Book 3: Chapter 2

Book 3: Chapter 2

The Place of Beginning

It feels nostalgic

I stared at the small town that was visible from the highway and muttered slightly inside my mouth.

I moved from place to place after the fight against the assassin guild before returning back to the territory of Baron Horace where that orphanage was located. It had been two years. Although I called it a return, it wasnt like I considered this Horace territory as my hometown. I think that my birthplace was somewhere in this territory, but I didnt remember the town and the house where my family lived when I was little.

Many things happened in this place. It wasnt a place that I had good memory about. Even so I returned here because I wanted to fulfill a promise that I made before.

The small town where that orphanage was located. There wasnt anybody there who remembered me as I walked through it. I almost never gone outside from the orphanage, and so there wasnt really anybody who knew me, even so I could only say for some reason if I was asked why I wanted to walk through this town.

Based from what I heard at a stall that was selling baked flour (it was filling but not delicious), after that hag was gone a Cruzian priest came to look after the orphanage. After that it seemed that the environment of the orphanage and the orphans got a lot better.

But even that priest had retired several months ago. The citizens here now took turn to take care of the orphans until the baron sent the next person to manage the place.

You see, miss. We the residences of this neighborhood are all allies of the orphans.

Hee



The stall owner was talking just how hard they were working for the sake of the pitiful orphans as though they were saints, but I knew how all of you were pretending to not see the abused orphans before that.

Come again!

It wasnt like I was concerned for the orphans.

I just got a bit interested with how the orphanage was doing after I was gone.

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My memory was vague so I got lost for a bit but, I arrived at the orphanage that I didnt miss at all without problem.

Although Claydale Kingdom had warm climate, the night at winter like now was really cold. I remembered how cold the dirt floor was to sleep on with only a thin blanket and not enough food at all.

When I peeked into the orphanage from the street, I found the orphans who dressed a bit better and looked a bit better were washing clothes and cleaning the yard with listless faces. But then

oi, take out the food

s-stop

The voices of boy and girl could be heard faintly from the alley that led to the back gate of the orphanage.

When I tried peeking there, I saw a young man who looked like he just have his coming of age recently. He was wearing a slightly dirty clothes and a knife on his waist. It seemed he was pestering a girl from the orphanage.

If I give this away then the little kids wont

Haa? The brats didnt eat even when I was still here right-

Aa, I see. I remembered their action and faces.

The girl was three or four year older than me. She was in charge of cooking in the place of the old hag. And then the young man was an older orphan who liked to steal the food of the little kids and pushed off his work to others.

Noage wise he couldnt be called an orphan anymore I guess.

Originally kids who almost had their coming of age would go out helping craftsman or the like as job training, but that old hag only thought of working hard the orphans or selling them, so there wasnt anything like that here.

Even so there would be quite a lot of things that the orphans could do in the town if they had gotten used to do the chores in the orphanage, but it looked like that man who always pushed off his work to others could only become a thug after he became adult and got kicked out of the orphanage.

What the hell are you looking at, huuuh

The man picked a fight with me while I was watching and recalling the past.

I was erasing my presence somewhat within the natural limitation, but it looked like my presence leaked out slightly from remembering my emotion at that time. The man saw me and noticing that I was a young woman, he walked toward me with a threatening swagger.

You brat, are you an adventurer? Look real neat arent you huh. If youre adventurer with money, then how about leaving some for an unfortunate orphan.

You dont look like an orphan.

Even me is a former orphan you know. Thats why its fine for this unfortunate me to take the orphanage money.

Orphanage was fundamentally managed using fund from the territory. If an orphanage was in poor condition, it must be because there were those like this man or the old hag who sponged off it.

While the man was making incomprehensible sophism and telling me to leave behind money, the girl behind him screamed.

Dont involve a stranger-, Ill give you my portion, thats why please-!

A faint self-deprecating smile formed on my lips under the shawl hiding them when I heard her words.



Even the distance that took nearly two days before didnt even take half a day to traverse with my current capability.

I left the city at evening. Then I ate and took a nap at the forest near the camping ground where I built my first base, wiped my body with a wet cloth, cleaned my body with Clean, then I moved again and reached the neighboring city the next day before noon.

Previously I entered from a hole in the wall into the slum district, but this time I came while the gate was opened so I entered the town from the front.

.

An adventurer who registered in this town huh. I never see your face before.

Because I mainly worked at the capital and Dandall.

Thats amazing for someone your age.

Adventurer could freely go in and out of the town where they registered. Even so it had been two and a half years since I came here so the soldier questioned me some, but he let me passed without trouble after checking my tag.

You havent come here for a long time so be careful of the north ruin. Theres a rumor of a dangerous monster appearing, so ask for more detail at the adventurer guild.

Yes, thank you mister soldier.

An adventurer should have known how dangerous was this place that had a dungeon and a lot of monsters in the area, so why did he tell me something like that? Well, either way I planned to head to the adventurer guild, so Id ask there at that time.

Under the sky that was still bright, I entered the area for low-income earner that was close to the slum. At the same time I blended my presence to the surrounding and made myself vanished.

My Stealth skill had leveled up until level 4. Just like how when I first met Viro I could only distinguish his figure as a magic particle shape, if the current me seriously disappeared into darkness, a mere level 1 Search skill wouldnt even feel that there was anything out of place.

I stopped by at the territory of Marquis Kendras wasnt for crushing the thief guild there but to buy a certain something. I fixed my hold on that baggage and headed toward my destination, but if it was that person then surely he would be happy if I brought him a souvenir even though it was still this bright outside.

Galbas, you there?

When I called out like that from the entrance, Galbas turned his face from where he was sitting on a long chair away from the forges fire. He was just drinking alcohol together with one other man since noon.

You huh.

Dont tell me, youre ash covered-?

Long time no see you two.

It was the person beside Galbas who called me like that. Inside there was Galbas who gave me the black knife and the old man from general store who introduced me to this smith.

It has been really longwait, you re a woman?

Are your eyes just empty hole-! Shes a woman from the start, you blind old man-!

How can I know the gender difference of some human kid, you goddamn moron!

What, are you picking a fight, you obstinate geezer-!

Im not gonna be merciful even with obstinate geezer like you-!

*Dan-!*

I have a request.

I placed a special grade strong alcohol that cost me one gold coin for one bottle with a thud. I bought it from a settlement of rock dwarves who gathered as miners in the marquis territory. The two eccentric drunk old men who suddenly started quarreling stopped moving.



Oubringing alcohol like this when visiting, you really get it even though youre just a brat.

Whats more its a special grade alcoholit has been a long time since I saw one.

Im fine with taking work from you but, Im not gonna do it if its a boring work yknow?

First Im paying my tab.

*Cling.*

First I took out the promised golden coin from my Storage and put it on the table.



Ou, youre unexpectedly fast. But, a brat shouldnt overdo it

*Gashan-.*

Next I dumped all the money in my possession on the table. Seeing that not only Galbas, even the old man from general store looked dumbfounded.

All the money that I had saved until now. Fifty large gold coins, twelve gold coins, twenty three silver coins, and some bronze coins.

This is everything I have. I want you to make me a blade to be used exclusively for pendulum.