Chapter 91

Saint Miriam Orphanage (1)

Alright, let’s organize the situation.

I had definitely overturned the entire reformatory, then collapsed from the backlash of the contract.

“Oh, he woke up!”

The ones watching me were Arin and Garrison.

“Sister Miriam! The pretty oppa woke up!”

And after regaining consciousness, I found myself lying here dressed in clean priest robes.

“Excuse me~? Can you heeear meee~?”

No matter how secretly we subdued the reformatory, the cult would’ve discovered me sooner or later, and Arin would have hidden herself.

“Sister! I think this oppa’s deaf!”

Which meant Garrison or the cult’s clergy must have taken charge of me, so this place was…!

“Can-you-heeeear-meee—?!”
“AAAAAAAH—! SHUT UUUUP—!”

I finally exploded after enduring it as long as I could.
How was I supposed to think when someone kept screaming directly into my ears?!

“Oooooh! He’s mad, he’s mad!”
“Sister! I guess this oppa isn’t deaf after all!”

As if they hadn’t heard my furious outburst at all, the lively voices of the children endlessly battered my ears.

“Oppa, where are you from?”
“Your hair color is really pretty! Can I pluck one?”
“Are you staying here forever? We’re going to play later, wanna come with us?”

A barrage of questions poured down on me without even giving me time to answer.

“I’m going insane. Seriously, ask one at a time! No, actually, don’t ask anything at all!”

My entire body ached, yet I couldn’t even get up and flee.

Because the children had completely surrounded the bed I was lying on.

“Is the nuna who came with you your friend? Where did she come fr—”

Just as I was wondering whether I should simply collapse unconscious again from the endless chatter—

BANG—!

“You little brats! I told you to come eat already, so why are you all camping in here?!”

Along with the roar, the door to my room burst open violently.

“Wuaaah?!”
“It’s Sister Miriam!”
“Today Sven’s getting launched again!”
“Run!”

Waaaaaaah—!

The moment one of the children went flying backward, the swarm surrounding my bed scattered all at once.

“Honestly, the moment they find anything interesting, they swarm like flies.”

The person who had thrown the child was a woman dressed in nun’s robes.
The wrinkles and scars covering her hands revealed just how long and rough her life had been.

“If lunch isn’t ready by the time I get there, somebody’s flying again, got it?!”
“Yeeees—!”

Even after watching their friend get thrown, the children showed not the slightest fear.

‘Are they used to people getting tossed around?’

While I was thinking that, the old woman snorted and turned toward me.

“Uh… excuse me…”

Sharp upturned eyes.
A hooked nose.
And a thick cigar clenched in her mouth.

For a moment, I lost my words at the sight of someone who looked more like a witch than a nun.

But only for a moment.

“Ah, apologies for the late introduction. I am—”

Just as I regained myself and hurriedly tried to show courtesy—

Flick—!

“Gah?!”

A dull impact struck my forehead with sharp pain.
A finger flick similar to the ones Old Man Ian used on me.
The old woman who had flicked me barked in a rough voice.

“If you’re awake, stop sitting there blankly and get downstairs to eat, you brat!”

With that, the old woman turned around and left the room.

“…?”

Forty years living as Archimond, and fifteen years in this life.
Even combined, I had never experienced a situation like this before.

As I sat there blankly—

“Excuse meee.”

At the voice poking my shoulder, I turned my head.

“Are you raising the bird sitting on your shoulder?”

The one asking was a little girl who looked about six years old.
At her words, I turned and met the eyes of the black bird perched on my shoulder.

“Kuuk—?”

A black owl without a single marking.
Seeing it, I fell into thought for a moment.

Now let’s see. This means…

“Uh, holy shit—! What the hell is this?!”

***

“Thank you for the meal~!”

Together with the children’s booming voices, I looked down at the bowl of soup placed before me.

“Waaah.”

A sigh naturally escaped me at the magnificent feast laid out on the table.
Apparently the children felt the same way, because they too stared blankly at the dining table.

“Boiled potatoes, potato soup, stir-fried potatoes, and potato pancakes.”
“Maybe the world is actually made out of potatoes.”
“Maybe we’re actually potatoes too.”

Just as two boys were about to begin a deep philosophical debate inspired by the potato-based meal—

“Sven and Levin are complaining about the side dishes~!”
“N-No we’re not?!”
“Yes you are! You totally were!”

A girl’s sudden interruption instantly reduced the philosophers’ debate into simple picky eating.

“Who’s complaining about food at the table~?”

As Sister Miriam the Witch… no, Sister Miriam glared fiercely,
the two boys immediately started stuffing potatoes into their mouths like nothing had happened.

Ah, pinnacle of wisdom.
How tragic the dying screams of philosophy collapsing before authority are.
…The fact nonsense like this was naturally popping into my head probably meant I wasn’t sane either.

‘Still… never thought I’d end up visiting this place like this.’

Dipping boiled potatoes into potato soup, I glanced at the sign hanging on one wall.

‘Saint Miriam Orphanage.’

A small orphanage located within the direct territory of the Holy Kingdom of Kersias.
A place operated by Garrison and regularly funded by me.

‘Palliman, was it?’

The moment I recalled that sly bastard’s face, a question surfaced.

There was no way this place—which he had once used as a hostage against us—could possibly have remained unharmed after the chaos Garrison and I caused.

‘Then how is it still completely intact…?’

I was pondering that while eating tomato-flavored potatoes—

BANG BANG BANG—!

A violent knocking echoed from the dining hall doors.

“Is it true that Young Master Klein has awakened?!”

SLAM!

The doors burst open and two knights stormed into the orphanage.

‘The Papal Holy Knights. So this place was being monitored too.’

While thinking that as I looked at the insignias engraved on their chests, one of the knights pulled out an order and presented it to me.

“It is a summons order! Young Master Klein must immediately appear before the Religious Tribunal—!”

But at that exact moment—

CRACK—!

Something shot between the two knights, causing both of them to freeze mid-sentence.

Thunk. Thunk.

Embedded into the brick wall behind them…

was a boiled potato.

“They say even a damn dog isn’t disturbed while eating, and these sons of bitches come barging in to pull this kind of crap…!”

Together with the rough curse, Sister Miriam rose from her seat and roared at the Holy Knights.

“You call yourselves Holy Knights, dragging off a patient in broad daylight like this?!”

A mere nun yelling at knights.

The Holy Knights themselves seemed thoroughly shocked, shouting back with trembling voices.

“T-This is His Holiness the Pope’s command, Sister Miriam! If you refuse—!”

The moment one knight got that far—

“The Pope this, the Pope that—what the hell about him?!”

BOOOOM—!

With an explosive crash, this time a frying pan flew directly toward the Holy Knights.

“H-Hiiiiiik?!”

And not just any frying pan—
it was the one that had been sitting over the fire moments ago.

Sssssss…

The faces of the Holy Knights turned pale as they looked at the frying pan radiating heat.

“Then go tell that son of a bitch Brigante this!”

Before they could even process it, Sister Miriam’s furious shouting continued.

“Tell him the brat’ll crawl there himself when the time comes, but if he annoys us one more time, I’ll crack his skull open—!”

And the moment she prepared to throw a second frying pan, the Holy Knights hurriedly turned tail and fled.

“Hmph! Bunch of idiots.”

After chasing the knights away, Sister Miriam sat back down in her chair and pulled out a cigarette.

“Sister, here!”
“Mm.”

One of the children scampered over and offered her a flame, and Miriam naturally lit the cigarette.

“Ah! Sister’s smoking again!”
“Big Sis Stella said smoking gives you diseases!”

“Tch!”

A few children complained, but she merely snorted.

“Tell her to show her face before she starts nagging!”

Throwing objects, tossing children around—
the old woman’s behavior was rough in every possible way, yet the children followed her while laughing.

As I blankly watched the bizarre scene—

“Klein Leinrant.”

A blunt voice called my name.

“Second Young Master of the Leinrant family. Right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”

Her speech lacked even the slightest trace of formality, but I had no intention of complaining.

This was a nun who called the Pope a son of a bitch.
There was no way the prestige of a ducal house would matter here.

“Sister, Sister.”

The little child who had lit Miriam’s cigarette tugged at her nun robes.

“What kind of person is that oppa?”

Miriam answered the child’s question.

“Say hello. He’s our wallet.”
“Waaah!”

Instantly, the children’s attention focused on me.

“Oppa, are you rich?”
“They said rich people are supposed to get milked dry!”

Milked dry?
What wonderful things she was teaching children.

“Can you buy dolls from the shop on Third Street?!”
“I want a wooden sword!”
“I want cookies!”
“I want toys!”

The children’s eyes sparkled with expectation.
In response, I shook out the priest robes I was wearing.

“Nope. I’m broke right now.”

And with that single sentence, the children’s interest rapidly cooled.

“Tch, what the heck. You got us excited for nothing.”
“Let’s go, guys. This hyung’s a beggar too.”

Seeing how quickly they assessed reality, I figured none of these kids would ever starve to death anywhere.

“…”

While I bickered with the children like that,
Miriam, who had been looking me up and down, seemed to finish her judgment and muttered,

“You look like you’d snap in half if someone blew on you. What are you, some noble lady?”

My face twitched at the sudden insult.
But before I could respond, she added another remark.

“And Garrison calling a guy like this Archimond or whatever… that bastard’s really lost it now.”

Garrison.
The moment I heard that name, my expression sharpened.

“…Was he the one who brought me here?”
“Did you think you crawled here on your own feet?”

So that was basically confirmation.
This nun must have been the one who treated me after I collapsed.

After sorting out the situation, I immediately spoke to her.

“Thank you for protecting me. If it isn’t rude, may I ask your name—”
“You’ve heard the brats say it enough already, haven’t you?”

Answering like that, she reluctantly revealed her name.

“Miriam Raptalia.”

Along with a completely unexpected fact.

“I’m Garrison’s predecessor as Acting Executor… and his teacher.”

***

A dark, murky space illuminated by faint magical light.
The place where people in black robes gathered was an underground waterway beneath the Holy Kingdom of Kersias.

“What do you mean Kripel collapsed?”
“The experimental subjects disappeared too?! What kind of disaster is this?!”
“We can’t stay here any longer. We need to return to the Empire immediately—!”

The owners of the frantic voices were necromancers.
The robes they wore were necromancer-exclusive equipment distributed by the Empire.

Creeeak—!

“?!”
At the sound of the wooden door opening, the murmuring necromancers all turned their heads.

“So you were all gathered here.”

Unlike their panic, the voice that entered was completely relaxed.
A black-haired young man walked toward them with a pleasant smile spread across his face.

“C-Cardinal Palliman?!”
“That’s impossible. This place was supposed to be completely secret…!”

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The indifferent sound of applause silenced the panicked necromancers.

“That’s why you should’ve listened to my advice. Director Ben as well… and all of you too.”

Behind the refreshing smile lurked unmistakable fury.

“I clearly warned you not to let your guard down.”

At the flat, emotionless voice, the color drained from the necromancers’ faces.

“W-Wait, Cardinal! We failed this time, but next time—!”
“There will be no next time now that holy blood production has ceased.”

Palliman cut them off and raised his hand.

“His Holiness agreed to it. And so did His Majesty.”

Thud. Thud.

A gigantic magical presence accompanied the heavy footsteps echoing through the sewer.
The necromancers’ faces turned deathly pale.

“T-That can’t be… the thing being researched in Aylasis…!”

The moment one necromancer muttered that—

— Kill them all.

Together with the grotesque voice spreading through the air, a gigantic shadow lunged at the gathered necromancers.

“N-No! Please spare—!”
“AAAAAAAGH—?!”

The sounds of bones shattering and flesh exploding filled the underground waterway.

“With this, there’s no longer any risk of the holy blood research leaking out.”

Muttering that quietly, Palliman held the research documents that had been stored in Kripelf in his right hand.

“The purity should still be insufficient. Are you sure it’s fine to erase them all?”

At the voice speaking from behind him, Palliman shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter. We obtained a replacement in Paulwyvern.”

Helian’s corpse, stored beneath the Imperial Palace.
Recalling it, Palliman spoke toward the voice behind him.

“The blood issue has been resolved. What remains now is a body capable of accepting the blood. And…”

As Palliman trailed off, the shadow standing behind him twisted its lips into a smile.

“A soul.”