Chapter 18

It has been a few days since Esia decided to come out of her room. She still had a thin and malnourished figure but it’s now better than she first came out. The children played around with her hair once it was washed. They combed it, added decorations like ribbons and some pine needles taken from the trees at the garden since there were no flowers. They practically played with her all day, even ignoring the routinely lessons.

*Knock knock*

Everybody’s attention was directed at the door and even Frianne, who was cooking, peeked her head out to find out who came in. The door was pushed open and came a middle-aged man who had a terrifying face yet has a gentle aura that even kids wouldn’t be bothered about his face.

“Hello. Is Frianne or Aniem-“ His mouth stopped moving as his eyes landed on the children all gathered on one spot.

They surrounded a frail looking woman, playing with her hair and talking with her.

“Esia?!” He was surprised and raised his voice upon setting his eyes on her.

He even rubbed his eyes just to confirm if it’s really the Esia who locked herself up in her room. He drew closer to her and scrutinised her. He was baffled to see the state she was in but wholeheartedly believed it was her. He even had tears forming up in his eye but repressed them from forming further.

“It seems you’ve awoken. I’m overjoyed.” He acted prim and proper, stern and strict.

“Oh, come now, grandpa. Just cry if you want to.” Esia spoke while making a smug face

It was true that Osar truly wanted to cry when she finally woke up. After a few minutes, he let out a sigh and composed himself.

“We can save the reunion for later.” He coughed lightly and opened his mouth again. “I’m actually here as a guide. So, I’ll be leaving immediately afterwards.

“Guide?” Esia tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes. There’s a group from the Haveloft company looking for Esia. So, I brought them here to speak with Frianne.”

“Haveloft?!” Aniem  and Frianne shouted in surprise.

Although it was Frianne’s second time, hearing that Esia has connections to the upper echelons of the Haveloft company made her curious as to who Esia really is.

“Ah. It’s the second shipment.” Esia excused herself from the hands of the children and made way to the main entrance together with Osar.

“This, here, is Esia.” Osar directed his hands to Esia and introduced her. “She is the orphanage keeper and the person who you have been looking for.”

“Oh. Mrs. Esia. It’s nice to meet you.” He had stepped on a landmine with his careless words.

One can’t blame him for making the mistake. After all, with how she looks like as of the moment, one can mistake her for being a married woman.

“This is the second shipment from the president to the orphanage managed by Mrs. Esia.” He added more fuel to the fire without realising it. Even Osar at the back had cold sweat forming on his face yet he never spoke.

“Ahhh yes, that’s right, Mrs. I guess one could hazard a guess like that with myself looking like a ghost and caring for many children. Yes, one can be mistaken for such. I wonder where my husband could have gone, hmm?” She spoke in a ghastly monotonous tone.

“I have confirmed the detail. Please head towards the back. The way is over there.” Esia handed over the documents while looking straight at him with dead pan eyes.

Even the frightening face of Osar behind her was overshadowed by her eyes alone. The soldiers felt a chill, especially the leader of the group. Sensing he made a grave mistake, he immediately corrected his way of addressing her.

“Y-yes, miss Esia. We’ll unload them right away.” The man scampered away with his group and drove the carriage into the road that leads to the back of the orphanage.

“Well, I’ll meet them at the back. You would be on your way now, yes, grandpa Osar?” She smiled sweetly like how she used to a few months back.

It was frightening, Osar thought. Her mood can be flipped in an instant

“Y-yeah. I’ll be on my way now. I have other matters to attend to.” He waved his hand goodbye and left.

As Esia disappeared into the orphanage and closed the door, Osar had wondered into a certain alley. There, he entered a building from a back door and beyond that were a series of doors. Among them, he chose a door seemingly randomly and found a group of three dressed up men who looked like regular civillians.

“How was it, Lord Osar?” One of three other men spoke.

“Well, firstly, we were lucky because the Haveloft carriage lost their way.” Osar sat on one of the chairs and fixed himself comfortable. “Secondly, I can confirm it is the real Esia. Or at least Esia has woken up.”

“Should we move on to the next plan?” Another one spoke up.

“No, not yet. Not until we find that secret passage or whatever on the outer walls.” Osar replied. “It would be too risky sneaking on the orphanage right now.” He continued.

“But, my Lord, are you sure it’s on the outer walls?” He asked back.

“I’m not a hundred percent certain but it is likely. They have come from the forest and cannot just waltz inside through the main gates or destroying the walls. In addition, if there was a passage for escape, then connecting one to the outside is the most reasonable.” He explained his reasoning on the matter.

“So do we continue observing the orphanage then?” The last man asked.

“Yes, please do. Lord Zila has yet to give the next orders.” Osar spoke.

“My Lord, why should we wait for further instructions? Aniem is a hunter who has sharpened his senses, but the rest are two women and children. Moreso, this Esia is sleeping alone.” The same person who inquired about moving on to the next plan asked again.

“Do not be foolish.” Osar gave out an overbearing aura, making everyone jolt in fear. “That girl, Esia, is a feared woman even as a child. You may now know but she has been in the hunter business since she even came of age.”

Osar observed their reactions. They were all confused as to how a frail looking woman like her would even consider being a hunter.

“Even after she’s become the keeper of the orphanage, she has helped the hunters and soldiers many times in the forest. Be it fighting people and monsters, geography, or determining edible from poisonous plants. If you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you that she is the daughter of Relkas. If you still don’t believe me, you can go and fight her. She has won against me in several occasions.”

They were all silent. Before these three had becomes soldiers, they have heard of an individual training the entire brigade of soldiers and hundreds of hunters the basics of survival and combat. A woman with an hourglass figure and a beautiful face. They had once wanted to see that person but were crushed by the testaments of those who were under her tutelage.

They claimed that she was not human. She was not something that should even exist in this world. Her training regimen was hell. Some even claimed to be worse than hell. Unconventional methods just to increase the resistance and resilience of people. Things like bathing in cold water and running in the city at winter while holding a fire stone in winter. Or going in the forest to hunt a large beast of over two metres high by yourself or with a partner. And the worst was having a sparring match with her. Rather than sparring, it became a one-sided beating. She could easily beat a platoon of armed men with ease.

“Now, I’ll say this again. Do not do anything reckless and move on your own.” Osar had reminded them of his orders. 

The men were silent the whole time, realising that Esia was that same instructor who gave hell to the previous batch. They also came to a conclusion that those batch were monsters compared to their own batch and that they say training now is easier compared to before.

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“Everything has been safely deposited and accounted for.” The leader of the group who delivered the goods to Esia spoke as he went through a list of goods. “All we need is your signature, Ms. Esia.” He the title correctly.

“Here you go.” Esia smiled sweetly as she handed over the document.

The man’s heart was in utter chaos, seeing her wonderful smile now compared to the deathly stare at their first meeting. He shuddered when he thought of combining them together and making something horrendous.

“Thank you! Then, we shall take our leave.” They closed the carriage and left

“Now we finally have meat and food again!” Frianne exclaimed so happily, Esia chuckled.

As it was getting close to dinner, everyone had sat at the tables in the main hall. Frianne had served them soup and a piece of bread, the usual. As they all calmly had dinner, from multiple areas outside were people watching them through the windows. They used telescopes to spot what the people in the orphanage do and listed them all.

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In the office of Count Gathus in his estate, someone knocked from behind the door. He had asked who it was and Zila responded. He entered carrying stacks of papers. He placed them down on the table and grabbed a few things and started making his coffee.

“Don’t just come in and make coffee for yourself. Make for me too.” Count Garthus lifted his cup, gesturing Zila to make him a cup as well.

“So, what have you found?” Garthus asked Zila as he was making coffee.

“Nothing.” Zila flatly answered.

“What do you mean ‘nothing’? No records of her or whatever or just a clean record?”

“In that sense, then it’s both.” Zila answered while heaving a big sigh.

“It’s going to be a long story, so it’s better to wait for Osar to arrive.”

*Knock knock*

“And speak of the devil.” Zila shrugged and headed to open the door. “Welcome, Osar.”

Osar only heaved a sigh both from exhaustion and from his results in these past few days of investigation.

“It seems only Zila has found something interesting.” Garthus sensed Osar’s the intent hidden behind the sigh and immediately spoke. “Brew him a cup of coffee as well.”

“Right’o!” Zila responded, raking out a new cup from a cupboard.

After a while, the three men gathered at the couches with their coffees in front of them.

“Well then, Zila, what did you find?” Osar initiated the conversation.

“Alright. And this right here is where it begins.”

Zila presented several papers with written texts and intricate maps. Now the question is, how are these related to Esia?