In this world, there are many talented individuals with remarkable skills.

And for the chance to see these talents, there are just as many people willing to part with their money.

Thus, it was inevitable that a city would form where numerous talented individuals and those longing to witness their skills gathered together.

And within this city, which was soon referred to as the city of artists, there was a man who owned a large theatrical group called the Golden Troupe.

As the owner of a sizable theater troupe, he was wealthy.

Most artists in the city envied the rich, viewing them as mere spectators. However, that man was an exception.

He was truly in love with art.

He was a strong supporter of impoverished artists who hadn’t yet shone despite their talent and was of superior character, helping those who chased their dreams but failed due to lack of ability find jobs.

With many people in the city having received his help, artists admired and praised him.

This man had a habit of doing something periodically.

“Ah, my dear! What brings you here today?”

“Haha, don’t mind me. I was just looking around for new talents to recruit into our troupe as usual.”

“Uhaha! You never change, do you? Anyway, thank you so much for the support you send us. It’s thanks to people like you that we aren’t starving and can keep doing this!”

“Enough with the flattery, my friend. I’ll just be browsing quietly, so don’t make a fuss unnecessarily.”

He wandered around the city in search of talented individuals to recruit into his troupe.

Since those with established names were eager to join his well-regarded troupe, he sought hidden talents who had yet to gain recognition.

“Hmmm… I don’t see anyone promising today.”

Thus, his search didn’t always yield success.

In fact, it often resulted in disappointment much more than actual success.

Though he was generally a generous person, he was incredibly picky about who would be performing in his troupe, selecting individuals with rigorous standards because he was sincere about art.

Having found no one of interest, the man was disheartened and on his way back when…

“Hmm? That girl…”

A small girl, crouched in a corner of the street, caught his eye.

The girl, watching passersby with vacant eyes, was covered in dirt and looked pitiable, resembling an urchin or an orphan.

Although he was known for his noble character, he didn’t extend a helping hand to everyone who looked unfortunate.

However, he had a personal habit of performing acts of kindness once in a while, especially on the days he returned empty-handed from a fruitless search, as a way of praying to the gods for better fortunes next time.

Moreover, given that the name of his troupe was the Golden Troupe, it felt like divine providence that the girl, though scruffy, had golden hair and golden eyes.

“…Perhaps this is also the gods’ arrangement.”

Having made up his mind to help the girl, the man approached her and asked.

“Child, do you happen to have somewhere to go?”

At the man’s question, the girl blinked for a moment and then nodded.

The man nodded back and said to the girl.

“If you’re okay with it, I can offer you a bit of help. What do you say? Would you like to stay with our troupe?”

The girl, standing still, slowly nodded her head.

The man smiled pleasantly at her and asked.

“Good, we shall get along from now on. So, what is your name?”

When he asked for her name, the girl shook her head as if to say she didn’t have one.

The man then said to her.

“I see. Then, since it seems we’ve been brought together by fate, I shall give you a name. Since your hair and eyes are golden, let’s call you ‘Aurea.’”

Thus, the girl came to have a place to live with the name Aurea.

 

Following the man’s philosophy that offering kindness for free could actually ruin people, Aurea began her days at the troupe by handling chores like cleaning.

At first, that was all she was.

But Aurea’s circumstances changed on a day when the troupe had finished a performance and the members gathered to enjoy some refreshments.

“Uhaha, well done!”
“Hey! What’s that? She’s amazing!”

That day, the troupe members were enjoying some leisure time by having a talent show.

At that moment, one of the members noticed Aurea, who was hunched in a corner.

Recalling the owner’s words about respecting even the youngest members of the troupe, a member called out to Aurea to give her a chance to interact with them.

“Hey, you there, little one! Come over and show us something!”

“Oh, that sounds fun! Come now, it doesn’t matter if you can’t do much!”

In response, Aurea subtly glanced around and smiled as she said.

“Ahaha, then I’ll sing a song!”

“Ooh! Everyone, quiet down! Our little one is going to sing!”

With warm gazes from the troupe members eager for a performance from the youngest, Aurea began to sing.

When her song came to an end, the refreshment room was filled with shock.

“Oh my!”
“…What a voice.”

It was because Aurea’s singing ability and tone were extraordinary.

“When did you learn to sing like that?”
“I just copied it a few times…?”
“That’s unbelievable.”

Such incredible talent that even the reputable members of the troupe couldn’t find their words.

It was a level of skill that could even encourage some members, who appeared to be around just ten years old, to contemplate ill intentions.

Fortunately for Aurea, the owner of the troupe, the man, was also present to hear her sing.

“Oh my! I didn’t know our Aurea had such talent!!!”

He was greatly delighted at the unexpected discovery of Aurea’s gift.

“Alright, let’s do this! From now on, Aurea, I will make you my adopted daughter!”

From that day forward, he decided to take Aurea as his adopted daughter.

He sensed that the members might develop ill feelings toward Aurea, and this was to protect her.

Even if some members began to feel threatened by their positions, no one would want to harm the daughter of the troupe leader out of insanity.

Moreover, since the man had no wife or children, it was a decision that posed no disadvantages for him.

So, Aurea, who had been a mere chore worker in the troupe, became the adopted daughter of the leader and an official member of the Golden Troupe.

*

As time passed, the little girl Aurea grew into a beauty full of grace, ready to step onto the stage of the troupe at last.

And on the day Aurea first took the stage, the leading role of the Golden Troupe changed that very day.

A once-in-a-millennium performer, the most treasured golden one of the Golden Troupe.

That was the nickname everyone used to refer to Aurea.

People cried at Aurea’s voice singing about joys and sorrows and praised her, saying her songs contained pure sincerity.

Yet Aurea found such compliments to be simply absurd.

“Calling it sincerity for just casually embellishing what I read…”

Because she was a person completely detached from the kind of joys and sorrows that ordinary people feel.

She evaluated herself as being twisted.

Aurea had been aware of her differences from others since she was young.

Ordinary people sometimes express joy and often express sorrow.

But generally, when others should feel those emotions, Aurea felt nothing at all.

So, when people were happy or sad about something,

she couldn’t understand why they were so happy about such matters.

She couldn’t grasp why they wept such tears for those occurrences.

Despite being a twisted person, Aurea was simultaneously very good at putting on a show.

She knew that if her difference from others was revealed, it could lead to trouble.

Because of that, when something occurred, she would often feign normal responses that an average person would display.

Therefore, those around her couldn’t perceive her peculiarities.

On the surface, Aurea appeared to be an ordinary person just like them.

This could make her appear as someone completely devoid of emotion, but there were times when Aurea actually did experience feelings similar to others.

For instance, when she would come across an object that caught her eye while walking, there would be times she felt a slight desire to possess it.

When she purchased something with her hard-earned salary, she would feel a sense of fulfillment.

Thus, her only hobby was shopping. However, recently she began to have doubts.

“…Nothing really stirs my heart anymore.”

Even when seeing items she would have wanted before, the thought of purchasing them brought her little excitement; that was her troubling situation.

Why did this sudden occurrence take place?

The answer could be traced to a conversation she had with her father, the owner of the troupe, not long ago.

“Aurea, things that come too easily aren’t very valuable. It is only the things you must achieve through difficult and arduous paths that hold true value. For example, the kind acts or righteous actions that others say are difficult.”

He might have meant something entirely different, but Aurea managed to relate to what he said.

Things that come easily hold no value.

The reason why she no longer felt excited by precious items was that, unlike before, those items were now too easily obtained.

Previously, she had to save every penny to purchase anything, but nowadays, far more expensive items were pouring in, disguised as gifts. What value could she find in such objects now?

Thus, doubts began to arise within her.

“…So then, what should I live for?”

For Aurea, who very rarely felt emotions, collecting coveted items had been her only driving force. Now that she has lost that, what should she live for?

In that regard, she envied others immensely.

“Aurea, when you finally find what you truly love, you’ll feel your soul quiver.”

“Why do I smile while performing? Ah, because I feel I was born to do this.”

Her father said that viewing magnificent performances or beautiful  artistic works made his soul tremble.

The other troupe members claimed they felt they were meant to do this when they danced or sang.

But Aurea felt none of that.

Consequently, the more she longed for something to stir her heart, the more obsessively she collected things.

Even if she no longer felt anything from them, she hoped to once again feel something that touched her heart like before.

In the midst of all this, her father cautioned her.

“It’s good to enjoy your hobbies, but don’t overly attach meaning to the items you collect. Because no matter how desperately you gather them, one day they will all leave your hands.”

Aurea sympathized with that idea as well.

What meaning could there be in things you can’t possess forever?

However, knowing that didn’t stop Aurea from desperately collecting items again today.

And when a new delivery of items arrived at her home…

Clunk—

“…Huh?!”

A young delivery worker, bringing an item into her room, accidentally dropped an expensive piece of pottery and shattered it.

Aurea stared at the panicked young delivery worker and asked.

“…Do you know that item is one you’ll never pay off, even if you work a lifetime?”

“Eek?! I-I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!!”

“Forgiveness? Why should I forgive you? Give me a reason.”

“P-please!! I have a sick mother at home, and I need to earn money for her medicine!!”

“Hmm, your mother…”

Aurea’s indifference stirred the trembling delivery worker to action as he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling he had no option left to resolve this.

“I-I know another rich customer who buys expensive items just to break them on purpose!!”

“…Break something on purpose?”

“Yes! They don’t want that item to end up in someone else’s hands! They have more money than they could ever spend before dying, so it doesn’t matter to them… Also, this customer is famous, so you should end up being just as rich! So please think of it as breaking something for that customer and just let this slide this once…!”

The desperate scream from the young delivery worker aiming to survive.

Yet, despite that desperate attitude, Aurea’s heart remained unmoved.

But something within that plea did touch her heart.

“…Alright. I’ll let you off this time.”

“R-really?! Thank you! Thank you! You’ll be blessed!”

The relieved delivery worker repeatedly bowed as if hoping to ensure Aurea wouldn’t change her mind before quickly dashing away.

However, Aurea had already entirely erased the delivery worker from her thoughts, muttering to herself.

“…After all, items that will leave my hands.”

Gazing around her room filled with precious items.

“…If I break them, they won’t go to someone else.”

Aurea murmured softly as she grasped a painting that was hanging on the wall.

A painting by an artist who was just beginning to gain fame, one that would surely be sold for a fortune in the future.

Undoubtedly, it held tremendous value.

But Aurea ripped the painting apart.

“…With this, this item is ‘done.’”

Then, staring at the completely torn painting, she whispered.

“…With this, it’s entirely, entirely mine.”

In a state of being half-leaned forward, Aurea murmured while trembling slightly.

“…Father, I think I’ve found it.”

The twisted girl thus found her meaning in life.