225 -221- The Orphanage's Child Prodigy
This is a very ordinary world.
A truly ordinary world.
Here, there are no magus hidden in the darkness studying magic, nor puppeteers controlling dolls. There is only the revered and feared force of nature.
In terms of era, this world is quite similar to the year 2018 where Chaldea is located. Unlike the world of automatons, which is still in the steam age, this world has progressed to modern times.
The city is bustling with crowds.
The streets are filled with passing vehicles.
People lead ordinary lives.
People grow up normally.
People experience the ups and downs of life.
It's a world without mystery, without magic, only the reality of the modern era.
That's all there is to this world.
In this type of world, in a corner of a far-eastern island country, there's an orphanage.
It's one of the top orphanages in the area.
The term "top orphanage" doesn't refer to being exceptionally outstanding, but rather to being the largest and most well-known among the few orphanages in the vicinity. There are probably only one or two orphanages nearby, which is why it's referred to as one of the top ones.
Although this orphanage can't be called remarkable, it's enough to provide the parentless children with a healthy upbringing.
However, the children in this orphanage grow up in two different ways.
One way is to be nurtured and raised until adulthood, then they leave the orphanage to live on their own.
The other way is to find adoptive parents before reaching adulthood, becoming someone else's child and experiencing a different childhood.
Of course, these are things the children don't need to know about.
All the children need to do is live carefree in the orphanage until the day they leave on their own or find their own foster parents.
In this setting, the orphanage children often play together and their days are filled with happiness.
However, a few months ago, a strange child appeared.
It was a boy.
Around four years old, maybe?
They say he was found on the street by the orphanage staff and brought here.
Before that, he had supposedly been wandering alone for half a month. Despite being an orphan, he always seemed to have money on him, buying food on his own or finding hotels to stay in. Even without adults around or identification, preventing him from checking in at legitimate hotels, he used inexplicable persuasion to convince people to let him stay, employing skills far beyond what one would expect from a child.
People considered calling the police to intervene, but the child always managed to disappear without a trace before they could act, as if he knew everything in advance.
It wasn't until he was found by the orphanage staff on the street that he agreed, after a period of contemplation, to come to the orphanage.
His reasoning was simple.
"If I can get free food and shelter without worrying about survival, then I can spend more time on my own matters."
That's how he agreed to come here.
After that, the child moved into the orphanage, but he didn't play with the other children, showing no interest in toys. He spent his days either hiding in his room doing who-knows-what and looking utterly exhausted.
Even the director of the orphanage was alarmed by this, coming in person to ask what he wanted. He gave his answer without hesitation.
"If you have a computer, give me one. I want to play games."
It was almost unbelievable that a person like this could be a four-year-old child.
Even more astonishing, the director of the orphanage agreed in the end.
The reason was even simpler.
"Even if I tell him to study hard and only play games after growing up, he managed to solve the high school-level problems I prepared, and even got a perfect score. There's nothing I can do about it."
The director of the orphanage could only smile wryly.
So, when people visit this orphanage, they would see a four-year-old boy sitting alone in a corner with a laptop while other childrens play, completely engrossed in the screen, playing various games that even adults find challenging.
Gradually, news spread about this incredibly smart and unique child.
Many adults came to witness this rumored clever and extraordinary child. Some were curious, while others simply didn't believe a four-year-old could understand high school-level knowledge, let alone achieve a perfect score, so they intended to challenge him.
However, the results surprised them all.
This child, with an impatient expression, not only aced high school-level problems but also solved a university-level textbook brought by those who wanted to test him in just ten minutes.
Suddenly, all the adults were in an uproar, and many even expressed interest in adopting him on the spot.
The reasons for this are self-explanatory, right?
With such a child prodigy, it's believed that many adults would want to adopt him, whether out of affection or a desire to have a child destined for greatness.
Unfortunately, the child flatly refused all such offers.
"I don't want to work in the future. I just want to loaf around and play games."
With that statement, the adults were left speechless and had no choice but to retreat.
On that day...
"You're the incredibly smart child that's been rumored about, right?"
When this voice sounded in front of him, the young boy, who was immersed in a laptop game, raised his head.
Before him stood a woman in her early twenties, dressed in a cotton shirt, jeans, a jacket for warmth, light makeup, and her hair combed back.
Even though she appeared to be around twenty years old, she said something unexpected.
"I'm already a mother of two children, and they're both quite smart, you know?"
Hearing this, the boy was momentarily stunned, then laughed.
"In that case, you're here to adopt me, aren't you?"
In a tone exceedingly lazy for a four-year-old, he said such words.
The response he got was this.
"Well, it's not out of the question, you know?"
She said with a smile.
"Although both my children are quite smart, I work in the field of computers. I'm an information editor, and I started playing games in elementary school. So, when I heard that a prodigy like you loves playing games, I couldn't resist coming to take a look."
After saying such words, she introduced herself.
"My name is Kirigaya Midori."
With that statement, the woman named Kirigaya Midori extended her hand to the young boy.
"Would you like to come with me?"
Indeed, this person also came to adopt him.
The boy's first thought was this.
However, she wasn't interested in his intellect; she came because he liked playing games. This actually made Rozen feel like she's a bit different from the others.
Thus, the boy said only one thing.
"Do you have a computer?"
About half an hour later, the young boy left the orphanage with the woman named Kirigaya Midori.
She even gave the boy a name to be registered in official documents.
That name was...
"Kirigaya Aoka."
