“Hmm… so this is an Annwood Academy recommendation letter.”
“Too bad. If we were old enough, we’d be the ones getting it.”
“I-it looks expensive!”
The kids huddled together, crowding around to stare at Dolores’s recommendation letter.
The Trash Sprout Defense Squad’s second-in-command, Whale, whispered to Adel.
“Boss, how about recruiting Dolores too? If we’ve got an Annwood Academy student among our members, nobody will be able to look down on us.”
“W-well, that’s true, but…”
Adel stole a quick glance at Dolores.
He was probably worried she might take his position as leader.
Not only was she older, Whale and Acela also trusted her and followed her well.
And now she’s even set to enter Annwood Academy? Of course his leader’s spot would be under threat.
“She’s got a ton to prepare before next year’s entrance exam. We’re enough to protect the village on our own.”
“Yeah, that’s true. It’s a shame, but I guess we can’t help it.”
Just as he successfully (?) drove Dolores off, Acela muttered softly.
“I-I still wish sis could play with us though…”
Maybe his conscience pricked him, or maybe Acela’s gloomy expression was getting to him.
Adel’s body trembled, then he suddenly shouted.
“Tch! If that’s how you all feel, then I’ve got no choice. We’ll accept her as a special member! She should be grateful!”
“Oooh! That’s our leader! I knew we could count on you!”
“T-then I’m the senior!?”
“Hey, guys? I never said I’d join, you know?”
“Do we have any snacks left?”
“We can get some from Grandma Peggy’s place.”
“L-let’s make a certificate too! An even cooler one than this!”
Dolores tried to cut in, but it didn’t matter. The kids were too busy planning their celebration party.
Watching them, Dolores let out a small laugh.
“Honestly… Well, I guess I can hang out with them a bit. That’s fine with you, right?”
Kids who receive a recommendation letter get a special support stipend.
For commoners and peasants, it’s hard enough just to survive today and tomorrow, let alone think about the future.
“Do as you wish. But you’ll need to prepare diligently. The entrance exam isn’t easy enough that a recommendation alone will get you through.”
“Don’t worry. I’m definitely going to pass.”
Dolores’s eyes sparkled brightly.
Now that she had both time and resources, she would begin preparing in earnest.
Preparing for her own dream.
“Congratulations. Next year, you’ll be enrolling as our junior, huh?”
“Yes! Please take good care of me, seniors!”
“S-senior, she says…”
“S-senior! T-that title’s way too much for me…!”
Luna and Rezé squirmed in embarrassment.
Melting just because someone called them “senior.” They really were something else.
While the two of them were busy congratulating Dolores, Caron quietly slipped over to my side.
“I intend to gather talented children here.”
“Keke, an Annwood orphanage, is it? Quite the interesting project.”
The idea was good, but I didn’t think it would go smoothly.
When their way of life changes, their thoughts and attitudes change with it.
At first they’ll work hard, but their passion will cool over time.
‘Because humans are fickle creatures.’
Unconditional support has a high chance of ruining people.
What puzzled me was that Caron wasn’t nearly stupid enough not to know this.
Maybe he’d picked up on what I was thinking, because Caron spoke again.
“I plan to do it properly. I’ll bring in good teachers to give them basic education and teach them the importance of effort.”
“To be honest, I don’t understand. There’s no real reason for Annwood Academy to take on that role.”
“I just… suddenly had the thought.”
Maybe the words were hard for him to say, because Caron paused for a moment before continuing.
“I thought it’d be nice if kids who grew up alone like you had somewhere they could lean on.”
Caron scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed.
Only then did I start to understand the situation a little.
‘So this was because of me?’
The backstory of the character I’m playing right now is about as tragic as it gets.
Slit eyes, orphan, Demon’s curse, bullying, ostracized, a kid acting like an adult, and so on.
For that cold, rational Caron to feel sorry for me…
It was a disaster born from a very deep misunderstanding.
“People like us increasing in number is something you wouldn’t like either, right?”
Caron was also a character who’d lived an unfortunate life. No, he still was living that kind of life.
A life where he thought of the Emperor and the Empire before himself.
‘And now he’s trying to look after kids who pretend to be adults too… What an idiot.’
Well, while it annoyed me that this touching new hidden piece was nothing but warm fuzzy story, I had no real complaints.
It wasn’t my money on the line anyway.
If even orphans gained a place to rely on, if their lives changed, if they had somewhere they could call home…
“…It might not be a bad thing.”
“I knew you’d think so.”
Caron smiled faintly. It was a kind of smile I’d never seen from him before.
“And who knows.”
Maybe a real ‘hero’ would be born here.
“It’s about time. You lot go on ahead.”
“You’re not coming with us, sir?”
“I need to escort the prisoners.”
“Keke, couldn’t you leave that to the other instructors?”
In the game, the instructors escorted the knights, and Caron accompanied the students back to the Academy.
Caron gave me a look that said, ‘What’s this kid playing at?’
“Why do you think that?”
“Because the most important duty of a teacher is to protect their students. Even if they’re piled up like cargo, they’re still pretty valuable.”
From noble brats to bureaucrats’ kids and heirs to big merchants.
With students from every walk of life, it made sense for Caron to be their escort.
‘This is probably a hidden piece too.’
Right now I needed to figure out two things.
Why Caron ended up in charge of escorting the knights, and how it would change the story I knew.
To solve that, information was essential.
“Keke, I wonder why that is? Hm? What could be the reason a top-class asset wound up escorting a bunch of prisoners?”
I stared steadily at Caron, pressing him.
Smack!
Caron’s answer came back in the form of a sharp flick to my forehead.
“You really do have great insight. I’m honestly impressed.”
“Keke, your words don’t match your actions… Or am I just imagining it?”
“Of course you are.”
Caron’s fist rapped my head again.
I see. That’s just my imagination too?
“Keke, maybe I’m prone to misunderstandings.”
I balled my fist tightly and thrust it toward Caron.
Naturally, that fist never landed. Caron had already stepped lightly out of reach.
“I’ll tell you later. All I can say now is that there’s something I need to finish. That’s it.”
Caron left with a faint smile.
All that remained was the throbbing pain in my skull.
“S-serves you right.”
“…”
“Eek, eeeeek!”
I had both my hands on Rezé’s head, lifting her up by her skull, when Dolores approached.
“Sorry, but can I go ahead first? I want to tell my mom…”
She wanted to share the happy news as soon as possible.
Feeling that, we gladly let Dolores go.
‘Since it’s a hidden piece, it’s practically guaranteed she’ll enroll next year.’
The sub-quest reward had said, ‘Future Companion.’ Maybe Dolores was who that phrase had been referring to.
“…What are you looking at?”
“Do you guys want to join the Trash Sprout Defense Squad too?”
“T-there’s even an Annwood Academy student-to-be in it!”
Yeah, there was no way those little kids would be my future companions.
Our work here was done.
Time to wrap up this long storyline and head back.
“Sir Pjol left a message for you.”
“From Uncle Pjol?”
A white lie: that Pjol and the other knights of Trash had set off on a journey to save the world.
When I explained that, the kids’ faces fell.
“I see. They’re… leaving.”
“Leaving without even saying goodbye… That’s mean.”
“Don’t be sad! It’s to save the world! Even if we’re sad, there’s nothing we can do!”
“Uuu… I already miss him.”
Even though the knights were gone, the village’s safety wasn’t a concern.
An instructor would be stationed here for a while, and soon the Academy would send over someone they’d hired.
Honestly, the village had been way too overstaffed for its size anyway.
With that, the sub-quest conditions were fulfilled. All that was left was to return to the Academy.
We turned to head toward the carriages.
“Wait a second!”
Adel suddenly called out, stopping us.
“I heard everything. You fought a Demon and won, right? And got hurt too.”
“Well, yeah. The places I got hurt are still stinging a bit.”
“…Didn’t you come out of that without a single scratch?”
That was true. I hadn’t been hit, so of course I didn’t have any injuries.
For reference, Luna had taken small cuts on her hand and thigh during the battle, while Rezé had tripped while running, tumbled across the ground, and ended up covered in bruises.
“The pain of my comrades is my pain too, isn’t it.”
“You always talk a good game.”
While we were bickering, Adel kept shouting.
“A sacrifice in place of your comrades, the courage to press forward, and, uh, also…”
“Boss! Filial piety!”
“Right! That too. But… what is filial piety?”
“I dunno! But it sounds like a good thing!”
Adel rattled off a stream of nice-sounding phrases.
Caron giving Dolores a certificate must’ve left a deep impression on him.
“Because you showed such heroic behavior… I, Adel, hereby appoint the three of you as Honorary Members of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad!”
[You have acquired the Title, ‘Honorary Member of the Trash Sprout Defense Squad’.]
A title I’d never seen before.
I quickly opened my status window to check the effect.
All my stats had gone up by 5. It was a surprisingly sweet title.
Not only me, but Luna and Rezé had all received it.
Completely unexpected, but an excellent reward.
“I didn’t have time to make a certificate. Sorry…”
“Then you’ll have to give us some perks, Boss.”
“U-ugh! When I become a hero, I’ll put your names in my autobiography! That should do it, right?!”
As I watched Luna teasing Adel, something I’d forgotten popped into my head.
“Keke, I can’t just take without giving. Let me teach you something good.”
“Something good?”
“A training method.”
[Fleur Family Style], the training method that increases your stats whenever you practice it.
I didn’t think it would help these kids much. Even so, the reason I decided to teach it was simple.
“Make sure you teach it to Dolores too.”
It was for Dolores, who I suspected might be a future companion.
“So this is the kind of training they do at Annwood Academy…”
“As expected of Annwood Academy! I feel stronger than I was a moment ago!”
“I-I’m faster!”
Unfortunately, their stats didn’t go up at all. Their form was nowhere near correct.
Well, if they stuck with it, they’d at least get healthier. It was still exercise.
“Shall we get going then?”
“Yeah, that was a long trip. We weren’t here that many days, but doesn’t it feel like we stayed forever?”
“I-I just want to rest noooow…”
Leaving the kids behind, we walked out of the alley.
As we walked a bit briskly, Luna murmured.
“Do you think today will stay as a memory?”
“Huh?”
“For the kids. I hope it stays as a happy memory, not a painful one.”
“Neither, probably. It won’t remain as a painful memory, or a happy one. Memories fade easily… and they’re still just little kids.”
That’s right. Their memories of us would soon fade.
Just like the hero of Trash Village from the fairy tale, who was forgotten by the villagers.
Even so, if a little bit of the memory did remain—
“It’ll be a good memory. Because someone as handsome as me was there.”
“You really do have a scary face. They’ll probably make a fairy tale about the Demon of Trash Village.”
“I-it’ll last a hundred years at least…”
I grabbed the idiot hair on top of Rezé’s head and shook it.
Just then, we heard Adel shouting from somewhere behind us.
“I’ll never forget! This time, I’ll never forget the hero’s name!”
[Sub Quest #1, ‘The Journey of Trash Village’s Knights’, has been completed.]
[You have acquired the Title, ‘Hero of Trash Village’.]
And with that, we left Trash Village behind.
Principal Dwener’s temporary office set up in Baron Kelven’s mansion.
Dwener sat in a rocking chair, staring out the window at the steady rain falling outside.
“…”
Most of the students and instructors had already left Trash Village.
But Dwener remained. There was still something he had to finish.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of a knock, Dwener opened his eyes and saw him.
Caron, standing just inside the door.
“Try making some noise when you walk, will you.”
“I knocked.”
“…Is it still knocking if you come in first and knock after?”
“True enough. My apologies.”
A polite apology, even bowing his head slightly.
His unusually serious attitude made Dwener feel a bit embarrassed about his grumbling.
Then Caron suddenly opened the door and stepped back outside.
And then—
Knock, knock.
“…”
Dwener had one thought.
He wished the man would just disappear.
–TL Notes–
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Damn connecting hidden pieces popping up like mushroom…
The Trash knights white lie actually becoming real since they will be part of evil slayimg army now!