Even if you're a corrupted magical girl, you still have to try to redeem yourself.

This is just a suspicion, nothing more.

However, Mashiro Urouge was an orphan whose parents were killed by magical girls and was adopted. She later joined the Sisters of the Holy Church, and was later adopted by the Holy Family. In the end, she wanted to eliminate all magical girls because of her parents' hatred.

If you were to guess where Mashiro Urouge stayed before she was adopted, Yuuki Yukino couldn't think of a second answer.

A never-before-seen order of nuns, a mysterious secret religion disguised as a welfare institution and even running a noble academy—these things require considerable manpower and financial resources to accomplish.

There's not much to guess about in terms of financial resources; the funding and tuition fees received by St. Eternal Academy alone are enough to support this series of activities.

What about human resources? Is it just recruitment from the general public? But if we're going to delve into deeper matters, can't we just be so casual with the people around the actual leader, the "Saint"?

What if, in fact, there are far more people than just Gorgen Mashiro who were adopted?

Not everyone needs to be as extreme as Mashiro Gorgen. As long as they have hatred for magical girls, they will all contribute to maintaining the normal operation of the magical girl side of Tsukimi City, and it is reasonable for them to join voluntarily.

Welfare institutions, funding, adoption, a reasonable internal cycle.

If the people at the orphanage didn't know about these things, Yuuki Yukino would never believe it.

When Yuuki Yuuki turned her attention to that mysterious religion, her thoughts began to flow freely.

This idea was extremely bold, and Yuuki Yukari knew that she was likely to be disappointed, but she would feel uneasy if she did not personally verify the possibility of her bold guess.

So, when the next day off arrived, Yuuki Yuuki was already standing at the door of the orphanage she had visited once before.

Chapter Ninety: Lunch at the Orphanage

When Yuuki Yuuki actually stood at the entrance of that orphanage that was ostensibly a kindergarten, she hesitated slightly.

Not only did I feel awkward coming alone this time, as I had always come with everyone from Nijisanji, but I also felt guilty that my investigation might unintentionally hurt these ignorant children.

Yuuki Yuuki obtained the book that Mashiro Utsugi left for her from St. Yuuki Academy last weekend. She specifically hid at the top of the Moon Sea Tower to prevent the slumber from occurring.

It's unclear whether Yuuki Yuuki has actually fallen into a deep sleep; at least publicly, she hasn't received any related information.

The incident of several students at Yuehai Middle School fainting one after another did not actually cause a major uproar.

Most people believed it was due to excessive academic pressure, but the academic intensity at Yuehai Middle School was not high, and the students who fainted were not seriously ill. Therefore, the matter was only mentioned casually, and few people even discussed it in depth.

This is certainly a good thing. Yuuki Yuuki guessed that the slumber was related to the original magical girl she was investigating. Letting more people get involved in magical girl-related matters would only create many unnecessary obstacles for her.

A week has passed, and Yuuki Yuuki has not gained any further understanding of the Sleeping Awakening.

She once had a sudden thought: should she sleep next to someone for a while, or watch someone fall asleep next to her and see if that kind of thing would happen?

However, for her own safety and the safety of others, Yuuki Yui gave up this unrealistic idea and even tried to avoid crowded places.

Perhaps because of Yuuki Yuuki's caution, or perhaps because Yuuki Yuuki had obtained enough clues to stop the investigation, the event of Yuuki Yuuki falling into a deep sleep that she had feared did not occur this week.

This only makes Yuuki Yukari's previous assertion that "sleep is a necessary condition for triggering slumber" more credible.

It's definitely not good to have no progress at all, and Yuuki Yuki can't stay at a standstill forever.

A week ago, Yuuki Yuuki decided to visit the orphanage to see if it held any secrets related to the Sacred Eternity Academy.

Yuki Yui firmly believes that regardless of whether she obtains the information or not, she will not leave empty-handed.

This is why Yuuki Yukino is standing here now.

"Boss! You're finally back! While you were gone, we were bullied terribly by the Bowl Group! We've been waiting for you to come back and lead us to restore the glory of the Yuuki Group!"

Upon seeing Yuuki Yukino being led in by the teacher, the children below immediately erupted in excitement, with many waving their fists and cheering loudly.

"Yeah, yeah! They're bullying us! Last time we sent someone to assassinate the leader of the Bowl Group, they only managed to shoot him in the ear, and their leader was still yelling 'Fight! Fight!'"

"Boss! Let's charge one more time!"

Hearing this, Yuuki Emi was initially a little moved. She had only been there once, yet quite a few children still remembered her.

This scene made Yuuki Yuuki think about how bored these children must be when they have no one to accompany them, and she secretly resolved to do it more often in the future.

However, Yuuki Yuki was immediately confused.

Has the setting changed? Was it called the Yuki Clan before? And where did the Bowl Clan come from? I think the enemies used to be called something like "Mountain" or something like that?

Why assassinate again? Even if kids these days know a lot, and they're orphans because of magical girls, they shouldn't use such dangerous words!

No, none of that matters! Let's play with the kids first!

"Oh! Children! I'm back!" Yuuki Yuuki clenched her fist, raised it above her head, and then pounded it on her chest.

This set of cheesy yet inspiring movements was very effective in the eyes of the children. The group of children sitting in rows on small stools all stood up at the same time and struck a pose as if they were offering their hearts.

"The boss is back! The Yuuki Group is safe! The boss is back! Justice will prevail!"

"Wow! Yuuki-neechan! We love you!"

"Praise the big sister!"

Although it's quite cringeworthy, it's still pretty fun to be the leader of the kids, Yuuki Yuki.

The moment Yuuki Yuki appeared, the atmosphere became lively. It wasn't the first time the children had met Yuuki Yuki, and the same teacher who brought Yuuki Yuki in as last time seemed so heartless to the children when she went to maintain discipline.

The teacher said a few polite words about discipline and safety, and that everyone should avoid causing trouble for the older sister, and then let Yuki Yuki and the children fool around and play together.

Although Yuuki Yukino's main purpose in coming today wasn't to play with the children, she still had a lot of fun. Opportunities to have fun without having to care about one's image and completely let loose like this are rare.

Moreover, playing with children is something Yuuki Eri must do.

The people in the orphanage shouldn't know that they are magical girls—at least, unless Seishin or Mashiro Urouge personally tell them, the teachers in the orphanage have no reason to know.

The orphanage is very likely connected to the Holy Eternity Academy, or the religion that exists within the Holy Eternity Academy.

If I make my purpose for coming here too obvious, it will definitely arouse the suspicion of the teachers at the orphanage.

It might even backfire, making teachers wary of you, which would make it inconvenient to ask them questions later.

Play the long game, use spending time with the children as an excuse, and then casually ask the teacher what you want to know during your break. Everything will then fall into place much more naturally.

"It must be tiring taking care of these children. Thank you for your hard work."

The teacher poured the leftover portion of the lunch prepared for the children into small bowls, then placed the plate with several vegetable bowls in front of Yuuki Yukino, and then put all the remaining food after giving it to Yuuki Yukino into her own bowl.

The children had already eaten lunch and were being led back to their rooms for a nap by the support staff.

This is the only opportunity the teacher has to eat lunch.

"It wasn't hard work. I had a lot of fun with them." Yuuki Yuen smiled as she picked up her rice bowl, used the disposable chopsticks her teacher handed her to pick up a small clump of seaweed and put it in her mouth with her rice.

The kindergarten meals are good: vegetable salad, multigrain rice, small cakes, various vegetable soups, and small meat patties that crumble at the touch.

Yuuki Yui doesn't remember what she ate when she was in kindergarten, but it probably wasn't as thoughtful as the food at this orphanage.

Although Yuuki Yukari herself was not entirely convinced, after seeing the lunch with her own eyes, she was even more certain that this was not just for show, and that these children were genuinely happy living here.

"Let's play together! You're still a middle school student, a kid in my eyes too." The teacher chuckled, then produced two chicken legs from who-knows-where, giving one to Yuuki Yukino. "Here, have a chicken leg."

A whole chicken leg is definitely not something a child can eat. This is probably a reward from the teacher for her hard work, and also a snack to prevent Yuuki En from feeling that the food served to kindergarten children is bland.

The teacher was only around thirty years old, not much older than her older sister, Yuuki Tamaki, but because of her job, her face had already developed a kind expression.

This teacher genuinely loves those children and is genuinely good to her; it's like the difference between politeness and etiquette, which Yuuki Yukari clearly understands.

In that case... this teacher probably wouldn't push her own children into the fire, right?

“Indeed, I’m not that old either.” Yuuki Yui withdrew her gaze from the other person. “What about the other teacher? Isn’t she eating with us?”

Just as Yuuki Emi noticed, besides the teacher who was sitting opposite her last time, there was also someone in charge of miscellaneous tasks. It was the logistics teacher that Loyakuyama had worked as for a few days, and she was the one who took the children to bed.

The current logistics teacher is a middle-aged woman. The age difference between myself and the teacher sitting opposite me is no less than the age difference between the logistics teacher and this teacher. Therefore, she looks more reliable than Rongshan Deng.

"She has to look after the children over there. If anything unexpected happens and someone needs to watch over them, like if a child has a nosebleed or needs to go to the restroom," the teacher replied, putting down her chopsticks.

"Besides, she doesn't like the food that children eat, unlike us who are easier to please... Wait, are you eating well? Do you find it unpalatable?"

"No, no, I think it's quite delicious." Yuuki Yuen shook her head.

She genuinely felt that eating the same food as children was a magical experience, and that the flavors for children were generally milder, so not many people would dislike the taste.

As if eager to prove herself, Yuuki Enishi picked up the small bowl and drank a few mouthfuls of the delicious vegetable soup.

After putting down her bowl, Yuuki Yukino casually asked a question that she was somewhat curious about.

"By the way, I know Lava Lantern who used to work here. Why did she quit?"

"She's only working here for a few days. No one here works in the logistics department for longer than that," the teacher replied.

"Why? Wouldn't it be great to have a stable support staff? Is it because no one wants to do this job?" Yuuki Yuen was even more curious.

"It's not that no one is willing to do it, it's just that we haven't publicly recruited a logistics teacher. Sometimes volunteers come, and sometimes we hire some short-term workers, so the workload isn't too heavy. After all, our funds are quite tight, and short-term workers and long-term workers are not paid the same."

Tight budget? Despite the tight budget, the children's diet was not neglected at all. They each had a bottle of milk and fruit before bed, which was no small expense.

In that case, the teacher on the other side should stand on the children's side, which means they are more on their own side.

Yuuki Yukino was more confident about the problems ahead.

But she can't rush it; she has to proceed step by step.

"We need to finish this topic first," Yuuki thought, continuing her gossipy questions.

"Has it always been like this?"

"No, it's not that. I used to be a support staff member, and the dean was someone else. But later, I was the only one left, so I could only take over the work that the dean used to do, and I handed over the support staff work to others." The teacher shook his head.

"Hmm? What about the director now?" With the addition of a new character, who is still the director of this orphanage, Yuuki Yui seems to have discovered a new breakthrough.

But then, that breakthrough was blocked.

“She passed away,” the teacher replied, her expression clearly showing deep sorrow, as if it had happened just yesterday: “Just last year.”

At the same time, an even bigger breakthrough seems to be gradually taking shape.

"She spent her whole life taking care of children who became homeless because of magical girls, but fate played a cruel trick on her, as she was caught in an attack by magical girls and died."

Chapter Ninety-One Cardiac Arrest

"The previous director of this orphanage passed away last year."

This is what the teacher who is currently in charge of the orphanage said.

Although her tone was very calm, as if she were just mentioning a past event that had nothing to do with her.

However, the emotions unintentionally revealed in her suddenly softened tone still made Yuuki Eri sense that her heart was not as calm as she wanted to appear.

When Yuuki Yukino heard about the dean's death, her first thought wasn't that she was sick or that there was an accident, but that someone wanted to kill her.

The director of an orphanage, who is quite old and receives funding from St. Eternal Academy, specializes in taking in children whose parents have died due to attacks by magical girls. Such a person is very likely to know some useful information.