The Herse Intelligence Bureau and the city’s major organizations were not the only ones keeping an eye on Haynes Orphanage.
Other parties were also watching Kyle as he gradually transformed the old district. Among them was one organization that found his activities particularly troublesome.
“What is that bastard doing? He said he was going to live quietly.”
“…My apologies.”
A middle-aged man let out a deep sigh as his subordinate lowered his head.
The two men knew that Kyle’s true name was Kyle Ripley, not the alias Carl Little. Since he had bad blood with the Herse Intelligence Bureau, they had been willing to overlook his arrival in the Neutral Nation.
But things are different now.
“The Herse Intelligence Bureau contacted him. If they were truly on bad terms, shouldn’t he have refused them?”
“…….”
The middle-aged man sighed at his subordinate’s silence and placed a cigarette between his lips.
“He is still in contact with his subordinates. What happens if the Herse Intelligence Bureau is added to that?”
“Even so, a force of that size would have difficulty causing a major incident in the city….”
“Of course they would. But look at what that bastard Kyle has accomplished on his own.”
It might have been the result of a series of coincidences, but Kyle was changing the atmosphere of the old district, which had once been on the verge of total collapse.
For now, the changes were limited to the area surrounding the orphanage and a small section of the port.
But what if they spread farther?
Would they still be able to dismiss it as something confined to a small part of the old district?
“This city cannot be treated as an ordinary city. The moment our superiors hear that there is a problem here, you and I are dead without question. And if something happens in the old district, death will be the least of our worries!”
“…But we cannot make a move ourselves right now.”
The middle-aged man threw the cigarette from his mouth onto the ground and sighed, as though that was precisely the problem.
They could not eliminate Kyle immediately.
If Herse began showing even greater interest in the city, it would cause a problem far more serious than anything Kyle himself might do.
“I know. That is why we will have the people from this city make the move.”
“Would that not still be dangerous?”
“We are only testing the waters.”
Now that agents from the Herse Intelligence Bureau had begun watching the city, they would have to act through several layers of intermediaries.
It would be extremely troublesome.
Even so, it had to be done.
They needed to cut the sprout before it could grow.
“Begin by quietly turning public opinion against him. Make sure Herse does not find anything suspicious.”
“Yes, sir.”
After finishing their conversation in the dark alley, the two men immediately disappeared in opposite directions.
Not long after the operation began, malicious articles started pouring out.
They all came from newspapers of dubious origin that accepted dirty money in exchange for publishing stories.
However, the newspapers were scattered throughout the streets at such low prices that it was nearly impossible for people not to see them.
「The Old District Remains as Bleak as Ever!」
「Only a Tiny Area Has Changed. The Rumors Were Exaggerated!」
「A Criminal Is Still a Criminal. Rumors Glorifying Them Must Be Eradicated!」
「An Orphanage That Raises Children Alongside Criminals? Could It Be Training the Next Generation of Criminals?」
The articles openly attacked Haynes Orphanage.
Some newspapers deliberately published images of the orphanage’s dilapidated building to mock it.
That was not all.
They even dug up every atrocity committed by the criminal organizations that had once occupied the street and turned them into articles.
Contrary to the newspapers’ claims, however, the people who actually visited the old district encountered an unmistakably different atmosphere.
“This is completely different from what the articles said.”
“You are right. I can tell that it has become much safer just by walking around for a few minutes.”
The merchants who had come to purchase fish at prices lower than those in the new district looked around in amazement, clearly sensing how much safer the area had become.
If this part of the old district had changed so drastically, they could only wonder how much the street containing Haynes Orphanage had changed.
“Since we have come this far, should we stop by?”
“Why not?”
They could always turn back immediately if the area seemed dangerous, so the merchants cautiously left the port and ventured farther inland.
There, they found that the streets were even more peaceful than the rumors had suggested.
“Ahahaha!”
The sound of children laughing came from the distance.
The merchants instinctively turned their heads.
They saw a group of children gathered on a street near the orphanage, playing with sticks in their hands.
“…It was true.”
“It is even more impressive than the rumors.”
At the very least, there was not a single criminal to be found anywhere near the orphanage.
The mere fact that children could play outside so freely was practically proof that the area was safe.
Beyond the orphanage’s small fence, they could even see children learning something.
Most of them were dozing off, but what did that matter?
The important thing was that they were receiving an education.
How many people in the city had received even a basic education from an early age?
Aside from the wealthy, the merchants were certain that the answer was almost no one.
Even they, despite earning a respectable income, could do little more than occasionally hire a private tutor for their children.
The merchants gazed at the orphanage enviously.
“Do you think our children could receive lessons here as well?”
“I was wondering the same thing.”
They were not asking for the lessons to be free.
They would gladly pay a modest, affordable sum if their children could join the lessons being provided to the orphans.
Even now, they could see several children playing with expensive Magic Tools.
What if one of those children experienced Mana Awakening while using them?
From that moment onward, the child would begin life from a completely different starting point than an ordinary person.
“Maybe they will expand the program later.”
“I hope they do.”
They had all been lured to the city by the word freedom, but life here was no different from anywhere else.
Money had merely replaced social status as the method of determining one’s place in the world.
Their lives were still difficult.
Unless someone belonged to a Major Trading Company, Boritz Harbor was a hellish city where everyone struggled to survive.
That was why….
“I hope he changes the other districts the way he changed this one.”
The other merchants nodded at the man’s sincere words.
They thought that someone like Kyle would at least be better than the greedy pigs who ruled the new district.
Of course, that was nothing more than a hope.
Having lived in the city for more than a decade, they knew better than anyone just how firmly the new district’s ruling class had entrenched its power.
The merchants returned to the new district with a hint of envy in their hearts.
But true to their profession, their loose tongues began wagging the moment they arrived.
“Everything in those articles was a lie. The rumors were true.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course I am. I saw it with my own eyes. Children were playing in the streets. Once you see that, what more proof do you need?”
“You are right!”
People began murmuring among themselves after hearing the testimony of a merchant who had witnessed it personally.
The rumors spread once more based on what they had heard, and some people traveled to the old district themselves to confirm the changes.
They were astonished when they saw how much the criminals had changed under Kyle’s instruction.
Naturally, this also made them interested in the children he taught.
Early education.
If children could receive from an early age the same instruction that was capable of rehabilitating even criminals, how wonderful would that be?
Such expectations gradually began to rise.
People who felt a sense of kinship with the ordinary children being educated there tried to help the orphanage, even if only slightly, by correcting the false information.
However, the organizations that had accepted dirty money responded by publishing even more vicious articles and further distorting information about Haynes Orphanage.
In the end, the matter turned into a battle over the truth.
Haynes Orphanage became such a major issue that even those who had previously known nothing about it began hearing its name.
“Have you ever even visited the orphanage?”
“It is all an act they put on for visitors.”
“Ha! How frustrating. Are you saying that everyone on that street is conspiring to deceive the entire city?”
Arguments erupted throughout the city between those who had personally witnessed the changes and those who treated secondhand rumors as though they were proof that the orphanage was a den of evil.
For those who had only intended to test the waters because they feared causing a serious problem, this was the worst possible outcome.
Haynes Orphanage had become the city’s hottest controversy.
However, Kyle, the Orphanage Director, had no time to pay attention to any of it.
He was already overwhelmed by the problem directly in front of him.
“Phew… This is difficult.”
The only theoretical lesson during which the children did not fall asleep was the magic lesson.
Even then, that was only because Kyle used Magic Tools during the class. Had he taught nothing but pure theory, they would all have fallen asleep.
For the same reason, he had been conducting every Combat Arts lesson in the form of a game.
That had convinced him that he needed to use some kind of equipment during every theoretical lesson.
Of course… that did nothing to improve Kyle’s hopeless teaching ability.
His futile efforts continued for several days.
He used tools and explained everything as simply as possible, yet most of the children could not remain awake for even five minutes.
“Sigh….”
Kyle sighed again as he watched the children’s heads droop, making all the effort he had put into preparing throughout the night feel utterly meaningless.
Even Sarah, whom he had trusted to endure the lesson, barely lasted twenty minutes before her head fell forward.
At that point, Kyle had no choice but to admit it.
He had absolutely no talent for teaching academic subjects.
He had assumed there would be no problem because he had experience training soldiers in the north.
However, that had merely been the power of his cudgel.
With the cudgel sealed away, Kyle’s teaching ability was worse than that of an ordinary person.
“…Should I look for a teacher?”
After thinking for a long time, Kyle finally rose from his seat, admitting that he could not handle everything alone.
He looked despondently at the children playing outside, then entered the Orphanage Director’s Office and immediately wrote a notice.
「Notice: A Teacher Is Needed to Educate the Children!」
Thanks to the substantial donations he had received, he could easily afford to hire a teacher.
His pride was wounded by the fact that he needed to hire someone because he could not teach the children himself, but what other choice did he have?
Kyle sighed repeatedly as he prepared to attach the notice beside the entrance.
At that moment, he spotted a young man diligently sweeping outside.
“You are going to collapse if you keep that up. Take it easy.”
The young man had worked so hard that his arms were visibly trembling.
“This much is fine.”
“It is not fine with me. You have little stamina, yet you are trying to keep up with everyone else. You are going to hurt yourself.”
Kyle forcibly took the broom from him as he spoke.
He did not know what had happened to the young man, but the man had been one of those living on the streets like a broken wreck.
There were few people in the old district who did not have a story, but something about this man had seemed different.
‘It felt as though even his spirit had been broken.’
Unlike those who had fallen into ruin because of drugs or their own actions, this man seemed to have been broken by someone or something beyond his control.
As if to prove it, he was physically weaker than the former criminals and the others who had lived on the streets.
That was why Kyle had taken him and the other broken men into the Rehabilitation Center when he accepted the criminals from the surrounding streets.
“Do not overwork yourself. Take it easy. I am not going to let you starve just because you work less.”
The young man could not possibly perform harsh physical labor when his stamina was so much lower than everyone else’s.
Kyle intended to have him clean the streets until he regained a reasonable level of strength.
With his broom taken away, the young man stood there blankly, seemingly unsure of what to do.
Then he noticed the notice Kyle was about to put up.
“This….”
“Why? Are you interested?”
Kyle asked the question as a joke.
The man stared at the children who had come outside to play and then opened his mouth.
“May I do it?”
Kyle stared at him in bewilderment.
“You are seriously volunteering?”
“Yes.”
Kyle frowned at the man’s emotionless answer.
“Teaching children is not something just anyone can do.”
“I know.”
The man nodded as though he understood that perfectly.
“Take a break and go back to cleaning later.”
“I have taught children before.”
Kyle looked at him suspiciously.
“Seriously?”
“I graduated from the Southern Academy. I also worked as a Part-Time Lecturer and tutored children from several families.”
Kyle’s eyes widened as the man described his teaching experience.
And that was not the end of it.
“I was also an Assistant Professor at the academy in this city.”
“Then why were you living like a beggar?”
Kyle’s eyes demanded to know whether the man truly expected him to believe such a ridiculous lie.
In response, the man gave him a bitter smile.
The instant Kyle saw that smile, his expression became serious.
Seeing Kyle’s expression, the man quietly closed his eyes.
Kyle was about to ask what he was doing when his own eyes suddenly widened.
“You….”
Mana rippled through the air around the man.
Kyle stared at him in astonishment.
He could not sense any Mana radiating from the man’s body.
That meant the man was controlling the surrounding Mana purely through his senses.
Someone who had reached a sufficiently exalted realm could control the Mana around them.
However, that was not what the man before him was doing.
Despite the complete absence of detectable Mana within his body, he was still capable of such a feat.
‘It is not that he has no Mana.’
In that case, there was only one possible answer.
“Mana Sclerosis?”
The man’s expression turned bitter.
Mana Sclerosis was widely regarded as an incurable disease.
The Mana within the victim’s body gradually hardened until even someone who had reached an extraordinary realm was reduced to an ordinary person.
Even the cause of the disease had never been properly identified.
It could occur when a severe internal injury caused a mutation in a person’s Aura or Magic Power.
It could be caused when the unique Mana properties of a monster mutated the Mana within someone’s body.
It could even be congenital.
There were many possible causes.
As a result, no proper treatment had ever been discovered.
Since no cure existed, the man must have been left untreated, and it had probably been quite some time since all the Mana within his body had hardened.
Despite that, he could still stimulate the external Mana through his senses alone.
Kyle could only imagine how talented the man must once have been.
“For now… come inside.”
The man smiled and nodded at Kyle’s words before following him into the Orphanage Director’s Office.