Chapter 109 – The Orphanage and the Kids
Translator: Ranzan Editor: JackOFallTrades
「Phew, what a nice day. The kids’ clothes will dry off quickly in this weather.」
After feeling the strong sunlight illuminate me and its heat, I took the dried clothes of the children off the clothesline.
After I took the last piece off the line, I looked down on the empty line.
「…」
It’s been two months since my husband died.
I could have never imagined living daily without my husband there beside me until now.
「Oh! Working hard again today I see, Ms. Myun!」
「Oh, Yufon.」
The female head of the firm appeared as she gave us thing things like before at the orphanage.
She was a childhood friend and when my husband and I founded this orphanage, she would aid us now and then.
「I found myself wanting to eat your food now and then. Say, I brought you some things like I usually do, so here.」
She smiled brightly and shook open the bag of things for me.
「May I? Listen no need to dawdle, I mean, I don’t know what’s happened, but you’re really having a hard time lately, right?」
Many of the businesses had lost money, at least I’ve heard so.
And with this disaster, Yufon’s business had been going downward.
I know that she’s been working like crazy to make ends meet.
「Oh, all that? I don’t know why, but it’s seemed to have been taken care of.」
However, Yufon knew that even though she tried to blow off my worries, she still had a rumpled brow that she scratched at troublesomely.
「I know you already heard, Myun, but lately businesses have had all their money disappear, right?」
「…yeah.」
She seemed to be at a loss when she said “businesses.”
During the time of adventurers, businesses were looking to buy the 『Stone-leaf sword』my husband found in a dungeon.
My husband never wanted the sword to be sold. However, he died, and that sword, the only thing that returned with him, had to be sold after almost being threatened to part with it.
The only thing that I got in exchange for that keepsake was several piles of money.
In order to protect the orphanage he left behind, that was all I could do, but, just hearing the name of the fellow who bought it made the hole in my heart open wide.
Even after Grond’s business collapsed, Indifference was all I felt from it.
「I can’t say this too loud, but…somehow the money all came back.」
「?」
「Well, it’s a bit embarrassing, but it was the same as when it disappeared. There was actually more money in the bags then when it disappeared. It seems the other businesses had the same thing happen.」
「That’s a pretty mysterious story.」
「…no,no, this just doesn’t end by being『a mysterious story』. I mean, someone getting in and out of my vault?! I’m going to be totally ruined!」
Yufon shrugged and sighed with a look of total abandonment.
「Anyway, that’s it. At least now I can show my face again. I decided to take a trip since a feel a little better. Do you think you can make something that will bring me back to life? I’ll be waiting inside.」
Yufon said that and walked in the building alone.
「Geez, Yufon…I told you it would be okay.」
I sighed and looked at the empty clothes line again.
She felt better so she decided to show her face, I know it’s hard to be the head of the businesses, but still…
Still, she is a close childhood friend.
「…the kids should be back soon, so I have to make something good for everyone!」
「TEACHER!」
Speak of the devil. I could hear the young kids’ voices from far away.
As I turned to them, I could see them running towards me, hands waving.
They must be coming back from play now that noon is near.
「Misses Myun! Look! I made a present! A mud pie for you!」
「No, Kelly! A woman’s not happy with something like that…」
「Whaa? Hey, Shen Fa, we made this so shiny too.」
Kelly opened his mouth, unhappy about Shen Fa’s comment.
The sun caught the boy’s hand, and the mud pie shone in the sun like a golden coin.
「Yeah! Misses Myun is a lady, so she’s not going to like it like Shen Fa said! That’s why boys are stupid!」
Behind the two, Toria came running with her comment following.
Since Toria had just gotten taller, there was no way she was going to play along with a little boy.
Even if she’s young, she’s still a woman.
「Misses Myun, lean down, lean down!」
「W…why?」
「Just do it!」
「Okay, okay.」
Toria was hiding something behind her back and she, unable to wait, was pulling at me.
I leaned down as she asked, and Toria quickly laughed and stuck something on my head.
「Heh heh, a present for teacher Myun!」
「Wah, Misses Myun looks like a princess!」
「Wow, teacher, you’re beautiful!」
「Huh? What is this?」
I took a flowery crown off of my head and gazed at it.
This crown of yellow and white flowers was like a beautiful tiara from a fairy tale
「It is very beautiful, just like a tiara.」
「Heh heh, I made it!」
「Me too! Toria and I made it together!」
「But, can I put it back on your head again!? Let me put it back on! Stoop down!」
「Heh heh, okay, then please.」
I stopped to one knee and after fixing the tiara a bit, Toria place it back on my head.
Toria and Shen Fa then danced around shouting about how beautiful it was.
「Hmph! Well, my mud pie’s pretty good too! Look, see how it shines! Women like jewels and stuff too right?」
「Gosh, you’re totally wrong, Kelly, women don’t like shiny things, but jewelry. That’s why that mud pie won’t work, but stuff you can wear is what they like!」
「Wha? That’s not right at all, right Shen Fa?!」
「『Women like pretty things they can wear』is what the woman at the reception said. That’s why a mud pie is stupid! Right, Shen Fa?!」
「Wha, um…well…」
Toria and Kelly surrounded the girl, and Shen Fa stuttered in confusion.
「Hey, don’t do that! Shen Fa’s embarrassed, right?!」
I stooped again and took Kelly’s shiny mud pie and in my hand.
「This crown of flowers and this mud pie. Both make me happy. Thank you, all three of you.」
After doing that, the children looked at one another, and then at me.
「You’re happy?! Teacher, you feel better?!」
「What?」
The kids said 『You feel better?』and then stopped at that.
Then Toria seemed to speak for the other two.
「Well, teacher, we saw you crying at night. That’s why we talked about how to make you feel better. So then, so then, we thought we wanted to give you something. And then we thought you’d be happy.」
So, you feel better? The kids looked at me with expectant smiles.
I hugged them tightly so as to not show them I was tearing up…
「…yes, yes….much better…」
「「「All right!! We did it!」」」
The small warmth that was pittering around and shouting in my arms was still something that I had left.
The warmth that my husband had left behind, that I had to protect.
「Even so, this tiara and the mud pie, I’ve never seen before. Where did you learn it?」
「The black haired adventurer taught us!」
「And, and…the rabbit woman and the girl with the blond hair!」
「They have to be mixed together! Even the reception lady said that guy and those two girls are trouble, TROU-BLE!」
「Well, well…」
…I had ignored this before, but I must stop Toria from talking to that Guild receptionist at once.
Because there isn’t much work these orphans can do, I thought I could get them to work at the adventurer guild, but now…
「Did you say thank you?」
「「「We did!!」」」
I thought of this while hearing their answer, and prepared a proper answer for them.
「But when Toria said Thanks to the black-haired adventurer, he started crying!」
「Even though he calls himself an adventurer, he’s a wuss!」
「Oh, really?」
When Kelly and Shen Fa said this, Toria nodded.
「But he was laughing while he was crying. When I said it was weird, he said 『Yeah it is』. He was just making fun of us kids, even as an adult he’s acting rude like that!」
Toria puffed her face out as she sulked and was mad in a cute way.
There are a lot of different people with different issues among the adventurers. But for a guy to laugh while crying in front of kids…well, those are SOME issues.
「『H, hey Myun! Hurry, over here!』」
I heard Yufon’s voice from the orphanage.
She must have not been able to wait for me to get back.
「Ah, that’s Misses Yufon’s voice!」
「Yeah, finally some good food!」
After hearing Yufon’s voice, the kids shouted happily.
The children all knew Yufon. When she came, she always brought good ingredients to make good food from, and the kids loved it.
Even more, since Yufon’s business owned an orchard, the kids would play there after they helped her with work.
The kids must have been playing with other ones there today as well.
「Well, call the other kids in then. We will have lunch soon.」
「「「Okayy!!」」」
They kids answered happily and took off running.
I went back to the orphanage kitchen to get lunch prepared.
「What were you doing taking so much time?!」
I opened the door and saw Yufon waiting inside the kitchen.
All the groceries were lined up in the table in the center of the room.
Each one seemed more of a luxury then the ones I usually bought.
「No need to rush me, I’ll make lunch, okay?」
「That’s not it, look!」
「? What?」
「Ah, come on! Don’t tell me what!!」
Yufon looked puzzled and more flustered than usual.
She seemed to be waiting for me to react to something as she pulled me to the side of the kitchen.
「What is this!? Tell me!」
「? I mean, what are you…」
I looked down to where Yufon had pulled me to and followed her gaze to a slightly large box.
Inside was a grand sum of gold.
However, there was no time for me to even understand it before she continued.
「Does this orphanage have money like this? It’s not that I don’t have money, but even looking at this, this is enough for anyone to open a new store with, all this. And this…sword…Myun?!」
At the questioning words of my childhood friend, well, they now seemed so far away.
「This, this sword…」
There was all the money in the box, and then one sword standing inside of it.
The dark, shining green color and the brown handle inside a scabbard.
The handle looking like a tree branch, a sword with that special look as if it had been wrapped around by a living branch.
From his time as an adventurer, my husband had protected me with that sword, the 『Stone-leaf Sword.』
My husband, his sword.
「Ahh…ahhhhh….ahhhhhhh!」
The emotion in my chest seemed to spill out, and without thinking I wrapped myself around it in tears.
I had decided that I would cry no more, never again, never again.
There was no way this could happen, but the sword inside my arms was so warm I could feel it.
It was like I was being held by him again.