Chapter 56

It's a bit long.

Sofia Orphanage.

This orphanage is located not far from the clinic.

On the outside, it's an ordinary house that has seen better days.

There are nine orphans in total: one infant and eight children ranging from five to twelve years old, both boys and girls.

It's a very small-scale orphanage run by Sofia, an elderly woman who seems kind and gentle.

We arrived at the orphanage about ten minutes ago.

I greeted the director, Sofia, along with Ellis, and immediately started helping out.

Well, the "helping out" part was pretty simple.

Sofia had a meeting after lunch, and she asked me to look after the children during that time.

Ellis also intended to help with lunch preparation, so she arrived a bit early.

Now, Ellis is making lunch for Sofia and the children while carrying the infant on her back,

"Brother, that's amazing! So cool!"

"Again, again!"

"Hey, how do you do that? Brother, can you teach me?"

"Hey, please teach me! I want to try too, Master!"

During this time, I'm stuck in the dining room, making sure the rambunctious children don't get into trouble.

I'm basking in the children's admiring and respectful gazes.

Specifically, what I'm doing is origami.

"See, this time it's a crane, a bird."

"Amazing!"

"Again, again!"

"Hey, how did you fold it? So, first, you fold it into a triangle, right?"

"Master, that's so cool!"

As the paper is folded, the children watch my hands intently, fascinated by how the shapes of animals gradually form.

It seems that the culture of playing with origami doesn't exist in this country.

By the way, the reason I'm good at origami is that I did it as a free research project in elementary school.

It was more like copying an origami textbook, not really a research project, but I still remember most of the content.

Origami has patterns.

Once you get the hang of it, you can fold simple ones even without a guide.

Of course, I can easily fold a crane, and I can even fold animal faces with ease.

I never thought that experience would come in handy here.

Honestly, when Ellis asked me to "keep an eye on the children so they don't do anything dangerous while she cooks," I was a bit unsure, but it turned out to be easier than I thought.

After demonstrating the origami and getting the children interested,

"Here, take this paper and try it out however you like."

"I want to make a goblin!"

"I want to make a slime."

"Hey, how do you fold a bunny? Hey, can you teach me?"

"I want to make Master out of origami."

All I have to do is give them the paper and keep an eye on them.

If they start running around or causing trouble, it could be a problem, but giving them a new toy like this keeps them occupied.

The children are quietly folding paper.

Occasionally, I give them some advice and show them new origami examples at the right time, which should keep them busy until Ellis finishes cooking.

Well, for me, taking care of children is just like this.

Maybe Ellis will feel something fatherly about me and think, "Maybe I could raise children with him..."

—Just as I was thinking that, I noticed Yuel, who had been among the children, suddenly stopped.

...Oh, right, Yuel.

She had somehow blended in with the orphans, but it felt so natural that I didn't say anything.

Is she having trouble folding the origami and wants some advice?

But even I can't do that.

I can't fold something as detailed as a specific person.

I wish she would at least try the cute animal face series.

...However, Yuel stopped folding but wasn't looking at me.

Her gaze was fixed on a young girl, about seven years old.

...Is something wrong with this girl?

While the other children were engrossed in their origami, Yuel was just watching this girl.

...I noticed something about this girl.

She didn't have any paper.

She wasn't even looking at the paper.

It seemed like she wasn't interested in origami at all.

She seemed to be holding something in her hand, moving it as if caressing it.

But there was a distant look in her eyes, as if she was just waiting for time to pass, sitting there blankly.

"Is something wrong? Don't you find origami interesting?"

"..."

I called out to her, and the girl looked down with teary eyes.

...Is she just shy?

Well, if a stranger suddenly shows up, some children might react like this.

"Anyway, there's plenty of paper. If you feel like it, you can try later."

I called out to her again—

"..."

The girl buried her face in her knees and started crying.

"Hey, hey, don't cry! I didn't do anything, you know?"

What should I do?

I didn't expect her to cry just because I talked to her.

I don't know how to handle such a situation.

Maybe she's just scared of adult men.

Alright, I'll call Ellis and let her handle it.

—Just as I was about to call Ellis, Yuel, who saw the girl's reaction, looked at me.

What is it? She looks like she's expecting something.

...What is she expecting?

Is she expecting me to make this girl stop crying gracefully?

...I don't think so.

I don't understand what Yuel is thinking.

When I tilted my head in confusion,

"Master, this girl might be blind."

Yuel said.

The girl's shoulders trembled.

"Really?"

It didn't seem that way.

...But Yuel, who has been blind before, might be able to tell.

The girl slightly raised her head and looked at Yuel.

She had a puzzled expression, as if asking, "How did you know?"

...Looking closely, I could see a slight offness in her eyes or gaze.

...I see.

She can't do origami because she can't see.

That's what it means.

"...No, I can see a little. But... I can't do such detailed things because they're blurry."

The girl said to Yuel in a trembling voice.

...Even her hands are blurry.

I've heard of such cases.

Probably, this girl has severe visual impairment.

She can vaguely see her surroundings, but can't focus on fine details or sees things as if through a fog.

"Still, eyes... eyes are..."

...It must be tough to have impaired vision.

Eye treatment can only be done by Exheal.

And since it can only be done by Exheal, this orphan girl might never get treated.

It's still okay while she's being taken care of at the orphanage, but what will happen after that?

It would be difficult for her to find a job if she can't see.

I can imagine what might happen to a blind girl in this world.

...A slave or a prostitute.

Probably something like that.

The old lady running the orphanage might take care of her even when she grows up, but she's quite old.

She won't live forever.

This young girl will undoubtedly end up unhappy in the near future.

...While I was thinking about this, Yuel was still staring at me.

She still looked like she was expecting something.

...I healed Yuel's eyes before.

"Master, who is so kind, wouldn't abandon a blind, pitiful child," Yuel seems to believe that.

Her eyes clearly show that expectation.

She seems to expect to see Master's cool and heroic actions.

While Yuel was looking at me with such eyes, the girl spoke with her head down.

"At the festival, I heard that the Holy Maiden could definitely heal my eyes. But it ended with the person in front of me, so it didn't work."

"Oh, that..."

I remember the Holy Maiden was doing free treatments a few days before the festival.

She must have been hoping to get treated then.

But from what I can tell, the Holy Maiden couldn't handle the Earth Dragon's petrification breath, so she probably only had a few uses of Exheal.

She must have run out of magic power right before this girl's turn.

"But it's okay. The Holy Maiden said that if I keep this, something good will happen, so I shouldn't give up. She gave me this."

The girl showed me what she was holding in her hand.

"This is... a ring?"

At first glance, it looked like an expensive ring.

It was made of gold and adorned with a large gemstone.

The intricate design suggests that it would cost a lot to make a ring of this quality in this world.

It would fetch a good price if sold.

...Is it some kind of strange magical item?

Like the earring Luluka gave me.

Hearing that it's from the Holy Maiden, I can't help but be on guard.

She said that good things would happen just by having it.

I'll check it with an identification spell.

Ring

...It's just a ring.

It doesn't seem to be a magical item or anything.

It's just a high-quality gold ring with no special properties.

So, this is just a gift.

It might be something to sell if she's in dire straits.

"The Holy Maiden is still in this town, so if I keep this, I think I can get healed."

The girl stroked the ring as she said this.

...She doesn't know that the Holy Maiden has already left the town.

What will her face be like when she finds out later?

When I looked away from the girl, Yuel was still looking at me.

Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at me.

...I can't let her down.

I can't betray Yuel's eyes.

If I abandon this girl here, I won't be someone Yuel respects.

...Fortunately, the Holy Maiden has already left the town.

I can't say I can use healing magic without any worries, but I don't have to hide it if there's a treatment target right in front of me.

Besides, this girl can see a little.

If I make her promise to keep it a secret, I can probably get away with it for a while.

And if enough time passes, as long as this girl doesn't say "This person healed me," no one will know who did it.

"What's your name?"

"Me...? Farah."

"I see, Farah. ...I have something to talk about. Can you come with me for a moment?"

Well, I might as well hope she grows up to be a beauty like Ellis and comes back to repay me.

I left the children in Yuel's care and decided to heal this girl.

---

The two conditions I gave to Farah, the blind girl, for the treatment were:

One, to keep the fact that she can see a secret until she grows up.

And the other, to never tell anyone that I healed her.

Well, it's a bit uncertain if a young girl can keep it a secret, but I said what I had to say.

She was so happy and excited, saying, "Thank you, big brother, something good really happened!" but I'm not sure if she was really listening.

Still, she was being fed by the old lady at lunch, so she seems to be trying to keep it a secret.

"Ellis, Shiki, Yuel... Thank you so much for your help."

After lunch, the old lady of the orphanage thanked us politely.

I think she said that someone was coming, and we were supposed to take care of the children during that time.

Well, taking care of the children isn't much of a problem since there's only one baby who needs a lot of attention, and Ellis is here.

It should be manageable.

"Archbishop-sama will be here in a little while, so please take care of the children until the conversation is over. I'll be waiting for Archbishop-sama at the front door."

"Ah...! You mean the person you're meeting is Archbishop-sama..."

Ellis's face twisted when she heard about the Archbishop.

"Yes, they said they want to talk about donations. I don't want the children to do anything to upset Archbishop-sama... Thank you, I'll be waiting at the front door."

The old lady said and went outside.

...Ellis seems to have something on her mind, with a troubled expression.

I remember she said before that the orphanage's financial situation was bad because the Archbishop was embezzling the donations.

If the Archbishop is here to talk about donations, it could be to reduce them.

Ellis might be worried about that.

"Ah, uh, wah!"

—While I was thinking about this, the baby Ellis was holding suddenly started crying.

Maybe because of Ellis's stern face.

When she noticed, Ellis quickly changed her expression to a gentle one.

Then, she first checked the baby's diaper,

"It doesn't seem to be this."

After confirming that the crying wasn't due to a dirty diaper, she started rocking the baby gently like a cradle to calm it down.

She seemed experienced.

It seems she really does help out at the orphanage from time to time.

The baby, however, didn't stop crying easily.

"Maybe she's hungry. But I just fed her..."

I remember she was given something that looked like milk from a bottle during lunch.

It doesn't seem like she's hungry.

Babies cry for all sorts of reasons.

Sometimes they cry for no reason at all.

She doesn't seem to be feeling unwell, so I'll just try to soothe her.

—While I was thinking this,

"Ellis, aren't you going to feed the baby?"

Yuel suddenly said.

Ellis's movements paused for a moment.

She looked at Yuel as if trying to understand her intention.

By "feed the baby," does she mean using Ellis's breast milk?

"...Does it... come out?"

When I asked, confused,

"It doesn't... come out! Of course not!"

Ellis quickly denied it.

...Yeah, if it did, how many months pregnant would Ellis be?

If she was pregnant without knowing, I'd probably be in shock.

I haven't even touched her yet.

...The baby's crying got louder, probably startled by Ellis's loud voice.

"Th-that, Ellis, I-I'm sorry..."

Yuel, thinking Ellis was angry, looked shocked and bowed her head.

"...Ah, w-wait! ...N-no, Yuel, I'm not angry. ...Breast milk... only comes out when a woman is pregnant, you know? It's not just because someone has big breasts."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes, that's right, so I... can't produce breast milk."

While rocking the baby to calm it down, Ellis skillfully explained to Yuel to clear up the misunderstanding.

Yuel's misunderstanding was resolved, and the baby gradually stopped crying.

...However, the scene of Ellis taking care of the baby felt very natural.

...Even though she's not married yet.

It almost looked like the baby was Ellis's own.

Why is that?

Is it because of her big breasts?

"You look really good with it..."

I realized I had spoken my thoughts out loud.

Ellis looked at me when she heard it.

...Ellis stopped rocking the baby and looked at me.

She seemed a bit surprised.

...Then, she looked at the baby in her arms.

I could see a slight smile on her face.

...Then, she looked at me again.

She was staring at me.

Or maybe, she was just staring blankly.

It seemed like she was thinking about something.

She had a distant look in her eyes.

"Wh-what do you mean by 'good'..."

But then, Ellis quickly turned away and resumed soothing the baby.

Oh, what is this—

Just as I was thinking about it,

"...Master, I feel something strange. I'll go check outside. If anything happens while I'm away, use this."

Yuel said, handed me something, and jumped out the window.

...Strange feeling?

Is there something outside?

By the way, what Yuel gave me... is a smoke bomb.

The one she used at the Miss Contest venue before.

Curious, I looked outside the window Yuel had just left from... but there was nothing.

Yuel was already gone, nowhere to be seen.

"Archbishop-sama, thank you so much for coming all the way here. It's not a very nice place, but please come in."

At the same time, I heard the old lady's voice from the front door.

It seems the Archbishop has just arrived.

...So, he just sensed the Archbishop's presence.

Then, as I was understanding Yuel's actions,

"It seems they've arrived... Ah, wait, where's Farah?"

Ellis said.

Looking around, one of the children was indeed missing.

It was Farah.

Farah was gone.

"G-gone!?"

"Yes, I think she was here just a moment ago..."

She must have gone somewhere while I was soothing the baby.

However, this timing is not good.

...I've seen the Archbishop once before at the Miss Contest.

If the chubby Archbishop and the innocent child meet, the Archbishop might say something like, "Oh, a piggy!"

The church is the lifeline of this orphanage.

If he says something like that, the donations might be cut off, and the orphanage could be shut down.

Farah is still young, so we need to find her quickly.

I should ask Y