"Big guy, I'm back, Meow~" Suddenly, Kiki's voice came from outside the house, accompanied by the sound of many footsteps, suggesting quite a few people had arrived.

  Caius immediately stood up and walked outside.

  When he saw Kiki, a smile appeared on his face.

  The footsteps belonged to a group of workers carrying a large amount of furniture into the courtyard. Several pieces had already been unloaded.

  "A total of 1,100 Gold. The boss rounded it down, so there's 900 Gold left, Meow." Kiki said as she took out the gold coins and handed them to Caius.

  Caius didn’t take them but instead smiled and said, "Keep the rest as pocket money."

  "Really, Meow?" Kiki’s ears twitched, her face full of delight.

  "Mhm, your big bro is rich now." Caius chuckled.

  Living in the moment was a mercenary’s creed.

  Mercenaries didn’t need to buy houses, and this world had no off-road cars or sports cars, so Caius had a straightforward attitude toward money—earn it to spend it!

  "Big guy is the best, Meow!" Kiki happily jumped up, landing on Caius' shoulder and affectionately rubbing her little face against his cheek.

  Caius grinned from ear to ear. This 900 Gold was totally worth it!

  At that moment, a worker leader with a broad smile approached and asked, "Boss, where should we place the furniture?"

  "We offer moving and cleaning services. This lady here has purchased the full package, so feel free to let us know any requests."

  "As long as it's within our service scope, we guarantee a perfect job!"

  A purchase of over 1,000 Gold was considered a big order, even in the Outer City. That made Caius a valuable customer, so they had to treat him well.

  Caius was very satisfied with their attitude. He pulled out a pouch of rolled cigarettes and tossed it to the worker leader, taking one for himself before pointing to a side room of the Orphanage. "Everything except the chairs goes in there. Also, clean the place up and move out the old furniture into the courtyard."

  He had checked that room before. It used to house the Orphanage children, but most had already left, leaving the room mostly empty aside from a few beds and chairs.

  However, Belle seemed to have kept it clean, so it wasn’t too dirty—just some corners needing attention.

  "Got it!" The worker leader glanced at the pouch in his hand—there were at least a dozen cigarettes inside—and his smile widened.

  Then, he waved his hand. "Alright, boys, get to work!"

  Seeing seven or eight workers getting busy with enthusiasm, Caius nodded in satisfaction and reached into his left pocket.

  Wait—where was his lighter?

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  This world had lighters too, but they were called Firewatch because they resembled pocket watches.

  When opened, a spring mechanism would pop the lid open, causing the flint to spark and ignite the oil wick at the center of the watch face.

  Caius, however, had made his own lighter—a Zippo-style one, which he carried with him at all times.

  He was sure he had put it in his left pocket just now. Could it be in his right pocket instead?

  Just as he was about to check, a small hand suddenly appeared before him, holding a pocket-watch-like item. With a crisp click, the cover popped open, and a small flame flared up from the center.

  Caius was momentarily stunned before using it to light his cigarette.

  Taking a puff, he turned to the little Catgirl sitting on his shoulder, his eyes filled with amusement.

  No one could resist a Catgirl.

  Let alone one who lit your cigarette for you.

  "You actually bought a Firewatch?" Caius chuckled.

  "Mhm, how is it, Meow?" Kiki proudly showed off her carefully chosen Firewatch, which had intricate floral engravings on it.

  "Not bad, but mine looks better." Caius pulled out his own lighter from his pocket.

  So it was in his right pocket. But he could have sworn he had put it in the left. How strange.

  Caius called this phenomenon Schr?dinger’s Lighter.

  "Whoa~" Kiki took the lighter, admiring the hand-carved Angel design on it, clearly enchanted.

  "Give me yours, and I'll give you this one." Caius offered.

  "Big guy is the best, Meow!" Kiki was overjoyed and eagerly traded lighters with him.

  Caius grinned. This little Catgirl didn’t smoke. Besides lighting campfires in the wild, what else would she use a lighter for?

  Obviously, to light his cigarettes~

  Kiki adored the lighter, playing with it over and over again.

  "Careful now, don’t burn my hair," Caius reminded her, considering she was still perched on his shoulder.

  "I’ll be careful, Meow." Kiki nodded seriously.

  The workers were efficient. In no time, they had moved all the furniture inside and placed the old furniture in the courtyard, along with some dust and debris they had cleared from hidden corners.

  The room now looked much cleaner.

  After briefly directing the furniture arrangement, Caius considered the job done.

  "Boss, we’re finished. Would you like us to dispose of these old furniture pieces and trash for you?" the worker leader asked enthusiastically.

  Caius was about to respond when he suddenly felt a tug on his clothes. He turned around to see Belle standing behind him.

  "Can we keep the old furniture?" Belle asked softly.

  "Why keep them?" Caius was puzzled.

  Belle didn’t answer. She simply looked at him quietly, as if she didn’t know why either—she just didn’t want them thrown away.

  Seeing this, Caius nodded and told the worker leader, "Leave the old furniture. Just get rid of the trash."

  "Understood!" The worker leader nodded, cleaned up the debris, and left the Orphanage happily, puffing on the cigarettes Caius had given him.

  A single pouch of cigarettes seemed enough to make these simple workers happy for a long time.

  Meanwhile, Belle walked to the old furniture, extending her small hand to gently touch them.

  "What’s wrong?" Caius asked.

  Belle gazed at the old tables and wooden beds and said, "I used to sleep in this bed, sharing it with another girl."

  "Back then, Grandma Lunla would sit at the bedside and tell us stories."

  "And later, where did the children go?" Caius asked.

  Belle shook her head gently. "I don’t know…"

  "Some were adopted, some left to make their way in the world. I don’t know how they are now."

  "No one wanted to adopt you?" Caius asked again.

  Belle shook her head again. "Most of those adopted were boys. Fewer girls got chosen."

  "I… I didn’t want to be adopted. So whenever someone came, I would hide…"

  "I didn’t want to leave Grandma Lunla. I didn’t want to leave the Orphanage…"

  Her voice grew softer, tinged with sadness.

  Caius understood her emotions and reassured her, "Don’t worry. Grilla City is only a day’s journey from here. If you want to visit while you're at Hydis, just let Instructor Holan know."

  "I’ll be living here from now on. You don’t need to worry about Grandma Lunla or Tina."

  "As long as I’m here, no one will harm them."

  Hearing this, Belle turned to look at Caius. Then, she took a step closer and bowed slightly.

  "Thank you…" Her voice trembled, as if she was trying hard not to cry.

  "Feeling touched?" Caius laughed. "Then can you grant me a small request?"

  Belle gently nodded. "Mhm."

  Caius scratched his cheek, his eyes suddenly shifting away as if, despite his usual confidence, he was feeling a little embarrassed.

  "Can… I see what you look like?"