*****

*****

Chapter 147: Volunteering During the Golden Holidays (4)  

The next morning dawned. The students who had participated in the volunteer activities had the luxury of sleeping for an extra 2 hours and woke up at 8 a.m.

Unlike the academy’s schedule, where they would wake up at 6 a.m. and start their daily routine at 8 a.m., the orphanage had a more relaxed schedule, with everyone waking up at 8 a.m., and the activities starting at 10 a.m.

Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Vikir, who now shared a room, woke up early, got ready, and headed outside. As Vikir was putting on his shoes to leave the dormitory, Figgy asked him a question.

“Vikir, where were you last night?”

Vikir was a bit surprised by the question. “…?”

Figgy raised his drowsy eyes and continued, “No, last night I woke up because I needed to use the bathroom. You weren’t in your bed.”

“I was in one of the bathroom stalls.”

“Oh, I see. Well, when I’m in an unfamiliar place, I can’t sleep for at least a week. You seem to have adapted quickly.”

Of course, it was a lie. Vikir had spent the entire night exploring the orphanage buildings. Even though he had missed Quilt’s trail during the chase, he was able to gather valuable information.

“He’s more vigilant than I thought. He constantly changes his route in daily life to disrupt any pursuit.”

The hunter had tracked his prey’s scent, but as soon as the scent was lost, he couldn’t continue the pursuit. However, Vikir was a human, and humans knew how to use tools. He had obtained a complete map of the entire orphanage and the building’s blueprints from CindiWendy. This allowed him to pinpoint Quilt’s location.

“His hideout is deep in the center of the orphanage. Thanks to that, my goal is clear.”

Quilt’s hiding place was in the center, surrounded by the buildings where the children resided. To reach the children’s living quarters at night, one had to pass through the maximum number of locations during the day. This allowed him to investigate the entire structure and plan his optimal route.

Therefore, Vikir planned to “serve” the children wholeheartedly today.

Of course, his friends were deeply moved by Vikir’s enthusiasm for volunteer work.

“Vikir, to be honest, I see you differently now. Working so hard for the children. I’m ashamed of my own behavior, just trying to pass the time during volunteer hours to get points.”

“When professors and seniors used to scold me for stretching out my service hours, I thought they were insane. But now I see it – to the strong, be strong, and to the weak, be weak. We’re peers, but you’re respectable.”

“Vikir, I’ll work harder too!”

However, Vikir didn’t pay much attention to the sentimental words of his friends. What was important was not getting recognition and praise from others, but capturing the demon hiding in this orphanage and eliminating him.

Then, someone greeted Vikir and his group.

“Hello! Good morning!”

It was Sinclaire. She waved her hand in their direction.

Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and Vikir looked at each other in confusion because none of them were particularly close to Sinclaire.

“?”

“?”

“?

An atmosphere of “Hey, you too?” was forming among them.

Then, Sinclaire approached with a bright smile and walked up to Vikir, patting his shoulder.

“Hey, why are you acting like you don’t know me, big brother~?”

“Brother?”

Vikir’s forehead furrowed slightly. Hearing a girl call him “big brother” made him uncomfortable.

“I just thought that if we’re the same age, there’s no reason not to call you ‘big brother.'”

“Is that so? It just feels a bit awkward…”However, Vikir didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. The air suddenly became tense.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.

A total of six hands covered Vikir’s mouth.

“We like the ‘big brother’ title!”

Tudor, Sancho, and Figgy spoke to SinSinclaire with Vikir’s mouth still sealed.

…?

*****

*****

Sinclaire tilted her head like a bunny, then suddenly grinned.

“Okay? If ‘big brother’ doesn’t work for you, we can find another title. I’ll think about it until lunch.”

“Ah!”

“Then, Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, fighting! Let’s do our best today!”

Sinclaire waved her fists at everyone before turning and running toward the area where the children were playing.

“Hey, everyone! Big sister is back! Pass the ball here!”

“Wow, Sinclaire, big sister! Pass it over here!”

Sinclaire quickly joined in and began playing with the children.

Tudor, Sancho, and Figgy were left with their mouths hanging open.

“Sinclaire seems so kind.”

“She’s good at studying, magic, and playing with the kids.”

“And, most importantly…”

All three of them spoke simultaneously.

“She’s the prettiest among the new students!”

Just then, a disdainful voice came from behind.

“Boys are such idiots.”

Everyone turned in the direction of the voice, where Bianca was standing with her arms crossed.

Bianca said, “If you came to do volunteer work, then do it. Stop gossiping like little girls.”

Her cold words startled Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, and everyone else, except Vikir.

Bianca, staring at Vikir, continued, “At least you seem a bit better. You’re not wasting time criticizing like those idiots.”

Then Tudor, who was standing next to Vikir, became furious.

“Who are you calling an idiot?”

“You.”

“Don’t you know our test scores are similar?”

“Why would that even matter? You had to get intensive Tutoring for months before entering the academy, and your father had to spend a fortune to barely get those grades. I got similar scores without any extra effort. I heard your dad even paid a fortune for your tutoring. With that level of instruction, do you still get these grades? Seriously, your standards are low. Could you at least save some face for the nobility?”

“You got caught doing makeup in the first year and were scolded by the second-year sisters. Then you started bragging about your family’s prestige, and when you got caught by the supervising professor during makeup class, you were forced to do volunteer work. Is that a noble thing to do?”

Tudor and Bianca had known each other for a long time before entering the academy, and they were well aware of each other’s backgrounds.

“This brat! Bragging about a commoner girls’ looks behind their backs!”“It doesn’t matter if I think someone is pretty because they are! And don’t you know that discrimination between commoners and nobility is forbidden within the academy!? Your self-righteousness makes you unfit to be a hero!”

“Aren’t you tired of your hero complex?”

“Being cynical and sarcastic is part of my charm!”

“You’re unbearable because you’re not on the same level. Hah!”

“I’d rather scream at a rock. I’m bored!”

Tudor and Bianca, who had always argued about who was the real head of the Cold Department, were now arguing without a clear winner.

Sancho, with a bored expression, was trying to mediate between the two.

Meanwhile, Vikir quickly left the scene. He didn’t want to waste time getting caught up in the children’s fights.

Figgy followed Vikir and said, “Oh, Vikir, I have some information to share with you.”

“Information? What is it?”

“It’s nothing significant, really. It’s about Sinclaire.”

…?

Vikir raised an eyebrow.

Figgy scratched his head and continued, “It’s not a big deal, but I saw Sinclaire talking to the person in charge of volunteer activities the other day.”

“What about it?”

“It’s about the volunteer activity location. She asked where you were doing volunteer work and requested to be assigned to the same place. She seemed really eager.”

Figgy smiled and playfully poked Vikir’s side.

“You get what I mean, right? Be careful.”

Vikir put on a serious expression.

He understood exactly what Figgy meant.

“Changing the volunteer activity location just to follow me? In these times? It’s highly suspicious.”

There was a scent of conspiracy in the air.

At the same time, Vikir remembered what Sinclaire had said yesterday.

“We ended up assigned to the same place for volunteer work. What a coincidence.”

“Yeah, it seems like it.”

“I did see you submit your volunteer activity application last week, but I had no idea we’d end up in the same place. I’m glad it worked out.”

“Is that so?”

She claimed it was a coincidence yesterday. However, it was a well-thought-out and carefully planned action.

Vikir stared at Sinclaire in the distance with a suspicious gaze.

“Come to think of it, when she said that yesterday, her heart rate increased slightly, and her breathing became unstable. It’s a characteristic of those hiding something.”

For someone like Vikir, who had lived through the era of destruction, it was natural to be cautious in such situations. Demons were known for their cunning and would seize any opportunity to strike at their enemies, even in the slightest moment of carelessness.

He thought of the faces of his fallen comrades and felt sorrow and regret. Remembering those times made him even more determined to stay vigilant.

Her soul emitted nothing but a pure aura, yet there could be something he didn’t know.

“Anyway, I’ll be cautious. I’ll keep my distance from now on. A significant distance.”

Figgy’s meaningful warning weighed on Vikir’s mind.

Perhaps Figgy had sensed something unsettling and subtly pointed it out to him.

“…Well, I’ll eliminate her if necessary.”

After all, dead men tell no tales. Vikir was well aware of that.

*****

*****