Chapter 25

"――What?"

As I responded with just those words, the adventurers' expressions immediately fell apart.

"Didn't you understand what I just said? I'm telling you to leave the slum kids alone. Don't you get it?"

The boy who had called out to me also came to hide behind me, as if trying to avoid the rough adventurers.

"I don't really need to be told by you guys..."

"...You... A mage, and you're complaining to us...?"

Just as he started to tremble, a guild staff member intervened.

"Fighting inside the guild is prohibited. Depending on the situation, you might be expelled or arrested."

The situation was somehow calmed by the appearance of a receptionist. However, the three of them spat out, "Remember this," and left the guild.

I couldn't believe it was such a cliché. But I was relieved. I wouldn't lose to them in terms of level, but since I had just arrived in this world, I wasn't sure if I could survive if I was expelled from the guild. I thanked the guild staff in relief.

"Be careful, as there are occasionally people like that."

With those words, she returned to the counter.

"Can you show me around? By the way, I'm Touya. What's your name?"

"I'm... Leor. Follow me."

I asked Leor to show me around and left the guild. As I followed Leor, we gradually moved away from the busy areas and entered the slums. I could feel gazes from various places. Being an adventurer led by a boy might seem strange.

After about ten minutes in the slums, the boy stopped in front of a building.

"This is it. I live here. Quick, take a look! I brought someone who can heal!"

At Leor's words, children started to come out of the building.

...Is this an orphanage or something...?

The children who came out were younger than Leor, all in their single digits.

"Big brother, can you heal the big sister!?"

A young girl looked up at me with hope.

"Let's check on the big sister first."

"Okay, this way!"

I followed Leor, and the children followed behind. In the room we were led to, a girl was sleeping on a bed. As I got closer, I saw her face was flushed, and when I placed my hand on her forehead, she had a high fever.

"Heal," "Detoxify"

I chanted the spells, infusing them with magic power, and the girl was enveloped in light. While Heal might have been enough, I cast Detoxify as a precaution. As the light faded, the girl's redness subsided, and she was sleeping peacefully with a steady breath.

"I think she'll be fine now. Just let her rest and make sure she eats properly..."

The children smiled and rejoiced at my words. The smiles of children are truly heartwarming.

Rumble...

In the midst of this, a stomach growl echoed. The girl looked a bit embarrassed when I glanced at her. Only the children were here. The sleeping woman must have been preparing the meal.

"Can I make some food? Can you show me the kitchen?"

"Food!!!"

The children cheered at my words. They led me to a small kitchen. The ingredients... there were none.

I took out ingredients one by one from my dimensional storage and lined them up. The children watching from behind exclaimed, "Wow!!!" but I ignored them and started cooking. I cut the meat and vegetables and put them into a pot I had taken out of my dimensional storage, filling it with water using a water magic spell. Then I turned on the heat and let it simmer.

"How many people are here?"

"Eight in total, plus the big sister."

"I see. Then let's... "

I took out some bread I had bought in town for a guard mission and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

"Can you take the bread to the others? It'll be ready soon."

The children took the cut bread and left the room. The pot was bubbling, and I seasoned and tasted it.

"Yep, it's good."

I put the pot of soup into my dimensional storage. The children watching were surprised when the large pot suddenly disappeared.

"Alright, it's ready! Let's go to the dining room."

"Okay!!"

We moved to the dining room, and I poured the soup into the bowls the children had prepared. After making sure everyone had a bowl, we started eating.

"Delicious!!"

"There's meat in it!!"

"Really!? It's been so long since we had meat."

The children were eating the bread and sipping the soup. Their smiles as they ate made me smile too. I wasn't that hungry, but I took a spoonful of soup.

"Yep, it's delicious."

While chatting with the children, I learned more about the place. It was indeed an orphanage. Originally, the girl who was now sleeping had run it with her parents, but after they passed away, she took over and was taking care of the children on her own.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"What is this...?"

I turned around to see the girl who had been sleeping standing there.