Chapter 41

41

〈Orphanage of Luck〉

A large four-leaf clover was drawn on the wooden sign, with the name of the orphanage written beside it.

"Hmm, this might be a bit too much."

Anyone could tell it was well-maintained.

I rolled around in the nearby mud.

I got some mud in my hair and tore my clothes to make them look tattered.

I dried them in the sunlight and roughly brushed off the mud, and there I was, a homeless person.

"…Did I go too far?"

My body, covered in mud, felt itchy and uncomfortable.

I twisted my body around and slowly approached the orphanage, crouching down.

"If I stay like this, they'll think I've been abandoned and take me in."

As the sun, which had been high in the sky, began to set and the sky turned a deep red, someone came out of the orphanage.

"…Oh my, goodness."

"Ah…"

To look as pitiful as possible, I lowered my eyes and hunched my shoulders.

"What are you doing here, kid?"

"Food…"

"Food?"

"If I come here, I can get food… right?"

I wasn't used to using honorifics.

As I slightly raised my head to answer, I saw a woman with a very kind face.

Behind her was a young man who looked very simple and rural.

The two of them had a subtle resemblance.

Given that the man looked much younger than the woman, I suspected they were not mother and son.

"Who told you that?"

"Uh…"

Who to blame?

The unlucky Sharant Clown or the Desar Clown who gave me the magic stone?

The answer was simple. It had to be the Sharant Clown, who only gave me stress.

"Uncle…"

"Uncle? Did your uncle raise you?"

You understand baby talk really well. Eighty out of a hundred.

"Yes."

"Your parents?"

I shook my head in response.

As I bowed my head, the woman exclaimed, "Oh, oh."

With a sigh full of sympathy, I curled up even more.

"Did your uncle tell you to come here?"

"Yes… He said to wait here. He said he'd give me food!"

Of course, Sharant Clown told me to wait quietly in the room.

But I didn't feel bad about making Sharant Clown look bad.

I opened my eyes as wide as possible.

The woman crouched down and, with a sympathetic look, hugged me.

"Poor thing, you've been abandoned."

Thud, my heart sank at the sound of her sympathetic voice.

"No, I wasn't abandoned. I left on my own."

I wasn't abandoned.

I wasn't so weak and helpless that I could be abandoned by someone.

A strange discomfort welled up inside me. I swallowed my annoyance and nodded.

"Poor thing, would you like to live with me?"

"Uncle…?"

"Let's live together until your uncle comes."

"Great!"

The runaway was a success.

Sharant Clown won't come for me anyway, so I have no regrets.

How refreshing he must feel now that I'm gone. Maybe he'll even praise me for the first time.

In fact, he might be happy that the illegitimate child is gone and won't be a burden.

He might even think it's a good thing that I'm gone.

'I'm not an ordinary baby, after all.'

I nodded several times, feeling quite satisfied.

When I answered, the woman picked me up and walked into the orphanage with a light step.

Does she look a bit excited? Is it just my imagination?

The orphanage looked very neat and well-maintained from the outside. The red bricks were eye-catching.

Compared to many orphanages, which are often made of wooden planks and in poor condition, this one was in very good shape.

'No wonder they get consistent donations…'

There was a flower bed, and it seemed they also raised animals.

There were quite a few children inside the building.

The treatment didn't seem too bad for an orphanage. The children's clothes and their well-fed appearance were quite good.

'I think I made the right choice.'

She was about to put me down in a playroom but stopped and turned around.

She headed for the bathroom.

She seemed quite experienced in taking care of children.

'Is she a staff member or the director?'

Which one?

I let her take care of me, relaxing in the warm water.

Because I was used to being taken care of in Silopia, I didn't mind someone touching my body.

As the mud washed off and my skin turned pale, the woman's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're very pretty."

"Really?"

"Do you have a name?"

I have two names.

But I couldn't say Serina or Hella.

Not only were they hard to pronounce, but they were also names I couldn't reveal.

"Lira."

I took the second letter from Serina and Hella.

It came out reflexively, but it was a good name.

The woman praised me for having a beautiful name and dressed me in new clothes.

"Let's go see your friends."

I don't want to.

'The number of Kai Shan will only increase.'

I already felt uncomfortable. Is it too much to want a private room?

I already missed the soft bed.

I shook my head vigorously, trying to stay strong. I'll just have to endure for 2-3 more years.

"Lira, you can call me Director Helen."

"Director…?"

Why is her name Helen? It sounds similar to Hella. I don't like it.

And this difficult pronunciation.

I need to learn how to pronounce it properly.

Despite my poor pronunciation, the director smiled brightly.

'She really looks kind.'

She looks so kind that it makes me feel strange.

"Here is the playroom. You can play with your friends."

"Yes."

"You should say, 'Yes, Director.'"

Eh…, even the response is limited? I felt uneasy but nodded awkwardly.

"Yes, Director."

The empire fought a major war until about a dozen years ago. The main reason was territorial disputes, and the unification of the continent was a secondary reason.

In the end, the empire won a great victory, but they must have suffered significant losses as well.

Silopia, in fact, emerged during the chaos. It wasn't on the same continent as the empire. It was more like an island. Therefore, it didn't suffer much from the war.

The war has ended.

It's been almost 20 years.

However, the effects of the war are still felt in many parts of the continent.

The world is still turbulent, and some people haven't moved on from that era.

War is brutal. It ravages lives, takes them away cruelly, and kills people painfully, all considered normal.

I also saw villagers hanged alive from trees at the village entrance.

'Was he conscripted for the war?'

If so, I could understand why he was strict.

"Lira, I'm very pleased with your understanding."

She put me down in the middle of the playroom. It was literally full of snot-nosed kids.

Ugh, I took a step back reflexively. Kai Shan was just a nickname; he didn't really have a runny nose!

"You can feel at home here."

Home? A field of snot?

Swallowing the words I couldn't say, I was left among the curious eyes of the children.

* * *

"Miss, are you awake? The sun is very nice today…"

Vera frowned as she entered the room. She didn't sense any movement.

Usually, there would be a greeting or a mumble.

"Miss?"

Vera looked around the room in confusion. But there was no sign of Serina.

Rustle.

Vera bent down to pick up a piece of paper that had brushed against her foot.

The order was a bit messy, but not too different.

"Writing?"

Vera crouched down and stared at the letters.

"Lea… ve…?"

The letters were large and messy due to the crayon smudges.

Vera slowly traced the letters with her index finger.

"Go, bye… hmm."

She let out a gasp after tracing the last letter a few times.

"Bye?"

Vera slowly pieced together the word she had just read. With only five letters, it wasn't too difficult to figure out.

"Leave, goodbye?"

Vera's face turned pale as she whispered the words.

With a shadowed expression, she stomped her feet and hugged the paper to her chest.

Then she quickly ran out of the room.