Knock.
Knock.
The knocking continued.
Ren finally tore his gaze away from the butterfly and climbed out of bed.
“Coming,” he said while reaching out to open the door.
Just as he turned the knob to open it—
“Wash up and be at the exit within 10 minutes.”
“…Don’t bother with breakfast.
You’re late,” Kai added.
With that, footsteps were heard walking away from the door.
Ren froze…
Then he exhaled slowly.
And headed towards the bathroom.
10 minutes later.
Ren was standing at the entrance.
Behind him stood the orphanage children—more precisely, Celesia.
She offered a sandwich to him.
Aunt Miranda was supporting the Director at the exit.
“You sure, Director?
You don’t want to inform the other children?” Aunt Miranda asked.
“If they knew, the departure would only become harder,” the Director said.
“Makes sense,” Celesia said.
Ren glanced at the empty exit.
“So…
kai wasn’t exaggerating when he said that I was the role model of every student.”
Screech—
Slowly, a cart pulled up in front of the orphanage. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Its wheels stopped with a creak.
Kai stepped towards the cart.
“Boss, you sure…
it’s safe?”
The cart owner stared at Kai.
“I have been delivering supplies between the orphanage and the town since you were a kid.
What do you think?”
“Just…
asking.”
“It delivers supplies, which probably means that it carries more weight than us,” Ren said while taking a bite from his sandwich.
“Hey…
how did you even get that?” Kai questioned, pointing at the sandwich in Ren’s hand.
“Celesia brought it.”
“…Yeah, I did.
Any problem with that?” the little girl said while holding the corner of Ren’s pants.
“It’s my departure, kid.
At least give me some face.”
“Ha…
do you even deserve it?”
Kai stepped towards Ren.
Well, Ren was just a cover.
The target was the kid clutching Ren’s pants.
“…Enough,” the Director said.
Kai stopped in his tracks.
He slowly stepped back.
After finishing his sandwich, Ren crouched down and patted her head while, with his other hand, he placed a few coins into her pocket.
“Buy something for yourself.”
….. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
…..
…..
“Big brother.”
“Hm.”
Ren’s eyes landed on her fingers.
Celesia fidgeted for a while before taking a small box out of her pocket and handing it to Ren.
“Celesia…
will miss you.”
Ren gave an instinctive smile as he took the box from her hand.
His gaze lingered on her face.
For a brief moment, no one spoke.
Beside them, Aunt Miranda couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
The moment could have lasted a bit longer.
But—
“Are we going or not?”
Kai interrupted it.
“…Fine.”
Ren and Kai both walked towards the Director and bowed.
“…Thanks fo—”
“Don’t bother.
Be safe.”
“Yes.”
Both answered in unison and stepped towards the cart.
After they climbed aboard, the wheels started moving.
Soon, the orphanage and the children blurred into the distance.
The journey started.