When we arrived at the woodworking shop, the master carpenter led me toward the back of the workshop.
“Hang on a second… Let’s see… If I clear this out…”
He began tidying up one corner of the shop. It was an area that wouldn’t interfere with the regular woodworking.
“All right. Kid, take out the Goddess’s statue here. Put everything else in those wooden crates.”
Following his instructions, I took the wooden statue out of my Item Box, along with the plates, candlesticks, and the rest of the church’s ornaments.
I let out a small sigh. That was one task taken care of.
“Master, what are you going to do with the plates and candlesticks?”
“We’ll take them to a specialist workshop later. There are craftsmen there who also grew up in the orphanage. We’ll have them restore everything.”
I see.
Of course there were others besides the priest and the young carpenter who had once lived in the orphanage. The master carpenter was convinced they would lend a hand without hesitation. After all, it was the orphanage that had raised them.
“The blueprint from the last time we replaced the church floor should still be around somewhere. I’ll dig it out. And even if it’s gone, we can always draw up a new one.”
“I’m sorry for putting this on you. Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. We don’t have any urgent jobs at the moment, and this is our town too.”
The master carpenter threw back his head and laughed, a booming gahaha that filled the workshop.
The people of this town really were kind.
Leaving the rest in his capable hands, I headed back to the church.
A loud buzz of voices drifted out before I even reached the gate.
Wait… hadn’t the crowd gotten much bigger?
“Welcome back, Shun-san.”
“Sue, what happened?”
“People who grew up in the orphanage came to help with the move.”
According to Sue, a number of townspeople had noticed the commotion around the church and asked what was going on. When they heard that the orphanage is going to be demolished, they passed the news along to former residents. From there, word spread from person to person, and before long people were arriving one after another.
Thanks to the unexpectedly large turnout, the packing and preparations for the move were completed in no time at all.
“The Mother Superior has always pushed herself too hard.”
“For now, just get some proper rest and focus on recovering. We’ll come by and help whenever we have time.”
“My, my… Thank you, all of you.”
The people who had gathered were shocked to see the Mother Superior lying on a simple cot, too ill to leave her bed.
When they heard that she only needed plenty of rest to recover, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Mother Superior is not respected only by those who had grown up in the orphanage. The townspeople admired her just as much. That was why everyone was so genuinely worried about her.
With everything finally ready, it was time to move. By now, both the church and the orphanage had been almost completely emptied.
“““Thank you very much!”””
“Think nothing of it. You’re our juniors, after all.”
“That’s right. Don’t worry about it.”
The orphanage children cheerfully thanked everyone who had helped pack up their belongings.
The townspeople simply smiled warmly in return before heading home. Watching them go, I couldn’t help but feel just how close-knit this town really was.
“All right. Let’s head to the Margrave’s estate.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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