“Huh… You want me to become the Pope’s child?”
Sua’s eyes widened in shock before she burst out excitedly,
“Wow, Teacher! Becoming the Pope’s child means you’d be one of the most important people in the Holy Nation!”
Harp, however, remained wary, still glaring at the Pope.
“This is ridiculous…”
I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected proposal, but I quickly regained my composure and firmly shook my head.
“I’m sorry, Your Holiness. I appreciate the offer, but I must decline.”
The Pope tilted his head slightly, as if intrigued.
“A direct answer… May I ask for your reason?”
I met his gaze and replied confidently,
“Sua and Harp are my responsibility. Even though things were a bit chaotic with Sua, she is still one of my orphans. If I were to leave, this orphanage would no longer function as one. And also…”
I took a deep breath and turned to Harp before finishing my thought.
“The head of an orphanage isn’t up for adoption!”
Harp smiled brightly and nodded.
“That’s exactly like you, Teacher!”
“Hmm…”
The Pope listened to my answer in silence before suddenly breaking into hearty laughter.
“A splendid response. I didn’t expect you to be so resolute. The adoption offer was merely a jest. If it offended you, I apologize.”
I sighed, shaking my head.
“A joke, huh…?”
“Of course, if you change your mind, I can adopt you at any moment.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“Understood. But through your answer just now, I’ve come to understand you better. You have a strong will to protect these children and a firm desire to keep your place here.”
The Pope’s eyes gleamed with interest as he continued,
“Eve, I am certain that you have no connection to the absurd rumors about you being a witch. Once again, let me remind you—you are not just an ordinary orphanage director. Your presence, your sense of responsibility, and your charm have a positive influence on those around you.”
Hearing his words, I felt both flustered and strangely proud.
“Thank you for saying that, but I’m just a normal director doing my best to protect these kids.”
The Pope smiled and nodded.
“Yes, I see. And I respect your choice. Lastly, allow me to do what I can to help maintain the peace here.”
“…And what exactly is that?”
“If I told you everything, it wouldn’t be as fun.”
With those words, the Pope stood up.
Leaving behind an air of mystery, he rose from his seat.
“Well then, I’ll be off. I enjoyed our conversation today. Take good care of the children, Eve.”
I watched his back as he moved toward the door and bowed my head slightly.
“Take care, Your Holiness.”
Just before stepping out of the orphanage, he turned back and smiled.
“I don’t know if we’ll meet again, but I hope that when we do, we can talk in a more relaxed setting.”
With that, he slowly stepped outside and disappeared beyond the door.
“Whew…..”
After the Pope left, an odd silence filled the room.
Then, a familiar voice broke through the quiet.
“Eve! Harp! Sua! Where are you all?”
I quickly turned my head in the direction of the voice.
Moments later, Alex peeked his head out from the bathroom doorway.
“The bathroom repairs are finally done! You can use it freely now. Whew, look at all this sweat.”
He wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief and looked around the room, his face filled with curiosity.
“But what’s with this atmosphere? Did something happen? Now that I think about it, I heard an unfamiliar voice earlier. Did we have a guest?”
Sua, still brimming with excitement, shouted,
“The Pope was here! He just left!”
“…The Pope?”
Alex turned to me, his face filled with confusion.
“Eve, what’s going on? Are you telling me the actual Pope came here?”
He asked again for confirmation.
I sighed and nodded.
“Yeah, that’s right. The Pope himself was here. It was an unexpected visit, but thankfully, there were no problems.”
“Hahhh…”
Alex scratched his head, looking astonished.
“So now this orphanage is famous enough for the Pope to visit. Should we start calling it a holy orphanage?”
“Uncle!”
“It was a joke. But still, that’s pretty amazing. So, why did he come?”
Harp answered calmly.
“He came to personally verify the rumors about Teacher being a witch. But after seeing her himself, he concluded that the rumors were complete nonsense.”
“I see…”
Alex let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“Well, if the Pope himself said that, then I guess we won’t have to worry about those rumors anymore.”
“That’s right.”
I answered with a relieved smile.
Then, Sua spoke up in a mischievous voice.
“Uncle, did you know the Pope tried to adopt Teacher?”
“What?”
Alex’s eyes widened as he looked at me in shock.
“Is that true, Eve? The Pope actually wanted to adopt you?”
“He said it was just a joke. It wasn’t serious, so don’t worry.”
Alex sighed in relief.
“Jeez, that scared me. But even if he had meant it, I wouldn’t have let him take you.”
I smiled and reassured him.
“Uncle, there was never any chance of that happening.”
“I’m serious, though.”
A moment later—
As if struck by a brilliant idea, Alex suddenly brightened and spoke loudly.
“Alright! The bathroom is fixed, the weather is great… How about we all go for a swim?”
I looked at him, startled.
“Swimming? All of a sudden?”
“Of course, not the kind where we jump into a lake or anything. I mean something simple—spraying water with a hose and just playing around. The weather’s been hot lately, hasn’t it? What do you think?”
Sua let out a loud cheer.
“Yes! I love it! Uncle, you’re the best!”
“…Hero, your eyes look suspiciously scheming right now.”
“W-What? No! I-I wasn’t thinking about how I’d get to see Teacher’s wet white shirt…! Not at all!”
“Sigh.“
Harp still looked at Sua with doubt, muttering under her breath.
“Do we really need to do this?”
Alex shrugged.
“Of course not! But it’s fun! And on a hot day like this, nothing beats playing with water. Harp, you should stop being so serious and have some fun for once!”
I smiled and added,
“The weather is nice today, so I don’t think it’s a bad idea. It might be fun for all of us to play together once in a while.”
Harp sighed but eventually nodded.
“Alright. But let’s not go overboard.”
“Hehehe…”
“And let’s leave her out of it.”
“Why?!”
We stepped out into the orphanage yard and pulled out the hose.
“Take this, Harp! Feel the pain of all the suffering you’ve caused me!”
“Ahh!”
“This is for calling me bald! This is for always bullying me! And this is for just because!”
“For what?!”
“For always hoarding the best food! For… complex revenge! And for—uh, boxer!”
“That last one didn’t even make sense!”
With Alex’s sudden surprise attack, the water fight had officially begun.
“Prepare yourself.”
“Come on, try to hit me— Wait, Harp! Magic is cheating—AHHH!”
Of course, Harp, who had gotten pretty angry midway, dumped a huge wave of water onto Alex.
But after that, the game returned to being a simple water fight.
“Take my love-filled water blast! Teacher, you can’t escape!”
Sua laughed as she sprayed water toward me.
I frantically dodged, shouting.
“Sua, wait! Don’t spray so much!”
“Come on, take it! Until the water completely clings to your white shirt!”
“That sounds really weird!”
“Kyaaa!”
I barely dodged her relentless water attacks, panting.
“This is too much! This is a water fight, not a teacher hunt, Sua!”
“Ahh! A completely soaked and disheveled Teacher Eve… Hehehe…”
“I’ll make you surrender to my big water attack!”
“It’s just water, not some big attack!”
“Those are just different ways of saying it!”
Sua continued her relentless assault, and I sprinted across the yard, desperately avoiding her.
Meanwhile, Harp was busy dealing with Alex.
This won’t do… I need to counterattack!
Grabbing the hose, I turned and fired back at Sua.
“Ack! Teacher! Fighting back like this is cheating!”
“Cheating?! It’s called payback!”
“WAAAAAHHH—!”
In the end, Sua took a direct blast of water to the face and stumbled backward, finally retreating.
Only then did I catch my breath.
“Tch, in that case—Harp! You’re next!”
Sua turned her hose on Harp, but Harp, completely unfazed, counterattacked without hesitation.
“You attacked first.”
“I’ve got Alex on my side too!”
“Uh, w-wait! Teacher! They’re teaming up on me! This is unfair!”