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Chapter 174.

Before we left for the orphanage called the Angel’s House after breakfast, Lisbon asked, "Oh, do you happen to have any rosaries or a goddess statue?”

"I don’t have any rosaries, but I do have a goddess statue."

When I visited the temple before, I took it as a souvenir. I still haven’t found out why it doesn’t go into my pocket space, so I put plaster on the outside of it and left it on my desk as a decoration.

"The Angel’s House is run by the temple, so they also worship the goddess."

Usually, when worshiping in the temple, one holds a rosary or prays with a small statue placed in front of them.

"But my statue is a bit large, is that okay?"

It was about 60cm in size.

"It’s fine. In my hometown, they say that the larger the size of the statue, the greater one’s faith, so some people carry around a life-sized goddess statue."

So my goddess statue was a normal size. "Then I’ll bring it."

I went up to my room, took the goddess statue, and headed to the Angel’s House with Lisbon.

As we left the boarding house and headed toward the market, I asked Lisbon, "So is the orphanage by the market?”

"No, I thought I’d buy some snacks for the kids." He didn’t have enough money to spend on himself, but he was very sincere.

Normally, being a knight was one of the more expensive occupations. One needed good armor for defense, a few sharp-edged swords that didn’t break easily, trained horses to ride, armor for the horse, and maintenance fees for the horses. In addition, if you had a good squire, you had to pay them a salary, so being a knight was almost like a money-eating hippo.

Lisbon was still a student in knight school, so he would not have to be perfectly equipped. However, considering that the Carter family’s support was not infinite, his finances were probably pretty tight. Lisbon toured the market shops that opened early in the morning and looked around at the cheap cookies.

"How much are these candies?”

When I asked for the price of a big jawbreaker, Lisbon shook his head. "Just how many kids do you think are at the orphanage for you to buy candy?"

"How many?"

"There are twenty-three."

It was more than I thought. I assumed there would be about ten kids at the most, but there were more than twice as many.

"Well, if it’s only that many, that’s fine. I’m an office worker who gets paid well. How much is the candy?”

The bakery lady answered my question with a smile. "The smallest is one iron coin per piece, the medium-sized ones are three iron coins, and the largest ones are one refined iron coin."

Candies were indeed expensive because they contained a lot of sugar, a favorite of the nobility. How is a candy that’s small enough to fit in your nostrils one iron per piece? The cost for the smallest candy for all the kids was enough for two meals. Well, it’s a low price if I can use the candy to stop them from asking to play with me.

"I’d like five boxes of the smallest, please."

"Aigoo, young man. You want to buy it in boxes? I’ll pack it for you quickly."

"Oh, I’d like one separate box, please." I’ll take a box for myself. There will be a lot of work for my brain in the future, so it will be good to have sugar.

The bakery lady happily tied the candy box with a string. It was probably rare to see someone buy in such large quantities, so it made sense that she was so happy.

"Aren’t you spending too much money? There should be around 100 of them in a box.”

"It’s fine. I hope the children at the Angel’s House like it.”

I handed over 25 refined bronze coins and received the candy package. About a fifth of my salary flew away in an instant. Then, an old gentleman spoke from behind me.

"Oh, if it’s the Angel’s House, are you referring to the orphanage run by the temple?"

I judged the old gentleman’s attire, which was a suit made of cheap cloth, and the cane he was holding was old and worn out. The shoes, gloves, and the hat he wore were far from luxurious. However, the gloss of his white hair and slicked back style showed that it was under constant care, unlike his clothes. Above all, aside from his wrinkles, the light in his eyes was very intense in a way that did not fit his age.

"Yes, that’s right." I looked at the old gentleman’s face, affirming his question.

"You guys are good young men to buy that expensive candy for the children. But why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

"No, you look familiar for some reason. Have we seen each other before?" It was definitely my first time seeing the old gentleman, but something about him felt familiar.

"No, I don’t think we’ve seen each other before now. Hmm, but something about your face certainly does seem familiar."

The old gentleman looking at my face somehow had his eyes grow dimmer. "Yes, I thought I’d seen your face before, but you just resemble my daughter."

"What? But I’m a man." Although I was on the skinny side, it was shocking to hear that I looked like a woman.

The old gentleman laughed pleasantly at my words. "Uhuhuhuh! My daughter often heard that she looked like a man, too. Of course, her face has more beauty than any other woman in the empire, but her personality is like that. If she was born a man, she could have even been a general."

It was quite a flimsy remark. I shrugged at the old gentleman. "Ayy, isn’t there a general named Orphina among the heads of the imperial army? Two of the five platinum plate adventurers are also women. Gender is not a problem."

Of course, those three were extremely rare cases. In the end, it was physically advantageous to be a man in a battle.

The old gentleman looked surprised then burst into laughter. "Uhahahaha! Not just your face, but even your words are similar. Yes, if she hadn’t died, she wouldn’t have cared about gender or status and would have been a general."

"Oh, I’m sorry."

The old gentleman shook his head at my apology. "No, I brought it up on my own. It’s already been a long time, and it’s my fault for bringing up useless things all of a sudden and getting an apology. I’m getting old and saying nonsense."

The old gentleman burst into laughter. "Anyways, you said you were going to the Angel’s House, right? I’m on my way there too, won’t you chat with me on the way there?"

Before I could answer, the pushover next to me nodded and welcomed him, "Okay, sir."

Um, why don’t you listen to my opinion before answering?

I was thinking about abusing him more tomorrow morning, but then the old gentleman took a silver coin out of his pocket and handed it to me. "I stopped by to buy candy for the children on my way to the Angel’s House, but my hands feel empty because you’ve already bought it. I’ll buy those candies from you."

The old gentleman who said this took the candy from my hand. Then he winked playfully and smiled, "The change is a tip for you trying to do a good deed, so buy something delicious later. Now, let’s go to the Angel’s House."

Hmm, he seems like a good grandpa. But anyways, the gaze of the bakery lady on the back of my head stung.

* * *

The Angel’s House where we arrived was worn out and not very big for an orphanage housing more than 20 children. The only evidence that the temple was behind its operations was the symbol of the temple hanging from the roof. Considering that the temple was the state religion of the empire, you could say that this orphanage basically received no support.

"Huh-huh-huh, it’s still the same here."

The old gentleman smiled bitterly and handed me a candy box. "Go in and hand it out to the kids. I’ve got business here with the head nun."

"Uh, but wouldn’t it be better for Sir to hand it out, as you are the one who bought it?" I asked.

The old gentleman smiled and ruffled my hair. "It doesn’t matter who gives it away as long as the children are happy."

At the old gentleman’s words, Lisbon trailed off, "Still...."

"Don’t worry about it. I’m handing it over to you because I’m old, and I don’t have the stamina to handle the kids who’ll be running around. Or do you want me to endure all their energy with this old body?"

When the old gentleman smiled playfully, Lisbon grew flustered.

"Hahaha, you don’t have to be so flustered. Have fun with the kids." The old gentleman waved lightly and headed to the back door of the Angel’s House.

"He is a good person.”

Lisbon spoke while looking at the old gentleman’s back, and I nodded in agreement. "You’re right."

And most of all, he felt familiar, not like someone whom I just met for the first time. However, that familiar feeling didn’t end with the old gentleman but also extended to the people who were hiding around here.

Is this feeling divine power? To be exact, this divine power resembled the divine power I felt from the saintess’s guards. That meant they were paladins, but why were they hiding and surrounding the Angel’s House as if they were on guard?

I suddenly didn’t want to go in.

"Come on, let’s go in." Lisbon smiled brightly and pulled my arm.

* * *

Entering the Angel’s House through the back door, the old gentleman stood outside the head nun’s room and rapped on the door. Knock knock! Just before the old gentleman stopped knocking, a voice came from inside telling him to enter.

The old gentleman opened the door and went in as he was greeted with, "Oh, my!"

The head nun was surprised to see the old gentleman and got up from her seat and bowed. "It has been a long time, Your Highness, Duke of Asteria!"

The old gentleman was the Duke of Asteria, who came to the capital to attend the conference on state affairs that would be held a little later.

At the head nun’s greeting, the duke took off his hat and coat and put it on the hanger, waving. "I always say this, but you don’t have to greet me like that. It’s already been 25 years, or 26 years this year. Anyway, I tell you to talk comfortably, but you don’t listen at all."

"But how can I speak comfortably with Your Highness, the Duke?"

When the nun shook her head, the duke smiled helplessly and handed her a package of candies. "Give this as a reward to the children who are obedient."

"Did you buy something expensive like this again?"

"How can you call me a duke and treat me politely while at the same time say these spiced lumps of sugar are expensive?" The duke smiled playfully.

The nun smiled in turn and put the candies high on the shelf beyond the reach of the children. "Thank you as always."

"No, it’s nothing compared to the debt my daughter had 26 years ago. Are you refusing a donation this year as well?"

When asked by the duke, the head nun looked sorry and nodded. "I’m sorry. It is my belief."

"That’s fine. What do you need to be sorry about? It’s all because of the great temple that couldn’t abandon their past greed."

Even if the duke gave a huge donation to the Angel’s House, it was obvious that most of the donations would go into the stomach of the great temple’s priests with a completely nonsensical excuse. Nevertheless, the duke continued to offer donations because the remaining money would greatly help the Angel’s House’s operations.

"Anyway, something feels different than normal. Did something happen?"

The head nun was startled by the duke’s question. "That’s... Indeed, Your Highness, the Duke’s intuition is frightening.”

"Huhu, I wasn’t called the tiger of politics for nothing."

The head nun hesitated then told the truth. "Yes. Actually, Saintess-nim visited secretly."

She said this because she was certain that he wouldn’t do anything to harm her.

The duke opened his eyes wide, and his face hardened at the head nun’s words. "Well, I guess today isn’t a suitable day. I’m afraid you’re in a troublesome position because of that random visit.”

"That’s all right. It seemed like the Saintess-nim was a kind person.”

“Is that so? If you say so, I’m sure she must be a good person. Anyways, it seems I’m in a difficult situation. I’m supposed to meet someone here."

The head nun handed him a note. "Actually, the guest who arrived first asked for you to come to this place."

"Oh, really? That’s a relief. Then, I’ll go before I cause trouble for you."

When the duke put on his coat and hat again, the head nun said goodbye with an apologetic face. "Thank you for visiting all the time."

"It’s fine. What thanks do you need from someone who can’t even provide much help? If you ever need assistance, just go to the adventurer’s guild. I’ve told the guild director there, so they will help you anytime.”

The duke waved lightly as he opened the door and exited. "And I’ll send you a platinum plate adventurer known as the Indebted Knight, so make sure you get in touch."

"Yes, I understand."

The duke smiled at the nun’s reply and left the Angel’s House.