I Need Sponsorship

I need sponsorship

Chapter 10

“……Yes.”

Jake was that kind of kid. If there was a possibility that the children could be happy, even just a little, he could firmly set aside his doubts.

I knew about Jake’s temperament better than anyone, and I knew that it would lead him to ruin in the future.

Maybe that’s why my heart felt heavy.

Maybe I could change not only my future, but also the fate that was given to Jake.

Suddenly, I got an idea.

Jake got up.

“I’ll organise it with the sketchbook the director bought for me.”

“Yes, please. And inside that, there are clothes. Can you please give these to the children?”

Upon hearing my words, Jake looked at me strangely and replied, “Yes.” before leaving the director’s office.

As Jake stepped out, I leaned into the back of the sofa.

‘I’m so tired……’

It was then that the tiredness that I had been trying to forget flooded through me.

When was the last time I had a meal? More than that, how long had I been walking around?

I couldn’t sleep well because I was taking care of Ren all night.

Blinking.

I still had much to do today, but my eyes kept closing.

Sigh ‘…Let’s just sleep a little bit. I have to organise my luggage and have a proper look around the orphanage. Wait a minute.……’

So that’s how I ended up falling into a deep sleep.

I woke up the next morning.

***

When I woke up, I realised I had fallen asleep on the sofa. I casually glanced at the clock, suddenly surprised by the time.

‘It’s 11 a.m.?’

I returned to the orphanage with Ren at 11:30 a.m. I must have slept all day long.

I got myself up at once.

Thunk.

Something that had been covering my body fell to the floor. I lifted it with a puzzled face.

‘A blanket…? Wait, is this really a blanket?’

Though it was rather thick and very coarse, it was a blanket nonetheless.

Was this from my room? Did I unconsciously find and cover myself up with a blanket because it was cold while I was sleeping?

While I was wondering about the unknown source of the blanket, I found a note attached to the end of it.

The note indicated that it was none other than Ren’s blanket. Maybe Ren covered me with the blanket and left.

‘When did she…’

I felt very strange. It might’ve not seemed like such a big deal, but this blanket somehow felt special to me.

I clutched the edge of the blanket, feeling disheartened.

“I should give it back.”

I couldn’t say for sure, but considering the rough environment of the orphanage, this blanket must have been a valuable item for Ren.

‘But why did Ren come into my room?’

She shouldn’t have been up and moving yet because she still needed to rest.

While thinking about her, I walked out of the director’s room. When I opened the door, I saw the hallway of the run-down orphanage.

I slowly made my way down the hall while checking here and there. There were spider webs in the corners, as well as parts of the walls breaking down. Some of the windows were cracked too.

I recalled that the light was dim the last time I turned it on. ‘I will have to buy some mana stones for it later.’

‘It would also be nice if we got a quieter bell to replace the one that rings so loud on windy days.’

I continued planning what I needed to do for the orphanage in my head.

While walking and peering at the view outside the window, I suddenly came to an abrupt stop.

‘Kids?’

For some reason, the children were all gathered outside the entrance doors where the gate was.

I squinted my eyes to get a better view of them. I could see that there was someone else there besides the children.

‘Who is it?’

I felt uncomfortable without knowing exactly why, so I hurried outside of the entrance of the orphanage.

“Didn’t I already tell you to call the director?! Or just open this gate!”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t open the gate without permission.”

“You arrogant little……! Do you not remember who I am?….”

“What’s the matter?”

I frowned at the old man who pointed his finger at Jack and spewed profanity while Jake tried to keep him out.

I could feel the children all begin to look at me with startled eyes, perhaps having thought that I would not have come out.

I covered Ren’s shoulder with the blanket I was holding and said, “You’ll catch a cold.”

“Ah…….”

Ren fiddled with the blanket in surprise. After checking on Ren, I glanced around at the other children.

“Hmm.”

I could see the corners of the old man’s mouth twitching. It seemed like he was irritated that the children now had nice clothes.

I was glad to see Chloran puff his cheeks and unwaveringly glare at the old man. The children seemed to be more confident now that they were dressed properly.

“Jake, what’s going on?” I asked, but he wasn’t the one who answered.

“Excuse me, Director! What rude treatment this is! You can’t do this to me!”

The old man shouted from the other side of the gate.

I scanned the carriage he appeared to have arrived in.

‘A noble’s carriage?’

The emblem on the carriage signified that it was owned by a noble, which meant that this man, who came in this carriage, was an aristocrat.

“Why are you here?”

“Sielra, let me in first. I’ll have to punish those cheeky things myself.”

He seemed to be very familiar with me.

Chloran looked angrily upon hearing the man’s words, while Jake ushered the children back.

I looked down at the children for a moment, before looking back up to the man.

He seemed too confident that I would open the gate for him.

I smiled broadly and replied, “I refuse.”

Naturally, the man was bewildered. The children were also shocked.

It seemed the children also thought I would open the gate for sure.

“Si-sielra? What are you talking about?”

“You heard me.”

“You shouldn’t do this to me. Do you know how much you owe me right now?”

The man narrowed his eyes as a sign of warning.

This interaction gave me a rough idea of the relationship between this man and Sielra.

Apparently, Sielra was in debt to this man. That’s why he could act this way.

I glanced back at the children.

All the children seemed to be wary of this man.

I’m sure it wasn’t the first time he’d been here before, given the way he seemed to think I’d easily open the door, and also the children’s shocked expressions.

Did this man threaten the children every time he visited?

I felt the blood in my body boil.

Even so, I was not so foolish as to express my feelings outright.

I looked at Jake and asked, “Jake, why don’t you take the kids inside? You can prepare some snacks and have them with everyone. Don’t come out for a bit.”

“……Alright. Kids, let’s go.”

Jack looked at me with strange eyes for a moment, but then escorted the children into the orphanage.

After confirming that the entrance doors were closed, I approached the man. He stared at me with a very unhappy face.

I said to him with a gentle smile.

“Please understand. Since I am the director of this orphanage, I can’t let it be exposed to such threats.”

“There will be trouble if it’s like this.”

“Come in first. I’ll take you to the director’s office right away.”

“Great.”

If it was true that Sielra owed this man a debt, nothing good would come out of getting him even angrier than he already was.

Well, he has since gotten angrier after I let the kids go back in. But he was lucky I didn’t kick him out.

I escorted the man straight to the director’s office.

The dining room’s door was firmly closed, so Jake must have led all of the kids in there safely.

It was good Jake was here. It would have been harder to manage the children without him.

‘…Is that fortunate though?’

It was only this way because Sielra had not been a proper guardian in the past.

As the man entered the director’s office, I gestured him towards the sofa.

He sat down with a loud humpf. I sat down at my desk, opposite of him, in silence.

His eyebrows twitched, probably irritated that I didn’t serve him a cup of tea right away, but like an upright noble he pretended there was nothing wrong.

What was so good about this man who threatened the children?

Inevitably, he was the first to speak.

“You know, you owe me 1,000 gold coins. You must remember, right?”

“……”

For a moment, I almost stopped breathing.

I tried my best not to show how caught off guard and surprised I was, but I felt like looking in the mirror and wringing his neck.

‘I was wondering how the hell Sielra even managed to buy so many luxurious items in a situation where there’s no financial support for the orphanage!’

My question was solved.

Sielra had gotten a loan. A loan of 1,000 gold coins! That’s about 100 million won.

My hands trembled.

I instinctively leapt out of my seat and nervously gulped down the cup of water sitting on my desk. Then I quickly sat back down and faced him again.

The man was studying my actions with a bewildered expression. I thought to myself: If I pay the debt back this very instant, I wouldn’t be able to overcome the shock of losing 1000 gold coins.

‘But it’s strange.’

1,000 gold coins was not a small amount of money in this world.

In fact, it was an exorbitant amount that no ordinary family could even dream of touching, even if they worked for the rest of their lives.

So why did this man believe in Sielra, and believe her enough to lend her such a large amount at that?