Leon answered with his lips, pointing to his own head, then made a helpless expression.

Oh, so her brother’s mentally ill!

Understanding Leon’s hint, the administrator Dama ’s sympathy for the unfortunate, adorable little girl skyrocketed. Meanwhile, Philia—who had witnessed every exchange—was fuming.

Bastard pervert! You’re the dwarf! Your brother’s the one with a broken mind!

Enraged, Philia had already forgotten her fear of Leon. She stomped up the stairs on her short legs, puffing and panting, while her hands desperately pinched Leon’s inner thighs.

Leon, having successfully retaliated, paid no mind to her feeble, tickle-like attacks. He kept walking steadily, and when he saw her struggling, he picked her up at the fifth floor and carried her straight to the sixth.

“Here’s the room I told you about.”

Watching Leon, who was kindly helping his sick colleague, and Philia, stubbornly determined to climb the stairs on her own, the administrator Dama smiled approvingly. She handed Leon the key and asked hesitantly:

“Could you please show her the rest of the apartment? Someone just came downstairs—I need to check on them, and my husband’s not here.”

“No problem! Leave it to me!”

After taking the key and watching the administrator Dama hurry downstairs, Leon shoved the key into the emerald-eyed girl’s hand before she could explode, then yanked open the door and tossed her inside.

“You bastard—”

“This is your room. Alright, I’ve covered everything. Be at the bureau at seven tomorrow morning. I’m leaving.”

After giving what was less an introduction and more a complete refusal to even pretend to introduce, Leon ignored Philia’s shouts from inside and used the Black Goat’s soul vision to glance at his own home.

Empty.

Of course. At this hour, William, Melanie, and little Ellie should still be at school—they’d return around afternoon. And since Anna wasn’t helping Madame Mary, she was probably out shopping.

Knowing her habits, she wouldn’t detour home after shopping—she’d head straight to the Bridge Academy gate to wait and pick up William and the others. So they’d likely return together in three or four hours.

If that’s the case… why not check on the provisional new recruits while I’m free?

After calculating his available time, Leon didn’t go home. Instead, he took out the form given to him by the red-haired director and began reviewing it one by one in the hallway.

With three and a half hours to spare, I’ll need half an hour to tidy up, plus time to evaluate recruits—so I should pick someone within an hour’s reach of Bridge Street…

Huh? Wait—this evaluation form includes residents of Happiness Apartment?