Volume 3, Chapter 39 – The Orphanage and a Gift for Liti

I’m here to talk about the women who were victimized by the bandits.

“May I ask what your orders are, Lord Thanatos?”

No, no, calling them orders draws too sharp a class line.

Fia complained inwardly. Although in terms of both status and strength, the elf princess was much stronger than Baron Khesa, she had no desire to force him to grovel before her just to have a conversation.

Of course, that was for Fia. For Thanatos, a character with a cold and aloof persona, he would remain indifferent no matter what attitude the baron took. Thanatos only did what needed to be done.

Fia lowered her voice and commanded in a raspy, masculine tone.

“I destroyed a bandit fortress. I need you to handle the aftermath.”

Hearing the request from under the white mask, Baron Khesa, who had been tense a moment ago, couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

“This is the Alfrieg Kingdom. According to the kingdom’s laws, whoever conquers a fortress owns everything inside it. Lord Thanatos, for you to ask me to handle the aftermath… Do you mean you want me to transport the treasure to a certain place for you? That is a trivial matter. Please rest assured and leave it to me.”

“No,” Fia refused flatly. “I want you to return the things the bandits stole to their original owners.”

“Return them to their original owners?” The white-turbaned Baron Khesa had a troubled look on his face. “Lord Thanatos, you are truly a saint, but the treasures stolen by bandits do not have their owners’ names written on them. I think it would be very difficult to find the owners of that jewelry. And if someone were to falsely claim them, it would undoubtedly betray your kind intentions. It would be better for you to accept them, Lord Thanatos. In your hands, those assets could surely be put to greater use.”

Of course, Fia had anticipated the situation the baron described. She pressed down on the brim of her hood and said in as concise and cold a voice as possible.

“There’s no need to go to so much trouble. Just post a notice and let those who have been visited by the bandits come and claim their lost property—turn away anyone who cannot provide proof.”

“But the people who fall into the bandits’ hands are either sold as slaves or thrown into the wilderness to be fed to monsters. Few survive. In the end, at least eighty percent of the treasure will be left.”

Baron Khesa was surprisingly well-informed.

Fia was a little surprised. Aside from nobles like Estelle, the ordinary nobles of this world were bastards who didn’t care about the lives of common people at all.

Fia held out her palm towards Baron Khesa, signaling him not to worry. It was worth mentioning that to avoid her delicate and smooth palms revealing her female identity, Fia had deliberately worn black leather gloves and had used the Cloud Moon of the Illusory Sea to enlarge her hand size.

“No matter. I have another request.”

“Please speak, Lord Thanatos.”

Baron Khesa leaned forward slightly, as if to listen closely.

“I found some women in the fortress.”

“Ah…”

Fia had only said half her sentence, but the baron sighed quietly.

“What?”

“They were women used by the bandits as a stress-relief tool, weren’t they? When I was not yet a lord, I once followed a campaign to subjugate a bandit fortress, and there were women like the ones you mentioned inside. Most of them had gone mad; only one or two were still lucid. Less than a month after we rescued them, eight or nine out of ten had committed suicide…

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To this day, I can’t forget the expressions on their faces when we rescued them, as if they saw me as their savior. But later, they hanged themselves one by one in the woods, and the remaining few also jumped into a well and killed themselves. Perhaps if I had just noticed then that they couldn’t live with normal people, they wouldn’t have died. Alas, they saw me as their savior, but in the end, I couldn’t save them.”

As if something was weighing on his chest, Baron Khesa let out a long sigh.

“I know what you want to say. I will settle them properly, please rest assured. Consider it an atonement for the past.”

“How do you plan to settle them?”

“I will grant them a piece of land far from the city and let them live there. I will have someone deliver food and daily necessities to them regularly. As long as they are kept away from gossip, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

That will cause problems.

A closed-off world was fine, but humans were social animals. And just living there with nothing to do, out of boredom, people could easily let their minds wander and get stuck in their own world. People can only find joy in life and realize their self-worth through work. Of course, this “work” did not exclusively refer to paid work. Doing things one was interested in, creative things, or helping others could all make people feel that life was beautiful and fulfill their value as human beings.

Fia laid out the speech she had prepared.

“The Barony of Khesa is often plagued by bandits robbing villages.”

“Yes…” Baron Khesa lowered his head in shame. “My abilities are insufficient, and the bandits are too numerous and varied. The troops have often just finished cleaning up the bandits in the west when the ones in the east start to cause trouble again. I have requested reinforcements from the royal palace, but they always make excuses, saying the official road is blocked by the Flame King. In addition, the city is full of great nobles and rebels from other places. When they have requests, I have to deal with their matters first. I am truly powerless.”

As if remembering something, the baron suddenly looked up and hastily explained.

“I-I am not asking Lord Thanatos to help deal with the bandits! I am already very grateful that you were able to defeat the Flame King, not to mention that I haven’t even paid you the reward!”

Facing the anxious baron, Fia pressed her hand down.

“Since there are many bandits in the territory and you cannot deal with them all in a short time, how about letting these women form an organization to help those who have been harmed by bandits? The unclaimed treasures can be used as operating funds.”

“…Funds?”

Because there was no corresponding word for “funds” in the language of the Alfrieg Kingdom, Fia had used the language of the Human Alliance for a moment. As expected, the baron did not understand.

Fia had no choice but to explain in detail.

“It means to convert those treasures into gold coins, to be used to pay them salaries, and also to be distributed to the victims according to certain conditions, to help them return to a normal life.”

Baron Khesa stroked his chin in thought.

“It is possible, but bandits don’t attack villages every day, and very few people survive in their hands. It’s fine if the number of women on your side is small, but if there are too many, they will have nothing to do most of the time. Putting them in the city will cause them to be criticized…”

“Helping victims is just a side job. Their main job is to take in the homeless orphans in the city, providing them with shelter and the most basic food and clothing. They will be both the administrators and the caretakers.”

The worried look on the baron’s face lit up.

“Ah! Are you talking about what the First Princess of Silvar did? Establishing that place called a nursery or an orphanage, letting homeless children live there, and then serving as conscripted soldiers for seventy years after they come out. That is an excellent idea!”

The elf princess established an orphanage? Wasn’t that Liti’s doing?

In Fia’s memory, Liti had established an organization to take in orphans to maintain her kind image.

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As for the seventy years of conscription, although she really wanted to complain, considering the long lifespan of elves, seventy years was not that much.

While Fia was thinking about these things, Baron Khesa was still muttering to himself.

“Brilliant, truly brilliant. It solves the problem of those women’s loneliness and lack of acceptance, and also the problem of orphans growing up to become thieves and beggars. Although the bandits’ money will surely not be enough, money is something that can be squeezed out.”

Byrne City was a hub connecting five countries and the largest trading city in the vicinity. In the past, the trade route was plagued by the Flame King and was not popular, but now that he is gone, the territory would be very prosperous in the future.

Placing his hands on the table, Baron Khesa stood up decisively and said with a look of respect and gratitude.

“Where is the fortress you spoke of, Lord Thanatos? There is no time to lose, I will go and deal with it immediately!”

“I have one more thing. Are you short on muscle?”

“What do you mean, Lord Thanatos…?”

“I have a group of people here. They are eager to prove themselves. You can pay them to do things for you, whether it’s cleaning out bandit fortresses or dealing with those great nobles who disturb the peace. The only drawback is that the pay they require is very high. If you are interested, I can give you their contact information.”

As if he had heard something incredible, the baron’s eyes widened. Then his expression became tense. He quickly sat down, leaned forward, and asked.

“Dealing with great nobles? Lord Thanatos, although most of those great nobles have lost power in their own countries and were forced to flee here, they are, after all, upper-class nobles with family foundations. Their bodyguards are at least at the Fourth Rank. If things go wrong, it could…”

“The strength of the group I’m talking about is guaranteed. Killing a Fourth Rank powerhouse is as easy as crushing an ant for them. I know what you’re thinking. They are very reputable and will not reveal that you hired them. But I must say this first, the premise of all commissions is that the people they kill are recognized villains. They will not accept commissions to settle private grudges.”

“It doesn’t look like they’re after the money…”

Do such people really exist in the world?

Seeing through the baron’s complex expression, Fia pushed a piece of paper to him and then stood up, leaning on the table.

“You’ll know when you see them. This has their contact method and the address of that bandit fortress. That’s all. I have high hopes for you. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Lord Thanatos, w-wait! You haven’t taken the reward for defeating the Flame King!”

“Count it as funds for the orphanage. You don’t need to give it to me.”

Fia turned her back to the baron, her head slightly tilted, in the image of a great person unswayed by money.

This is how Thanatos should be.

Fia imagined her cloak fluttering in the wind—if it were a masquerade mask, it would surely look even better. ¹ chuuni

“But that’s two hundred Gem Coins…”

The baron’s exclamation made the expression under Fia’s mask stiffen for a moment.

Two hundred Gem Coins is something I can earn by making magic potions ten times. It’s nothing. ² ahahah regret?~

Fia banished this memory from her mind.

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For some reason, the baron looked as if he still had something to say. He followed Fia to the door, gently rubbing his hands, looking embarrassed.

“Lord Thanatos, I… I have a request.”

“Speak.”

“The day you came, you saw me and Miss Cecilia and her maid… c-can I ask you to keep it a secret for me? I will remember this favor!”

So it’s about that.

Although she really wanted to complain about him having an affair with a young lady and her maid at the same time, what an ideal harem life, she didn’t even know that young lady. Even if the baron hadn’t asked, the result would have been the same.

That being said, Fia still intended to retaliate against this baron who was living a harem life in broad daylight. She did not answer him directly, but merely let out two light snorts.

Let him be nervous and uneasy. This guy is too shameless.

Fia pushed the door open and disappeared into the sky with [Flight].

Only the bewildered Baron Khesa was left standing there.

◇

After bidding farewell to Baron Khesa, Fia returned to the room where Liti and Anastasia were. Milu had been sent to the Witch Hall in the morning because of the contract. A slave contract was not something that could be transferred by force. Lianne needed to first analyze its structure with Arcane Magic before she could perform the transfer, a process that would take one to two days.

As for Renee, she was still busy investigating the Barony of Khesa. Last night, after Fia had told her what had happened in the Witch Hall, Renee had immediately put on an extremely serious expression. Her discovery was not wrong; there were indeed Dominators active in the barony, and they were an enemy to be more wary of than the Absolute Evil. She had to gather enough intelligence to prepare for the future.

Although Fia felt it was unnecessary and that Renee should rest well, Renee had refused her suggestion with a look of panic, as if she thought Fia saw her as useless and was working even harder. This made Fia feel bad; she had only wanted Renee to experience the customs of the human world and had absolutely no intention of accusing her of not working hard.

“Ah, sister is back.”

Seeing Fia open the door, Liti, dressed in a strange white long robe, jumped up from the edge of the bed.

The reason she said “strange” was because Fia recognized this robe.

It was clearly a wedding dress called a “Shiromuku.” ³ a traditional, pure white bridal kimono worn by Japanese brides during Shinto wedding ceremonies.

Liti was already petite and cute. Under the Shiromuku, her body appeared even more delicate. Her light purple hair slipped out from under the white hood. If she had not been standing, but kneeling on the floor and bowing to the person entering, that posture would have surely made one’s heart skip a beat and haunt their dreams all night.

It was beautiful, but where on earth did she find these clothes? Liti wasn’t even engaged. It was too inappropriate for her to wear a Shiromuku.

—It brought to mind the term “child bride.”

Although in some games, young characters were made to wear a Shiromuku and received a lot of praise from players, those games often had a disclaimer saying “all characters are of legal age.” For Liti to wear one was clearly inciting a crime.

“Hmph hmph, as expected of the clothes I spent so long looking for yesterday. Sister was stunned at first sight.”

“No… where on earth did you find this, Liti? Even Anastasia is wearing one.”

As Fia said, Anastasia was also wearing a Shiromuku that should have been worn at a wedding. The difference was that because she was much more mature than Liti, she looked even more feminine. Both the rise and fall of her chest and the shyness revealed in her every move made it impossible to look away.

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In addition, perhaps because she was shy, Anastasia kept her head down, only occasionally raising her flushed face to sneak a peek at Fia. The girlish movements made one’s heart beat faster, and a fire rose in one’s chest.

The two of them standing together, and in the same style of wedding dress, looked just like sisters getting married together.

If that were really the case, then Baron Khesa, whom she had just complained about for living an ideal harem life, would be nothing. Unfortunately, no one in the world was that lucky. Beauties like Anastasia and Liti, one could surely only choose one. The guy who could have both of them must have saved the universe in his last life.

These two are sisters, sisters. ⁴ you’re no worse than that baron smh

“Her Highness Liti said you would like it, so… w-what do you think, Your Highness?”

Because she was too embarrassed, Anastasia’s voice went off-key when she said “Your Highness.”

But it was precisely because of this that her posture was even more captivating, so much so that Fia was too embarrassed to look her in the face. It was a stunningly beautiful expression that would make anyone’s heart flutter.

“Ahem, it’s very beautiful. This dress suits you very well, Anastasia… I was almost captivated by you.”

“C-captivated…”

“Sister Ana is blushing. You’re so mean, sister, you know she has no resistance to you… Ah, right, what about me, what about me?”

As if to show herself off, Liti spread her arms and spun around. Because she was wearing unfamiliar geta ⁵ wooden jp sandals , her movements were a bit clumsy. However, this clumsiness did not detract from her beauty, but instead brought out the youthful vitality a young girl should have.

Fia couldn’t help but smile.

“You look very beautiful too.”

“I feel like you’re just being perfunctory… Well, whatever. I saw this dress yesterday when I was strolling through the noble district. I’ve never seen this style of clothing before, so I had Sister Ana try it on. I didn’t expect it to suit her so well, so I bought five. I also got one for you, sister, Sister Claire, and little Milu.”

So Liti didn’t know it was a wedding dress.

“I appreciate your kindness, Liti, but this is not something you can wear out,” Fia placed her hands on her hips and sighed amusingly. “Hurry up and take it off—”

“Eh? Now? In broad daylight…”

Before Fia could finish, Liti’s body stiffened, her face flushed red, and she began to unbutton her clothes coyly.

She didn’t know if she was deliberately pretending or being serious.

“I mean for you to change into your magic robe! Didn’t I tell you before we went out? We have special training today.”

“What? So it’s not that sister saw how cute I was and was… I get it, I get it. I just have to cast spells at those Fire-striped Frogs, right? My mana won’t last more than half an hour anyway. We can go when the sun is not so strong.”

“It won’t be just half an hour anymore, you know?”

Before, because of the lack of Mana Recovery Potions, Liti couldn’t continuously hunt monsters. But now, the situation is different.

As her voice fell, Fia moved the barrel of Mana Recovery Potion out of her storage item and placed it on the floor with a “thud.” She puffed out her chest proudly.

“Today won’t end until the sun sets. This is a special gift I prepared for you, Liti.”