I Just Wanted to Raise My Son... Why Is Everyone Challenging Me? Chapter 2: Leaving Him At Orphanage

"Dad," the kid’s voice was soothing, yet tired.

Kael remained calm, eyes still locked on the adorable face of the child, as he remained silent for the ti being.

The kid rubbed his eyes lightly, opened his mouth, and yawned. Then, he noticed that the man in front of him wasn’t soone he knew from before.

He flinched, a flicker of fear crossing his face. His eyes welled up, lips trembling as he parted them, then the cry ca out, small but sharp.

"WAHHHH!!!"

Kael flinched, and a bead of sweat trailed down his cheek. "W-wait... why did you start crying?"

Worry began to cloud his mind, leaving him without a single solution. In the end, he simply picked him up and held him close, hugging him gently.

The child kept crying; his cries filled the air. But Kael didn’t let go. He held him close, steady and patient, until the cries slowly faded. At last, the boy finally slept in his arms.

A small yawn escaped through his mouth as he got back up. The boy remained within his grasp. "I don’t know where I should leave this kid off to,"

He took a small pause as he looked around himself for a while. "I have to trace the nearby city."

His eyes closed, and the mana strands started to get visible to him once again. The entire place got filled with magic.

"Hmm, this is it." He found the strand that led to the nearby city.

His mana gathered around his ears, shaping into small, tube-like channels. Through them, a flood of voices poured in, overlapping and distant, sounding as if they belonged to a crowd of people.

"Yes, it definitely is a city," Kael muttered, trying to keep his voice low.

He made his way towards the city, and when he reached the main gate, he noticed that a group of four guards was gathered around the pillars of a four-pillar tallic gate.

He simply eyed them down; it seed as if he was trying to figure out the level of their swordsmanship. ’Star two Knights, not so impressive for being the guards of a city.’

One of them noticed that Kael was looking at them, so he called him out. "Hey, what’re you looking at?"

’The tone of his is surely arrogant.’

"I’m here to leave this kid at the nearby orphanage."

"Orphanage?" The guard asked, taking a step forward.

"Why do you have to leave your kid at the orphanage? Are you disowning a family mber in the land of Count Aden?" The knight directed his sword towards Kael, trying to scare him off.

Kael didn’t even flinch; his gaze remained locked on the man. ’Even the way he’s holding his sword is sloppy. With that stance, he’s just trying to scare off.’

Another knight from behind let a chuckle out. "Hey, Fank."

"Let that man be; they both don’t even look alike. Maybe the child is just an orphan, or sothing like that."

He took a small pause as his gaze shifted towards Kael. "You can go in, Mister."

Kael ignored the guards and walked inside the city. His gaze shifted from one direction to the other, noticing everything.

The interior of the city was well-furnished, multi-purpose shops were placed around the corners of the road, and people were standing in front of them trying to get what they needed.

So kids were playing amongst themselves, and their parents sat on a bench enjoying a nice cup of coffee.

Kael’s eyes finally showed a sliver of emotion, sothing which he hadn’t felt for centuries now. ’This is the kind of life I wanted to enjoy, but...’

"All of it’s in the past now, nothing good will co if I think about it."

His gaze shifted towards the boy who was sleeping tiredly in the arms of a stranger. "I’ll leave this kid at the orphanage first before I think about doing sothing."

There were so female pedestrians who were following beside him. "Hello," Kael called to them.

The group stopped and looked at Kael, as if he didn’t belong there. For a mont, no one spoke. Then one of them finally replied,

"Yes? Do you want sothing, mister?"

Kael nodded once and continued. "May I know where the nearest orphanage is?"

The woman got slightly flustered as she covered her mouth. "Orphanage?"

"Why do you want to leave such a cute child of yours at the orphanage, mister?"

Another woman jumped into the conversation. "Yes, you don’t have to leave him at the orphanage, mister. Don’t you have money to raise your child or sothing like that? Then don’t worry because I can ask my husband to provide you with a job."

A few more won joined in the conversation, while Kael simply stood there, listening to them patiently.

The mont all of them cald down, he continued. "He’s not my son, but an orphan."

"That’s why I was asking if you could help find an orphanage, so that I can leave him there."

All of them got flustered once again, but the one standing in the front bowed lightly. "I’m sorry, mister. We thought that he was your son, haha."

"If you go forward and then take a turn to the left, you’ll find the orphanage there." She said.

Kael ignored the group of won and made his way according to the information he had just received.

When he reached there, he noticed a huge building. On top of it was a signboard that read "Orphanage" in bold letters. As he stepped inside, he saw that no one was at the counter, only children playing around.

He made his way inside the orphanage, and the boy remained within his grasp. Kael noticed the other kids, but sothing inside him told him these children weren’t happy. ’It’s sad to see these kids live without their parents... or any guardians...’

"The world sure is harsh for so, and kinder to the others."

He placed the kid down beside the others of his age. Turning around, he began to leave, but before he could step out of the orphanage...

A sudden weight of guilt crashed over him. The pain of leaving behind soone he had spent even the slightest ti with clung to him, refusing to let go. He let out a small sigh, trying to make sense of what he was feeling.

’This feeling... it has surely been ages since I last felt such a tight knot in my heart... but I can’t take that kid with . I’m not qualified enough to do that.’

He finally left the orphanage, then turned and walked out in the opposite direction.

A small sigh escaped through his mouth. The relief of being free from the responsibility was clear in his sigh. "That was tiring."

While he was walking, he sensed that soone had grabbed his pants. He suddenly got defensive and turned around quickly. But what he noticed startled him lightly, as he saw that the boy whom he had just left at the orphanage was standing in front of him.

The boy was rubbing his eyes, which were filled with tears. He looked up at Kael and said in a soothing voice. "Mister, are you going to leave alone?"

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A/N

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