Life in Another World as a Maid Mage
Volume 1 - Daily Life of A Maid Mage
08 – Orphanage consolation services available (1)
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This chapter is narrated from Shiori's perspective
The religious district of the lord's capital city, Toris.
There was a large road some distance away from the main street that lead to the lord's mansion and the adjacent government offices, lined with many priest's lodges and specialty shops. In between those places, walking along the cobblestone roads dotted with sanatoriums and relief houses, the streets were bustling with pilgrims in white and travelers with protective amulets hanging from their necks.
At the end of the wide road was a plaza with well-maintained flower beds, full of seasonal flowers, and statues of gods and saints scattered about in various places. Located beyond that point was the pride of the territory's capital, The Toris Cathedral. The chalk spire shone beautifully against the blue sky. Past the cathedral, which was frequented by many worshippers, there was a facility nestled in the trees around back. The two-story brick building, which looked like a small school, used to be a monk's quarters.
Toris Orphanage. It was an orphanage attached to the temple that took in children without parents or children who were unable to live with their families for some reason.
The knight of the cathedral, standing in front of the gate, saluted me with a good-natured smile on his face. I returned the bow, and the gates opened. Neither the gate nor the fence was for the purpose of keeping people inside, but for protection because there werwe also small children living there. Still, I had heard that older children on the verge of adulthood sometimes snuck over the fence to play in the city.
As I stepped into the orphanage grounds, children lured by the sound of the gate opening came running out, cheering. All the children were dressed in clean clothes, their complexions were good and their skin was glossy. I could tell that they were in a good environment. The landlord's wife, who'd had a hard time when she was a child, seemed to be very enthusiastic about child welfare and donated abundantly. Unquestionably, the donated money was spent on the children. This orphanage was a far better place than other orphanages. However, it lacked the culture and entertainment to enrich the soul. This was the reason for the request of "consolation" from the lord's wife, who was concerned about the lack of education and entertainment.
"Twice a month, no matter who or how it was done, do anything that makes the children happy."
We could talk about our own adventures, or we could show off our specialties.
Request level difficulty was C. Any adventurer of Rank C or higher could be entrusted with the request, but the reward wasn't as good as a normal request and there was also the issue of the content as it was mentally unbearable to disappoint children by showing them a poor performance. That's why there were few undertakers, and there were times when the guild master had no choice but to appoint an adventurer directly to fill the gaps.
Incidentally, there were times when someone could specifically be nominated at the request of the children. Clemens's twin sword performances and Linus's adventure stories were popular with the children, but this time Shiori was nominated.
"Miss Shiori!" One child shouted exuberantly at Shiori's arrival, voice filled with admiration.
"Yay, today is Miss Shiori!" Another child, though eager, kept their excitement under control.
The children who popped out of the room were genuinely happy and showing it, but the older boy and others pouted, a little dissatisfied.
"What"s with this 'Miss Witch' again. It's not a swordsman this time."
"Stop it, Toby!" A middle aged man in a priest's uniform came out from the back and scolded the boy, called Toby. Toby stuck his tongue out, showing that he hadn't intended to seriously offend. He was probably slightly embarrassed.
"Good grief… I'm sorry, Miss Shiori."
The priest, Jens, looked sincerely apologetic.
"He says that, but he's really looking forward to your 'Live-Narrated Silent Movie'.
"I'm glad to hear that, too." As I said this, I glanced at Toby. "So… should I tell a knight's story today to satisfy Toby's wishes?"
Toby's face lit up in delight, shining brightly. I was blown away by the unexpected payout of my comment.
The children took me by the hand and led me into the orphanage's auditorium. Prompted by Jens, the children went up close to the stage, and each of them took their places of choice. By the way, the area around Rurie, who sat in the center, was very popular. Rurie's shape was distorted by all the pushing and shoving, but since she didn't seem to be bothered (in fact, she looked happy), I decided to ignore it.
Once the children had calmed down, Shiori began to tell the story of a certain brave man, a fairy tale from her native land, modified to suit the style of Strydia.
"Today's story is about 'The Knight of Persicca'. A tale from long, long ago."
Shiori cast the illusion spell and her magic projected the story into space. Shiori's unique and original illusionary magic, her "Live-Narration Silent Movie".
The auditorium went quiet as if a spell had fallen on the audience.
Jens Freussen: Cathedral priest. 41 years old. Secretly loves heroic tales.
Toby: A boy from the Toris orphanage. 15 years old. Dreams of becoming a fine swordsman in the future.
Author Note: Live narrative film is a silent film with a narrator. I heard they're still around. I've recreated it using illusionary magic. I'd like to talk about my vast knowledge of the magic of this world somewhere.
[1] TL Note: The term here is katsuben (活弁), which are also called Benshi (弁士) or katsudō-benshi (活動弁士), they were Japanese performers who provided live narration for silent films for both Japanese films and Western films.