224 Meet the Engineer

Peace!

------------

Join my Discord!

//discord.gg/zpAgtPBAMK

If you wish to support this series, take a look at my P@treon.

//www.p@treon.com/join/AbadomWriter?

You can also find the links on my Disc@rd in case it doesn't work here.

And if you are bored, remember to check my other Novels.

(Including the one on my other account, its called: Azimuth: The Elden Throne

You can also find it by searching for my other account: Follower_of_Abadom

-----------

.

.

.

----------------

/Later…/

'After clearing the misunderstanding with the fearful child and awkwardly explaining why they were here, Silver and Loiju followed Maria and the other children to a small debilitated church nearby.'

(Image)

'This church had been abandoned for ages, but after the death of her husband long ago, Maria took it the place for herself and started to raise children in it as she never had any of her own.'

'Even after many years, no one ever came to bother her, so in that regard, she already stopped worrying long ago.'

'Whoever its original owners were, they certainly wouldn't mind a kind-hearted lady using it to raise orphans, even if they did, would they be so cruel-hearted to throw them away after all the work sho poured into the place?'

/Laughs…/

'As they walked inside, Silver and Loiju heard the laughs and sounds of children playing around, it seemed they were having a good time despite the looks of things.'

'It was at this moment that Maria had the children go play in the "living room" while they went to a side room to talk and learn about her and the orphanage's situation.'

'As a single woman, taking care of dozens of children is no easy task.'

'The only reason why she could in the first place was thanks to the children that grew up and started to give money to her since, unfortunately, most of the children she took care of grew to became adventurers.'

'In her own words, "... most of them joined a Familia and shared their earns with this Church… That is, until they didn't come back"...'

'Maria never wanted any of the children to become adventurers, but fate is often cruel.'

'And now more than ever, she wants to prevent yet another batch of little souls from losing their lives in that terrible place.'

'Perhaps it was due to the fact she lived in a dark place, but Maria quickly understood that Silver and Loiju were there to help and spend some time with them rather than anything else.'

'From the way they walked to the way they spoke and looked, it was completely different from the usual hooligans she commonly saw hanging around.'

'In this regard, Silver realized there might be an underlying story to all of this, but she didn't go into details, likely wanting them to not get involved as it would be too much to ask strangers for assistance, especially the ones that came here to help them like this.'

'And neither did he press her for information, opting to grow accustomed to the place first before doing anything significant…'

'Because sometimes, trying to help could very well end up causing the original problem to escalate even further.'

'And even though Silver wasn't afraid of problems, he had just resolved a pretty big incident, so if he were to find himself in another Familia dispute, he would be hearing an earful from several Goddesses and Mortals all at the same time back at home.'

'But this didn't mean he was afraid to act if necessary, as the reason why he struck Ishtar in the face was exactly due to his own morals.'

'Yet, to prevent things from escalating further, he had many ways to push the blame onto others and manipulate the truth to fit whatever he desired.'

'And if necessary, he could play around like he did when he first arrived in Orario, embracing another identity so he could move more freely.'

'Either way, if he jumped straight into the problem before gauging how deep its waters went, if it ended up being something he couldn't resolve within a day, then there was the chance the children of the Orphanage may be affected by his reckless actions once he leaves.'

'He wouldn't stay here for long, so he had to make sure no problems would follow them after his departure.'

'But since he was here, he was unwilling to turn a blind eye to their plights, as it left a shitty taste in his mouth.'

...

"... Oh? So that's how it is!" Maria said with a kind smile as she heard Silver's story

'She became even more relaxed when Silver explained why they were here specifically, it was due to the fact he met Rye several months ago, including some other kids in Orario.'

'Albeit those kids weren't under her particular supervision she still knew them as most of the Orphans in this area converged to play.'

'In fact, she had heard from their mouths about a certain mister they had seen in the streets, and due to this she became relatively more open with them.'

'As for the kids themselves, they were likely scattered around Daedalus Street, as there are many 'non-registered' Orphanages like hers all around.'

'So after receiving her thanks for the supplies, he left the room with Loiju to start talking with the kids…'

'If he were to gather any information, it would be now.'

'But as they walked in between the rooms, Silver sneakily reminded Loiju to be careful of what he spoke.'

'It was short, but his interactions with the children as he made his way inside already showed him their great curiosity and interest in Adventurers.'

'He was unsure why they thought he was one considering he never said anything about himself, but he believed his physical appearance may have made them assume things...'

'In any case, they had to make sure the children didn't get any ideas about adventurers, at least not until they were old enough to understand things properly...'

…

/Later…/

"Thank you for the help… Truly." Maria said in a low, gentle tone as she watched Silver fix the Church, one wall at a time

"It's nothing really, this Church is rather spacious, it's a shame some of its rooms are unusable."

'Just like in the 'distant' past, Silver was currently using his abilities to remodel and fix the Church.'

'But different from the past, Silver was now much better at manipulating his own powers, giving him a far greater range of motion than before.'

'It made him remember his first two months in Orario.'

It's been a while since I used my abilities for something like this... And it's not that bad.

This place isn't just a Church, but more like a Clergy house fused with one.

It's much bigger than it seems, going deep into the street block despite its simple entrance, however, most of its rooms are unusable or plain dangerous, not proper for children or anyone to live in.

I can see that Maria worked extremely hard to clear most of the things, but she was forced to lock many rooms due to their precarious conditions.

/Cronk!/

"Hum..."

'Covering the cracks in the wooden and stone walls by bending the materials, clearing the rubble beneath the flooring of the Church and stabilizing its foundations…'

'Filling up holes and fixing the windows, even the paint on the walls and the colorful glass windows were redone on the spot.'

'Little by little... The Church came back to life as its past glory resurfaced.'

"This should've been the last part… Oh yeah, does this Church have an Attic?" Silver asked as he looked around

Now, the Church can offer more rooms for the Children instead of cramping them all in smaller rooms, I also fixed the beds and improved the insulation in the Church so they don't have to worry as much about the heat and cold.

I also fixed some of the old plumbing of the Church, but I'll have to continue the work outside else there would be no point in that.

It's not like the Church is the only thing breaking down in this place...

'The Church was now sparkling clean, even the ground was shinny, so much so many of the children were now hypnotized as they looked at their reflections on the ground in wonder.'

'Silver added many flowers and plants to the Church to liven up the place as well, he even went a step ahead and painted some of the new room walls with decorative images children would like and enjoy.'

'While he did all of that, Loiju became acquainted with the kids, and after telling them of his job, they just all mobbed him as they asked questions about the Guild and the Dungeon one after the other, giving him quite a headache...'

"We do have one… But please, do not push yourself." She said, worried

"There is no need to worry that much, it would take many Churches for me to grow tired." Silver said with a proud smile as he studied his surroundings

This Church is even bigger than Hestia's old home, but not nearly as old.

Fixing it, however, is rather simple.

If I had more time I could even re-do the overall skeleton of the Church, adding metal beams for support, and it's not like I lack materials, there are many ruins all around.

On that same note, I could also fix those houses as well, but I don't see the reason for that apart from making things safer for the kids...

Kids can and will always find themselves in places they shouldn't be...

However, if I were to improve the living conditions in this entire city block, I would definitely attract unwanted attention to this place.

"If you say so, then please."

'She led him to the Attic, a small hole in the ceiling of the second floor with a small wooden ladder for him to climb.'

'He touched the wood on the ladder and wondered if it could resist his weight, it wasn't covered in dust, but it looked cranky...'

/Grab.../

/CRACK!/

"Careful!..."

'The moment he put a bit of weight on it, one of its beams broke and the ladder fell on the ground like a sad Lego castle.'

/Snap/

'Even then, this wouldn't stop him as he snapped his fingers and the ladder reassembled itself, this time looking stronger than ever!'

/Crunk!/

'He tried to open the Attic door, but it wasn't opening.'

"Hm…"

I think its hinges are broken.

'To his confusion, Maria replied:'

"The door to the Attic has been stuck for as long as I can remember, and I was always fearful of trying to open it as I was worried about the door giving in and falling atop someone."

"Because of this I always sectioned off this area of the Church from the others, leaving it for my own use."

"Wouldn't that put you, in danger?" Silver asked as he looked at her

"It's better for an adult like myself to bear it than those children." She said seriously

"... Well, then consider your worries, over." Silver replied with a smile

She's indeed a kind woman.

How long has she done this with a smile on her face I wonder?

Despite everything she caries in her heart?...

/Crunk… CRACK!/

'Using telekinesis, he forcibly opened the hatch, immediately causing a small waterfall of dust to fall as the hatch was flung open.'

'He predicted this as he moved away from the ladder just in case.'

/Cough cough!/

/SNAP!/

'Cleaning the dust with his powers before she grew sick, Silver made his way up… And it was about what he expected.'

'A dark and cold place full of cobwebs and old boxes, there was even a pretty big spider on the side, but it was pretty chill so Silver didn't do much against it, for now.'

'And of course, a shit ton of dust.'

"..."

Boxes? Well, it's always interesting to see what sort of things old places like this have stored.

But that can be left for later...

/FWOOSH!/

'All of the boxes vanished as the dirt and dust were cleaned in the blink of an eye.'

'Including the poor spider, but being the merciful man he is, Silver sent the spider to another abandoned house, wishing it good luck...'

'And with the place now in full view, Silver started to think...'

It's rather spacious… Perhaps I can make some changes and even make this place usable.

Hum… Yeah, I'll go with that.

But first, I need to change those rotting wooden beams.

I imagine that it has been decades since anyone's been here, so cleaning and maintenance weren't done, I can see some mold here and there, likely due to the holes in the ceiling.

There is eve some fungi, this isn't healthy, I'm surprised she isn't sick.

There's no need for me to fix the floor itself anymore as this Church has a rather simple design so the ceiling on the second floor is the ground of the Attic, and there is no insulation in between.

And I already fixed that as I worked on the second floor.

/Tremble…/

'A simple wave of his hand and the entire place started trembling…'

"Is everything okay?..." Maria asked as she looked up

"Just take a few steps back, it won't take long." Silver warned her as he turned to pay attention to the Attic

"Okay…"

/Creak!/

/Temble!/

'Maria watched in wonder and a bit of fear as the trembling sounds echoed from the ceiling… And the room next to her.'

'It was as if a monster was growling next to her, it didn't sound good.'

/Stop…/

'But just as quickly as it started, everything stopped as Silver jumped down from the ladder and the attic hatch vanished, making her even more confused.'

"What happened?..."

"Here…"

/Creak/

'Silver opened the door to the room next to him, it wasn't her own room but one she had set aside for storage…'

'And she opened it she saw something completely different!'

"You told me this place was used for storage, so I just improved its layout slightly."

'The previous old room full of old boxes was now carefully stacked with many wardrobes and shelves, they weren't even ugly as they were covered in carvings of creatures and intricate details.'

'And in the corner of the room, a set of metallic spiral stairs leading upwards could be seen.'

'This metal wasn't materialized in existence by Silver.'

'Instead, he made use of a few scrap piles of metal he felt from the nearby ruins, and with a bit of teleportation and telekinesis, it made Maria feel as if it came out from nowhere.'

"Follow me." Silver said as he made his way to the stairs

…

'Full of awe at this magical sight, she climbed the metallic stairs to the Attic, seeing its changes... Or its original look?'

'This was Maria's first time in the Attic, she had no idea what it looked like from the beginning.'

"I completely changed things here, first, the wooden beans were in a rather critical state, they weren't going to fall, but there was a chance certain sections of the roof would cave in, and this would result in water infiltration during rain."

If something heavy struck the Church, then everything might come falling down.

"Y-Yes?... We were having a few infiltrations, but they weren't common…" Maria replied as she thought deeply

"It's been a while since it rained though."

'Silver nodded, it was a minor problem, but it was good it had been resolved either way.'

"In any case, you won't have to worry about it anymore, as you saw, I also changed the way you can access this room, and it shouldn't be as dangerous to enter as before."

"So if you wish, you can also use it as extra storage or merely as a recreational zone, I did improve the insulation in the ceiling, so this place should be warm in winter, and rather cold in summer."

"If that is not enough, I added a window over there on the side, it can be opened to allow air currents to enter the Church, or be closed to retain heat."

"There is also a small fireplace over there." Silver said as he pointed at the side

Above all, I added simple locking mechanisms to almost all doors, they are all rather tall, so only Maria can use them if the need comes.

"It's… Beautiful." She said with pure amazement

"With this… I think we can call it a day for the Church's interior." Silver said as he turned around to face her

"I… Cannot begin to thank you."

"… No worries, it's just the start." Silver said with a smile

'He wanted to brush it off and play his actions as not that big of a deal, but as he thought about it, he remembered the words he said before coming here.'

'... "Having the opportunity and willingness to do any kind of charity should be welcomed and not shunned simply because you didn't feel like doing it before…".'

'He knew that, if he were to downplay himself, this lady in front of him would likely cut him and try to prove him wrong, and he would end up making a fool of himself.'

'And… He was a bit embarrassed to be reminded of it by her…'

'Despite her appearance, she was relatively older than his mother, thus, it felt like being scolded.'

"Just the start?"

"Well, I did renovate the Church, why not its surroundings? There is quite a bit of space around it, so why not use it?"

I could flatten the ground directly in front of the Church and make a playground with the usual things you would find in one, such as Slides, Swings, Monkey bars, Merry-Go-Round, Etc.

If the Children have a place to play rather than finding one around the Church, then it would be easier to manage them all.

Keeping tabs on children is the hardest part of caretaking after all, children can be like eels, hard to grasp and slippery, and before you know it, they somehow vanish only to find themselves stuck inside some dangerous place…

/Chatter!/

"Hm?"

'Before Maria could reply to Silver's statement, a series of voices rang from below in quick succession, it seemed something had happened on the first floor!'

"Has something happened?" Maria questioned as she turned around

"Let's take a look."

They don't look scared, they are excited even.

'Silver could almost perfectly hear their voices, if he focused he could, but right now, his brain was just filtering the noises.'

Hum... There's a new voice... It seems familiar.

Wait a minute...

"Mr. Silver? Is there a problem?" Maria asked as she saw Silver stop

"Ah... No, sorry, I was just thinking about some things."

It can't be, I must be mistaken... Hopefully.

'And so, the two made their way below.'

'But Silver was about to regret that choice…'

…

/Awkward…/

'In front of Silver was a gray-haired girl with light gray eyes, gazing at him with a slightly troublesome look.'

"Out of everyone I expected to see here after listening to the children, I didn't expect it to be you."

"Though it's not surprising either." She said with a sweet smile

"I could say the same, though, at this time…"

The Pub should be open by now...

"It's my vacation day of course, can't work every day without rest." Syr replied as she gave him a warm smile

"Sometimes when I'm free, I come here to help Maria." She said with a smile as she approached him

"What about you? I never thought you would be interested in charity."

'Silver smiled awkwardly.'

"It's not that I'm not interested, I simply never had it in my mind…"

'Silver then thought about his words.'

"Wait, that came out badly, let me rephrase that..."

"Too late." She said with a slight chuckle

"..."

"I Uh... It's just that... After that fight… I decided to take some time off, and amidst the many things on my to-do list, I thought… Why not?"

"Hopefully that doesn't pass off as bad."

'Syr shook her head.'

"Any charity is a good charity, don't you think so?"

/Grab…/

"?"

'Out of nowhere, Syr grabbed his left hand gently.'

'It was smooth and warm... Different from his rough hand.'

(The touch of a woman, keep dreaming kid)

"Well then, since you're here, why don't we have some fun?"

"I heard it from the children and your advisor that you were renovating the place, this place now looks like a proper home…"

'She stood still for a few moments before turning and flashing a grand smile.'

"I thank you for that."

"... You don't need to... Maria already did that… Quite a few times too."

"But I want to!"

/Pulls!/

'She pulled his hand, forcing him to follow her.'

"Calm down, I'll follow you, there's no need to pull my arm…"

"No can do, the day will end faster than you think, now, let us enjoy it!"

"Show me what you did!" She said with a smile as she started to chuckle

'She was having fun, SIlver just couldn't quite understand why, was it because she was genuinely surprised to see him there?'

"... Sigh."

She seems to be in a bit of a hurry but… It doesn't change anything.

I came here to relax a bit… Now I don't know if I'll be able to.

Still… It's not that bad.

'Silver followed Syr as she dragged him around, having fun with the children as he played the role of weird magician and Syr as the older sister…'

'Later on, they made their way outside, and Silver started to renovate the place while Syr voiced out her own ideas, almost bossing him around.'

'She was having a lot of fun watching him complain and use his abilities, finding it all too magical.'

'And In the blink of an eye, the hours passed.'

…

.

.

.

Notes

A cuter chapter, but it was meant as a bridge to some other events.

I don't know if the Church will ever reappear in the story, though the people within will likely be mentioned a few times, so there's no need to worry about such fillers repeating themselves.

That's about it Tchau!