Chapter 146: Volunteering for the Golden Week (4)
The next morning arrived.
The volunteer students managed to sleep an extra two hours and woke up at 8:00.
Unlike the academy's schedule, where students wake up at 6:00 a.m. and start their day at 8:00 a.m., the orphanage wakes up at 8:00 a.m. and starts its day at 10:00 a.m.
Tudor, Sancho, Piggy, and Vikir, who were sharing a room, woke up early, washed up, and headed out the door.
As Vikir was just putting on his shoes and heading out the door, Piggy called out to him.
"Hey, Vikir. Where did you go last night?"
"...?"
Vikir looked up, and Piggy rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"No, I had to pee in the wee hours of the morning last night and got up to go to the bathroom, but you weren't in bed."
"I was in the stall at the time."
"Oh yeah? Ugh, I don't go big for at least a week when I'm in a new place. I guess you've already adjusted."
It's a lie, of course.
Vikir had spent the entire night investigating the nursery buildings.
Though he'd turned on a false alarm last night when he'd lost Guilty's trail halfway through the chase.
'He's more suspicious than I thought. He's changing his routine to disrupt the chase.'
Hounds follow scent to track their prey, but they can't pick up where the scent leaves off.
But Vikir is human. Humans know how to use tools.
A complete map of the nursery and a building register.
Vikir was able to get a copy of the architectural plans for Indulgentia Orphanage from when it was first built, which allowed him to locate Guilty, the director of the orphanage.
'His lair was hidden deep in the center of the nursery. This gave me a clear target.'
Guilty's quarters were hidden in the center of a circle of buildings housing the children.
The volunteers' quarters were outside of the children's buildings, so to kill Guilty, you would have to go through the four children's buildings.
Therefore, in order to pass through the children's living quarters at night, we had to volunteer in as many locations as possible during the day.
This way, he could learn the layout of the buildings and plan the best route.
That's what Vikir does today.
"Work hard, with sincerity."
He planned to serve children.
But Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy, who didn't know it, were impressed by Vikir's spirit of service.
"Vikir. Honestly, I saw you again this time. I'm ashamed of myself for working so hard for the kids, for trying to fill in the hours so I could get points. I should take a cue from you and work harder to be a true hero."
"I thought you were crazy when you stood up to your professors and seniors, but it turns out you're strong for the strong and weak for the weak. I admire you even though you're my classmate."
"Vikir, I'll try harder too!"
Of course, Vikir didn't listen to his sentimental friends.
The important thing was not to be recognized and praised by others, but to capture and kill the demon lurking in this orphanage.
Then.
"Good morning!"
A voice called out to Vikir as he made his way to the children's area.
Sinclair could be seen waving her hand in this direction.
Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy looked at each other's faces.
Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy stared at each other's faces, because none of them were close to Sinclair.
"?"
"?"
"?"
A "Hey, you too?" vibe formed between the three.
Then.
Sinclair walked over with a big smile on his face and tapped someone on the shoulder.
It was Vikir.
"Brother, why don't you pretend to know me!"
"I didn't realize it was a greeting for me, and...."
My brother?
Vikir's brow furrowed.
There was something uncomfortable about being called brother by a young girl.
'I'd rather be called mister.'
So Vikir corrected Sinclair's title.
"We're classmates, so don't call me brother."
"Why? I'm a year younger than you, and you're still my brother, no matter how you say it."
"Because it's uncomfortable to hear...."
But Vikir didn't finish his sentence.
Tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk-
Six hands clamped over Bikir's mouth.
"Ooh, we love being called big brothers!"
Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy said to Sinclair as they clamped their hands over Vikir's mouth.
"...?"
Sinclair tilted his head with rabbit-like eyes, then grinned.
"Yeah? I'll call you something else if you don't like it. I'll think about it until lunch."
"Ouch!"
"Well then, Mr. Tudor, Mr. Sancho, and Mr. Piggy, good luck today!"
Sinclair waved both fists at everyone, then turned and ran.
In the distance, she headed in the direction of where the kids were doing the lead run.
"Guys, she's back! Yay!"
"Whoa- Sis Sinclair, here's the pass!"
Sinclair quickly blended in and started playing with the kids.
Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy's jaws dropped at her innocence.
"Sinclair seems like such a good kid."
"He's good at school, good at magic, and good with kids."
"And most of all...."
The three spoke up at the same time.
"She's the prettiest of all the new students!"
Just then.
"What a bunch of boys."
A sneer came from behind them.
All heads turned to see Bianca standing there with her arms crossed.
Bianca said.
"If you're here to serve, serve, not to judge others behind their backs."
Tudor, Sancho, and Piggy all flinch at her chilling words.
...except for Vikir.
Bianca looked at Vikir, who stood still, expressionless.
"At least you're a little better. You don't flirt with idiots."
Then Tudor, who was standing next to Vikir, spoke up.
"Who's an idiot!"
"You."
"Don't you realize that you and I have similar writing scores?"
"Where does that come from? You had months of rigorous, expensive tutoring before you came to the Academy, and I got that grade just by playing around. I heard your father spent almost a castle to tutor you, and you got that grade after all that work? You're so subpar. Will you please save your nobleman's face?"
"What's so noble about a first year getting caught applying makeup, getting called out by the second year sisters and scolded, and berating them by bringing up the family's prestige, and then being caught by the instructor and being forced to serve?"
Tudor and Bianca had been enemies since before they entered the Academy, so there was nothing they didn't know about each other.
"You bastard, what's the point of being proud of a commoner girl's face behind her back?"
"I called her pretty because I thought she was pretty, and don't you realize that discrimination between commoners and nobles is forbidden in the academy? You're disqualified from being a hero because you're so full of selfishness!"
"Don't you ever get tired of your heroism? You're just like Don Quixote!"
"It's the Usher family's trademark to be gloomy and sarcastic!"
"You're talking out of your ass. Pfft!"
"You might as well be screaming at a rock. I'm in!"
Tudor and Bianca had always argued about who was the true head of the cold warrior class, and this argument was no different.
Sancho, fed up, interrupted them.
Meanwhile, Vikir quickly left.
He didn't want to waste any more time getting caught up in the children's fight.
Piggy followed Vikir and said.
"Oh, by the way. Vikir. I have a piece of information to tell you."
"Information? What is it?"
"Nothing big. It's about Sinclair."
...?
Vikir cocked his head.
Piggy scratched her head.
"It's really nothing. I saw Sinclair go to the outreach coordinator the other day and ask for something."
"Like what?"
"About where you're going to volunteer. She asked me where you were going and wanted me to assign her to it. She seemed so desperate."
Piggy chuckled and gave Vikir a swat on the side of the head.
"See what I mean? Good luck with that."
Vikir got a serious look on his face when he heard that.
He knew exactly what Piggy was talking about.
'She actually changed her volunteer location to follow me, at this time of year? That's suspicious.'
Something smelled of conspiracy.
At the same time, Vikir remembered what Sinclair had said yesterday.
'It's a coincidence that we're both assigned to the same place.'
'It is.'
'Actually, I saw your volunteer application last week, but I didn't think we'd be going to the same place.'
'I see.'
Sure, yesterday was a coincidence. But it was a deliberate and thoroughly planned move.
Vikir looked at Sinclair in the distance with a distant glance.
'Come to think of it, when you said that yesterday, you had a strange increase in heart rate and unsteady breathing. It is the hallmark of those who have something to hide.'
An uninhabited world in an age of destruction is understandably wary.
The demons are so vicious that they can slip through the cracks and stab you with their deadly sting.
Recalling the faces of his comrades-in-arms, sad and futile, makes me even more alert.
I couldn't feel anything other than clear energy in her soul, but I still don't know.
'There's no harm in being wary,' he thought, 'but I'll have to keep my distance. Far, far away.'
Piggy's meaningful warning was also troubling.
Perhaps he sensed something ominous and was trying to warn me about it.
'...Well, if you can get rid of it without rats or birds noticing, that's all you need.'
The dead are silent, for the dead have no words.
Vikir walked away, grateful to Piggy for the warning.
From now on, he would keep a close eye on Sinclair's every move, but he would also keep his distance.
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