Kazuya was led to an incomplete structure that was mostly familiar to him. Indeed, it was unfinished, but it was already halfway done. Most of the exterior walls were left unbuilt but the west part of what would be an orphanage was enough to become temporary accommodations.

"(It should be a month or so away from being complete… now it really feels that I've been called a lot earlier than last time.)" Kazuya thought.

Though he already knew he came early, the capital appeared the same from his memories. Only the people who he met had been slightly different. With the orphanage he had been familiar with in his last visit at this state, in a humorous way, he felt like he had taken a trip back to the past and had seen something he shouldn't have.

Initially, Kazuya had once thought that he had blamed himself for the differences that he observed when he first arrived in Edea. He was very well aware of the consequences of even the tiniest changes in what had once been the history he knew. It may not have manifested itself as naturally as it did on earth because of the difference in the pa.s.sing of time, but Kazuya had crossed paths with Summer Breeze in the game and he did not know what impact it had when Natsu was summoned to Edea.

As confident as he was to have memorized the details of his previous life due to the unknown number of times he was stuck in the dark void of his own memories, with the limited view, he was not able to accurately tell the exact second he had stumbled upon the summoning circle that first called him to this world. 

"Is something wrong young man?" the man held up the lamp and noticed Kazuya who was in a daze.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just think that building an orphanage in a small village like this is very n.o.ble. Are there many children who were abandoned?" he asked.

"There are quite a few that were left here since this village is pretty close to the capital and the northern territories. They are currently staying at my place with my wife and daughter. Some of them are mere children while some have grown up to be able to help around in the village." He looked proud as he talked about them.

Kazuya listened in as he took the injured trainee inside the completed parts of the orphanage. Apparently, some of the villagers and children who were old enough contributed to complete the structure. There was not much furniture yet, so Kazuya borrowed a few linens to put him on and make the trainee have a bit of comfort.

"Are you perhaps in charge of this village?"

"What makes you say so?" the middle-aged man smiled.

"From your story, you've taken most of the children in. Only a village chief would have the capacity to do so without attracting much attention in a remote place like this. You even have the villagers helping out so it would be strange of me not to think so."

"You're quite the sharp lad. Haha! You're correct, I am indeed in charge of this humble village. The name's Gain Valentine" introduced himself with a proud look.

"Thank you for letting strangers like us stay in this place. I only have one other companion, but we didn't bring supplies for camping as we thought that we wouldn't need them when we went out of the capital."

"Did you encounter some bandits? Do excuse me for asking because I noticed that you were walking on your feet while your injured companion was riding on a single mount."

"No. we encountered some grey orcs inside the goblin forest. We were able to get rid of them but, disposing of the remains took a bit of time. Since we had lost our other mount, we had no choice but to go to the nearest place to have this guy recover a bit before traveling back." Kazuya explained.

"I see… grey orcs usually don't stray too far off from the mountainside part of the forest unless it's hunting season. That is valuable information, I will make sure to warn the people who go to the forest to pick herbs and hunt. You have my thanks, young man."

"It is what I should do. Please don't thank me. I'm the one who is in your grat.i.tude. I will help with building this place while this guy recovers."

Kazuya didn't want to explain much about what really happened because he knew that search parties to look for the a.s.sailants should have been sent out by now. Though it was earlier than he intended, he had made it to Weiss village and intended to meet one of the five people that had betrayed him.

"Dad are you here!?" a voice that came from outside interrupted their conversation that startled both men.

"Oh, you seem to be in luck young man. I was just about to mention my daughter. I'm not bragging but she's young, pretty and has a lot of potential for healing magic!"

"I… see…" Kazuya didn't know what to say and awkwardly scratched his cheek.

From the moment he introduced himself, Kazuya had already deduced who this cheerful middle-aged man was from his family name. The only problem was, like Elrich, he had never met this person alive. His memories only recalled a grave with his name behind the completed orphanage.

"I'm inside!" Gain moved to the window and waved his lamp.

"I came because I met someone who is asking for help! There aren't many places left to stay since they have an injured companion." The girl informed her father after entering with a guest.

"Did they get attacked by orcs too?" Gain looked at the hooded person being his daughter.

"How did you know?"

"That's why I'm here at this time. I found a young man with an injured companion looking for a place to stay. I was going to ask you to help after they got settled in, but you came before I could look for you. Come inside, take a look at this injured lad."

Kazuya had just finished setting up lamps around the room when the two new people entered. He immediately recognized Gale Valentine, who was once the healer of his original party. Unlike the first time they've met her hair was only up to her shoulders and she had a much cheerier air.

"Ah…" her eyes met with Kazuya and stopped in her tracks.

Kazuya didn't avert his gaze and stared directly into her eyes. He had heard from her that she had lost her parents when her parents sided with the former territory lord. She had not known much about politics back then, but she had inherited the orphanage from her parents who had once been in charge of their small village.

"(You and the children… will not have to suffer through what you did in this lifetime… this will be my atonement for what happened…)" Kazuya thought as he stared at her.

"Hey daughter… what's wrong? Did you perhaps fall for this young man at first sight?" Gain teased.

"Wha—! NO!" she immediately denied it and waved her hands in denial.

"Huh? You're here?" the hooded person behind Gale pulled down her hood and revealed herself.

"I see you've found a healer. Good work." Kazuya didn't pay attention to Gale's reactions and turned his glance towards Julia.

"Oh! She was the other companion you were talking about? That's great!" the man patted Kazuya's back.

"Oh… you were companions…" Gale said in a soft voice as she glanced at Kazuya who her father has already warmed up to.

She couldn't understand why, but there was some kind of feeling that was telling her that there was something about this person that made her feel a little uneasy. She was sure that she had never seen him before but he felt familiar to her for some reason. His gaze seemed to tell her that she might not be the only one who was imagining it.

There wasn't any explanation, but her instincts were usually right about the strangest things. There were times that she was able to improve her magic training by following her instincts. It felt more like it was something she had done before and felt like second nature. Her father often called her a genius when she told him about it and so did some of the adventurer healers that had mentored her in the past.

This was the first time that she had felt this way towards a person. There had not been any person so far that had made her curious enough to act like this. There was certainly something about who this young man that for some reason, triggered her instincts. She stared at him secretly while trying to figure out just what it is that is making her feel unusual.

"Excuse me miss, can you please take a look at our friend? He was injured pretty badly when he battled earlier." Kazuya stepped aside and showed her the trainee that had been laying on the floor.

"Ah, yes…" she looked at the injured person and decided that she could satisfy her curiosity later. Taking one look at the injured person, he might not be able to travel for a while.

"(Did this girl really fall for this boy at first sight?)" even Gain had started to be suspicious about his daughter's strange behavior.

Though he liked to brag about it, it was not an exaggeration that Gale had been the most popular young girl in the village. She was beautiful, kind and very talented. The boys who all grew up in their care would always propose to her, but she had handled every suitor she had and never showed interest in romance.

"He's injured pretty badly, I don't qualify as a full fledged healer so it may take a few tries for him to recover from all of his injuries…" Trying to remain calm, Gale informed them.

She had nothing but praise for how this person was given first aid. Not only was it the best she had ever seen, but it had also made her misjudge the patient's real status. Herbs that were usually found in the forest were used correctly and were currently working to improve the patient's condition. This was something that not even all the adventurers she had met had been able to do.

"I see… please do what you can for him. Our plans have already gone astray and we still need to repay you for your kindness." Kazuya then turned to Julia. "See if you can purchase some sleeping bags we can use for travel and other tools we may need."

"If you don't mind, we have a few sleeping bags that the kids made back at home. Since you'd be staying here and helping us, we won't ask for any payment."

"That would be imposing on you too much. Please let us purchase it." Kazuya's actions confused Julia.

"(This guy… is he for real?)" she couldn't understand as she was seeing a version of Kazuya she had not expected to see.

To Julia, the hero was someone who was domineering, self-centered and devious. Seeing him interacting humbly and politely with mere villagers made her even more confused. She couldn't figure out what Kazuya's true face was.

"I'll tell you what, since the kids make those things to pay for meals, why don't you just promise to feed the ones that help out here?" Gain smiled. He was quite satisfied with the young lad's personality.

"I guess that would suffice…" Kazuya nodded and compromised.

"Great! Haha!" he turned to Julia who had been deep in thought. "Come with me young missy! Let's go to my place and pick some stuff up!"

Seeing that Julia seemed to follow Kazuya's lead, he took Julia with him. He was a little uneasy about leaving Kazuya together with his daughter but since this was the first time his daughter had showed interest towards a boy, he decided to let her have a chance. They wouldn't stay in the village for too long anyway.

Thankfully, it was still summer. The nights weren't cold so there would be no problems in letting guests stay in the incomplete structure. It would have been a problem if Kazuya's group had come to the village during winter. There would have been a chance for them to freeze to death since the place still did not have a functional fireplace.

""…"" Silence filled the room after Julia and Gain had left.

 Though Gale was using healing magic on the trainee, it wasn't like she couldn't talk. Kazuya was silently watching her all this time so she couldn't take the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"Is this… your first time in this village?" she finally mustered up the courage and broke the silence.

"…" Kazuya didn't know how to answer that question and fell into deep thought.

"(Was it really that personal of a question?)" Gale panicked after seeing his reaction to her inquiry.

"I... just arrived in this country a few days ago…" Kazuya didn't notice her reaction as he avoided answering her question directly.

"Oh… you're from another kingdom?" she was slightly shocked. She was even more confused about the strange feeling that had been growing stronger as they were left alone.

"I am not from the Zweifel kingdom. I don't think you would have heard of the place I'm from since it's too far away." He replied.

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"Your companion was hurt very badly. Do you have any injuries that need treatment?"

"I'm fine. I did not partic.i.p.ate in the front lines. I provided support with a ranged weapon."

"That's good to hear. I was surprised when Julisan told me that your group had encountered grey orcs. They usually don't attack unless; you are interfering with their hunt or have a woman in your party. This is why the females in the village don't go to the forest during their hunting season."

"Your fath… well… Gain-san said the same thing. Thankfully you're here to help with that guy's injuries or he would have taken some time for him to be able to recover. Healing magic is really handy."

"Oh… it's actually not that hard. The only prerequisite is that you have mana that can sustain the spells. Do you want to see if you have a talent being a healer?"

 .