SIAW Vol. 2 Chapter 22

Full title: I Became the Strongest in Another World in the Tutorial During My Lifetime.

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Dario

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Chapter  22 - Miss Dorothea is Almost Sixty!

Dorothea’s appearance smoothed things out, to an incredible degree.

She acted with such charisma and authority with the orphanage director, that I almost doubted she was the real Dorothea. In any case, thanks to her clout, Zizi was practically in my hands already.

In the end, the director’s behavior changed radically: she took action swiftly and precisely.

She immediately prepared the necessary documents and said Zizi could leave with me at any time. First I thought of asking them for some time, since I wanted to make preparations for her arrival, but then Dorothea said she was going to take care of Zizi for a while.

I wanted to talk in private with the two sisters first, though, so I managed to arrange for them to stay the night at the Napping Cat Inn with us. As promised to Zizi, I asked Dorothea to set up a Contract magic spell for our agreements.

Most issues were thus cleared, but I was still wondering why the director would suspect me of having “nefarious” intentions about Zizi, so I asked her about it.

The director said that, unfortunately, sometimes people would hire orphans to use them for sexual purposes, leading to all sorts of trouble. For adventurers, especially, it was a cheap alternative to frequenting a brothel, so they would sometimes hire orphans even if they were clearly unfit to go adventuring. She then added that while I had the necessary money, I was very young for an adventurer, and — most importantly — I had an extremely shady look in my eyes, hence her suspicion.

Well, I concede that I might have looked a bit strange, since I felt like I had found a true diamond in the rough…but “shady”? Give me a break!

I had no intention to even touch the sisters in that way, of course. The thought hadn’t even brushed my mind. I didn’t have enough guts to do something like that, anyway.

After hearing her explanation, I asked a question that had been floating in my mind for a while.

“I heard that the Elbis trading company hires orphans to send them to work in brothels. Judging from what you just told me, you loathe this kind of practice, right? Were you tricked by them in the past?”

The director looked calmly at me and replied, with a sad tone in her voice. 

“No, no I was not tricked. I was aware that there was a high chance of such a thing happening, and made sure the orphans hired by them knew too before leaving. Regrettably, it is not possible for us to provide all of our children with an ideal place to work. That is why I always try to know what kind of intentions the employers have, and have them bind agreements with Contract magic whenever possible, so that the children are protected. I also knew that Zizi was thinking of working in a brothel in this town, in order to provide for her little sister.”

Zizi nodded.

So this kind of thing was reality in this world…I thought I knew that life couldn’t be roses and honey for everyone, but…

The director continued.

“I wanted to ask Lady Dorothea to hire Zizi: she’s clumsy, but a real hard worker. I was sure that with the proper training, she could become a dependable maid. Lady Dorothea regularly hires our orphans to make them work as maids, you see.”

The director was doing her part for the kids’ futures, it seems. I didn’t expect Dorothea to be actively hiring orphans; she was a better person than I thought.

I wish she wouldn’t have such a smug look on her face while she listened to us, though!

After hearing about these circumstances, though, I felt I had to ask Zizi herself her honest opinion.

“Zizi, what do you really want to do? Please answer honestly. As the director said, you can choose to go work for Miss Dorothea as a maid.”

Zizi, however, shook her head.

“I wish to serve you all my life, Sir Tenma. I was really happy to hear that the director was seriously thinking about my future. But I feel that you, Sir Tenma, chose me, especially. Even if you will eventually do lewd things, I can endure it!!”

Whoa, really? No no no, that’s not good!!

My younger body reacted instinctively…let’s just put it like this, for now.

“W-Wait just a moment, young ones! Tenma? You will do lewd things to this little girl? I-In that case, you might as well do them with m-me too!!”

What in the world are you saying, Miss Dorothea!?

“I-I am positive that our child would be a p-prodigy! A-And then, as soon as they’re born, they can increase their magi—GWAAH!!!”

All of a sudden, Dorothea collapsed on the floor with a shriek and started rolling around, holding her head in pain. Everyone was looking at her, befuddled.

So this is the effect of violating the rules set by Contract magic! It’s a lot more fierce than I expected…

I ignored the squirming Dorothea and continued to talk to Zizi.

“I am not going to ask you to do anything lewd, Zizi. You can rest assured.”

Zizi nodded, though her attention was still half taken by the woman writhing on the floor.

Soon enough, the pain left Dorothea, who grabbed the table’s edge and propped herself back on her feet.

“W-What in the heavens…? A sudden surge of pain struck my head, and I couldn’t even stand up anymore…could I have caught some rare disease? A-Am I going to die soon!?”

Dorothea was almost adorable in her cluelessness.

…hold that thought, Tenma! Remember, she’s almost sixty! Almost sixty!!

Dorothea looked at me, pleading for help, her eyes brimming with tears. Adorable.

…don’t fall for it!! Almost sixty!! Almost sixty!!!

After finally regaining my composure, I gently explained to Dorothea what happened.

“Could that headache be an effect of violating Contract magic rules?”

“Ah!!!”

Dorothea, embarrassed of her reaction, flushed.

S-So cute….no!! Almost sixty!! Almost sixty!!!

I repeated the words over and over, trying to keep my sanity.

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Dorothea and I waited for Zizi and her little sister — Pipi — to prepare for leaving the orphanage, then we went out together.

“Tenma, can you come to the Magicians’ Guild for a chat, now? You have to form a Contract magic agreement with those little girls too, do you not?”

“Well, I have to go back to the inn to reserve a room for them too, so I’ll go to the guild next time.”

I knew that if I went to the guild now, the “chat” with Dorothea was going to last for hours…

After thinking for a moment, she replied.

“In that case, just ditch the inn and come stay at my home!”

Hmm…Dorothea’s home…? That sounded pretty dangerous…in more ways than one.

“There’s someone waiting for me at the inn, so I’m sorry but that won’t do! Ah, the Magicians’ Guild is right over there. I’ll contact you again!”

The longer I was with Dorothea, the more chances there were to see her as cute…I had to stay as far away from her as possible!

So I strongly told myself, in order to keep my urges in line, and quickly led Zizi and Pipi to the Napping Cat Inn.

I checked Dorothea’s position via the Map skill: she was not moving, apparently just watching us go. Soon, she started walking towards the guild…but then stopped, and faced our direction again.

A-Argh!! N-No, not cute at all!!

On the way back to the inn, I kept mumbling “almost sixty!!” under my breath.

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