A Safe Place for Them

After eating at a famous tavern, the group toured the city. Dusk was already setting, but the streets were livelier than ever. They were selling all kinds of things, but what caught Charlotte’s attention the most was how many merchants were making products related to the hero.

“Maybe someday my face will be carved from wood, or painted by a famous artist.”

Charlotte kept daydreaming until she bumped into Gerald. Suddenly, they came to a stop. Suri looked to the right and turned into an alley. They walked through several winding alleys until they finally reached a house.

It was an old house, built of white walls and wooden beams. The roof was thatched, and moss was growing near it.

Suri knocked three times.

A nun opened the door.

“Can we help you?”

“Hello, we just wanted to talk and spend time with the children.”

The nun looked at her from head to toe.

“It’s about the incident.”

“That’s right, but also I think my students want to play with the kids.”

The nun craned her neck to get a look at everyone.

“Fine, please come in.”

Inside, only a few candles lit the place, and it was filled with a delicious smell of food. About 20 children were playing around. Some were accompanied by various nuns who joined in their games.

“Please, have a seat.”

They offered them cookies and strange SoulFruit-flavored tea.

“One of our sisters said that you already interrogated her.”

“That’s right, but we just wanted to clarify something.”

“I’ll do my best to help you.”

Suri took a sip of her tea. “What kind of records did you keep in the orphanage?”

“Papers? I suppose that information about the other sisters, the children, some agreements with the royal family or the count, and that’s it.”

“What about the Orphanage records?”

“In those, we just wrote down the children's basic information.”

“For example, about Oliver Grenger.”

“Yes, do you know him?”

The nun turned slightly and pointed to a little boy jumping and giggling with the other children.

“Not really, we were just curious.”

Suri took another sip.

“About the missing children.”

The nun's expression suddenly turned sad.

“Was there something special about them?”

“Every kid is special to us.”

“I meant about their abilities. Could they use Magica or have a unique type of Magica?”

She sighed and remained silent for a while.

“Now that you mention it, kind of.”

“What do you mean?”

The nun leaned forward and lowered her voice.

“One of the main reasons they are abandoned is that they are born as Sine Magica.”

“So, no?”

“That's not always the case, but in this orphanage it is the majority.” She paused. “Two of the five children were able to use Magica.”

Suri approached her.

“The other three?”

“Sine Magica.”

“The others? What type?”

“Really basic Fire and Wind Magica.”

Suri paused to think for a moment.

“Are there others who can use it?”

“Those three.”

She turned around again and pointed at a group of three little kids. They were just playing and didn't seem to possess any great Magica power.

“Anything else?”

“About the hero, is it true he changed physically?”

“I can’t be sure. Everything happened so fast.”

“I see.”

“Anything else?”

Suri finished her tea. “I just need a description of the five children who went missing.”

“Of course.”

Night had fallen. The group was resting while Suri jotted down every detail. The place was still filled with children's laughter and the sound of little feet running back and forth.

Charlotte stood up and started walking around.

“Stop you there, evil,” a high-pitched voice ordered.

A little girl was pointing directly at Charlotte.

“I, the great hero, will defeat you.”

She ran and softly punched her leg.

“Wahhh!” Charlotte screamed in a low voice. “Such a powerful heroine.”

“That’s right, I, the great heroine, defeated you.”

“Please, forgive me.”

“Hey, I want to play with you.”

All of a sudden, many children surrounded Charlotte, asking to join in or just to watch.

“Yes, she’s the monster.”

“Not fair! I want to be the hero.”

“No way.”

They started making up a story and playing as if it were all real. They were having fun, and Charlotte played along.

“Take this!”

“Wahhh”

“We defeated the evil again!”

All the children jumped for joy.

“Not so fast. She was just my helper. I'm the real villain,” Leif announced as he also got up to play.

There was a gasp of surprise.

“We will defeat you too.”

They kept playing for a while longer until, exhausted, they gathered around Charlotte. Some climbed up her back toward her head, while others tried to climb onto her shoulders.

“You play really well, miss. Are you a hero?”

“I’m trying to be one…”

“Really? So you can use Magica?”

“Do you have a party?”

“What weapon do you use?”

They bombarded her with questions, and she answered them as best she could.

“Alright, kids, time to sleep.”

“No! We want to play with her.”

“Tomorrow you will.”

The children started to leave, but a little boy tugged at her sleeve. He looked her straight in the eyes, hesitated, but finally spoke.

“Do you think I can be a hero?”

“Of course you can!”

“Even if I don't have Magica?”

Charlotte just smiled.

“Do you want to hear a secret?”

Charlotte leaned close to the little boy's ear. 

"I don't even know how my Magica works." 

His eyes were shining, and he stared at her without blinking. 

"And even so, I'll do my best to become the best heroine!" 

The boy let out a little chuckle.

“Then me too! I'll be a hero," he gushed. "I hope the hero picks me next!”

Charlotte stopped him, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“P-picks you?”

“Yes! He said he'd train us to save the future." 

“When did he tell you that?”

“Last time he visited us. This time, it was Elli, Mur, Char, Julie, and Simon's turn.”

“I see.”

“Maybe you can join him too!”

The boy continued on his way, skipping along with joy. Charlotte felt a chill run down her spine.

Charlotte returned to her seat. Some of her teammates, like Gerald and Alysia, had fallen asleep in their chairs. The others were just chatting. Charlotte joined them.

After a while, Suri motioned for him to step outside. She had a serious expression on her face. She looked them straight in the eyes.

“How tired are you?”

“Well… It was a long day.”

“I agree… Tomorrow at this same time, we will start a search and rescue mission.”

“For those kids?” Charlotte asked.

“Correct.”

“Huh? But we don’t have any clue,” Alysia complained.

“That's true, but we can’t stand on the sidelines.”

Suri paused.

“If we're lucky, tomorrow we can use everything that we learn today to our advantage.”

“Including that beast, Miss Suri?”

“Especially that beast, Prince Arthur.”

They looked at one another.

“We need to help them…”

Charlotte kept her eyes downcast.

Suri put her hand on her head.

“We will.”

Feeling a little encouraged by their teacher's attitude, they returned to the cabin where they were staying and rested, waiting for the next morning.