Chapter 5: Chapter 5: The Orphanage

After explaining the situation to the redhead, he apologized for jumping to conclusions without knowing the whole story. I didn’t need his apology since it wasn’t like I blamed him or anything. There weren't too many ways you could have interpreted her statement. 

We passed by the guild hall, its brilliant bay windows teeming with people gathered at tables in small groups. Sunlight glinted off of the shiny copper that covered the roof, speckled with black chunks of rock that appeared to have been recently patched up.

The white-haired girl behind me was less intrigued with the display, more concerned about hiding herself from passersby. While she had stopped shaking now, she was intent on maintaining her death grip on the back of my shirt. I left her to it, feeling confident with Lyfeti by my side, and a whole host of witnesses. No way she could try to murk me without someone seeing.

Shops to our left were full of both NPCs and players hustling and bustling to and fro. They exchanged wares with loud shouts and the rattle of currency confirming the deals. The shopkeepers would thank them and pull out more of what they were selling to display on their shelves, restocking the empty places that their recent customers had just left. The players’ activity spilt over into the cobblestone street, and we had to dodge around some of the less attentive ones. 

By the time we reached the orphanage, I was sick of people and not looking forward to having to brave those crowds to get armor and the like. We walked through the black iron gate and approached the giant slab of bricks with a few sprinkled windows here and there that was the orphanage. Some kids ran around in the yard, divided by a snaking pathway that we followed to the front of the building. A nun greeted us from the steps, whispering a prayer in a foreign language I had never heard before. "You have brought Summer back home safely! May the Goddesses blessings always shine upon you!”

“And may they shine upon you as well.”

I had no doubt that sounded pretty cool, but Lyfeti appeared like he wanted to say something. He held his tongue, though, and the lady motioned us closer. By the time we had reached the base of the stairs, the girl behind me was once again shaking like a leaf. I could hear her breathing growing faster, and she was beginning to pinch my skin. Spinning around, I placed my arm around her shoulder and pulled her flush against my side, hoping it would calm her.  

A beautiful smile graced the lady’s face as she stared at the white-haired girl. “Summer, you must be exhausted. Why don’t you take a bath and then have some supper?”

“No…”

“Don’t be like that now. Good children should listen to adults.”

Something about this didn’t feel right. That smile I had thought was so beautiful moments ago seemed hollow. “Don’t you want to play with your friends again?”

The other children seemed to take that as their cue and approached us. They also were smiling, yet they were just as empty. It didn’t reach their glazed-over eyes, and the children were more like a hive mind than anything else; the exact opposite of the feisty attitude of this girl. Lyfeti must have gotten the same impression because he drew his glance around like he was checking for potential escape routes. 

“They're not my friends. You’re all the same, a-and I’m not going to become one of you again.” Her voice hitched in her throat. “I’m g-going to join his party and become an adventurer.”

All their gazes settled on me, and I was secretly hoping Lyfeti had a teleport crystal on him because my broke ass certainly didn’t. The children and the lady continued to approach us, and that was when I made a decision. I wasn’t about to beat up a bunch of kids and a devout lady of god. No, that wouldn’t be a good look no matter how I tried to spin it. Instead, I settled on the classic flight response.

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“Run!” I shouted, grabbing Summer’s arm and tugging her along at a good clip. Lyfeti’s footfall was right behind us as we barreled through the slightly ajar iron gates. It turned out to be pointless since none of them bothered to give chase, but that didn’t stop me from running all the way back past the shops, the guild hall, and to the town square. The more distance I could put between myself and those creepy NPCs, the better. 

Doubling-over in exhaustion, I released her hand, wiping the sweat from my brow. Realizing how tired I was, I decided to sit on the edge of the marble fountain instead, marveling at the crystal clear water in its deep basin for a moment. Summer sat close to me, strangely more relaxed around the various members of Cult 76, donning their affiliation with the sashes thrown over their shoulders. I had no idea what was going on, and decided I didn’t want to, so I focused on catching my breath. The girl next to me didn’t have a bead of sweat on her, and I wondered whether or not she was even programmed to feel exhaustion. I also wondered how much of a bleeding heart I was to rescue some brat instead of the bag of gold I desperately wanted.

Lyfeti leaned against the side of the fountain when she tapped me on the shoulder, one of her thin eyebrows was raised. “All you have is asterisks above your head. What’s your name?”

While my username being censored had provided temporary salvation from answering her, there was no way in hell I was telling a little girl my username. AnoleFisting just wasn’t going to fly, and neither were any of the crappy names Lyfeti came up with. He watched on in amusement as I squirmed under the pressure of coming up with a suitable name. 

Eventually my wonderful brain came up with a fantastic solution. “You can call me Null.”

“Ew, how lame.”

And she still made fun of me for it.

Lyfeti chuckled, reaching into the pack attached to his hip and withdrawing a gold coin. He held it out to me, and I greedily took it, imagining being able to finally buy some equipment to start leveling. His steely eyes locked onto my own. “That’s to buy her some new clothes since you ruined her other ones.”

I balked at him, while she grinned. “Thanks, Ly.”

“Yeah, thanks a lot, Ly…” I grumbled. 

Although, I supposed I couldn’t complain too much. It was my fault, and it wasn’t like she could go without getting a new set soon. While she might have had an indiscernible tear in her skirt before, now it was ripped and coming undone at the seams. Running around in her burnt shirt wasn't feasible either, especially if I was going to be stuck with her for now. My eyes lit up as another brilliant idea came to mind; having her on my side might end up proving helpful, after all.

I handed her the gold piece, which she accepted just as greedily as I had. "Let's get you kitted out."