SSS-Knight in a Hero World-Chapter 108: The Mansion

Vroom!

Ferris instinctively grabbed onto his seat.

I've moved faster than this, but why does this feel more terrifying!

As the scenery around them slowly turned into a blur, Ferris couldn't help but speak up about something he started noticing.

"Miss Magpie, isn't the road too narrow for this kind of speed?" Ferris turned to Magpie with a concerned look.

Hearing his words, Magpie turned to look at him for an uncomfortably long second, causing Ferris to be even more horrified now that the driver wasn't even looking at the road.

Thankfully, the car slowed down to a more tolerable speed.

"My apologies, I have not downloaded traffic laws."

What else did you not download!? Ferris shouted inwardly. "Did you forget?"

Magpie returned her gaze to the front of the car and blinked in thought. "Does me not downloading traffic laws count as forgetting?"

How would I know?

Ferris also returned his sight to the road ahead and took his time to answer properly.

"I'm not sure. I guess that's a feeling you have to figure out yourself."

With Ferris having no proper answer, Magpie didn't reply and continued driving in silence.

Still, her silence didn't bother him at all. Instead, he took his chance to stare at her intently from the side. After all, it was only fair for him to do that.

He wondered what was going on inside Anvil or Yaromech's mind during the making of Magpie.

There's no way Prin was the one to name her Magpie...

He tried remembering someone similar to Magpie, both in name and looks, but no one came to mind.

Ferris sighed and turned away.

Despite knowing Yaromech for many years, there was still information he wasn't aware of.

Perhaps Magpie's case was more personal.

Alaric was always with Yaromech. Maybe I should've gossiped more with him...

After settling his curiosities, Ferris went back to enjoying the view before dealing with his real objectives.

Thanks to Magpie's perfect driving and navigation, which allowed her to skip traffic by going through strange routes, the overall trip was uneventful as the two traveled through the edges and borders of the cities that weren't as populated as their centers.

And to make it even more convenient, the orphanage was located on the outskirts between City 16 and City 17.

Prin's home being in City 17 was also a great help, and once they arrived at the location, Ferris was only experiencing a mild sense of hunger.

"We are here," Magpie announced at the perfect time as the car made its last turn onto an empty road.

With dense forest surrounding everything, one wouldn't expect to find an orphanage here at all. But as they traveled a dozen more meters, Ferris caught a glimpse of an old road that led deeper into the forest.

What is this, a horror movie? Ferris jested.

Parking the car on the side of the road, the roaring engine silenced itself, allowing the two to hear the natural sounds of the forest when they stepped out.

Ferris looked around the area. Despite the isolated place, the old road ahead of them was well maintained, giving it an aura of an ancient temple.

He then looked at Magpie, who was staring at him intently.

Scanning her from head to toe, Ferris made a resounding conclusion.

Yep, she's not coming, Ferris thought as he stared at her with a slight smile, though he felt a bit bad for abandoning her like this.

"Would you mind waiting for me? I'll be back as soon as possible."

Magpie blinked a few times before replying, "But I do not mind."

"...I see," Ferris replied. He wasn't sure whether she didn't mind or simply didn't have the ability to mind his actions.

Leaving the main road, Ferris delved deeper into the forest, the increasing density gradually blocking out the sun until it felt more like the afternoon. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

However, going further inside, the forest began to thin out as wooden cabins started appearing near the road.

Soon enough, Ferris spotted a few children running around, and the ones who caught a glimpse of him stared in a daze.

Ferris smiled at them as a greeting. It wasn't a surprise to him that they acted like that. The orphanage was isolated after all, and visitors must've been rare.

He thought about the orphanages he was familiar with.

Because of the destruction caused by the serpent's spawns, the demand to build safe houses for the newly orphaned grew almost exponentially, often causing poverty-like conditions for the unfortunate.

But seeing such a large and peaceful land prompted him to respect Tailoring Swift more.

I thought he was weird at first though, Ferris thought with a finger on his chin.

After another minute of walking, he finally ended up at the front gate.

Ferris opened his mouth in a small gape.

Before him was a property wall only seen in aristocratic abodes of ancient times. But in this instance, it was truly ancient, judging by the deepening color of the oak used to erect it and the thousands of weathered shingles on top.

He looked at the closed wooden gate before him, which reminded him of his early days as a knight.

Back then, I had the authority to open any and all of the world's gates with my name alone.

I guess that doesn't apply here.

Ferris sighed and stepped forward, knocking thrice on the gate.

. . .

A minute passed and no one answered.

Ferris looked behind him. He wished that some of the children had followed him so he could ask them for help, but they were too afraid of the stranger.

He knocked thrice again.

I should've scheduled a time while I could.

The signal here sucks, so I can't—

He paused and widened his eyes.

Oh dear, I forgot I'm using a new phone!

Ferris assumed that the density of the forest and the isolated nature of the orphanage would render any signal impossible to connect.

My habits aren't adjusting, Ferris shook his head and smiled.

I should get used to having a bit of privilege and convenience, Ferris assured himself as he took out his phone.

But before he could act, the gate suddenly opened in a fury.

A cyan-haired lady poked her head out of the door, her expression filled with mellow annoyance. "Where are you brats!—..."

"..."

Ferris stared and remembered some words said by Judas.

'Which is strange because we look nothing alike. Compared to my dull-colored hair, she has bright cyan hair. That's actually something I'm insecure about, heh heh...'

After a second of eye contact, his heart began to feel hotter.

'Judas' soul is reacting?'

That must be her.