Chapter 7: Fixing the Orphanage

“Alright, I’ll be off now. It was refreshing to take a break after so long.”

“Travel safely!”

“What a polite and well-mannered child. You even know how to say goodbye properly.”

I wish we could’ve spent more time together, but Ellie had to return to her work, saying she only managed to step away briefly.

She waved goodbye as she prepared to leave.

“Great work today. See you later, Ellie.”

“Yeah, see you later, kid.”

“…Ellie? What about me? What about me?”

“Bye-bye~!”

And just like that, she was gone.

I blinked, and Ellie had vanished—whether she sank into the ground or flew into the sky, I had no idea.

I hope we meet again someday.

I waved at the empty air, wishing her farewell with a soft smile.

Goodbye. See you next time.

“Ah, it’s always fascinating to see someone so obsessed with money acting like that. That woman sees everything in terms of profit and loss.”

“Why?”

“…It’s nothing, just thinking out loud.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You don’t need to know, kid. It’s something you’ll understand when you’re older.”

“I’m already an adult.”

“Sure, sure. You’re our cool little grown-up, aren’t you?”

Honestly, Alex always had a way of getting the last word.

How was it that he couldn’t help teasing me the moment Ellie left?

Was he going to die if he didn’t get his daily dose of teasing in?

But, since today was such a happy day—my first time earning money—I decided to let it slide just this once.

Just this once.

There won’t be a next time.

“I’ll let it slide today.”

“Oh? Normally, you’d be throwing a fit by now, your face turning as red as a tomato. What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

“…Why does that feel oddly specific? Anyway, I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t get mad.”

Jingle, jingle.

Every step I took was accompanied by the pleasant sound of coins clinking together in my pocket.

The refreshing chime lifted my spirits even higher, and before I knew it, a grin had spread across my face.

“Heh, hehe, hehehe~.”

“You’re really happy, huh?”

“Of course! It might not seem like much to you, but this is the first money I’ve ever earned all by myself!”

“I see… That’s impressive.”

Having earned money, it was now time to spend it.

Time for a little flex.

With visions of a warm home, a hearty meal, and pure bliss filling my head, I eagerly headed toward the market—dragging along a certain unwelcome companion behind me.

“So… why are you following me?”

“Who, me?”

“…Is there anyone else following me besides you?”

“I’m curious where you’re going.”

“I’m going to the market.”

“The market? It’s not open today.”

“…What?”

I froze in place, completely thrown off by his unexpected answer.

The market… isn’t open today?

“You didn’t know?”

“…No.”

Now that I thought about it, markets weren’t always open daily.

Even in my old world, traditional markets were usually five-day markets, open only once a week or so.

How could I forget something so simple?

“But I still have so much to buy…”

“For simple items, this old man can get them for you. Just tell me what you need.”

“Really?”

“Of course. I’ve got connections all over the place.”

What a relief.

I was seriously worried I’d have to spend another night freezing in the cold, with no protection from the icy winds.

“Well then, I’ll need a little food, a properly cut plank to fix the door that broke off, and… oh, a blanket to keep warm while I sleep.”

“Wait, wait, wait.”

“…Huh? What’s wrong? Is it too much?”

“A broken door? A blanket for sleeping?”

“Yes.”

“…So last night, you slept without a blanket, exposed to the cold wind?”

I mean… technically, yes.

“Is that true?”

Just as I was about to nod in agreement, a sudden chill swept over me.

My body began trembling, not from the cold but from an inexplicable sense of dread.

“Answer.”

“Y-yeah! It’s true!”

“I see…”

“But it wasn’t like I was freezing to death or anything! I just woke up a few times, and caught a tiny cold…”

“Enough. I get it, so you don’t need to say any more.”

Alex’s voice sounded unusually firm.

“This old man is going to drop by my house real quick. Stay here and don’t move.”

“O-okay…”

With that, Alex turned and strode off, leaving me feeling both relieved and nervous about his reaction.

With those words, Alex marched off toward the village, his heavy footsteps suggesting he was more than a little upset.

“…Why is he so angry?”

Did I say something I shouldn’t have?

Did I unknowingly cross a line?

I wasn’t sure, but I decided I’d apologize as soon as he came back.

“Alright, I’m back.”

“That was fast. Um, I don’t really know what I did, but I’m sorry—wait, what in the world is all that?!”

“This? It’s nothing.”

“That looks like a lot of something.”

Alex returned with a massive bag slung over his back.

Large tools like a giant shovel and an enormous hammer poked out from the bag, drawing my attention immediately.

What is all this stuff? What does he even plan to do with it?

“Alright, let’s get moving.”

“To where?”

“Where else? The orphanage. Didn’t I tell you? Back in my adventuring days, I also worked as a carpenter.”

“…You didn’t mention that.”

“Well, I’m mentioning it now, so it’s fine, right?”

“…Sure.”

“I’ll make that orphanage of yours sturdier than ever. Just wait and see! Now, let’s head out.”

“Fine…”

I couldn’t help but feel like I was being dragged along against my will.

With Alex in tow, I started making my way back to the orphanage.

Alex turned out to be a lot stronger than I thought.

Despite carrying a bag almost as big as he was, he moved so quickly that I had trouble keeping up with him.

His long strides and brisk pace made me wonder if I’d need to start jogging just to stay by his side.

“If you’re already this tired, we’re going to have a problem.”

“That’s because your legs are way longer than mine!”

“Ah, I didn’t even think of that! Of course, our little miss here has such stubby legs!”

“…Ugh, seriously. Fine, I am short, so slow down! My legs are killing me!”

I tried my best to keep up, but no matter how quickly I moved my feet, there was no way to make up for the massive difference in stride length—easily five times my own.

In the end, I completely ran out of energy and flopped down on the ground in exhaustion.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

“You need to eat more. I can’t even feel the weight difference between carrying you and not carrying anything at all.”

“Put me down! I can walk on my own!”

“What was that? Something about being short?”

“…Eek.”

And just like that, Alex picked me up as if I weighed nothing and carried me all the way to the orphanage.

I mean, it was convenient, I thought to myself.

Maybe I’ll ask him to carry me again next time.

“We’ve arrived,” Alex announced, setting me down at the orphanage entrance.

Despite the small hiccup along the way, we made it back without much trouble.

“…What is this place supposed to be?”

Alex asked, staring at the orphanage with a bewildered expression as if he’d never seen it before.

“It’s the orphanage.”

“No, I mean… Hah, forget it.”

“Clicking your tongue will make you lose your luck.”

“How do you even live in a place like this? No, never mind. I’ll fix more than just the door. Stay inside for a bit.”

“Everything? But I don’t have enough money for a full remodel!”

“I’ll do it for one silver coin,” Alex replied with a grin.

“For one silver?!”

“Yup. It’s been a while since someone new came to our village. Consider it the special guest discount.”

“Oh wow, that’s amazing!”

I wasn’t entirely sure, but it sounded like Alex was planning to take on the full repair of the orphanage.

And all for just one silver coin!

“There’s going to be a lot of dust, so head inside for now.”

“Okay!”

“If you want, you can even take a nap. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

As expected, today was shaping up to be the best day ever.

I’m rarely wrong about these things.

“Alright, I’ll wait inside for now. Oh, and don’t hurt yourself!”

“Don’t worry about me!”

“No, really, don’t get hurt. If you do… um…”

“Haha, scary! Guess I’d better not get hurt.”

“If you do, I’ll… I’ll make sure to punish you!”

I couldn’t help but worry that Alex might push himself too hard and get hurt.

Only after giving him repeated warnings did I finally step inside the lounge area.

Sure, making the orphanage sturdy and clean was important, but Alex not getting hurt was even more important to me.

How much time had passed since then?

Flap, flap.

Flap, flap.

“I’m bored.”

I was really bored.

The excitement of imagining how the remodeled orphanage would look had worn off quickly.

Being stuck in this small room for what felt like hours without being able to leave was driving me crazy.

Knowing I could step outside but couldn’t actually do so made it even worse. It was suffocating.

How is this any different from Rapunzel?

“Peek.”

Unable to bear the boredom any longer, I poked my head out of the room, muttering “peek” under my breath for no particular reason—probably out of embarrassment.

“Oh, looks like he’s already finished this part.”

The kitchen was just in front of the lounge.

The cobweb- and dust-filled kitchen I had seen earlier was now completely transformed, with clean new wooden panels in its place.

No wonder the sound of hammers and saws had been so loud an hour ago.

Alex must’ve been working on this area.

But if I go out there now…

‘He’ll definitely say, “I told you not to come out, so why are you here?”’

And worse, he’d tease me relentlessly, saying something like, ‘You really can’t handle boredom like a proper kid, huh?’

It was guaranteed.

There had to be a way to avoid that.

‘What if I bring him some ABC soup?’

If I tell him I came out to give him a snack while he’s working, because I thought he might be hungry…

That would make sense, right?

It seemed natural enough.

“Alright.”

That’s the plan.

“So, you came out because you thought I might be hungry and brought soup for me?”

“Well… yes.”

“This… soup? It looks more like a steamed dish than a soup, but thanks, I guess.”

“No, it’s soup.”

“…If you say so.”

“It’s my special homemade ABC soup. Doesn’t it look amazing?”

“This apple looks like someone already took a bite out of it.”

“Oh, that… I got hungry, so I took a bite.”

“…What.”