*Woof*

Sirius' bark alerted everyone in the house that Orion had returned.

"Sorry I can't pet you right now. Our hands are full."

Hurriedly, Karteira and Amelia went downstairs and opened the door for him and May.

"You're finally back."

Amelia opened the door, with Karteira looking over her shoulder. Both had a very serious expression.

'Something happened again...'

A sigh escaped his mouth as he entered the house.

"Can it wait, or can it not."

"It can't."

A voice Orion haven't heard in a long time, followed by a man moving down the stairs, greeted him.

"Florian? I thought you were on an mission?"

Surprised, Orion walked past the girls and went in the living room.

"May, place the prisms on the table please."

"Sure thing."

She did as asked, while Orion placed the perfect sphere he was holding on the couch. There was really no other place to place it, as he didn't want to break it or inadvertently put a dent on it.

"So, what is this problem that can't wait."

"Go upstairs, you'll see."

Karteira told him to go, as it would be faster for him to understand.

"I'm sorry. I've brought you something troublesome. I hoped you would be able to help, that's why returned while being in the middle of taking over those cities."

Out of his sight, Florian was a little tense.

'So it has something to do with his mission.'

Orion walked through the door way, walked past the girls, and moved in front of front of Florian. He stopped, and glanced at him.

"If it's not too bothersome, I'll consider it as a debt from a friend. But be sure to help me at that time."

Florian's expression relaxed. He adjusted his glasses before nodding.

"Thank you. I won't forget it."

After walking up the stairs, Orion found himself face-to-face with the sisters. May stayed behind to speak with Amelia and Karteira about what had happened to them before returning.

"Welcome back."

Drania smiled, but it was a little bent, as if her mood was down.

"We need to talk in private later. It's related to the problem inside."

Getting straight to the point, Dramia turned around and went into his room.

'Wait, what is all of this? What is in my home?'

For once, Orion was slightly scared to open the door.

"Sorry. Sis is a little on edge, so she made it more ominous than necessary, but it's not something dangerous or anything. At least for all of us. We'll wait for you."

She turned around and joined her sister in his room.

'Alright. I guess I'll have to check this 'thing'.'

He placed his hand on the handle, and opened it carefully.

The room was lit as usual, nothing was out of the ordinary.

Scanning the room, his eyes fell on a little girl laying on the bed, under the cover. He continued to look around, and noticed a bowl of unfinished soup.

'A child?'

Orion closed the door behind him before walking near the side of the bed. He sat down on the chair and observed the little girl.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

'Wait, is that the child Florian was supposed to bring back?'

His eyes opened wide when he noticed how horrible her state was.

'Calm Analysis!'

He hurriedly stood up and removed the cover, and looked all over her body.

That little girl wasn't special in any ways. She was a very ordinary child, if you ignored her roughed appearance.

Brown short hair stopping at her nape, cut unevenly as if someone forcefully cut them off. Large dark circles under her eyes, an unhealthy color of skin, and a scrawny body.

She was in a worst state than Sirius was when he arrived.

Her breathing was so faint that you had to wonder if she was still alive.

Orion sat back on the chair, and placed his elbows on his knees, and held his hands in front of his mouth in shock.

'...'

He clenched his hands together, a glare so fierce it could threaten anyone seeing in on his face. A terrible anger took over him, but his thoughts were silent.

It was a good thing Julian was already dead, because he would have personally went to send him to the afterlife if not.

Something Orion despised more than anything, was the suffering of children. It was the same with Leon and Lila before in Lavira.

He helped the woman named Crystal because he could, but mostly because he refused to let more children become orphans if he could stop it.

This time was different though. This child had already lost everything, and she was destined to have a rough life as the daughter of a now dead Apostle.

"Wait a second. I'll do what I can to help you."

His eyes were hidden by a layer of darkness as his left hand grabbed hers. Light began to envelop her as Orion looked for any trace of corruption.

Yet, his mood crashed once again.

'!'

Her body was very much like Crystal. She was no magic user either, which made the corruption a deadly poison for her. Slowly, the dark sludge in her body was eating her.

But with just one look, it wasn't enough to notice another thing inside her. It was something only Tiohr-nam could see, related to her soul.

It was the reason she hadn't died with this much corruption inside of her.

*grit*

Orion cleansed her body of corruption in its entirety. Then, he healed her body as if she was never hurt in her life.

Only one thing couldn't be healed, and that was her heart. Her emotions, and her thoughts.

The girl's breathing finally stabilized. She was definitely out of danger now.

After thirty minutes, Amelia opened the door, worried. Her eyes fell on a scene she would never have expected.

The man she loved was holding the girl's hand tightly with a neutral expression on his face. She couldn't see his eyes, but she knew he was incredibly upset.

She wasn't expecting that Orion would care for his former enemy's child. Knowing that he would save any child in danger was one thing, but even the children of his enemies?

Once again, she understood why she loved him that much.

"Amelia. Tell me."

She entered the room when she heard her name.

"What am I supposed to do? I don't want to leave her side for now."

"..."

While listening, she tried to understand his thoughts.

"I don't understand. Why would you have a child if you are going to treat her like this."

"Am I strange in thinking like this? Am I the weird one? Is it normal in this world to torture children?"

"If I ever had one, I would never do such a thing. Aren't we fighting to protect our future? What of that future if we don't treasure it?"

"Aren't the children of this world our treasure?"

He turned his head to Amelia with an expression she never saw before. It had a mixture of sorrow and dismay. Only bitterness could be felt from his words.

At a loss for words, she walked to his side and hugged his face. He found himself hugging her belly.

"Did that hurt you that much? Are you alright?"

"..."

Still holding the girl's hand, he hugged Amelia's waist with his other arm. His voice, muffled by her clothes, fell in her ears.

"She was in an awful state. Her body was so corrupted it was a miracle she was still breathing. She had scars all over her body, and something tells me she won't ever be a happy child."

He stopped the hug and returned to normal.

"Thanks, I feel better."

'He's still a little depressed.'

Orion released the girl's hand, and stood up from the chair.

"I have to talk with the sisters now. I'll think about what to do with her after that."

Nodding, Amelia moved aside, and took his seat.

"Don't overthink. Let the answer come to you. Once you're sure, come back in this room. Just know that I already know what I want to do."

Amelia too had a hard time accepting the previous state of the girl. Also, compared to Orion, she heard the details of how she was found by Florian before he returned.

She pretty much felt like him. Karteira too felt anxious about this whole situation, though, less than them, as they knew what being an orphan entailed.

Orion walked away, and opened the door.

"I'll do that. I still don't know how to process these feelings, but I think about it. See you later."

Before the door closed, Amelia snapped her fingers.

It was a signal someone was supposed to hear when Orion walked out. And sure enough, she heard it.

The moment the door closed, Karteira's tail went behind Orion, and brought him toward her.

In deep thoughts, Orion noticed too late, and before he knew it, Karteira was already hugging him.

"K-Karteira?"

"Don't say anything. Let me hug you for a minute."

In the middle of the corridor, they both hugged each other in silence until Karteira spoke again.

"We're here to support you when you feel down."

"I know. I'm not used to it, that's all."

Both of them managed to apaise his mood. He was almost completely back to himself.

"Hmm... I'm not Amelia. So I thought it would be strange to just hug you out of nowhere, but Amelia told me that you would probably feel bad, and to just do it."

"I don't understand completely how you feel about this matter, but even then, I just want you to know."

"I'll support you until the very end. That's my resolve."

She stopped hugging him with a smile on her face.

"And I'm glad you are always next to me."

He turned around and went into his room, leaving Karteira with a slight blush on her cheek.

'It's me who isn't used to it...'

She joined returned downstairs to talk with Florian and May.

...

"I'm here."

As Orion opened the door to his room, the sisters were quietly waiting.

'Yes, this is a very serious conversation. None of them are like usual. They're way too quiet.'

"I'll get to the point. Orion, about that child..."

Dramia stared in his eyes as he sat in front of them.

"she's the child of a Remnant."

The start of a troublesome conversation began.