“Now, next is this orphanage,” Clarice said.
Today, I was touring orphanages with Clarice. I was going out of my way to visit places run by churches other than the Church of the Goddess, and was distributing Clarice’s accumulated money under my name, as I am nominally irreligious.
(I’ve also been adding to it little by little.)
This was a very ordinary orphanage in the eastern C Area. I wondered which church ran it. It seemed to be collecting children regardless of religious affiliation.
“Big brother, you’re short!”
“Ah, they said that at the last orphanage I visited too.”
“Now, now, don’t trouble the adventurer, everyone!”
The Sister knew that Clarice and I belonged to the party that defeated the Seven Great Demon Lords, Beast Shooter. At first, she was reserved, but I asked her to treat us normally, saying, “The children don’t know.”
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting,” Clarice said.
“Ah, yes, Clarice, you’re already done?”
“Yes, I’ve made a substantial donation.”
The old man who was the director was all smiles.
“Now everyone, please offer your words of thanks to Saint Clarice and Hero Derus!”
Wait, Hero! Well, it’s not like it’s the first time.
(They all thanked me normally. Yes, that was good.)
After leaving the ordinary orphanage, we headed to an orphanage in the eastern B Area.
“So, Clarice, how much was the donation?”
“It was ordinary. The number of children and staff were ordinary, so the donation was ordinary.”
“I see. So it was just as expected.”
As we entered the eastern B Area, we stopped by a coffee shop.
“Why in the B Area?” you ask. “I went to A Area yesterday with Nina!”
“Yes, this coffee shop is a little more luxurious than usual,” I said.
“What would you like to have, Derus?” Clarice asked.
“A light sandwich for me, please. How about you, Clarice?”
After ordering, we moved on to casual conversation.
“I feel like these quiet times with you, Derus, are somehow precious,” Clarice said.
“Yeah, I’m sorry we don’t get much time to go on dates like this, just the two of us,” I replied.
“No, just your thoughtfulness makes me very happy,” she said.
Her noble demeanor was truly that of a saint. If an ordinary person saw her, they would never guess she was an adventurer, let alone someone who had assassinated countless men and women in the past.
“So, Clarice, I have a small consultation,” I said.
“Yes, what is it?”
“…It’s a bit difficult to say, but… no, but we’re in the same party…”
(Other women’s problems… should I really be saying this?)
“Are you concerned about Helen and Nastasia?” Clarice asked.
“Ah, yes. I’m worried that their relationship might deteriorate.”
“If so, how about I win over both of them?”
No, no, no! Win them over?!
“Uh, Clarice, you’re not… you’re not going to do that, are you?”
“For Derus, I will do any dirty work there is,” she declared.
“No, I mean, would that even solve anything?”
In a sense, I’d be a cuckold!
“So, what shall we do?” she asked.
“Just give me some advice. If I were to solve this myself, what should I do?”
“Let me think…”
While she was pondering, our orders arrived.
“Clarice, your pancake is huge!”
“Yes, I need something sweet to consume my magic power.”
She poured what seemed like a whole jar of honey onto it.
“Um, Clarice, you’re going to become sweet yourself,” I teased.
“Oh, I like sweet, sweet nights with Derus,” she replied flirtatiously.
“U-um, me too… H-hey, what are you trying to make me say?!”
Though I didn’t dislike it.
“Now, about Helen and Nastasia,” I said.
“Yes, yes. What should we do?”
“They are both slaves to Derus. So, if Derus orders them to ‘get along’…”
“I see, because they’re slaves, I can just order them, right? Is that the problem?!”
“Hmm, well, maybe I’ll just try saying it,” I mused.
“But it’s still too early. For now, it’s just a ‘tense atmosphere’,” Clarice noted.
“Helen was glaring at Nastasia with all her might!” I exclaimed.
After a brief prayer, Clarice began to devour her pancake.
“Mmm, I, too, probably… *gulp*… mmm… even if I don’t show it on my face, I feel similarly towards Nina… mmm mmm…”
“Calm down! You don’t have to talk while eating!” I urged.
“… *gulp*… Derus, in a harem, certain aspects like this are necessary to some degree, so please get used to it.”
Ugh, get used to it, huh…
(For now, I’ll just eat my sandwich.)
After our light meal, we continued to visit the remaining orphanages. However, the orphanages in the eastern B and A areas were for children with difficult backgrounds, which caused a bit of trouble.
“Derus, I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable,” Clarice said.
“No, it’s fine. They were orphans who grew up in families of high-ranking nobles or famous adventurers, originally.”
“Even so, to treat them with such special consideration…”
Still, I made a donation. But they complained, saying, “Someone else received more.” They shouldn’t have said such unnecessary things at an orphanage.
(Is that what they call a luxury orphanage?)
While I was thinking of a way to soothe Clarice, who was pouting…
“Alright, let’s take a break there,” I said.
“Huh? A break? You mean an inn… Ah!”
“A place where we can rest, right?” “Mmph!”
As for what happened next, what I intended to be a calming break turned into us both getting extremely excited.
(Things like this happen sometimes, you know.)
