Chapter 37: My First Errand

“Kaoru, I want to go outside.”

“Hm? Sure. The morning shift’s almost over, so wait just a little longer, okay? So, where are we going?”

Layette was sitting on Kaoru’s lap as usual when she brought it up, and Kaoru had replied assuming she would go with her. Of course, there was no other possible option.

But...

“Actually, I want to go by myself.”

“Wh-Whaaaaaat?!”

Kaoru was flabbergasted.

D-D-Does she hate me now? She never wanted to leave my side before... Is this her rebellious phase? Or maybe she’s becoming independent? Ohh, what do I do...

Kaoru was completely losing it.

But Layette had been sold by her parents and kidnapped, and the gate guards had all been part of the ploy. No one could blame her if she didn’t trust adults.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-” What should I do?! “Wh-Wh-Wh-” Where are you going?! “Wh-Wh-Wh-” Who put her up to thiiiiiis?!

“I have no idea what you’re trying to say...”

Kaoru was shot down by Layette’s calm response...

“...So that’s why.”

“...”

After Kaoru had questioned Layette in a panic, she had gone on to explain...

She was now six years old and would be seven very soon, but she was always with Kaoru, who protected her and took care of her every need. She did nothing on her own, and hadn’t made any progress in any meaningful way. She had come to think the situation had to change for her own good.

“L-Layette... That’s so respectable of you...” Kaoru couldn’t help but hug Layette tightly.

“...This is what I mean!”

“Whaaat... But you’re supposed to provide emotional support...”

“No, I want to be useful to you, Kaoru!”

“I mean, you’re very useful for emotional support...”

“Nooo! Not like thaaat!!!” Layette bopped Kaoru on her flat chest with closed fists, hopped off of her lap, then ran up the stairs to the second floor.

“What...? Whaaat... Whaaaaaaaaat?!”

Speechless. Kaoru was completely speechless. As she sat there in a shocked stupor, Francette watched her with a look of pity.

“So you think I might be a little overprotective?”

“Not that you ‘might’ be, you absolutely are overprotective of her!”

“Whaaat...?” Kaoru was taken aback by Francette’s unusually firm attitude.

“Think of it this way. If there was someone you really cared about and you wanted to do things for them and make them happy, but all they did was fawn over you without letting you do anything, how would you feel? Would it be fun wasting your time away getting spoiled without really doing anything when you wanted to be useful to them?”

“Ah...”

Francette was right. At six or seven in Japan, Layette would have been in elementary school. Elementary school was where everyone studied, played with friends, got in fights, went on adventures, and experienced all sorts of things to undergo great physical and mental growth.

Meanwhile, Layette spent the vast majority of her day sitting on Kaoru’s lap under her constant protection. It was incredible that Layette had come to realize on her own that something had to change when she was living an easy, happy, and stable life...

“I’m so proud of Layette!” Kaoru was so happy that she couldn’t help but beam in ecstasy.

“This is what I’m talking about!!!” It seemed Francette was getting seriously ticked off. And she was talking to a so-called goddess...

“...So you’re telling me to push Layette away?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but...”

Now that Kaoru had calmed down, Francette began to talk about how to remedy the issue.

“In any case, if you wish for Layette to live a fulfilling life without hurting her or hampering her personal growth, you cannot go on as things are now. You will need to respect her independence more, let her think on her own, and get her used to being alone... Otherwise, without you...no, even with you around, she won’t be able to do anything on her own. Is that how you want her to turn out?”

“Urgh...” Her knowledge about NEETs, shut-ins, and the prevalence of communication issues from her previous life made her realize she could ruin Layette’s life, and Kaoru began to sweat.

“Wh-What should I do...?” Kaoru asked in a fluster, and Francette replied decisively,

“You must let her do things on her own! Like going outside!”

“That’s exactly what she said in the first place!!!”

...And so, Layette was given the permission to go out on her own.

“Okay, I’m going now!”

“Be careful! Don’t eat anything you find on the ground! Don’t follow any strangers who talk to you! Don’t go into back alleys, even if a boy asks you...”

“Cut it out, Kaoru!”

Kaoru stood frozen in shock, and Layette ran off outside.

Kaoru quickly recomposed herself and gave the order in a hushed tone. “Francette, I’m counting on you!”

“Yes, please leave it to me!” With that, Francette ran off after Layette.

After the earlier conversation, Kaoru had a conversation with Francette, Roland, Emile, and Belle, and decided to send Layette out on a warrior’s journey. ...Though she would be back later that day, of course.

It wasn’t just Francette — Emile and Belle also got requests from Kaoru sometimes. From everyone else’s perspective, this was a divine edict, a heaven-sent opportunity for them to be of use to Kaoru. Layette was the only one who didn’t see it that way, and she was beginning to feel like a useless good-for-nothing. “I’d be just like Old Roland if I stayed like this,” she had said, and Roland was severely depressed when he heard about it.

In any case, Kaoru had to give Layette some work and motivate her. Moreover, she wanted to take this opportunity to get her to interact with other children, play, exercise, and make her more social, so as to kill two birds with one stone. So the order Kaoru had given Layette was...

“Infiltrate the orphanage and investigate whether the children there are worthy of the Goddess’s blessing.” ...In other words, it was an order for her to go mingle with them.

It was the first task Kaoru had tasked Layette within her capacity as the messenger of the Goddess. It was Layette’s very first official errand. So, of course, Kaoru had to have someone support her from the shadows.

She’d already had Emile and Belle research the orphan group in question beforehand to make sure there weren’t any thugs or child traffickers in the area scoping them out. Plus, they had found that their leader was a responsible kid who only permitted the minimum amount of crime that was absolutely necessary for survival. He was also diligent and took measures to ensure any damage done to the victims would be minimal while avoiding unnecessary violence or exploitation.

If Layette ended up becoming friends with them and it was determined that they weren’t worthy of the Goddess’s blessing, it would have made Layette sad. That was why Kaoru made sure she would be going to a group that would pass the test.

Francette gave Kaoru an exasperated look when she heard this, but decided not to say anything. Though, it was unclear whether that was out of kindness, or if Francette had just given up on her...

It was extremely rare for Layette to say with such a serious tone that she absolutely didn’t want Kaoru to follow her, so she had no choice but to peek out and watch Layette from behind a tree, whispering, “Layette...” like she was Hyuma’s older sister.

Kaoru didn’t want to ignore Layette’s request or break any promises...or rather, she was more worried about hurting her when she found out, or Layette ending up hating her, so she couldn’t take any risks, no matter how small. And so, Kaoru had given up on following Layette in secret.

But Layette had only told Kaoru not to follow her. ...Indeed, she never said someone else couldn’t do so. That was why Kaoru had sent Francette. Kaoru had actually wanted to send Emile and Belle, as well, but Francette strongly disagreed, since that course of action would result in leaving Kaoru alone. And since Roland had no training in guarding someone while hiding, he would only get in the way. She really didn’t seem to think about Roland at all...

“Th-There it is...” Layette had arrived at some grassy plains by a riverbed. A small distance from the river’s surface, there was something like a little shanty built out of scrap wood and long pieces of grass...in fact, it could just barely be called a shelter for rain. Around it, there were five or six children who seemed to range from four to five years old and seven to eight years old.

Apparently, they were outside because it was better than being crammed in that stuffy “rain shelter.” They were all too young to be living on their own. The older ones were likely out earning money or gathering food, and the somewhat-older seven- to eight-year-olds were watching over the younger kids.

This place was close to the sea, and due to the layout of the terrain, the river water wouldn’t reach it. It didn’t rain much, either. Even if the water level did rise, they probably wouldn’t have a problem abandoning their dingy sleeping spot, and they could easily rebuild another with the pieces of wood that would wash up with the tide.

The convenience of the location just by the riverbed outweighed the possibility of the water rising to a dangerous level, so it was hard to give it up. To anyone who didn’t have access to the communal well, having moving water for drinking, laundry, bathing, and defecation was extremely important. The river supported their life in many respects.

“Okay, time to get to work!” With that, Layette began walking over to the other children.

The children stared at Layette with looks of suspicion.

Layette stopped several meters away, then said to them, “I-Is business boomin’?”

“What the heck was thaaat?!”

Just what was Kaoru teaching Layette...?

“...So, you tryin’ to tell us you’re an orphan, too? Even though you’re so clean and wearing fancy clothes?” The boy who seemed to be the oldest of the group stared at Layette dubiously, but she seemed unfazed.

Indeed, Layette was feeling fearless right now. After all, she was carrying out a top-secret mission for the Goddess, so there was no need to worry about her own life.

“Yup! My parents sold me, then I was kidnapped on the way to being taken to the traffickers! I was about to be a slave, or a sacrifice, or a ‘plaything,’ but I was saved instead!”

Bfff! The kids all spit at once. Even the ones who didn’t know what a ‘plaything’ was understood the concept of being sold, as well as what traffickers, kidnapping, and slaves were. These were all dangers that could threaten them at any time, so the older kids had warned them repeatedly.

And it would have been one thing if her parents had just died, but that they had sold her was almost too heavy to consider. They thought they were in a bad spot, but there were always those who were worse off. They didn’t know whether to be happy or sad about that...

In any case, the children understood well that this girl was an orphan like them.

“I’m traveling around with the person who saved me and we’re staying in the city for now. She told me there were kids at this riverbank, so I should come by for a while...”

“...”

Whoever her caretaker was, she must have seen their shelter if she knew about the children here. Naturally, she would know that they were a group of orphans and barely had anything to eat... Considering she had sent her here anyway...

...Had she been abandoned?

Layette had learned many things from Kaoru. One of them being the concept of lying.

According to Kaoru...

“You can lie when you need to, but you shouldn’t lie when it’s not necessary.”

“If you’re not lying but just so happen to forget to include a piece of information, it’s not your fault if someone gets the wrong idea. That’s their own fault for making assumptions.”

“It’s okay to tell lies that make people laugh or make them happy.”

“For every lie you tell, furnish it with ninety-nine truths.”

“If you want someone to believe you, you need to believe in your own lie first.”

Such were the lessons for gifted children that were imparted to Layette, though it may have been a bit early to teach them to a six-year-old.

“U-Uh, I-I see. W-W-Well, make yourself at home...”

“Hm? O-Okay...”

Layette was rather confused by the boy’s sudden shift to an awkwardly kind demeanor.

“W-Wanna play with us?” The invitation came from a girl who was about the same age as the boy who had just spoken.

“Yeah!” This was Layette’s first interaction with children around her age since leaving her village. She felt honored, relieved, and happy whenever she was with Kaoru, but it was far from a true friendship. Children needed other children...

“...It appears Layette has succeeded in infiltrating their ranks.” Francette sat on the branch of a thick tree, watching the orphans from a distance. Since there was nothing obstructing the view from the riverbed, she had to stay somewhat distant or risk being seen. She was able to check on Layette’s safety, but she wasn’t able to hear what they were talking about.

“Well, a baby’s job is to sleep and cry, and a child’s job is to play. As for knights...” With that, Francette gripped the hilt of her sword lightly. “Our job is to defeat our enemies and fulfill our duty. No matter how simple...or impossible...that may be. I must carry out orders from the one I’ve sworn loyalty to!”

“...Hm? Who’s that kid?” The five children who returned seemed to range from around ten years old to thirteen or fourteen years old. There were three boys and two girls.

“Fancy clothes she’s wearing... Why is a girl like her here? Sherry! What if someone thinks we kidnapped her? We’ll all be arrested and enslaved! Why didn’t you stop this? Who brought her?!” the oldest boy, who seemed to be the leader of the group, shouted angrily, but the girl named Sherry, who had been left behind, shook her head.

“...She came here on her own. She’s one of us.”

“What...?” The leader boy didn’t seem to believe it, but Sherry should have understood such dangers. And although this newcomer’s clothes and clean-looking face and hands did stand out a bit, the rest of her did blend in with the others. She wasn’t looking down on the others, either, but seemed to regard them as equals.

“...But even if she wants to stay, it’ll all be over if her parents come looking for her. Even if she was abused, her parents would be ashamed to have her be seen with us. They could even blame us and say we kidnapped her...”

“She said she has no parents, and the person who takes care of her told her to come here.”

“...” The leader boy listened to Sherry and thought that this person who took care of this newcomer girl must have been keeping her clean only because it would be a nuisance if she began attracting fleas and lice. It was only natural for him to think so.

“I see... Well, I’m Maloi. I’m the leader around here. Anyway, come visit anytime you want!” the boy said after thinking about it for a brief moment. It seemed he had accepted Layette into the group.

After spending some time with the orphans, Layette saw that the older children were beginning to prepare a meal and decided to take her leave.

“I’m gonna go home for today. Thanks for playing with me!” Layette said to the others and trotted off.

She had realized that if she stayed any longer, the other children would try to share what little food they had with her, and she didn’t want to put them in that situation.

...Or perhaps she simply preferred Kaoru’s cooking over their not-so-tasty and meager food...

In any case, Sherry had thought Layette had nowhere left to go home to. Layette casually strolled away, leaving the bewildered Sherry asking, “Huh? What?”

“...So that’s what happened. Juta, Rosche, and Sherry were all so nice!”

“Mhm, great job, Layette! Keep up the good work tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah!”

“...How was it, Francette?”

“She seemed to be enjoying her time with the other orphans. There was nothing out of the ordinary, and as Emile had already found out during his preliminary investigation, they all seemed to be sincere and decent, despite their circumstances.”

“Thanks. Let’s make tomorrow her last day of the mission, then. If Layette wants to visit them on her own afterward, that’s up to her. She’s free to go there if she wants, instead of going there because I ordered her to...”

“Yes...” There was a gentle look in Francette’s eyes, as well. Francette wasn’t hated, exactly, but because of her serious, inflexible, and stubborn personality, she didn’t have many friends she could open up to and have a heart-to-heart conversation with. It wasn’t as if she had scary eyes...

The next night, Kaoru told Layette, “Those kids pass. Now I know they’re worthy of receiving help if something happens to them, so your investigation is done.”

There was a tinge of sadness to Layette’s expression, and Kaoru added, “So you can go play with them whenever you want.” Layette was delighted.

Afterward, Layette went to visit the orphans from time to time.

...Of course, Francette or Emile secretly watched over her when she did. There was no way the super-protective Kaoru would let her walk around outside by herself.

“Cops and Robbers is when you split up between guards and robbers and try to catch the other team or run away!”

“The Daruma Doll Fell Over is when one person is ‘it,’ and the others...”

...And so, Layette taught the orphans the games she had learned from Kaoru.

Overprotective as always, Kaoru had taught Layette all sorts of games from Japan so she could blend in with the other children more easily. Kaoru had also made sure to teach Layette games that wouldn’t require any additional gear. There was no chair to play Fruit Basket, and they had no can to play Kick the Can.

“What’s a daruma?”

“Umm... Someone without arms or legs, I think.”

“Hey, you wanna play by making some person without arms or legs fall over?! That’s not humane! Oh, I guess that’s why one person is called ‘it’...”

...That wasn’t it at all.

In any case, the simple, yet refined games from Japan were a huge hit among the orphans. And since there were too few members of the group that stayed home, they usually played once the older kids came back, or asked kids over from other orphan groups. It didn’t take long for the games to spread among orphans from all over the city.

Layette began solidifying her position among the orphans as someone who came up with fun games.

It was Francette’s turn to be on watch duty today. Francette sat on a tree branch that had become her regular resting spot. Emile had been using the same spot as well, and they had each modified it for their own comfort, like adding a little hook to hang a canteen or shaving a bit of the branch to make it easier to sit on.

...It was just like how children liked to make “secret bases.”

Once the season changed and the leaves fell off, they would have to find another spot to observe from. A good spot that wasn’t exposed to the cold wind...

“Urgh... Oh no, my stomach...” Francette was a knight. As such, whenever she had to eat or go to the restroom while on duty at her previous job, she’d had someone else cover for her. She wasn’t the only one on duty then, and it was normal for someone to be available to swap in at any time.

It wasn’t as if she was a ninja who had been trained not to eat or go to the restroom while on duty. Not eating was one thing, but hydrating and...relieving herself...was necessary. And she had done so on this mission several times already.

“There isn’t much to obstruct the view or hide behind out at the riverbed...” Francette muttered to herself as she made her way toward a spot some distance away.

Although her real age was in her late thirties, and it wasn’t as if she hadn’t done it many times before, she did have reservations about doing her business where there was a possibility of someone seeing her. Especially when it was ‘number two’...

But by then, Francette was no longer worried at all about the orphans, and she figured it would be fine to take her eyes off Layette for ten minutes or so. Kaoru was just abnormally overprotective, she told herself.

Indeed, it was the same thought process as those who inevitably came to regret their foolish carelessness later on...

“There she is!” Two adults approached Layette as she played with the children in the stay-at-home group, and began sprinting after yelling as much.

“Begin attack!” Sherry, the leader of today’s stay-at-home group, shouted without hesitation, and the orphans immediately stopped what they were doing, ducked, and gripped an appropriately-sized rock in each hand. They launched the rocks in their right hands toward the adults, then passed the rocks in their left hands to their right, and followed up with another toss.

Duck, pick up rocks, throw twice, duck again.

The six orphans besides Layette threw rock after rock as if they had trained for it many times...in fact, they certainly must have. Since they were at the riverbed, they had plenty of rocks to reload with.

Kidnappers who would take children to turn into illegal slaves or playthings... Men who killed children just for fun... The orphans must have trained countless times to protect themselves from such fiends. For children that were only four to eight years old, their attacks were highly coordinated.

Kids their age had no chance of outrunning adults. Kidnappers could easily catch any one of them and take them away. That was why they had put their all into throwing rocks, the one method with which even children could stand up to adults, as long as they landed a solid hit.

It wasn’t as if the number of captured kids would increase if they failed. One adult would only be able to take one child with them at a time, and it would be exceedingly difficult for them to subdue two at once. In addition, if they wanted to be inconspicuous with their kidnapping, one child between two adults was probably their limit.

“Damned brats!” The thrown rocks hit the adults many times, but with their arms protecting their heads and the attacks landing on their limbs and body through their clothes, the children weren’t strong enough to break any bones or knock them unconscious. ...Though it was enough to cause plenty of pain.

There wasn’t much distance between them, so the sprinting adults quickly reached the children and began punching and kicking at full force, neutralizing them immediately.

It wasn’t enough to kill anyone, but the attacks were brutal enough on their young bodies that they could have ended up with broken bones or permanent damage. Even if captured like this, their value would be greatly lowered. They were far too thoughtless for kidnappers.

Since Layette didn’t participate in the rock-throwing, she simply stood there flabbergasted, without receiving any of the violence.

“All right, we took care of the pests. Now, let’s get our prey!”

At this point, Layette finally realized something. The adults weren’t after the orphans. They were after her. She was certainly the best dressed and cleanest of the group, and would likely fetch a high price. Therefore, they would focus on securing Layette, the target that would yield them the highest return.

That was why they didn’t care if they injured or even killed the other children. It explained why they had punched and kicked them with full force. They had used excessive violence as retaliation for the pain from the rocks that were thrown at them.

“Grrr...” Layette bared her teeth.

The set of teeth that had caused some serious damage when she had chomped down on Francette’s neck...

Wsh! They grabbed on to each of Layette’s shoulders from both sides and tried to lift her up.

Just then, her neck twisted around and...

Chomp.

“Gyaaaaaa!!!” The man hadn’t raised his voice even when taking a direct hit from a rock, but it seemed he couldn’t bear this pain.

Layette was only six years old, but she had pretty powerful jaws. And her teeth were tiny.

If their diameter were half that of an adult’s, the surface area would be one fourth the size. ...In other words, they were extremely sharp. And they were backed by the full force of Layette’s bite.

Not to mention, her upper canines were very developed. The difference in power between getting stomped with flat heels and with high heels had already been demonstrated on Francette’s neck.

“How is your neck’s range of mobility so wide?! What are you, a wolf?!” the man who hadn’t gotten bitten said, but the one who had didn’t have any patience for such observations.

“Ahhh! Sh-She’s gonna rip a chunk outta me! Get off me, damn iiit!!!” But pushing her away or pulling on her head would only add leverage for her to tear off a piece of his arm meat. And so, he changed his tactics and started punching her instead.

“Hey! We’re not supposed to hurt that one!”

“Shut up! Who’s gonna pay if I follow that order and lose an arm, huh?! Are you? Are you gonna give me a thousand gold coins and take care of me forever?!” There was nothing that could be said in response to that. It was true that the chances of her taking out a piece of his arm and rendering it useless weren’t zero. But he didn’t want to take personal responsibility for that if it happened, so he could only shrug his shoulders and watch. He was just glad it wasn’t him that had been bitten...

Layette refused to release his arm, even as he punched her in the face and stomach. Flustered, the man drew his dagger with his left hand in a flash of rage.

“H-Hey, don’t...” The other man quickly moved to stop him, but the man with the dagger raised his weapon.

He intended to strike her with the hilt rather than the blade, but a blow with full force behind it would easily break such a young child’s bones, whether her ribcage or her skull.

Down came his left hand, and...it swung at empty air.

“...Huh? What? Wha...” He had missed the girl’s body completely. Confused, he checked his left arm and immediately realized why.

His arm had been completely severed from the elbow, with nothing extending beyond it. It was no wonder his swing had missed.

...Yes, he understood now. It made total sense.

“Gyaaaaaaaaagh!!!”

“...What are you doing?” The man realized something was off and shook off Layette as she released her hold, then he cried out and clutched his left elbow.

The other man leapt back in a panic and drew his dagger.

There she stood, the blade in her hand spotless as it vibrated at supersonic speed, splattering specks of blood all around it. A young girl...or, at least, she looked like one.

“...Just what...do you think you’re doing...?” She was a young girl clad in knightly armor, smiling pleasantly. But her smile didn’t reach her eyes. While her mouth formed a smile, a different emotion emanated from her entire body. It was...

Rage. Hatred. And again, rage.

Rage for the injury they had caused to her comrade, who also served the Goddess.

Rage for injuring such an innocent little girl.

Regret and self-hatred for letting this happen due to her own foolishness...and rage.

Fear and rage at herself for betraying the Goddess’s trust, failing to fulfill her divine duty.

Rage, rage, rage, rage, rage...

Wham! ... Crack.

The man’s dagger didn’t even have a chance to touch her before her blade sank deep into his side. His ribs broke, their shards digging directly into his organs. He fell facedown, unable to speak, only making wheezing noises as he struggled to breathe.

Francette ignored the downed man, walked over to the other man who was gripping his arm that was severed at the elbow, and kicked him down. Then...

Crack! Thud! Crack!

She broke both of his knees and his right arm.

“Gyaaaaaa!!!” The fallen men not only couldn’t get up, but they couldn’t even back away. Seeing this, Francette produced what seemed to be a metallic test tube.

“Layette! It’s Lady Kaoru’s potion. Drink it!” But Layette shook her head in refusal.

“Give it to the others! I’ll be okay!” From Francette’s view, her first priority was to protect Layette, her second priority was to protect Layette, and her third priority was to protect Layette. She would only bother to help some orphans she didn’t know if she had time to spare.

Despite her current appearance, Francette was in the latter half of her thirties and had a rather dry and intense personality... Or perhaps she was just faithful to her orders as a knight and servant of the Goddess. As long as it didn’t affect her mission, she would even help strangers in need. ...Probably.

But for now, she had to prioritize her number one objective, which was to protect and treat Layette.

...And yet, Layette herself wanted her friends to be helped instead of her, and upon careful inspection, she didn’t look too bad. Her breathing was stable, and she was able to communicate normally. Those were signs that she wasn’t suffering from any serious injuries like internal ruptures or broken bones digging into vital organs or thick veins, so she likely wasn’t in any immediate danger.

And some of the children who had been punched and kicked still lay there completely motionless. The possibility of ruptured organs and permanent injuries couldn’t be denied.

Not to mention, if something were to happen to them, Layette would blame herself and carry that trauma for the rest of her life. Francette didn’t just need to protect Layette’s physical body, but also her heart. It was only natural.

And so, she stuck her fingers in her mouth and made a loud whistling noise toward a different tree than the one she had been hiding in.

Piiiiiiiiiiii!

A crow that had been resting on the tree’s branch flew over, circling above Francette’s head. Francette signaled an “X” with both arms, then the crow fled off toward the center of the city. The crow was a messenger that Kaoru had left with Francette, just in case something happened, and she had taught it about three simple signals.

Once Francette confirmed that the crow had flown off, she nodded toward Layette. Despite the pain from the punch she had to the face, and the fatigue in her jaw and teeth from biting as hard as she could, she tried not to let it show and forced an awkward smile.

Francette pretended not to notice her strained effort and turned away from Layette, walking toward the other children. She woke an unconscious boy, forced his mouth open with her finger, popped open the metallic container, and poured its contents into the boy’s mouth. Francette then moved on to another heavily injured yet still-conscious girl, opened another potion container, and gently pressed it against her mouth.

“This is medicine. Drink it!” Despite her confusion, the young girl seemed to realize Francette wasn’t an enemy and drank it down as ordered.

“...It doesn’t hurt...”

“H-How...?”

The kids that had taken the potions sat there with blank looks on their faces, unable to process what was happening.

There were four more children splayed out at the riverbed, but Kaoru had only supplied Francette with two emergency potions. There was nothing else she could do.

“Luce, get some wood for splints and something to tie them! I’ll go get water!”

“Got it! I need you to find some herbs that can stop the bleeding around the river too!”

“On it!” The two kids had regained their senses and sped off into action.

...It seemed the orphan kids were far more useful than Francette...

“So... What happened...?”

“Um, well, you see...”

“Whaaat haaappened heeere...?” Kaoru had come running at full speed after getting the emergency message and a call for her to mobilize. And...

She was scary. Kaoru was terrifying. Especially the look in her eyes...

“What did I tell you, Franceeette...?”

“U-Um, I, I’m so sorry!!!” Francette said, apologizing desperately.

Although she couldn’t help nature calling and it was only for a few minutes, it was her fault for taking her eyes away from the person she was supposed to be protecting and moving to a spot where she couldn’t react right away.

A big part of the fault lay with Kaoru for not considering this situation and therefore not preparing someone to switch with her in shifts, but Francette wasn’t someone who could shift blame onto other people, especially not to a goddess. So, Kaoru continued to berate her, becoming enraged as soon as she saw the scene of the incident.

“Kaoru! Hurry and give Layette a potion!”

“Ah!”

It should have been the obvious course of action, but it didn’t even cross Kaoru’s mind until Emile’s reminder. It seemed that she had completely lost her cool.

“Layette, drink this!”

There were still four orphans who were injured, but now that Kaoru was here, the number of potions wasn’t an issue. If Layette started arguing about getting to the others first, it would only waste more time. She correctly surmised this from Kaoru’s personality and the current situation, and drank the potion she was handed without argument.

“Thank goodness... So, why did...?”

“Before we talk, the others need potions, too!”

“Huh? O-Okay, got it!”

As soon as Kaoru saw Layette on the ground with swollen cheeks and tears on her face, she couldn’t see anything else in her field of view. Not even the other orphans, the sack of meat struggling to breathe, or the worm crawling on the ground...

“So, what happened here?” Kaoru asked in a low voice. She had given potions to each of the orphans and sat before the dumbstruck children, as well as the meat sack and worm still on the ground, trying to prevent her rage from showing in her face.

Sh-She’s so scary...

Francette and Layette had explained the situation to Kaoru, and she had decided to hear from the worm next. That is, the man whose left hand had been sliced off, followed by the rest of his limbs. The meat sack was in no state to talk...

“So, who put you up to this, what were you doing, and why?”

“...”

His face was contorted with pain and fear, but it seemed he had no intention of talking just because a little girl tried to intimidate him.

“I see...” Kaoru reached into her chest pocket and produced some salt. She held it in her hand, pulled out her hand from her pocket, then...

“There!” She threw it at the man’s exposed wound on his left arm.

“Gyaaaaaaaaagh!!!”

Eeek!!! Francette, Layette, and the orphans shuddered at the fiendish act.

Emile and Belle were unfazed. To them, anything Kaoru did was justice. Whatever she did was undeniable. Not to mention, they were quietly angry about the orphans getting beaten half to death, as well as Layette getting hurt, since they saw her as their beloved little sister. To them, orphans younger than them were all like their younger siblings.

Kaoru picked up the man’s left arm from the ground.

“You know, I could still use my potions to put this arm back on. The cut was pretty clean, after all. But if the surface of the cut gets ruined...” With that, she picked up the dagger that was next to the arm and twisted it into the surface of the cut.

“S-Stop, nooooooooo!!!” She then peeled the nails off and gave it a couple quick stabs...

“S-Stop, no, stoppp!” No matter how much she damaged the severed arm, there was no way he could actually feel the pain. So why was he panicking so much?

...There was no one there thinking that. The color had drained from the orphans’ faces, and they were all shuddering in fear or hunched over and vomiting.

“Ahh... Might not be able to reattach this with it being so cut up like this...”

As she continued to dig at it with the dagger...

“W-Wait, stop! Please, fix it, reattach my armmm!”

Kaoru continued without even responding...

“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you anything! Reattach my arm, pleeease!!!”

“...So, someone hired you in the capital and told you to kidnap Layette because she could be used against me to follow orders and was the easiest to capture out of those close to me, her food costs wouldn’t be too high, and she’d be easy to sell off once you were done with her?”

“Y-Yes!” the man replied earnestly, his arm having been reattached to his body. However, it hadn’t immediately healed back to its original state. They had only used a lesser potion that healed it gradually and then secured it with a splint and bandages. It would properly reattach itself if he maintained this position, but one wrong move and it could fall right off again.

“Hm, I see...” she said in a flat, emotionless tone.

Hearing this, the orphans thought they were right in assuming Kaoru and the others didn’t care about Layette.

“Hmm, I seeeee...”

Shiver...

“Hmmmmm, I...seeeeeeeee...”

“Gyaaaaaaaaa!!!”

The children instantly broke down in tears upon seeing Kaoru’s face. Some of them peed their pants. The two would-be kidnappers had gone pale, their faces contorted in shock.

The man with the broken ribs had his organ damage healed with a healing potion as well, but the ribs themselves were still left as-is. A simple punch there could force the ribs back into his organs, so he couldn’t even put up a fight against children.

Kaoru had explained to him that the potion was just a powerful painkiller and that his organs had been fine in the first place, but he should be able to tell that his own ribs were broken.

“Let’s talk a little more about that, then, shall we...?”

Nod, nod, nod, nod...

A skilled swordswoman wielding absolute power. A merciless young girl with an inexplicably intimidating aura. And a boy and girl who seemed to be young hunters that didn’t even twitch at her brutality, a look of fanaticism in their eyes. Not to mention the group of orphans who wouldn’t hesitate to kill them with the wood scraps and rocks they gripped in their hands.

One wrong move and they’d be dead.

Attempted murder and kidnapping...

With so many witnesses, their corpses could be turned in to the guards for a handsome reward, and they wouldn’t even be questioned. There was no reason for these people to show them any mercy. The only potential reward in keeping them alive was that it would save them the trouble of carrying their corpses, and they could get a bit of extra coin for selling them as judicial slaves.

Even then, there was always the possibility that they would prioritize the safety of the orphans and choose to beat the two of them to death as an example to any who might try something similar. They had to surrender completely, show remorse, and hope for mercy. That was the only way for these two to be saved...or rather, for them to survive.

“So we still don’t know who’s behind all this...”

After continuing to question the two men for some time, we handed them over to the authorities. We were told we would get our share of the reward and profits from selling them as judicial slaves at a later date.

Of course, that money was to be spent on the orphans. Handing such a sum to them would all but guarantee they’d be robbed by thugs or other orphans, so we had to figure out a good solution, but...

Since I had told Belle to call for Roland during the questioning, the conversation with the officer went smoothly. The only value that Roland’s existence had was that he made it easier to have discussions with external parties. He had to show his usefulness here, or there would be no point in providing for him.

Since Francette was away on her own duties (protecting Layette), Roland had left Emile and Belle to guard me and went wandering off by himself. He complained about missing his moment to shine, but it was his own fault for not being there. Why was he complaining to me?! And even if he did rush to them with me, his time to shine would have been long gone.

In any case, he was obviously a rich aristocrat no matter how you looked at him, and he did have the appearance of a somewhat capable swordsman. Having him around made a huge difference when making a report, compared to a bunch of underage children and young adults doing it by themselves.

It was best to make use of anything of convenience.

And so, we finished taking care of the orphans and handing over the criminals and went home to Convenience Store Belle...

“Well, I suppose whoever employed them would have no reason to tell them everything...”

Francette was right; the one pulling the strings wouldn’t do such a thing. But it was likely some throwaway criminal who was hired by someone from the royal palace, an aristocrat, or one of the merchants who still suspected me or hadn’t heard the new information about my hair and eye color. They wanted to connect with me to make a request or threaten me. They would use my abilities, name value, and connection with Celes to rise through the ranks.

...That was fine. That in itself was no problem.

Whether they were clever enough not to be fooled by the false information, didn’t even have access to said information, or just wanted to take advantage of me, they were probably desperately working to provide for their own subordinates, dependents, and domain. That was fine.

...But the ones who intended to hurt Layette? They’re done for.

“...I’ll crush them.”

“Yes?” Francette asked, her voice squeaking.

Emile and Belle nodded wordlessly, and Roland only shrugged lightly.

Those were their usual reactions. Indeed, it was just like usual...

Evening of that day, a maid came to shop at Convenience Store Belle and went home. Upon paying, she left a silver coin and a small piece of paper.

“You have a summons from an aristocrat in the royal capital. Declining is not an option, as this is coming from the leader of a faction under Count Maslias of your parent house. You are to meet him to discuss some matters that will be explained to you.”

“...Perfect timing. Let’s do this, then...”

Grin...