CH 17

Chapter 17 Orphanage Part 1

At the castle, I asked Karina and Crista to change into something more appropriate for strolling around the town.

The dress they were wearing earlier would stand out on the street, and it would be a disaster if the children touched it and made it dirty.

The orphanage could not afford it.

Well, if that happened, I would do it.

“I want to go to the orphanage already!” I thought, but the time spent waiting for the girls to change was excruciating. I forgave it when I tried to put myself in the mindset of the protagonist of a romantic comedy manga, waiting for the heroine and her girlfriends to change into their swimsuits and come out of the changing room on a double date.

That was the kind of youth I want to live in this life! It was enjoyable while I was thinking about it, but when I calmed down and faced reality, the sense of emptiness that overcame me was unbearable.

Self-care combined with delusion was a double-edged sword.

Speaking of double-edged swords, when a child in a previous life I made a sacred sword, Moroha no tsurugi*, out of a wooden stick, and it was amazing. (TL: Chapter 8)

I smashed the Excalibur made by the kids around me and the older students in a duel.

It was my brilliant achievement.

I really miss it.

Maybe next time I'll have a sword duel with the mischievous kids at the orphanage.

Inside the carriage, it was time for explanations and warnings until we arrived at the orphanage.

I told them what I was doing at the orphanage and that I would not tell them that I was a prince.

“Was the name ‘Kuuga’ thought of by Edward-sama?”

Crista, who has been speaking a little more, asked me in a gentle manner.

She was my age, but she had an older sister vibe to her, similar to Mana in my previous life.

It was a little soothing when we started talking.

“Yes, I did. I just randomly thought of it.”

“Ara, randomly, is it? I wonder if that's the reason why it sounded so strange to me, though I think It's lovely.”

I couldn't help but be captivated by her smile.

“You think so? I suppose you have good taste…”

Karina looked at me as if I was a disappointing child, but Kuuga was the name of a brave man with a double-edged holy sword!

Keep that in your heart, and apologize to the Kuga family!

“I'll give you a better name for Ethan's younger brother! Eth–”

“No, It’s all right! You can just call me Kuuga!”

I can't predict the name she was about to say, but I'm sure it will involve Ethan.

I'm not just some kind of a celebrity who was coerced into changing my name by a fortune teller on a TV show.

What kind of punishment was that?

“It’s sad to hear that you’re saying no, Ed–Kuuga-sama. But, I understand. Then, please feel free to call me Karina as well.”

“You can also call me Christa.”

“You don’t have to add the honorifics. You can use more informal language. If you are too polite, the children will be nervous. Please talk to me as if I were your friend. I'll do the same. Karina, Crista.”

When I asked them to do so, they scowled at each other.

What? You don't like it? I was a little nervous at first, but was relieved when they smiled at me and said, "I understand."

Even though the topic was unimportant, conversing with girls I didn't know was exhausting.

This was too extreme!

I wonder if I could be a youth in such a state…

We arrived at an orphanage in a corner of the castle town.

The two-story building itself was old, but it was spacious and had a garden where children could run around.

There was also a field and adequate facilities for an orphanage.

Unlike the building, the grounds were surrounded by a new, tall, and impressive wall.

This was due to the fact that they rebuilt it with the money I gave them.

The previous walls were in danger of collapsing. The area was not dangerous, but just in case.

“It really is an orphanage, isn't it?”

“Karina, you…”

Krista rebukes Karina, who rolled her eyes at the orphanage.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Ethan-sama told me that you were just going to the orphanage just to play around…”

“Pardon?”

Did Ethan just say that I was lying and just playing around by going to the orphanage?

No way….

I was too dumbfounded to get angry.

Karina seems to believe Ethan's words. I'm usually in the shadows and I've never had anything to do with her before, so I guess I couldn't blame her for believing what she had been told to.

Christa warned Karina on my behalf, but I don't know how I should feel about it.

The misunderstanding should be cleared up soon, because I intend to prove it by the way we spend our time with the children from now on.

“Sensei! Kuuga-sensei!”

When I got off the carriage, Yulia came running up to me while her pink twin-tail was swaying around.

The small children rush after her.

“Sensei, you're here! We've been waiting for you! Look at the fields! Flowers! The flowers have already bloomed!”

Yulia grabbed my hand and led me to the field before I could introduce Karina and Crista.

The two of them were looking at me blankly, but I'm sure Yuno will take care of the rest.

“Oh~ This is amazing!”

A corner of a field plowed when Mana first arrived in this world was transformed into a colorful flower field.

The seeds were all the same, but the shapes and colors varied depending on the magical power provided as nourishment.

Visually, it was a jumble, but thinking about the children who worked so hard to make these flowers bloom made me smile a lot.

“Sensei, mine is that one!”

“Oh, Which one? That is incredible!”

Yulia pointed to a flower that stood out.

It was a straight sunflower, probably two meters taller than me.

“You did great.”

Ahem! I happily patted Yulia's head and smiled as she proudly puffed out her chest.

The smile on her young face was childish, but the magic power that could be seen in the flowers she had grown was quite impressive.

“You’re really amazing.”

Despite its height, it grew straight and without bending.

The flower faced the sun, but its colour was blue; which was suited for water-based magic.

This was just right.

“Yulia, today we are going to make sweets.”

“Sweets!? Yay!”

I'm going to make the cat cookies I made for Mana with everyone today.

I don't know if we could make use of cookie making in the orphanage from now on, but let's do it anyway.

I'll make the cat, but…I'll also make a Shiba Inu today.

I'm still not over the shock that Mana was a dog person, but I thought it would be a good idea to give it to her when I apologise.

“Sensei, look at my flower too!”

“Mine too!”

“Please look!!!!”

The children who had flocked to the garden showed me their flowers.

As I was praising them, patting them on the head and picking up the little ones in my arms, my eyes met those of three people watching us from a little distance away.

One was Yuno, who seemed to be in a good mood, and the other was the ladies, who looked surprised.

That was right, it was not just Yuno and I who came here today.

“I'm sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No, it's fine. I see that you are much admired, Kuuga-sensei.”

I rushed over to them, but I was teased by Christa.

I was embarrassed when Crista called me a Sensei, but I was reassured that she would no longer misunderstand me from the way I felt.

“I see that you are a frequent visitor to this orphanage, so I guess I was wrong about you playing with them! I will have to tell Ethan-sama!”

“Haha…”

Karina's misunderstanding seems to have been cleared up, but it's subtle and unsettling.

Ethan was aware that I was at the orphanage and that I was merely "playing," but she does not appear to be aware of such malice.

Even if I tried to explain it to Karina, who adores Ethan, she wouldn't get it.

So I'll keep my mouth shut…Why the heck do you like that sexually harassing musclehead?

The world was unreasonable no matter where I went.

“I'm going to go make some pastries with the children. Would you two like to join us?”

“Well, that sounds fun! Let’s get started!”

Karina enters the building at a brisk pace, leaving us behind.

She was a countess, but she didn't look at with disdain when she saw the old exterior of the orphanage, and although she had made a few curious comments, they seemed to be honest and sincere.

To put it another way, she wasn't a bad girl.

But she must have come here because Ethan told him something.

I don't think she came to me just to be my friend.

“I've never made my own pastries before.”

Christa smiled as if there were flowers all around her after she said that.

I don't believe she was bad; in fact, I believe she was a good girl...

But in the end, I'm sorry to say it, but I can only think of them as “Ethan's assassin.”

I couldn’t get them to tell me what he was trying to do…