Chapter 138: Balthazar Orphanage
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“The orphanage I used to live in is located on the outside of the center of the town. It should take us about 30 minutes to get there if we walk with the beast horse.”
I was riding on top of Oscar with Sig-san. We were walking leisurely to the orphanage. Little by little, the noise in the street became quieter and there were more residential houses instead of shops in sight. We were walking slowly so we could still hold a conversation with Chris-san and Fer-san.
“When you said 30 minutes to get there… Were you referring to Balthazar Orphanage?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s the place. Fer, you know it?”
Balthazar Orphanage? Apparently Fer-san knew about that place.
“The director of that orphanage, Balthazar-san, is a famous person. A lot of the children coming from that place have excellent qualities too so that place is pretty famous.”
“Balthazar-san?”
Apparently that was the name of the director of the orphanage. I guess he was a famous person? As I thought, there were differences even between orphanages. Depending on which orphanage, there were more or less children growing up with excellent qualities…
“Yeah. Just like what I’ve said before, he’s an interesting old man. He’s the director of the orphanage I was raised at and he used to have a top position in the knight too.”
“Top?”
Which reminds me, Sig-san did say there’s an interesting old man, didn’t he? When did he say that…. Oh, right. When we were at Sorrel Waterfalls. At that time, we were talking about each of our own families. So the interesting old man Sig-san mentioned is the director and not only that, he also used to have a top position in the knight?
“Yeah. There are 5 Knight Orders in this kingdom. Between all of them, the captain of the 1st Knight Order is the real top of this kingdom’s troop.”
When I tilted my head to the side, Sig-san let one of his hands go from the reins and started stroking my head as he explained it to me.
Ooh… I don’t know much about the knight or the order or anything like that. So that’s how it is, huh?
“Right now, the captain of the 1st Knight Order is Princess Elsa’s spouse.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Elsa ane-sama’s?
When I was meeting with Fer-san’s family at the castle, most of their spouse were there but Elsa ane-sama’s spouse was away for work. At that time, I didn’t ask what his job was but if he was a big wig from the knight then he must be very busy.
“Yes. My sister has been in love with father’s childhood friend, the Captain, since she was little…. My sister was the one who kept on pushing and pushing until they eventually got married.”
“His Highness’s childhood friend…?”
His Highness’s childhood friend? What? I don’t know his exact age but he must be at least 55 years old since his eldest son, Lucien-sama is already 37 years old. If he’s His Highness’s childhood friend then their age must not be that far apart, right?
So that means Elsa ane-sama is married to someone who’s about her parent’s age? Pushing and pushing…. That’s just like her though. I remembered I got pushed to change my clothes because of her too.
“Yes. He’s the same age as my father so the difference in their age is 20 years.”
“That’s quite an age gap, huh.”
Ah, I knew it. I’ve heard about the big age gap between celebrity couples but 20 years is really amazing. I’ve seen plenty of couples with a 10 years age difference though.
“That’s right. The Captain was really concerned about their age difference so he kept running away but in the end… He lost. I don’t know the details since I was still too young but even now, my sister is still very enamored with him.”
Fer-san said he tried to run away but since he’s the captain of the knight, if he truly hates it, he’d be able to find a way. I guess in the end the captain actually likes Elsa ane-sama too?
Fufu~ I’d love to be able to hear more about it next time.
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“What a magnificent building.”
“Right on. Here, I will help you get down.”
“Thank you.”
We were having an enjoyable time talking while riding on top of the horse beast and then after a while, the three of them stopped the horse in front of a building. After passing through a gate, I saw a one-story building in front of me. Although it was hard to know for sure, it seemed this building was shaped like the letter ‘U’.
Maybe because this area was not part of the center of the city, the surrounding house seemed to have a large plot of land with trees and grass growing around the building. The house looked well maintained too. In my imagination, the orphanage in fantasy isekai would look like a church so this building before me looked different than my expectation.
Sig-san who had gotten down from Oscar first, offered to help me down. I obediently outstretched my arms toward him and he put his hand on either side of my arms to help me get down from Oscar.
“Ah. The beast horse can rest under the trees within the orphanage’s property. Oscar always does that.”
“William, be a good boy with the other horse too, okay~”
“I see. Viktor, I will leave your water and food here. Have a good rest here.”
After helping me, Sig-san talked to the other two who had descended from their horse too.
I also think the beast horses are really smart. Even if you don’t tie them onto the tree, they won’t run away. In the first place, by letting them free like this, the horse could run or maybe launch a counterattack when there was a monster coming attacking them.
“That old man, he never got married so he has a lot of savings from all of his paychecks when he was still working. He built this orphanage with that savings. Right now, the orphanage got their operating expenses from a subsidiary from the government or either the money sent voluntarily from the children who had left the orphanage like me.”
“Ooh…”
We left the beast horses and were walking through the cobblestone path leading to the building.
I see…. Since he has already passed his working age, does that mean he’s pretty old now? In the first place, do the people in Alsar have the concept of retirement age? Since being a knight is a physically demanding job, I guess the retirement age should be at either 50 or 60 years old?
Ah, but… Elsa ane-sama’s spouse should be already in his 50s but he’s still actively working… Hm~ I really don’t know anything~
Since the orphanage received subsidiary aid from the kingdom, I guess that meant the children received better protection than I had expected. Also the fact that those who had left the orphanage since sent money out of their own volition, showed that this orphanage served as a wonderful institution for the children. If they had unpleasant feelings toward the orphanage, they wouldn’t voluntarily help the orphanage.
“Ah, I also send money here but I do it using the money from my own share. I won’t touch our household expenses for it.”
Sig-san added, as if he just remembered to say it.
“Yes, I understand, Sig-san.”
So Sig-san also sent his allowance to the orphanage? Most probably, he must be the top or the second biggest donator since he was an A-rank adventurer. If such a big donator like him were to stop sending money, this place would surely be troubled. I didn’t see any reason to stop him since he only used his own share anyway.
“The dining hall is right on the front side while the children’s rooms are on the right. The smallest room is for 4 or 5 children and when they become older, they can get a two children’s bedroom. When they start going to school, they will be moved to a single children’s bedroom. If they decide they don’t want to move out even after they are old enough to graduate from the school, they will need to pay a little bit of money for rent. Usually those are being done by children who became a day laborer although they are only allowed to stay until they reach 17 years old. If we spoil them too much, they won’t be able to become independent and there will be too many children for the orphanage to take care of.”
“I see…”
Sig-san pointed to the building while explaining how the orphanage worked as we drew nearer. Though I agreed if the children still stayed in the orphanage even after they became a legal adult, we couldn’t really call this place an ‘orphanage’ anymore. I guess they set a time limit like this to encourage children to become independent.
“Well, as far as I know, there’s no one who sticks in the place until they get kicked out. Now, the left side of the building are the rooms and bathroom for the staff who’s taking care of the little ones. Some of the staff commute from here and to their house but most of them are live-in workers.”
“Sounds tough.”
“That’s right. Most of the children end up here because their parents were killed by monsters or they were abandoned by their parents… There are various reasons for how the childrens end up here so that’s why they’re pretty difficult to handle.”
Sig-san calmly explained it to us.
Becoming a live-in worker to help take care of the children… Sig-san’s parents were also killed by a monster, right? I guess all of the children must have had a sad past so they require more extensive mental care… Yeah, I can see how hard it must be just by imagining it.
“Well! You don’t need to worry about it too much. Just keep on smiling while you talk with them. Let’s go now? …. Hey! Your kind onii-sama is back!”
Sig-san who showed a sad expression for a second, smiled and then he exclaimed out loud as he opened the door to the building. Inside the room, there were tables being lined up and it seemed they had just finished their meal because the children were clearing away empty plates.
Today was their day off so the school was closed. Most of the children in the orphanage were here because the children who usually went to school, didn’t need to go to school today. Sig-san wanted to be able to meet as many children as possible so he always purposely chose to come at midday on the day when the school was not in session.
“Oh! Sig-ani is here!”
“Oh, you’re right!”
“Aah, welcome back, Sig!”
The children who noticed Sig-san’s arrival raised their voice. Soon enough, Sig-san, who was standing one or two steps ahead of us, was surrounded by both girls and boys of various ages. Mops of hair of various colors were flocking around Sig-san.
As for the children who were close to legal age, well… As expected, they didn’t come running to greet Sig-san but they were staring at our direction while still standing near the tables.
“Fufu~ Sig-san is really popular, huh.”
Sig-san was really popular. From behind and front, the children were demanding him to carry them. Looking at this amusing sight before me, I couldn’t help but to chuckle.
“Hey, Sig-ani! Who are these people?”
Then a boy who appeared to be 5 years old, noticed us. He then asked Sig-san about us.
“Yeah. The black haired beauty is my fiancé, Ren. We’re getting married in two months. The other two are also Ren’s fiancés, just like me.”
Sig-san slung his arm around my shoulder to introduce me after he somehow managed to slip away from the group of children.
Black haired beauty… Just what’s up with that explanation?
“Uwahh…. Nice to meet you! I’m Allan!”
“My name is Barbara.”
“──!”
“────”
“……──”
The children who listened to Sig-san’s explanation now started swarming around us. They introduced themselves to us but I honestly couldn’t remember all of them and not to mention, they were also speaking so much all at the same time.
“Umm… I’m Ren. Nice to meet you.”
“NICE TO MEET YOU!!”
For the time being, I interrupted some of them from continuing to introduce their names in a flurry. I told them their name and they all returned to greeting in unison.
Ah, so adorable…
“They’re kind of amazing.”
“Indeed…”
Chris-san and Fer-san, who were standing behind me, were also surrounded by the children. When I looked over their shoulder, I saw them looking a bit troubled as they tried to keep a smile on their face with their eyebrows slightly lowered. Probably because of the children’s overwhelming enthusiasm.
“Hey, hey, hey! Everyone, you’re making them feel flustered, you know! You guys were in the middle of cleaning up, right? Go back and do your chore properly!”
“Yeees~”
A woman with brown hair who appeared to be in her 50s, approached us and clapped her hands to get the children’s attention as she scolded them. The children then obediently returned to their chore.
Is she one of the staff here?
“Allan, can you please call the director-sensei to the parlor? Sorry for startling you guys. These children really love Sig after all.”
She came to our side and immediately lowered her head as she apologized to us.
“Who-Whoa! Please raise your head! While it is true that we were startled, there’s no need for you to apologize to that extent!”
It was actually a warming scene and the children looked so adorable as they swarmed us so we would feel troubled if she apologized to us while bowing her head like that!
“Fufu… How kind of you. Thank you. Now then, Sig. Why don’t you lead everyone to the parlor so they can greet the director-sensei?”
Seeing how flustered I was, she then thanked me while smiling softly.
Ah, somehow this person really gives me a motherly vibe.
While still keeping her smile, she then turned her head to Sig-san as she gave him her instruction.
“Hanna-sensei, you really don’t change at all… I got it. You guys! I will play with you guys later so wait for me, okay! …. Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Sig-san nodded with a wry smile before he raised his voice to talk with the children who were back to tidying the table up. Sig-san then grabbed my hand before we started walking through the tables.
So that woman’s name is Hanna. I guess they call the staff here ‘sensei’?
“Sig-ani, see you later!”
“Play with me too, okay~”
We headed to a door that led to a hallway with the sound of children replying to Sig-san coming from behind us.
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Name: Allan
A child from Balthazar Orphanage.
Name: Barbara
A child from Balthazar Orphanage.
Name: Hanna
Age: 52 years old
Height: 190cm
She has brown hair and light brown eyes. A staff member in Balthazar Orphanage. She has been working in Balthazar Orphanage since the day the orphanage was established, making her the oldest staff member in the orphanage. She’s a gentle woman but strict when it comes to disciplining the children. She’s basically the mother figure for the children at the orphanage.
Chapter 138: Balthazar Orphanage
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“The orphanage I used to live in is located on the outside of the center of the town. It should take us about 30 minutes to get there if we walk with the beast horse.”
I was riding on top of Oscar with Sig-san. We were walking leisurely to the orphanage. Little by little, the noise in the street became quieter and there were more residential houses instead of shops in sight. We were walking slowly so we could still hold a conversation with Chris-san and Fer-san.
“When you said 30 minutes to get there… Were you referring to Balthazar Orphanage?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s the place. Fer, you know it?”
Balthazar Orphanage? Apparently Fer-san knew about that place.
“The director of that orphanage, Balthazar-san, is a famous person. A lot of the children coming from that place have excellent qualities too so that place is pretty famous.”
“Balthazar-san?”
Apparently that was the name of the director of the orphanage. I guess he was a famous person? As I thought, there were differences even between orphanages. Depending on which orphanage, there were more or less children growing up with excellent qualities…
“Yeah. Just like what I’ve said before, he’s an interesting old man. He’s the director of the orphanage I was raised at and he used to have a top position in the knight too.”
“Top?”
Which reminds me, Sig-san did say there’s an interesting old man, didn’t he? When did he say that…. Oh, right. When we were at Sorrel Waterfalls. At that time, we were talking about each of our own families. So the interesting old man Sig-san mentioned is the director and not only that, he also used to have a top position in the knight?
“Yeah. There are 5 Knight Orders in this kingdom. Between all of them, the captain of the 1st Knight Order is the real top of this kingdom’s troop.”
When I tilted my head to the side, Sig-san let one of his hands go from the reins and started stroking my head as he explained it to me.
Ooh… I don’t know much about the knight or the order or anything like that. So that’s how it is, huh?
“Right now, the captain of the 1st Knight Order is Princess Elsa’s spouse.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Elsa ane-sama’s?
When I was meeting with Fer-san’s family at the castle, most of their spouse were there but Elsa ane-sama’s spouse was away for work. At that time, I didn’t ask what his job was but if he was a big wig from the knight then he must be very busy.
“Yes. My sister has been in love with father’s childhood friend, the Captain, since she was little…. My sister was the one who kept on pushing and pushing until they eventually got married.”
“His Highness’s childhood friend…?”
His Highness’s childhood friend? What? I don’t know his exact age but he must be at least 55 years old since his eldest son, Lucien-sama is already 37 years old. If he’s His Highness’s childhood friend then their age must not be that far apart, right?
So that means Elsa ane-sama is married to someone who’s about her parent’s age? Pushing and pushing…. That’s just like her though. I remembered I got pushed to change my clothes because of her too.
“Yes. He’s the same age as my father so the difference in their age is 20 years.”
“That’s quite an age gap, huh.”
Ah, I knew it. I’ve heard about the big age gap between celebrity couples but 20 years is really amazing. I’ve seen plenty of couples with a 10 years age difference though.
“That’s right. The Captain was really concerned about their age difference so he kept running away but in the end… He lost. I don’t know the details since I was still too young but even now, my sister is still very enamored with him.”
Fer-san said he tried to run away but since he’s the captain of the knight, if he truly hates it, he’d be able to find a way. I guess in the end the captain actually likes Elsa ane-sama too?
Fufu~ I’d love to be able to hear more about it next time.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“What a magnificent building.”
“Right on. Here, I will help you get down.”
“Thank you.”
We were having an enjoyable time talking while riding on top of the horse beast and then after a while, the three of them stopped the horse in front of a building. After passing through a gate, I saw a one-story building in front of me. Although it was hard to know for sure, it seemed this building was shaped like the letter ‘U’.
Maybe because this area was not part of the center of the city, the surrounding house seemed to have a large plot of land with trees and grass growing around the building. The house looked well maintained too. In my imagination, the orphanage in fantasy isekai would look like a church so this building before me looked different than my expectation.
Sig-san who had gotten down from Oscar first, offered to help me down. I obediently outstretched my arms toward him and he put his hand on either side of my arms to help me get down from Oscar.
“Ah. The beast horse can rest under the trees within the orphanage’s property. Oscar always does that.”
“William, be a good boy with the other horse too, okay~”
“I see. Viktor, I will leave your water and food here. Have a good rest here.”
After helping me, Sig-san talked to the other two who had descended from their horse too.
I also think the beast horses are really smart. Even if you don’t tie them onto the tree, they won’t run away. In the first place, by letting them free like this, the horse could run or maybe launch a counterattack when there was a monster coming attacking them.
“That old man, he never got married so he has a lot of savings from all of his paychecks when he was still working. He built this orphanage with that savings. Right now, the orphanage got their operating expenses from a subsidiary from the government or either the money sent voluntarily from the children who had left the orphanage like me.”
“Ooh…”
We left the beast horses and were walking through the cobblestone path leading to the building.
I see…. Since he has already passed his working age, does that mean he’s pretty old now? In the first place, do the people in Alsar have the concept of retirement age? Since being a knight is a physically demanding job, I guess the retirement age should be at either 50 or 60 years old?
Ah, but… Elsa ane-sama’s spouse should be already in his 50s but he’s still actively working… Hm~ I really don’t know anything~
Since the orphanage received subsidiary aid from the kingdom, I guess that meant the children received better protection than I had expected. Also the fact that those who had left the orphanage since sent money out of their own volition, showed that this orphanage served as a wonderful institution for the children. If they had unpleasant feelings toward the orphanage, they wouldn’t voluntarily help the orphanage.
“Ah, I also send money here but I do it using the money from my own share. I won’t touch our household expenses for it.”
Sig-san added, as if he just remembered to say it.
“Yes, I understand, Sig-san.”
So Sig-san also sent his allowance to the orphanage? Most probably, he must be the top or the second biggest donator since he was an A-rank adventurer. If such a big donator like him were to stop sending money, this place would surely be troubled. I didn’t see any reason to stop him since he only used his own share anyway.
“The dining hall is right on the front side while the children’s rooms are on the right. The smallest room is for 4 or 5 children and when they become older, they can get a two children’s bedroom. When they start going to school, they will be moved to a single children’s bedroom. If they decide they don’t want to move out even after they are old enough to graduate from the school, they will need to pay a little bit of money for rent. Usually those are being done by children who became a day laborer although they are only allowed to stay until they reach 17 years old. If we spoil them too much, they won’t be able to become independent and there will be too many children for the orphanage to take care of.”
“I see…”
Sig-san pointed to the building while explaining how the orphanage worked as we drew nearer. Though I agreed if the children still stayed in the orphanage even after they became a legal adult, we couldn’t really call this place an ‘orphanage’ anymore. I guess they set a time limit like this to encourage children to become independent.
“Well, as far as I know, there’s no one who sticks in the place until they get kicked out. Now, the left side of the building are the rooms and bathroom for the staff who’s taking care of the little ones. Some of the staff commute from here and to their house but most of them are live-in workers.”
“Sounds tough.”
“That’s right. Most of the children end up here because their parents were killed by monsters or they were abandoned by their parents… There are various reasons for how the childrens end up here so that’s why they’re pretty difficult to handle.”
Sig-san calmly explained it to us.
Becoming a live-in worker to help take care of the children… Sig-san’s parents were also killed by a monster, right? I guess all of the children must have had a sad past so they require more extensive mental care… Yeah, I can see how hard it must be just by imagining it.
“Well! You don’t need to worry about it too much. Just keep on smiling while you talk with them. Let’s go now? …. Hey! Your kind onii-sama is back!”
Sig-san who showed a sad expression for a second, smiled and then he exclaimed out loud as he opened the door to the building. Inside the room, there were tables being lined up and it seemed they had just finished their meal because the children were clearing away empty plates.
Today was their day off so the school was closed. Most of the children in the orphanage were here because the children who usually went to school, didn’t need to go to school today. Sig-san wanted to be able to meet as many children as possible so he always purposely chose to come at midday on the day when the school was not in session.
“Oh! Sig-ani is here!”
“Oh, you’re right!”
“Aah, welcome back, Sig!”
The children who noticed Sig-san’s arrival raised their voice. Soon enough, Sig-san, who was standing one or two steps ahead of us, was surrounded by both girls and boys of various ages. Mops of hair of various colors were flocking around Sig-san.
As for the children who were close to legal age, well… As expected, they didn’t come running to greet Sig-san but they were staring at our direction while still standing near the tables.
“Fufu~ Sig-san is really popular, huh.”
Sig-san was really popular. From behind and front, the children were demanding him to carry them. Looking at this amusing sight before me, I couldn’t help but to chuckle.
“Hey, Sig-ani! Who are these people?”
Then a boy who appeared to be 5 years old, noticed us. He then asked Sig-san about us.
“Yeah. The black haired beauty is my fiancé, Ren. We’re getting married in two months. The other two are also Ren’s fiancés, just like me.”
Sig-san slung his arm around my shoulder to introduce me after he somehow managed to slip away from the group of children.
Black haired beauty… Just what’s up with that explanation?
“Uwahh…. Nice to meet you! I’m Allan!”
“My name is Barbara.”
“──!”
“────”
“……──”
The children who listened to Sig-san’s explanation now started swarming around us. They introduced themselves to us but I honestly couldn’t remember all of them and not to mention, they were also speaking so much all at the same time.
“Umm… I’m Ren. Nice to meet you.”
“NICE TO MEET YOU!!”
For the time being, I interrupted some of them from continuing to introduce their names in a flurry. I told them their name and they all returned to greeting in unison.
Ah, so adorable…
“They’re kind of amazing.”
“Indeed…”
Chris-san and Fer-san, who were standing behind me, were also surrounded by the children. When I looked over their shoulder, I saw them looking a bit troubled as they tried to keep a smile on their face with their eyebrows slightly lowered. Probably because of the children’s overwhelming enthusiasm.
“Hey, hey, hey! Everyone, you’re making them feel flustered, you know! You guys were in the middle of cleaning up, right? Go back and do your chore properly!”
“Yeees~”
A woman with brown hair who appeared to be in her 50s, approached us and clapped her hands to get the children’s attention as she scolded them. The children then obediently returned to their chore.
Is she one of the staff here?
“Allan, can you please call the director-sensei to the parlor? Sorry for startling you guys. These children really love Sig after all.”
She came to our side and immediately lowered her head as she apologized to us.
“Who-Whoa! Please raise your head! While it is true that we were startled, there’s no need for you to apologize to that extent!”
It was actually a warming scene and the children looked so adorable as they swarmed us so we would feel troubled if she apologized to us while bowing her head like that!
“Fufu… How kind of you. Thank you. Now then, Sig. Why don’t you lead everyone to the parlor so they can greet the director-sensei?”
Seeing how flustered I was, she then thanked me while smiling softly.
Ah, somehow this person really gives me a motherly vibe.
While still keeping her smile, she then turned her head to Sig-san as she gave him her instruction.
“Hanna-sensei, you really don’t change at all… I got it. You guys! I will play with you guys later so wait for me, okay! …. Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Sig-san nodded with a wry smile before he raised his voice to talk with the children who were back to tidying the table up. Sig-san then grabbed my hand before we started walking through the tables.
So that woman’s name is Hanna. I guess they call the staff here ‘sensei’?
“Sig-ani, see you later!”
“Play with me too, okay~”
We headed to a door that led to a hallway with the sound of children replying to Sig-san coming from behind us.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Name: Allan
A child from Balthazar Orphanage.
Name: Barbara
A child from Balthazar Orphanage.
Name: Hanna
Age: 52 years old
Height: 190cm
She has brown hair and light brown eyes. A staff member in Balthazar Orphanage. She has been working in Balthazar Orphanage since the day the orphanage was established, making her the oldest staff member in the orphanage. She’s a gentle woman but strict when it comes to disciplining the children. She’s basically the mother figure for the children at the orphanage.
