Chapter 8
“What’s your name? Where are you from?”
Eva’s voice was gentle as she asked.
She had been this kind when she first met me in my previous life too. Seeing her again after returning to the past made me even more glad.
“My name is Crescent. My parents… passed away. But before they did, they told me to come here.”
“Oh my goodness…!”
Eva covered her mouth with both hands in shock.
I wore an expression on the verge of tears, as if I might start crying any moment.
I felt a bit guilty for deceiving her, but technically, I was an orphan…
And now, I no longer needed to use the alias “Dallas” like I did in my first life.
Thanks to using the “Sponsor’s Wish Ticket,” I no longer had to hide my real name.
Eva quickly brought me inside.
“Come in, Crescent. You must have gone through so much. But don’t worry anymore. We at Ebony Orphanage will take care of you from now on.”
“Really? You will?”
“Of course.”
Wow!
Mission: Orphanage Entry — Success!
I had been a little worried, but as expected, she took me in right away.
Eva kindly brought me inside, washed me up, dressed me in clean clothes, and even served me a hot meal.
And it just so happened to be my favorite — creamy corn soup.
So good.
It felt like I was eating a warm meal for the first time in forever.
As I ate, I could feel the other children sneaking glances at me. Their eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“A-hem…”
“Eat as much as you want. You must be starving.”
“…Yes.”
Truthfully, I had eaten some bread before leaving the mansion, so I wasn’t that hungry. But after experiencing Eva’s warm welcome, it felt like I hadn’t eaten in ages.
The food she served me wasn’t excessive, but it wasn’t lacking either.
It’s not easy to be this generous even if the donations are steady…
Especially since this was a rural orphanage — their donations wouldn’t be as large as those in the capital.
Even in my past life, the 100 million siennes that Learwin donated was the largest contribution the orphanage ever received.
Thankfully, this time, I could finally return the kindness I received.
They’d looked after me so tenderly for four years — I couldn’t show up empty-handed.
I cautiously took out an envelope from my pocket.
“Oh, and Director. My parents told me to give this to you.”
“Hm? What’s this?”
Eva opened the envelope with a puzzled look.
Inside was 100 million siennes — my reward cash converted into this world’s currency.
In this world, 100 million siennes was an absolutely enormous sum. To put it into perspective, an orphanage worker’s monthly salary was around 1 million siennes.
As expected, Eva’s eyes widened like saucers.
“Heavens, this much money… for me?”
“It’s a donation. Thank you for taking me in. Please use it well for the orphanage. It was my parents’ entire fortune.”
“Oh my…”
Eva was speechless. She couldn’t say anything for a while, then finally opened her mouth.
“Are you sure… it’s okay for us to accept this?”
“Of course. You accepted me, after all.”
“Oh my, thank you.”
Tears welled up in Eva’s eyes. She pressed her hands together like she was praying, deeply moved.
“Thank you so much, Crescent. Thanks to you, our children at the orphanage will be able to live comfortably for a while. And I’ll do my best to make sure you lack nothing either. Thank you, truly.”
“No, thank you.”
I smiled brightly.
Tears shimmered in Eva’s eyes. Then, overcome with emotion, she suddenly stood up and shouted toward the kitchen.
“Bring more fruit! And more snacks for the other kids! No—let’s throw a big welcome party! Beef! Let’s have beef, kids!”
“Waaah!!”
All the children, who had been quietly watching, jumped up and cheered with excitement.
As I watched them with a pleased smile…
<Divine Power is increasing!>
<Divine Power is increasing!>
<Divine Power is increasing!>
Suddenly, the system window started popping up endlessly.
My divine power was skyrocketing.
…Of course.
Donating 100 million siennes to an orphanage wasn’t just your average good deed.
Good deeds increase Divine Power.
It’s not like I gave the donation for the Divine Power boost, but hey—if I get a reward out of it, it’s a win-win.
My first goal was officially complete!
Let’s see the effect of donating 100 million siennes at level 10…
<Paladin — Level 16>
<Divine Power — Level 17>
<Swordsmanship remains at Level 10>
…Pretty satisfying.
That evening.
A party that wasn’t originally planned was held at Ebony Orphanage.
In the front yard, all the children and staff gathered to enjoy a grand feast.
There was beef and lamb steak they normally wouldn’t get to eat, expensive fruits, and sweet drinks made from herbs and fruits.
“This is the grandest celebration in our orphanage’s history.”
Eva wept tears of joy.
The kids were too busy stuffing their faces, and I also enjoyed the feast to my heart’s content.
Level 16 Paladin, huh…
As I ate, I thought about my levels.
Even though my Divine Power had increased a lot, there was a limit to how far I could raise my Paladin level without improving my swordsmanship.
But that’ll be taken care of once I become the ward of House Pluto.
The Plutos were one of the most powerful Paladin families in the entire Sientri Empire.
Only a few months remained before the demons started swarming.
I had to raise my abilities as much as possible before then.
Of course, I couldn’t keep donating all my money to the orphanage. There was a limit to how much Divine Power you could raise through simple good deeds.
Leveling up got harder and harder as you went on.
Hmm. Still, I’m confident.
Resolving myself, I spent my first night at the orphanage.
There were still two weeks left before Marchioness Learwin Pluto would visit.
Meanwhile, under the night sky while the party went on at the orphanage—
A man with blue hair stood atop a tree branch.
He was absurdly tall, slender, and impossibly handsome.
His black eyes shone brighter than the stars in the sky, with high cheekbones and perfectly proportioned lips.
A slight curve formed at the corner of those lips.
What’s this…
His eyes were fixed on a single child.
There were many children below, but it was as if all the others had been blurred away from his vision.
Only the girl—with doll-like blonde hair and pink eyes—stood out.
Seeing the eight-year-old child made a subtle smile form on Cyrillote’s lips.
“When did she get all the way here?”
She had vanished overnight, only to show up practically on the other side of the empire.
It wasn’t teleportation… Could a child like that really do something like that?
Cyril’s pitch-black eyes gleamed with a colder amusement.
“Heh… What a strange kid.”
Two weeks later.
I had spent the time at the orphanage diligently.
Finally, the day arrived when Marchioness Learwin Pluto would visit—but nothing felt different from usual.
Learwin had shown up without any prior notice.
Still, that doesn’t mean I can be unprepared.
I had to become her ward, no matter what!
Just as I was about to step into an empty room, a boy slightly taller than me appeared before me.
“What are you doing?”
“?”
A boy with blue hair and black eyes—Cyril.
He had arrived at the orphanage a day after I did.
Strange, wasn’t it?
In the tutorial too, he arrived one day after me. And now, again, he showed up exactly one day later.
Even though I had returned to the orphanage several months earlier than I had in my previous life.
Coincidence?
I glanced sideways at Cyril.
I hadn’t realized it during the tutorial, but Cyril had a strangely calm demeanor.
For an orphan, he had a surprisingly mature air.
Even when food was involved, he never got excited. While the other kids scrambled to devour everything, he always ended up eating whatever scraps were left.
Plus, he was so ridiculously good-looking that even living as an orphan, he was bound to get kidnapped someday.
Just then, a loud carriage arrived outside the building.
