Chapter 5: The Orphan House of Karnosh City

The orphan in this world was both very pitiful and common. With the situations of a large number of beasts in this world, kids that were once happy kids and yet, in a blink of an eye, turn into orphans was very common.

Far too common, in fact.

For common people, being an Adventurer was a job that will never go out or go down. The payment is great but the risk was always high, too. And yet, for people of this world, being an Adventurer was something that everyone wanted to be. Why? Because the riskier one job is, the better the payment. After all, the things that they got from their job was more then what a normal person gets per week upon completion.

Either that or being a government official or workers likes soldier, knights, and scholar.

However, for commoners who cannot read and write, the most they can be was a soldier. They can never be a scholar. So, instead of being a soldier for the nobles, the majority of the people would rather be a hunter, another way to call Adventurers who focus on low-rank hunting and collection quests.

This means, the majority of the orphans in this world were from parents who are both or one-sided hunters. Occasionally, there are orphans from other circumstances too. Like, offending a noble and was killed or something similar.

Which was why the children in this world would start working at the age of 10 years old, even younger if they are orphan, rather than 12 years or older like the previous worlds that I had been thru. No, this doesn't count my original world. In my original world, you have to be 16 years old to start part-time working. Well, this was in the U.S and England. I don't know about other parts of the world.

In America, there are no Orphanages house but rather a Foster Care system, which was a government-funded program. Since on Earth, there aren't such things as a wild beast, dangerous mutated beast, or savage creatures, the rates of children who are homeless, or orphan is like heaven compared to here.

Especially in America. I won't say that the Foster Home in America are the best since each one is different. I won't even say that the Foster Home in America was one of the best, either, since it is clearly just my own opinion. And I myself don't' even believe that American's Foster Care system was one of the best.

I had been to a couple of Foster Homes for my college researches before, and I can only say that those foster care in the States had met the requirement for a healthy, well feed, caretaker. Foster care was not homes for the children there but it was more or less one of their homes. They eat well, sleep well, educated well enough, and yet, I can only say that there is little that I can do for them.

Back then, I was only 17, freshly graduated from high school due to a skipped grade and starting my college earlier than planned. So, with my part-time jobs, earning $39 per hour, 20 hours a week, I had put out 50% of that as a donation to those houses that I had visited. The rest of my earning was more than enough for a college student like me to use, so I am not stingy with my earning. Sometimes, whenever I could take a break from college and my part-time jobs, I would go play with those kids. And yes, I notice. That those foster care homes sometimes lack better staff members and empathy workers for the kids.

Hmm? No, my majors aren't to work with kids. This was for my general study class only. I was researching about the rate of kids who was able to safely leave the Foster Care system once they turned into adults with traumas experiences.

Still, that was the best that I could do since I cannot and will not be able to take responsibility for the kids, I cannot do any more than this. Just because my lucks are great doesn't mean that I relied on it to take care of the kids. I can't do that, anyway.

The best that I can do was bought books, materials for schools, and go play with them, occasionally...

I did that to a lot of the orphans' houses that I passed by too. In the other worlds.

You know what, that was how I met Tian Yuanle, too. I was volunteering to teach the kids how to read and write, helping them learn how to be self-sufficiency like farming and gardening, and how to decrease the rate that they would get sick by introducing them to what is Clean Water. I taught them to wash themselves using clean water from the well or boiled water from rivers banks.

That's how I got the attention of Tian Yuanle without I even wanted it. Since I wasn't helping the orphans because of something like kindness, I really don't see why in the world did that man find me so interesting.

What? I am not kind, okay? If I was kind, I would have adopted all the orphans that I can already. I would have taking responsibilities for them already. I am not kind so I won't do that. I have both the times and resources for it but I didn't, because I am not a kind person.

The orphans in this city were located near the edge of the city, far to the east of this city, where the slum used to be located.

The director of the orphan was a man called "Alli". A very girly name, I know.

He was a man in his 40s, with grey hair and wrinkled face. His clothes are in poor conditions like the kids and his hands are full of courses from overworking. Alli used to be a hunter but he stops working as a hunter ever since his wife had died due to illness. So, now, he and his daughter help each other ran the orphans. Alli's daughter, Tyla, was a full-grown 17 years old woman, already. She had married to a hunter named "Kevin", the son of Alli's former party member.

Since the orphan was funded by the Lord of this city via taxes, you can say that they have enough to feed the child without them going hungry. However, without going hungry doesn't mean that they are full.

"Hello, director Alli," I greeted the man. This man had already known about me since this was the second time that I came here. The first time was when I first got to this world and was asking for direction. He was the one that pointed me toward the AG and the Commerce Guild, as payment, I had left the man a whole carcass of wild boar as thanks. And yes, I knew that this was the orphanage when I first lay eyes on it.

"Hello, Shirin-san. How was your day? Did you find the Adventurer's Guild okay?" Alli asked with a kind smile full of wrinkles on his face.

As we exchange pleasant, I asked him if there are kids here who are looking for work. The answer was yes, everyone that was old enough was.

"Since my gardens are too large and I need a couple of kids to help me water my gardens among other things, would you ask them if they wanted to help me? I will pay them a salary of 50 coppers coins per day, and lunch and dinner are included. It will be from 8 in the morning to 6 in the afternoon," I asked.

Alli looked surprised before he brightened up and called for the kids.

What? I have a sense of money, okay?! Don't make fun of me! Even if I am OP as hell, I still have the common sense from my former life! I might be eternally 21 years old but that doesn't mean that I am not mature!

I might pay the kids a little bit more than other people but this was my way of saying that the works are harsh. Those kids are only at most 12 years old, there was no way that they are strong enough to bear harsh works like carrying waters for the whole days. That's why the salary is 50 copper coins per day, per person. They don't need to worry about lunch and dinner too since I will be cooking for them.

Director Alli brings back 12 kids, all around 10 years old to 15 years old. Those kids aren't in a starving state but their growing bodies all stop because of lack of nutrition. Not being hungry doesn't mean fully eaten. Lack of nutrition and vitamins...

The wild boars that I gave them last time were to last for a whole month. They had probably turned a large portion of it into jerky so that it will last longer. After all, that wild boars was more in the size of an elephant from Earth rather than a boar. So there are more meats.

"Hi, my name is Shirin. I am looking for some helper, around 5-6 of you, to help me water my gardens. It is a full day job with lunch and dinner available. The payment is 50 copper per day, every day except for the day off that I give you weekly. Do you guys and girls want to help me? Do notes that this job requires you to draws water from the well so it is a very harsh job, okay? The time limit is, let's see, this whole week for now? How about it?" I asked the kids.

As someone of a full Asian male, my height was pretty short compared to the male in this world. But since I am only talking to the kids who don't have experiences dealing with monsters or experiences like Liz, who meet all kinds of people daily, they aren't able to feel the natural intimidating aura from me. This was a good thing because I don't want to make kids cries for no reason.

All the kids nodded. Seeing that all 12 kids were all looking forward to the jobs, I change from 5-6 kids to all the kids. Well, it should be fine. Since my gardens are huge. And the aeroponic and hydroponics gardens need a constant source of water. So, with all 12 kids, four to each garden should be fine.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Okay, here, this is a Personal Request Form, please signs it," I gave the form to Alli and have him put down the names of all the kids into the form. That way, I can accurately pay them via the guilds so no problem will raise.

After that, I took the kids to my home, to show them the place. And how I would like them to do their works. The rules that I enforced within my home and my farms.

"Here is the well. You guys will have to use this lavage to draw the water into these two large barrels for twenty minutes before you can move the water into the watering can. See that red letters on the barrels? You will have to fill it up with waters so that it turns green. After that, you all have to wait for it to turn blue before drawing water from it into the watering cans.

And then, after that, you can water the plants. Each plant has a different amount of water that they need per day. See this, this dedicates that in the morning, it will need this much water. The watering cans have labels that show you how much water is currently in the watering can so you can just water it until it gets to this mark. And these plants require more water so you guys will have to water it with more water. Some plants need water once a day while others need water once every two days. There are marked on the plants to dedicate if it needs to be watered today or tomorrow, you can confirm that touching the dirt to see the moistures within the soil," I continue to explain and shows the kids where certain tools are and how to water the plants without killing it with too much water.

The water barrels, about 500 gallons each, are enhanced by me to make all the waters have a certain amount of nutrition in them for the plants so the kids cannot drink water from the barrels. They can drink it from the well but if they put the water into the barrels already, then they cannot drink it. Because it is slightly poisoned to the human body. With the two water barrels being that large, it will take the kids a couple of hours to even fill it up. This was why even 12 kids might not be enough.

After that, I show them the inside of my brand new built house. Their faces when I show them the inside was priceless.

"When you guys came in, make sure to use these white towels hanging here to clean your hand, face, arms, and legs. Take off your shoes here and clean your feet with these blue towels before going to the kitchen. In the kitchen, you all must wash your hands before seating," I instructed them as I watch the kids doing it.

"Now, come here. This door leads to the kitchen, where all of your foods are already prepared for you. The other door over there is the washroom. If you need to use it, follow the instructions writing on the inside of the door. Don't worry, I know that some of you don't know how to read so I write it in pictures, that way, you can understand it without the need to read. And after using the washroom, you must wash your hands like how the pictures show you before coming out,"

All the kids continue to follows me as I show them around the house and the area that they are to work in.

"Each day, you guys will have three breaks, it means free time. The first one is when you are eating lunch at 12:00. That's when this clock rings. That signal the end of your morning shift so you all must stop working and clean yourself up for lunch, understand? Good. The next break will be at 3:30, that's when this clock rings again, that means that you can stop working and get some break. Drink waters, relax your bodies a bit so that you will have strengths to work in the afternoon. And no, this is the rule here. You all must take this break. There are wooden chairs underneath the shades of the trees outside for you guys to rest on. This break lasts 30 minutes. The clock here will ring again after 30 minutes so you all must not fall asleep during then. After the second break, you all will be working until 6 in the afternoon, that's when the final rest will be. Dinner will also be served here inside the house so you all must clean yourselves and come inside to eat. After that, you guys can go back to the orphan. Understand? Good," I nodded in satisfaction. The kids were very obedient.

"Okay, let's see. Let's go outside and practice coming in. Pretends that right now is lunchtime since it is near lunch-time now rather than dinner. Alright. All of you, outside now. Show me what you would do when the clock rings." I said as I watched the kids going through the process of cleaning themselves.

They hurriedly clean their hand, face, neck, arms, legs and put away their shoes as they clean their feet before coming inside the house and to the kitchen. They all seat down obediently after washing their hands in the sink. I nodded my head.

"Good job. Hold on a second," I said as I went to the counter and opened the refrigerator hidden behind it. Inside was the kid's lunch that I had to make after coming back from the Green Amber woods.

The kids were shocked stiffed as the looked at the so-called lunch in front of them. Aged wild boars soaked in some kind of fragrance sauce that makes their mouth salivates, freshly baked bread that smells of yeast and something sweet, a salad of fresh vegetables of some kind, soup of simmered meats and vegetables that looks very good and smell even more divine. There was some kind of desserts? Too... It looks far too high class...

The kids all looked at the foods on their tables with shock.

"M-master Shirin, this-this is far too much food..." A boy named Mirk, a demi-human with light brown hair and brown eyes, of around age 12 years old... with small dog ears. Well, at least that's what he looks like. However, the boy might be older. He might only look this small because of a lack of food and nutrition.

"Hm? No, this is the right amount. It's not too much," This much won't be enough for my own lunch since I ate a lot but it is enough for all the kids. Right now it is lunch for the kids but honestly, it was already time for dinner for me.

What? I'm a big eater, okay? I eat ten times the amount that a normal male my age should. So, I always cook more than enough. Sometimes, I cooked a whole feast and put it into my Inventory Space so that I can eat it later. It wouldn't rot in my Inventory Space since the time there are slow down to a ratio of 1:525,600 for all of my External Spatial Spaces. This means that one day in the real world is a whole 525,600 days inside the Inventory space.

As I said, I am very OP. Far too OP. o(╥﹏╥)o

This was one of the reasons why I don't go inside my External Spatial Spaces too many times, asides from putting away important stuff. If I stay in the External Spatial Spaces for too long, my body will turn kind of weird.

The reason why I had sex with Tian Yuanle in the first place was that I had stayed inside one of my External Spatial Space for ten year, meaning ten days in the real world, causing my hormones to be a bit... weird. It caused my hormones to increases so much that I keep getting the urge to do it... Which was how I had sex with Tian Yuanle that first time... Had I know how much problems it will causes, I would have gone to another bar instead of going to that one.

"B-but, this much must have cost more than our salary right?" Mirk said with an uneasy expression. Even though he's also drooling...

"Hm? Oh, you don't need to worry about that. Since the foods are procured by me so it only cost me time and effort. If I want money, I would have sold it to the Commerce Guild or the Adventurer's Guild. Just eat it, don't talk too much," I said as I start eating.

The kids all look hesitate but their stomach starts crying out loud so they start to dig in too.

"So-so good!" Mirk was so surprised by the taste. "M-master, this is very good!" Mirk says before he too started to dig in.

"Yummy!" The kids half shout half yelled as they started to really dig into their foods.

Good, I nodded. If the food I cooked wasn't good enough then I waste all this time going from one world to another for nothing.

Afterward, I took the kids home. Since today was only for showing them what they need to do and how to do them, I let them go home for today and come back tomorrow early morning to officially start their work for this week.

Next, was creating a couple of tools for farming. The paper pot transplanters and paper chains plot for flat planters, large barrels for hydroponic and aeroponic farming, different barrels with a different enhancement for planting different plants, making magic tools for cutting magic plants, and etc.etc.

One good thing about being through a lot of worlds was that I have a lot of things accumulating inside either of my spaces; Inventory Space and, the Internal Space.

Things like gardening tools, supplies, seeds, and the likes, had already accumulated inside my Inventory Space for who knows how long from various kinds of different worlds.

The majority of the seeds, those that aren't in a protecting vacuum package, had already seeded and waiting to be planted. So, I have a lot of different plant seeds from different kinds of worlds waiting for me to come back to take care of.

Next, all I need was to transfer a couple of tens of small sturgeons from my internalized space. What? I have a whole world worth of fishes inside my Internalized Space World, okay?! What? The size of my Internalized Space World?

Don't ask me something like that! I don't want to know! The last time that I checked, back in my 12th world shifting, my Internalized Space World was the size of Australia! I don't want to know what's the size it has increased to now! Nor do I want to know if the resources inside had increased or not!

Hm? What is the fish used for? Ah, for the aquaponics, of course. I need about fifty sturgeons so that means that the water tank for the source of water will have to be away from the water well. I don't want kids to come anywhere near the fish tanks. Since the aquaponics is a self-serving system, the kids don't need to water it. So, the door will be closed for the kids. I don't need them to see what kind of plants or greens I am planting in there. Not yet.

Even though it was just spice and herbs with a couple of other rare root rhizomes and slightly rare fungi, it was still something very rare in this world. What? Oh, it's just a couple plots of high-grade White Truffles.

Since they can only live inside trees roots, I had planted it with the cinnamon trees inside the greenhouse that I made especially for it.

Usually, truffles can only be grown in French with a large number of oaks and hazelnut trees, but because this world isn't Earth, such facts are just an opinion here. So, as long as I purified and enhanced the soil, it is relatively easy to farm and cultivates truffles, both Black ones and the extremely rare White ones.

On Earth, truffles are mainly harvested by well-trained dogs and only around mid-to-late autumn. However, here, I can harvest truffles once every two months. And the harvesting is around 10 pounds per tries too.

After harvesting it, I just need to replenish the soil with a lot of acorns and hazelnuts. This way, it will make the soil's composition and the rate of fungi formation faster and safer. I doubt that this world has truffles but just in case, this greenhouse is protected by a large amount of array formation and enhancement.

What? Selling truffles? Sure, why not. As long as I can get the protection from the Commerce Guild into a contract that promises of making me stay hidden, even to the eyes of the Emperor in this Kingdom. I have no doubt that if truffles were ever made known to the high-class and all the nobles, it will sell like hotcakes in the middle of winter. These little fungi will be something that is even rarer than Green Amber Woods.

With Green Amber woods, the commonly stated are that demand is 10 times higher than the supply. However, with the truffles, it would be "The demand is 100 times higher than the supply".

Hm? Didn't it take 7-10 years for the mycorrhizal network of the truffles to develop? Yes, on Earth. This isn't Earth.

Okay, moving on. After paying the kids their salary for the day, which surprised them all because today was only a third of what they were supposed to do. What? This was just the carrot and the stick methods okay?! Don't look at me like that! I am not nice!

I turned away from the shining eyes of the kids. It was very uncomfortable...