Chapter 55: A Little Dream (Bonus Update)

Miss Priestess, who entered through the back door, encountered a bit of trouble.

The one who opened the door wasn’t the fierce cultist she had imagined, but rather a boy who looked only about seven or eight years old.

He was small in stature, thin as a twig, with messy hair sticking up in a bunch, dressed in tattered, drafty cloth. His eyes were dull and lifeless, devoid of the energy children usually have.

“B-big sister… who are you?”

The boy asked timidly in a voice as faint as a mosquito, lacking any volume that made Vilyric wonder if he might just faint and collapse while speaking.

“I already told you, I’m here to bring warmth. Where are the adults from the orphanage?”

As she spoke, Vilyric squeezed through the slightly ajar door, and the boy seemed to have no intention of stopping her, perhaps he simply couldn’t.

“The adults usually aren’t here; they only show up when it’s time to deliver food or medicine.”

The little boy blinked his unremarkable, dull eyes, seemingly unaware of the concept of hiding things, and spilled the situation to Miss Priestess with unfiltered clarity.

Beyond reason, it was as expected.

The back door that Vilyric chose was completely disconnected from the outside world, surrounded by at least a ten-meter-high wall, enclosing a backyard that was hardly spacious.

To be honest, it felt a bit like a pigpen used for raising livestock.

Apart from Vilyric and her flying pet, hardly anyone from the United Kingdom could scale such a high wall to get inside, and since this area was somewhat secluded, very few residents passed by outside the walls.

Don’t think that having wings or a ladder would solve everything; when Vilyric descended, she felt a sturdy, triggered barrier shrouding the top of the wall.

It looked normal enough on the surface, but if something tried to enter like she did from above, it would immediately trigger a counter-magic and relay information somewhere inside the orphanage—clearly, they had precautions against such situations.

Vilyric found it hard to understand why, if they didn’t want anyone to come through, they didn’t just block the back door completely?

So strange.

However, this level of magic formation was child’s play for Vilyric; one of her specialties was barrier magic. Without even touching it, she simply slipped in with Xiao Guang.

“Now, can you tell big sister your name?”

Miss Priestess crouched down, smiling while offering the boy a candy purchased from the capital.

The boy blinked, instantly captivated by the colorful candy coating, but instead of reaching for it like a typical child, he timidly lowered his head and even took a half step back as if afraid.

“R-really, can you give it to me? Whenever the adults from the orphanage give someone candy, it means they’re about to be taken away for painful things, or… some don’t even come back, big sister, you won’t take me to get poked, right?”

“…”

The smile on Vilyric’s face stiffened for a moment; the darkness in the boy’s words made even her, who had grown distant from such things, feel a bit uneasy.

However, she didn’t show any obvious signs; instead, she waved the colorful candy again, as if soothing a poor stray cat attracted by a teasing stick, drawing the boy’s gaze back and forth.

“It’s alright; it’s a gift from big sister. I won’t do anything strange to you. Since you’re not quite at ease, how about taking me to meet those who are locked… who live here? Consider it a reward for the candy?”

“Okay…!”

Seeing Vilyric say that, and feeling the holy and friendly aura emanating from her, along with her easily likable beauty, the boy seemed to finally relax. He cautiously accepted the small candy with his fingertips, peeled off the colorful wrapper.

He didn’t discard the flashy shell; instead, he neatly folded it like saving some treasure and placed it into his pocket, then finally popped the exposed piece of candy into his mouth, savoring it.

“Mmm ~ so sweet, so delicious! Thank you, pretty big sister! By the way, my name is Ilai!”

The boy, seeming only around seven or eight years old, displayed a genuine, happy smile, his once dull eyes glimmering with a hint of new light.

For most children in City of Courage or even the kingdom, such common little candies wouldn’t be too hard to get, but for Ilai, it seemed like a form of great joy and blessing.

Sometimes, happiness is as simple as that.

A swordsman getting their hands on an unparalleled sword is happiness; a couple overcoming countless hardships to finally be together is happiness; even just having a warm cup of milk during a break from hard work can be considered happiness.

In short, happiness is a heart that lacks and longs for something. At the moment one receives what they’ve been eagerly awaiting, it’s the extreme satisfaction that follows.

And this orphanage’s little boy, Ilai, clearly lacked far too much, or rather, nearly everything had been taken from him, leaving only a single life behind.

What a… unpleasant place.

Without letting any signs of disgust show on her face, Vilyric maintained her not-too-friendly simple smile.

“Well then, little Ilai, it’s time to set off, right?”

“Yes, okay, big sister! Remember to follow me closely; there are many places in the院 that cannot be wandered around freely, if you run around, you’ll be caught and eaten by monsters in the dark!”

Receiving the candy, Ilai seemed much closer to Miss Priestess. After a childish warning, he turned and started to weave his way forward, swaying slightly.

Vilyric and Xiao Guang followed behind without any anxiety, navigating the dimly lit halls of the orphanage, with the Giant Dragon even taking the liberty to chat quietly with her master.

“You seem very friendly towards human children?”

“Huh? Is that so?”

“Yes, under different circumstances, you surely wouldn’t have the patience to comfort them and give little gifts, would you? Did I say something wrong?”

“Well… maybe.”

Lacking any self-awareness, Miss Priestess appeared unconcerned, casually unwrapping another candy like the one before, popping it into her mouth and offering one to Xiao Guang as well.

“That’ll do.”

Experiencing the sweet flavor spreading in her mouth, Vilyric made a simple remark.

“I used to quite like little children; they’re innocent and adorable, not yet tainted by the world’s greed and desires, giving off a scent of pure innocence in all their movements.”

“Seeing them, I can’t help but recall vague childhood memories. Although they seem laughable and ignorant now, even if it’s embarrassing, how could that not be a treasure more pure and flawless than diamond crystal?”

Xiao Guang seemed to struggle to understand her master’s feelings, blinking her golden slit pupils, instead growing curious about another matter.

“You must have been super cute as a child; after all, you’re so beautiful and radiant now, like an unblemished light. I wish I could have seen what you looked like as a child; unfortunately, when I hatched from the dragon egg, you had already reached adulthood.”

“Uh…”

Seeing the look of longing on the little dragon’s face, Vilyric found herself at a loss for words on how to explain that her current body was sculpted by a game system, and she never truly experienced childhood.

And the truth was, her childhood had actually been that of a somewhat silly little boy.

If her pet ever found out, wouldn’t that spell the end of her dignity as a master…?

   

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