The Situation at the Orphanage (2)
The children who received the clothes in the dining room each took their items back to their rooms, also carrying the added fur blankets.
They also took their fur blankets, which I had added as an extra.
Fur blankets were not expensive since they were made of leftovers and lower quality fabric.
It was less than 1,000 Rubies for the whole batch.
“Lady Lily, really, thank you so much today. Even with second-hand clothes, we only do a replacement every few years, but this year, they get to wear new clothes.”
Jada, the head of the orphanage, expressed her gratitude.
Still, there’s no particularly noble reason behind it.
“Don’t worry about it. I just completed the Marquis’ request.”
“Even so, the children haven’t shown such happy faces in a long time. They must be delighted with new clothes. It’s a first-time experience in their lives.”
I see.
I’ve been given new clothes many times in my previous life, but in this world, it’s not that simple.
Fabric is just expensive.
When I asked Alizée, she mentioned that it’s challenging to create fields for growing fabric.
Without a significant area, you can’t produce enough fabric, and if you try to make a large field, you might have to reduce the area for other crops or consider the damage from monsters.
I asked about the conventional silk made from silkworms in my previous world, but apparently, they haven’t heard of it.
If it exists, it would be in a distant country.
In any case, the price of fabric doesn’t drop.
Frankly, the most cost-effective option might be the Spider Silk that I can mass-produce myself.
But that’s not feasible.
“Anyway, this will be really helpful. To have blankets prepared before it gets really cold is beyond helpful.”
“Don’t worry about it. These were truly complimentary items. They might be expensive if bought individually, but through the Trade Guild, I was able to get the fabric at a reasonable price.”
“Is that so? In that case, I’ll gladly accept them. The children who will be leaving the orphanage next year are starting to prepare for that time, too…”
What about the occupations of the children who graduated from the orphanage?
I was curious, so I casually asked.
As expected, the most common occupation was adventurer.
Since the only requirement for that were their bodies, the ratio of children becoming adventurers was high.
Graduates receive around 3,000 Rubies as a starting fund, but even that is not that much.
If they try to buy proper equipment, it quickly runs out.
Still, many graduates choose to become adventurers because they don’t want to burden the orphanage.
There were a few children who lived and worked in places like the city’s inns and restaurants, but most of them were girls.
Because of that, it seems that boys become adventurers to avoid causing unnecessary worry.
However, everyone seems to understand the reality, as graduates who initially frequently visit gradually stop showing up.
After learning about the harsh reality and feeling a bit overwhelmed, Jada, the head of the orphanage, invited us to dinner.
She said it would be something simple, but since she offered, I decided to accept and eat before going home.
Alizée also joined for the meal.
After a while, the prepared dinner turned out to be a vegetable stew with bread.
It seems preparing meat for this many people was quite challenging, and having such a meal happens only once a week on days when the prices are down.
I tried the soup, and it didn’t taste bad at all.
The flavor of the vegetables seeped in, giving it a comforting taste.
The bread was a bit hard, but not too tough to bite into, which was interesting.
If the food was a little bit better, they could open a restaurant in the city, but I doubt it would be that easy.
It’s difficult to run an orphanage alone, and it would be even harder for amateurs to open a restaurant on their own on top of that.