Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

These sweet potatoes taste a little like the ones I had in Japan. They’re potatoes in appearance.

I was treated to a simple snack made by just boiling them. The children and Sufi and the others were happy, but still, it was extremely plain—more like we were just eating ingredients…a bit lacking.

In my previous life, tasty food or games were my only forms of entertainment, so remembering that, I can feel that my sense of taste has become pretty spoiled.

As far back as I can remember, in early childhood in my previous life I survived by scavenging through garbage, and yet as I grew up I became picky about flavor—thinking about it myself, I’m sure quite thick-skinned.

Since I’m being treated at a place that obviously isn’t well off financially, complaining would be completely misplaced. As for a thank-you… at least I know that giving silver coins would be inappropriate.

What should I do…

“…what happened to you, Zig?”

While I was nibbling on the potato in escapist fashion, a boy whose name I didn’t know spoke to the kid next to him at the far end of the dining hall. He’d been glancing over from time to time, so he must have been curious.

About the boy who had picked a fight earlier and now had a big bump on his head.

The Sister looks gentle, but apparently when she gets angry she doesn’t hesitate to use iron-fist discipline.

Even after being punished, the fact that he still glares at me shows some real guts, but it’s still troublesome.

“Alice, let’s go to the hall after we finish our snack.”
“There are toys too.”
“…Yeah.”

While I was feeling uncomfortable, a girl about my age who had already finished her snack stepped in between us and blocked my view. From outside my field of vision, I sensed The Sister relaxing as she talked with the children.

“Zig is always mean, so don’t go near him.”
“He brags all the time too.”

Apparently he has an extremely bad reputation among the girls. To begin with, why did he pick a fight with me anyway?

With a sullen feeling, I tossed the rest of the potato into my mouth and washed it down with water.

I spoke to Sufi, who was glaring back at Zig beside me.

“Sufi, I’ll stay with these girls.”
“Okay, if anything happens, call me right away, okay?”

Meaning if Zig messes with me.

“Sister, is it okay if I stay in the hall?”
“Yes, play nicely together.”

I got down from the chair and, holding hands with the girls, headed toward the so-called hall. From behind, I heard a boy’s exasperated voice saying, “you bullied a girl again, huh?” so it must be a common occurrence.

“Alice, want to play house?”
“There’s a teddy bear too.”

The girls talked to me kindly, but when I heard one of the words included, my body stiffened.

My body began to tremble. From my memories resurfaced the back of a large teddy bear. Its sorrowfully drooping posture, the inescapable fear and guilt.

…Up until now I hadn’t had the chance to touch stuffed animals, so I’d forgotten. I had trauma.

“A-Alice? What’s wrong?”
“Was Zig scary?”
“No, I’m fine.”

Not wanting to cause a strange misunderstanding, I somehow pulled myself together and shook my head.

It’s okay. It’s not “that one.” And even if it were that one, they’re not a bad kid.

Telling myself that, I entered the hall with the girls. In the corner of the room sat a big teddy bear.

“…!”

I caught my breath for a moment, but when I looked closely, it was nothing alike—a different bear entirely. Different fur color, different face, different design.

As I repeated deep breaths, my pounding heart gradually calmed down.

“That teddy bear was given by a knight big brother.”
“They say it was a present for the Sister.”

While I was calming down, the girls who came with me explained its background.

Rather than taxidermy-like, it had a fairly fancy, deformed design. At the same time I thought that stuffed animals like this existed in this world, I also thought that one using so much cloth and cotton must be quite expensive.

But that Sister didn’t seem like the type to be happy about such an expensive stuffed animal. From her attitude, it was clear she cherished the orphanage children, so rather than something she’d like…

Thinking that far, I realized.

Among the children’s toys, standing out prominently, was a bear with reddish-brown fur and deep red eyes. Large in size, designed so that an ordinary child would want to hug it instinctively.

That kind of fanciness being popular with small girls seems to be the same here too.

In other words, that knight big brother had definitely given a present that the Sister would like.

As I understood that, I calmed down thanks to thinking about something else.

“It’s amazing.”
“Yeah, it’s fluffy.”
“Alice is fluffy too… Can I touch you?”
“…No.”

I put a little distance between myself and the girls who looked disappointed at my tail. It’s good they don’t have prejudice, but being too close is a bit hard to deal with too.

Avoiding getting close to the stuffed animal, I sat down on the floor and played together while listening to explanations of the toys.

…Wooden blocks, a leather ball, wooden dolls wearing ragged clothes.

I came along on impulse, but I’ve never even played house with Sufi. After all, the main ones handling housework were Sufi and Grandpa…

■■■

This world has surprisingly solid infrastructure. The roads are maintained well enough for carriages to run smoothly, and above all, even though it’s a bucket system, the culture of using toilets is widespread.

Because it’s a bucket system, it’s located away from the main building, but this orphanage has a proper toilet too. Perhaps because it used to be a church, it’s old but fairly solid, divided into several stalls.

“…………”

While nodding along to the girls’ conversation and killing time with blocks, I suddenly lost to a strong urge to pee and asked where the toilet was. The problem was that it was a bit far.

After finishing, exhausted, I made a mistake when I tried to leave.

I staggered and leaned against the door. It had already made unpleasant noises when opening, but the metal fittings had deteriorated to the point they couldn’t support a child’s weight.

“Ah…”

Next to the fallen door were shattered small nails and hinges; looking closely, rust had eaten all the way inside. Even if it could have broken at any time, breaking it myself makes me feel a bit guilty.

…It can’t be helped.

After kicking the broken parts aside, I took iron scraps and the lantern out of my Pocket with a sigh.

After being warned by Chýtis Philip, I usually keep the lantern in my Pocket. For work at the Alchemists’ Guild, I’d been renting equipment and tools instead. The fact that I find it a bit inconvenient shows how scary getting used to things is.

“‘Forging.’”

Because I’d made a door myself before, making the parts went smoothly. I matched the size and made hinges and nails.

First, I forged nails into the door and attached the hinges, fixed up the damaged area from when the fittings broke… and there. Then I held up the door and matched the position.

It was pretty heavy and made me wobble.

“…F-forging…!”

I extended my shadow and attached it to the doorframe too. Using a hammer would be faster and cheaper overall, but in terms of height and stamina, I couldn’t do it alone.

I released my trembling arms and checked that the door worked properly. No strange sounds, and it opened and closed smoothly.

After that, I used “Decomposition” to return the rust clumps—the evidence of damage—to the soil, and the cover-up was complete.

“Phew.”

Alright, nothing happened. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, put the lantern away, and confidently returned to the main building.

When I finally got back with great effort, Sufi, who had been searching around the garden, spotted me and rushed over.

“Alice! Where did you go!?”
“The toilet?”
“You can’t go alone!”

I can at least go to the toilet by myself; this time was just a bit dangerous.

“You’re wobbling!”
“I’m just a little tired…”
“See!? What would you do if you collapsed on the way!?”
“…I was okay.”

To be honest, the time when my memories were clearest was when things were at their worst, so now that I’m in better condition than then, I’ve started wanting to move around.

Even so, I wasn’t this weak before.

I can feel that the escape from the village and the trouble at the underground ruins are definitely affecting me. I might need to properly recuperate once.

“I don’t want Alice to disappear too…”
“…Sorry.”

I bowed my head, defeated by Sufi’s tearful voice. It’s true that it was a bit dangerous.

“I’m happy Alice is healthier. But I don’t want Alice to push herself…”
“…Yeah.”

Trembling hands hugged me.

That’s right—we just lost Grandpa.

Because other memories slipped in, it felt like something from the past to me. But for Sufi, that loss is still very recent.

She acted fine, but maybe she was anxious somewhere inside. Carrying a little sister who could die at any time, she struggled to get this far.

And now that sister started wandering around unsteadily just because she felt a bit better.

…I was stupid. It’s not something worth worrying Sufi over. I should endure a bit and avoid unnecessary risks.

“I won’t overdo it anymore.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“Mm!”

Sufi bumped her nose lightly against my forehead. After I rubbed cheeks with her, she finally let go.

“Then, cleaning’s already finished, so let’s say goodbye and go home, okay?”
“Okay.”

So that’s why she came looking for me—the work was already done.

After that, we rejoined Noche and the others who had been waiting, thanked the kids who had played with us, and left the orphanage as the smiling sister saw us off, saying, “Please come play anytime.”

They were good people. Except for one.

■■■

“Hey Alice, something strange happened at the orphanage.”

The next day, as expected I had a fever, and Sufi said this with a confused look after returning from helping at the orphanage.

“They said one of the half-broken toilet doors was fixed really neatly.”
“……………………”
“They said the metal fittings were already rotten and useless, but they’d been replaced with brand-new shiny ones.”
“…I see.”

While chewing on dried meat, I quietly looked away. Through the gap in the curtains, the night view of Tokyo spread out beyond the balcony. Ah, airplane lights.

“Alice, do you know anything about it?”
“…I don’t.”

How mysterious.