Chapter 32: Taking in orphans

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Taking in orphans

The next morning, as the sunlight just began to pierce through the dense canopy of the suburban forest, Kirito had already finished preparing everything to set off toward the imperial capital of Hian.

He draped himself in simple commoner attire, letting his hair hang loose and reining in all his killing intent, looking outwardly no different from an ordinary nomadic youth. Given the current situation, the flawless fake death he had staged last night would undoubtedly shock the Lord of Hian, and even the top leaders would find it hard to believe he was still alive.

"I reckon that old man has definitely sent an urgent report back to my master by now." Kirito thought to himself, extremely confident in the peak disguise techniques and aura-concealing abilities he had spent years diligently practicing, so he didn’t fear his master discovering his whereabouts at all.

Along his journey, Kirito casually passed by a vast, boundless field where a desolate orphanage stood. Remembering memories of the past, he originally only knew he was an orphan picked up and raised based on the stories told by his strict master himself.

"I’m probably just the child of some impoverished commoner family abandoned amidst troubled times." He shook his head and sighed.

Suddenly, Kirito’s footsteps paused for a beat. He suddenly drew a parallel to how his old master could take in a multitude of orphans and train them into cold Shinobi assassins, so why couldn’t he do the exact same thing right now?

Kirito stroked his chin, pondering thoughtfully. However, the biggest issue right now was that he lacked abundant financial resources to raise a bunch of kids growing in their appetite years, not to mention the costs of procuring weapons, equipment, and specialized tools to train them into a formidable force.

"Perhaps I should find a way to ask Queen Mika to sponsor a bit of budget. Even though proactively proposing this to Mika isn’t an easy task... There are a lot of people watching around."

Pushed that thought aside, Kirito resumed walking past the orphanage. He moved to the familiar forest edge area near Hian city, setting up a makeshift camp to patiently wait for his reconnaissance eagle to fly back.

Not until nightfall descended—marking a full day since the eagle had departed—did the familiar, echoing cry of the raptor suddenly ring out in the quiet night sky. Kirito quickly blew his whistle, and the eagle immediately circled and landed straight down before him.

He swiftly wrote a small note outlining his request for financial aid, tying it tightly to the eagle’s leg.

"Take this to Mika."

With that, Kirito tossed it a large, fragrant piece of meat. Waiting for the creature to finish eating, he waved his command, and the eagle instantly flapped its wings and soared high into the pitch-black night.

Having completed sending the message, Kirito returned to the familiar mountain area situated right beside Hian city, heading toward the roaring waterfall that poured day and night. He leaped across the rushing torrents, hidden behind the curtain of white cascading water being a secluded natural cave.

Inside the cave was stored a small sum of money Kirito had saved up for a long time. As a modern person who had endured a period of destitute poverty in his past life, he always kept the habit of carefully storing his assets. All the money his father gave him, along with spoils accumulated through missions, were meticulously hidden here.

The cave’s interior was pitch black, but with the superior vision of a Shinobi, Kirito could still clearly see every corner. He headed straight to an old wooden chest placed in the corner of the cave and opened the lid. Inside lay half a chest of glittering gold coins; though not a massive quantity, it was enough to get by in the initial stages.

He gathered all the gold coins, leaving behind only a token amount before resolutely departing.

"Though this money is a bit meager, hopefully it’s temporarily enough for the immediate plan."

Acting cautiously, Kirito disguised himself as a completely different person before passing through the gates of Hian city so no one could recognize his true identity.

Lurking through the winding, dark alleys of the slums, the scene striking his eyes was countless people drowning in starvation, as skinny as wandering zombies due to addiction. Kirito completely ignored those useless wretches, because his true target right now was homeless children—blank slates easy to mold.

Suddenly, loud scuffling noises broke out from a hidden corner. Kirito walked quickly toward the sound and witnessed a group of wild kids savagely ganging up and beating two other children collapsed on the ground. They were battered black and blue with punches and kicks, but the older boy desperately used his body to shield and hug the younger girl tightly to take the blows.

"Oh, this is quite interesting."

After venting their anger to their heart’s content, the gang of kids left, leaving the two youngsters sprawled on the ground groaning in pain. The boy hugging the girl slowly sat up, softly asking:

"Hey you? Are you alright?"

With that, the boy pulled a bruised yet intact apple out from his tattered garments.

"Here, eat it... Good thing I cleverly hid it just now."

The little girl took the apple, her dirt-smeared corners of the mouth blooming into a bright smile: "Let’s eat it together."

Right at that moment, Kirito slowly stepped out from the shadows, speaking in a cold tone:

"Living so miserably and hopelessly like this, how is it any different from already being dead?"

The two youngsters startled in panic, looking up at the sudden stranger.

Instantly, from the leaky roof above, another tattered-cloth kid somersaulted and dropped down to the ground with a thud, baring his teeth in caution.

"Are you kids a group?" Kirito calmly asked.

The black-haired boy stepped forward to block the other two children, glaring: "Who are you? What are you up to?"

Kirito maintained his calm composure, his tone sharp: "I am nobody. But if the three of you keep living like this, you’ll soon starve to death or get buried away. War is about to break out any moment now; by then, you won’t even have scraps left to steal and slurp."

"So, if you want to survive, follow me."

The boy standing beside him angrily stood up straight: "Why should we listen to you and follow a stranger?"

Kirito leisurely pulled a fragrant bundle of bread and a flask of clean water out from his pouch, tossing them straight onto the ground before them. Accompanied by those were three strange silkworm-cocoon-shaped objects.

"If you want to live, swallow these three silkworm cocoons completely and eat all that food. Otherwise, stay here, wait for the war to sweep through, and die a miserable death."

The three kids stared fixedly at the things before them, the instinctive fear of orphans facing death making them tremble.

The little girl tugged gently at the hem of the black-haired boy’s shirt, sobbing with intense fear:

"Go with him, big brother... I don’t want to die at all..."

The brown-haired boy beside them also looked utterly terrified upon hearing the word war. Finally, the little girl reached out and grabbed the bizarre-looking silkworm cocoon, swallowing it into her stomach without hesitation.

"I... I want to live." The girl lowered her head, the fear of death conquering everything else.

The girl’s action heavily swayed the remaining two boys. Eventually, both of them picked up the remaining two silkworm cocoons and drank them.

"We... we agree to follow you."

Kirito gave a faint, cold smile on his lips, waving his hand in signal: "Follow me."

The group moved out toward the dense forest outside Hian city, heading straight for the waterfall—where Kirito had once hidden his assets. Inheriting the mindset of the modern world, Kirito was always obsessed with safety and backup plans for situations involving pursuit.

"From now on, this will be your new home." Kirito stopped before the roaring waterfall.

The three kids looked around blankly with utterly bewildered expressions.

"Do you three know how to swim?"

All three shook their heads hastily, worry clearly written on their grime-covered faces.

Kirito sighed, tossing each of them a sturdy rope.

"Tie this rope tightly around your waist, I’ll lead the way and take you across."

After the kids clumsily finished tying the ropes, Kirito led them to the edge of the deep water pool right at the foot of the waterfall.

"Remember to close your mouths tight and hold your breath deep!"

With that, Kirito grabbed the end of the rope and plunged straight into the freezing cold water without hesitation, dragging the three panicking, screaming kids along with him. Ignoring their struggles, he used his superior strength to dive deep through the rushing water curtain.

Just minutes later, Kirito surfaced inside a mysterious underground cave, pulling the three coughing, sputtering kids onto the bank.

Beneath the waterfall was actually an extremely vast and sturdy artificial cave system.

Kirito walked up to a hidden chain on the rock wall and pulled it gently. Instantly, a mechanical sound mechanism rang out, and from the towering cave ceiling, a massive chandelier system gradually glowed brilliantly thanks to thousands of luminescent stones intricately mounted.

This entire structure was personally designed and built by Kirito beforehand.

The kids widened their eyes, dropping their jaws in astonishment as they followed the stone steps down with Kirito, observing the expansive cave space with neatly set up compact wooden houses.

"We... are we really going to live here?" The black-haired boy asked blankly.

Kirito didn’t bother turning back, simply nodding casually in confirmation.

"Alright, stay here for now. When I have free time another day, I’ll head out and find a few more orphan kids to bring back and join us."