Chapter 738: Episode 738

"Oho," Richard muttered in admiration, though his face was completely devoid of interest.

Bringing up the topic of volunteering first would surely result in a crushing defeat. Instead, Simon pulled a photo from his pocket and handed it over.

"What is... Hmm?"

His expression shifted strangely as he looked at the photo. It was a picture of a woman with short, sea-blue hair glaring angrily.

In truth, Simon had originally intended to use a photo of Anna, but he followed Lethe’s advice that showing her face beforehand might ruin the drama of their first meeting.

This photo was merely a carrot to lure Richard out.

"They say this woman comes out to volunteer pretty often. Want to go together?"

Richard quietly slipped an arm around Simon’s neck.

"Aren’t you a good kid? From now on, we’re blood brothers, brother."

Simon smiled bitterly.

’We do share blood, though.’

---

A date was set.

In the meantime, Simon and Lethe diligently searched for a suitable place to volunteer within the Neutral Zone and found one with decent conditions.

An orphanage located on the outskirts of the Bahila Territory.

Originally, it was a shelter that cared for abandoned orphans within the territory, but the war had produced so many war orphans that the facility’s operations had reached their limit.

Because of this, it seemed to rely heavily on the volunteer work and financial support of well-meaning people.

Since it was a facility housing children, neither the Holy Federation nor the Dark Alliance would dare bomb it, guaranteeing its safety.

[There is no better place than this,] Simon noted.

[Agreed. Let us bring the two of them here tomorrow, no matter what,] Lethe replied.

Thus, the Great Operation to Make Richard and Anna Fall in Love began.

First, it was easy for Lethe to bring Anna. Anna herself had a deep interest in volunteering and war orphans, so she was highly motivated to come.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t difficult for Simon to bring Richard along, either. His thought process was simple. The woman in the photo Lethe provided was pretty, so he agreed to go without dragging his feet.

And so, the two of them arrived at the orphanage, the site of their volunteer work.

’Nothing special here.’

A large building stood on a hill, and a wide field stretched out, perfect for children to run and play in. There was a well, and a river flowed nearby.

"I am over here!"

From behind the building, Lethe, dressed in the coachman’s outfit from before, could be seen waving. Glad to see her, Simon quickly ran over.

"Good work, Lethe! Is my mother here?"

"Yes, she has arrived. She is currently changing into comfortable clothes in the carriage. What about Richard?"

"He followed me. Way too easily."

Lethe covered her mouth, giggling.

"I feel sorry for Lord Israphel, but what can you do?"

The two decided to get ready right away.

But then...

"What is that man doing?" Lethe pointed to the side with cold eyes.

Unable to hold back for even a moment, Richard was already hitting on a woman. Seeing him strike an obviously cool pose, leaning one hand against the wall and smiling smoothly, painted a very clear picture.

’This is driving me crazy, seriously!’

Horrified, Simon sprinted over.

It would be a disaster if he ended up with someone other than Anna.

A crisp slap rang out as the woman stormed off, huffing in anger. Simon ran up right after.

"What happened?"

"Ah." Richard stroked his slapped cheek and spoke as if it were nothing. "I tried to flirt with her, but it turns out she’s a mother with a kid in this orphanage."

"...Unbelievable."

With this man, falling in love wasn’t the issue; the real worry was how to rehabilitate him into a decent human being first.

---

"Thank you to the many people who came to help out today."

The orphanage director was a woman in her sixties who looked like she had been through it all. Her tone was gentle yet firm, and her straightforward way of speaking was striking. Her hands were covered in calluses.

The volunteers stood before her, listening to her speak.

"It’s early morning, so we need to hurry while the children are still asleep. First, we’ll prepare breakfast, so let’s divide the roles..."

Wearing everyday clothes for the first time in a while instead of her holy garments or Efnel uniform, and with a hat pulled down low to hide her face, Anna listened to the explanation with her hands clasped tightly and her eyes sparkling.

On the other hand, Richard, standing at the very end, was yawning widely with his eyes half-closed in exhaustion. Simon jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow over and over again.

"Well then, let’s begin."

Simon and Lethe quickly pushed Richard and Anna by the back, shoving them toward the firewood shed.

It was a relatively simple task of carrying already-split firewood to the kitchen, and there were only four people working together.

’This is the perfect course! Richard can help carry Teacher Anna’s firewood, and they can naturally strike up a conversation!’ Lethe thought excitedly.

’Will it work?’ Simon wondered.

Since it was their first time playing matchmaker and they were feeling a bit anxious, the two watched from a distance.

However, Richard, who was supposed to be moving firewood, must have been tired from waking up at dawn. He yawned repeatedly and plopped down on the nearby grass.

"Hey buddy, aren’t you gonna help?"

A male volunteer, seemingly annoyed by Richard slacking off, called out to him. At this, Richard glared up.

"Are you talking to me right now?"

"Yeah, you, punk."

Watching Richard stride over, Simon and Lethe exchanged anxious glances.

’Is he going to cause trouble again?’

Just then, Richard snatched the firewood the male volunteer was holding.

"Alright, I’ll move this. Instead—"

With a loud thud, Richard kicked him. The male volunteer’s body crashed into the stacked firewood with a clatter. The logs came tumbling down.

"You go get a new batch." Richard smirked.

Just as Simon was about to rush out in a panic...

"Is something wrong? I heard a loud noise..."

Of all times, Anna walked in at that exact moment.

Spotting the volunteer collapsed in the pile of firewood, Anna gasped in surprise and ran over. Richard feigned ignorance, whistling as he walked away.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah, well. This is nothing." The volunteer blushed upon seeing Anna’s face.

Anna turned her head and glared at Richard. "You pushed him, didn’t you? Aren’t you going to apologize?"

"He’s the one who picked a fight with someone minding his own business first. Why should I apologize?"

With that, Richard quickly walked away. Horrified, Simon sprinted after him.

"What are you doing?!"

"Ugh, more nagging."

In the end, Simon had to grab Richard by the hand, drag him back, and force him to apologize to the volunteer.

’I brought my dad here, so why do I feel like I’m the dad?’

---

The first impression had become a bit awkward.

Even when Richard and Anna crossed paths while moving firewood, nothing special happened. It was the same when they were assigned other tasks.

Anna was purely focused on working for the orphans.

Richard, meanwhile, goofed off before casually asking Simon, "Hey, what about that blue-haired woman who supposedly comes to the orphanage often?"

Simon replied sullenly, "I said she comes often, I didn’t say she comes every single day."

"Richard’s interest completely dashed, he let out a ’tsk’."

His interest completely dashed, Richard spent the rest of the time slacking off instead of doing what he was told.

It was an emergency.

Simon and Lethe went into an emergency meeting. Unable to watch any longer, Lethe spoke up.

[Since it has come to this, let us drag them to the kitchen!]

Ultimately, they requested the orphanage director to put Richard and Anna in the kitchen. The idea was that they would naturally get closer while cooking.

The two of them quietly prepared the ingredients.

They stood in silence.

Richard, who had been somewhat apathetic, finally turned his gaze toward Anna.

A loose top that hid her figure and a long skirt. A beautiful face slightly visible beneath the pulled-down hat.

As if he were finally seeing Anna properly, Richard’s pupils wavered.

’Yes!’ Watching from hiding, Simon clenched his fists and cheered internally. ’He definitely fell in love at first sight!’

’I am not sure if it is to that extent, but any man would react after seeing Teacher Anna. Now we just have to hope Richard makes a move,’ Lethe thought.

Sure enough, as soon as he locked onto his target, Richard made his move.

"Are you good at cooking?"

"Ah." Anna, who had been chopping carrots, looked up.

Her eyes held a hint of wariness due to the earlier incident, but her tone had softened a bit since Simon forced Richard to apologize.

"I’m not very good at it... but I’m trying to use this opportunity to learn."

Richard paused again upon seeing her face.

Watching from afar, Simon had to struggle to keep the corners of his mouth from rising. Inwardly, he enthusiastically cheered his father on.

"Wanting to learn is a good mindset." Richard stepped in behind Anna. "Shall I teach you?"

Then, as if embracing her from behind, he placed his hand over hers on the kitchen knife.

’What is he doing to someone he just met...?! I hate this!’ Lethe gripped her own shoulders in disgust.

It was an inappropriate situation, but Richard, with his naturally outstanding looks and aura, had the kind of impression where—as they say—he could get away with anything.

"Now, slowly, at an angle like this."

Richard and Anna sliced the carrots together. Using a calm, masculine voice, Richard made sure she could catch his scent and see the rugged veins on his hands.

He also tossed out various questions to put her at ease.

"What brings you here?"

"Do you come here often?"

Anna answered him obediently.

’This woman, the strength has left her hand. She’s totally fallen for it.’

Once he got to this point, there had never been a single exception.

Even the picky and troublesome women eventually gave in. Richard sensed victory, but...

"I’m really sorry, but—" Anna offered an awkward smile. "You’re worse at chopping than I am."

"Hmm?"

Past the carrots Anna had chopped herself, the ones they had chopped together were a complete mess in both shape and size.

"Thank you for teaching me, but since we’re short on time, I think it would be better if I did it alone."

With that, Anna pushed Richard away and chopped the carrots by herself. Richard stood there frozen like a statue, looking slightly shocked.

Simon let out a deep sigh.

Lethe shook her head, though she was wearing a somewhat satisfied smile.

"You two volunteers!"

Just then, the orphanage director popped up from behind them. Simon and Lethe flinched and spun around.

"Y-Yes!"

"What are you doing slacking off already?! If you have no intention of working seriously, it would be better for the children if you just left!"

"We’re sorry!"

Left with no choice, Simon and Lethe hurriedly sprinted into the kitchen and began preparing the food.

"I’ll take this fruit knife."

"Yeah."

Pulling a cabbage from the shelf, Simon cast a sidelong glance toward Richard and Anna.

They were both silent.

It was awkward.

It was insanely awkward.

After his flirting failed, Richard looked dazed, and Anna simply looked like she had no thoughts in her head.

Just then, Anna smiled brightly, turning her back to Richard to look at Simon and Lethe.

"Oh my, you two look close." Saying so, Anna discreetly whispered to Lethe, "That talk about men you asked me about before... is it because of him?"

"Huh? No!"

’It’s because of you two!’

If anything, it was getting to the point where Anna was trying to set Simon and Lethe up. Simon felt a headache coming on.

After Anna asked a few more questions and returned to her task, Simon quietly asked Lethe, "Isn’t there a more effective method?"

"There is." Lethe gritted her teeth. "We will settle this when the children come out."

"Hey."

At that moment, Richard approached Simon with the expression of a wounded lion. Simon looked up.

"Yes?"

"Let’s talk outside for a second."

---

Simon followed Richard to the back of the orphanage building. Richard was smoking a pipe with one hand stuffed in his pocket.

He exhaled a long breath of white smoke.

The sight of him exhaling white smoke and staring into the forest with deep, brooding eyes was like a painting in itself. Simon swallowed hard without realizing it.

’I don’t know about anything else, but he really is handsome.’

He felt like he finally understood a little why women fell for Richard even knowing he was a playboy.

Soon, he pinched the pipe between his fingers and spat out a curse.

"Damn it, this is the first time I’ve ever failed when I actually put my mind to flirting."

He scrunched up his face and puffed on his pipe as if speaking of some inexplicable phenomenon.

"The start was a bit blatant, but the mood was good after that, and my lines landed cleanly. But that woman is completely made of stone. If she likes it, she likes it; if she hates it, she hates it. I need to sense ’something’ to figure out my angle, but she just gives zero reaction."

"...Haha."

Richard, who had been keeping quiet, suddenly looked at Simon.

"What do you think?"

Simon’s eyes widened as he pointed at himself.

’Is he asking me right now? About romance, of all things?’

"Hey, don’t feel pressured." Richard smirked, the corners of his mouth curling up. "If the opponent isn’t ordinary, then I should try thinking of a solution from an unordinary angle."

’Is that a compliment or an insult?’ Simon smiled bitterly.

Regardless, Richard seemed to want to make up for his failure, which meant Simon had caught a huge opportunity.

’Now, how should I answer?’

Perhaps, since crossing over into the past, this was the most important moment of all.

To reclaim the future.

So that the three of them could live together in Leshill.

It was time to come up with a solution.