It was not long before the Astraea familia sisting of- Kaguya, Lyra, Noin, and Ryana, along with members of the Bahamut familia - Michalis and Vasiliki, reached Maria’s Orphanage.
The establishment was located on Daedalus Street, run by a kied woman named, Maria Martel, who had dedicated her life t for the city's abandoned and orphaned children.
Earlier, Noin had specuted that the thieves responsible for stealing Michalis' money might be from the orphanage.
It was, however, a rather hasty dedu, as Maria Martel was widely respected in the area and would never done such behaviour from the children under her care.
Still, there was always the possibility that a few mischievous youths might have found themselves tempted by the prospect of easy money.
Kaguya, reizing the sensitivity of the matter, had proposed a pn to probe the orphahout appearing frontational.
The pn she had devised was to visit the orphah gifts, allowing the children to gather around them.
Then, Michalis would carefully observe the group, searg for any familiar faces that might have been involved iheft.
The group's primary was to resolve the issue without appearing to be demeaning of Maria's tireless efforts to provide for the orphans.
They knew all too well the hardships faced by these children, and a reputation for stealing would only pound their struggles.
As the group arrived at the orphanage, Kaguya stepped forward and knocked on the door.
It didn't take long before the door opened, and Maria Martel herself greeted them.
"Good evening, how I help you?" Maria asked, her voice tinged with caution, as the orphanage rarely received visitors at this hour.
Lyra stepped forward, a warm smile.
"Sorry to bother you so te, but we were just passing by and wa some treats for the children, if that's alright." she said.
Maria's eyes narrowed as she scrutihe group, taking in their well-to-do appearances.
It was evident that she was assessing the likelihood of their iions being genuinely altruistic.
"We're members of the Astraea familia," Lyra added, sensing Maria's hesitation.
At this, the older woman's demeanour softened, and she ushered them inside.
“Oh, please e in, then. We were just about to have dinner.” She said.
The Astraea familia was a well-known group in Orario, sisting primarily of young women, which aligned with Maria’s observations.
Furthermore, the kied woman had a keen eye for dising the true iions of people, having lived in Daedalus Street for many years.
She could tell that these visitors were not here to cause trouble.
Kaguya stepped forward, presenting the small assortment of treats they had purchased.
“Here, these are for the kids. It’s not much, but we hope it will be enough for dinner and perhaps breakfast as well.” She said.
“Oh, my, thank you so much,” Maria excimed, her eyes shining with gratitude. “This will be a tremendous help.” She added.
“Is the orphanage perhaps struggling?” Noin asked, she found Maria’s gratitude for their gifts little bit excessive.
Maria’s expression turned somber as she sighed deeply.
“Sadly, yes. The number of orphans has been rapidly increasing this past year, and our provisions and donations have been struggling to keep up. We’re managing to get by, but it’s certainly not been easy.” Maria fessed.
Noin nodded, uanding the challenges Maria must be fag.
The group exged gnces, none of them feeling fortable with the idea of further burdening the already strained orphanage.
However, Maria’s demeanour quickly brightened once more.
“Anyway, enough of those gloomy things,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.
"Would you all like to join us for dinner?" she suddenly offered.
Lyra, Kaguya, Noin, Ryana, Michalis, and Vasiliki looked at each other, hesitant to accept the invitation.
They khat the orphanage's resources were already stretched thin, and they didn't want to further deplete the limited supplies.
"Thank you for the kind offer, Maria," Kaguya said diplomatically.
"But we wouldn't want to impose on your dihe treats are our way of showing our appreciation for the wonderful work you do here." she added.
Maria's face fell slightly, but she nodded in uanding.
"I see. Well, the children will be thrilled, I'm sure. Please, e in and join us for a bit, at least. I'd love to introduce you to them." she said.
With Maria's encement, the group followed her deeper into the orphahe sounds of lively chatter and the pitter-patter of small feet growing louder as they approached the dining hall.
As they entered, a sea of curious eyes turowards them, the orphans' expressions a mix of excitement and apprehension.
Maria gestured towards the group, her voice warm and weling.
"Children, these kind individuals who have brought you all special treats for dinner. Why don't you all e and say hello?" she announced.
The orphans, their faces lighting up with joy, eagerly surrouhe visitors, their excitement palpable.
Lyra elbowed Michalis so he would perform his role in the pn.
Michalis immediately begun sing the crowd, his gaze i, searg for any familiar faces that might firm Noin's earlier suspi.
Kaguya, Lyra, Noin, Vasiliki and Ryana ied with the children, their hands full of small, eager faces and outstretched arms.
It was a heartwarming sight, and the girls couldn't help but feel a sense of purpose in bringing a moment of happio these young lives even though it wasn’t part of their pns for day.
While the girls were occupied, Michalis sed the children ily, his eyes narrowing as he honed in on the group of four boys who had stolen from him, huddled together.
The way they avoided eye tad fidgeted nervously when their gaze met his own, made him more certain that they were the ones.
‘Why did they resort to stealing?’ Michalis wondered, his brow furrowing in ption.
‘Is it because the orphanage is struggling, or is there some other reason?’ He pohe possibilities, his mind rag as he tried to uand their motivations.
Michalis wao report his findings to Lyra immediately, but the girls were occupied with the other children, who kept them thhly engaged.
With a sigh, he let his gaze wander around the orphanage's dining room.
The room was rather simple, with an old, rge regur table in the ter and long benches on both sides for the children to sit.
The walls were faded, and some floorboards were quite loose, creakih the weight of the young octs.
The room was illuminated by dles, many of which were almost depleted, casting a warm, flickering glow over the se.
The meal served oable was a simple one, sisting of bread and a bowl of soup filled with vegetables and potatoes.
Maria could be seen slig some grilled meat, which they had purchased for the children, and distributing it into each bowl in small portions.
As Michalis took in his surroundings, he felt a strange pang in his chest.
He found his thoughts gravitating towards his own experiences, his mind drifting to the day they had lost everything.
‘We were truly fortuhat we had each other, especially Draii that day," Michalis thought, imagining what life would have been like if Draco had not taken charge on that fateful day.
"This could have been us.” he muttered to himself.
The idea of fronting the thieving children no longer sat well with him.
He had long since given up oolen money and had no pns to take it back. Michalis khat the orphanage's struggles were not their fault, and he couldn't help but empathize with their situation.
“Alright, kids, settle down, it's time to eat," Maria announced, having finished preparing the meal.
The children, upon hearing her words, immediately left Kaguya, Noin, Ryana, Lyra, and Vasiliki and rushed to their seats.
As the kids settled down, the room desded into a peaceful silenbsp;
They all held their hands together and closed their eyes tightly, waiting for Maria to begin the prayer.
"Good, I will now begin the prayer," Maria said, her voice soft and soothing.
During the prayer, Michalis had quietly informed Lyra of the children responsible for the theft.
When the prayer ehe kids eagerly dove into their meals, the sound of chewing and the occasional murmur filling the air.
While the children were eating, Maria ulled away to another room, where she was informed about the i.
Michalis and Vasiliki remained with the kids, watg them thoughtfully.
"Today has been a crazy day, huh?" Michalis said, breaking the silence.
"Hmm, I wonder if everyone is worried about us," Vasiliki replied, her gaze fixed on the children.
"Ugh, I already imagine Draii's rage-filled face," Michalis said with a chuckle, picturing his older brother's rea.
"Hmm," Vasiliki hummed in respohe siletliween them once more.
After a moment, Michalis spoke again, his voice soft and ptive.
“We are truly fortunate in life, huh?"
"Hmm, that indeed we are," Vasiliki replied, uanding Michalis without the need for further eboration.
The children in the orphanage may not have experiehe things that they did when they lost their family but in esseheir situations were simir.
This was why it was easy for them to empathize with the kids in the orphanage despite being kids themselves.
