In the end, Duanmu Huai did not agree to join this unreliable so-called "resistance organization." However, he did agree to accept some tasks as an adventurer—just as that girl had said—first take a look at the situation in the Kingdom of Seth, and then talk about what came after.
Simply put, it was similar to being a guest advisor.
At the moment, Duanmu Huai was investigating this village.
The village itself was not large. According to that blonde girl, the resistance organization did not have many members to begin with. Although they had constantly tried to recruit more people, the results were limited, and moreover… their main fighting force had suffered heavy casualties at Duanmu Huai's hands, resulting in the resistance organization now basically having no manpower left.
Duanmu Huai didn't care about this in the slightest, nor did he feel any guilt. Judging from the behavior of those idiots, they were nothing more than a group of bandits with no ideals or convictions. Killing them was just killing them—what was the big deal? Even if Kentou Kanami and Moso Shizuka hadn't been captured, if Duanmu Huai had encountered that group, he would still have slaughtered them without hesitation.
"Hm? What place is this?"
Duanmu Huai walked to a corner of the village and saw a building resembling a monastery. He stepped forward and carefully examined it. At that moment, he suddenly felt someone watching him. He turned his head and saw several children peeking out from the shadows, secretly and curiously observing him.
"Yo, hello there."
Duanmu Huai nodded at the children. Only then did they slowly come out and gather around him.
"Wow, it's a warrior uncle!"
"Call me big brother."
"Okay, uncle!"
"...…"
"Uncle, will you play with us?"
"Play with you?"
Hearing the children's request, Duanmu Huai thought for a moment, then set Olgis—who had been sitting on his shoulder—down on the ground.
"I'll leave it to you. Play with them."
"Play what?"
"Aren't you able to manipulate puppets? How about performing a puppet show for them? Did Alice teach you?"
"Yes, Miss Alice taught me. She also often went to villages to perform puppet shows for children."
"That'll do."
Duanmu Huai patted Olgis on the head. Olgis raised her hand, and soon, as she moved, several puppets crawled out of her clothing pockets and came before the children. Seeing the puppets moving on their own, the children widened their eyes in surprise and excitedly crowded together.
"Wow! Amazing! Amazing!"
"Moving puppets! So interesting!!"
Seeing that most of the children were drawn in by the puppets Olgis was controlling, Duanmu Huai withdrew his gaze and looked toward one of the children who appeared slightly older.
"Is it just you children living here?"
"No."
Hearing Duanmu Huai's question, the girl shook her head.
"Teacher Kimchi is also here, taking care of us."
"Oh? Where is she?"
"Teacher Kimchi is… ah…!"
Halfway through speaking, the girl cast her gaze behind Duanmu Huai and smiled.
"Teacher Kimchi!"
"Hm?"
Duanmu Huai turned around and saw a black-haired beauty with brown skin and a well-proportioned figure walking out with a gentle smile. When she saw Duanmu Huai, she froze for a moment, then looked toward the children.
"What's going on? Why are you being so noisy?"
"Teacher Kimchi! Look, she's amazing! These puppets can move on their own!"
Seeing the black-haired beauty, the children excitedly rushed over and spoke to her. Kimchi smiled and patted their heads, then turned her gaze to Duanmu Huai and Olgis.
"You two are… ah, I've heard Lord Uruze mention you. May I ask what you need?"
As an aside, Uruze was the so-called leader of the resistance organization—the blonde girl in the wheelchair.
"I'd like to talk to you. Do you have time?"
"This…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Kimchi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright, of course. Please follow me."
As she spoke, Kimchi looked again at the older girl who had spoken with Duanmu Huai earlier.
"The teacher needs to discuss something very important with this person now. Take everyone to play in the courtyard, and remember not to leave the courtyard—it's dangerous."
"You go play with them for a while."
Duanmu Huai gave Olgis the same instruction. Olgis simply nodded.
Then the children crowded around Olgis and left in a swarm, while Kimchi turned and gestured to Duanmu Huai.
"Please follow me, sir."
"Mm."
Duanmu Huai nodded and followed Kimchi into the building.
"This was originally a monastery. Now it's used as an orphanage."
"I see. So you're the only one taking care of them?"
Duanmu Huai looked around as he asked. Kimchi nodded.
"Yes. Most of these children… lost their parents due to the atrocities of mages and had nowhere to go. Some suffered even more horrifying experiences. We barely managed to rescue them, but they also had nowhere else to go, so they're temporarily housed here. Because the orphanage is understaffed, I'm the only one in charge, but they're all good children…"
As she spoke, Kimchi led Duanmu Huai to a room inside and opened the door.
"Please come in."
"Mm… hm?"
Duanmu Huai stepped inside, and upon seeing the scene before him, he froze. He had expected Kimchi to bring him to something like a study or a reception room, but unexpectedly, this looked more like a bedroom. The entire room was empty, with nothing but a single bed.
"What does this mean?"
Duanmu Huai stared at Kimchi. Her expression stiffened slightly.
"This is… hospitality."
"Hospitality?"
"Yes. This is my line of work."
Kimchi nodded slightly.
"When those warriors finish fighting, exhausted and in need of comfort… that's when I play my role."
"I see. No wonder those idiots outside behaved no differently from bandits."
Duanmu Huai snorted coldly.
"Was this also Uruze's order?"
"No, this was my own choice. After all, our organization needs manpower. Otherwise, we can't protect those children. I'm just doing what I can…"
"I see."
Duanmu Huai immediately understood. Just as he had seen, this resistance organization was a small, insignificant group with no real strength. Precisely because of that, when recruiting manpower, they valued strength over character. If someone wanted money or women, that was fine too—as long as they were willing to fight for them…
What kind of resistance organization was this? It was basically just bandits.
That said, Duanmu Huai remembered that Kanami had once tried this approach on him as well… it seemed that doing such things wasn't all that unusual in this world?
"I'm not interested. There's no need to do this."
"But…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's reply, Kimchi showed a troubled expression, then seemed to think of something and turned pale.
"Could it be that… you intend to lay hands on the children?"
"What are you thinking?"
Duanmu Huai helplessly rolled his eyes.
"I'm not interested in that kind of thing… no, that makes it sound like I'm not interested in women at all… anyway, I'm not interested in this kind of perfunctory behavior, so you don't need to try to please me this way. Besides, most of the men here have already been killed by me. As for the rest…"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai thought for a moment and looked at Kimchi.
"You said you're the only one running this orphanage. Are you short on manpower?"
"Eh? Th-this… of course…"
"Good."
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai touched his ring. In the next moment, the Maid and True Machine Cleverness appeared beside him. Seeing the girl monsters appear out of nowhere, Kimchi was startled and instinctively stepped back.
"Perhaps you don't know yet, but I am a monster tamer. They are girl monsters who have formed contracts with me. You should have heard some rumors about girl monsters, right? Hmm… at least in my view, they'll make very good helpers for you."
"This…"
Kimchi hesitated slightly, but still nodded.
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome."
Duanmu Huai spoke as he looked toward the Maid and True Machine Cleverness.
"Then I'll trouble you to help clean up and take care of the children. Also, if any men come looking for trouble again, just throw them out."
"Yes, Master."
"Got it! Big brother, Karen will make all the children feel Karen's cuteness!"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's instructions, the Maid nodded, while True Machine Cleverness smiled cheerfully and struck a pose. Duanmu Huai said nothing more, simply nodded at Kimchi, then walked out of the building.
Then he saw Olgis manipulating puppets and telling the children a story.
However… why did those children seem to be huddled together in small groups, trembling?
Curious, Duanmu Huai walked over, and then he heard Olgis's usual flat voice.
"At that moment, the man saw the letter on the table. He walked over, slowly opened the envelope, and took out the letter. The paper was completely blank, with only a single line written in the bottom corner—'Goodbye.' Then the man seemed to realize something and turned around, only to see that the girl was already standing at the doorway. She was holding a kitchen knife, and then she just… stabbed forward!"
As Olgis spoke, the girl puppet she was controlling raised a kitchen knife and stabbed it into the boy puppet on the other side, plunging it straight into his body. The boy puppet let out a scream and collapsed to the ground. But the girl puppet showed no intention of stopping—she raised the knife and stabbed the boy puppet again and again.
"Why! Why did you choose her and not me? Why…!"
"Eek———!"
Although Olgis's tone was very calm, as if she were reading from a script, the children below had already curled up in fear. Watching the boy puppet being cut again and again by the girl puppet, they were too frightened to speak.
"But that's not the end. At this moment, the girl raised the kitchen knife and aimed it at the boy's—"
Before Olgis could finish, Duanmu Huai directly brought his fist down on her head.
"That hurts, Master."
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Huh? I was following Master's orders and performing a puppet show for them?"
"What kind of fucked-up love-and-hate melodrama is this…?"
Looking at the tattered puppets in Olgis's hands, Duanmu Huai was speechless. The mangled puppets gave off a sharp killing intent that seemed to hit you in the face… what the hell was this?
"But when Miss Alice goes to villages to perform, she always does this one. At the end, she also kills that cheating bastard…"
"Next time, perform a puppet show that's more age-appropriate. Puppet shows can be down-to-earth, but they can't be down to the underworld…"
Duanmu Huai sighed silently, then looked at the children and clapped his hands.
"Alright, alright, kids, the performance ends here. Also, this story is purely fictional and has no relation to any real events, groups, or individuals. Any resemblance is purely coincidental."
"Eh?!!"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, the children immediately protested loudly. It seemed that although they were scared, they were actually pretty engrossed in watching.
But this really wasn't good for preschool education, so better stop here.
"Alright, let's go, Olgis."
Duanmu Huai sighed softly.
"It's time to see what this resistance organization actually does on a daily basis."
(The chapter ends)