Chapter 5

“Just one more block, and we'll be arriving.” Lutz’s eyes moved from the corner of his vision, back to the two girls sitting across from him. “I wonder what kind of gift I should give them.”

“How do you know where we are?” Teflyn asked. “You haven't even looked out the window since we got in the carriage.”

“I have my ways. Lucian's guardians can do something similar, right?”

“Oh, that map thingy. You have that, too?”

“Basically.” Lutz left out the fact that his was many times more versatile. “But what about the gift? Any suggestions?”

“No,” Mia said.

“C’mon, at least give me a single idea. You brought some toys for them, right? I don't really have anything like that, though. Maybe I should go shopping for some. I'm sure Alisha would be able to tell me what's fun for kids.”

“Alisha?”

“A companion of mine. She'd probably get along really well with Teflyn.”

“Does she have horns, too?” Teflyn went straight to a mostly irrelevant point.

“No horns. Cat ears.”

“So she's a beastfolk!”

“We call them beastkin. But yes.”

Teflyn sat forward in her seat. “Is she strong? I want to fight her!”

“You should focus on learning ancient magic and evolving into a kishin before thinking about fighting her. Though she definitely wouldn't turn down a duel.”

Teflyn pouted. “Boo. How am I going to evolve if I don't fight strong people?”

“I already told you, didn't I? Ancient magic holds a lot of potential to give not just you a boost, but everyone in Lucian's entourage.”

“Then why did you say it'd be useless for me to go to the meeting with Vera? She's the one who knows about ancient magic right?”

“It’s not like Archmage Vera will be spilling her secrets at that meeting. I figured you'd just be bored sitting there listening to her and Lucian go back and forth.”

“Well … if they'd stop talking so much and actually do something, I wouldn't get bored so easily!”

Lutz nodded slowly. “So you do understand.”

“Hmph.”

The carriage began to slow as it prepared to make a sharp turn into the orphanage.

Mia, Teflyn, and Lutz were the only passengers aboard, the rest having opted to meet with Vera and help Lucian dig for the truth on why she had returned to Almekia after a seven year absence.

That meeting was taking place at the very moment the carriage came to a stop in the orphanage’s front yard, though even Lutz couldn't listen in when he wasn't in the Divine Realm.

After the carriage stopped, Lutz stood, eager to make his first real outing in Lucian's world.

Another of the passengers stood at the same time. It was Teflyn, of course. The oni girl was always the first to act amongst her group, mainly because she got bored sitting around.

The two of them bumped elbows on the way to the exit, each trying to be the first out the door.

“Me first!” The oni girl sped up.

“Not so fast!” Lutz matched her speed.

“Stop being annoying!”

“Are you talking into a mirror?”

The two of them leapt out of the carriage at the same time, completely bypassing the single step that normally helped people exit safely.

Four feet hit the packed dirt that acts as the orphanage's driveway, the two people they belong to not stumbling even in the slightest, despite their chaotic jump.

“I won.” Teflyn stood proud.

“Are you blind? My feet obviously hit the ground first.”

“No way! I angled my feet so my toes would touch before yours!”

“I did that too, plus I learned to the side so my right foot would be lower than my left.”

“I saw that and did the same, except my shoes are thicker, so they give me extra reach!”

Lutz looked at her shoes, which looked like fancy sandals with extra thick soles. “That's true, but my feet are bigger and longer, making up for the difference between our shoes.”

The orphanage caretaker stood just in front of the two, watching their exchange with a stiff smile.

A group of children surrounded her, ranging from barely old enough to begin formal education to nearly old enough to finish said education. The wide gap couldn't be helped, as kids of various ages could easily become orphans in such a dangerous world.

The guards sent to protect the princess had similar thoughts, but they were much better at keeping them from showing in their faces.

Ignoring the others, Lutz turned back to the carriage. Unlike him and Teflyn, Mia had taken her time reaching the door. As a princess, she had a reputation to manage, and leaping out the carriage in a rush would do nothing to help her keep it.

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“Here.” Lutz held a hand out toward the carriage door.

“Thank you.” Mia used it to steady herself on the way down.

“No problem. I do the same for my companions. Guess Lucian and I have a few things in common.”

“Not seeing much else that you two share.”

“True, he takes things a lot more seriously than I do, huh? He kinda reminds me of a noble friend of mine, Julius. Well, even Lucian isn't as stiff as him, though he has loosened up a bit lately.”

Mia stood just in front of the carriage door, looking toward the orphans. “My brother is focused, as he should be.”

“I'll definitely give him that. No way I could sit in a stuffy room doing administrative work all day like him. I barely finished a bachelor's degree in college, whereas he got a master's and still didn't stop studying after graduation. The dude's a freak.”

“You said that was part of the reason he was chosen, didn't you? Then why were you picked?”

Lutz shrugged. “The summoning spell thought I was a seasoned warrior with all kinds of specific characteristics that it was looking for. I wasn't, which made my life a bit difficult early on after the summoning.”

Princess Mia walked forward, not wanting to keep everyone waiting any longer. The kids were already starting to fidget from being forced to stand there and watch, so she wanted to release them from their mostly self-imposed bondage.

“I'm back.” She spoke with her usual monotone voice.

The caretaker bowed. “It's good to see you, Princess. We're honored that you'd come to visit us again.”

“Mmm. It's been too long.”

“Yes. The children were beginning to wonder if they'd get a chance to see you again soon.”

“H-hey,” one of the older kids said. “It's not like we asked every day, or anything…”

“Of course not. Only every other day.”

“That's not true, either…” He looked away as he spoke.

“Bahaha!” Teflyn laughed without a hint of consideration. “You're not very good at lying!”

“Ah…!” His face went a little red.

“Seems you brought along someone new,” the caretaker said. “And he's quite a lively one, too.”

“Hey.” Lutz waved at them, stepping up beside Mia. “I’m Lutz, the nephew of a king from a faraway land. King Lucian was kind enough to let me stay at the castle, so I decided to help him out in a few ways.”

“Dear me.” The caretaker bowed to him. “Pardon my rudeness. I didn't know you were from a royal family.”

“Don't worry about it. I don't like all the stuffy etiquette, so just treat me like anyone else.”

“If you say so. Though that may be hard for me to do.”

While they were talking, two of the guards arrived, carrying one box each. They both had lids, so it was still a mystery to the orphans as to what was inside.

But Mia had visited enough times for them to at least have an idea. After all, the princess always brought small gifts with her.

Though this was the first time the gifts required two men to transport them.

“Ohhh!” A younger girl got excited at the sight. “More toys!?”

“I hope there’s something fun!”

“And maybe some candy again!”

The orphans didn't get many luxuries. They were lucky to get a single sweet in an entire year, considering how little money the orphanage had to spare.

With the king himself sponsoring them, times had gotten better for the kids, but it was still difficult to spend coin on such luxuries when there were so many orphans.

“Extra gifts,” Mia said. “For my absence.”

The guards set the boxes down on a nearby outdoor table that had seen much better days. Enticed by the thought of toys and candy, the children rushed over as the men pulled the lids off, exposing the contents for all to see.

“Woah! There is candy!”

“And toys! So many of them!”

“I wanna play, I wanna play!”

“Now children,” the caretaker said as she made her way to the table. “Before we receive them, what do you say?”

“Thank you, Princess Mia!” A chorus of voices responded to the caretaker's gentle rebuke.

“It's nothing.” Mia said in a small voice. “They're yours.”

“Yay!”

In order to ensure that every kid got something, the caretaker began to distribute the toys and candy herself. The sudden appearance of many small, grabby hands was a sight that had become common when Mia brought gifts, so she just watched on with her usual expression.

Despite being much older than Mia because of how slowly oni age, Teflyn was far more like the children than the princess. As such, the excitement in the air only fueled her desire to spring into action, which was why she ran over to the kids as soon as they began spreading through the yard to test their new toys.

“Throw it to me! Throw it to me!” Teflyn waved her arms at a boy with a rubbery ball.

“Okay!” He tossed it, rather poorly.

“Woah!” Teflyn dove for it, catching it despite it having gone wildly off course. “Nice! Now it's my turn!”

Despite her absurd strength and skill, Teflyn returned the throw with a soft lob that made the kid reach just a bit to catch it. It was on purpose, as it was more fun than simply tossing it perfectly at him.

“Not going to play?” Lutz asked Mia.

“No.”

“The responsibilities of a princess can be quite burdensome, huh? I know another one who often has to temper her enthusiasm for the same reason. Though in your case, being passive seems to match your personal desires better.”

“What about you? Weren't you excited to come here?”

“Of course I plan to make the most of it. Though I'll leave the playing to Teflyn. I've got something for the more sedentary kids.”

After the distribution of all the toys and candy, it became obvious which children were energetically burning off their youthful energy and which were less inclined to do so.

Most notably, the less social kids were enjoying their candy, rather than toys. That gave Lutz the perfect chance.

“Gather ‘round, those of you who want to hear an exciting tale!”

“Ah…!” A young boy showed immediate interest. “Are there monsters?”

“You bet there are. Big, strong, and fearsome ones.”

“Then I wanna hear!”

“Me too!” another boy said.

“Monsters are scary…” A girl looked at him with a hint of fear, but she couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes.

“Then prepare to be scared!” Lutz waited for the kids to clump up around him. “When I was just a weakling, I stumbled upon a cave filled with lizards that walked on two legs, with sharp claws and deadly fangs. Those monsters were tough and scary to me, but with my trusty spear, I managed to fight my way through them as I explored deeper into the darkness.”

He picked up a stick and began swinging it like a spear. “One after another, they came at me. It was dangerous, and I nearly got overwhelmed many times. But I had a goal, and I wasn't going to give up just because things were difficult! So I fought and fought, leaving a trail of defeated monsters behind me.”

Lutz poked his stick into the ground, as if he were finishing off a downed monster. “Then I ran into it. This lizard wasn't like the others. It walked on four legs, and its body was nearly large enough to cover the entire cave tunnel. Covered in red scales, the huge salamander opened its mouth wide enough to swallow me whole. But it didn't plan on eating me. Not yet. First, it wanted to cook me with its flaming breath, which was hot enough to boil water in seconds!”

The kids were all completely focused on Lutz’s every word, even the young girl who claimed to be scared of monsters.

Meanwhile, Teflyn ran around in the background, sometimes followed by children, other times doing the following.

The scene was far different from when Mia visited by herself, as she didn't have the outgoing personality as the other two. But she enjoyed watching them, even if she didn't feel any particular urge to join.

However, not all the kids were gathered around Teflyn and Lutz.

“Princess?”

“Yes?” Mia focused on the girl who was on the older side of the orphans.

“Do you have any more stories about life in the castle? Um, maybe there is a nobleman that's become popular recently…?”

“A popular nobleman?” Mia thought about the men who frequented the courts. “There are a few who gained popularity from performing well during the war. Would you like to hear about them?”

“Yes, please!”

The older girl was accompanied by several others who seemed to share the same interest.

While Mia herself couldn't claim to care much for those noblemen, she understood exactly why the orphan girls would show interest.

After all, girls dream of romance just as much as boys dream of adventure.

And so, the three of them continued to entertain the children during their visit to the orphanage. Of course, they also enjoyed it themselves, just as much as the kids.