Orphanage (2)
As I was talking to my three new friends, I noticed the two kids who had been staring at me earlier—one who had been glaring and the other who had quickly looked away—approaching us.
"Uh-oh, here they come. The big one is Lou, and the one with him is Dennis. They're both eight, and Lou is the leader of the orphanage. He can be a bit rough, so be careful," Megan whispered to me.
Oh dear, they seem like the classic "boss and sidekick" duo. Lou gives off that "I'm the boss" vibe, but I bet he’s actually got a soft heart and cares deeply about the kids around him. Dennis, on the other hand, seems timid but probably acts tough when he’s with Lou, right?
"Hey, what are you smirking at?!"
Lou snapped, glaring at me.
Oh? Was I smiling while thinking? I guess I can’t exactly tell him the truth.
"Uh, well, I was just thinking that maybe we could be friends now that you two are here."
"W-who said anything about being friends?! You’re a noble, aren’t you? So you’re just looking down on us, right?! And them too!"
He glanced at Megan, Tani, and Koa.
"My father is the noble, not me. And I’m not looking down on anyone. Why would you think that?"
"Nobles always look down on commoners, especially orphans! That’s just how it is!"
"Did someone say that to you? Or are you just repeating what you’ve heard?"
"It’s not like someone said it to me! But adults say it, so it must be true, right?"
"What? Just because adults say something, it’s automatically true? So if an adult told you to steal money from the orphanage for everyone’s sake, would you do it? Would that be the right thing?"
"Shut up! You’ve got everything handed to you, living without a care in the world! What do you even know?!"
"I don’t know! How could I? But if you don’t trust what you see and hear for yourself, you’ll just end up being fooled by someone. And if it’s not just you but others who get hurt, what then? Can you take responsibility for that?"
"Stop yapping already!!"
As he said this, Lou lunged at me.
"""Ah!!!""”
Megan and the others were shocked. They hadn’t expected Lou to actually try to grab me.
But I didn’t let him catch me. At the last second, I dodged. He tried again, but I dodged again. This went on a few times.
"Haah, haah, haah… What the heck are you? You’re so quick!"
Lou, out of breath, plopped down on the ground.
"Ehehe, running away is my specialty~~~~"
While I was talking to Lou, I sensed someone behind me and dodged again.
"Huh? Whoa!"
Dennis, who had been sneaking up behind me to grab me, lost his balance when I moved and ended up falling on top of Lou.
"Are you okay?"
I asked the two of them.
"Oww. If you hadn’t dodged, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Lou grumbled.
"Well, if I didn’t dodge, you’d have caught me, right? So of course I’d dodge~ And sneaking up from behind? Isn’t that a bit cowardly for a guy?"
I mean, it’s only natural, right? They brought this on themselves.
"You’ve got an answer for everything… Are you really a noble lady?"
"Ahaha, well, I’m Joan, the eldest daughter of the Lampail family. Why?"
"Do noble ladies usually dodge that well?"
Dennis asked.
"Probably not. But I train with the private soldiers."
"""""Huh—!?"""""
This shocked not just Lou and Dennis but also the three who had been watching worriedly.
"Um, Little Joan… training? Like fighting?"
Megan asked.
"Yep. I have to protect myself. And I don’t want to cause trouble for others. Plus, I want to protect the people I care about."
"""!!!"""
The boys were stunned. They hadn’t expected a noble lady, of all people, to say she wanted to protect herself and others.
"You… have you had a hard life or something?"
Lou asked, sounding concerned.
"Hmm, not really so far. But who knows what might happen in the future? No one can predict what’s coming. So I want to do what I can now."
"And that’s why you train?"
"Yep. Training is part of it. I also want to travel, learn lots of things, eat all kinds of food, and make all sorts of stuff!"
"Wow, you’ve got a lot on your mind. You’re not like any noble I’ve ever heard of.”
Lou said.
"Hah!? Don’t I look like a super cute noble lady from all angles? Right?"
I said, striking a curtsy.
"No noble lady would call herself cute.”
Dennis said.
"... Noble ladies don’t say things like 'Hah!?'"
Koa added, sounding exasperated.
"What’s wrong with that?!"
I puffed out my cheeks in frustration.
"Pfft!!---""Ahahahaha—!!"""
""Hehehehe"""
"Why is everyone laughing at me?! … Hehe, ahahaha!"
I ended up laughing along with them. I’m not sure why they were laughing at me, but if we can all laugh together after a fight, then we can definitely be friends, right?
What do you think about this chapter?
