A World Similar Yet Different

"Are you trying to get revenge for what happened during the day?!"

Then, the blond adult man standing in the shadows of the stage began to narrate.

The man wore a purple suit with a white shirt underneath. Though he stood in the shadows, his tone remained solemn and earnest.

"After all, it was her first attempt at robbing the rich to help the poor. Even with her companion's assistance, the Saintess was recognized by the wicked noble because of her words and actions."

"She couldn't let herself be recognized like this. She had to find some way to fool her. That thought arose in the Saintess's heart after the noble spoke."

"Poor thing, have you fallen into the net of love?"

The instant the blond man's voice fell, the white-haired girl onstage pressed the hand holding a bag to her chest while extending her other hand forward, fingers spread.

"Y-You... what nonsense are you talking about?!"

The red-haired noble girl seemed not to have expected the white-haired girl to say such a thing. She dramatically staggered back a step.

"Could that girl from the Kaslana family really say something like that? The question involuntarily rose in the noble's mind."

"Must I cry out her name while moaning in agony?"

Apparently realizing that her nonsensical behavior was working, the white-haired girl took another step toward the noble, closing in on her. At the same time, the noble girl, as though frightened, retreated another step.

Kaino Kaslana, seated below the stage, watched the play and sighed softly. He raised his right hand and gave it a gentle wave. The spotlight floating above the stage turned slightly, once again centering on the white-haired girl.

"It was time to leave. Seeing that the noble's suspicions about her identity had been thoroughly shaken, the Saintess decided to depart."

Watching the interaction between the two girls onstage, the blond man could not help smiling.

"Then I shall be going." The white-haired girl nodded slightly, a smile appearing on her face. "Until we meet again, my lady, when the next notice of love is delivered to you?"

After saying that, the girl gave a slight bow and walked to the side.

The spotlight overhead turned again.

"Guards, what are you doing?" The red-haired noble girl gritted her teeth and swung her right hand forward. "Come with me! Capture her!"

There were still only two people onstage, yet the white-haired girl began darting around in every direction as if she had encountered danger.

"The Saintess had fallen into danger... A few soldiers naturally could not threaten the Saintess, but revealing too much of her strength might expose the identity she had worked so hard to conceal."

"Fortunately, the Saintess had a tool prepared by her best friend."

Suddenly, the white-haired girl slipped her left hand into a pocket before her, then pulled out a ball of air as though she had taken something out and smashed it forcefully onto the ground.

"Ugh... Cough, cough! What is this?!"

The noble girl suddenly began coughing violently as if she had suffered a fatal attack, dropping to her knees with both hands braced against the floor.

"Then, farewell, my lady."

The white-haired girl smiled faintly, turned around, and walked deeper into the stage.

Just as the girl completely entered the darkness, the spotlight suddenly shone on the noble girl kneeling on the ground.

"Hehehe." The noble girl, who had originally been kneeling, suddenly laughed and climbed to her feet. She dusted off her clothes. "Luckily, she did not discover the secret underground."

Kaino snapped his fingers, and the spotlight above suddenly dimmed before dissolving into particles and disappearing. At the same time, a curtain appeared overhead and slowly descended, concealing the stage.

Clap, clap.

A boy Kaino's age sitting beside him and a five- or six-year-old girl began applauding continuously.

Kaino silently joined them, unable to stop himself from yawning.

Today was Christmas, so the children of the Orphanage had specially prepared their favorite performance, the third act of "Saintess Kallen." The priest of the Orphanage had told them this story, and it was said to be based on real events.

The protagonist, Saintess Kallen, was played by Theresa, the oldest child in the Orphanage. Another child, Mikhail, played the noble girl, while the priest, the Orphanage's manager, served as the narrator.

Though it was impossible to tell from her appearance, Theresa was already nearly eighteen years old. The other girl, Mikhail, was fourteen, the same age as Kaino.

There were no electrical appliances in the Orphanage, so Kaino provided the spotlights needed for the play to enhance the atmosphere.

Honestly, the two of them performed very well, and Kaino liked the story too. But after seeing it performed several times—so many times that he could recite it with his eyes closed—that was another matter entirely.

What was more, Kaino could not even fully enjoy the play. He had to constantly pay attention to controlling the spotlights overhead.

It felt like having to work through math problems in front of him while reading a Homu comic he had already read countless times.

Naturally, Kaino was not particularly interested in this play.

"Kaino, Karel, light the candles on the dining table and tidy it up while you're at it. We're getting ready for dinner." The blond priest serving as narrator lifted the curtain and looked at Kaino and the others, who were applauding from their chairs. "Also, Kaino, you can remove the curtain."

"Ah, okay."

Kaino answered, then waved his hand. The curtain vanished just like the spotlight had.

"Come on, Karel. Time to work."

Kaino patted the boy beside him, who had stopped clapping and had laziness written all over his face, then stretched and stood up to walk toward the dining table.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Karel rose from his chair with a gloomy expression, then crouched down to look at the little girl still clapping beside him. "Tania, stay here and don't move, okay? Don't fall down the moment we leave."

Upon hearing that, the little girl named Tania stopped clapping, raised both hands and waved them wildly, then nodded.

"Hey, hey, Kaino, what do you think Theresa and the others made for dinner tonight?"

After getting up, Karel jogged a few steps to catch up to Kaino, hooked one arm around Kaino's neck, and asked with a grin.

"How could I possibly guess what she wanted to make?" Kaino rolled his eyes. "Like, even if you know she likes bitter melon, could you have imagined that she'd serve bitter melon turkey for Christmas last year?"

"Don't mention bitter melon... I was thinking, aren't you two from the same family? The priest said you're both from that Kaslana family, just like Saintess Kallen."

Karel tilted his head as he spoke. "I figured you'd have some common hobbies."

"Then have you heard that Saintess Kallen liked eating bitter melon?"

"How would I know? And stop talking about bitter melon!" Karel shook his head, his face filled with pain.

"Don't worry. Mikhail and Theresa prepared dinner together this time... Anyway, there definitely won't be anything like bitter melon turkey or bitter melon cake."

Kaino shrugged as he explained.

A Similar Yet Different World

Kaino had been at the Orphanage for nearly five years.

Back then, after he had been struck by Schicksal pursuers and fallen unconscious, he woke up again here.

At first, Kaino had indeed been extremely surprised by the existence of this Orphanage. Not only was the point in time different, but many familiar yet unfamiliar people could find corresponding figures here, making the two places seem like two similar yet different worlds.

For example, Theresa, who had the same face, name, and appearance as his Big Auntie; and Otto, the Orphanage's manager, whose appearance and name were the same but whose personality seemed completely opposite.

Of course, although they were incredibly similar, their experiences differed somewhat from those of the people Kaino knew.

The most obvious example was Father Otto, the manager of the Orphanage. Though he, like the Schicksal Overseer on Kaino's side, came from the Apocalypse family of the Schicksal Church, at this point in history he should already have been the Schicksal Overseer.

Yet now, he had opened an Orphanage in this remote land of ice and snow.

There was also the play they had just performed, "Saintess Kallen." In Schicksal textbooks, Saintess Kallen stole an important item from Schicksal by herself and was captured and brought back. In the end, Schicksal would execute her by hanging.

But in "Saintess Kallen," although Kallen had also stolen that supposedly important item from Schicksal, she had not done so alone. She had received her companion's help. At the same time, Kallen had not been recaptured. Instead, she had died from Honkai energy corrosion while accompanied by that companion.

And the most obvious thing of all was that, if his Big Auntie had not lied to him, she should already have been forty years old... Uh, forty-five now. In any case, she absolutely should not have existed in the year 1494.

Yet the girl named Theresa at the Orphanage not only existed now, but was already eighteen years old, in the prime of her youth.

Though she was still unable to grow taller.

"Hey, Kaino, were you secretly saying bad things about me in your head?"

Theresa, who had just set the food on the table, suddenly raised her head and looked at Kaino with an unfriendly tone.

"No, no. How could I?"

Kaino hurriedly covered for himself.

Even after five years, whenever he faced her, he still subconsciously treated her as his Big Auntie and was psychologically at a disadvantage.

"Hmph, it had better not be true."

After huffing twice, Theresa stood before the dining table with her arms crossed, proudly raised her head to look at everyone, and smiled in a way that did not resemble an eighteen-year-old girl at all.

But that was not much of a problem. After all, some people were still like that at forty and remained beloved by everyone.

"Hehe, what do you think of the dinner we prepared this time?"

"Well... honestly, it's really good. I never expected this."

Kaino looked at the stewed fish, beet soup, potato beef, fruit salad, toast, and Bitter Melon Pie on the table, unable to stop himself from feeling shocked.

The abundance was indeed part of what surprised Kaino, but the greater reason was that the only abnormal food among them was the Bitter Melon Pie... So as long as someone watched her, she could make normal food for a holiday after all?

Still, Kaino had to admit that although Theresa probably also had Kaslana blood, aside from her love of adding bitter melon to food, her cooking was better than his.

Tania, seated on a chair beside them, also began waving her arms and legs around, drooling as she stared at the food on the table.

"Whoa, Theresa, did you really make all this?" Karel swallowed and stared at the food on the table in disbelief. "Did you just watch the whole time and make Mikhail do everything herself?"

"Yeah, except for that pile of Bitter Melon Pie."

"Hey, what do you mean by that?!"

Theresa's originally smug expression instantly vanished. Her eyes widened as she glared at Karel.

"Don't forget, I'm the one who usually cooks your meals! And if you don't believe me, you... you can ask Mikhail."

"Yes, Theresa made all these dishes herself." Mikhail nodded awkwardly from the side. "I do not know much about cooking, so I only watched from the side and stopped Theresa from putting bitter melon into the pots."

Kaino and Karel silently stared at Theresa.

"W-What is it?!" Theresa seemed somewhat embarrassed under their stares. "Bitter melon is healthy, okay? Eating more bitter melon is good for your growth!"

"Like... being under one and a half meters tall as an adult?"

Unable to hold it in, Kaino blurted out the jab.

"Hey! Kaino, you..."

"Alright, alright, stop bullying little Theresa. Everyone, hurry up and eat." The priest urged them with a smile. "The food will not taste good once it gets cold."

"Yes." The children, including Kaino, answered together. They ended their teasing, sat down, and prepared to eat.

"Waaah, Priest, you're bullying me too." Theresa turned around and raised her head to look at the Priest standing beside her, her face bitter as though she had not eaten bitter melon for a week. "You actually called me little."

"Alright, little Theresa is an affectionate nickname." The priest could not help smiling at Theresa's complaint. He crouched down and stroked Theresa's head as if comforting a child. "What, little Theresa does not like it?"

"N-No, it's fine." Theresa shook her head shyly, then jumped onto her own chair. "I-I'm going to eat first."

The priest smiled and took his seat as well.

The meal passed without conversation.

"Oh, right, Kaino, come to my room after you finish cleaning up the dishes." After putting away his own tableware, the priest suddenly looked up at Kaino. "I have something to tell you."

Kaino, who was cleaning up his own tableware, exchanged a glance with Karel beside him and raised an eyebrow before nodding to the priest.

"Understood, Priest."

The priest nodded in response, then carried his tableware toward the kitchen ahead of them.

"Hey, hey, do you know what the priest wants to talk to you about?"

After seeing the priest walk away with his tableware, Karel nudged Kaino with his elbow and asked quietly.

"Did you do something wrong?"

"No. If even you have not gotten into trouble, how could I have?" Kaino shook his head and answered in a low voice as he walked toward the kitchen. "If I had to guess, it is probably about me going home. Maybe there has been some progress."

Karel froze at that, swallowed, and then followed Kaino.

"You're leaving the Orphanage?"

"I don't know. It's only a guess. After all, there is nothing else the priest would need to talk to me about alone."

Kaino was rather troubled as well.