Kays Translations

Chapter 156: Orphanage in the Royal Capital

　The more I look at it, the more splendid the orphanage is. Although it looked simple, there was no sense of poverty. It is a little town inn. Even if it were lined up on the street, people would not think it was an orphanage.

　Of course, there are orphanages in the capital. However, they are not as large as this one.

“Come on, please come inside. Don’t be shy.”

　With that, the priest leads the way into the building. The inside of the orphanage was spotless. It seems to be well cleaned. Wherever they might have heard about it, children being fostered in the orphanage gathered there.

“Hello, priest. Who is that over there?”

　He was the oldest of the children, and I guessed he was the leader of the group. A kid about my age asked me. He gives solid replies. It seems they are well educated. The other children looked at me without making a fuss.

　Their eyes were shining brightly, as if they were looking at a rare animal. It’s …… a little uncomfortable.

“This is Julius-sama, the son of Margrave Heine. Please make sure you don’t behave rudely.”

“Okay!”

　Many energetic voices came back. Yes, there seem to be a lot of honest and really good kids.

“Nero-san, could you please show Julius-sama around?”

“Please leave it to me”

　As he said this, the child who had greeted me earlier turned to me and smiled. …… It’s a boy, right?　He has short hair, but it’s pale blonde and silky.

　No matter how I look at it, she looks like a girl, but I think he sounds like a boy. Probably. What should I do. Shall I ask? But that’s rude. Hmm.

“Well then, Julius-sama, I will excuse myself here. Please have Nero-san escort you back to the entrance.”

“I understand. Thank you for your time.”

　I thanked him, and the priest looked at me with the corners of his eyes lowered as he nodded repeatedly. I looked back and saw that the children were still looking at me with eyes as if they were looking at a rare animal.

“Julius-sama, please come this way. I will show you around the building.”

“Thank you. Nero-san.”

“Nero is fine.”

　Nero grins. He’s a girl no matter how I look, what should I do? As I walked after Nero, other children arrived with me. Maybe this is part of the learning process.

　While greeting the sisters she passed by, she showed me around the dining room, living room, bathroom, and children’s room.

　The dining room, living room, and bathroom were all large. In terms of size alone, they were about the same size as those in the Margrave Heine household. Of course, the quality is definitely better in the Margrave house. I was a little surprised.

　The children’s rooms were basically for groups of four children, but there were also rooms for two children and rooms for one child. From what I’ve seen, it seems like the older you get, the more you move to a room with fewer people.

　I was also shown Nero’s room. It was a very simple room with no decoration. There seemed to be almost no personal belongings.

“I’m just curious, are you the oldest?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m the oldest. You can stay at this orphanage until you’re ten years old.”

　Is that so? So that’s why I didn’t see any children older than Nero.

　I thought it might be a little early, so I asked her about it, and she said that even in common people’s homes, children start helping their parents at about this age.  

　Anyway, “Boku,” (Japanese word for the a male “I”)  huh? I think he’s a boy, but he might be a bokuko. I’m stumped. He should have said “Ore”. Well, you can’t say that in front of a nobleman, can you? I came back to the dining room with such a troubled feeling.

　The children seated at their seats were kind of nervous. What’s going on?　Is something going to come out?　As I was thinking that, a plate of cookies was brought to me. It’s a plain and simple looking cookie.

“I don’t know if they will suit your palate, but if you like, please try them.”

　Nero offered. He still makes tea for me. Of course, the other children were also helping out. It seemed that the only ones not helping were the younger children.

　They were staring at the cookies as if they were about to drool. They are so cute. Just looking at them is soothing.

　Ah, it reminds me of Mira. I seem to be pretty seriously ill too.

　I decided to take a cookie since I was in such a hurry. Seeing that I had touched the cookie, the servant hurriedly ate the cookie. The children who saw it started eating all at once.

　I guess they thought he was a gluttonous servant. I glanced at the servant’s face and saw that it was red.

　I don’t think they could have planted poison in it. Since the other children ate them too. It was this morning that I decided to come to the cathedral, and I don’t think it’s possible to make poisoned cookies during that time. I’ll use my “Appraisal” skill to check it out. Yeah, it looks okay.

　The cookies tasted as plain as they looked. A slight sweetness spread in my mouth.

　I have only eaten high-end sweets in the past, but I like these simple sweets with little sweetness. It tasted very nostalgic.

　Sugar is precious and expensive in its own way. That is probably why they could not use a lot of sugar. Still, the children ate them with relish.

“They are delicious, these cookies.”

“Aren’t they, Julius-sama? My brother made these cookies!”

　Saying this, a girl with the same hair color as Nero’s turned toward him. This one is definitely a girl, with her beautiful hair that extends to her back. And she said, “Big brother”. Nero is a boy. There is no doubt about it.

　His slightly bashful expression was very cute. …… boy, right?

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