Cleaning Sewage

The sewer water dripped in the silence.
Ark stood frozen, his shovel still in his hands. His face had no expression, his body no movement.

But inside him… something stirred.

His hand twitched, faint light glowing around his palm for just a moment. He clenched his fist and forced it down. He whispered in his mind, She’s already lost her hope… but maybe I can help her find it again.

Slowly, Ark pulled off his gloves. He removed his shoes, the wet ground soaking his socks instantly. Finally, he took off the mask covering his face and let the full stench of the sewer hit him.

The beast-human girl gasped, her cat ears twitching in shock. “W-what are you doing?! Why are you… removing your gloves?!”

Ark didn’t hesitate. He tossed the gloves aside, stepped into the sewer water, and crouched down beside her. He reached his bare hands into the waste and scooped it into the bucket.

The girl’s eyes widened, her breath trembling. “Y-you… you’re crazy…! Why are you doing this with… with me?”

Ark turned his head slightly, his expression calm. His voice was low but steady.
“Because we are the same. And because… my thoughts are different.”

For a moment, she froze. Her eyes shimmered, golden irises wet with tears that had long been locked away. Her lips trembled before a tear slid down her cheek.

And then—she smiled. A small, broken smile, but real.

Her hands shook as she continued scooping, and Ark worked beside her.

Side by side.

The sound of water splashing, buckets filling, and the steady rhythm of work filled the tunnel. For the first time, the silence wasn’t empty.

Time passed. The light from above faded as evening came. Both of them were covered in dirt, filth sticking to their clothes, the stench unbearable. But neither of them complained.

At last, the girl wiped her forehead with the back of her dirty hand and looked at Ark.

“…Thank you,” she whispered softly.

Ark stood up, wiping his own hands against his pants. He looked at her, expression flat but eyes steady. “Don’t thank me yet.”

She tilted her head. “…Why?”

Ark hesitated for a moment. Then he spoke, his voice quiet. “Wait. If you don’t mind… I want to see where you live. The cabin where beast humans stay inside this mansion.”

The girl flinched. Her face stiffened, her smile fading. She looked down at the ground, her hands gripping the edge of her dirty dress.

“That place… is not for you,” she said in a trembling voice. “You shouldn’t go there, mister.”

Ark blinked once. “Ark,” he said.

She looked up at him, confused. “Huh…?”

“My name is Ark,” he repeated simply.

Her lips parted slightly. Then she lowered her gaze again and muttered in a pained voice, “Mister Ark… that place doesn’t deserve you. You’ll hate it. You’ll hate us.”

Ark shook his head. His voice carried no hesitation.
“I don’t care.”

The girl stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief.

For a long moment, silence stretched between them. The sound of the sewer water dripping was the only noise.

Finally, she sighed, her shoulders lowering as if she had accepted his stubbornness.

“…Fine,” she whispered. “If that’s what you want.”

Ark nodded once. “Then let’s go.”

Together, they climbed out of the sewer tunnel. The cool evening air hit them, carrying the faint scent of flowers from the gardens far away. But the stench clung to their bodies, heavy and sharp.

The girl pulled her old shawl tighter around herself and glanced at Ark again. She looked almost guilty, as if showing him her world was a crime.

But Ark simply walked beside her, silent, his face unreadable.

Step by step, they moved through the mansion’s back grounds, past the neat gardens and shining halls, further into the shadowed corner where no noble eye ever looked.

And there, standing in the darkness, was the cabin.

A small, broken wooden structure. The roof sagged, the walls cracked. Smoke barely rose from a crooked chimney. The door hung loosely on rusty hinges.

The girl stopped a few steps away, her voice quiet. “…This is it. The beast-human cabin.”

Ark looked at it, his eyes narrowing slightly.

No words came from him yet. He simply stared, the thought clear in his mind.

This… is how they’re forced to live.

The girl turned toward him, her cat ears lowering. “Now you see. This is where we… exist.”

Ark finally spoke, his voice calm but heavy.
“…Show me.”

The girl nodded slowly, her expression uncertain. She pushed the door open, the wood creaking loudly.

Inside, the air was damp and smelled of mold. A few old beds lay scattered, most without proper blankets. The floor was cracked and dusty, the windows patched with cloth. A group of beast-humans sat quietly in the corners—thin, tired, their eyes hollow.

When they saw Ark, they flinched, their bodies tensing. Some whispered in fear.

“Why is a worker here?”
“You need something or you just come to see how we live in insect life.

But the girl quickly raised her hands. “No! He… he’s different. He helped me in the sewer. He’s not like them.”

Ark stood silently at the doorway, letting their fearful eyes fall on him. He didn’t defend himself. He didn’t argue.

He just looked around, his jaw tightening slightly.

And then, quietly in his mind, he thought— This mansion… this family… this system. All of it needs to change. And if no one else will do it… then I will.

Ark stepped deeper into the dim cabin. The rotten wooden floor creaked under his boots as he moved toward a broken chair in the corner. Dust lifted into the stale air when he sat, his sharp eyes scanning the cramped space.

The place was worse than he imagined. Twelve beast-human women shared this one, small, suffocating cabin. Some huddled together on the floor, others leaned against the walls, their faces pale from hunger and exhaustion. A couple stared at him with suspicion, but most simply looked away, their eyes hollow with hopelessness.

Ark leaned back slightly on the chair and spoke in a low, steady voice.

“Why are you still living in this place? Why don’t you just… run?”

The question struck them like a stone tossed into still water. Their bodies tensed, ears twitching nervously, tails stiff. For a long moment, no one spoke.

Finally, a cow beast-human girl with tired brown eyes raised her head. Her horns were chipped, her dress torn. She clenched her fists and said bitterly,

“If we try to run… the guards will catch us. And if they catch us, they will kill us. That’s the order of this mansion. To escape is to die.”

Ark’s expression didn’t change. His voice cut into the silence like a blade.

“Oh, so you’re afraid of death.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes glinted in the dim light. “Then tell me—how is your life now?”

The cow girl trembled. Her lips quivered before she forced herself to speak.

“They… they beat us. Sometimes for no reason. Just for fun. Some guards…” She lowered her gaze, her voice breaking, “…molest us when they’re bored. And the head… Sam Valkart…” Her entire body shivered. “He… he treats us as toys. He enjoys it… and we suffer.”

A heavy silence fell. Some of the other girls covered their faces with their hands.

Then a small voice broke out from the other side of the room. A rabbit beast-human girl, her long ears drooping, whispered shakily,

“Leon… he always beats me. Even if I do nothing. He calls me useless. Sometimes… he just laughs while kicking me.”

Her voice cracked, tears dripping down her cheeks as her frail body shook.

Another girl, her sharp fox ears twitching with anger, spoke next.

“And Lisa Valkart… She looks soft, kind, and polite on the outside. But she’s worse than them. A devil hiding under a silk dress. She… she forces us to serve her, not as servants, but as dolls. She makes us wear rotten clothes and humiliates us for her amusement. She rots inside while smiling at the world.”

The others nodded, each face carrying scars of their own suffering. Whisper by whisper, more voices rose.

One told of nights locked outside in the cold for spilling a cup.

Another told of being forced to kneel for hours until her knees bled.

Another admitted she had been starved for two days as punishment for crying.

The weight of their words filled the cabin, choking the air.

Ark sat silently, his face calm but his mind sharp, memorizing every detail.

Finally, he spoke again, his tone sharper than before.

“So this is your life. Beaten. Used. Humiliated. And still… you wait. You wait for hope, as if it will fall from the sky.”

His words cut through them. Some flinched, others clenched their fists, some lowered their heads.

Ark stood, his shadow falling across the room. His eyes narrowed, his voice cold but not cruel.

“You’re all waiting for hope. But weak, stupid people… they always wait for someone else to save them. That’s why they suffer forever. If you keep waiting, nothing changes. You die in the same misery you live in.”

He took a step toward the door. The floor creaked under his weight.

“But if you… live. Truly live. If you find courage, even a little…” He glanced back, his gaze burning into them. “…you yourselves can become hope. Not just for you—but for each other.”

The beast-human girls looked at him, their eyes wide. No one spoke.

Ark’s hand rested on the broken door. His voice dropped lower, almost like a whisper meant to linger.

“That decision depends on you. No one else.”

He opened the door, letting the evening light pour into the dark cabin.

Before stepping out, he spoke one last time, his words sharp but carrying a strange weight of promise.

“If you gather courage inside yourselves… I will definitely help you. And you will live. Not survive. Live a good life.”

With that, Ark left.

The door creaked shut behind him, and silence swallowed the cabin again.

Inside, the girls sat frozen, their hearts trembling. For the first time, someone hadn’t pitied them, hadn’t cursed them, hadn’t ordered them. Instead, someone had challenged them—spoken to them as if they were people who still had a choice.

The cow beast-human girl clenched her fists, her lips trembling. The rabbit girl hugged her knees, her tears still flowing but now mixed with something warmer, sharper. Hope—or maybe the sting of his words pushing her heart to beat again.

Meanwhile, Ark walked away slowly, his face calm, his steps steady. But inside his mind, his thoughts burned.

This mansion… these nobles… this system. They treat people like tools, toys, filth. I can’t change them overnight. But those girls… if they find even a spark of courage, I’ll turn that spark into fire.

He walked across the silent back path of the mansion, the moon rising high above him. His figure, calm and straight, faded into the hallways.

For now, rest is awaited. Tomorrow, another day in this hellish house would begin.

But deep inside, Ark already knew—something had started to move.