A night of howling snowstorms.
A man stood in front of a large iron window.
Next to the iron grating blocked by chains was a signboard that read ‘Abandoned’.
The man, after glancing at the signboard, looked up at the sign hung above the iron window.
– Blue Peace Orphanage
The man slowly approached the gate and effortlessly walked through it, finding himself on the other side of the iron grating.
Walking across the spacious courtyard, he soon reached an inner door.
As he opened it, a dry cold air rushed out.
This place, which had been sealed off months before and untouched by human hands since then, resembled the mouth of a monster.
The man grimaced as he entered.
He shut the door irritably, halting the snow from entering further.
With a flick of his fingers, melting away the snow that clung to his entire body, the man moved with weary steps to survey the interior of the orphanage.
Given its fairly large size, the man had to take some time to look around thoroughly.
And then he saw it.
The lock on the door.
The solid iron lock was certainly not something that young children could ever pry open.
Doors with such locks lined the area one after another.
The man clicked his tongue in disapproval, silently cutting one of the locks and entering the room.
And he took a sharp intake of breath.
A completely dark room without windows or lighting.
Closing the door would leave the room lit only by the faint light seeping through the cracks.
The man flicked his fingers to create a flame.
The red light illuminated the room, and upon confirming its interior, the man gritted his teeth.
“What the hell have you done to these children…!”
The room was in such a state that it was hardly a place where young children could grow up.
It seemed as though they were expected to take care of their toileting needs in a chamber pot tucked into a corner, though that was so full that insects were swarming in it.
As the man, holding back his nausea, scanned the room, he stepped on something underfoot.
Shining light down at it, he saw the small bones of an animal.
“Probably a rat…”
Clean white bones, devoid of any flesh.
Had time alone stripped the meat away?
Or else…
The man hoped against hope as he moved to inspect another room.
Fortunately, this room wasn’t swarming with insects.
Though it was barred with iron bars, it did have a window.
The preceding room must have been a solitary confinement chamber for punishment.
Though relatively cleaner, the other rooms still had animal bones scattered around.
As if there were nothing left to see, the man turned his body and stepped past the rooms.
He reached a door made of fine wood, entirely different from the previous rooms.
A sign hung on the door indicating it was the principal’s office.
The man pushed the wooden door forcefully.
The locking mechanism had been disengaged long ago, and the wood door creaked open easily.
The man stepped inside and let out a hollow laugh.
“Huh…these bastards…”
All the furniture filling the room and the various high-quality liquors decorating the walls were top-tier.
“What a bunch of trash. They lock away the children in those kinds of rooms and live comfortably off the embezzled money?”
The man recalled the orphanage director he had visited before coming here.
His corpulent form was truly contemptible.
“How those bastards were so brazenly entrenched in the capital…”
He had taken in the unpleasant truths that had slipped out in what could loosely be called a “peaceful” conversation with them.
“Bribery, embezzlement of support funds, falsifying official documents…”
Why had this orphanage managed to remain untouched for so long in the capital of the Demon Empire while committing such unthinkable crimes?
The answer was beyond imagination.
For now, setting aside his memories, the man opened his eyes wide and gathered mana.
His differently colored eyes gleamed as the room began to shine with a bright light.
The magic he was weaving was something even a grand wizard would rarely deploy easily.
As the bright light dimmed, it began to take form.
The shape of a corpulent man and another person cloaked in robes sitting opposite each other, engaging in a conversation, gradually appeared.
– There is an ‘item’ to be entrusted.
– Oh, my count. We are always ready. Just tell us.
– The payment is here. The item will come tomorrow.
The person in the robe pulled out a bag from their pocket.
The bag hitting the desk made a heavy metallic sound.
At that sound, the corpulent man grinned.
– Always grateful, Count.
– Let me remind you: these items must never see the light of day.
– Of course! Of course! How could they possibly? Would you care for some tea?
– No need. I’ll be leaving now. No need to see me out.
– Haha, always grateful. Please go home carefully!
As the person in the robe left the room, the corpulent man, who had been bowing his head, slowly raised it.
His expression was entirely different from before.
An expression of clear irritation.
“Tch, damn noble. Causing trouble again, are you? If you hate it so much, why don’t you get a rubber fitted…”
The corpulent man opened the bag on the desk to see the gleaming gold illuminating his eyes.
“Well, it’s a good deal for me, isn’t it?”
With the scene of the corpulent man humming a tune as he left, the light image disappeared.
Left in the dim room, the man furrowed his brow.
“…Fucking bastards.”
The man confirmed the face of the person in the robe.
He was currently a Viscount, upgraded to such a title and working in the royal palace.
“There will come a time to wipe all of this away.”
The man took a short breath and wove the magic again.
It was the same magic, but this time the shapes of light weren’t human but formed into other documents.
Rows of documents made of light appeared before the man.
Flipping through the documents, the man let out a hollow laugh.
“The orphanage closed but I wondered why they weren’t caught. There was a ledger here all along?”
A detailed ledger of his transactions.
There was no doubt this had been used to coax the nobles.
People who cling to their meal tickets like their lives would crumble to fear upon discovery of even such a trivial piece of evidence.
The man committed its contents to memory and moved to the next document.
Documents related to various corrupt practices passed, and finally…
– Chris
– Ethan
– Ron
The documents of young children lined up, each with their name printed.
Most, in reality all the children, lacked surnames and only their first names were written.
They were all ‘abandoned children.’
Among them, one in particular.
“Found it.”
The man had managed to find the document he was targeting.
– Arthur
The photo showed a boy with gray hair and gray eyes, looking frail.
The man carefully examining the document.
“…didn’t know whose child it was, and just adopted it because the price was right? Thinking it had to be the child of a fallen noble or a merchant because no matching aristocratic family existed. That’s why the iron-clad rule of not letting anyone leave was broken.”
“Passed the academy exam with huge sponsorship…the sponsor remains unknown. Very suspicious.”
The details of the child written in the documents were extremely hard to ascertain.
Nothing was properly listed.
But one very important piece of information the man could extract was:
– Adoption Date
Clearing away the illuminated document, the man closed his eyes and focused.
Even for a grand wizard, the magic he was about to unleash was quite burdensome.
Deeply concentrating, the man activated the magic.
A feeling akin to being swept into a vortex overcame him, and when the man opened his eyes, what he saw was markedly different.
The place was the same but the atmosphere was entirely different.
The fireplace had a fire fiercely crackling, producing soot.
The window was securely shut against the outside snowstorm.
Most importantly, the corpulent man was sitting there unharmed.
In his own seat, sipping on a glass of wine, he wore a very comfortable expression.
Suddenly though,
Knock knock knock!
“Principal!”
“…”
The corpulent man slightly frowned but ignored the noise outside.
Then the same sound rang out again.
Knock knock knock!
“Principal! An urgent matter!”
At that, with a scrunched face, the principal roared.
“Shut up! Didn’t I tell you not to disturb me when I’m relaxing!!”
“But Principal! There’s someone outside who wants to leave a child.”
“This weather? Who would step outside? What kind of person is it?”
“It’s… we don’t know either. Judging from his attire, it doesn’t seem like he’s a noble…”
“Then just shoo him away. They’re probably the type that can’t afford child care.”
“We tried that, sir…”
At the trailing voice from the other side of the door, the principal yelled so loudly his neck veins stuck out.
“Speak clearly!!”
“Yes, yes sir! We tried to do as you commanded, but the person came with a whole chest of money.”
“…Chest?”
“Yes, a chest. Five times the amount we usually receive.”
At this, the principal set down his glass and stood up.
“Prepare to welcome our guest.”
“Yes sir!”
The man following with the principal did not garner him a single glance.
The man trailing behind the principal walked down the corridor while struggling to suppress the pounding in his heart.
“It’s unlikely… it can’t be…”
“But what if it is?”
“No… please…”
Despite praying with all his heart that the person he was about to see wasn’t who he thought it was, the man couldn’t deny the small but solid hope growing in his chest.
When the principal finally reached the reception room,
“What? Why’s there no one here?”
“Well, the guest does not intend to come inside.”
“…What nonsense?”
“They’re at the entrance.”
Frowning deeply, the principal headed towards the entrance.
The orphanage’s entrance was wide open.
On the other side stood a figure.
Behind the figure, the snowstorm howled, and snowflakes sparsely drifted over the threshold.
Shivering from the cold, the principal approached the person.
“Uh… you want to place a child in our care?”
The principal, now equipped with a salesperson-like voice and expression,
Upon hearing this, the figure outside lifted their head.
Judging by the broad shoulders underneath the robe, the person appeared to be a woman.
A thin voice emerged from beneath the robe.
“Yes.”
Though brief, that single word made the man standing at the back clutch his chest.
“Aaah… AAAAHH!!!”
The woman beyond the door slowly raised her head.
A streak of bright gray hair was revealed as the wind lightly brushed the robe aside.
“I want to place a child in your care. Long-term.”
The man stretched out his trembling hand towards the woman.
His hand seemed to land on the woman’s cheek, but quickly passed through.
What this man saw was a scene from the past.
He couldn’t interfere.
The man could never have imagined how painfully this fact would pierce his heart.
Underneath the robe, the bright gray hair and the cleverly gleaming gray eyes.
Even after the long years that had passed, how could anyone forget?
How could he forget the person he had cherished in the hundreds of years he had lived?
With a heart swelling with emotions, the man forced his choked throat to move.
And the name he uttered was one.
“Irea…”
