The Situation at the Orphanage (1)
Invited by Sibyl, we entered the orphanage.
In the dining room, there was a fierce competition going on for the clothes I had brought.
“I want to wear that red dress!”
“I want the blue one over there!”
“Everyone, don’t fight! Share them fairly!”
It seems like a bit of a chaos had ensued.
I secretly used a universal dye to separate the colors, and I guess that backfired.
“Alright, everyone, calm down. No fighting.”
“Big sister Sibyl!”
“That’s not allowed. These clothes were graciously given by the Marquis, and we even have Lady Lily, who made them, here. Everyone, say thank you.”
“Made the clothes? Are these clothes brand new!?”
“I’ve never seen brand-new clothes before! Is it true, Big sister!?”
“Yeah, it’s true. Since I’m a Magic Tailor, I can make new clothes at a price not much different from second-hand ones. This time, the Marquis requested me to make clothes for everyone. Even though I don’t need it, you should thank the Marquis, okay?”
“Yes! Thank you, Lord Marquis!”
“Thank you too, Big sister!”
“Yes, good children. Don’t snatch the clothes from each other; share and choose among yourselves.”
“””Okaaay~”””
The children rushed towards the clothes again.
The older kids, after bowing to me, followed suit, showing respect.
They seem lively and energetic.
“Lady Lily, is it a bit too noisy for you?”
“Nah, I was just thinking how lively and nice it is.”
“I’m glad you say that. Perhaps our orphanage is blessed in some way, and the children seem to have an excess of energy.”
The orphanage is blessed?
I wondered what that meant.
When I asked Sibyl for more details, she explained that, in most cases, running an orphanage is challenging.
Many struggle to provide even daily meals.
It’s not uncommon for orphans, unable to be satisfied with the orphanage’s meals alone, to resort to begging in other towns.
However, in this city, thanks to the effective governance of Marquis Vardmoi, the orphanage has some breathing room.
While they can’t save money, they can afford to treat the orphans to a slightly more luxurious meal once a month.
Sibyl said that just being able to live each day without making the orphans suffer from hunger is already sufficient.
She’s quite admirable.
“Lady Lily, truly thank you. Even second-hand clothes would have been precious, but to provide brand-new clothes to those children, it’s luxurious…”
“Don’t worry about it. I did this because I wanted to. Oh, and there are about 200 sets of clothes in total. I made half for boys and half girls, so please make good use of them.”
“200 sets!? Even if they were second-hand, that’s a considerable number…”
“With magic tailoring, as long as I have the fabric and patterns, I can mass-produce clothes of the same size. Also, I calculated and made 5 sets of underwear for each boy and girl separately, so if there’s not enough, let me know?”
“Underwear too!? No, using a second-hand underwear would be troubling…”
“So don’t worry about it. I just felt like helping the orphanage as one of the residents of the city.”
“Thank you. In that case, we gratefully accept your kindness.”
Sibyl joined the circle of children.
Perhaps, she was persuading them to share and make the most of the clothes, considering the sizes.
Still, even in this city, there are so many orphans.
It might be few considering the size of the city, but it’s still something to think about.