TGPFC 06

Chapter: 06

Even so, no sound escaped his lips. Only his roughly tied red hair swayed wildly.

He knew there were people who dreamed such dreams. Even when he and Prim wandered as orphans with nowhere to cling, children from slightly wealthier families in every village had similar fantasies.

To leave this tiny village, start as a mercenary, become the king of mercenaries, catch the eye of a knight, learn exceptional swordsmanship, defeat monsters, earn a title and lands, and rise to prominence…

But such dreams were the kind of delusions children outgrew around the age of five.

And yet he and Prim were already ten, and still dreaming such things?

Even if he was stronger and larger than his peers now, how could he compare to real knights?

And who would hire someone like him with red hair? If they didn’t reject him outright as a summoner of monsters, it would be a miracle.

Even if he miraculously became a knight, living out his days as a wandering knight would only grant him the meager luck of Ayser and Noxrac.

Still, when he tried to argue with Prim, the words wouldn’t come. Prim quietly watched him, her clear, pale green eyes showing a hint of tension.

She seemed worried he might refuse to become a knight, or that he would call her idea nonsense.

Rogien stopped tugging at his hair and swallowed hard.

“…Alright, fine. I’ll become a squire of a passing knight and then a knight. Got it. Then, after that…”

“After receiving a few fiefs, expand them gradually, and become a grand lord.”

“….”

Rogien wanted to ask, ‘Now we’re done, right?’ but only swallowed dryly.

Running from the frying pan, he had landed straight into a blaze.

In fact, merely becoming temple orphans instead of wandering street urchins had already given them an incredible social rise.

And now, on top of that, becoming knights—and then grand lords?

Wasn’t that dreaming way too big?

Even the children of well-off families had stopped at imagining themselves as knights—they hadn’t dreamed of grand lordships.

Rogien pressed his dry lips together, unsure what to say.

He had picked up quite a bit from rolling through life as a pauper, an orphan, with nowhere to cling.

How would they meet a lord who’d grant them fiefs? Even if granted, how would they expand those lands? Everything was vague, a flight of fancy.

Yet Prim had never once spoken a fanciful word.

When Prim took the curse in his place, she calmly concluded, “It’s better for us to go our separate ways now.”

Two orphans, one unable to walk, had no reason to stick together.

He had struggled to retract that statement, fearing she’d flee overnight with her bleeding feet. He would tie their hands together with worn cloth before sleeping.

Now, hearing her speak so decisively, he could not deny it. He only said cautiously:

“Um, Prim… about that… isn’t becoming a grand lord… really… impossible?”

Becoming a knight was already a huge stretch in his mind, but hearing the word grand lord made him feel, oddly, that becoming a knight might just be within reach.

“You can do it.”

“No, I can’t…”

“You can.”

Prim’s voice was full of certainty, as if she had seen the future he would achieve.

“Alright… fine…”

Rogien scratched the back of his head and nodded. To deny a friend who says it’ll work is embarrassing.

“Yeah! Grand lord… well, let’s just try it.”

Watching Rogien awkwardly rub his neck, Prim realized she might have gone overboard. She hurriedly added,

“…Of course, I’ll become a perfumer and help you. And the grand lord thing… well, if you don’t want to go that far, you don’t have to.”

But she couldn’t bring herself to say, ‘Do whatever you want.’

That was something she had said in their past life. Back then, Rogien only wanted to act as her hands and feet—and that wish had made him the lord of the caves.

Now, that same lord of the caves was rolling his eyes, trying to figure out how to handle this topic.

“Whether I become a grand lord or not… we’ll decide then?”

“Yeah.”

“You and me, two orphans?”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly, Rogien burst into loud laughter. He grabbed his stomach laughing, and Prim blinked at him silently.

“…I know why you’re laughing. But Rogien, you really have talent.”

“No, no. It’s not that, not really… ah, fine. Somehow, I guess I can manage. I’m strong after all.”

At that moment, the church bell rang in the distance, calling the orphans together. Rogien noticed the reason behind the bell and glanced at Prim.

“Um, Prim… shall we just keep swinging a little longer?”

Today, Baron and Baroness Corbas were visiting. The last time they came, Prim had pretended to be sick and stayed in her room.

Still, the Corbases had insisted on checking on Prim, tending to her as if she were unwell before leaving.

Prim sighed, recalling the couple’s faces.

“No, I’ll go down.”

At her words, he offered his back naturally. Prim climbed up and hugged his neck tightly.

“Oh my, Prim! You look so lovely today! Have you been well? You seem thinner. I brought this for you.”

While the other children stood and greeted them, Prim remained seated, and the baroness immediately approached her, handing over a small box.

Inside were dark purple, somewhat odd-looking candies.

“Waaah!”

The other children, observing from afar, had no idea what it was but marveled anyway. The Corbas smiled and explained.

“These are violet candies. The petals are coated with sugar. They smell delightful, don’t they?”

Prim sniffed the violet candy and looked at the baronial couple.

Her explanation was technically correct, but the candies were old, the floral scent almost gone, leaving only the stale sugar, dried egg white, and a faint odor of deceit.

Even Priest Marseria seemed to notice the candy’s low quality but masked her expression, stepping in on Prim’s behalf.

“Thank you so much, both of you. For all of this…”

“How could we not, such a cute child?”

“Prim is like our own daughter.”

Even so, such luxuries were unheard of in the impoverished orphanage. The baron and baroness laughed and exchanged pleasantries.

Prim fiddled with the box of violet candies, then noticed a piercing gaze from afar. She turned her head.

A strikingly beautiful girl, with jet-black hair and vivid blue eyes, was hiding in the shadows of the building, staring at Prim.

The Corbases had once been very fond of this girl, Vianna.

That was before Prim appeared at the orphanage.

After Prim refused their adoption offer, they had favored Vianna again.

But no one had seen Vianna since she was adopted in Prim’s place.She had left no trace not even a body.