The Director's Favorite
The orphanage environment in the romance fantasy novel I'd read in my previous life was always the absolute worst. And this world I'd transmigrated into wasn't much different. If there was one saving grace, it was that I'd gained an incredibly reliable shield in the form of the Orphanage Director.
"Lucian. You need to wipe your mouth, don't you? Here, say ah~."
"……."
The atmosphere inside the orphanage cafeteria had changed quite a bit lately. The only sound coming from the dozens of children eating their thin porridge from worn wooden bowls was the faint slurping of gruel. But in front of me sat a steaming bowl of soup and fresh bread.
The Orphanage Director, who usually wore a stern expression sharp enough to cut, had completely vanished. Instead, she kept smiling warmly as she brought a spoon full of soup to my lips.
"Director. That's not me you're talking to."
Her excessive kindness was starting to annoy me. I turned my head slightly and muttered curtly. Normally, a switch would have come flying with a scolding about "showing disrespect to your elders!" But things were different now. Thanks to the blessing I possessed, she seemed to interpret everything I did in the most positive light.
"Oh my! Look at me. Our Lucian is all grown up now, isn't he? Hohoho. How can someone so young speak like such a proper young man?"
I could practically feel her eyes turning into hearts beside me. Honestly, having a middle-aged woman fawn over me like this was more than a little burdensome. Still, for now at least, I needed to make full use of the favor she was showing me.
Until I can get out of this orphanage.
"Instead of just saying that, let me do it myself."
"Ah, aah! S-sorry!"
"……."
Her completely unexpected behavior—one I'd never seen before—caused the children's gazes to slowly turn our way. I wasn't making eye contact with them, but I could roughly guess what they were thinking. Envy, contempt, jealousy. All sorts of negative emotions humans could feel were probably directed at me. But if I had to pick the strongest one, it would be sheer bewilderment.
And that made sense. After all, I was the same Lucian who had been so thoroughly hated by the director until just recently. For me to suddenly become her favorite? It was no wonder they couldn't adapt.
If I were in their shoes, I'd probably find it ridiculous too.
"Director… um, Lucian is supposed to be on bathroom cleaning duty today…"
"So?"
"Y-yes?"
From within the circle of the director's overwhelming affection that refused to leave me alone, one child spoke up cautiously. Her eyes, which had been filled with warmth, instantly turned ice-cold.
"Use your eyes and look! Can't you see how sick our Lucian looks?"
"B-but…"
"Jerry. Are you the kind of child who forces work on a sick family member? I'm disappointed in you."
"N-no, Director, that's not what I—"
"Enough. You'll take over Lucian's share. No complaints!"
"…Yes."
Case closed. After this same situation had repeated several times, the children had mostly given up. Unless they were truly pushed to their limits, they stayed quiet and resigned themselves to eating the thin porridge in front of them.
"Then, Lucian. Take your time eating and rest afterward. I have some work to attend to, so I'll be going first."
"Yes. Take care."
I gave a half-hearted farewell as she left. Once the Orphanage Director was gone, the previously quiet cafeteria erupted like a crashing wave. To be precise, it was a flood of blatant whispers aimed directly at me.
"Did you see? The director gave Lucian meat soup again."
"It's seriously unfair. I heard Amy had to clean the solitary confinement room yesterday because of Lucian."
The hostile stares bored into me. For kids, those glares were pretty fierce. Even as the stinging looks pierced my skin without mercy, I paid them no mind. I used the last piece of bread to scrape the soup bowl clean and popped it into my mouth.
What could I do? If I were them, starving and forced to watch this kind of unfair treatment, I'd be seeing red too.
…I knew it would end up like this eventually.
I set down the empty wooden bowl and let out a mental sigh. The root cause of this unfairness the children felt wasn't me. It was the Orphanage Director, who was currently wiggling her hips as she left the building. But to these young kids, the director was like an unstoppable natural disaster. In the end, their resentment had no choice but to pour down on the easy target—me.
It's not like I plan to hog everything for myself.
The orphanage was already in terrible shape, and most of the state funding was being siphoned off through the director's back pockets. The food here was practically garbage. Unlike the meat soup I'd eaten, what those poor kids were having could barely be called soup—it was just grain scraps mixed with water.
"……."
If things continued like this, their health would obviously suffer. I'd only dumped the annoying cleaning chores on them because I didn't want to do them myself. But when it came to food, I planned to have a serious talk with the director soon—for the children's sake at least.
Of course, I had no intention of explaining all this to them right now. There was nothing more cruel than giving them false hope before securing any promises. They wouldn't believe me anyway, thinking it was just empty talk, and there was no guarantee of success.
It'll be tough until then, but hang in there.
I deliberately ignored the children's drooling stares, swallowed the last bite of bread, and was about to stand up when—
"Hey. Lucian."
A low, suppressed voice stopped me in my tracks. When I turned my head, Hans was slowly rising from his seat.
"What?"
Hans roughly shoved the old dining table aside as he approached. He was two years older than Lucian and much bigger than most kids his age, so he acted as the boss of the orphanage.
Hoo. Look at this guy.
The surrounding children's breathing went dead silent. Two of Hans's lackeys followed behind him, spitting on the floor as they surrounded me.
"Don't you think you've been going too far lately?"
The Orphanage Director had already left the cafeteria, so Hans reached out as if to grab me by the collar. But I had zero intention of letting him get his hands on me. I swatted away his rough grip—too strong for a kid—with my own hand.
Thud!
"…You?"
"Ah, sorry. I just don't really like being touched by a guy's hand."
I tilted my head at an angle that clearly showed my attitude and looked up at him. Or rather, looked down on him would be more accurate. Taken aback by my unexpected reaction, Hans's brows furrowed.
"Because of you, Jerry ended up having to clean the bathrooms. If you had any conscience, you'd at least do your own—"
"Hans."
I cut him off and took a step closer. There was no need to listen to whatever he was about to say. I already knew that his complaint wasn't really about bathroom duty.
"Since when did you become such a philanthropist, worrying about Jerry like that?"
"W-what? Philan… what?"
The way he stumbled over the difficult word made him look like a kid his age, which was kind of cute. I brought my lips close to his ear.
"Listen."
The cafeteria grew so quiet you could hear the children swallowing nervously.
"If you feel so bad for Jerry cleaning the bathrooms, then do it for him. Or go complain to the director yourself."
"…Y-you bastard!"
"Whoa there."
I took a few steps back from the guy who looked ready to throw a punch and flashed him a refreshing smile. I probably shouldn't tease kids this much, but there was something satisfying about it. It was kind of fun.
"Don't get the wrong person to resent. If you don't like how she's only spoiling me, go tell her directly."
Grind.
"Ugh… that's—!"
"You can't, right? Because you're scared."
Pat, pat!
I lightly patted Hans's shoulder as he ground his teeth in rage and gave him an understanding smile.
"That's why you're taking it out on me. Because I'm an easy target."
"You little—!"
"Big Bro Hans! Just beat him up already!"
"Y-yeah! You're older than him, Bro!"
Hans's face flushed red and then purple. His little gang surrounding us started radiating violent energy and chiming in.
Hmm.
It's still too early to fight.
Objectively speaking, my current body's condition was the worst. On the outside I might look like a perfectly fine pretty boy, but in reality I was a twelve-year-old kid who'd been eating scraps and getting abused alongside these guys until recently. There was no way I'd gotten proper nutrition like a normal child. On the other hand, Hans was a head taller than me and had built up some muscle from doing all the dirty work around the orphanage.
In a one-on-one fight, I might have a chance. But—
Glance.
"W-what are you looking at?"
"We won't let you off easy, Lucian!"
"……."
There was no guarantee those sly little brats wouldn't all jump me at once. If it came to a brawl here, I'd lose one hundred times out of a hundred.
But.
Honestly, I don't want to lose.
They say even a lion puts in full effort when catching a rabbit. I was the same way. Even if it was just a kids' fight, a fight was a fight. I had no interest in backing down when I didn't need to.
Besides, winning doesn't always mean overpowering them with strength.
I had a much better option right now.
"Hans. If you want to throw a punch, go ahead."
I took another step toward the guys who looked ready to charge and casually put my hands behind my back. In fact, I even lifted my chin to make it easier for him to hit me. By the time his eyes started looking at me like I was crazy—
"But the moment that fist touches my face, you'll be kicked out of the orphanage by the end of today."
"What…?"
"Did you forget? You know exactly how much the director dotes on me right now."
"……."
"If I get hurt… do you think the director will scold me? Or will she throw you out of here?"
Hans's pupils shook violently. I could practically hear the calculator ticking in his head. The old Lucian would have gotten angry and thrown a punch back, but the current me had the massive backing of the Orphanage Director behind me. There was no need to stupidly resort to fists.
"Y-you cowardly bastard…!"
Cowardly? No. This was just efficient. When you had an absolute powerhouse in the orphanage watching your back, not using it would be the real stupidity. I'd get cursed out for now, but it couldn't be helped. I simply didn't want to fight a battle I was guaranteed to lose.
"It's not cowardly, it's smart. If you're jealous, Hans, try being born with a face like this next time."
I lightly shoved his shoulder and leisurely walked out of their encirclement. Behind me, his lackeys seemed to be egging him on with shouts like "Bro! Just hit him already!" but—
"Good call holding back."
In the end, Hans couldn't throw his fist at me. When your right to survive was on the line, playing the boss was a luxury he couldn't afford.