Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: 4. The Most Conscientious Orphan Dealer
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Karen's birthday party was the first birthday celebration ever held at Yujin's orphanage. It wasn't that Yujin ignored the other orphans' birthdays. It was just that most of them didn't even know when theirs were.
Even if they did know, they didn't feel any need to celebrate. There was no reason for orphans—abandoned by their parents and left to scrape by in back alleys or sewers—to mark the day they were born. More than half of them cursed their parents instead.
That was why Karen was unusual among the orphanage kids. She had lived with her mother until her mother died, leaving her alone and turning her into an orphan.
So of course she knew her birthday.
"Happy birthday, Karen."
"Happy birthday, Karen!"
"""Happy birthday!!"""
Yujin had found out about it while chatting with Karen on a walk, and he'd thrown her a birthday party.
Sweet bread and cream loaded with precious sugar, more bountiful and delicious food than usual, decorations all over the orphanage.
And above all, the other kids—friends and fellow orphans—who had every reason to envy or resent the party but instead celebrated Karen's birthday with genuine joy.
Karen was happy. As happy as the modest birthday parties she'd had alone with her mother when she was alive.
Even though after her mother passed, she'd quietly let every birthday slip by, haunted by memories.
'Father.'
Now that she'd found her true father, things were different.
Friends celebrating her birthday, delicious food, and finally, her father.
Today should definitely be the best day ever.
It had to be.
"………."
After the lively birthday party ended.
Karen stepped out into the backyard, leaving the orphanage still buzzing with rowdy kids, her face utterly blank.
Just like before she'd met her father.
"…………."
"Karen?"
Her father followed behind her, his voice laced with worry.
He looked genuinely concerned by her sudden change in mood.
"...Father."
"Karen, is something wrong? You don't look well."
"I..."
She hesitated for a moment. Afraid of what answer she might get.
But she had to say it anyway.
"Do I really have to go?"
"Karen?"
"Do I really have to leave this orphanage... leave your side...?"
"………."
"Just... just..."
She was scared.
Her father, whom she'd finally met. The father who sacrificed for her, who loved her.
She was terrified those words "useless bitch" might come from his mouth.
...Just like they'd come from her "real father."
'If I really hear that...'
Karen felt like she'd give up on everything. This light she'd found after wandering in the dark—she couldn't bear to lose it. She had no strength left to search for light again.
So please.
Please don't let me have disappointed you, Father.
Karen prayed desperately, over and over.
"...Karen."
"F-Father."
Her father—Yujin—
gently pulled her into a hug.
"I understand your worries. It must be scary leaving the orphanage you've grown used to for some unfamiliar place."
"…………."
"Eric's adoptive parents at the Hope Bakery and Milton are people he knew from his part-time jobs, but this is different."
The adopters were nobles. And no city had two noble families.
So naturally, the family adopting her would be far from Lüton, full of strangers she'd have to call parents from now on.
That was true enough. It was part of why she didn't want to go, but...
"But Karen, you can't stay in this orphanage forever."
"I-I'm fine, Father. I—"
"Parents always wish for their child's well-being and growth."
"...Father."
"I shouldn't say this in front of the other kids... but you have a very special talent. One that won't end here in this orphanage—one that will astonish the world."
Yujin often told Karen she had talent, and she'd felt it herself. Even her mentor Hella had been shocked.
But this was the first time Yujin had spoken of her talent like this.
And his face was so earnest that Karen listened quietly.
"When you wanted to learn magic, you asked me if studying it could make you a noble."
"That was..."
"I promised you then. That I'd make sure you became one. This is me keeping that promise... but more than that, it's for your sake."
"For... me?"
"Yes. It's for you, Karen. And it's something absolutely necessary."
For her sake. Absolutely necessary.
His voice brimmed with unwavering sincerity. As if he'd foreseen this moment from the first time he saw her and prepared for it.
Of course it was just her imagination. When she'd first met Yujin, she'd been a rude brat at best, wallowing in her own pain. How could anyone spot such talent in her at first glance?
But if it was Yujin—if it was Father—maybe he could.
So.
"It'll be hard and lonely, Karen. But don't forget."
"………."
"You're one of our orphanage kids. Lean on your orphanage friends whenever you need. This place is your home."
She wanted to speak.
It was true she thought of the orphanage as home. True she hated calling strangers "parents." True she didn't want to leave the familiar. True she hated parting from her friends.
But the biggest reason she didn't want to go—the main reason she wanted to stay—
Was.
'Father.'
I don't want to be apart from you.
She had to say it...
"So don't worry, Karen."
"………."
"This is my birthday gift to you... It'll definitely be good for you."
She could feel his sincerity—Father's, the Director's. She could feel his care for her.
Just like a parent worrying for their child.
Karen.
"...Yes, Father."
Couldn't say a word.
"…………."
Her father held her for a long while longer before heading back inside first. He said it was time to settle down the noisy kids.
Just for today, he'd told her to stay out and enjoy the night air a bit longer. He knew her habit of gazing at the moon at night.
A man who knew her so well.
Didn't he know her heart?
"Fath...er..."
No, I hate it. I don't want to leave. I don't want to be away from you.
This warmth I'd finally gained, this love I'd finally found, and now we've finally met.
Calling strangers parents, parting from you—it's all too much.
I hate it, I hate it so much.
That feeling felt like it would erupt as a "curse"—
"You're pathetic."
"...Laila sis."
Just as Karen crouched down, stifling sobs, a familiar voice scolded her.
The black magic swirling around her began to subside, and the cold-faced ponytail girl approached.
Even as it subsided, the black magic churned like waves ready to swallow her whole—but the girl ignored it completely.
"Crying and whining because you don't want to part? Is that all you've got?"
"...Don't speak so carelessly, Laila sis. Not those words."
"Were you like that when your mother died too?"
"...!!"
Hum.
The black magic—the [Curse]—reacted to Karen's killing intent.
A curse system fueled by the target's killing intent delivered the quietest, cruelest death.
Just like what happened to Happy Orphanage's executives.
Laila hadn't seen it, of course, but from her powerless perspective, the rampaging magic should have been terrifying.
Yet her eyes were ice-cold, as if it was pathetic, as if that was all.
"Don't... don't speak so carelessly...!!"
"Then why are you acting like this?"
"...What?"
"You're just bawling without grasping the Director's true intentions. It makes me feel stupid for envying your power to protect him."
"………."
"That was harsh about your mother. I'm sorry. I said it to snap you out of it."
Step.
Laila approached through the black magic surging to devour her, unflinching, and met Karen's eyes.
"But I'm serious about asking if you're just going to cry like back then."
"...What do you mean?"
Karen calmed a bit at Laila's attitude, suppressing the black magic again as she glared—and Laila pulled a few sheets of paper from her pocket and tossed them at Karen's feet, her face still emotionless.
"This is...?"
"Info on the noble family adopting you. The stuff they're hiding."
"...What?"
"I recently connected with an info broker. Got their help."
Karen hurriedly scanned the papers. They detailed the family Yujin had mentioned—what kind of family they were, what they were hiding.
And if it was all true...
"Why would Father send me to a place like this...?"
Really.
Was Father abandoning her too?
Like that "real father"...
"Don't even think nonsense like that."
"Huh...?"
"Don't fantasize on your own. Trust what you've seen and experienced so far."
"………."
"What kind of person has the Director been to you all this time?"
"...Father is..."
Yujin.
Had been kind even to rude, bratty kids who barely spoke.
Helped them discover their talents with all his effort.
Showered cold-hearted kids with attention and love until they opened up.
And.
'Sacrifices for me...'
The kind of person who'd reach into fire for her.
Her "father."
"You think someone like that would do anything to harm you?"
"Then why...?"
"You'll see from the papers—they're hiding their true nature while pretending to be good on the surface."
"Did Father get fooled by them?"
"Are you crazy? The Director wouldn't fall for that crap."
Perhaps even more than Karen.
Laila glared, radiating unshakeable trust in Yujin.
"...I don't know the details. But one thing's certain: He knows everything and is sending you there. Solely for your sake."
"…………."
──This is my birthday gift to you... It'll definitely be good for you.
For her.
For Karen.
"You'll have to go see for yourself to understand the details. None of us—not you, not me, not anyone—knows the Director's deep thoughts. But there's one thing we do know, right?"
"Father..."
"That he always thinks only of us."
With that, Laila turned and left without looking back—as if her business was done.
Karen called her "sis" and acknowledged her as the orphanage's big sister and temporary staff, but they weren't close. They only avoided fighting because they shared the orphanage; they didn't talk.
So the reason she'd approached Karen first...
"...For Father, probably."
More precisely, to scold Karen for not grasping Father's true intentions.
To keep Father's will from being thwarted by Karen's stupidity.
It was for Father, not her.
'That's why.'
All the more reason she could accept it.
Father was worthy of such respect and reverence. Laila had been jealous of her precisely because she was so devoted to him.
"…………."
For her sake. Necessary for her.
She still didn't know what it was.
"...I have to go."
Karen.
Finally accepted it.
*
"Ka... Karen..."
"Karen! Take care!"
"Don't forget us!!"
"...Yeah, kids."
"Karen..."
"Don't worry too much, Tricksy. It's Father's choice."
"Uh, yeah."
Karen wasn't the type for sweet words, but she was still a fellow orphanage kid and friend. It was natural for them to see her off sadly, especially since unlike Eric going right nearby, she was heading far away.
Tricksy especially—they'd been together since Happy Orphanage—so her regret was huge.
"Karen."
"...Yes, Father."
"Don't forget what I said."
"I never will."
That was that, and business was business. Heck, he'd already been paid. A delivery error here would mean refunds.
Plus, she was a precious 4-Star orphan, key to my orphan network. Couldn't sell her to some bone-chewing family, so I'd vetted Baron Heinkel's info thoroughly and picked the richest with the best reputation.
Unlike Laila, Karen's 4-Star magic talent had buyers lining up to overpay.
'Not heir material, but they could use her as family-exclusive mage.'
With 4-Star talent, she'd shed the "adopted" label in no time. That was the start.
The orphan network—or Yujin Orphanage Cartel—was underway!
A kind of orphan Wi-Fi, Goa-Fi. Once Karen became a noble and a Goa-Fi hub, other orphans under her influence would easily form the network and cartel.
'Whew, feels solid.'
Plus the adoption fee and donations from selling Karen? Nothing like Eric's. Heart so full it was bursting—that's why I threw a sales celebration party.
Yesterday when she suddenly balked at being sold, it reminded me of Laila's self-return fiasco, so I'd gaslit her full-force.
'Looks like she's steady now—no self-return.'
Please become a noble, Karen. Show the power of a 4-Star orphan! Secure my retirement!
Make back what I sold you for! I beg you!
"I'll be back after doing well, Father."
"Stay healthy."
And with that.
4-Star orphan, product name "Karen."
Sold Out!
*
As expected, Karen didn't self-return like Laila. A month after her sale, the orphanage mourned briefly, but since she'd gone to a good place, things returned to normal. It wasn't bad for her anyway.
So I figured I only had Laila to worry about now.
Or so I thought.
"...Um, so."
"Yes, Father."
"They... sent you back?"
"That's what happened, Father."
No fucking way.
This counts as a customer complaint...?