Chapter 63: Setting up the orphanage & Sofiya’s commitment
As the group walked out, fronted with Vlad, they were noticed by many people moving towards the bazaar, one of those was a girl with white hair, that instantly turned her head to look at the procession following someone who looked in her view as Vlad, but who wasn't malnourished.
'It's that Vlad? What does he want to do with those poor kids? Don't tell me he bought them from those syndicate scum. How dare he! Let's see what he intends to do with those kids.'
Sofiya instantly dropped what she had in plan for this day and chose to follow Vlad and the other kids silently from behind to find what exactly he wanted from them.
Like this, she walked as silently as a cat, in the cover of the alleys while distancing herself from behind.
Aerius, still in Vlad's jet-black hair, said to Vlad while sniffing the air.
"Hey Vlad, have you noticed? We got a guest following our back. Jasmine and some lilac flowers this time."
Vlad, still carrying little Fay in his arms, said calmly to Aerius. "I know, I've noticed her since we started walking out from the bazaar. Let her be, she's probably curious about those kids I gathered with me."
"You knew all along? Why haven't you told me? Argh, those blood powers of yours sure are good at something."
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In no time, the group walked out of the district and headed to a place the kids never expected to exist. Not even Sofiya expected such a place to exist in the outskirts of the capital city. The kids at first doubted a bit but entered inside what could be said a forested place.
Meanwhile, Sofiya, also not long after the kids entered inside this unknown path, thought.
'Who would have thought that such a path towards the forbidden forest exists. But isn't this place dangerous, having all short of powerful beasts lurking inside. Or don't tell me he doesn't know about this and just choose this place to settle because it was empty.'
However, not long since she thought that, as she followed near the kids and Vlad, she noticed a wooden house close to a flowing water stream. The area around the house was cleared out, only leaving some leftovers of trees used for constructing probably the wooden house.
Then she heard Vlad's voice resound in her ears, and most likely the kid's ears.
"This place is your new home starting now. Here you'll be safe from any bad guy that would look forward to mistreating you. I also intend to build you guys a large house close to mine where you would live together. A place called 'orphanage', a sanctuary for those suffering from the same fate as you. Now follow after Robert, he will show you around the place, don't forget to clean yourself.
The kids were shocked by the beauty of this place. Even Fay and Alicia turned to look shyly around the place Vlad brought them.
Then seeing Robert guide the boys, followed by the black talking cat, they also joined along, leaving only Vlad to stay in place alone staring at the happy faces of the kids.
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He looked at them until he heard the sound of branches breaking. Sofiya tried to walk away, but as she did this, she heard Vlad's calm tone enter her ears.
"Are you already prepared to leave after arriving in front of my home. Isn't this rude? Come young lady, let me entertain you for a bit before leaving so fast."
'Argh, he found me out. Well, he's right. It would be rude to leave just like this as if nothing happened.'
After thinking that, Sofiya began walking towards Vlad, only to find Vlad, who looked completely different from how he was when she met him. His body had no signs of weakness.
As she walked towards Vlad, she asked in a questioning manner. "What do you intend to do with those poor kids? Also, how come you're looking like this? Weren't you malnourished 2 days ago?"
"Well, well. Sofiya, are you worrying for me? That's really unexpected. Come, get closer, I don't bite. Do you want to drink some tea before we talk?"
When Sofiya arrived right in front of Vlad, she noticed the young man staring at her with his dark-green eyes while smiling slightly at her.
Looking around the wooden house and the not far water stream that had the kids play in it, she nodded her head and said.
"I'm fine with anything."
With this, he invited Sofiya inside the wooden house, let her sit by a chair that had some bear pelt cushion on it while he placed some wood on the fireplace to boil some water. After that, he calmly asked Sofiya.
"So what do you think of this house? It's only been two days but I still have a lot of work to do around this place. Especially now that I picked those little kids."
"It's fine, but it does feel a bit dark inside, yet with the fireplace inside it is manageable. Maybe you should place some decorations on the walls, since it feels much better to have something to stare at. Ahhh, right, maybe you should also build a study room with a small library."
"A study room? Hmm, do I need one? I guess I should build one. Thanks for the suggestion. A good idea indeed. Little Robert and me could spend the time there, teaching me to read sure would make it more comfortable. Haha, as for a library, where can I even get my hands on books?"
"So you've started learning to read and write? Can you handle it? If you want I can give you some books from my small library."
Vlad only smiled by the fireplace while watching over the water. He said to Sofiya "I take it you like to read a lot, right? Do you have any books that talk about the human body?"
While leaning on the soft bear cushion, she moved her hair a bit, making a pondering face. Not long after Vlad placed water in a wooden cup with some carvings on it, Sofiya said something unexpected to Vlad.
"I don't remember exactly, but I bought from the market an old book that had all short of things about human organs, muscles and so on. Yet I haven't read it to tell you exactly if I'm right."
Placing in the hot water some mint leaves and chamomile flower heads, he calmly said to her. "If you can land me that book of yours I would be ever so grateful."
"You don't have to, it's only a book I bought out of curiosity that is left collecting dust."
"That's what you think, but for me, it might be the opportunity that I might keep on looking for many years to come. If you want I'll pick it up from you at another time when we meet again." as Vlad said that he continued not long after that, by asking her.
"Ahem, so what brought you to follow me along the way? Are you curious about how I gained my normal state after looking the way I was when I entered your shop? Just like your grandfather guessed, I'm a devil user and I was at the time under the effects of overusing my powers."
Hearing Vlad said that about himself, her curiosity got picked, and she asked while sometimes staring at the teacup and Vlad's face.
"What happened that you had to overuse the mythical powers of devil fruit? Or it's something I shouldn't ask?"
"Don't worry, it's no longer a big thing for me. But sure, I'll draw a connection to the reason I took those kids from the streets and offered them a safe place. Similar to them, I'm also an orphan that never met his parents, someone who struggled to live from day to day. Malnourished as I was, I never give up on my life. You could say my starting point was worse than those kids. I don't know if you know about Mayer Loftso, but I was a slave of his." told Vlad to Sofiya one of the main reasons of taking those orphan kids with him, in order to offer them a better life.
Sofiya was surprised and even shocked when Vlad told her that he was a genuine slave. Making her think in her head about his suffering.
'Don't tell it's that cursed idiot who kills most of his slaves that he buys at a cheap price? He did this to possibly the future ruler of Kaysang? Sigh, he must have it hard. From what I heard it's very hard to survive in that greedy bastard mines.'
"I'm sorry to hear that. Now I understand that compared to me, others actually have it far worse than I could even imagine. Also, I fully understand your reasons for helping those little kids.
If you need help concerning those kids, someone to look after them and teach them, I can help you out in my spare time."
Vlad, still looking calmly at Sofiya, only smiled at her and said to her in a casual manner.
"You can do whatever you want. If you can help those kids, you're more than welcome to do so. You're free in this place, no restrictions. However try not to venture yourself deep in the forest, there's some strong beasts slumbering that even I might have a headache to fight it off."
"Right, I also wanted to remind you. This place is known as the forbidden forest. It's most likely the forbidden part refers to the beast you're talking about." said Sofiya while taking a sip of the now warm tea.
"Good tea, far better than my old man." replied the white-haired beauty while slowly drinking the tea, feeling a bit awkward in this type of situation.
Vlad also took a sip, nodding his head at the taste. "Yes it's good, but it would be better if I had some honey, to sweeten the tea. Anyway, could I ask you something?"
Hearing Vlad asks that Sofiya looked at Vlad's face, only nodding her head slightly. Then Vlad continued. "Can you look tomorrow over those kids? I have some business I have to solve inside the district, and I dare not to leave those frail kids as they are on their own."
"There's no problem for me, I can help you. Additionally, I will bring some things for them." said Sofiya to Vlad without batting an eyelid.
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With that said, they continued talking for a bit before the kids entered inside, wearing their new clothes inside the wooden house. The boys were now looking normal. Their dirty face and bodies turned to their natural medium to olive skin color.
Even the girls, Fay and Alicia, were now cleaned up and wearing some ordinary clothes. They were the first ones to enter and suddenly stopped in place, making the boys bump into them.
The girls shyly asked Vlad. "Big brother sorry if we disturbed you, but were done cleaning ourselves. Are we preparing to go again in the city?"
They looked at Sofiya with wide eyes when noticing her beautiful white hair. She also turned to look at who entered inside and give the little girls a wide smile.
"Well, aren't you such little cuties? How should big sister call you?" asked Sofiya while standing from her seat to get closer to the girls while also thinking in her head.
'Sigh if I leave them only in Vlad's hands when those girls grow and start hitting all short of girl problems it will be just a mess. They also need a motherly figure to look after them, not like I'm that old. I've only turned 17 this year, so I'm still dealing with what problems those girls will encounter in the future.'
Fay, who had black hair, smiled a bit at Sofiya and introduced herself, followed by Alicia, who had brown hair.
"Glad to see you smiling cuties. Then I will not keep you waiting. I'll also take my leave." said Sofiya, while caressing the girl's head gave a slight smile at the boys, who instantly blushed when looking at the beauty's smile.
Only Aerius was fine and jumped high on Robert's head, saying to Sofiya. "Sofiya come join us, we're going to old Marcus place anyway."
She gave a slight smile at Aerius before turning her head at Vlad as if waiting for his response. She saw Vlad nod his head a bit, later saying. "It's your choice, if you want to come, who am I to stop you?"
Then Aerius, when hearing that, jumped straight on Sofiya's shoulder, only to said in an excited voice. "That's great, I can finally have another new feeling when looking at the sky and cities."
Only that he later heard Vlad coughed a bit, a bit annoyed by Aerius' sudden move. Nevertheless, he shook his head and said while moving towards the little kids, later saying to them calmly.
"Then let's get going, you got some stomachs to fill."
Like this, the group of kids who followed behind Vlad, Sofiya, and Robert like little ducklings with some insecure steps when seeing the syndicate members roaming around the streets entered the district without being stopped by any gang member. Still, they've drawn some looks from each type of person living in this district, but mostly perverts looking at Sofiya, which had Aerius on her shoulder. She was walking beside Vlad with confident steps, not being bothered by the stares of other guys.
Soon, they entered the alley that old Marcus restaurant was. Entering inside, they noticed some people inside as usually being the stable of the restaurant. They chose a spot closer to the windows and began moving more tables to fit the entire group in a single spot.
Seeing Ricardo moving towards them with a shocked face when finding out how large Vlad's group was this time, especially noticing Sofiya seated beside Vlad as if they were a couple.
Vlad chuckled a bit, only saying to Ricardo. "Kid, go tell the old man that he has a lot of work to do. Give me some vegetable soup and some mashed potatoes with a grilled piece of meat. That's for me, as for the kids, same but add a bit more meat to their potatoes, that's eight portions of food."
Then Sofiya only said to Ricardo. "Little Ricardo, just tell gramps Marcus that I want a portion of grilled fish and some rice."
"Right away, big brother, big sister."
As the boy went towards the kitchen Vlad could hear the boy's voice.
"Old man, Vlad brought a large group of people 7 this time. He also come along with big sister Sofiya. Here's what they want." placed Ricardo a list with the things Vlad and Sofiya ordered.
"Damn, is that young man trying to kill me? The soup is still boiling, the rice is also cooking, as for the grilled meat, it will come quite easy. Ricardo you deal with the grilling part while the soup is still boiling. Also, tell them that they have to wait about 30 minutes or more to finish all the cooking."
As the old chef finished saying that, he sent Ricardo to tell Vlad and Robert about the news. It didn't take much for him to follow with a response from Vlad's side. "Old Marcus, big brother Vlad said that he's fine waiting if you bring out some of your wine."
"What? From where does he know that I have wine in my place? Don't tell, you kid told him about it?"
Ricardo's face paled a bit, but he still tried to act cool and face the seemingly angry old man. Staring at him with shaking eyes, he got rescued by Vlad that could hear with his abilities the entire discussion. He chuckled a bit and said with a high tone that even old Marcus could hear from the kitchen, accompanied by Sofiya's laughter.
"Let him be old man, he just was honest with me. But what he said to me yesterday sounds good. You got a wine cellar at your basement, come bring one bottle for me and I'll pay you big for it."
"Hmph, don't you dare bribe me with money now young man. If you add more I might give in and sell a bottle."
"I'll give you 3500 𝔅 for one bottle. Come on old man don't be stingy you know that I'm having a hard time with the money."
"You're having a hard time with money, yet you brought with you some kids so you could feed them? Sigh, fine. Ricardo, go bring a wine bottle from the cellar. Also, don't you fucking dare drop something on the group or I'll beat the crap out of you."
They ended their deal at a distance. Ricardo give out a breath of relief yet still heard Vlad saying to him.
"You heard him, boy. Go bring me a bottle, see that it is also dusty. It means that it is an aged wine."
The old man gritted his teeth but could only accept the deal he made with Vlad and let Ricardo bring the wine bottle.
In a short time, Ricardo brought a wine bottle that looked dusted. Hanging it to Vlad, he looked at the tall young man opening the bottle with a trick of his, banging the bottle on the side of a wall, lifting the cork, and splashing some wine on the floor. Putting his nose on the opened bottle and smelling the wine, he smiled, saying.
"Feels like I am back home."
"Great wine. If I had such wine, I might not even have to be sad about home. Good job, old man, you brewed some crazy wine.
"That bottle wasn't for you. Argh, come let me get a taste you brat." said old Marcus while rushing from the kitchen with a glass of wine in hand. Vlad only smiled and filled his glass, to the old man's expectations.
He smelled the wine, commenting about the alcohol concentration, and emptied the glass of wine in a swift take. Then the old man nodded his head in satisfaction, later going back to the kitchen to finish cooking.
Taking a wine glass, he filled to the brim, and not after that. He took a sip from the glass. His expressionless face turned to a huge grin. After drinking the entire glass, he laughed a bit with satisfaction, even praising the old man's wine. He turned to look at Sofiya's beautiful face and gave her a glass of wine, later saying to her.
"Tell me gorgeous, do you want to give this good wine a taste? It's the best stuff I had in a long time."
Sofiya quickly heard Aerius say in her ears in a whispering tone. "He's drunk, you should be careful of him. Also that wine he's drinking is very strong, it would probably drop you on the ground."
The instant Aerius said that his fur spiked up for no reason, turning his eyes on Vlad, he saw him looking with clarity in his eyes, almost berating him for acting up.
'Fuck, is he drunk or not? Have I started imagining things now?' thought Aerius when looking at Vlad awaiting his answer from Sofiya.
She patted Aerius' head and only said to Vlad with a smile. "I think I will pass on your offer."
Vlad nodded his head and continued drinking, to Robert's anger since he didn't let him even taste a sip of the wine.
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[Robert's POV]
'You drunk moron, let me drink too. You're asking the girl, yet you forget about your little brother. Sigh, to think that he turns like this once he gets to drink. '
'At least he's not drunk and is still sober. It would be funny to see Vlad try hitting on the white-haired beauty, however, there's a small problem. What if he turns violent? I might get smashed too early, I still have to train a lot to get to his level.'
'Oh, he stopped drinking. He seems to think of something. Heh, it's this my occasion to snatch the bottle and see for myself what's the big deal?"
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As Robert saw Vlad thinking about something with the glass in his hand and a bottle on the table not far from him gave him the idea of having a taste for himself.
Looking around the kids who talked between each other and Sofiya, he stretched his hand gently and snatched the bottle, even when Aerius shook his head madly at him.
Yet, he wasn't bothered taking a sip directly from the bottle. Feeling the bitter liquid rushing towards his throat, almost setting his throat on fire. After taking that small sip, his head started giving him a splitting headache. Not long, he placed down the bottle on the table close to Vlad. He noticed Vlad staring at him, coldly saying.
"Now you understand why I didn't let you drink yet, similarly to the other kids? Your body is not matured enough to handle the alcohol, once you are older you can do whatever you want. When you're with me you're doing what I say not what I do."
'Fuck, you should say that from the start, seeing your smiling face and also the old man's face nodding when drinking gave me the wrong impression of this wine.'
"I'll keep it in mind." replied Robert while holding his head a bit and trying to stay sober.
He heard the kids and Aerius laugh a bit at him, but with his shaking head, he couldn't care less about their view.
Time passed in the restaurant. Vlad stopped for a while from drinking wine and began talking with Sofiya on certain things happening inside the district and other subjects to fill their time.
About 30 minutes passed since Vlad commanded the food, and by that time, other people came to dine at Marcus's place. Then he turned back to look at Sofiya, who was wearing a green blouse and black leather trousers, while her feet had a pair of high black boots. Her hair got tied loosely on her backside.
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[Sofiya's POV]
'To actually think that this bland and chaotic place would actually turn interesting in just some short days. It's truly been a while since I ever talked with someone so freely without minding much what I said.'
'Even this little guy Aerius, is very intelligent, I wonder what species he is, that even grants him the ability of human speech.'
'Also, to think that those kids would be orphans. I never imagined that, I only thought that their family situation was hard. Maybe I should also try to help as many of those orphans I find on the streets as my duty of future Duchess. I might not be as much as one would wish, but there's still something that could give those kids hope to live a better day. '
'Vlad's idea is really great. Building an orphanage for those unfortunate kids who lost their families. He feels much nobler than any of those bastards who flaunt their statues around people without even being asked. Probably not even the king is like him.
'Sigh, he requires a lot of money to support those kids. He really places a huge burden and responsibilities over his shoulder. I can only help him with what I can from the side. I might be of noble birth, but I got nothing to offer them. My family lost everything against those nobles.'
'I can teach those kids how to write and read, the history of their motherland and other pesky subjects that grandfather forced me to learn. But not the noble ethics, they don't need such cursed things. How about something constructive that will maybe help them in the future?'
'Ohh, little Ricardo has come with the food. Finally, those little kids can eat a filling meal.'
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[General POV]
The kids then began eating with such excited faces that Vlad started slowing them down, in case there were some unfortunate accidents. The atmosphere around him turned one of joy, making him smile kindly when looking at the kids who enjoyed themselves with something that should be accessible to anyone. Yet he knew that such cases existed worldwide, where people never thought of those little kids as humans that deserved to be fed.
The world, regardless that it was in his first life, or this second one, was a cruel one that was based on the "The fittest person, to survive."
Finally, the kids finished their meal. Even the little girls Fay and Alicia whipped their lips with bright smiles on their faces. Sofiya also smiled at the happiness of those kids and the yearning to help those exact kinds of kids become even stronger.
After paying old Marcus for their food without any hesitation, the group exited from the restaurant. Sofiya moved along the group, and when she reached close to her shop, she bid her farewell to Vlad and the little kids and promised the little girls that she will come back to visit them tomorrow with some interesting things to show them.
Then she picked Aerius from her shoulder and gave it back to Vlad, and looking at his face. She nodded before splitting from the group.
Like this, the group walked towards the wooden house by the water stream and stopped right in front of the house.
The kids got confused by Vlad's sudden stop, and later Vlad said to them.
"Now I will make a new house for all of you. The little girls just stay aside and watch quietly, while you young men, you'll watch closely as I build this house."
"Yes big brother." nodded Tomas and the other kids, while Robert only stood quiet.
Getting their response, Vlad began walking a bit deeper inside the forest and started cutting trees effortlessly using Nemesis. Log after log, the place he picked for the orphanage, close to where his wooden house started being filled with cut logs.
The little girls saw Vlad effortlessly pick, large amount of logs in his arms, even Robert being able to carry some of the logs behind Vlad. While the other boys just looked at the two while clenching their fists, also wanting to help, but were stopped by their weak bodies.
Vlad saw this emotion and desire on their faces and told them to stay there quiet and just watch. And watch what they were doing. Vlad and Robert began constructing a wooden house big enough to house ten or even more people. Compared to Vlad's house, this new construction was bigger than his.
Yet he didn't care. With time, the frame of the house got raised from the ground. And with Vlad's enhanced abilities, the construction ended in 4 to 5 hours.
Seeing the large wooden house felt like a dream for the little kids, a sweet dream. Little Fay and Alicia pinched each other and asked themselves. "It's this really our new home? We no longer have to sleep on the streets?"
Vlad, who was also looking from outside at his construction, gently patted their heads, only saying.
"Yes, this will be your new house. Big brother still has some things to build for your house such as beds. After that, you can play around for as much you like. You also come to my house next to yours if you want to see me."
The kids nodded their heads excitedly. Even Daniel and Matthew, who at first questioned Vlad's intentions, began loving this new place and also started idolizing Vlad even more with each passing moment.
When the dark spread out, the small orphanage house he built on a single day, was finished. Each of the kids had their own beds covered with soft rabbit and bear pelts.
However, as night swallowed down Kaysang, the little orphan kids gathered inside Vlad's house as he cooked a stew, standing close to the fire's warmth.
Similarly to how the first stew he made, the taste was good, the little kids eat it with a smile on their faces, giving Vlad some satisfaction. Then in no time, as he talked with Robert about different things going inside this world, he spotted the little girls falling asleep. Stopping Robert, he looked at the other three boys after picking up Fay and Alicia.
"Get yourself some rest guys, you fully deserve it. Also, don't forget to check on the fireplace before you're going to sleep."
The boys looked at Vlad's face as if they stared at their father, following what he said. They walked behind him towards their new home. He slowly placed the sleeping little girls on each of their beds and went out of the house after checking the fireplace and reminding the three boys not to play around with the fireplace.
The cries of nocturnal birds resounded in the forest nearby in the cover of the night. Vlad also walked back to his house and went to sleep after talking for a bit with Robert and Aerius, thinking about his next meeting tomorrow with the syndicate leader Aldenis.
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[author]
A/N: It is in this chapter that their story began, by planting the tree seedling.
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