The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

A scream echoed from deep within the orphanage.

“Hmm?”

The man and woman, waiting near their carriage, turned their attention to the run-down building.

Terrible cries continued to ring out from inside. The man quickly deduced that the voice belonged to the old woman they encountered every time they came to this place.

“What’s going on?” the woman asked, her voice tense.

She was a middle-aged woman, her face thick with makeup to hide the wrinkles of age. Her eyes, lined with concern, were fixed on the decrepit building.

The screams were loud enough to light up the neighboring windows of the closely packed houses.

Light flickered through the windows of the orphanage, but it was no ordinary light. Instead of a faint glow from a single candle, flames flickered like tongues of fire, much larger than they should have been.

Perhaps it was because the wooden building was so old, or maybe it was due to the recent drought that had dried up the Splin River. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The dried-out timber of the building burned like firewood, the flames spreading rapidly.

“Tsk.”

The man clicked his tongue.

That wasn’t the kind of fire that oil alone would cause. Judging by the strange blue hue deep within the red flames, he could tell that this was no ordinary fuel. It was mixed with magical powder derived from mana stones, commonly used to power steam engines.

Perhaps the old woman had scavenged the scraps of mana stones near the factories and mixed them with the oil. He wouldn’t put it past her to use the orphans for such a task.

But mana stones didn’t just increase the light’s brightness—they amplified the fire itself. While it might have been useful inside the lamp, outside, it was uncontrollable.

Once the flames had spread this far, not even a fire brigade pouring water over the building would be able to put it out easily.

“...Let’s leave,” the man said, adjusting his silk hat.

“But the goods—” the woman hesitated, still staring at the fully engulfed building.

In his usual, emotionless tone, the man responded, “We’ll have to procure them ourselves for the time being. It’ll be risky, but there’s no helping it.”

He gestured toward the driver, and the carriage began to move.

“We’ll also need to find a new supplier,” the man added with a sigh. “This is becoming bothersome.”

The woman, looking nervous, glanced once more at the building now engulfed in flames, shivering as the screams continued to echo from within.

Bracing herself, she tightened her coat around her shoulders and followed the man into the carriage.

I had successfully avoided the man. It seemed he had no intention of forcing his way in after all.

It made sense. The fire had spread much faster than expected, quickly consuming the entrance before anyone had a chance to intervene.

Come to think of it, this was exactly what had happened in the original game. At first glance, the lamps here seemed similar to the ones from my old world, but the fire spread much more rapidly and intensely, leaving no room to react.

Many players had questioned how one overturned lamp could cause such a massive fire. In response, the developers explained that the lamp’s fuel was mixed with the powdered mana stones, a key resource in the game’s world.

The fire’s hue wasn’t the typical orange one would see in a lighter but rather the bluish glow more akin to a gas stove. Even as I stepped back, the heat felt overwhelming, as though it were rushing toward my face.

“Sister?”

Claire’s worried voice snapped me back to reality.

The old woman’s body was already beyond recognition, consumed by the flames.

“Let’s go.”

I quickly turned and grabbed Claire’s hand.

We needed to get out of here.

The fire I had started could easily spread through the entire district. Innocent people could get caught up in it, and there might even be casualties.

But right now, there was something more important.

Our safety—Claire’s and mine.

We had to run first. Then I could think about my abilities and what lay ahead. I had at least prevented one tragedy—

“Sister.”

Claire pulled on my hand, tugging me in the opposite direction.

When I looked at her, she wore a frightened expression but was still trying to drag me back.

“The others... the other kids are still inside.”

“...”

She had just seen me kill someone. Yet she wasn’t doubting me. Despite the fact that I hadn’t done anything particularly kind for her, Claire still trusted me. It was probably in her nature—her innocent, uncorrupted nature, not yet shattered by the cruelty of the world.

Or maybe it was simply that, compared to the old woman who abused her, I seemed like the better option.

But still... yes, Claire had always been kind, even in the original story.

Even after escaping that hellish place, Claire had been tormented by the fact that so many homes had burned and people had died because of the lamp she knocked over. While she only expressed her guilt in the episodes leading up to her death, she had always tried her best to avoid unnecessary casualties, even while serving the emperor and playing the role of an antagonist. In the end, she sacrificed her life for the princess.

If that was her nature after being broken, then it made sense that she would still be this kind now.

“...Alright.”

I turned around. The fire was still blazing, but there was some time left.

Instead of heading for the back door, we ran upstairs.

Claire coughed as we went. I stopped, turned around, and had her cover her mouth with her collar. Then, keeping low to the ground, we continued.

The house wasn’t filled with smoke yet, thankfully.

We reached the second floor, where I could hear the cries of the children.

Holding Claire’s hand tightly, I rushed to a door and threw it open.

“We have to get out of here!”

At my words, the children staggered to their feet, their faces stained with tears.

But going back down the stairs was no longer an option. I could already feel the heat radiating from the doorway. The first floor was likely a sea of flames by now, or at the very least, the hall was choked with smoke. Thick black smoke was already pouring up the stairs.

I slammed the door shut. It wouldn’t stop the fire, but at least it might slow down the smoke for a little while.

There was no time to think.

I tore down the old, moldy curtains from the windows. The smell was awful, but they looked strong enough to hold the weight of a few children.

Seeing me do this, the kids quickly followed suit. In total, we gathered four curtains.

We tied the curtains together as tightly as we could. It should be enough to hold the weight of the small children.

I tied one end of the curtains to the nearest bedframe and opened the window.

Luckily, the fire hadn’t spread to the outside of the building yet.

“Hurry!”

I shouted, and the children scrambled toward me.

Could they climb down using the curtains?

I couldn’t help each of them down one by one; there wasn’t enough time. But I couldn’t just leave them either.

Claire’s eyes were fixed on me, silently urging me on.

Pushed by her gaze, I called out to one of the children.

“James, grab it with both hands. I’ll help lower you down.”

A boy with straw-colored hair, his face covered in tears, nodded.

“Everyone, grab onto the curtain behind me. We’ll help each other get down, one by one.”

I decided to start with the heavier children. As each one descended, there would be fewer of us left to hold the curtain.

One by one, we lowered them.

With each child that went down, my strength waned. There were fewer of us to help support the weight, and my own five-year-old body wasn’t exactly strong.

But with the curtain tied securely to the bed, no one would fall, even if my hands slipped.

“Go ahead,” I said to Claire, who was the last.

She looked scared but nodded, gripping the curtain tightly.

The room was already filling with smoke. I couldn’t see what was happening below, but the curtain hadn’t caught fire, so at least the flames hadn’t reached outside.

“Sister! We’re all down!”

Claire’s voice came from below.

It was faint, but I could hear her through the noise. She must have been shouting at the top of her lungs.

“Ah...”

But my hands were trembling. After helping so many children down, they were weak and shaking.

Could I still make it down?

As I considered this, a loud crack echoed through the room.

The door was now on fire. My eyes and throat burned. I could still breathe thanks to being right next to the window, but if I stayed any longer, I would die.

“...”

I wrapped the curtain around my waist.

Would it be long enough? No, it was probably too long. If I fell straight down, I’d crash into the ground.

But still...

I had more chances than anyone else.

With the curtain tied around me, I gathered the last of my strength and jumped out the window.

“Ah...!”

The curtain was short enough. Even after accounting for the knot I had tied, I dangled in midair, just above the ground.

But I hadn’t tied it securely enough. My hands had been too weak to make a proper knot.

So, just as my body bounced lightly from the force of the fall, the curtain slipped from around my waist.

I crashed into the ground.

Fortunately, the fall had been slowed enough that I didn’t suffer any serious injuries.

It still hurt, but at least it wasn’t bad enough to warrant rewinding time.

When I stood up, I saw the children staring at me.

Behind them, the orphanage was now fully engulfed in flames.

“Fire!”

Someone shouted.

The sound of horses’ hooves echoed in the distance, and a carriage with a large water tank came rushing toward us.

“...Let’s go.”

I hurried the children along.

By now, plenty of people had seen us. The entire area was illuminated by the fire, and people were running everywhere. The streets were in chaos.

But at least none of the children were hurt. Claire and I had made it out too.

Unlike the hidden brothels, this was an area where carriages could pass through. The fire brigade was already here, so hopefully, the flames wouldn’t spread into the catastrophic inferno they had in the original story. This was a world where magic was used to put out fires, just as it was used to start them.

But if we were caught here, we’d just end up in another horrible orphanage.

It would be safer to disappear into the chaos of the people running around in fear of the fire spreading to their homes.

The children did as I said. They trembled in fear but followed me, knowing that the only adult who had ever taken care of them was now gone.

“Where are we going?”

Claire asked. The other children looked up at me, curious and scared.

“...I know where we need to go.”

I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find the way. I didn’t know how far it was from here.

But right now, there wasn’t any other option.

I might have to rely heavily on my ability.