Back to The Orphanage

Inside the bandits' treasury, Morgana found five thousand aetherium and a good number of common weapons level 40 and below.

'Hmm, I should give this to the prisoners. I mean, their money is probably in this pile…' she thought.

Not needing any of the weapons, she took the money, which was instantly absorbed into her item box, and went back to the living room, where the prisoners waited patiently for their savior to return.

Arriving with her body covered in blood splatters and a smile, the freed prisoners cheered as the trickster opened the exit and bathed them in the sunlight.

The big group followed closely behind Morgana as they traversed the city to reach the orphanage. Counting the seven children and the caretaker, the group had twenty-five people in total.

"Excuse me, Miss Hero…" said the oldest of the children as she poked Morgana while walking.

With a soft expression, she turned to look at the twelve-year-old girl who was looking up with admiration in her eyes.

"What's your name?" she innocently asked, making the people around them curious for the answer as they perked up their ears.

Morgana pondered if she should reveal her identity, considering her reputation was different from how it used to be a century ago.

She wasn't ashamed of saying her name. In fact, if any of the people in the group had the "appraisal" skill, they would have known her identity back at the Roache's base.

However, Morgana remembered the story that the Freebird party told her, where they mentioned how the trickster was feared in many places and admired in others, depending on who controlled the area.

Now that she was missing so many levels, she wanted to avoid her name being spread in case someone strong decided to hunt her.

With that in mind, Morgana gently placed her hand on the little girl's head and said she would tell them when they reached the orphanage, making everyone even more curious.

The reason why she wanted to do it there was simple. If she told them the truth and someone reacted strangely, Morgana would know who to care for before spreading her name.

While they kept making their way through the main street, lots of eyes were fixated on them. Nevertheless, none of the criminals around had the guts to confront such a big group which was being led by a silver-haired woman that they could tell was bad news just by her gaze.

Once they reached the orphanage, the guards opened the shabby gate for them, and they were received by the caretakers.

__________

After Morgana left the orphanage to look for the kidnapped, the caretakers fed Selene the fried rice bowl the trickster had left for them, although she could only eat a small part of it.

Afterward, they gave her a bath since her entire body was covered in dirt and combed her hair, prompting the little girl to fall asleep.

Tilly, the oldest caretaker, deduced that the girl's bad diet and hygiene were the cause for her body to tire after little activity. Her body was too small for a six-year-old, meaning that she had been living that way for a while.

However, she realized the girl must have lost her sight recently, as she didn't act like she was used to it. Selene had trouble walking, which meant she wasn't confident moving her body without being able to see.

The old caretaker, who possessed the "appraisal" and "high appraisal" skills, used it on the child and noticed the same curse that Morgana had seen before, making her scoff in discontent since only a monster would curse a small child with such an ability.

As the little girl slept, the caretakers and the Freebird party ate their share of fried rice and waited for the trickster to arrive, who fortunately did a few moments later.

__________

Arriving at the orphanage, Vivi ran and hugged her two companions, crying in joy.

At the same time, the children gathered around their caretakers and hugged them, then turned around to thank Morgana again, who was standing there with a smile seeing the scene unfold.

"How's Selene?" asked the trickster.

"She is asleep now…" answered Tilly, the oldest caretaker, followed by an explanation of what she had found out about the child.

However, Morgana already knew all about it and planned on cleansing the curse, but she needed to level up to do it.

The large group of people entered the orphanage's building and stayed in the living room as the trickster directed her words at them, introducing herself and telling them that she was on her way to Veridian.

Morgana said that she needed to do something for a few days but would come back to take the Freebird party to their destination, giving the adventurers she saved the option to go with her.

Looking at the reactions of the people, some of them didn't believe her words when she introduced herself as "Morgana," but the members of the Freebird party chimed in, explaining that they had been traveling with their big sister for a few days and she was the real deal.

The passion in the teenagers' voices reached the adventurers, and they decided to believe as they had also seen the trickster in action, asking Morgana what she wanted them to do.

The trickster said that she only wanted the group to protect the orphanage while she was gone and that she would return in a few days to continue their journey.

Leaving behind dozens of sandwiches and rice bowls, she patted the head of the sleeping Selene, who opened her eyes at the warm touch of Morgana.

"Mom?" the girl mumbled while slowly opening her eyes.

Seeing her gray eyes with no iris staring into nothing made the trickster clench her fist in frustration and embrace the little girl.

"I'll be back in a few days, okay? But I'll bring a gift with me," she said with a soft tone, making the blind girl smile sadly, as she didn't want her to leave.

Turning her gaze to the Freebird party members, Morgana said, "I'll trust you to take care of everyone here."

The teenagers, with confidence in their eyes, nodded fervently and told their big sister they would handle any problem that could arise in the area.

Making her way out of the orphanage once again, Morgana opened her world map to remember the location of a specific dungeon she knew was close to the city of Kartan.

'I'll get level 110 as fast as possible…'