第６５掘：えらい (Part2)
"Follow Vilia, and use this money to buy food for them. If you let a child like that carry money, they’ll just get it stolen, be ignored by shopkeepers, or get swindled. You must protect them properly."
"Understood!! Then, let us be off."
"……Quar, the number of orphans is abnormal. We can't possibly provide for all of them, but this count is simply impossible..."
"…Regarding that, the nobles who were under Loire’s umbrella have been controlling the flow of funds related to this orphan relief effort..."
"The scum!! Investigate this immediately... No, I’m going to barge in. Follow me. We’re departing tomorrow, so I’ll settle this today. If they offer even the slightest resistance, cut them down."
"Wait!? What about the aftermath!?"
"Leave that to Aria-sama. She’ll handle it well enough."
And so, I ended up following Seraria-sama.
"Alright, is everyone here? From today on, I’ll be your training instructor… or rather, your school teacher. I’m Yuki. Nice to meet you all!!"
My first impression was simply that he was Seraria-sama’s husband and a very important person.
I remember greeting him politely, desperate not to leave a bad impression.
"U-um. You’re Seraria-sama’s husband, aren't you!? I, I look forward to working with you!!"
As the leader of the group, I desperately tried to scrape together the right words.
"Ah, man. Seraria, this is why problems pop up in places like this."
Yuki-sama voiced his dissatisfaction, though I didn't understand what had gone wrong.
"I, I’m sorry!! D-did I do something wrong!?"
"Oh, no, no. It’s not your fault. And, since you’re the one greeting me, does that mean you’re the one in charge of these kids?"
"Yes!! My name is Vilia!! If I have done anything unpleasant, please punish me!! Please, I beg you to show mercy to the others..."
Before I could finish, a hand was placed on my head, and I flinched.
"Sorry for scaring you. I want to be friends with everyone. So, I won't be punishing anyone."
Yuki-sama bent his knees to match my height. At the same time, the hand on my head began to stroke my hair gently and slowly.
"Vilia is a good girl. You’ve done well for everyone’s sake. You’re much better than I was."
"Eh?"
"So, don’t try so hard. We’ll protect you properly here."
"Ah, ah..."
Those words soaked into my body, and tears overflowed from my eyes, unable to stop.
"Aaaaaahhh...!!"
"Cry, cry it all out. You’ve been working too hard for such a small body. Honestly… you’re a far cry from the brat I used to be."
"Every day, every day, there was no food… my brother… he died… and I… tried so… hard…"
"I see, I see… wait, everyone else is doing it too!?"
Triggered by my crying, everyone else had started to sob as well.
After that, Yuki-sama desperately tried to soothe everyone. He told us that there would be many fun things ahead, so we should stop crying and eat something.
From then on, a dream-like life began.
We were taken to a school, and we all lived together in the dormitory on the grounds. There was a house with a roof, beds(?) were provided for everyone, and the food was all incredibly delicious.
And every day at school, we studied and played. Just as Yuki-sama said, there were so many, many fun things…
"It’s only been a week… but it feels like I’ve been here forever."
I thought this suddenly while eating a bento prepared by Super Ratz with everyone at the park.
In the park, everyone who had finished eating was playing as they pleased. Hiiro was among them, and she noticed me…
"…Vilia-oneechan… oof!?"
She ran toward me and tripped.
"Are you okay!?"
Before I could reach out my hand, a man who had wandered into the park unnoticed helped Hiiro up.
"Are you alright?"
"…Yeah. Thank you."
"You’re a good girl for not crying."
"…Yeah, I’m a strong girl."
The man looked at Hiiro and smiled happily.
"Um, thank you for helping Hiiro."
"No, no. She had already fallen, so saying I 'helped' is a bit of a stretch…"
The man looked as if he wanted to say he looked uncool. The others around us were looking at us with concern.
"Still, thank you. Everyone is fine, so let’s play. Well then, mister, see you later."
"Mis-!? W-wait a second. Do you like this city?"
The man asked with a serious expression. But the answer was already decided.
"Yes, I love it."
When I answered immediately, the man went from looking surprised to smiling…
"I see. Thank you."
With that, he left the park.
Come to think of it, was there an old man in such fancy clothes among the immigrants who came with us?
"Oh, so that’s where you were, Crack. If you wander off just because we’re on a break from the meeting, you’ll get lost, you know?"
"……Yuki-dono. Please, use me to protect this city."
The perspective shifted a bit, but this takes place shortly after the previous chapter.
The school currently functions a bit differently from the schools we know. lol
I said I’d take a break yesterday, but that was a lie!!
Well, once I start writing, I just can’t stop—it’s like a snack you can’t put down.