Guide to the Education and Training of Girls with Mentally Abnormalities

Chapter 4 A Great Person?!

I am illiterate.

Illiterate.

Edmund stared blankly at Esther, who blinked her big, bright eyes and stared blankly back at Edmund.

At this moment.

Even the summer insects are silent for Edmund; there are no summer insects in winter.

Silence is the Cambridge of tonight, but Esther doesn't know what Cambridge is.

Perhaps feeling that the atmosphere had frozen too quickly, or perhaps afraid that she had finally found a kind man willing to take her in but would be kicked out again because she was "illiterate", Esther twirled the still damp strands of hair at her temples.

"Actually, sir, I'm not completely illiterate...?"

Edmund picked up the book "Basic Etiquette" in his hand.

"What does it say on the cover?"

"What does it say on the cover? Hmm, that's a difficult question." Esther leaned forward, pondering the book cover with a seriousness she had never shown before.

Hmm, I've never seen these characters in the chanting books of the old white-bearded priest at the village monastery before…

But it feels like I've seen it somewhere before.

Especially the fourth character.

Esther's hair suddenly twitched as she was brainstorming; she remembered filling out an application form when she registered for the adventurer exam.

That word is on the list.

The very gentle lady at the counter told her that if she was a boy, she should tick the empty space on the left, and if she was a girl, she should tick the word above it.

Then the hen is the one that can lay eggs.

"Oh, oh, I think I know, sir!" Esther's eyes gleamed with intelligence as she held up a finger, making Edmund want to find a pair of round-framed glasses to put on her.

"Hmm," Edmund replied calmly.

"This means 'hen,' and it's a thick book, so it must contain something really difficult," Esther said excitedly. She felt that mentioning the most difficult thing she could remember at this moment was definitely the right thing to do. "So I guess... I guess it's a recipe for soup made from the eggs laid by a hen!"

"No, isn't that right? That's what happens after the hen lays an egg... some other cooking method?"

Edmund simply propped his head up with his left hand, his fingers spreading out as he helplessly rubbed his forehead.

"Looks like you really are a good-for-nothing who can't do anything right."

"Feel sorry…"

Esther curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees and burying her face in them.

"Don't worry, I'm best at turning trash into treasure."

Edmund looked at Esther encouragingly and continued to guide her gently.

"I don't care if you're stupid or not. As long as you're willing to be my student, I will teach you everything you should learn. You have to believe in yourself and you can do it."

"But sir, what use will it be for me to learn all this?" She wrapped the towel around herself more tightly. "If it weren't for your shelter, I might have frozen to death outside by now. Even if I could recognize every word you pointed to, it wouldn't change anything."

"You ask me what's the use of learning all this?"

"It's precisely because you're willing to learn these things from me that I allowed you to take a comfortable hot bath in my house, and then watch you sit on the sofa complaining to me with a pitiful expression."

"If one day I find that you don't want to learn what I teach, and you use all sorts of tricks to fool me and deceive me, I will not hesitate to kick you out like trash."

He gradually wiped the smile from his face, his icy gaze making Esther feel chills all over.

"I've never been one to have an overflowing sense of compassion. No one would be foolish enough to give a spacious, bright house and fluffy bread to a burglar who broke into their home."

"Even the worst hotels charge their guests for a room, and you, Esther, since you don't want to freeze to death outside, since you've chosen to stay here, you have to give something in return, right?"

"But……"

"I won't think you're stupid."

"My only requirement is that you unconditionally accept my teachings and learn them; that's my price."

Esther dared not meet Edmund’s emotionless, cold gaze. Like a trembling cat, she tentatively stretched out her furry paws toward the bright window, a symbol of warmth, but dared not actually touch the cold glass with her paws.

"Sir, I... may I understand that you intend to discipline me?"

You can understand it this way.

"What if, if one day I learn everything you've taught me, sir?" Esther glanced pitifully at Edmund, thinking that if that day came, this gentleman would surely ask her to stay.

"If one day I have nothing more to teach you, I will set you free."

Edmund stood up and pointed in the direction of the stairs.

"Your room is the one at the end of the corridor on the second floor, on the left. I don't have time to tidy up the things inside, so you'll have to figure it out yourself."

"Okay..." Esther nodded.

They took me in, gave me clothes to wear, and let me take a hot bath, but they didn't even touch a single finger of mine.

They demanded I pay the price for trespassing, yet for the first time ever, they allowed me to stay.

I thought I would have to sacrifice my innocence to survive, but he asked me to learn what he taught me? He said he wouldn't despise me even if I was stupid?

He frankly admitted that he wanted to discipline me, but then told me that he would set me free after everything was over.

"That's my room." Edmund stared at Esther, who was still standing in the bedroom doorway, lost in thought.

"Oh—sir, I'm sorry." Esther seemed to wake from a dream.

"Before you go to sleep, I'll give you one last piece of advice: starting tomorrow, before I teach you anything new, I'll periodically check your knowledge of what I've taught you before." With that, Edmund slammed the door shut, leaving Esther standing there dumbfounded.

She looked at the spot where the figure had disappeared, said a quiet goodnight, and closed the door.

The room was covered in dust. A dilapidated wooden bed with only a sheet on it leaned against the wall. The gaps between the bed and the wall were full of cobwebs that smelled of decay. Next to it, a worn-out wardrobe contained old bedding that already smelled of mildew.

But all of this was so precious in the girl's eyes.

Esther carefully carried out the bedding, shook off the dust, sneezed because her nose was itchy, and then happily crawled into bed. She lay on her back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, where the unlit magic crystal lamp flickered with starlight that had seeped into the room through the window.

What exactly does he want from me?

The man said he wasn't a good person.

But I don't think he's a bad person.

Although it's a bit strange, I think she's a really good person!

Anyway, at least I won't have to continue wandering like before.

temporary.

The girl felt a little more at ease. She curled up, her hair, which was scattered around her face and nose, fell quietly, rising and falling with her breath as she slept peacefully.

The night was still and deep, with only the moonlight and starlight silently watching over the sleeping city.