Even with a group of children, it only took about ten minutes on foot to reach the Margrave’s estate.
“““Wow! It’s huge!”””
The orphanage children stared up at the enormous mansion with sparkling eyes, bursting with excitement. It was clearly the first time any of them had seen such a grand residence.
Just then, Emilia-sama, who had returned ahead of us, came out to greet everyone.
“I’m sorry, you’ll all be staying in one of the guest houses on our estate for now.”
“““Whoa!”””
Within the margrave family’s grounds stood a separate house that had once been used to accommodate servants but now sat empty. Even so, it was far larger than an ordinary home.
“We’ve kept it clean so it’s ready to be lived in at any time. I’ll also assign one of our attendants who grew up in the orphanage to look after you.”
“Thank you very much.”
“““Please take care of us!”””
Emilia-sama had even arranged for an attendant who had once lived in the orphanage to care for the children.
Knowing they would have someone who understood them put my mind at ease. We soon entered the guest house, and Ao began taking out everyone’s belongings.
“The room assignments have already been decided. Please carry your things to your own rooms.”
“““Okay!”””
Emilia-sama instructed her attendants to lead the children to their rooms. Sue, Shiro, and Toria all helped the children unpack. Ao also seemed to want to help unpack, so she went along with Shiro and the others.
Meanwhile, Emilia-sama whispered something to me.
“Since we’re here, why don’t you and the head chef prepare lunch together? It would be great if you could serve something easily digestible for the Mother Superior.”
Emilia-sama seemed to feel sorry for the children, so I decided to do my best and show off my cooking skills.
I went to the mansion and headed to the kitchen. I found that lunch preparations were already underway in the kitchen.
“Oh, we’ve been waiting for you.”
“More than a lavish meal, it will be more of a hearty meal, isn’t it?”
“They usually eat simple meals. If we suddenly served them aristocratic cuisine, the children would be too nervous to eat.”
Perhaps out of consideration for the orphanage children, even the head chef had adjusted the evening’s menu. A lavish feast would probably only make them feel awkward and out of place.
“Besides, this town has always believed that children are raised by the whole community. So you don’t need to worry so much about the kids from the orphanage, lad.”
The head chef added.
Oh.
The head chef flashed a confident grin as he said something unexpectedly cool.
He was right. This town really did have a spirit of everyone helping one another. Emilia-sama, the parish priest, and the master carpenter had all sprung into action the moment they learned what had happened.
Maybe it was part of the easygoing nature of the beastmen who lived here. But seeing everyone work together like this made me want to do my part as well.
“All right. Time to give it everything I’ve got.”
I poured my heart into preparing the meal. Once it was finished, I stored the dishes in my Item Box and carried them over to the dining hall of the guest house.
“““It’s delicious!”””
The children dug into the food with beaming smiles, their faces lighting up with pure delight.
There was no need to worry about table manners or proper etiquette. They could simply eat to their hearts’ content.
“Mm, delicious!”
“Yeah!”
Before we knew it, Kent-chan was eating lunch with the other children, but since Emilia-sama is there too, it is fine. Incidentally, the Mother Superior has also recovered enough to eat.
Now the orphanage is safe for the time being.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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