Friendly Reincarnator Chapter 63: The Orphanage

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　I spent the evening organizing what I noticed something and remembering what I learned from defeating the Four-Armed Bear that time.

　I can now use [Cure Poison] and [Heal], but I was taught that intermediate and advanced levels are achieved by raising the quantity and quality of magical power put in, so I want to be able to raise the quality of my magic.

　How do I improve the quality?

　Is it like changing from regular gasoline to high-octane gasoline?

　After that, we approached the Four-Armed Bear I couldn’t detect, but it found us after we stepped on a dry branch, so I thought it would be helpful if there was something like “Stealth” that erases sounds and presence.

　I thought it might be easier to simply “mute” sounds, so I decided to try it on myself.

　The image is that of a ninja moving with “Stealth”.

　I don’t know if my presence is gone, but the sounds seem to be gone.

　Next, I tried “Mute” to mute only the sound, but I felt that it was the same as before.

　If the presence also disappears when others see me, the “Stealth” image would be more effective.

　I decided to try it out in practice.

　The next day, I showed up at the Sinker Trading Company with an egg sandwich and ten bottles of mayonnaise as a souvenir.

“The eggs are rich and delicious. So if this seasoning is a new product, it will definitely sell.” (Robert-san)

　Robert-san stood up in surprise, persuading me to sell.

“I came to tell Hank-san that I would tell him next time, but these things are hard to sell…” (Louis)

　This time he asked with a curious look on his face.

“Louis-kun, please explain. Why is it?” (Robert)

“It’s difficult to explain. I mean, I’m not sure about the cleanliness of eggs, moreover it’s difficult to get eggs in a stable supply.” (Louis)

“Egg cleanliness and stable supply?” (Robert)

　It is no exaggeration to say that the concept of sanitation is quite thin in this world, or rather, there is no concept at all.

　Even if a dish is prepared in unsanitary conditions, if the final shape and taste are normal, no one will say anything even if it is full of germs.

　In making the Koppe bread, I asked Hank-san to make sure the area was cleaned and sanitized, and I remind him that I want the food to be prepared within two hours of sale because of the sanitation issue.

　Before making delicious food, one should also not get an upset stomach from eating them.

　Mayonnaise is made with raw eggs, so if it is not refrigerated, there is a high risk of salmonella infection.

　The bottles that Huey made this time have been enchanted with [Sterilization] by me, so bacteria will not grow even at room temperature if they have magic power channeled from time to time.

　However, it is impossible to make, bottle, and sell mayonnaise and thoroughly sterilize it, including the bottles. If there are too many steps involved, and if you have to think about what happens after the product is sold, it would be much harder.

　Besides, the eggs sold at the market are not always in the same quantity, and the date of egg collection seems to vary.

　Are there even any farmers raising eggs in the first place?

　Outsourcing and selling mayonnaise, like what I did with bread is one way, but without thorough sterilization, quality control, and a stable supply, it is difficult to make it a business even if there is a recipe.

　Moreover, even if I tell people that their stomachache is caused by bacteria, they have a hard time accepting that there is such a thing in their own stomachs.

　It is also difficult to explain it to people to make them understand.

“So, even if you know the recipe, it is difficult to sell unless you understand the concept of sanitation, quality control, and you have a stable supply.” (Louis)

　I tried to explain it.

“I am very sad to hear that there is such an invisible little monster attached to the eggs sold… yes, that’s right.” (Robert)

　It’s not a monster, though.

　If it’s just one bakery, as long as they use the bottle I gave them and keep proper hygiene, it’s unlikely they’ll get food poisoning. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed.

“I hope you will consume the mayonnaise I gave you this time with the employees of the restaurant. I hope you will enjoy it as an unusual gift. By the way, sometimes children who don’t like vegetables will be happy to eat it if you put it on fresh vegetables that have been washed and dried.” (Louis)

“Thank you. I will try that.” (Robert)

　After that, I delivered 1,000 pieces of soap for the additional order.

　He said that if he presented the berry-scented soap to an influential nobleman, as I had said, and he boasted about it, or rather, promoted it by word of mouth, and said that it was selling even faster than the orange soap.

　This time, out of 1,000 pieces, 100 pieces of the new lemon fragrance were to be added.

　Reversi and E-sugoroku are doing well, and the decorated Reversi boards are selling for high prices.

　Thanks to the Sinker Trading Company, I seem to be making a small fortune.

　After paying the bill, I went to the church.

　I went to the chapel to ask the usual priestess to help me and prayed, simply thanking god and praying for my current happiness.

　I thought that I would like to meet with Jupiter-sama after I had done a little more self-practice.

　The last time I met with him, he told me, “The time has not yet come for the items that are not displayed”, so I am planning to meet with him about when will the time comes for them to be displayed.

　After praying, I donated a gold coin and left the chapel, but today children were cleaning the churchyard.

　I thought it was quite impressive for the children and approached one of them.

“Hello. Are you one of the neighborhood kids? Are you helping them clean up?” (Louis)

“What? We live… behind the church… we live in a house there. Cleaning is our job.” (Child)

　Looking at the children again, they are not unsanitary, but they are all a bit thin, wearing worn cloth clothes, and seem to be in a mildly malnourished state.

　So is the house in the back an orphanage? If cleaning is their job, I guess that means they get paid a meal or an allowance for doing this.

“Well, thanks for letting me know.” (Louis)

　With that, I headed for the exit, but returned and called out to the priestess.

“My name is Louis, an adventurer, and I was wondering if I could take a tour of the orphanage in the back. If so, I would like to donate some bread from Hank’s Bakery.” (Louis)

“Thank you. My name is Lina. I’ll show you the way.” (Lina)

　Is the priestess name Lina-san?

　I knew it was an orphanage. I was afraid that I might be wrong.

　When I went to see the orphanage, I found that it was not a very new building.

　It looked as old and shabby as the house I was renting, and the inside was quite old, but it was tidy.

　There are four rooms on the second floor, which can accommodate eight people, but currently, there are four people in two rooms.

　On the first floor are the common room, kitchen, and dining room.

　I was given a quick tour of the building and heard from Lina-san.

　In summary, children who have lost their parents due to war or other reasons are temporarily placed here, and they are adopted and leave the orphanage.

　Unlike orphans in slums, the children here have a clear origin.

　Lina-san said that she only helps out at the orphanage from time to time and that there is a separate caretaker.

　I have my own opinions from what I hear and see in the children, but I didn’t interfere.

　In return for the tour, I gave the kids a loaf of bread I had made, which I told them was actually bread from Hank’s bakery, and a few Koppe bread.

　It was just about noon, so I decided to have lunch with Lina-san and the kids.

　I rented the kitchen and prepared a large plate of fried Rock Hopper Horned Rabbits and a salad of chopped fresh vegetables with mayonnaise.

　The guests seemed to resist eating raw vegetables, but when I showed them and let them try the salad, they gobbled it up, saying that the mayonnaise was delicious.

　Both the fried rabbit and bread were a big hit.

　Each of the children thanked me and told me their names.

　The first boy I called out to was Marlon, 10, his roommate Brian, 10, and the girls were Therese, 8, and her roommate Frederica, 6.

　They were all children who had lost their parents in the war.

　They all had dreams of what they wanted to do and become, but now they understood that they needed some other adult than their parents to take care of them and that they needed to grow up and become independent as soon as possible.

　I was about to burst into tears when Marlon said, “Louis…you’re not that much older than us, and yet you’re an adventurer.” I was brought back to reality by Marlon’s words.

　He almost called me “Louis,” but then he hurriedly added “san” to my name. What a nice kid.

　When I was about to leave after finishing my meal, Frederica pulled my arm and said she would show me the tree in the garden before we left. So I came with her.

　The other children followed behind.

　The tree in the yard was a magnificent zelkova tree.

　Zelkova trees grow fast, but their branches are fragile, and they are the kind of tree that crows often nest in.

　It was a fine tree, but not one you would want to show off to people.

　As I approached the tree, a girl smaller than Frederica ran and dove from the tree.