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When we finally arrived at the orphanage, we found the ruinous building looking the same as ever. And- Oh! It seems the seeds I left in here sprouted. Wait, what? Does it mean that somebody tried to attack the orphanage at night? Could this be related with what my father and Shade did last night? Well, I hope my monster plants were of some use. I've been able to modify the seeds I transform into vine creatures more easily, but I have not been able to make them that strong either. If I infuse too much MP into them, they'll explode and die immediately, so I have to be very careful when modifying seeds.
Of course, if I can get that one Skill that allows me to summon Harvest Familiars, things would be way more different… But that will have to wait for the far future for now. I have to first Level Up Spirit Blessing to Level 10 before even considering obtaining more Skills. And well, I am already spamming the Skill since I acquired it, using it every time the cooldown goes down on my spirits inside of my Soul Scape.
Ding!
[Spirit Blessing] has gained +17 Skill Proficiency]
Every cast usually gives between 10 to 30 Skill Proficiency, at random most of the time. My goal is to fill up the Skill Proficiency requirements as fast as possible, I think I am earning way more Skill Proficiency thanks to having its speed boosted by x3. Maybe I could get a new Skill sooner than I think, hopefully. Though, I have yet to decide between the two others.
When we reached the orphanage, we were quickly greeted by Mary and Lucia, and even more, a little Mist emerged behind the two, running towards us.
"Welcome!" She said adorably, as she ran towards me and hugged me, giving me a little kiss. She did the same to everybody else. She was a very polite and cheerful girl.
"I am glad you're back today as well, please come inside." Mary said. "Oh? Is she someone new?"
Mary suddenly noticed the little Celica that was being carried by my father. The adorable blue-skinned girl noticed the red-skinned Mary, quickly feeling surprised by her face appearance as well, as she had a big scar crossing in the middle of her face.
"Hello..." Celica said.
"She's a girl we rescued from the slums alongside various other demi-humans." Said my mother. "We decided to take care of them for now, as they didn't had anywhere to go. Of course, we didn't bring her here to give it to you, we don't want to bother you with more work than you already have, we'll take care of her while we look for her mother."
"Oh! I see… You're more benevolent than I had originally thought." Mary said. "Please come in. And hello little girl, name's Mary. And she's Lucia. What's your name?"
"Celica…" The little Celica said, feeling slightly timid. "Missy… Why is your face like that?"
"Oh, my face?" Mary asked while suddenly realizing the appearance of her scar was sometimes shocking to others. "Well… It is a small mark left on me after an arduous battle."
"Oh… Scar?" She asked.
"Indeed! Scars are something we simply live with, don't worry." Said Mary. "I don't feel troubled by them at all, do you?"
Celica quickly waved her head.
"N-No… Miss is pretty."
"Aww… Thank you dear."
With smiles in our faces due to the cute interaction, we quickly found ourselves inside the orphanage once more. I could already notice that Zack was making a rather bored-looking face, while Aquarina was just gazing everywhere, but she seemed to dislike the appearance of the building. I can't blame her; it really look like ruins.
While the adults gathered and sat down surrounding a rectangular table with Mary and Lucia to speak, I decided to play with Mist and a few other children, alongside Celica, Aquarina, and Zack. The two of them were rather bored of playing with smaller children than them. Their mental maturity had gone up a lot after having fought against so many monsters and experimenting various things, so I can't blame them.
"Your name is Celica? Your skin is so pretty! It's blue like the sky and water!" Mist said, looking at Celica. She was the only blue skinned demon she has seen. this orphanage didn't had any child of her tribe, apparently.
"R-Really?" Celica timidly asked.
"Yeah! Wanna be friends? I have many friends but I never had a friend like you!" Said Mist.
"S-Sure…" Celica said with a smile, she seemed overwhelmed by Mist's cheery nature, so cheerful it was a bit shocking.
While I was playing with the children by creating vines around the floor that moved around, which surprised them and prompted them to catch them around, I began inspecting my surroundings, trying to find Celeste. She was nowhere to be seen.
"So where's Celeste at?" I asked.
"Ah! Big sis went out today!" Mist said. "She said she was busy."
"Busy? Doing what?" I asked.
"Dunno!" Mist said while shrugging. "Maybe she went to hunt monsters or something!"
"Big sis is strong, don't worry!"
"She's strong and has magic power!"
"The other day she brought a big wolf…! It was biiiiggg! Like this!"
"Yeah! She brings a lot of meat from monstas."
The little children who had already lost their timid nature towards us were all sharing anecdotes about Celeste. It seems that the girl was always hunting and bringing food, mostly monster meat. And probably she sold monster materials as well, using the money to feed the kids and maintain this entire orphanage stable. She's really a hard worker. If we go to the Dungeon some hours later, I would want to meet her there and see how she fights.
"Ugh, this is a bit boring… When are we going to the dungeon?" Sighed Aquarina, sitting at my side.
"Yeah, I want to smack monsters…" Said Zack.
"You two are really brutes, huh?" I sighed.
Amazon children are really built different.
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