Chapter 104 Julius vs. Ange 3
After that, we moved to the consultation room, drank the tea that Fine-san and the others had made, and took a breather.
"Ange-san, how did you acquire such swordsmanship?"
"Hard work. In order to change my life, I was able to forge a sword using sticks that were lying around, so when I had time to eat, I would swing the sword all day long."
"That's right. Ever since Ange and I met, whenever she had free time, she would hold a stick and practice sword forms. In order to make sure that Ange had time to train, I prepared some food for Ange as well. In return, I was taught how to use a sword.''
Julius said that while remembering the past.
"I can tell you now, but when I met Julius back then, I hated him so I made him do some crazy training. Of course, Julius didn't know anything about it, so I thought the training was normal."
"...I guess that's what happened after all. I didn't have the training that a normal child would do in one day, so I kind of thought it might be that way."
"Yes, but it wasn't like I was training him in a particularly bad way, I was just using him in a slightly harsh way. So, the effects were showing faster, right?"
"Well, thanks to that, the princess picked me up."
Julius seemed unsure and looked at Ange with his blank stare.
It was said that these two met at a place where orphans gathered, but that wasn't detailed in the setting.
I'm concerned, but there's a possibility that the two of them will feel bad after hearing about what happened when they were orphans...
As I was thinking that, Ange asked me, ``Do you want to hear about your time as an orphan?'' Perhaps it was obvious on her face.
"Um...um, yes. Julius-san and Ange-san, I'm curious about how these two amazing people lived as orphans."
"There's no particularly interesting story, right? I met Julius at a facility where ordinary orphans gather, and at first Julius followed me around without permission. Then gradually we started spending a lot of time together, and we started to get to know each other. We trusted each other and worked together."
``Even though we were called orphans, in our case we didn't live in a slum, but rather in a small facility, a place that wasn't well-maintained but sheltered from the rain and wind. I would clean and help at the shops that the facility had a contract with, and I would receive money and food."
"So there is such a facility. I didn't know about it."
Speaking of orphans, I had the image of living in the corner of the city without parents, but when I heard Julius and his friends' stories, I thought that's what the world was like.
Ange said to me, ``It's just the place where we lived,'' and Julius said, ``That's right,'' as if it was difficult to say.
"The facility itself no longer exists. There were various incidents a long time ago, and all the people who operated the facility were arrested."
"...Maybe some bad people were doing it?"
"That's half of it. The store was cooperating with good intentions, but the people who ran it were doing various things, and the government closed down the facility a few years ago."
I see, I somehow understood.
But on the other hand, thanks to that facility, Julius and his friends were probably able to maintain a certain level of livelihood unlike other orphans.
``Nowadays, there were a lot of unnatural things about the way that facility operated, but back then, we were doing our best to survive. I think Ange was the only one who saw the future.''
"Naturally, I knew about the dark side of that facility. That's why I kept honing my sword skills as a way to survive on my own without trusting anyone."
To Julius and the others who told me about the past, I thanked them, saying, ``Thank you for telling me.''
As I thanked her, I saw Reina looking down at Ange and looking sad.
“Ange-san, you stubbornly refused to tell me about your past, but when Jin-san asked you, you would tell me...didn’t you really trust me that much?”
"No, that's not true. Julius caused a lot of trouble for Jin, so it's more like a thank you for that! If it was true, I never planned to tell anyone about this!"
Ange said this to a depressed Reina-san, and she looked at Julius and said, ``It's Julius' fault that things went wrong!'' she said angrily.
Ange then comforted Reina-san, and she managed to restore Reina-san's spirits with her promise to treat her to sweets next time.
After that, there was nothing else to do today, so we decided to disband.
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