Ch. 45 - A Day in Orphanage

The next morning. After we woke up, we discovered that we were surrounded by curious children who asked us about this and that. They seemed shocked that we suddenly appeared as if out of thin air. But should I say as expected of orphans? They were considerate enough to immediately apologize when they noticed they had asked something that made us uncomfortable. That is even more true when such questions were directed to Arte.

"My parents' face? Hnnn… I don't remember?"

Arte herself thought of her situation lightly, but the children's gaze turned moist when they learned that she had lost her memory due to a traumatic experience.

'Yes, telling them of Arte's amnesia was part of my plan.'

With this, they wouldn't look at her weirdly for not knowing even basic things everyone would know. Even better, from their gaze and behavior, it seems like they would try to befriend Arte and make her feel comfortable in this place now that they know of her situation.

After breakfast, some even invited Arte to play outside together. Arte looked at me as if she wanted to play with me, too, but I just smiled and told her to play with them instead. So she accepted their urging and went to play with the kids.

As for me…

"Um, R-Raon! I made these cookies for you."

I was trying to find the sister who disappeared somewhere after breakfast. But like in an RPG, I keep stopping my feet due to random encounters with girls who gave me all kinds of presents.

"Oh, this looks good. Did you make it yourself?"

The girl nodded with a blush. I smiled at that sight.

"Thank you. I really like it."

"Ah…! Y-yes! You're welcome! Hehe. W-well then, goodbye!"

"Oh, okay. Take care."

She then excused herself and ran off somewhere.

'What is it? Why do they keep running away from me?'

It was fine for the first time or two, but since even the seventh girl was like this, I couldn't help but think I missed something here. They seemed happy, so I thought they would stay to talk and try to get closer instead. But I didn't expect them to run away after giving their presents.

'How should I put it? Should I say it feels like receiving tributes?'

I could feel their goodwill, so I'm sure they meant well. And it's not like I'm feeling bad about them running away, either. I'm just curious as to why they did that.

'Unfortunately, I don't think I'll see them again after today.'

It was a shame in many ways. It would be nice if I could befriend such good children, but I'm busy enough preparing for the future catastrophe. So I could only stay for a short time in this place.

'I need to find Eliza first.'

I don’t know about other caretakers. But since Eliza promised she would listen to me, I felt like I should go and tell her at least. About the fact that I'm leaving this orphanage.

'It should be this room, right?'

Eliza told us last night that she would be in the room closest to the entrance if we ever needed to find her. Now that I've arrived, I can only hope that I will find her inside. I knocked on the door softly.

"Sister? Are you there?"

"Yes~ who is it?"

"It's Raon. The boy you took in last night."

"Ah! Okay, please wait a bit. I will be there soon."

From the sound, it seems like I've interrupted her from doing something. But since she didn't turn me away, I figured I should repay her kindness somehow.

'I also have to thank her for letting Arte stay here.'

Would money be fine? I certainly hope so. I have earned a lot of it during my travels.

'Healing the sick and getting paid, subduing villains, eradicating monsters, finding hidden treasures using my memory of the game… all sorts of things.'

Even if I excluded all the treasures Bianca gave me from back then, I have enough wealth to not worry about money during my travels.

'Of course, the amount of money I have is lacking to live lavishly until I die of old age, but…'

It was enough for me, who was used to living a simple life alone in a small room. As I was thinking about this and that, the door opened, and Eliza smiled at me benevolently.

"Hello, Raon. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, sister. It's about what I was trying to tell you last night."

"Last night? Ah…! The confession…"

Her expression then turned apologetic as she looked at me.

"Right. I'm sorry for delaying it until now. It must be tough for you."

"?"

"But it's okay. Now that I’m here, we can begin the confession immediately, okay? Come in now, Raon. Don't be afraid, I won't bite."

"Yes, thank you."

For now, I followed Eliza inside her room. It was a simple room much smaller than the room where the children stayed. But maybe because this was where she lived, there was a small bed, a wardrobe, and a drawer for putting underwear.

'Ah… panties…'

There is also a bookshelf, a study desk and chair, and anything you'd expect from a girl who lived alone far from home. Overall, it was a nice room, but my gaze kept going back to the thing above the drawer.

'No, not the panties sticking out from the drawer. But above it.'

There was an open book above the drawer. When I looked closely, it was about the orphanage's financial situation.

"Hmm…"

It doesn't look good. Honestly, isn't this very bad? While I was doing that--

"Ah…!"

Eliza saw the open book and hurriedly hugged it to her chest as if trying to hide it. She then broke out in a cold sweat and looked at me.

"Did you see it?"

"... Yes."

"I see…"

Rather than angry, her expression was that of worry. Is she concerned that this would put pressure or anxiety on me and the kids? However, she doesn't need to worry about that.

"Are you worried that I would tell the others?"

"Oh, that's…! Yes… I'm sorry for doubting you."

"It's okay, I like your honesty."

"Can you keep this between us?"

"Sure. I won't tell the others."

"Really?"

"Yes. This will be a secret between us."

I put a finger on my lips and smiled.

"A secret…"

For some reason, her face seemed to have turned red for a moment. She coughed as if trying to regain her calm and smiled.

"I'm glad. Thank you, Raon. You're very mature for your age."

"I heard that a lot. Rather than that, sister… since you're having money trouble, would you please accept this?"

I took a bag of coins from my subspace pocket and gave it to her. Eliza was dumbfounded as she saw that and accepted the gift in a daze.

"Subspace pocket?! No, before that, what is this?"

"Take a look. It's not much, but it should help you and the orphanage for a while."

Eliza blinked as if not understanding what I meant. But even that changed into pure astonishment as she opened the bag of coins.

"Gold coins?! It's not bronze or silver, but gold?! And this amount…"

"Does it help?"

"It does! It really does! With this much money, let alone running the orphanage for a while, we can keep it afloat for a few decades!"

"That much? Are you not thinking of buying furniture or nice things with it? Some of the money was my personal gift to you, you know?"

"Really? Of course, I thought of it. And we'll buy nice things for the kids, too, if we need them. But I know just how hard it could be not to have money. So, now that we have it, we have to spend it sparingly."

"I see. Well, you know your situation best. So I won't say much about it."

"Truly… thank you so much, Raon… how could I ever repay you…?"

"You don't need to. I gave it due to my own selfishness, after all."

"... Selfishness?"

"Yes, well… I just dislike seeing children and good people in trouble, so this is just self-satisfaction on my part."

My eyes must be shining as I said that. I don't know why Eliza is here or what she will do in the future, but I like what I see from her. Even if I don't benefit directly, helping her today would lead to a positive result someday.

"How is that selfish…?"

However, Eliza’s expression was strange. I did expect her to feel touched momentarily before returning to her usual self, but… what is this?

"Sister?"

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes moist and turned crescent, and her gentle smile looked even more tender than usual. Her overall expression was like that of a believer who was seeing a holy figure that she had been waiting for a long time. Then, with trembling lips, she opened her mouth.

"A saint…"

"What?"

"You must be the saint who came to answer all of my prayers!"

She then sat on the floor and clasped her hands before her chest as she looked up at me.

"Oh, Saint…!"

Looking at that passionate gaze and devotion, I couldn't help but tremble in place. I know Eliza misunderstands things easily, but…

'A saint? Me?'

That was the moment another misunderstanding occurred.


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Chapter end