Read Novel Full Vol 13 Chapter 14
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(19/24)
Chapter 14 – The Power of Money
After successfully completing the business meeting at the Castle, I came to inspect the orphanage for the first time in a long time. No matter how many times I see it, or even after a long time, it looks like a military facility, but it is an orphanage. The military man was assigned to guard the gate, so it no longer looked like an orphanage, but… it really was an orphanage.
As I entered the orphanage after meditating on many things, I heard Ines’ voice echoing as the children played with her. I turned toward the voice and saw that Jack-kun had been hit by Ines’ iron claw.
I still think it’s great that he has the courage to hold on to Ines’ tail. But somehow, Ines seems to be exhausted, or is that just my imagination?
This orphanage has just been completed, so they should have chosen the quietest children… Well, it’s definitely better than when she first arrived with her dark eyes.
“Oh, Master. You’re finally here!”
Ines came running towards us, looking deeply relieved…
“Ines. Jack-kun looks like he’s dying. Will he be okay?”
Please don’t carry the boy around with the iron claw still attached. I think he’s alive because his hands haven’t let go of her tail, but his plastered and swaying body scares me. Is his neck broken?
“It’s okay. I’m punishing this boy for casually touching a lady’s tail. But he still has the nerve to keep his hands on it even after I’ve gone this far.”
While saying such complimentary things, Ines clearly begins to exert herself. Ah, as expected, she can’t take it anymore, and Jack-kun is about to remove his hand from her tail and tries to pull Ines’ right hand away from her face.
He seems to be in a lot of pain because he is also flailing his legs. I’m afraid his skull might be crushed.
Ines throws Jack-kun away with a cool expression on her face. Jack is rolling around on the floor, holding his face and fainting in agony.
“Ines. Isn’t that a bit too much?”
In Japan, this would definitely be a case of abuse. She would be arrested.
“This is what you do to a beastman child. Cheeky kids don’t learn unless you hurt them.”
I was horrified by Ines’ nonchalant attitude when my eyes met Jack-kun’s sprawled on the floor.
“Oh, souvenir!”
…Jack-kun. Is that the first thing you say when you see me? Do you recognize my name as Souvenir?
Jack-kun runs up to me with a smile on his face. He was in so much pain, but his resilience is amazing.
“Souvenir! Do you have a souvenir?”
Jack-kun asks me in an expectant voice while tugging at my pants. As you can see, I am very attached to the children at the orphanage.
I’ve only been able to visit the orphanage a few times since it opened, but the effect is that each time, I come back with a lot of souvenirs. It’s a little sad, though, that they only seem to recognize me as a souvenir!
Maybe they heard Jack-kun’s voice because kids came out of the orphanage and ran toward us.
Some of them are holding Rimu, Fuu-chan, and Beni-chan. Pent is there, too, and they don’t seem to be afraid of him. I guess Claretta-san and the others who came out together introduced them well.
Huh? One of the boys who ran this way was grabbed by Ines and fell prey to an iron claw… flower bed? Oh, is that the boy who was told not to go into the flower beds when we came in?
He had managed to escape while Ines was taking her time with Jack-kun, but when he heard about the souvenirs, she came to catch him, didn’t she?
“Hey, the souvenir!”
While I was distracted by Ines, a numb Jack-kun asked me a question again. The other kids who had gathered around looked at me expectantly, and I felt sorry for them for making them impatient.
“I have some souvenirs for you. They are sweets, so you can take them with you, but be sure to wash your hands before eating them.”
I handed the souvenir to Jack-kun, and although he stumbled a bit, he took the box firmly and ran into the orphanage. The other children were with him, of course. I was a little sad.
Hmm? The child who stumbled at the end of the line must be the one who was hit by Ines’ iron claw.
He looks hurt, but he might still have the courage to run.
“Elmo. The children, they all look well.”
“Yes, they are. Everyone is happy to have a full meal. Camille-san and Donatella-san are also coming to check on them with souvenirs, and the children are very happy.”
I heard that Camille-san and Donatella-san came as well. I wonder if the souvenirs are sweets from the Castle ship?
I chose the sweets from Chris because I thought they were newer, which was a good job.
“So, no problems with the children or the orphanage?”
“That’s right…”
Elmo stammered as if it was hard for him to say. Is there a problem? Oh, you mean the appearance of this orphanage? It is indeed difficult to rebuild, you know?
“Well, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll do what I can.”
Except rebuild.
“Some of the children seem to be fine now, but they still can’t seem to forget the painful memories and some of them start crying or jumping up and down screaming in the middle of the night. Jack is one of them…”
Even Jack-kun, who looks so full of energy, is like that…
…But, well, yeah. Those kids had such dark eyes. As a person who grew up in a peaceful environment, I can’t even imagine the painful memories they must have had.
They can’t forget it in a few months just because they can eat a full meal.
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
“No, I talked to the Church’s orphanage, but they said the only thing to do is to take time and watch over them with love. In fact, they were surprised that the child was well enough to play pranks.”
So it’s a heartbreak, which is why there are no extraordinary cures or magic potions. No wonder Elmo has a hard time saying it. But…
“Um, I can’t help you if it’s a problem without a solution, can I?”
I can’t move the clock forward, can I?
“Oh, no, I’ll keep an eye on it with the staff. In fact, we have been asked by another orphanage to take in some more orphans, and we don’t know if we can handle more children in our current situation. We have plenty of room in our facility, but…”
“You mean you don’t have enough staff?”
We have a lot of staff, to begin with, so there should be more adults than children in the facility, right?
“No, we have enough staff. Um, I heard that this orphanage is quite wealthy, thanks in part to Wataru-san.”
Yes. That’s a terrible thing to say, but we have a generous budget for charitable expenses.
“Is having a large budget a problem for you?”
It’s good for the kids, right?
“If you have the manpower and the budget to spend on the orphans, I was asked if you could heal some of the orphans who were badly hurt.”
Oh… you mean an amateur-run orphanage has been given a difficult task? Even the dark eyes of Jack-kun and the others, when they were brought here, were terrifying, but the children who are even more injured are…
“I think we should take them in if we can help them, but I was worried about whether we, almost all amateurs, could do it or whether the orphans who are here originally would be pulled away by the new children coming here…”
It was a very delicate matter. The children who were suffering were coming in, and there was a possibility that seeing them would peel away the scab that had formed on Jack-kun’s and the others’ hearts.
I can’t help but wonder if Elmo is in trouble or if I can’t help him either… What should I do?
I had intended to gradually increase the number of people to be taken care of since we built such a large orphanage, but I think we’re skipping too many steps.
“Ah, I’ll think about it. I’ll have to discuss it with Alessia and the others, so can you give me the room?”
“Thank you.”
Stop it, Elmo, don’t bow so low. I can’t even imagine how to solve this…
“Let’s, uh, let’s go inside anyway.”
I asked Elmo to lift his head and walk into the orphanage. I just wanted to look around the orphanage, but now I’m in big trouble.
Fighting the urge to pretend I hadn’t heard anything and go home, I went to the cafeteria where the orphans were smiling and eating their souvenir sweets.
If I make the wrong decision, will it ruin the smiles of even these children? The pressure was too much.
Ah, the crane game dolls donated by Claretta-san look so cute.
＊＊＊
After consulting with Ines, Felicia, Alessia-san, and the others, the room in the rented orphanage was filled with heavy silence. Well, that’s what happens, isn’t it?
“How about we take in the children who don’t need so much care at this orphanage so that the teachers at the orphanage have more time on their hands?”
I’m not a specialist, and it would be foolhardy to take care of severely traumatized children, but we can help them in a roundabout way. It seems like a nice idea.
“It’s unfortunate, but many children can’t even get into an orphanage. Even if this orphanage takes care of them, soon there will be too many orphans to take care of.”
Claretta-san shook her head sadly. There was a war recently, so there are many orphans. It’s a harsh world.
So they asked a private orphanage to take care of their difficult children because they had the number of orphans and the money to spare.
I guess the public orphanages like the Church will be full soon.
“Fufu, Master, and everyone else think too much.”
In the dark atmosphere of the room, Ines breaks the long silence and proudly stretches out her chest.
“Ines. This is a rather sensitive subject, and the children’s future is at stake, so you can’t joke about it, can you?”
If she were joking, I would have Bella-san lecture her.
“That’s rude, but I have a good idea.”
I seem to have offended her, but I’d like to hear if she has a solution.
“I’m sorry, I’m just surprised that you said we’re thinking too deeply because this is a difficult problem. Can you tell me what your idea is?”
“Fuh, it can’t be helped. Master, since you owe me this, I expect a reward. More specifically, I want a reward that will allow me to play in the casino.
You lost a lot of money yesterday, and you still want to go to the casino? Also, the “Fuh, it can’t be helped” line is a little irritating.
…But it’s a small price to pay if it’s the only way to solve this problem.
“I get it. If Ines’ idea solves the problem, you can expect a reward.”
It’s like throwing money down the drain, but the proceeds from the casino will benefit us. It really is better than throwing money away.
“This is a promise. Then I’ll give you my idea of how to solve it, so listen carefully.
Although she is a slave, she is very bossy. Sometimes, I envy her personality.
“I know you’re worried about the effects on the children here and the lack of specialists. Then, you should build a specialized facility. Master has more than enough money, so you can afford staff and facilities. Let the Church or Camille take care of it, and they will arrange everything.”
Is this eye-opening…? I feel like it’s kind of a heavy lift, but me, Felicia, Alessia-san, and the others, huh? Can we do it? We all had that look on our faces.
I was thinking about whether or not to have them in this orphanage, but it doesn’t really matter if it’s not in this facility as long as the children are healed.
To leave it to Camille-san, who is very busy, and whether there is land in the city of Cagliari to build this facility is not so clear, but if that’s the case, we can ask the place that can afford it to do the best they can. Even the Church should be willing to help if we pay them.
I didn’t want to build another orphanage, but if it solves the problem, why not? I’d be willing to spend a lot of money on charity.
The God of Commerce-sama would not complain about a facility that takes care of children’s emotional trauma.