Love Letter From The Future

2. The Lord is with you (30)

In an empty lot a little far from the orphanage, there were several people gathered there.

They were the adults of the orphanage, including me. Starting with Guilford, the saintess and Yuren, Delphine and Elsie, and my best friends Seria, Celine, and Leto.

Including myself, it was a group of nine people. Except for Mr. Guilford, all of them were students of the academy whose skills had been verified.

Even Mr. Gilford was a former mercenary who had once made a name for himself, so it seemed like an overkill to be a member sent to solve the orphanage’s problems.

If there was an employee of the Academy’s external affairs department in this position, he might have been frightened. It means wasting manpower unnecessarily.

There were many incidents and accidents on the continent, and of course there were many places that needed help. It must be heartbreaking to put that many people into an orphanage.

Still, I was feeling a little uneasy.

According to the contents of the letter, even if this number of people gathered, an incident in which they would risk their lives might occur. From the unidentified head beast to the strange behavior of the unknown monkey beasts.

It wasn’t just one riddle. It was the reason why my heart couldn’t be as comfortable as it was.

But no one here now shares the same anxiety as me.

Rather, everyone seemed a little excited. Celine came up to me and stabbed me in the side. A smirking smile appeared on his face.

“Ian oppa, did you really catch everything? This many witches?”

“… … Because it is.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it already. Celine’s gaze, mixed with admiration, headed to a certain point again, and my sight naturally followed it.

A wagon was parked there. With the corpses of demon beasts piled up behind them.

They were monkey magicians. It was a car I had retrieved in the morning the thirteen monsters I had hunted the night before.

I was worried that there would be an attack on the way to retrieve the body, but surprisingly there was no such incident. Thanks to that, collecting the demon’s corpse was quite smooth.

All that was left was to go to the city and sell the beast’s corpse. Even if you can’t do it, you’ll be able to get hundreds of gold, so even if you use only a portion of it for the orphanage’s operating expenses, you’ll be able to hold on for a while.

Everyone’s faces brightened with the hope that they could finally get out of that pale porridge.

In fact, it was a problem that could have been solved long ago if Delphine or Elsie’s financial resources were mobilized, but unfortunately, the use of private money was prohibited during the request.

In that case, even if he hired dozens of mercenaries and completed the request, he would be able to receive points. It was a provision that existed to prevent such an expedient.

However, it was possible to use only the amount earned by oneself during the request. In other words, the proceeds from the sale of the thirteen monsters I hunted last night meant that I could spend as much as I wanted.

Diet occupies an important place in the quality of life. Whether it was brain activity or physical activity, there was nothing to say about active young men and women in their 20s.

Celine was already debating with Leto about what to eat. Celine strongly explained her preference to Leto.

“Then, let’s buy demon meat with this money!”

“No, are you really okay? what the f*ck… Do you eat anything like that?”

Despite Leto’s bewildered response, Celine persisted. ‘Monster meat’ is a delicacy that has recently started to become popular, and has been popular among some gourmets due to its unique flavor and texture.

Of course, it was also a food ingredient with different likes and dislikes. Witchbeast’s meat, isn’t it terrible just hearing the name?

“Hey, what does Leto know? Witchbeast meat is famous even among nobles these days!”

“It’s common in the social world to chew on your taste in nerds.”

“Oh no! Once you try it, you will change your mind.”

However, at Celine’s riverside, Leto was still sulking. The face asking where the dog is barking, I had a bitter smile.

It’s my money anyway, so what’s the use of you talking about it?

I wanted to say that, but I held back. Celine and Leto were like another family to me.

Celine finally started to pull on my sleeves with tears in her eyes.

“Eh, what should Ian oppa say! As the same monster meat group!”

“I’ve never joined such a shady group.”

In the end, Celine was shot down by my indifferent reaction. She drooped her shoulders, perhaps feeling down. But it was unavoidable.

Witchbeast meat was expensive. It was a fact that could be known just by thinking about how much those monster corpses were sold for right now.

Even if you spent hundreds of gold, there was no choice but to limit the amount you could purchase.

On the other hand, there were hundreds of mouths living in orphanages. Buying only the cheapest and best ingredients as possible was not enough.

In the first place, Celine wouldn’t have said it seriously either.

I just wanted to show that I was excited about my performance, but sometimes in human relationships, it was necessary to accept only the intention of certain words.

Surprisingly, it was Mr. Guilford who comforted the depressed Celine. He burst out laughing and stroked his shaggy white beard.

“It’s demon meat… It’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. I once ate demon meat too.”

“… … Eh? Hasn’t it been a while since it became popular?”

“Because I am a mercenary. If you don’t want to starve to death, there are times when you need to eat anything.”

At that, Celine’s expression hardened. It was a surprisingly serious story. Celine smiled rather awkwardly and scratched her cheek.

It’s meat that some people would have eaten to live, but some people say they want to eat it, so there’s nothing to say even if they think it’s immature. Whether that was serious or a joke.

Mr. Guilford, however, showed no signs of that. Rather, it was just a benevolent smile.

“I remember being surprised by how delicious the monster meat was. At that time, I wondered if it was because I ate when I was hungry, but if I had known this would happen, would I have opened a monster meat restaurant?”

“… … Wouldn’t the children here be very sad if that happened?”

“That is also true. Haha, since I was little, my dream was to become the head of an orphanage.”

To Leto’s words with a wry smile, Mr. Guilford responded as if in response.

No matter how many times I saw him, he was a very strange person. She cared so much about orphans, and according to the saintess, Mr. Guilford also came from an orphanage.

He knew better than anyone about being an orphan who no one cared about. That’s why I didn’t know that I was even more attached to orphans.

The children followed Mr. Guilford well, and he was a good person in many ways.

With that sentiment, I turned my gaze again. It was toward the wagon.

There, Yuren was examining the beast’s corpse. It was to find out roughly how much it could be disposed of.

Surprisingly, Yuren was quick on such matters. According to him, it is because he has handled all sorts of chores since childhood.

Hey, it must have been a lot of hard work to help that bad-tempered woman, but a faint pity formed in my eyes as I looked at Yuren’s back.

It was then that Yuren, who had been carefully examining the beast for a long time, opened his mouth.

“… … good! Even if I can’t do it, I’ll get 300 gold. Great, Ian. At this level, the Holy Knights have to step in.”

A whistle and a whistling sound leaked out. It came from Leto, who was chatting with Mr. Guilford. It seemed that the level of the monkey witch was higher than expected.

The money received after subjugating 10 wolf monsters, including the last high-ranking beast, was 70 gold.

However, the thirteen monkey beasts he hunted yesterday were worth 300 gold, more than four times that value.

It wasn’t strange, considering his terrifying fingernails and agility. However, there was one stone of the accident that was caught again and again.

The stronger the monster, the more aggressively they tended to hunt. It was to broaden the scope.

However, the monkey masters did not do that. Rather, they belonged to the passive side compared to other demons.

The monkey beasts only attacked those who invaded a specific area. Even if you can secure a wider area than that.

That question lingered in my mind.

Regardless, Yuren was already sitting in the driver’s seat. He began to take the reins. In charge of disposing of the beast’s corpse, he was planning to leave for the city alone.

He would have to stay in the city for at least a day or two. It was because he decided to sell the beast’s corpse and use the money to buy daily necessities and return.

In fact, there was one other person besides Yuren who was good at talking or negotiating.

It was Leto, but he refused to accompany Yuren for the following reasons.

“Why do I have to leave alone with a guy?”

It wasn’t wrong, so I immediately understood. However, there was no escort to send Leto alone, so it was best for Yuren to leave alone.

Yuren exchanged greetings with the saintess for the last time. Then, as I approached to say goodbye to Yuren, he quietly said.

“… … Take good care of your sister, Ian.”

The only reaction I would give back to Yuren was a laugh.

It was an absurd word. What is the reason I have to take care of that bad tempered woman?

Perhaps the same was true of the saintess, she opened her mouth with a snort.

“Hmph, on the contrary, please take good care of that person… But don’t worry too much, you have brothers and sisters including Brother Ian. The celestials will look down on us. Emmanuel.”

It was so absurd that I even threw off the pretense for a moment. Of course, I hurriedly took care of it before anyone noticed.

My bewildered eyes turned to the saintess. Then, the saintess also returned an angry look to me.

She was still a woman I didn’t like. The only exception was that sinful body. Thinking so, my eyes inadvertently turned to the curvature of the saintess’s chest.

“… … Where are you looking?”

“It’s a bag of divine power.”

Such whispers passed between me and the saintess. And right after that, I felt like the saintess was pinching the flesh of my side.

I barely endured the fact that I almost screamed.

After trembling and enduring the pain for a while, a whisper soaked in pain flowed from my mouth.

“You almost screamed… … !”

“Who, who would say that? Seriously, s*xual harassment for real!”

It was around the time the two saintess and I were bickering.

Suddenly, the mouths of the saintess and I were shut. It was because he felt strange eyes around him.

Before I knew it, everyone’s eyes were on me and the saintess. Those eyes contained a variety of emotions.

Awkwardness, absurdity, doubt, and disapproval.

Leaving all those feelings behind, Yuren giggled and burst into laughter.

“You don’t have to worry, then I’m leaving. Emmanuel!”

Yuren said that and left. Then, while the saintess and I were exchanging glances with bewildered eyes, a woman with a bright smile caught my eye.

It was Seria. Those aquamarine-like eyes were deeply sunken. Like the color of the abyss.

“… … The two of you seem to get along very well.”

It was such a beautiful smile. However, a chill of unknown origin was felt, and the saintess and I had to make eye contact again.

Both the saintess and I were breaking out in a cold sweat.

It was unfair.