‘Six years, five months and eleven days.’

Shuren held his nose, which was throbbing with waves of pain as he tried to calm himself. He was already hunched over before he realised it and as he opened his eyes, he saw a ball rolling away, stopping at the feet of a young boy.

“It’s time for breakfast, hurry up. Mother Margret said you shouldn’t keep everyone waiting.”

Shuren let out an involuntary grunt as he picked himself up from the ground. Not only was his nose causing him problems, he was still very tired from the day before. The dirty washcloth in his hand was evidence of his labours.

‘Just six years, five months and eleven days.’

He rubbed his eyes and suppressed a yawn before fixing his gaze on the boy standing opposite him. The boy was of a similar height to Shuren and was dressed in what could only be described as rags, the same as Shuren. But, unlike Shuren, the boy had a healthy glow about him. Evidence of a good night’s rest.

Shuren put on a smile as bright as he could and bowed his head politely.

“Thanks for the wake-up call, James.”

“Whatever. Just hurry it up.”

“I shan't delay.”

“Humph.”

James kicked the ball up into the air and caught it before running off.

‘Six years, five months and eleven days and all of this will be behind me.’

Shuren rubbed his nose as he walked down the hallway and to the nearest bathroom. Six years, five months and eleven days. That was how long it would take for him to reach his twelfth birthday, and also how long he would have to stay in this orphanage.

‘Ah. It feels like such a long time.’

He raised his hands to wash them along with the washcloth and noticed that they were shaking.

‘It looks like today is going to be one of those days… I should at least try to hold out until tomorrow. That would be a lot more convenient.’

After the water coming from the cloth was clear enough, he used it to clean his face. He hoped it would also help him to keep his eyes open. After all, he couldn’t very well allow himself to nod off during breakfast.

‘There. All clean.’

He rubbed his hands on his face to help it dry faster and hung his washcloth on a rack after wringing out the excess water. Then he took a look in the mirror above the sink and straightened himself up.

‘At least there’s no blood this time. Miss Margret shouldn’t have much to complain about. Though, knowing her, I probably shouldn’t delay for too long.’

Shuren made his way over to the dining hall. His pace neither fast nor slow. Even his footsteps were quiet enough as not to cause a disturbance but loud enough so that his appearance wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

As he entered the hall, he turned to face the middle-aged woman seated at the head of the table and put on his smile, bowing slightly as he did.

“I must apologise for the delay. I hope you all didn’t wait too long.”

He said that, but it didn’t look like anyone had been waiting for him. All thirty-odd seats at the table were filled and by the sound of things, his tardiness hadn’t inconvenienced anyone.

The middle-aged woman spoke without bothering to look at him.

“Oh? You decided to show up? Here I was thinking you had decided to continue your nap. And in the middle of the hallway, no less! How inconsiderate could you get?”

Shuren quickly brought his hands behind his back and deepened his bow.

“It was my mistake. I shouldn’t have selfishly taken up space in the hallway. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me, Miss Margret.”

“Well. As long as you know what you did wrong, it’s nothing we can’t look past. Go. Eat your breakfast.”

“Many thanks, Miss Margret.”

Shuren straightened himself and walked to a corner of the hall. There, on the floor, was a bowl of oats with his name on it. Seeing it, his hands which he had just managed to calm, began to shake once more.

‘It’s even less than before!’

His shoulders rose and his teeth were chattering. He held his hands in front of himself to prevent anyone from seeing them.

‘Deep breaths, Shuren. Deep breaths.’

Knowing that Miss Margret was most likely observing him, he struggled to calm himself. It wouldn’t do him any good if she were to find him guilty of committing a breach of etiquette.

‘Remember. Kill them with kindness.’

After chanting his mantra, he managed to get his emotions under control. Kindness. It was his greatest weapon and it was already starting to take an effect with the other kids. However, Miss Margret was a different matter. No matter how politely he behaved in front of her, she never went easy on him. But even with that being the case, he still believed that he would be able to kill her with his kindness one day.

He sat down facing the corner and ate his oats in silence. After he finished, he stood and walked back to Miss Margret who had a smile on her face as she watched the children eating their meals.

“Miss Margret. May I have a moment of your time?”

Her smile faded away as she turned to look Shuren in the eye. There was no trace of the motherly aura that had existed just a moment ago. Instead, she looked at him with those eyes. Most adults seemed to have those same eyes when they looked at him.

“Can you not see that I’m busy?”

“I apologise, Miss Margret, but…” He smiled and raised his bowl, showing her the inside. “I don’t suppose there’s any breakfast left over? I would be most grateful if I could have another bowl.” He then quickly bowed and added a few more words. “Not that I’m not grateful for what I have already received.”

Miss Margret raised a brow.

“Another bowl? I think you’ve had quite enough already.”

Shuren tried to speak, but he was cut off by Miss Margret, who raised a finger.

“You’re not thinking of talking back to me, are you?”

Shuren brought the bowl behind his back and bowed once more.

“O-of course not, Miss Margret.”

Miss Margret retracted her raised finger into crossed arms.

“You know, I always say that gluttony isn’t a good quality to nurture in oneself. Don’t you agree?”

“Wholeheartedly.”

“Now, what do you say?”

Shuren bowed.

“I apologise for disturbing you all.”

“Good. Now off you go.”

Miss Margret undid her crossed arms and shooed him away.

‘I just have to get past today.’

Shuren bowed one last time before returning to his corner. As he sat there, trying to block out the sounds of the conversations the other kids were having, he couldn’t help but notice one such conversation.

“Mother Margret, can I have some more?”

“It’s may I have, and yes you may. You’re still a growing boy, after all.”

“Right. May. Sorry, Mother Margret.”

“It’s quite alright. Does anyone else want another bowl? There’s plenty enough for everyone.”

The sounds of the cheering children complemented Shuren’s chattering teeth quite nicely.

‘Ah. I might not last until tomorrow…’

***

Shuren waited for everyone to finish their breakfast before he washed his bowl and headed to the laundry room to grab a clean change of clothes. He put them in a basket and made his way to the outside of the shower room where he sat himself down.

It had already been hard enough for him to keep himself awake during breakfast, and now that he didn’t have to worry about running afoul of Miss Margret, his exhaustion got the better of him.

It wasn’t until a while later that he was awakened by the sounds of the children leaving the shower room. He wasn’t sure how long he had been out for, but if things went as usual, then it was at least an hour.

After waking up, he waited for the last person to leave before he entered the shower room and put his dirty clothes among the others. He then placed his basket on a bench and went for his shower. Usually, at this time, all of the warm water would have been used up. Today was no exception.

As the cold water rained down on him, Shuren thought about his situation.

‘Six years, five months and eleven days… But that’s at the latest. I’ve seen people leave here as early as six years old. It happened last year and again this year. And when it does happen, it’s usually not just one person. It looks like whatever is happening every year is my ticket out of here. But what is it? Is it related to the lessons? I hope not.’

The orphanage also functioned as a boarding school and all of the children were taught by Miss Margret in the classroom. All of the children, that is, except Shuren. Everyone else was part of these lessons where they would learn various things, but Shuren could only rely on the bits and pieces that they would reveal during their conversations. As a result, both his reading and writing were subpar. But it hadn’t impaired his ability to speak. In fact, he managed to pick up the spoken language much faster than the other children his age.

‘If it’s to do with the lessons, then I really will be here for another six years, five months and eleven days. But there are more pressing matters at this time.’ He felt a bubbling sensation coming from the pit of his stomach. ‘I can’t wait much longer. But it’s not a school day, meaning the others will be spread out all over the place. I won’t be able to find a quiet place. The only choice is to go into the forest, but…’

If he went into the forest outside the village, he would be sure to find a quiet place. But in order to do that, he would have to pass through the village first.

If the orphanage was said to be an inhospitable place for Shuren, then Krola Village was downright dangerous. In the orphanage, he only had to deal with the bullying of other children, aged twelve at the most. The only adult there was Miss Margret, and while she didn’t do him any favours, she had never raised her hand against him. The land beyond the orphanage, however, didn’t play by the same rules. Most of the people out there were adults, and it seemed everyone had a bone to pick with him. Coming home with severe bodily injuries after an excursion into the village was not a rare occurrence at all for Shuren. In fact, it was less likely for him to get back in one piece.

‘There’s no other choice. The people out there can hurt me, but they can’t make me go hungry.’

That was a privilege unique to Miss Margret and was the method by which she had Shuren held by the ears. Not only did she arbitrarily reduce his portions, she would outright refuse to feed him at the slightest offence.

‘Then it’s decided.’

Shuren finished up his shower and picked up his change of clothes, which someone had knocked to the ground, before dressing and headed over to Miss Margret’s office. He knocked thrice and waited for her response.

“W-Who is it?”

“Miss Margret. May I have a moment of your time?”

“Oh. It’s you. Come in.”

Shuren pushed open the door and saw that Miss Margret was looking over a few documents. She held one sheet of paper in her hand and had serious expression on her face. He closed the door behind him and walked up to her desk.

Miss Margret stayed silent for a moment as she looked at the sheet of paper in her hand. She then placed it down and turned a piercing gaze to Shuren.

“Make it quick.”

Shuren put on his smile and bowed politely.

“I have come to ask for your permission to take a stroll outside.”

“Oh? Could it be that you aren’t content here?”

“Perish the thought. I merely thought it would be pleasant to take in the scenery of our beautiful village.”

Miss Margret opened a drawer and retrieved a nail file before leaning back in her chair, returning her gaze to the piece of paper she had been looking at earlier. She filed the nail of her index finger and blew the dust away before moving on to the next.

“You know what you’re getting yourself into. We don’t have any medical professionals here.”

“I am aware, yes.”

“Let me be clear. Don’t expect anyone to take pity on you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Then you can go and die for all I care.”

Shuren placed his hands behind his back and took a deep breath.

“Many thanks, Miss Margret. I shall be taking my leave now.”

Shuren left the office and picked up a roll of gauze before heading out of the orphanage.

‘All things considered, that went better than expected. Now, to take care of business.’