After dinner, Nina, dressed in a brand-new outfit and holding her favorite cat doll, said her final goodbye to the other children of the orphanage while resting in Mom's arms. The atmosphere was deeply touching. Watching little Nina cry nonstop, saying she didn't want to leave everyone and wanted to stay with them forever, made even Isabella feel a sting in her nose. Yet at the same time, she felt a bit lost.
The children who had left this big family before had always shown the same reluctance, but once they were gone, not a single letter ever came back. Was the outside world really so wonderful that it made them forget their family here? Would Nina forget them too? Thinking about that left her quietly unsettled.
After personally saying her final goodbye to Nina, Isabella stepped away from the entrance hall, wanting a moment alone. "Alright, there's no more time."
Mom clapped her hands twice, silencing the room. "Everyone, head to bed quickly, we can't keep Nina's new mom and dad waiting." She glanced around.
"Isabella… isn't here? Then Eren, Yako, and Reis—you three take the others to wash up and go to sleep." As Eren and the others led the children away, their lingering cries still echoing through the house, Mom adjusted Nina in her arms and spoke softly, "Nina, let's go meet your mom and dad." Then, with a helpless expression, she closed the door behind them, and locked it from the inside.
Arthur quickly arranged for the younger children to wash up, just as his mother had instructed, all while silently counting down the minutes in his mind. After the children fell asleep, he didn't return to his own bed. Instead, he went back to the hall, where, almost at the same time, Yako appeared from the opposite corridor.
"What's that…?"
Both of them nearly spoke in unison as they noticed a familiar object placed on the long table in the center of the hall. It was a snow-white, cat-shaped plush toy with a pink bow tied around its neck, Nina's birthday present from her mother last year. Yako walked over, picked it up, and examined it several times. Once she confirmed it was truly Nina's, her surprise only deepened.
"It really is Nina's toy!"
Arthur frowned. "Didn't Nina hug it when she left? How could she have left it behind?"
"What should we do?" Yako's expression turned flustered. "Nina can't sleep at night without this plush toy!"
Just as the two stood there at a loss, a voice suddenly came from the side.
"Is something wrong?"
One of the eleven-year-old children approached. Arthur vaguely recalled her name, Liza. He didn't have much of an impression of her; she was the type of child who rarely stood out. Yako, however, seemed to recognize her and showed her the plush toy.
"Nina's toy was left behind."
"Huh?" Liza looked at it in surprise, then reached into her pocket. "I actually just found Mom's key in the corridor and was wondering what to do with it. Why did Nina drop something too?"
Resting in her palm was a brass-colored key. Judging by its size, it was the front door key. Based on past experience, Mom locked the front door every night to prevent the children from going out, protection, in a sense, so it was understandable. That was why Arthur and Yako had been so anxious earlier. Mom had locked the door when she left. Locking it didn't require a key, but without one, it couldn't be opened from either side.
"Perfect," Liza said, winking at Arthur. "Mom would definitely be troubled if she came back after dropping Nina off and realized she lost her key. You can use that as an excuse to deliver Nina's forgotten plush toy. Isn't that just right? If you hurry, you might even catch up to her."
Arthur hesitated briefly, then took the key. "I understand." He inserted it into the lock and opened the front door. Yako, holding the plush cat, followed behind him. Before leaving, he glanced back at Liza, who waved at them from where she stood.
"Thank you, Liza."
"Don't worry about it. You two go quickly. I'll lock the door, we can't let the other children run out at night and make Mom worry."
After the two left, Liza closed the door, but the motion to lock it paused midway. Slowly, she let go of the handle. Her forehead rested against the door, one hand covering her mouth as she breathed heavily.
That's right, she was a reincarnator, and everything that had just happened had been deliberately planned by her. Originally, she had only followed out of curiosity when she saw Eren, who had never left the dirt mound, enter the forest at noon. She hadn't expected to overhear those words.
Truthfully, she didn't fully believe Eren's conjectures. However, she hadn't been very successful at gathering information herself, so if there was a ready-made tool who could investigate things for her… why not use it? And from what she'd heard earlier, the reincarnator named Eren might have truly discovered some secrets.
But she hadn't said everything, partly out of distrust toward Yako, and partly because she could clearly sense from his attitude that he was already desperate to uncover the secrets of this orphanage. In truth, she had long since conducted her own private investigation of the entire dormitory building.
Aside from a few restricted areas she couldn't access for the time being, there was nothing particularly unusual about the place. Which meant only one location remained unexplored—the mysterious structure situated in the very center beyond the forest fence, a place strictly forbidden to all the children.
So she created an opportunity for them. Using Nina's plushie as the perfect excuse, she allowed the two to leave the dormitory without raising suspicion. She knew very well that their goal wasn't to return the toy at all, but to use that pretext to investigate the secrets hidden deep within the fenced grounds. And all she had to do… was sit back and reap the results.
"With them acting as bait up front, I shouldn't be exposed either… right?"
She felt a quiet relief that she had overheard Eren's conversation at noon. That single piece of information had been crucial. In the afternoon, she had even gone out of her way to observe Mom's pocket watch, and confirmed that inside it was a small display screen, something resembling a crude tracking radar. The discovery only made her situation more dangerous. If she didn't act tonight, the next opportunity wouldn't come for another month.
"I've already run out of time…"
A trace of helplessness and guilt slipped into her voice. She lowered her gaze, whispering softly, "I hope you won't be discovered either."
Pushing the door open, she stepped outside, then quietly closed it behind her.
Now then… just what kind of secrets were hidden within this orphanage?