Was it because even the street considered the worst in chaotic Boritz was returning to normal?
Or was it because an orphanage had been established in such an unlikely place?
Whatever the reason, rumors were spreading.
One thing was certain. Perhaps because the orphanage’s appearance had changed the entire atmosphere of the district, the story had even made it into the newspapers.
As a result, the news reached the subordinates Kyle had parted ways with before coming to Boritz Harbor.
“I knew it. There was no chance the Captain would live quietly.”
Coutinho chuckled as he spoke.
One of his subordinates approached him and asked,
“What is it?”
“News about the Captain.”
At those words, every nearby subordinate gathered around Coutinho and turned their attention to the newspaper in his hands.
Then they all began to chuckle.
“An orphanage… It does suit him.”
“He was always talking about Sister Haynes….”
“So much for living freely.”
Each of them made a remark, showing little surprise that Kyle had become an Orphanage Director.
Then one subordinate tilted his head and said,
“But according to this, did he not establish something called a Rehabilitation Center as well?”
“Oh! You are right.”
An amused smile spread across Coutinho’s lips.
If things went well, he might be able to secure promising recruits for his mercenary company before anyone else.
Any mercenary who met his standards demanded an exorbitant price.
Most of them also led mercenary companies of their own or already belonged to another organization.
Even the ones who seemed worth training were hailed as the future leaders of the next generation of mercenaries and acted absurdly expensive.
At that point, it would almost be better to take in complete novices and train them from the beginning.
But what if they had been trained by the Captain?
“They might need to be taught many things at first, but they would certainly be worth developing.”
“Given the Captain’s personality, he would never send us anyone incapable of succeeding.”
“Exactly.”
Coutinho nodded and immediately rose from his seat.
“Why do we not begin by making a sizable donation to the orphanage?”
“Should we not build our reputation first?”
His subordinate wondered whether the children from the orphanage would only want to join them after the Coutinho Mercenary Company had made a name for itself.
Coutinho thought differently.
“Do you think we will be the only ones after the Captain’s disciples?”
“Ah….”
“Parshu and Korn will want them too. Perhaps other bastards will come after them as well.”
Everyone nodded.
The Captain they knew would never fail.
Even men who had reached the absolute bottom of their lives could somehow be rehabilitated and put to work under him.
As long as Kyle had his perpetually bloodstained club, he would surely turn them into capable people.
The Captain they knew could even find ways to make use of those who never managed to awaken Aura by putting them to work in the rear.
“I remember him beating us while saying that if our bodies refused to cooperate, we had better learn to use our heads.”
“If you had not achieved Aura Awakening back then, he probably would have beaten you for another year or two.”
Coutinho laughed in amusement at the trembling subordinate.
They could laugh about it now, but at the time, it had truly felt like hell.
Of course, now that they had reached a respectable level themselves, they understood how extraordinary the favor Kyle had bestowed upon them had been.
“First, let us send a generous donation along with a letter. We should accelerate our schedule as well.”
The others nodded in agreement.
The mercenary world might have appeared free, but it was rotten beneath the surface.
Weyden, in particular, was a neutral nation where organizations from all over the world had established their headquarters, so the competition among them was fierce.
Newcomers were often assigned exceptionally difficult missions.
If they appeared likely to rise too quickly, established groups would interfere with them.
That was precisely what the Coutinho Mercenary Company was currently experiencing.
“From now on, stop worrying about what others think and move as you please.”
Until now, they had restrained themselves in accordance with Kyle’s order to live quietly.
However, the situation had changed.
Their Captain had become famous enough to appear in the newspapers, so they could afford to act more aggressively.
Having removed the shackles they had placed upon themselves, the Coutinho Mercenary Company began moving in earnest.
As though the timing had been arranged in advance, Korn’s group also became busy.
“We need to move faster than Coutinho and Parshu.”
Korn urged his people forward with evident impatience.
“Do we really need to hurry this much…?”
“Can you not see what is happening? The children are still growing, so it has not become serious yet. But once the people trained by the Captain enter the outside world, a full-scale recruitment war will begin.”
Once the children Kyle raised began leaving the orphanage, they would undoubtedly become famous.
Kyle was no longer part of the military, so organizations everywhere would compete to recruit them.
And that was not all.
“It seems he has also dealt with the surrounding criminal organizations… Do you think he will stop there?”
“Hmm….”
One subordinate remembered how Kyle’s fame had spread in the North, eventually bringing soldiers from other units to seek him out.
The same thing might happen in Weyden.
“The Captain must already have his eye on several promising people. We need to be their first choice.”
Given Kyle’s personality, he might refuse to entrust his precious disciples to them unless they had become sufficiently famous.
Therefore, they first needed to establish their reputation.
That was why Korn’s Battle Mage Corps began moving with such urgency.
Coutinho and Korn started completing commissions as though competing with each other, gradually building their reputations.
However, it was Parshu’s group that appeared in the newspapers first.
「Parshu Raid Party Successfully Hunts an A-Rank Drake!」
「Newly Licensed Hunter Achieves Unprecedented High-Rank Monster Raid!」
「From F-Rank to C-Rank in a Single Leap. Experts Say This Is Only the Beginning….」
How long had it been since a novice Hunter had defeated such a high-ranking monster?
Everyone became interested in the newly emerged powerhouse.
The problem was….
「A-Rank Monster Raid Party Donates Every Coin Earned from Drake Hunt to Haynes Orphanage!」
People were astonished by the donation and began wondering exactly where the orphanage was located.
As a result, news of the orphanage that had been spreading quietly within Boritz rapidly began circulating elsewhere.
Had it been an ordinary orphanage, people would simply have noted its existence and moved on.
However, there had been nothing ordinary about Haynes Orphanage from the moment it appeared.
With so many intriguing details surrounding it, there was no chance the reporters would leave it alone.
“They are irritating.”
The once-quiet street had slowly begun changing after most of the criminals who spat everywhere and openly sold drugs had been cleared away.
Now, reporters had appeared and continually wandered around the orphanage.
Even though they knew criminal organizations operated nearby, the reporters paid them bribes to look the other way. As a result, quite a few journalists continued prowling around the orphanage.
However, they were not criminals.
Kyle’s pride would never allow him to harm ordinary civilians.
More importantly….
“Everyone looks so much happier now.”
Less than a month had passed, yet Kyle had already grown attached to the people living in the district.
Women and elderly ladies who had once barely scraped together enough food while being tormented by criminals now smiled because more people had begun visiting the street.
After seeing those expressions, how could he drive the reporters away merely because they were inconvenient?
“Whew!”
In the end, Kyle let out a quiet sigh and decided to tolerate them.
Reflecting upon it, he once again realized that he was surprisingly sentimental.
He then headed toward the courtyard to begin the children’s lesson.
“Magic!”
“No! Today is the day for basic lessons.”
“Boo!”
The children, who had been chanting for magic, looked miserable when they heard that it was time for a basic lesson.
Kyle sighed with an expression even more dejected than theirs.
The children spent most of his lessons struggling not to fall asleep, but surprisingly, their ability to learn the fundamentals was not bad.
That was because Kyle had promised to extend their magic lessons and swordsmanship training if they studied everything he taught them properly.
Their interest in magic was understandable because of the expensive basic magic set he had purchased.
Their swordsmanship lessons, meanwhile, were little more than an opportunity to play with sticks.
It was hardly surprising that the children enjoyed both.
What was remarkable was that they voluntarily studied in order to earn more time for those two lessons.
Sarah, who was not only talented with mana but also remarkably intelligent, had even begun teaching the other children herself.
That effectively meant Kyle’s own lessons had become unnecessary.
The proof came when….
“Everyone! Let us endure for twenty minutes today!”
The children nodded resolutely as Mary spoke with enthusiasm.
They had begun treating Kyle’s lessons, which were practically sleeping medicine, as a form of mental endurance training.
Kyle began the lesson with a crestfallen expression.
Up to this point, he appeared to be the very image of a gentle Orphanage Director.
However, the moment night arrived, that gentle appearance changed completely.
“We should make up for the physical training you performed poorly this morning, should we not?”
Kyle began pushing the men who had returned exhausted from work.
He exercised them as though he intended to drain every last fragment of stamina from their bodies.
To an outside observer, it might have looked like simple torment.
In reality, Kyle began with stretching to loosen their bodies, then ended the day with light exercise and repetitive drills designed to engrave the fundamentals of combat into their muscles.
Of course, to the reporters and ordinary people watching from outside, Kyle merely appeared to be a merciless demon.
As though to prove it, an article about Kyle appeared in the newspaper several days later.
A reporter brought him a copy as a gift, saying that the story had become an enormous success.
Kyle opened it and froze exactly as he stood.
The newspaper contained a shocking headline that left him no choice but to turn into a statue.
「The Orphanage Director’s Two Faces. Is His Smile Reserved Only for Children? To Adults, He Is the Devil Himself!」
“…….”
If this was the sort of fame he was going to receive, he would rather remain unknown.
After all, Kyle threw the newspaper aside and went around the harbor to complete his daily schedule as usual, only to find everyone covering their mouths and laughing whenever they saw him.
“Ha….”
Kyle let out a quiet sigh.
For some reason, he felt as though he was becoming infamous.
The newspaper he had seen was mild compared to the others.
「Orphanage Director Destroys Surrounding Criminal Organizations?」
「The True Ruler of the Eastern District!」
「The Final Boss’s Last Remaining Conscience! The Children!」
How much effort had he put into everything, only for articles filled with such garbage to be published?
Kyle was so furious that he turned toward the blue sea in an attempt to calm himself.
“We know the truth.”
“Of course we do!”
The residents offered him words of comfort and handed him various gifts.
Just as the elderly residents said, the people of the street understood everything Kyle had done.
The changes brought about by his orphanage had revived a nostalgic feeling that had disappeared from the district long ago.
The laughter of children running through the streets.
Young men smiling as they worked diligently.
The men and women watching them with contented smiles.
It appeared to be an ordinary scene.
Yet it was a sight that had vanished long ago, one they had believed would never return.
The elderly residents smiled and offered Kyle whatever they could, grateful to the man who had restored that precious scene.
“Thank you.”
The irritation Kyle had felt only moments earlier faded, and his smile returned.
Was this not the kind of life he had dreamed of during all those years in the military?
He had never wanted anything grand.
Rather than pursuing power or squandering money in some wealthy district, he had wanted to live quietly alongside his neighbors like this.
That had always been Kyle’s dream.
No matter what nonsense outsiders spouted about him, the acknowledgment of his neighbors was enough.
Kyle smiled and nodded.
Of course, unlike the opinions of his neighbors, his reputation among outsiders continued to deteriorate.
Although only a short time had passed, the organizations trained by Kyle had gradually begun expanding into the surrounding districts.
As they expanded, the infamy of the man who trained them continued to rise.
Whether that infamy would end there could only be determined with the passage of time.
One thing was certain.
Whether he liked it or not, Kyle was becoming famous.
Was that not precisely what unwanted fame meant?