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August Bonus Chapter
🕑 Added 2023-08-31 08:57:15 +0000 UTCThe winning prompt for this month's bonus chapter was The Legendary Potato Knight with 60% of the votes (Shout out to u/yertosaurus for suggesting the prompt) Enjoy!
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I woke up with the first light of the day. The kids didn't have class on Sunday so I didn’t try to get up. Instead, I stretched my back and looked at the now familiar ceiling of my room. The water stain invading the upper right corner seemed to have grown a couple millimeters after the last rain but it could be my imagination. I decided to ignore it for now.
My mind wandered over the unending list of small tasks I had to accomplish before the winter arrived. Fixing the roof, gathering firewood, clearing every drain, securing the shutters, cleaning up mold. I didn’t know how Elincia managed to do so much when she was the only adult at the orphanage.
I grunted and pulled the blankets over my head. My body was sore. Yesterday, Firana had given me a run for my money during sparring. Even worse. Our fight had been so inspirational that all the other kids had taken turns to fight me, even Ilya. At least it was good to see them motivated.
I closed my eyes to rest a little more. During free days, the kids usually stayed in bed until well advanced in the morning and if Elincia needed something, she would wake me up.
I took a deep breath and relaxed my body but a hushed murmur came from the other side of the door. At first I thought it was the kids passing by but the sound didn't go away and no one knocked on my door.
I pushed the blankets to my feet and jumped up. Still in pajamas, I slowly opened the door. Standing in the middle of the corridor there were Nokti and Virdian, in pajamas just like I was, entertwined in a heated conversation.
“Good morning kids.” I greeted them, making them jump in place like startled cats.
“G-good morning Mr. Clarke.” They replied in unison as soon as they recovered from the shock.
It didn't take a skill like [Awareness] to know they were plotting something. I haven't suffered any pranks since I arrived at the orphanage, and I thought there was going to be none. Other than Ash cheering for Firana to beat me in a duel, the kids were welcoming.
“What are you doing here this early in the morning?” I asked.
Nokti pushed Virdian forward, prompting him to speak. Virdian for his part looked back at Nokti as if she had utterly betrayed him.
“So, today is a free day...” The snakefolk kid started speaking.
“Yes, today we don't have lessons.” I said with an encouraging tone.
“So, we wondered if you want to play with us.” Virdian said as he looked away.
My heart shrunk. The amount of courage the kid had to muster to ask such a simple word was touching. Considering all the work Elincia had at the orphanage, I could see Virdian being shut down before. I had to fight against my face muscles to not smile.
“If you are too busy...”
“I'm not busy at all. In fact, I'm glad you invited me.” I cut him off, smiling.
Between the daily training and the miscellaneous chores around the orphanage, I had little time left to share with Elincia’s class. Most of the time our contact was limited to sitting together at lunch.
Virdian face lit up.
“Real?” He asked.
“Yeah, sure.” I said. “But before that, we have to eat some breakfast.”
The kids nodded and zoomed down the hallway out of the sleeping quarters. Something told me they were going to swallow their food without even bothering to chew. I quickly returned to my room and suited up for the day.
There were no clouds in the sky but the hallway between the dormitories and the kitchen was cold. The winter was around the corner. When I reached the kitchen, most of the small kids were already there waiting for Elincia to finish heating the breakfast.
Before I could say anything, Shu jumped on her feet and stood on the seat.
“Is it true that you are going to play with us today?” The small harpy girl asked and her eyes shone with excitement.
I caught Elincia raising her eyebrow from the opposite side of the room.
“I promised Virdian I was going to play with you all.” I replied this time without being able to hide my smile.
“YESH! FINALLY!” Shu yelled with both fists up to the sky just to jump down from her seat and walk directly to the door.
“Not so fast, lady. You need to have breakfast, and you definitely need to chew before swallowing.” I said before she could reach the doorway. The harpy girl and the snakefolk twins had the strange ability to swallow whole chunks of food without choking. I wasn't an expert in demifolk physiology, but that kind of behavior wasn't particularly healthy for a human kid.
“Right. Chewing breakfast first.” Shu said.
“And brushing your teeth.” I added, winning me a pleased glance from Elincia.
Shu gave me a wide smile and frantically nodded before returning to her seat. Suddenly, I felt like the cool uncle all the kids wanted to play with. I could get used to it.
I crossed the kitchen and leaned over the counter by the side of the stove.
“Popular today, aren't you?” Elincia greeted me. She was dressed in her white nightgown with her woolen shawl over her shoulders. Other than her night attire, she looked too fresh to be so early in the morning. Maybe it was her elven charm, maybe I was too used to seeing my own decrepit appearance in the mirror every morning.
“Are you mad because I'm the most popular teacher in this orphanage?” I whispered back even though the orphans were making enough ruckus to drown out our conversation.
Elincia smiled and rolled her eyes.
“You are such a kid.” She said and bumped my shoulder.
At that moment, the kitchen's door opened and Firana appeared in the doorway. Her chestnut hair was frizzed to the point it looked like an owl's nest. She guided the youngest children into the kitchen and sat them in the elevated seats. Other of the relics from Mr. Lowell's era at the orphanage's helm.
Firana waved at us, sat at the table, dropped her head onto the table, and closed her eyes.
“I take back what I said, you are the coolest teacher in this orphanage.” Elincia said.
“What? Why?” I couldn't help but sound flustered.
“Don't you have eyes?” Elincia asked.
After a moment of meditation, I realized what was happening. The one who usually took care of the younger kids was Ilya, not Firana. The human girl preferred to sleep until noon in the quiet of her individual room while Ilya slept with the younger kids so they wouldn't bother Elincia at night.
A smile tugged the edges of my mouth.
“I can't take the credit for this one.” I said.
“Firana has changed since your arrival.” Elincia pointed out.
“I'm sure she had it inside of her since the very beginning.” I replied.
As expected, the kids ate breakfast at superluminal speeds, put their bowls away, and dragged me out of the kitchen. Nobody wanted to waste a second they could spend it playing. At the backyard, a cold autumn sun greeted us and I had to make sure everyone was properly dressed.
“Come on, Ash. Go inside and grab your scarf.” I said over the bustle of the kids orbiting around me.
“What about Shu? Why can she go around with only a pillowcase and no one tells her anything?” Ash angrily replied.
“Make sure you grab a scarf for Shu as well then.” I said.
Shu giggled by my side, knowing pretty well she didn’t need a jacket nor a scarf because her feathers were enough protection against the cold winds. Ash grumbled and stomped back to the manor.
“Problem?” Virdian asked with her rough voice. As much as the vocal cords of the snake kids were getting used to common speaking, they still had a raspy and croaky quality to it.
“We fix problem.” Nokti added, punching her open hand and showing her fangs.
Having two snakefolk kid thugs helping me deal with my problems wasn’t on my bucket list when I arrived in this world. It wasn’t even something I believed possible.
“We don’t fix problems with violence.” I quickly said before Nokti could follow Ash's steps into the manor. “What do we do instead?”
Virdian scratched his bald head before answering. “We talk things out!”
“And we made them understand.” Nokti added, punching her open hand again.
I sighed. Discipline was never my strong point as a teacher. I was more the chill teacher and, in general, it allowed me to have a closer relationship with my students. I couldn’t tell if it was the right call on my part but it worked most of the time.
I clapped my hands, catching the group’s attention.
“Alright, kids. What are we going to play today?” I asked, wishing to have a football even if Shu’s pointy talons would be a problem.
“WEDDING!” Shu jumped before any other orphan could voice their preference. “Mister Clarke should marry Miss Elincia. I’ll be the priest, Virdian can be the groomsmen and Nokti the bridesmaid, and Ash can be the flower girl…”
“Virdian invited me to play, so he should decide this time.” I said, stopping Shu before her idea snowballed out of control.
All the eyes were fixed on Virdian now. The snake kid crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. His expression was one of deep focus, knowing he had the power but also the responsibility over everyone’s enjoyment. Seconds passed and the expectation only grew.
“What y’all doing?” Ash returned with two different scarfs coiled around his neck. Behind him, Firana dragged her feet, barely awake and with her hair still a mess.
“THE LEGENDARY POTATO KNIGHT!” Virdian yelled, suddenly raising his arms into the air and startling the group of orphans.
“Hell no, I don’t want to play kids games.” Ash replied.
The boy made a u-turn and he would’ve gotten away if Firana hadn’t grabbed him by the scarf and dragged him back towards the clump of orphans. At times I forgot that Ash was two years older than the snakefolk twins and four years older than Shu.
“Well, how do we play at the Legendary Potato Knight?” I asked, ignoring Ash’s attempts to break free from Firana’s grip.
“Potato Knight is the legendary hero of snakefolk.” Virdian explained, imitating the tone of voice I used to tell stories to the youngest kids. “Potato Knight traveled through the country saving hungry people with eh… his magic Potato Sword!”
The orphans listened to Virdian’s story with utmost interest.
I exchanged a glance with Firana but the girl just shrugged. As far as I knew, Virdian and Nokti had been left at the orphanage when they were a year old or so. They couldn't know snakefolk folklore because they had lived all their life in Farcrest, far from the cities populated by other snakefolk.
Virdian’s story didn’t make sense at all. The Potato Knight was a prince, a thief, and a sailor depending on the part of the story. Sometimes, he fought the so-called Potato Bandits, while other times he was the potato thief himself. Most notably, the Legendary Potato Knight was deeply in love with the Potato Princess.
Ash dramatically rolled his eyes while Firana covered her face with both hands so the rest of the kids couldn’t see her laughter.
“... and that’s the reason Potato Knight is so very cool.” Virdian wrapped up the story that had transformed into a dissertation of the multiple feats of the legendary knight.
“We should totally play at the Potato Knight saving the Potato Princess.” Shu jumped the moment Virdian closed his mouth. “I’ll be the Potato Princess.”
The sheer absurdity of the sentence almost made me choke.
“No. Your hair isn’t potato color. You can’t be Potato Princess.” Nokti pointed out and Virdian backed her up. Shu’s hair color was of the ripe wheat instead of the dark brown of the potatoes from the garden.
“Firana then?” Ash asked.
I nodded. Firana’s chestnut hair was very close to the color of potatoes.
“Firana is not pretty enough to be princess.” Virdian replied bluntly.
“Excuse me, lizard boy? Want to repeat that?” The girl said as she jumped forward.
She tried to catch Virdian but the snake kid was too slippery even for her.
The playing session had turned into a heated debate about the roles everyone would perform. Nokti had shut down anybody who dared objecting to me as the Potato Knight. It was a flattering gesture considering how much the twins worshiped the Potato Knight. Truth be told, when I signed onto playing with the kids, I thought I’d play as ‘tree number two’ or something like that.
“Miss Elincia is pretty.” Ash pointed out over the generalized chaos that reigned in the backyard.
In a blink of an eye, Nokti and Virdian scurried into the manor just to return a minute later with Elincia in tow. Instead of her nightgown, Elincia was wearing her usual olive bodice and her beige dress.
“Already finished playing?” Elincia asked as she arrived at my side.
“Not even started apparently.” I replied.
After another heated debate about characters, almost everyone had their role assigned. Nokti and Virdian were the loyal Potato Squires, Firana was the Tangled Monster –most likely because of her messy hair–, Shu was the Legendary Potato Tree, Wolf –who had been caught into the games when he went to the well for water– was the evil Green Poisoned Potato, Ash was the Potato Bandit Leader, and most of the youngest kids were his evil Potato Blights.
Everyone was armed with branches and training shields, broomsticks were turned into loyal steeds, old rags into masks and cloaks, the tree stump was the tower where the Potato Princess was captive, and stones were precious potatoes. It was almost noon when we were finally ready to start with our improvised play.
“STOOOP!” Shu yelled from her central position in the backyard.
Surprisingly enough, everyone stopped.
“Mister Clarke is handsome.” She proudly declared and after a short discussion, the orphans reached the consensus that she was right. “Mister Clarke is handsome and his hair is potato color, so he has to be the Potato Princess.”
Ash was the first to second the motion with tears of laughter in his eyes. He even asked Elincia if she could lend me a dress. Luckily for me, the characterization didn’t get that far and I only had to wear a mantle over my shoulders and remain seated at the tree stump for the duration of the game.
Elincia, as the Potato Knight, fought valiantly against Ash’s Potato bandits, assisted by her loyal Potato Squires. She rolled her dress up to the knee and ran around with the grace of a fawn, exchanging soft blows with the Potato Blights while she tried to get to me. From time to time, Elincia glanced in my direction and declared her intention to save me. And every time she did so, a mischievous smile was drawn on Shu’s face.
Finally, when the Potato Blights were too tired to continue playing and the Legendary Potato Tree, Green Poisoned Potato, and the Tangled Monster were just hanging on the sideline, Virdian announced that the Potato Knight had managed to reach the Potato Princess.
Elincia jumped on the tree stump, grabbed me by the waist and looked intensely into my eyes. Her forehead was beaded with sweat and her eyes sparkled with a mixture of joy and excitement I had rarely seen before. She was having the time of her life. I looked around for a cue but the kids just laughed at my confused expression.
“You are prettier than anything I’ve ever laid my potato eyes upon before, Potato Princess.” Elincia said and the kids laughed even harder.
I didn’t expect what came next.
“I love you and I want to be forever with you.”
The sound of sirens flooded my brain, drowning all other sounds.
Navigation systems critical. Fatal error in the processing core. Diverting all power to vital support.
“Alright, little rascals. Go wash your hands and prepare for lunch.” Elincia ordered.
I knew my face was red as a potato, I felt my cheeks burning and no matter how many deep breaths I took, the sensation didn’t go away. Shu might have noticed because she gave me one last mischievous smile and mentioned something about playing wedding next time before entering the manor dead last.
“You liked my performance?” Elincia asked as we were left alone in the backyard.
“Do you want to kill me or something? You don’t go around telling ‘I love you’ to people with [Lonely Boy] on their character sheet.” I sighed.
Elincia laughed and bumped me with her hip before heading back to the manor.
“Why is that? Are you going to fall in love with me or something?” She giggled as she crossed the doorway.
“Maybe.” I replied with my heart still pounding inside my chest. “Maybe I will.”
Comments
13L00D13ANE
I feel like that last line should have earned him a lower level of [Denial] XD
I Dare Korval
I wonder if the system has a "Potatomancer" skill?
