658. Homecoming (Part 8)

“Ah, it’s the Lord!”

“Lord!”

” ” ” ” ” “Looord!! ” ” ” ” ” “

Reina was all smiles as she was swarmed by young children.

If Marcella and the others saw her now, they would probably say, “Who is this person?!” because she looked like a completely different person.

In front of children, she had no need to put up a front or act tough to avoid being looked down upon.

Thus, she could be her true self here.

For Reina, this was a peaceful place where she could expose her vulnerable side.

…This was the orphanage in the County of Red Lightning—Reina’s territory.

Since Reina, the feudal lord, operated it directly, there was no chance of a corrupt director embezzling the budget.

Well, it was hard to imagine anyone daring to deceive or betray the Great Mage Reina—who was not just a hero of the nation, but one of the four great heroes who saved the world and the best friend of the Goddess’s Divine Messenger.

Even the worst villain wouldn’t want to be glared at by the Goddess…

Actually, it was a more fundamental issue than that: it was common knowledge that deceiving a lord—especially by preying on the orphans Reina cherished so dearly—would result in certain execution. Thus, no one would dare do it, and no one would help or even turn a blind eye to such an act.

Since returning to her territory, Reina hadn’t even shown her face at the lord’s mansion yet.

Stopping at the orphanage first was very typical of her.

Reina had changed her trademark red hair to a different color using Mile’s magic, but of course, the children didn’t care about that.

They just thought she had gone for a fashionable makeover or a change of pace.

“Lord, we were worried because you haven’t come for a long time!”

“If you were sick, we would have gone to take care of you!”

The children clung to her legs while chatter erupted from all sides. Reina picked them up one by one to reassure them.

“I was just away on work for a little while.

I’ll be heading out again soon, but I’ll be sure to come back, so don’t you worry.

Until then, if you have any trouble, talk to the Director or go directly to the lord’s mansion and ask the Deputy.”

The Director was strictly in charge of practical matters like building maintenance and childcare, while the accounting was managed by the financial officer at the mansion and the Deputy.

Therefore, the children shouldn’t have to suffer hunger due to budget skimming or food-money embezzlement, but Reina took precautions just to be absolutely sure.

It is impossible to eliminate orphans entirely.

However, in her own territory, she would not permit the existence of an orphan who suffered from hunger.

That was the reason Reina had accepted the troublesome job of being a feudal lord.

…Though currently, she had dumped everything on the Deputy and run away…

Reina, too, was a victim whose mind had been contaminated by Mile’s favorite nonsense phrases like, “That’s that, and this is this!” or “Put it on the shelf in your heart!”

Occasionally, Mile would say something genuinely profound.

Because of that, the toxic words she released in between were somehow accepted as good advice as well… a very dangerous situation indeed.

Reina taught the orphans how to read, write, and calculate, as well as the basics of laws and contracts, educating them so they wouldn’t be deceived by bad people.

She also had them train their bodies, inviting instructors to teach them according to their aptitudes: combat for those with martial talent, business for those with a knack for trade, craftsmanship for the dexterous… and magic for those with talent as mages.

Technically, she made sure to pay the instructors a salary, but more often than not, it was off-duty hunters, soldiers on break, or merchant clerks who realized that playing with orphans was a great way to spend their days off without spending money.

They would play “sword fighting” with wooden swords, “pretend mages,” or number games…

Since it was just people who liked kids killing time, it was unpaid.

In fact, they often brought food and daily necessities with them.

…It seemed this town had its fair share of “idiots” as well.

Reina left those people be.

They had all been children once.

And some of them had spent their childhoods enduring hunger in orphanages, abandoned buildings, or under trees by the river…

So, if someone wanted to do something, they could do as they pleased.

As long as it wasn’t harmful to the children, she didn’t mind.

Reina herself was no different from those “idle people”—she just had a larger scale due to her wealth and status.

Afterward, she showed her face at the Deputy’s office, got scolded thoroughly, pretended to reflect on her actions, firmly entrusted him with the orphanage… and then escaped in the middle of the night.

“Alright, I managed to shake them off! Next, I’ll visit the graves, and after that, I’ll head to the rendezvous point…”

Unlike Mavis or Pauline, Reina had no family or relatives.

And since she had spent her life traveling as a peddler with her father until she became a hunter, she didn’t have any childhood friends. Before entering the Hunter Prep School, she only had a few hunter acquaintances.

Therefore, aside from her territory, the only place for Reina to go alone was to visit the graves of her father and her comrades from “Red Lightning.”

Since she met “Red Lightning” right when she lost her father, her father’s grave and the grave of the “Red Lightning” members who were based there were in the same town.

Reina headed alone toward that town of meetings and partings…

“Grave of the father of the Great Hero and Grand Mage, ‘Reina of the Red.’ Entrance fee: 3 small silver coins.”

“Reina Crackers available here.”

“Reina Steamed Buns available here.”

“Grave of the hunter party that raised ‘Reina of the Red,’ the ‘Red Lightning.’ Entrance fee: 5 small silver coins.”

“Lightning Crackers available here.”

“Lightning Steamed Buns available here.”

“Biography: ‘Red Lightning and I ~The Half-Life of Reina of the Red~’ available here.”

“WHAT THE HECK IS THIIIIIIIIIIIS!!”

Reina stood aghast at the sight of the cemetery, which had changed beyond recognition.

Of course, she had visited the graves after the “Absolute Defense Battle Against the Otherworld Invaders.”

But back then, it wasn’t like this.

…Well, since the war had just ended and she had only recently been knighted, perhaps the plan hadn’t existed yet, or maybe it was already moving behind the scenes…

Reina grabbed the man who was collecting entrance fees by the collar and screamed at him.

“Why are you making a spectacle of my father’s and my comrades’ graves and taking money without permission?!”

Indeed, if it were Pauline, she would be demanding a massive amount of compensation.

Reina didn’t care about money that much, but even so, there was no way she’d be happy about her relatives’ graves being turned into a sideshow and a source of profit for others.

Certainly, she was happy that the name of “Red Lightning” would become famous and remain in history.

That was why she wrote her autobiography and why she aimed for A-rank.

…However, that was that, and this is this.

She couldn’t forgive unrelated strangers using their graves to grab easy money and live luxurious lives.

Thinking this, Reina continued to squeeze the fee collector…

“……L-Lady…… Reina……?”

The collector had been shaken by a young girl suddenly grabbing his throat, but he seemed to realize who she was and began to defend himself frantically.

“N-no! You’ve got it wrong!!

I am a officially hired, legitimate collector!”

“What criminal organization is this a racket for?! I’ll burn everything to the ground and crush you properly!”

Reina continued to tighten her grip on the man making excuses…

“T-That’s why I’m saying you’re wrong! This was started as a town revitalization project by the Hunter’s Guild after they approached the families of the ‘Red Lightning’ members!

Almost all the entrance fees and the stall rent go to the families’ share and as aid for E and F-rank rookie hunters and G-rank apprentices!

That’s why this job of mine is something I can be proud of, a noble job with nothing to be ashamed of!!”

“……Eh……”

She couldn’t get angry at that.

While it was irritating that her name was being used without her knowledge or permission, there were already countless products using the name of the “Red Vow,” so it couldn’t be helped.

Besides, it was possible that a letter requesting permission had been sent to the lord’s mansion.

The many letters that arrived there were filtered by the person in charge: some were passed to Reina or the Deputy, some were handled by the administrative staff… and some were discarded because they were deemed not even worth a reply.

Therefore, it was entirely possible that it had arrived but never reached Reina’s eyes.

“Gunu-nu-nu…”

Since Reina could rarely visit, she would clean and pull weeds when she came, but usually, the graves were overgrown.

However, now the area around the graves was properly managed, cleaned, and supplied with floral offerings.

Furthermore, it had been Reina’s heart’s desire for the achievements of “Red Lightning” and her father’s name to spread and be carved into this land and history. The publication of her autobiography was just one means to that end.

If so, this would also greatly help achieve her heartfelt wish.

Moreover, the profits were being used for the bereaved families and rookie hunters.

It was very hard to complain about that.

“Gunu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu-nu…”

End of 658