Ch 44. Orphanage

By the time we arrived at the city's west side, where the orphanage exists, it was late at night. We were standing in front of the orphanage as I considered whether to go in.

'They won't drive us out, right?'

No matter how benevolent the caretakers are, they might get angry at others who come late and disturb their sleep.

'Let's knock first.'

It was when I was about to knock.

"Ah..."

A woman in a nun uniform opened the door and found us. She let out a short gasp and widened her eyes.

"Children? Where have you been? Isn't it past the curfew?"

It seems like she misunderstood us as children from the orphanage. I introduced ourselves and roughly explained our situation before the misunderstanding grew further.

"Ah...! I'm sorry, I thought you were one of our kids. Still... for the two of you to have been abandoned in that forest by your parents... it must be hard on you."

The sister looked at us with moist eyes.

"Have we been abandoned, Oppa?"

Arte tilted her head innocently.

"Oppa?! So you are siblings too...! Such cruelty..."

The sister closed her eyes as if trying to keep her tears from leaking.

"?"

What is this? Why did she keep misunderstanding things?

I was dumbfounded for a moment, but decided to not say anything about her misunderstanding. Fortunately, the sister decided to let us stay in the orphanage.

However, unlike Arte, I planned to stay at an inn instead before continuing my quest. So I told the sister I have something important to talk about in private, but--

"It's okay, I understand. To experience such a horrible thing at your age and protect your little sister all the way here... you must have gone through a lot and have a lot of pent-up emotions to let out."

"Yes? No, that's not--"

"It's okay. I can hear your confession tomorrow. I won't run, I promise. So for now, please have a nice sleep with your little sister. You two must be very exhausted from the journey."

The sister smiled benevolently as my mind blanked for a moment. By the time I realized she was already moving far from us.

"Oppa? Shouldn't we follow the pretty Unnie?"

Arte tugged at my sleeves and tilted her head.

"... Yes. Let's follow her."

This sister seems quick to jump to conclusions and misunderstands easily. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like she's a bad person. I have used my vision skills on her, so I'm fairly certain.

‘Her name was Eliza… Huh? Is this really her full name? What is she doing here?’

She was a bigger person than I thought. The thing is, she was neither an enemy nor an ally. And since she seemed to want to hide her secret identity, I think I can just leave her be instead of bringing it up.

Anyway, it’s my talk about Arte that’s more urgent. It doesn't seem like Eliza would hear me out tonight, though. So I can only give up after she promised to have a private chat with me tomorrow.

I followed Eliza with Arte. She led us to a large room where the children were sleeping. Each slept on a futon, but every two kids had to share a blanket. Fortunately, the children's bodies were small, so they could cover their entire bodies just fine.

As I was watching the children snore, Eliza had finished spreading two futons and was gesturing for us to come close. We moved closer, and she spoke in a small voice.

"You two can sleep here, okay? Please share a blanket and don't wake the children. They might be surprised to find two unfamiliar kids by the time they wake up in the morning, but please be good to them, okay? Also, the toilet is on the furthest end of the corridor to the left. And if you need something else, please call me. I will be staying in the closest room to the entrance."

Arte nodded with a bright smile and said softly.

"Thank you, pretty Unnie!"

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Eliza smiled at Arte. I also smiled to thank her for letting us stay and she replied similarly.

Eliza then left the room and closed the door, leaving me and Arte with the sleeping kids. Arte snuck into one of the futons she prepared for us and looked at me.

"Oppa."

She pats the futon next to her. I nodded and lay myself down on the futon. Arte smiles at that and covers both of us in a blanket.

"What Oppa said was true."

"Hm?"

"There are a lot of children our age here."

“Right. Because that's the kind of place an orphanage is."

"Have you been to an orphanage, Oppa?"

"Well..."

Not in this world, but--

"Yes, I have."

"Oh…! So you are a veteran orphanage kid!"

"What veteran..."

I smiled wryly at her words.

"And Arte, shh..."

"Ah…! Shh…!"

I put a finger on my lips, and Arte mimicked the gesture. Maybe she found it funny like we were playing a secret game, hidden from the kids, so Arte giggled for a moment.

"Still, it's too bad."

"What is?"

"I want to hear Oppa's lullaby again. But if Oppa sings now, will the children revolt?"

"You're right. Too bad for you, but no lullaby for tonight."

"Right? That's why, I’ll do this in exchange… Eii!"

Arte hugged me tightly.

"Arte?"

"Hehe, I have always wanted to do this."

She smiled brightly.

"Oppa's smell is very nice... I think I can sleep well if I do this... Can't I?"

"Well..."

‘I don't think it's right, but…’

If it's just for tonight, it should be fine, right?

"Just don't drool on me, okay?"

"Okie! I'll drool on the futon instead!"

She nodded with determination, fully intent on drooling either way. I smiled wryly at that.

"Let's sleep, then."

"Okay~"

I thought she would be fast asleep like usual, but--

"Um, Oppa?"

She was looking straight at me.

"When the pretty Unnie said our parents abandoned us... what does that mean?"

"Well… she thought our parents intentionally left us to fend for ourselves."

"Did our parents do that?"

"No, she just misunderstood. Also, we have different parents, you know?"

"I see."

She nodded.

"Then... will Oppa also abandon me?"

"..."

"Oppa?"

She looked restless at my silence, so I rubbed her head to calm her down as I tried to think about what to say.

"Even if I do, please know there will come a day when I will return for you, Arte.”

“... Is that a yes?”

“Well… look, we might separate for a while, but I won't abandon you, Arte. So don't worry about it."

"Hnnn... Still, I don't like to be separated from Oppa even for a bit."

"Even if it's just to go to the toilet?"

"That was... I see. So there are times we must be separated."

"Right? You are smart, so I know you'd understand."

"Hehe, it can't be helped, then. From now on, don't take too long in the toilet, okay, Oppa? Because I will be lonely without you."

"I never did, but yeah. Sure."

"Good. Hehe."

Arte let out a small yawn and closed her eyes softly.

"Then, good night, Oppa."

"Good night, Arte."

Soon, I could hear Arte’s calm breathing. I checked with my skill and was sure that she had fallen asleep.

"..."

I looked at that figure and tried to think back on her words.

'She will be lonely without me, is it…?'

It was nice to know that someone out there thought of me that much, but it pains me to think that she might have to endure such feelings. Possibly for years.

'No, let's think positively. Arte could make friends here.'

With Arte's bright personality, it shouldn't be hard for her to make friends too. So even if I left her, she should be alright for the next few years.

'So all I have to do is quickly finish my business and get strong. Strong enough to protect her no matter what happens by the time I return.'

She is a person from the otherworld. Even if I tried to look elsewhere on the continent, I don't think I can find anyone like her. Her existence alone might become the key to saving the world from destruction. At the very least, she might have information about the otherworld, which the Seer and I only have limited knowledge of.

'Of course, there's her traumatic memory to think about.'

But by the time we reach adulthood, I should be able to slowly ease her into remembering things from the past without triggering an intense reaction.

'But that's something I must consider in the future.'

For now, it's enough to know that I managed to safely escort Arte to an orphanage—and quite a good one. So I freed my mind from future worries and closed my eyes.

As I listened to Arte's soft breathing, my body gradually relaxed. And then, my consciousness faded to black.


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Chapter end