2. The Lord is with you (18)

The situation at the orphanage, which Mr. Gilford had told me, was miserable.

It was a place where there were well over 200 children who were staying. Judging by the size of the place, there should have been a few permanent volunteers, but after the Witchbeast’s attack, there were no volunteers left at the Guilford Orphanage.

Originally, it was a situation where you had to hire an employee, even on a temporary basis. However, the Guildford Orphanage had long suffered from chronic financial difficulties, so there was no surplus funds for just in case.

One of the obvious results was cracked buildings in places. It was impossible to even take care of the children one by one, and there was no way they could afford to maintain and repair the building.

It was a shame because the children took turns to cook and clean. Otherwise, Guilford Orphanage would not have been able to operate.

Mr. Gilford said it bothered him. They were children who needed to work hard to learn and grow. Even so, the children were already volunteering to take turns and learn how to divide the work.

Because you have to survive. If kicked out of this place, these children had nowhere to go.

It was a cruel reality. There was no other place where children without guardians could solve their food, clothing, and shelter. At least, the Guilford Orphanage, where meals were provided at every meal, was on the good side.

Children without parents were thoroughly weak. It was the same in the orphanage. He was in a position where he had to be sensitive just by feeding and sleeping, so he did not dare to complain.

As a result, some orphanages used to viciously exploit protected children. It wasn’t uncommon for them to eat only one meal a day and work as workers on the farm owned by the director.

The continent was overflowing with orphans, and there were many orphanages. The surveillance of the state power could not reach all of them, and there was even a tendency to ignore the suspicion of a crime.

No matter how bad the orphanage was, it was an orphanage. The continent needed more orphanages.

It was because there was only an orphanage that could take care of countless orphans. Additional investment in public order and administration was required to control children who were desperate to survive without a guardian.

There was no country in the world that would welcome this. If you could afford it, it would have made more sense to invest in other fields.

The state also had many things to do, such as public order in the city, subjugation of monsters in the vicinity of the village, and expansion of roads. It’s just that we don’t have enough money and manpower to do it.

It was such a stiff situation. There was no country that wanted to add the headache of ‘orphan’ to this.

At least, the Seongguk, which had many faithful believers, provided budget support to the orphanage. As can be seen from the example of the Guilford Orphanage, although the support was disastrously lacking.

Still, it was better than not having it. Mr. Gilford let out a long sigh when he finished talking like that.

“It’s a shame. I couldn’t even properly treat the people who came to help… … .”

It was dinner time. My eyes went to the plate placed in front of me.

Mr. Gilford said he cared about it, but the amount was not enough.

It was embarrassing to find dry, dry meat in a soup with almost no ingredients in sight.

Even this, the children were eagerly devouring it as if they had waited. This meager diet was the reason why the children did not leave Guilford Orphanage despite the threat of demons.

If I had to go out anyway, I would starve to death on the street or be imprisoned again in a poor quality orphanage. In that case, it was better to stay at Guilford Orphanage even if it meant taking the risk of being kidnapped by the Witchbeast.

It was disastrous. I couldn’t even lift a spoon because I was so depressed. The food should go over, but I didn’t think it would go over.

Even after hearing Mr. Guilford’s words, the saintess and Yuren remained calm. Since he was from an orphanage, he seemed to have roughly guessed what the situation would be like.

It was after they worked hard with me all day taking care of the children and preparing meals. Even so, he seemed to have no intention of complaining or complaining.

I couldn’t tell if it was sincere or fake. However, it was certain that the presence of the two was helping Mr. Guilford.

The saintess crossed her last name and comforted Mr. Guilford in a benevolent voice.

“Don’t worry too much, Brother Guilford. The grace of the heavenly gods is like the sunlight, so how can you separate the cold from the hot? And I too was born and raised in an orphanage. We fully understand the situation at Guilford Orphanage, so you don’t have to be sorry.”

“… … thank you.”

Mr. Guilford managed to let out a choked voice and immediately lowered his head.

It was a beautiful sight. While I was watching the saintess and Mr. Gilford with such heartwarming eyes, I heard a sound that broke the impression from somewhere.

“Ugh.”

The pair of eyes that had been exchanging comfort returned. Me, the saintess, Yuren, and even Mr. Guilford.

Its destination was one. It was toward Delphine and Elsie, who were sitting next to me.

Elsie-senpai was frowning as if she was about to vomit, and Delphine-senpai was just whipping porridge with a disapproving expression.

There was a look of bewilderment in Mr. Gilford’s eyes. I felt like my face was getting hot for no reason, so I put my hand on my forehead.

A twisted voice flowed from Delphine-senpai’s mouth.

“There’s nothing more foolish than hiding food on the battlefield, but isn’t this a bit harsh? It seems impossible to maintain power.”

“Hey, aren’t you confusing it with fodder for the horse?”

In addition to that, even senior Elsie agreed, we usually don’t get along, but at times like this, we got along very well.

Both Delphine and Elsie were high-ranking nobles. There must have been more days when I lived my life noticing others than there were days when I lived my life noticing others, so sometimes I threw out such careless words.

It didn’t matter to me though. I already knew the personalities of the two seniors, and I had a hand ax if I needed to.

But not against Mr. Guilford.

He was the person who was the most distant from power here, and it was a car that he felt sorry for even if he did not. Complaining about him, who was doing his best, was nothing more than venting his anger.

Mr. Guilford immediately began to panic, not knowing what to do. It was not good to see an old man staring at women who were no more than granddaughters.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. Come to think of it, the three of you were nobles, right? You’ve never had a meal like this in your life… … .”

If left as it is, it would be like kneeling down. I quickly threw up my hand and dissuaded Mr. Gilford. And I started to pick up excuses to the best of my ability.

“It’s all right, Mr. Guilford. Delphine and Elsie are a bit disingenuous. That’s why I sometimes throw weird jokes like that to lighten the mood. ha ha ha… … .”

Of course, no sensible words came out. The saintess was staring at me with cold eyes. Those eyes seemed to be talking to me.

‘Can’t even make excuses properly?’

After all, it wasn’t me who was at fault, it was Delphine and Elsie. Even in the middle of that, Elsie-senpai again munched her mouth as if she was trying to talk nonsensically.

“No, what are you talking about? If you’re a noble too, what can you say… Hee profit?! No, I was kidding! You’re kidding!”

Of course, suppression was simple. With his teeth clenched, as he put his hand on the handle of the hatchet, senior Elsie soon corrected her mistake. She seemed properly frightened by my bloody eyes.

Glancing at my eyes, her small hands moved nonstop as she scooped up the soup.

“Yum yum, delicious… Mmm, it’s delicious… Gee, for real!”

The effort to deliberately make a yum-yum sound was imaginary. Only then did I remove my hand from my waist with a slightly softened look.

Delphine’s eyes seemed to be full of energy. She glared at Elsie with a sense of shame, and immediately snorted.

“The name of the Rainella family has fallen to the ground. Anyway, I, Delphine Yurdina… … .”

“Senior Delphine.”

I quietly called her name. I meant to ask in my own way, but the ruby-like eyes of Delphine sunbaenim who met my eyes shook violently.

Her gaze lowered slightly. A trembling voice came out.

“De, Delphine Yu, Yurdina… … .”

“senior.”

that was the last

Delphine’s eyes twitched. After a while, she finally closed her eyes and bowed her head.

Chewing her lips in resentment, she said.

“… … No, I like jokes. yes. It was a joke.”

Only then could I breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that somehow he had succeeded in fixing it.

As if asking, my proud eyes turned to the saintess. However, the atmosphere of Yuren and Guilford, including her, was strange.

Mr. Gilford was looking at me and the two seniors alternately with bewildered eyes, and Yuren was scratching his cheek in embarrassment and smiling awkwardly. And above all, the gaze of the saintess looking at me.

It was like looking at garbage.

The saintess drew the sign of the cross over her voluminous breasts. Then he licked his lips and whispered something to me.

‘Garbage.’

It was a necessary confirmation kill. I had no choice but to shrug my shoulders, put my head down again, and concentrate on my meal.

It was unfair. So while thinking that I should bully Elsie-senpai later.

It was a daily life at Guilford Orphanage.

I only knew that this routine would last for a few days.

Until the next day, Elsie-senpai was mysteriously attacked.

It happened when it was just the two of us, senior Elsie and I.

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