The Trumpet Gentleman
Sebas entered my room and handed me several documents.
“Sebas, have you found the place I mentioned?”
I received the documents and flipped through them one by one.
The place I asked him to look for was an orphanage. More precisely, the two children who lived there.
I didn’t remember the name of the orphanage. It wasn’t a place that mattered much in the original story anyway.
But I knew the names of the two kids, and with their ages and origins, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find.
“The names and ages you mentioned all match.”
While scanning the list of children in the documents, I spotted two familiar names.
“Here it is.”
After coming here, I had been too busy surviving at first.
My swordsmanship proficiency was low and I hadn’t touched magic at all, so I needed to at least keep my body alive.
‘Status Window.’
Name: Rian Marque
Job: Third-Rate Noble
Unique Traits: Third-Rate (Lv.3), King of Sapha (Lv.1)
Several months had passed since then, and compared to the first time I was reincarnated, I had changed quite a bit.
The job alone had shifted from third-rate troublemaker to third-rate noble, and the Third-Rate trait had reached level 3.
[Effect of Third-Rate: Reach third-rate proficiency in various fields at an accelerated speed.]
The “a bit faster” from level 2 had simply become “faster.” The difference was noticeable.
『Skills Owned』
Survival Instinct (C)
Eye That Sees the Hidden (B)
Third-Rate Swordsmanship (C)
Mana Control (C)
Third-Rate Magic (C)
Beast Hunting (C)
Etiquette (C)
Horse Riding (C)
……
Reaching proficiency 100 didn’t guarantee a skill, but the effort of messing around with things for several months had paid off.
At this level, I wouldn’t die on the street.
Lucia had also started learning swordsmanship and magic with me, showing a talent far beyond mine and growing terrifyingly fast.
So now I finally had time to worry about other things.
“How is the situation there?”
I looked at Sebas and asked.
“It’s hard to call it good. Most of the operating costs depend on grants and donations.”
“How bad is it?”
“There seem to be kids who skip meals.”
……
The protagonist was starving?
……What the hell?
……If I let this happen, I’ll collapse from anemia later while fighting, so who am I supposed to blame for starving the kids?
The hero has died from long-term malnutrition.
The Demon God has destroyed the world.
……What the hell do I even say?
“Send 10 million Vera every month to that place.”
“…….”
Sebas looked at me.
“Your monthly allowance is 10 million Vera, Master.”
“I know.”
-Puaaa~ Pubabapabam~!
“…….”
“…….”
Wind Instrument Performance Proficiency
“……So you’re going to spend the entire allowance?”
“Yeah.”
“Every month?”
“Every month.”
Sebas stayed silent for a moment. Although his expression rarely changed, he seemed to have a lot on his mind.
“Understood. How long should I set the period?”
“For now, three years.”
By then the protagonist would have left the orphanage, so I could figure out the rest later.
That was just how the world worked.
“And don’t reveal my name.”
“I will process it anonymously.”
Sebas nodded calmly.
“Should I send it to each child separately?”
“No.”
That would be suspicious. Suddenly a huge sum of money appearing only for two specific orphans would look weird no matter who saw it.
“Just send it to the entire orphanage.”
“Understood.”
Sebas seemed to have many questions, but he didn’t ask.
Yeah, that was the job of a butler.
Do as instructed. Endure curiosity. Pretend not to notice when the Trumpet Gentleman suddenly blows the trumpet.
‘Perfect.’
“Then I will proceed as you instructed.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
After Sebas took the documents and left, I leaned back in my chair and let out a long sigh.
One of the things I had been putting off was finally done.
“Grow big and strong.”
-Puaaa~ Pubabapabam~!
Again, I blew the trumpet.
These days, whenever I had free time, I touched on various things.
Play an instrument, draw pictures, go down to the kitchen and chop vegetables.
Even without a guarantee of getting a skill, there was nothing to lose.
To be picky, it was just that my identity had become kimchi pizza, tangsuyuk, mint choco, cucumber mara tang, rose carbonara, pineapple budaejjigae.
“……This one I won’t eat even if the dog doesn’t.”
2.
“Rian-nim.”
Elena set down her teacup and looked at me.
“……Yeah.”
“……No.”
Learning magic from Elena had long since ended.
Now we had returned to the ordinary fiancé exchange meeting where we drank tea and chatted like before.
But there was one difference from the past.
-Hug.
I looked down at the arm wrapped around my waist.
“Lucia.”
“Yeah.”
“Get down.”
“Why?”
Why, why?
“There are plenty of seats next to you.”
“I don’t like it.”
Since when had Lucia naturally followed Elena in whenever she came?
At first she had sat quietly beside me, but after spending time together several times, her lap had become the designated seat.
Still, because we faced each other, Elena had grown quite friendly with Lucia as well.
“Lucia.”
Elena spoke instead of me.
“Rian-nim told you to get down.”
“Don’t mind Elena.”
“Why shouldn’t I mind?”
“Because it’s on Oppa’s lap.”
“…….”
Elena’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
“That’s true, but……”
“Then it’s fine.”
Lucia leaned back into my arms and ended the conversation.
Elena watched Lucia quietly.
“Lucia.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you doing it on purpose?”
“Doing what?”
“Always sitting on Rian-nim’s lap every time I come.”
Lucia thought for a moment.
“Yeah.”
“……On purpose?”
Why so bold?
“Why?”
“Because it’s fun.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, your face turns red.”
Hearing that, Elena’s cheeks really did flush a little.
“It didn’t turn red.”
“It’s turning red now.”
“…….”
Elena pressed her lips tightly shut. Lucia stared at her and tilted her head.
“Does Elena want to sit too?”
“Eh?”
-Tap tap.
Lucia patted my knee with her hand.
“Oppa’s lap.”
“Ah, no way!”
This time her ears turned red too.
I had thought they were getting close, but was it really close?
Looking at how they scratched each other like that, it seemed they were close……
Well, it was better than being awkward like before.
Thinking that, I picked up a cookie and put it in Lucia’s mouth.
“Here.”
-Chew.
Lucia ate it obediently.
“Lucia, don’t tease Elena.”
“Why?”
“If you tease her too much after getting close, it’s rude.”
“…….”
Her cheeks moved.
“Sorry.”
“Ah, no. It’s fine.”
Elena fiddled with her fingers. Probably trying to change the subject.
“Hah, by the way, Rian-nim.”
“Yeah?”
“How many circles have you expanded your mana to?”
“Ah.”
For mages, circles were the most intuitive measure of a person’s level.
Why in novels was it always legend 8 circles, 9 circles, that circle?
A bit of explanation.
First, gather mana around you and inside your body to create a mana core. The core was like a heart that stored and refined mana.
By continuously circulating mana around the core, a ring was formed.
That was the circle.
One was 1 circle. Two was 2 circles.
Very intuitive.
And the more circles there were, the more mana you could handle at once, the higher the output, and the higher the level of magic you could use.
In my case.
“2 circles. 3 circles is still difficult, they say.”
“Wow, amazing. It’s been a few months since you first felt mana, right?”
“Thanks to a good teacher.”
“……Thank you.”
Elena blushed again. Upon closer look, she seemed quite weak to praise.
1 circle was a beginner who had just started learning magic.
2 circles could handle magic usable in combat, and around 3 circles you could show a business card saying you were a magician anywhere.
I thought I could reach 3 circles with a little more effort.
5 circles would be high-level mage in most places.
From 7 circles, it was counted among the empire’s elites.
8 and 9 circles were……
Human disaster territory. Far from me.
“Ah, then how many circles is Lucia now?”
“Ueng?”
Lucia, who had been munching on cookies, looked up.
“4 circles.”
“…….”
I didn’t know.
I slowly looked down at Lucia. The me who had been praised with 2 circles suddenly felt shabby.
“Well done……”
I stroked Lucia’s head.
“Hehe.”
Yeah.
Proud.
Proud as hell.
3.
“Eh, how much is it?”
The woman’s voice trembled.
“10 million Vera.”
“Te, ten million……”
The man sitting opposite didn’t change his expression and continued calmly.
“Starting today, I will support 10 million Vera every month for three years.”
“Every, every month?”
“Yes.”
The woman couldn’t speak for a while.
It had been over ten years since she took charge of the orphanage here.
The usual grants and donations combined were several times that amount.
The director swallowed dryly.
“Could you tell me the sponsor’s name?”
“Sorry, but I can’t tell you that. The sponsor wanted to remain anonymous.”
“Ah……”
The director’s lips quivered in disappointment, then nodded.
“But there was one thing I was told to do.”
“Tell me.”
“Make sure the kids don’t go hungry.”
“…….”
The director’s eyes reddened at the edges.
“Yes, I will definitely do that.”
10 million Vera.
With that money, I could immediately pay the overdue food ingredients, make new clothes for the kids, and fix the roof that leaked when it rained.
Still, money remained.
“Thank you…… Please tell the sponsor that I’m really grateful.”
The man nodded shortly.
“I will.”
“…….”
“W-wait!”
The man who was about to stand up from his seat was grabbed urgently by the director.
“Could I at least know the name? It’s…… not knowing who to thank for such a great help……”
“As I said, the sponsor wanted anonymity.”
“Then even if it’s not the name, at least tell me the name to call!”
“…….”
The man was silent for a moment.
A trumpet sound from a few days ago suddenly came to mind.
-Puaaa~ Pubabapabam~!
“……The Trumpet Gentleman.”
“Eh?”
“If you need a name to call, please call him that.”
“Trumpet…… Gentleman.”
The director muttered several times and smiled brightly.
“Yes, please tell the sponsor that I’m grateful. To the Trumpet Gentleman.”
“Yes.”
That evening.
The kids were gathered in front of the table, which was richer than usual.
“Meat!”
“Waaah!”
“Teacher, can we really eat all this?”
“Yeah, eat slowly.”
Meat was on every plate, along with warm soup and freshly baked bread.
These were foods that were usually only seen on special days.
As the kids started eating frantically, the director watched for a while and then spoke.
“Kids.”
“Yeah?”
“A benefactor who will help us has appeared.”
The moving mouths stopped one by one.
“Who is it?”
“Rich?”
“Coming here?”
As questions poured from all sides, the director shook her head while smiling.
“She won’t come in person. She said she doesn’t want to reveal her name.”
“No name?”
“It’s not that there is no name.”
“Then what do we call her?”
The director hesitated for a moment.
“If I call her the Trumpet Gentleman, it’s fine.”
“Trumpet?”
“Gentleman?”
The kids looked at each other’s faces. And someone said.
“Trumpet Uncle?”
“……Uncle?”
“Yeah! Trumpet Uncle!”
“Did Trumpet Uncle buy the meat?”
“Something like that.”
From that day on, the Trumpet Gentleman naturally became Trumpet Uncle.
“Trumpet Uncle is the best!”
“Buy meat next time too?”
“Kids, we have to thank first.”
“Thank you, Trumpet Uncle!”
“Thank you!”
The noisy voices filled the dining hall.
In the meantime, a boy looked at the meat on his plate for a moment, cut half of it, and silently placed it on the girl’s plate next to him.
“Eh?”
“Eat it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you like meat.”
The girl looked at the boy for a moment, then smiled brightly.
“No more talking later!”
The boy smiled faintly and put the remaining meat in his mouth.
“……Delicious.”
And then suddenly recalled the name.
Trumpet Uncle.