As a Reincarnated NPC, I Want to Live a Peaceful Life - Chapter 41

After resting in bed for a while and letting my body relax, I hopped down and scouted around the room. The room wasn’t just decorated in a low-key style; even the furnishings and items were simple. Could this be a private residence? Did they maybe find an inn to stay at halfway?

Anyway, I had left [Palte] and was making my way toward [Feltró]. It would be fine as long as nothing major happened.

Speaking of which, where were the vampires? Kamila? Yajie? Alan? Well, they wouldn’t just leave recklessly, would they?

Pushing the door open, I peeked outside—to the right was a circular hallway leading to a staircase, along with another room that looked like a bedroom. To the left was the end of the hallway, and straight ahead was a railing.

This was the second floor of the house, and the decor was nothing like an inn’s. It really did seem like someone’s home. But weren’t there too few windows? Did the owner dislike light?

“Yawn~ Licht, time to get up.” Leaning against the railing, I was considering whether to go downstairs when a nearby door slowly opened, and a girl’s voice reached me.

Her voice was soft and hazy, as if she’d just woken up… Oh, she saw me.

“Hmm… Huh? Wha—? A… a girl?” The girl had common brown hair, and her typically bright black eyes were now wide with surprise. Strange patterns covered her body. Maybe the system had automatically applied a filter, but I felt her appearance and her clothing didn’t match at all.

There was no player status bar above her head—just a poor NPC.

What she wore could hardly be called “pajamas”; it was more like a tattered cloth barely covering her. Given her age, she was likely the daughter of the house’s owner or something similar. Wait a moment—

Those lines winding around her arms weren’t patterns; they were scars left behind from beatings….

“Big… big sister, your arms…” I was very sensitive to scars, and in [Daily Mode], this fear was on full display. So, I felt deep sympathy and empathy for this girl.

“Ah… this… I’m fine! Little miss.”

Trying to sound cheerful, the girl attempted to put on a brave face. Unfortunately for her, she was dealing with me—if it were a little girl, she might have been fooled.

“Big sister, where is this place?”

“Here? This is Mr. Croton’s orphanage. Ah! I remember now—you’re the girl Mr. Croton brought here early this morning! Ah, that’s wonderful.”

An orphanage? Not an inn? Then where were Kamila and the others?

I felt a pang of panic. Without caring if the girl saw me, I vaulted over the railing and jumped down to the first floor—facing several unfamiliar rooms and a long, dim hallway with light at the end, I shouted.

“Kamila! Alan! Yajie! Where are you!”

Just as I’d imagined, there was no response. I took deep, quick breaths. Memories of our time together flashed before my eyes, and I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of loss and heartache….

My hands unconsciously clenched tight, and tears began to well up in my eyes.

“Mmm… Ugh! Ha… In the end, they left too. Huh? What’s this?”

I patted myself down and felt something extra inside my clothes, along with a medium-sized satchel.

——-

Items: [Magic Stone X 1] [Quill Pen] [Diary · Tsuki Jūrin] [Black Women’s Sandals] [Silver Coins X 23] [Unidentified Potion] [A Note · The Vampires] [Tasty Baguette X 3] [Unidentified Fruit X 5]

——————

[A Note · The Vampires]

“Jūrin-chan, we’re sorry to leave you at this orphanage. Alan, Yajie, and I discussed it for a long time. No, this isn’t abandoning you. We just… hope you won’t get involved because of us… Jūrin-chan, you’re a girl who should grow up happy and healthy.”

“Please, wait here for us to return. Don’t follow us.”

…

“Little Tsuki, I haven’t known you for long, so I don’t have much to say. Ever since you appeared before us, Kamila has really changed—a lot, even to the point of being a bit unhealthy… Yajie and I are worried, and with the guards chasing us, if something were to happen, both you and Kamila could be in danger.”

“Don’t blame us. Kamila says to wait for us here at the orphanage, but honestly, you probably won’t listen to her, right? Hang in there.”

…

“Jūrin-san, I look forward to meeting you again. Thank you for helping us rescue Kamila-san. I hope your life from now on will have a little less darkness.”

“Past [Geri] lies [Feltró]. I hope we can meet you there… We wrote this note in the early morning. Don’t follow us.”

——-

I pulled out the cleverly folded note, unfolded it, and scanned the words one by one. My heart ached so much my chest trembled, and I clenched my jaw tightly.

Had I, without realizing it, started to see them as companions too!

How laughable! Me! There’s nothing to regret! They left me behind because while I was unconscious, I couldn’t do anything—I was just a pretty-faced burden.

“Little miss, are you okay?”

“…Big sister, this is [Geri], right?”

“Huh? Ah, yes, that’s right. Never mind that, your legs—? They’re completely fine? No way, that was the second floor…”

I stared blankly, silently repeating the name [Geri] over and over.

They left me behind. They abandoned me. It’s all just empty words—anyone can write stories and lies…

“Big sister, how far is it from here to [Feltró]?”

“[Feltró]? Where’s that?”

“How uninformed… Well, never mind. Big sister, may I ask your name?”

“My name? Ah, I’m Xi’erwei. I want to become a maid someday.”

A maid… how noble.

“I hope your dream comes true (may your dreamland last forever).”

Meanwhile, many other abandoned children came out of their rooms and gathered around. Some were physically disabled, some seemed mentally unwell, and others were like me.

“Huh? A new big sister?”

“Really, she’s so pretty.”

“She’s lucky—she’s not missing anything.”

“…Just like us.”

“Ding-dong—” A bell suddenly rang overhead. As if by reflex, everyone gasped, their attention no longer on me, and they hurried off in one direction. Xi’erwei went with them, pulling me along too.

We walked down the long hallway and arrived at an open area like a playground, then turned left—it was the cafeteria. I see.

This place looked similar to a kindergarten, but there were still some differences.

Like the atmosphere, and the quality of the facilities.

Xi’erwei pulled me to sit down, and the chair let out a creaky groan. Such an environment truly lived up to the name “orphanage.”

“Children, today’s breakfast is ready. There’s enough for everyone.”

An elderly woman pulled a food cart (more like a modern tractor dragging a wheeled scrap bin) slowly into the cafeteria. After stopping, she carefully served each child their portion of breakfast and handed it to them.

How lucky to meet such a kind old lady.

“I wonder what we’ll eat today. It’s been a long time since I’ve had breakfast.”

“Eh? Why is that?”

“Because Granny Al is getting old and can’t visit us often. And we can’t visit her much either, since everyone has their own problems.”

Granny Al… what a good person. Of course, I wouldn’t fully realize that without experiencing it myself.

Xi’erwei and I sat in the last row, so by the time it was our turn, the other children had almost finished eating.

Granny Al slowly handed us our servings, gave us spoons, and then pushed her cart away.

It was a lump of brown, paste-like substance that occasionally bubbled. It looked like swamp mud, but the smell drifting into my nostrils was different.

In the end, before I could take a bite, I gave it to Xi’erwei, who was eyeing it eagerly.

“What kind of place is this, really?”

I knew in my heart that I could leave anytime—no one could really stop me. But that sense of direction I had vanished after Kamila and the others left.

I’d felt the same way once before, when Elf and the others left. Back then, I was miserable for quite a while.

How long would it take me this time to find my direction again…

“Hey, I still don’t know your name.”

“Me? My name… well, my name is Lingshi Yueyu. Just call me Yueyu.”

“Uh, ehehe… It’s a bit of a mouthful, but I’ll try. Yue… Yueyu!”

I nodded and smiled slightly. Facing Xi’erwei, who had just pronounced my hastily made-up alias, my heart relaxed a little.

…..

Alias: Lingshi Yueyu — Real Name: Tsuki Jūrin
Age: 11
Status: [Normal] [Wanted – Missing]
Form Status: homeless / girl
——————
Attack: ??
Speed: ?
Magic: ????
Strength: ?
Growth Potential: ∞
Precision: A
Mental Strength: A+
Airheaded: D / Intelligence: A+
——————
Switches: [Sanction] [Injury Escape] [Scholar’s Mind] [Elemental Wrath] [Growth Acceleration – 2.0]
Innate Traits: [Energetic] [Forced Regression] [KRYY’s Blood] [Recovery Healing]