Chapter 33
See? They say he's ordinary and has no charm. Or is it the opposite? When someone extraordinary appears ordinary, does that make them seem approachable and likable?
Hmm. Based on romance fantasy knowledge, the latter seems to win. It's not for nothing that tyrants or Northern Dukes are popular. It's not just because they're powerful - they're popular because on top of that, they act like ordinary men overflowing with love only for my female lead.
"First, let's go to Ainoa Orphanage."
"Did I mention the orphanage name?"
Oops. I didn't say the orphanage name, did I? How should I recover from this? If I say I did background research, wouldn't that be a bit awkward?
"I said it earlier."
"...I see."
You can't spit on a smiling face, so I smiled silently and attempted memory manipulation. Fortunately, Daisy let it slide, thinking that must have been it. It feels like she's giving me a pass of some sort... surely not?
Since our original destination was Ainoa Orphanage, we arrived safely without getting lost. This world doesn't even have navigation, yet he finds routes incredibly well. Daisy must have been impressed too, because even after getting off the carriage, she stared at the coachman in amazement.
"That coachman..."
"Yeah. That's the coachman from back then. Comfortable?"
It seems this coachman shares memories with Daisy and Jelly. What is it? That's weird, isn't it? A man and woman who promised love to each other and a coachman... A couple going for a walk together and a coachman... No matter where you put them, it's weird - what exactly did the three of them do together!
"We took that carriage when we ran away with him."
Jelly gave a brief explanation. Ah. Right, that happened too. A couple urgently fleeing and a coachman... Yeah, okay. This isn't weird. The coachman's urgent whip-cracking vividly formed in my mind. Daisy frowned as soon as she heard Jelly's words.
"Saying someone looks comfortable."
"Someone? Does that look like a person to you? You're really something."
It looks like a person to me though.
But seeing Jelly act like that, maybe it's not a person. Whoa, could it be the same species? Maybe they're both werewolves or something. Knowing they were the same species, that's why he risked his life to help them escape from the slave trader. Coachman uncle was a good person! No, a good non-human!
While his same-species friend works hard like this to earn money, seeing our Jelly just playing around after catching a noble well, I guess being born as a rich family's pet is indeed the best. Then again, my dream for a while was to be born as a rich family's cat in my next life.
I took my eyes off the couple and the coachman... no, the three of them, and looked at the orphanage.
"It's quiet."
Even taking into account that it's early evening right now as Kanna said, it was unusually quiet, and the streetlamps were unusually dim, perhaps running low on gas. Being on the outskirts of the capital and this area not being a wealthy village, it seemed maintenance wasn't properly done.
Is it because the lights are weak, or why does it look so eerie? It looks like a ghost might appear. I'm someone who absolutely never watched horror movies with ghosts in my life.
It's okay, calm down. This is a romance fantasy worldview, and it's not even a ghost-related episode. As long as there's no setting like the female lead seeing ghosts, ghosts won't suddenly pop out. Unless... can she see them?
"Kanna, can you see anything?"
I was too scared to ask directly about ghosts, so I omitted the subject. Ghosts latch onto you when you talk about them, you know. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. Though there was no subject, our Kanna understood well even when I spoke strangely. A romance fantasy female lead's perceptiveness is about everything except romance.
"Yes. I can see it."
What! No, wasn't this just a tragic romance fantasy? Why is there a ghost-seeing setting attached! Ghosts are horror, that's genre deviation. I don't like it!
"That person, what are they doing over there?"
I said I don't like ghosts...! Huh, a person?
I calmed down and focused on where Kanna was pointing, and I saw a dark figure hovering at the orphanage entrance. It was staggering quite a bit, but that was definitely a person. Phew, thank goodness. I thought it was a ghost.
"Troy...?"
Troy? Daisy sounded uncertain, but if she wasn't seeing wrong, she said it was definitely Troy. What's with this rapid development.
"Jelly."
"Me? Again?"
When I urged him to hurry up and do something, Jelly protested. Then who else would do it? Me in high-heeled shoes? Your future girlfriend? Our flower-like Kanna? Or Pudding who can't even speak human language yet?
Hey, you found Troy by smell too, so shouldn't you at least catch him?
Jelly visibly showed his annoyance and flicked his finger, and Troy's body, which had been trying to run away, stopped in place. The culprit appeared on his own to confess. Now we just need to ask where he sold the orphanage people.
I needed to ask that, but suddenly Troy pitched forward. Behind him, Daisy was standing holding her shoe. She must have somehow gotten behind Troy, taken off her shoe, and struck his head with the heel.
"You really like hitting the back of people's heads."
Jelly muttered "This guy isn't dead, right?" while checking the back of Troy's head. I was relieved to see no blood flowing. But she likes hitting the back of heads? Daisy seems to be... quite the violent type.
***
"Ugh, the smell of alcohol is overwhelming."
Jelly, with his sensitive sense of smell, covered his nose. I thought he was staggering - he must have been drunk. I don't know how much he drank, but his face was flushed red. He probably made a profit selling the kids and spent that money on alcohol. Typical fantasy villain behavior.
"Hey. Wake up."
Jelly grabbed his collar and shook him, but Troy showed no response, as if he'd completely lost consciousness. He'd already collapsed from being hit in the head, and now shaking him on top of that - if this continued, he wouldn't regain his senses, so I stopped Jelly.
When Jelly let go, Troy flopped onto the floor. Even then, he showed no sign of coming to.
"It seems like it will take quite a while for him to wake up?"
"I'm sorry for acting on my own."
Hearing that more time would be wasted, Daisy gripped the shoe she'd used to hit the back of Troy's head and bowed her head. The heels didn't look that high, but how could that make a person end up in that state... My own back felt tingly even though I wasn't the one hit. It's really fortunate Daisy doesn't hit the back of my head.
"Let's go inside and wait until he wakes up."
I thought we could go inside the orphanage building and wait.
I would prefer to wait in the carriage if I could, but the carriage was too small for that. It's not a Count family carriage but one available on the market, so it's exactly a 4-person carriage. And I can't exactly use the unconscious Troy as a footrest on the floor.
While we're at it, wouldn't it be good to search the orphanage inside and find evidence too?
"The door is..."
The door is open, I see. After passing through the iron-barred gate that looked like a prison door, there was a small front yard where children could play, though not large, and right away, I saw the completely dark orphanage building with not a single light on.
The gas lamps outside were all extinguished too, making it even darker and gloomier. Tonight the moon was also covered, so it seemed impossible to see even an inch ahead. Relying on the faint light hidden by clouds, I crossed the yard. Jelly was dragging Troy by his collar.
"If we go to the bedroom, there should be candles."
I quietly followed behind Daisy. Footsteps cut through the silence. It really is quiet.
"Here it is."
We must have already arrived. It was a large room with several beds for multiple children to stay. Daisy rummaged through a drawer, took out a candle, and lit it. The flame flared up, and Daisy's face flickered red.
Daisy held one, and Kanna and Jelly each took a candle.
"Is it okay to put him here?"
Jelly threw Troy onto a bed and slumped down at the foot of it. The child's bed creaked as if about to collapse under the weight of two adults. Daisy looked at the bed anxiously.
"Please be careful, these are children's beds."
"They're not here, are they?"
"The Lady said she would find them."
Kids... Even if you're a sub-couple who bonds through fighting, let's not fight right now... When I gave them a look, Daisy and Jelly fell silent. Wouldn't it be nice if you got along well in advance?
"...."
And so the time of silence arrived.
Kanna, perhaps not liking Daisy, turned away from her direction and stared blankly at the fire, while Daisy kept glancing to see when Troy would wake up, only her hand twitching. Jelly sat on the edge of the bed playing hand games with Pudding.
Troy showed no sign of waking up. Waiting here any longer seemed like a waste of time, so I stood up.
"Lady?"
"I'm going to look around inside."
As much as I'd like to hide here because I'm scared, if I just sit still and later Daisy complains about what help I actually provided, what would I do? At least I need to move my body and show that I made an effort too.
Kanna naturally stood up to follow, and Pudding jumped into my arms.
"I'll come too."
Daisy also grabbed a candle and stood up. Then again, if just Kanna and I wander around, we might get lost, so it's better to go together.
"Jelly, you stay here."
"Sure, sure. I'll keep an eye on this guy."
Jelly waved his hand dismissively. We left the bedroom and looked around the rooms. No one in the bathroom, no one in the hallway, and the cafeteria... When we entered the cafeteria, the smell of soup hit us strongly.
"It seems like the cafeteria was used until just a while ago?"
Kanna surveyed the unwashed cooking utensils. Certainly, if the smell lingers this much, it would be at most a day old.
So they were kidnapped today? If we had come just one day earlier, it would have been fine, but I guess we were late. Still, since it's only been a day, the children are likely safe, which is fortunate.
While I was thinking that, a strange sound was heard.
"B—b."
Hic. What was that? There was no sign of anyone in the building, but it sounded like a voice carried on the wind.
It sounded like someone mumbling about being hungry—could it be a pitiful orphan ghost who starved to death due to the orphanage's financial difficulties? What is that? That's not scary at all, just pitiful.
It seemed like I was the only one who heard that sound. Could it really be a ghost? I felt goosebumps rising on my arms. I hugged Pudding tightly and subtly pressed against Kanna.