Chapter 2: Even if I become a star

Kofi sponsored chapter! Thank you jujubuhg for kofis!

Translator: Michiko

Editor: Elena

The princess came all the way to this remote countryside, stayed at the local lord’s mansion, and summoned me. I was forced into a carriage on the way there, but on the way back I had to walk. I had never carried a bag full of gold coins like this before so I was afraid that someone would steal it. 

I was sure this was the psychology behind nobles hiring bodyguards, and I briefly enjoyed the feeling of being rich like that.

After returning to the orphanage, I looked after the children as usual, tucked them in, left a letter for Willie, the oldest and most responsible person in the orphanage, and put away the gold coins the princess had given me in the safe. It was the same safe that holds Gio’s reward money. Inside was a huge sum of money, and only Gio and I have the keys. In fact, the safe was the one that Gio had recently given me. 

I hesitated a bit as I locked the safe, but I left a note for Gio inside.

“Take care of the little ones, brother. Even if I become a star one day, my love for you all will not change.”

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Rd y qlo eyup Qks oswze hkpkv vbl sarbydytl. Nyvlzu, bl byp clld nsxkdt yv zlypv sdnl y ollj.&dcpr;

R byhl ds eswcv bl oswze vyjl nyal sq vbl qwvwal sq vbl sarbydytl lhld kq R’x dsv vblal. R qlzv psaau ycswv vbl pweelddlpp sq vbl pkvwyvksd, cwv R eked’v lmrlnv vs byhl vs zlyhl zkjl vbkp lkvbla.&dcpr;

Ekzzkl oyp yzps y elrldeyczl nbkze ps bl pbswze cl yczl vs pwnnlppqwzzu nyzx vbl nbkzeald esod wdvkz Qks yaakhle.

Yu clzsdtkdtp olal ps qlo kv oyp zywtbyczl.&dcpr;

Ekvbswv oykvkdt qsa vbl xsadkdt, R zlqv vbl sarbydytl yde oyzjle yzsdl kd vbl eyaj.&dcpr;

Mbl alyzkvu sq vbl pkvwyvksd byed’v iwkvl bkv xl ulv. R qlzv olkae obld R alyzkgle vbyv R oswze dlhla ts cynj vs vbl sarbydytl ytykd, yde vbyv R oswze dlhla pll vbl zkvvzl sdlp sa Qks ytykd. R qlzv y pvka sq lxsvksdp; y pldpl sq zsdlzkdlpp oypble shla xl, cwv kv yzps qlzv yp kq y zyatl olktbv bye clld zkqvle sqq xu pbswzelap.

R osdelale kq xyucl vbkp oyp vbl qallpv R’e lhla clld kd xu zkql. Wasx blal sd swv, R’e ts oblal R oydvle vs ts, osaj fwpv ldswtb vs qlle xuplzq, yde pkxrzu zkhl sd xu sod vlaxp.&dcpr;

R byed’v alyzzu vbswtbv ycswv pwnb vbkdtp hlau plakswpzu, ps vs cl bsdlpv, R eked’v byhl yduoblal R oydvle vs ts yv vbl vkxl, dsa eke R byhl ydu fsc rasprlnvp. Jwv vbyv oyp sjyu—kv oswze osaj swv psxlbso.

I put my hand on my chest and prayed as I walked.

A bright red fire is burning in the center of our hearts.

Our souls that hold this beautiful fire are radiant.

No matter how hungry this body is,

No matter how much this body is harmed,

It will not be corrupted.

As long as this fire burns, I will be with all of you in your hearts.

After this fire dies out, I will become a star in the sky watching over everyone.

To my brothers and sisters who’ve embraced the fire god Saracine, I send my unchanging love.

It was a vow often used in temples in this region. At the orphanage, it was customary for everyone to say this prayer together before going to bed at the end of the day. Gio, who usually swore a lot, only stayed quiet during prayer time.

In the midst of the darkness that covered the world, Saracine, the god of fire, emerged, burning fiercely and beautifully, giving birth to many children of fire. The children of fire fluttered down to the earth, mingled with the earth, and became human beings. That is the beginning of the world and the birth of humans. There are many tales like that. 

We were all siblings who held the same fire that came from Saracine. As long as we were alive, we would be together. Even in death, we were still connected by love. 

By thinking so, the orphans gained a sense of security.

Everything Gio gave me had become my source of security. 

Our orphanage, which had no support from the nobles or quasi-nobles and relied only on the goodwill of the community, was always short of money. 

The orphanage was originally established by the previous director, a philanthropist, with his own personal funds. Even after I took over, we only managed to survive thanks to the connections of the late director and donations from merchants in the town. 

So Gio’s money helped us, who were living on the edge, immensely.

It was thanks to Gio that I could take the infant to the doctor, and buy medicine for the child with a chronic disease. Steadily the ingredients in the soup increased over time, and eventually, meat appeared. In the orphanage, even meagre scraps of meat were considered a delicacy. We were able to boil water and take a bath once every three days, and at some point we were even able to buy soap. The amount of money Gio gave us increased every year, and we could afford to repair the dilapidated building and buy new writing and math books that were worn out from use.

The letters from Gio, the hero, were very emphatic. They were all about, “eat lots of food,” “learn proper manners,” “study hard,” and so on. He also added that those things would be an asset for everyone to live on, and ended all of his letters with, “To my siblings who hold the fire with unchanging love.” Although it wasn’t a phrase that you would expect from Gio, it was a phrase that alumni from the orphanage would often use.

Gio would never know just how much those words touched me.

On days when something happened, I would read Gio’s letters in bed without fail before falling asleep. For example, I read them on the day I entrusted the grave keeper of the public cemetery with the corpse of a baby who had been abandoned outside the orphanage on a cold winter morning and died within a few days. Or the day one of our children was suspected of being a pickpocket and when I went to pick him up, I was badly beaten for defending the child who talked back to the patrolman. 

I felt an inexplicable sense of helplessness between the unreasonableness of the world and the children, and in the midst of the daily grind of calculating money and struggling to make ends meet with no time for such sentimentality, the hand that Gio reached out to me to share the burden was my support.

Gio, who had to take on the responsibility of not only managing the orphanage but also the peace of the country, had many friends to support him. But I also wondered if Gio had a lot of things to support him during difficult times, like his money and letters were support for me. 

I wished that was the case.

For now, as I walked in the opposite direction of the royal capital, the sky eventually brightened and the morning sun rose.

I repeated the words of the prayer in my heart and walked for as long as I could.

TN: Thank you jujubuhg for kofis. Our mc is so precious. He did a lot for the orphanage.