NOVEL WEB Chapter 269: The New Orphanage (2)
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On top of that, Suleyman told them that Mira still had some business to tend to, which left the two maids looking absolutely distraught, like the world was ending before their very eyes. But they regained some hope once Suleyman told them that it would not take too long.
「We’ll be waiting for you then, Lady Mira.」
「We’ll have a delicious custard cake ready for you.」
Their words as they left let Mira know that she would not be able to escape them, but the custard cake they mentioned certainly intrigued her.
「Now that’s really different.」
「I know, I would’ve never imagined something like this back then.」
While the exterior was the same, the interior of the castle had changed a lot, not to mention the presence of personal maids. Lastrada and Artesia were a bit taken aback, but definitely not in a bad way.
Once they reached Solomon’s office, they found Kagura there as well, who had arrived before them and was already talking with Solomon.
「Welcome back, I’m glad we’re finally able to meet again.」With all of them there, Solomon greeted them, not as a king, but as their friend.
「Me too. It’s reassuring to be back home again.」
「And it was all thanks to the General and Commander in Chief. Thanks!」
Artesia and Lastrada also looked happy to see Solomon again as they sat down on the couch.
「And that takes care of the first step.」
As Mira had initially thought, that mysterious orphanage was really connected to Artesia, and along the way she found out that the Phantom Thief Fuzzy Dice was also Lastrada.
That also meant that all their current leads about the locations of the Nine Wisemen had been exhausted.
Kagura still had some business to take care of with the Fifty Bells, but she promised to fully return before the start of winter. Soul Howl was also expected to return within the year, which was enough to meet Solomon’s goal of gathering at least half of the Nine Wisemen that year.
「You’re right, and it was all thanks to you.」
Just like Mira had pointed out, the first step had been taken care of, and Solomon thanked her as she was the one who made it possible.
After their initial greetings, they soon began talking of various things, like Fuzzy Dice, the new orphanage, and so on.
As far as Fuzzy Dice went, Lastrada said that he would leave again once everyone settled in properly at the new orphanage, and when he was done, he would return. Things were still being prepared behind the scenes, so he could afford to wait before heading out.
Meanwhile, Artesia would be officially in charge of managing the orphanage. They would also be receiving donations from the church and nobles to run it properly, and if they ever needed more money, Artesia was willing to use her own savings for it.
Solomon wanted to know when he could publicly announce the return of Artesia and Lastrada, but they told him that it was better to wait until both of them had settled in properly before discussing that.
There was another reason to wait as well. Arkite’s Foundation Day was in four months, which was always celebrated with a big festival, and it was the perfect stage to announce the awaited return of the Wisemen. That also gave Kagura and Soul Howl time to finish their business as well. Solomon was itching to present four Wisemen at once, leading to a follow-up festival to commemorate their return that would surely be visited by plenty of people.
「And there’s a chance we’ll find even more of you during those four months.」
Solomon added that, turning a gaze full of expectations toward Mira.
So far, Mira had successfully found four Wisemen. Those left were the Exorcist Valentin, the Sage Meilin, and the Wiseman of Concepts Frone. If Mira found the remaining ones during those four months, the Foundation Day Festival would become an even bigger event.
The only issue was that they had no information about any of them, so Mira just looked away and said, 「That’ll depend on what I find out.」
Kagura also gave a vague, 「I’ll try to be there,」 as she did not know whether she would make it there on time. She was dealing with some complex issues, which Solomon seemed to understand, so he did not press her further, instead saying, 「If you ever need assistance, just let me know.」
Artesia would spend those four months as the director and manager of the orphanage, and Lastrada as her assistant.
「So we’re just looking for the right moment to reveal our identities. I can’t wait!」
Lastrada looked really excited about his surprise appearance during the festival, so much so that he was already starting to plan what kind of entrance he would do. Meanwhile, Artesia’s reaction was more lukewarm. As far as she was concerned, as long as there were children there, it would be enough.
With all of that decided, their conversation descended to idle chatter. Basically, they just started catching up on what they had been doing since their arrival in this world.
After some time, someone else joined their little group.
「A little birdie told me her beloved Mira came back, is that true?」
Luminaria entered with a playful smile, having overheard the maids talking about Mira. She was there wanting to tease Mira a bit, but when she saw everyone gathered in Solomon’s office, she froze in place.
All she had heard was that Mira had arrived, and did not know about the other three visitors. Knowing the maids, it made sense that they completely omitted all mention of anyone but Mira.
So she was caught off guard by seeing that Mira was not alone, but her shock did not end there.
「Artesia, Kagura…and even Last…」
It did not take long for her to realize that the three others were her old friends. Solomon had not told her anything about Mira’s efforts in finding them thus far, so it was a sudden reencounter after twenty years for Luminaria.
Many emotions welled up within her, as her gaze slowly shifted amongst her old friends, before she finally said, 「It’s been so long,」 with a slightly embarrassed smile.
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