Chapter 84

A new life had been underway for about a week when the government inspection was scheduled to take place.

I decided to head to the orphanage early in the morning. Although I heard the inspection would be around noon, I still felt anxious and decided to go right after breakfast.

The inspection, as I understood from the application process, would involve checking the ledgers and the living conditions of the children.

The main source of income was donations, and Lumina and I were covering it with our earnings. However, Lumina's contribution was more like a donation in lieu of rent, so in reality, it was mostly my donations that were covering the expenses.

This was the one thing that made me a bit uneasy.

If I revealed my noble status, it would likely be accepted, but since there is a noble in charge of the jurisdiction, I couldn't just go around making demands. So, I intended to keep my donations as those of an adventurer.

After arriving at the orphanage, I started preparing lunch. The main dishes were soup and bread, so I placed the bread I had bought in a basket and started boiling the soup.

While I was in the kitchen, Saya appeared.

"Mr. Touya, the people from the government are here. Could you please come with me...?"

"Sure, I'll be right there."

It seemed Saya was also anxious about being alone. In the Salandiel Kingdom, the orphanage had been running since her parents' generation, so there hadn't been an inspection just because it was now her turn to run it.

Lumina was at the Adventurer's Guild, so Saya and I decided to handle the inspection together.

When I went to the gate, I saw three men standing there. One of them was familiar.

He was the senior inspector from the wealthy orphanage.

"Welcome, please come in. Thank you for coming today."

I bowed along with Saya.

"Yes, I remember meeting you before. This is the orphanage you were talking about?"

"Yes, that's right. Thank you for coming today."

"Shall we start the tour then?"

"Yes, please follow me."

Saya led the way, starting with the first-floor office, then the dining room and kitchen. After that, we went upstairs to check the rooms.

They needed to ensure that the children's rooms weren't overcrowded.

"The rooms seem to be in order. The building is well-maintained. Next, we'll check the meals, but first, let's review the ledgers."

We all went back down to the office. As they were checking the ledgers, one of the men seemed to notice something.

"Regarding the donations, it appears that almost the entire amount comes from Mr. Touya. Is this correct?"

"Yes, that's correct. Most of the funds come from Mr. Touya's donations."

"......I see. Mr. Touya, if I may ask, what is your occupation?"

"......I'm an adventurer in the capital."

"......I see."

The man's expression slightly changed.

This was the part I was worried about. Adventurers earn their living with their own skills. If you're good, you can make a decent living. However, in this world, anything can happen. There's always the risk of being attacked by monsters and losing your life.

The government wants stable and continuous donations. If I were running a merchant guild, it wouldn't be a problem, but being an adventurer, which is an unstable profession, was an issue.

"That's a problem."

The senior inspector spoke up.

"I understand that Mr. Touya is an excellent adventurer capable of making such donations. However, we would prefer the donations to be more diversified. Is that possible?"

"......That's......"

Saya started to worry about the question from the man checking the ledgers. I believe that if we asked, we could gather more donations. However, she hadn't realized this. Mentioning names like Char, Al, and Natalie would be too high up in the imperial hierarchy, and I didn't want to raise questions about my connections.

As we were struggling to respond, the senior inspector hesitated for a moment before relaxing his expression.

"Well......it's up to us whether the permit is granted. How about becoming a sponsor?"

I understood what he was saying. He was asking for a bribe.

A few gold coins would be a small price to pay considering the future subsidies, and I had been advised of this during the application process.

"Of course. Please take care of it."

I handed him a small bag of gold coins, pretending to shake his hand. I considered it a necessary evil to wrap things up quickly.

If they said anything more, I could always reveal my noble status as a last resort.

The senior inspector glanced back, checked the contents, and smiled.

"Very well......the document inspection is sufficient. We'll just check the children's meals. If there are any other issues, we'll contact you later, but I expect everything will be fine."

"Thank you so much!"

Saya thanked the senior inspector.

"Can we see the meal now?"

"The preparations are almost done. We just need to warm it up."

"Saya, stay here. I'll go help the children with the preparations."

I asked Saya to stay and went to the kitchen to warm the soup and bring the bread to the dining room. The children were already waiting there.

"Brother Touya, I'm hungry."

"Just a moment. I'll start serving now."

I ladled the soup into bowls and distributed them to the children. I placed a few loaves of bread in a basket in the center for them to take.

When everything was ready, Saya brought the inspectors in. The children looked suspiciously at the strangers but started eating after Saya's reassurance.

The inspectors observed the children eating the soup from the pot and seemed satisfied, nodding with a smile.

"The children's diet seems to be in order. They look happy."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Then we'll take our leave. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Please allow me to see you out."

We saw the three inspectors off at the gate.

I let out a sigh of relief when they finally left.

"Still, Mr. Touya, was it really necessary......? If you had revealed your noble status, you wouldn't have had to give a bribe, right......?"

"True, but I'd rather keep my status hidden. There's a noble in charge of the orphanage, and if I interfere, I might cause problems. I'll reveal my status if something happens, though......"

If the orphanage or the children were in danger, I would reveal my noble status without hesitation. Lumina also stays at the orphanage, so I'm confident that everything will be fine.

"Let's get back. The children are waiting."

"You're right. I'm hungry now that the tension is gone."

Saya and I exchanged smiles and returned to the dining room to join the children for their meal.