Their eting continued until it was almost ti for dinner and the topic of eating together ca up, but as usual, Artesia wanted to prioritize the children, saying she wanted to eat at the orphanage. That prompted Solomon to stand up, saying, 「I’ll go there then,」 as he was also curious to see the orphanage and children for himself.
Then Luminaria also decided she would go there, and in the end, they all agreed to have dinner at the orphanage.
After Solomon changed into more plain clothes, they all climbed on a carriage and went back to the orphanage together.
They had just started preparing dinner there, with all the teachers who knew how to cook gathered in the kitchen. But they were struggling considerably, as usually Artesia did most of the work.
「Well, just sit back and wait for a bit.」
Saying that, Artesia went to the kitchen. Then Solomon said, 「I’ll help too,」 and followed her. And he was the only one who did, as Mira and the rest did not have nearly enough confidence in their ability to cook to help as well, so instead they just said okay and watched the two go.
The dining hall was adjacent to the kitchen, and was large enough to fit more than a hundred people. All of the children were already gathered there, and when they saw Mira and the rest arrive, they quickly sward around them.
Lastrada was liked the most by the older boys, but this ti he had competition, as Luminaria also turned out to be popular amongst them. She was known as the most powerful magician, which coupled with her beauty, attracted the attention of half of the boys. That was also likely due to their age, and the fact that they had spent most of their life so far within a remote and secluded village. Regardless of who she really was inside, her looks had been burned into their minds.
anwhile, Kagura went to hang out with the older girls. Sohow, they matched personalities perfectly, and soon were squealing while discussing romantic stories. So of the girls had also taken an interest in Solomon, constantly peeking into the kitchen while muttering, 「He’s so cool,」 or 「He’s so cute.」
And as usual, Mira was with the younger kids, reading them a book.
「And then, after blasting them away with an uncaring look, Luminaria…」
Mira was reading them a book about the Nine Wisen, compiled and edited for children. One of the teachers had bought a whole collection of them earlier, as it made sense to learn about that if they were going to live in Arkite.
Mira read the stories as they were written, but would glorify and exaggerate anything that was concerned with summoning. Because of that, the idea of summoners had beco really popular amongst the young children.
「Grandpa Danbulf is so cooool!」
「The black knights are so strong!」
Hearing the comnts from the children never failed to put Mira in a good mood.
After dinner, it was ti for everyone to take a bath. First, the youngest kids would enter, and they always had to be accompanied by soone older. The teachers usually took turns doing that, and this ti it was Mira’s turn.
「I guess I have no choice then.」
Mira had already learnt how much of a struggle it was to get around twenty kids to take a bath and behave. And while she seed grumpy about it, she still did it, gathering the children and asking, 「Do you all have a change of clothes? Let’s go then.」
Then again, it had also been the children’s wish for Mira to take them to the bath. She would never be able to bring herself to refuse children who liked her, so she was not as displeased about it as she made it seem as she guided all of them to the bathhouse.
As usual, the children were all in high spirits as they entered the bath, but unlike the previous ti, they actually listened to Mira properly, making things easier for her.
「Ahh, this is heaven…」
Mira also entered the bath, letting it carry away the exhaustion built up throughout the day. The children nearby also imitated her, repeating 「heaven…」 one after another.
Once they got out of the bath, everyone else had finished cleaning up after dinner, and it was the turn for the older group of kids to enter the bath. The other teachers would take care of everything else, so Mira and her friends gathered in the director’s office.
「Why don’t we share a drink? It’s been a while since we were all together like this.」
It had been a long ti since the six friends, Mira, Solomon, Luminaria, Artesia, Lastrada, and Kagura had gathered like that, and Solomon was rather joyful about the opportunity, as he began to uncork a bottle while adding, 「I actually brought a special one for the occasion.」
「Now, to celebrate this eting, and more future ones…」
They all raised their glasses and made them clink together, and then Solomon looked around the group with a delighted smile, sothing he usually never showed.
Many years had passed since the last ti they had seen each other, so there were plenty of things to talk about, even as it started getting late at night.
The topics they discussed were also just as varied, going from funny anecdotes from their adventures, what rare items they had obtained, their current plans, the state of the country, secret military rumors, and so on. At tis they laughed, at tis they exchanged information, and ti just seed to pass by instantly.
By the ti the next day was starting, Mira let out a lengthy yawn, which finally put a close to their night.
「Thank you for everything, Kagura. Please let your friends know I really appreciate it.」
「Yeah, we couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks!」
Artesia and Lastrada thanked Kagura once again, and she seed a bit embarrassed, simply replying, 「It was nothing,」 and then adding, 「Well, good night then!」 before changing into a shikigami and leaving.
Next, they went to thank Solomon as well, who just replied that he would always help out friends, but that they still needed to properly discuss their return as Wisen when things cleared up.
「Yes, we’re aware.」
「We’ll be here when you need us, don’t worry.」
Solomon seed satisfied with those replies. Then, he told Mira that he had sothing for her, so she should co by the castle the next day.
That instantly piqued Mira’s curiosity, wondering if it would be a new bag of money for her travels, or sothing else entirely. With that thought in mind, she said goodnight to everyone and went to bed.
✦✧✦✧✦
「Miraaaa. It’s morning already. Get upppp.」
The voice of children echoed through Mira’s mind, pulling her out of her sleep.
「Mgh… I see, it’s morning already…」
As her eyes slowly opened, she was greeted by the faces of children brimming with energy even so early in the morning. When she finally managed to prop herself to sit on her bed, the children celebrated loudly, saying, 「She’s awakeeeee,」 and lunged at her, pushing her back down on the bed.
「Okay, okay, that’s enough, let go to the toilet.」
After many attempts of getting up only to be pushed down again, Mira told them that and gently threw them behind her onto the bed. Suleyman had also made sure that all of the furnishings were of the highest quality, including the bed’s mattress, which was extrely bouncy, and safely caught the children without hurting them.
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