The woman introduced herself as Matron Melissa, and she was the head of this orphanage. Astar gave the same story that he had given the guard. The matron gave them a sad smile when he talked about the death of their companion. She invited them inside for some tea and refreshments.

They followed her through the gate into the orphanage, walking past another guard post opposite the previous one. The guard stationed there gave them a nod as they passed through and a smile to the matron. Mia noticed that this guard was also monitoring the perimeter of the orphanage. She was impressed by the level of security of this orphanage and hoped that her suspicions were incorrect.

They walked through a small courtyard in front of the building where a man and a small group of children were attending to flowers and plants that were planted along the front wall of the building. One of the children, a little orc girl, saw them walking behind the matron and gave them a wave.

They waved back at her, however, Mia noticed a shadow tendril coming out of the girl's shadow and poking her cheek. This startled the girl and she turned around to see her shadow waving at her. Her mouth dropped and she returned a small wave, the shadow pumped its fists. It then pointed towards the party and the girl turned around to see Emile putting a finger to his mouth. Understanding that this was meant to be a secret, the girl zipped her mouth and nodded back. She then went back to play with her shadow. This incident somehow didn't attract the attention of anyone else.

Mia gave Emile a curious look, and he slowed down to walk next to her. He whispered to her "That child has a strong dark affinity, and has already begun to emit some dark mana subconsciously. It's too small for most people to notice but I'm very sensitive to dark magic."

He looked at the girl who was talking to her shadow "I sent her a shadow elemental to absorb her excess magic and to help her. I've put a concealment spell on the shadow elemental so that others can't detect it, and while people might think she is strange talking to no one, the elemental will teach her to be discreet."

"How come you are not taking her in?" Mia asked.

"Well, one she is very young and she already has a stable home. From the information we were given, this orphanage is as close as a home that the children have. I usually don't bring very young children to Erebus since it isn't the best place for them. Toma and Seline are an exception."

Mia still looked concerned as she knew how much dark mages in Avalyn were discriminated against, and was worried about the girl's future. Emile saw her expression and patted her back, "Don't worry the shadow elemental will watch over her, and if it notices that she is in trouble it will notify me. When her magic truly awakens then I'll send over someone to check on her. If she accepts then I will sponsor her studies. But until then I want her to have as many good memories as possible and this is a better place for that."

"Aren't there orphanages in Obsidian City?"

"Yes, there are and while Obsidian City is a safer and more prosperous place, you have to remember that this place is where she has grown up and the staff are the only adults that she has known after her parents, if she was even old enough to remember them. These links are more important than you know but I'll have a conversation with the matron once our mission is resolved."

"Can we trust her? I mean the matron because of the..."

"The amulet? Yes, that is a concern but I can’t detect eldritch magic from her or the area, so she is not a cultist at least."

Before he could continue, the matron turned around and he stood up straight again. She had a hand on the handle of the front door, "If you have just come back from an expedition then you must be high-level adventurers. So our humble home might not be what you are used to, we are mostly run by donations so our facilities are bare."

They assured her that they wouldn't judge, but as she continued talking about the difficulties that they faced while walking through the building, they couldn't help but feel like they were listening to a sales pitch. Astar looked at Emile and Emile sighed as he went up next to the matron. He began to discuss how they could help the orphanage, while Astar and Mia walked behind them.

After a few minutes, they arrived at an office but before they arrived what stood out to them was how silent and empty the orphanage was. They had walked the entire length of the building and gone upstairs but had only seen two children roaming about. Mia's expression turned grim as her suspicions became more solid.

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They entered a small office and Astar took a seat while Emile and Mia stood behind him. The office was like the rest of the orphanage, white, simplistic and old. The only decoration in it was the photos adorned throughout the room, every space was taken up by a small portrait. What was curious was the diversity of people, in both age and race. There were young elves, teen beastkin and young adult humans, and they all were wearing radiant smiles.

The matron noticed them and looked around, "These are some of the children that have called this place its home. We actually ran out of space around 10 years ago, so now the rest of the photos are down in the eating hall."

Emile smiled at her "To have made so many lives better is truly a commendable achievement. In some society, you would be known as a saintess."

The matron waved away his complaint "Oh stop, I can't take credit for that. I'm only a small cog in a machine and I wouldn't have been able to do this without the help of many others."

They continued the small talk for a while before someone knocked at the door. A young man clad in leather armour came into the room carrying a tray of tea and cakes. He placed them on the table and left without a word.

The matron poured herself cups of tea for all of them and gestured for them to take a cake. "So Mr. Alexandre, do you have the name or any identifying features about the boy you are looking for and can you also tell us what your intentions are?"

Astar took a sip of the tea, it was too sweet for his liking but he didn't bring that up. "Yes, our friend wanted to keep themselves private so she didn't share much with us. Our work is dangerous and we have made many enemies. For her safety, they left the guild in secret and we rarely communicated. Those issues are now solved, but the lack of corresponding means that we don't have much to go off."

He took out a letter from his pocket, "Our friend was an elf and this letter is the only clue we have, she described her boy as having black hair and the same eyes as her. The eyes are actually our best clue as our friend had a very rare flower pattern in her eyes."

"In terms of our intentions, we currently don't have the facilities to take care of a child. But we have connections to people in Fallonar, and if he has talent and is willing then we can take him to sword master in Fallonar. If he doesn't have the talent or isn't willing then we will sponsor his future and donate money to the orphanage."

The matron was silent for a moment as she was deep in thought. After a while, she shook her head, "I'm sorry but I don't recognise anyone with those eyes, nor do I know any elf with black hair. I can check out records but I know every child that has been through this orphanage in the past 20 years."

Astar shook his head, "No, that isn't necessary. He has only been made an orphan in the last year, so he should still be here. Especially in this accursed city, where non-humans aren't welcome. We will check on the other orphanages. Thank you for your help, we truly appreciate it." He stood and gave a small bow to the matron.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you more but I'll keep my ears open for any news." She also got up and walked them to the entrance. "I hope you are able to find him, I know how it feels to have friends pass away and not be able to help their children."

As they walked back Emile asked the matron, "How many children are here? This building is one of the biggest I have seen for an orphanage so I'm curious how many children reside here."

"Oh, I guess you are right, we have been very fortunate in the help that we received. The building was actually commissioned by the adventure guild. But it's currently too big for our wards, which is a good sign since there are fewer children without families. We currently only have 33 children living here."

They came out of the same courtyard as before but before they could reach the gate, the orc girl from before ran up to them. She handed Emile a single flower, "My new friend said that you looked very cool, and you are the reason she came over today. I want to thank you but I don't run out of allowance. So I can only have this flower as a thank you."

Emile reached down to take the flower from her and then put it behind his ear. "Thank you little miss, what is your name?"

"Aria!"

"Hi Helga, thank you for the flower. I want to give you a piece of advice. The only things that define who you are, are your actions and your character. Don't let other people tell you who you are."

The girl tilted her head to the side in confusion, "Erm, okay?"

Seeing her confusion, Emile smiled and ruffled her hair. They then said goodbye to Aria and the matron and walked out of the gate. Waving goodbye to the guard they walked down the street towards another orphanage.

Emile spoke up, "I don't think it's necessary for us to go to the other orphanages. We still should double check but I doubt we will find him there."

Astar agreed "You are right, while I hope he is one of the other orphanages, the signs say otherwise."

Mia was looking over some notes, "According to the intel from Vivian, there should be over 120 children living at Little Adventures' Home. But she said they only have 33 living at the moment. How can there be a discrepancy of over 100 people? You said that she wasn't a cultist, so is she being paid by them or maybe she is under coercion?"

Emile shook his head, "I didn't detect any deceit from her when I asked the question. She could still be an expert liar but I suspect it's worse than that. Remember the amulet."

They both paled at what he was suggesting, "Yes, It is mostly like that the matron and everyone at the orphanage have forgotten that more than 100 children have disappeared."