Kyle found himself realizing over and over again just how difficult it was to run an orphanage.
After reinforcing the half-collapsed building to some extent, he had tried to begin operating it in earnest, only to find himself completely overwhelmed.
“Lately, I feel as though my respect for Sister Haynes grows more every day.”
At least Kyle possessed strength.
When he thought about how Sister Haynes had run an orphanage and endured such hardship with nothing but her generous heart, tears nearly came to his eyes.
Still, with someone like Sister Haynes as an example, he could not continue whining forever.
He had also received voluntary(?) donations from the nearby factions, so operating the orphanage should at least be possible.
“All right! Everyone, gather around.”
Kyle clapped his hands and called the children and young adults together.
“We have only just begun, so I hope you will understand that we do not have a proper system yet. For now, think of this place as something between an orphanage and a school.”
Its exact name was a human rehabilitation center, but Kyle softened the description by calling it a school as he looked around.
“From now on, I will be providing something called an ‘education.’ I expect all of you to follow my instructions carefully. More importantly, you will also be expected to work so that this orphanage can continue operating, so I hope none of you will complain.”
After firmly establishing in advance that they would also be required to work, Kyle explained his plans for the future.
The first step would be basic training.
They did not necessarily have to seek combat-oriented occupations such as mercenaries, monster hunters, knights serving noble families, or soldiers.
However, few people could go through life without ever becoming involved in a confrontation.
Kyle wanted everyone to learn at least some basic martial arts so they would possess the means to defend themselves.
‘Besides, being healthy is a good thing, is it not?’
With that thought, Kyle intended to teach them foundational martial arts.
He also planned to teach them how to read and write.
He knew nothing grandiose like high-level magic, but he did possess basic knowledge of everyday magic.
In the north, magic tools were distributed to soldiers who would otherwise freeze to death, so they were taught the elementary magical knowledge necessary to operate them.
Kyle intended to teach them at least that much.
Who knew?
Perhaps some among them possessed talent for magic.
In the end, he established four major rules.
Adults and young adults must perform honest labor.
They would donate a portion of their earnings to the orphanage and receive Kyle’s instruction in return.
Children must clean the orphanage and perform small chores.
Seventy percent of what they earned would be used for the orphanage’s operating expenses.
The remaining thirty percent would become their allowance!
Everyone would receive approximately one free day every ten days.
People needed free time.
They were free to save those days for later or use them regularly as they received them.
Once someone reached an adequate level, the orphanage could receive a commission if that person entered an organization under the orphanage’s name.
That was all.
Ideally, Kyle wanted to send the children and young adults he raised into respectable fields such as mercenary work or monster hunting.
However, not everyone might choose such paths.
Some might wish to enter criminal organizations that offered greater earnings.
If a nearby criminal faction wanted to recruit them, Kyle could not prevent it.
That, too, would be their own choice.
Considering the affection he had developed while raising them, he merely intended to collect a reasonable commission.
As people raised in this orphanage, they would at least be taught well enough to behave like decent human beings.
If another organization wanted to recruit someone like that, was it not only proper business etiquette to pay for them?
Naturally, Kyle had already reached an agreement of sorts with the nearby criminal factions.
Human trafficking was strictly prohibited.
※ Anyone caught selling children would die. Send them to our orphanage instead.
Maintain a minimum standard of conduct.
— Even if you kill someone, you must have a reason.
— Even if you sell drugs, do not sell them in this district.
.
.
.
The orphanage may cooperate with legitimate work.
※ Anyone caught cheating workers out of their wages may receive a personal meeting with the Orphanage Director.
Any organization member who wishes to receive an education may do so for a low tuition fee.
※ Members of specially contracted factions may receive instruction at half price.
That was all.
Kyle carefully placed the two hastily written documents inside a drawer and looked out the window.
“I was planning to live freely by myself….”
He did not know how things had ended up this way, but perhaps it was not entirely bad.
He had longed desperately for freedom.
Yet perhaps his true dream had not been freedom itself, but living a life that helped others, just as Sister Haynes had.
“Come to think of it, the name was changed.”
Sister Haynes’s funeral had been the reason Kyle decided to leave the military.
The Empire had taken over the orphanage to honor the noble woman, but its name had been changed.
It was renamed after the region and became the XXX National Orphanage.
That meant Haynes Orphanage had disappeared.
“I have decided.”
Kyle had already felt uncomfortable about Sister Haynes’s name vanishing.
Now that he finally had a chance to preserve it, a smile appeared on his lips as he immediately decided upon the orphanage’s name.
「Haynes Orphanage & Rehabilitation Center」
It felt incomplete to include only the orphanage, so he added “Rehabilitation Center” at the end.
Raising children was something he had modeled after Sister Haynes, but the rehabilitation center was entirely the result of his own abilities.
Satisfied with a name that honored Sister Haynes while also leaving behind a trace of himself, Kyle immediately brought over a wooden board and carved the words into it.
“Whew! Good.”
Although his life had taken a completely unexpected direction, his heart felt strangely fulfilled.
Kyle admired the signboard for a long while before taking a hammer and nails and fastening it above the main gate.
Having resurrected Haynes Orphanage, Kyle appeared determined to begin working in earnest.
He gathered the young men who had been diligently reinforcing the unfinished sections and began properly training them.
He had made plans to assign them honest work, but there were no jobs available yet.
For now, he had no choice but to train them.
At the same time, he devised games that would allow the children to run around and play.
Naturally, those games incorporated the Herse military’s standard martial arts.
Everything seemed to be proceeding according to plan, but an unexpected problem arose.
“This is too hard.”
“Am I doing it correctly?”
“Waaah… Teach us something else.”
The games Kyle had taught them were far too difficult for the children.
And managing everyone by himself was far too much work!
It took only a few hours for Kyle to realize that controlling children who ran everywhere was far more exhausting than expected.
For the moment, he ordered the men who had collapsed after failing to endure the training to supervise the children instead.
Kyle then stared blankly at the sky.
“…This is difficult.”
Kyle remembered his own days at the orphanage, when even he had considered himself a troublemaker.
Once again appreciating Sister Haynes’s greatness, he released a quiet sigh.
Still, now that he had begun, he had to do it properly.
Kyle rose once more and trudged over to care for the children.
Several people watched him from a distance.
“An orphanage, all of a sudden….”
An Intelligence Bureau agent, confused by this completely unexpected development, recorded the current situation in a notebook.
「No unusual incidents have occurred thus far.」
The agents dispatched by other organizations made similar reports.
Unlike others who had arrived in Weiden and immediately formed mercenary companies or monster-subjugation parties, Kyle’s actions appeared exceedingly ordinary.
However, those who received the ordinary reports thought differently.
“Master has established an orphanage…. Interesting.”
John Stein, one of the leaders of the rebel forces, smiled broadly and picked up his pen.
「Arrange regular donations of a modest sum to Haynes Orphanage.」
After writing the order, he instructed his subordinate to deliver it immediately to their agent in Weiden.
The subordinate tilted his head, unable to understand the command, but John Stein was certain.
“The Master I know would never raise those children ordinarily.”
While receiving Kyle’s training, one felt as though one had fallen into hell.
However, once enough time passed, one eventually realized that every beating had been an expression of Kyle’s stern affection.
Anyone who endured that period, even half against their will, would inevitably begin growing sooner or later.
Even those who failed to endure until the end still emerged capable of functioning as decent human beings.
Anyone who did not invest in such a place was an idiot.
John Stein was not the only person to reach that conclusion.
“An orphanage established by Master…. Interesting.”
A man who had built an enormous organization in the west smiled and began considering how he might establish a faction in Weiden as well.
If he invested too openly, the sharp-eyed Kyle would discover him.
Therefore, he intended to conceal everything carefully and establish a foothold near Kyle’s orphanage.
The woman currently fighting against the Lofec Empire in the east thought the same way.
“People raised by Master…. We will have to do something if we want first claim on them, will we not?”
“Yes. If news has already reached us, others must have begun moving as well.”
The woman quietly nodded.
Known as the Hero of the East and considered virtually certain to become the next Eastern Commander, she thought about the master she had not seen for many years and began writing something down.
The hero, who dreamed of creating the Empire’s second autonomous territory after the west, secretly began infiltrating her own forces into Weiden.
However, other factions viewed Kyle’s orphanage negatively.
The most representative of them was the Herse Intelligence Bureau.
“What in the world is he planning?”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau looked utterly unable to understand why Kyle had suddenly established an orphanage.
Kyle separating from the subordinates everyone expected him to accompany had already been unexpected.
Then he abruptly announced that he was establishing an orphanage and proceeded to unify the surrounding factions.
As a result, Intelligence Bureau agents now found it difficult to operate in that district.
“What is he planning to do in that place disguised as an orphanage…?”
No matter how he examined it, Kyle’s actions were not normal.
It felt as though Kyle were laying the foundation before creating some new organization.
What would happen if Kyle caused an incident in Weiden?
What if the disciples and subordinates he had raised each became involved?
“Terrifying.”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau furrowed his brow as though the mere thought was horrifying.
His worries deepened.
The Emperor had already given him one final opportunity.
If Kyle did something unexpected again, the Director would truly lose his head.
One might think that even if Kyle caused trouble, it would merely be an incident occurring in Weiden.
However, considering everything Kyle had done until now, the Director could not relax simply because it happened outside the Empire.
The incidents connected to Kyle in the north were now escalating to the scale of a northern civil war.
The disciples and subordinates he had trained in the south had joined the rebels, causing them to grow beyond what the Southern Army could handle.
And what about the Western Autonomous Territory?
One only had to look at everything that had happened recently after Kyle made a single announcement that he intended to leave the military.
“Ha… Please! Can you not just live quietly?”
The Director of the Intelligence Bureau shouted in frustration.
He tore at his hair with a pained expression, then stared at the handful of strands that came loose.
“Ah….”
The Director gazed sadly at his hair.
His once-thick hair had now reached the point where he had to worry about balding.
With tears in his eyes, he ordered the agents to continue monitoring Kyle and released a quiet sigh.