Chapter 13: The orphanage

Jin awoke to the sound of birds chirping. He found himself in a random bed in an unfamiliar room.

Even with his stamina regeneration, he felt mentally and physically drained.

"Ugh! Where... am I?" he said holding his head.

In the distance, he could hear the pitter-pattering of small feet hitting the wooden floor and the laughter of children.

Although he struggled to catch his footing, he managed to exit his room and into the hallway.

He turned the corner and found a flight of stairs leading straight down. Step by step, he made his way to the lower floor.

Once he was down far enough, he could make out a small portion of the conversations being had.

"Is he still asleep...?" said a concerned voice.

"Yeah. It's already been three days..." said another voice disappointed by the news.

"Three days!?" Jin thought to himself.

"Hey! Do you think he's a champion?" said an energetic voice.

*Chatter, chatter!*

As they continued their conversation, Jin slowly made his way to what looked like the exit.

"I need to get out of here... I can't make any more trouble for these people," Jin said to himself.

He extended his arm and reached for the doorknob. Suddenly, it began to turn. Someone else was on the other side of the door.

He looked for a place to hide, but it was too late. The door had swung open. On the other side, a familiar face came into view. It was the same girl he had saved in the forest.

Her eyes were a mesmerizing shade of green, like a pair of jades glistening in the sunlight. The clothing she wore resembled a typical nun's attire with a black veil over her blonde hair.

"*blushes* Oh... it's you," she said averting her eyes.

"She's... blushing?" he thought.

They both stood there in complete silence. In response to the awkward environment, Jin's cheeks also began to turn slightly red.

He could feel his body getting hotter and hotter, and his palms began to sweat. As he was no longer able to bear the uncomfortable heat, he adjusted the collar of his shirt.

It was then he became aware of the embarrassing truth. The clothes he was currently using were completely different than what he arrived with.

"Ack! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he repeated as he fell to his knees.

After the shameful display, along with his failure to escape, Jin was invited for breakfast. At first, he was hesitant to accept the offer, however, there was little room for negotiation.

After all, it would be rude to refuse such an invitation after they went through all the trouble of helping him.

The children were the first to eat, followed by the adults shortly after. The girl introduced herself as 'Astrid', a sister of the Goddess's church.

"*gives plate of food* Here you go. I hope you enjoy it..." she said smiling.

"Thank you very much. It's been a while since I had any actual food..." he replied.

A delicious aroma filled the air. The dish was a bowl of soup full of vegetables, spices, and other various forms of meats.

Before he had any time to process what it was, he began stuffing his face until it was completely gone.

"Hahaha..." Astrid laughed.

"...Sorry. I don't know what came over me," he replied.

"It's alright. You were out of commission for a few days... It's only natural that you'd be hungry," said Astrid.

"*chew* *swallow* ...Are you the only person running this place?" asked Jin.

"No, there's another fellow sister with me, sister Sasha. We were assigned to this place a few years ago..." she said.

"I see... Do you know how I managed to get here? I'm afraid I don't really remember how it happened," said Jin.

"Yes, of course. After your familiar rescued me, I waited for you to at the edge of the forest. Since your familiar didn't disappear, I knew you were still alive... Eventually, I saw that you were being carried by another wolf on its back. Once we made it through the barrier, I brought you here," she explained.

Once Jin finished his meal, Atrid grabbed his bowl and cleared the table.

"Here, let me help," Jin offered.

"It's alright, I'm used to it. For now, you can go back and rest. I'll introduce you to sister Sasha tomorrow when she returns," she explained.

With nothing left to do, Jin proceeded to walk towards the stairs.

"Ah, I almost forgot! I never got your name!" she said.

"Oh? My apologies. My name is Alester... Alerster Chrome," Jin said smiling.

Once his introduction was over, Jin retreated into his room for the remainder of the time.