Chapter 9: Family

It has already been four months since Zena had joined the orphanage, and everyone had already gotten used to her being there. She was able to confirm her age to be three years old, which meant that she was two years younger than Mirage, and three years younger than Betty.

After living in the orphanage for a while, Zena was able to recover a little, and didn't look malnourished anymore. She was still shorter than children of the same age, but at least her future development wouldn't be affected.

While she was a pure human just like Mirage, Zena looked noticeably different than him

Unlike Mirage who had dark grey hair and green eyes, Zena had reddish brown hair with the same colored eyes. Her physique itself wasn't too different, forgetting that her growth was somewhat behind.

Obviously, she was even less similar to Betty, who was an elf. Zena didn't have long and pointed ears like Betty as she was a human, but that didn't stop the two from getting along as friends.

Since Betty was raised together with Mirage, she held no contempt or prejudice against humans. She treated Zena like a younger sister, and taught her stuff Petra had taught Betty in the past.

The now family of four continued to live in the orphanage as always, and Achlys sometimes took the children to the village to introduce them to the village children. Luckily, the children from the village didn't seem to show too much prejudice towards them. Since this village was already composed of both human and elves, the elven children were already used to seeing humans, while the second were lesser in number.

Since Mirage and the rest got along with the children from the village, they weren't against seeing them every now and then. Of course, unlike Betty and Zena, Mirage wasn't particularly interested in playing with other children. He just made them toys by carving wood, and asked them about the news and what they had heard in the village.

In fact, he was able to figure out which merchant group Zena's mother had used to visit the village by hearing clues from one of the elven children in the village, who just happened to be visiting the village entrance with their parents.

While there weren't any children who showed them prejudice due to their racial differences, there were a couple of children who didn't know what orphans were, and accidentally made Zena cry. Since this wasn't their fault, Mirage taught them what orphans were, and got them to apologize in exchange for letting then play with the toys he makes.

Lain too got acquainted with Zena when he came back to visit the orphanage during his day off, and got along with her. He too had to suffer the pain of parting with his parents, so he was understanding of the feelings Zena had. Unlike Betty and Mira, who grew up in the orphanage starting from their birth, separating with your old family was something both Zena and Lain had to go through.

Still, he too was surprised after hearing that someone had snuck their child into the orphanage without seeing anybody around. He continued to visit once every two weeks, bringing home some food that could only be purchased in the village.

Of course, since the village had an abundance of elves, most of them didn't consume meats. So Lain could only bring food like pastries or dry rations. This pained Mirage in his heart, as he continued to yearn for the roasted fish of his dreams.

The days continued to pass as Mirage one day had the fortune of meeting one of the other gods in the village, Dagda, who had a chubby build with a long beard. Achlys took Mirage to meet him, for reasons she didn't explain. After seeing him, Mirage asked if he could receive Dagda's falna, but the god said that he was still "too young", and that "receiving such power at such young age is more harmful than you would think". In short, the age of five and a half was still considered to young to be given falna.

While Mirage was still thinking about how he should prepare himself before he could recieve falna, Achlys asked him to let them tall in private for some time. While the two were talking, Mirage went to the courtyard of Dagda's house, and lied down on the grass as he looked at the cloudy sky.

"Have you noticed it too, Dagda?"

"Yes. How peculiar... it is also my first time seeing a mortal with such unique soul. I have been to orario a few decades ago, yet even their top adventurers at the time weren't like this. It's as if he is fundamentally different from other mortals. Of course, it's not alike to that of a god either."

"Hmm... I know some gods take an interest in people with unique souls like Mira, and force them to go through trials and trials... I don't want Mira to be treated like toy by the gods. Dagda, is there anything that you can do?"

"You are right. There are both good and evil Gods, and there are even those who would ruin a mortal just for their personal whims, treating them as toys. When we, the Gods first descended from Tenkai, it was for something important, not to play around... Alas, those that followed later... As for your request, Achlys, I can see if something can be made to shield the divine gazes of Gods."

"Really? Thank you Dagda."

"Don't thank me just yet. Such an item requires some really rare magical materials. It is lucky that I am already in possession of some, but you will have to go more towards the center of the elven lands to obtain rest. All I can do now is to lay the foundation and draw the blueprint for its core functions."

"So you will not be able to finish it?"

"Unfortunately... the materials need to be used in fresh condition, so unless I come with you in person, you will need someone else to finish it. But, don't worry. Do you remember Dennis? The one from fifty years ago."

"Your personal student? Yes, he was one of the only people you passed down your magic crafting skills during your stay in Genkai."

"Yes, that one. He lives in the Faseria town, towards to the center of the forest from here. Dennis should be able to obtain the resources and complete the object. But, you shouldn't wait too long to visit him. While he is an elf, he is still getting old..."

"I see... when will you be able to finish the core, Dagda?"

"Give me four, no three months. But, you have to come and visit once a week and apply your divinity to the item. While it will not be a blessed item by any means, we will still require the combined power of three gods to craft it. I will ask Vosegus for help too, don't worry. While he acts though, protecting mortals is what makes him happy."

"Ah, thank you Dagda."

"I can only help you this much... but, having to build an item that requires the power of three gods, do you think that's worth it to protect a child?"

"... I-"