Gather Divine Coins and Gacha! - Chapter 3

 It has been ten days since then.

During that time, I tried various things and discovered a few things.

First, regarding 【Hideout】 itself.

To enter, you simply need to imagine opening a door on a flat surface like a wall or floor.

The first time I activated it, I was lying down facing a wall, thinking about opening a door.

Considering how rare such a situation is in daily life, I was pretty lucky.

The door is about two meters tall and one meter wide. As long as I enter with them, objects can be brought inside as well.

I tested it by storing water and monitoring how it decreased—it seemed to follow the same passage of time as the outside world.

I can’t just throw anything and everything inside, but as a storage space, it’s flawless.

Leaving the room is simple.

I just have to walk out the door.

Next, about the contents of the room.

All the furniture I once used was still there.

Tables, sofas, beds, and even appliances like a refrigerator, air conditioner, and computer remained intact.

Surprisingly, the water and electricity still worked, though I had no idea where they were being supplied from.

The internet wasn’t connected, but that couldn’t be helped.

However, while the furniture remained, unfortunately, everything inside them was gone.

Books, clothes, bedding, miscellaneous items—nothing.

The computer could access the BIOS screen, but it had no operating system installed.

The only things left were a single-person pot and frying pan that came with the all-electric room as a service.

That was a small but meaningful convenience.

This unexpected situation, however, set the stage for my escape.

Tomorrow is the carriage stop cleaning.

The timing is just right—things are looking up for me!

◇

It’s now late February in autumn.

In this world, each season lasts three months, with the first month of spring marking the start of the new year.

At the orphanage, children who turn seven during the first month of winter are placed in separate rooms until the third month of the following winter.

Since many children don’t know their exact birthdates, this system ensures that Holy Coins can be collected without fail.

To further collect these Holy Coins, people from the church come to visit.

The exact schedule is unknown, but we’re always ordered to clean the carriage stop two or three days beforehand.

That makes it easy to predict their arrival.

I’ve gathered most of what I need, and now—

"Hey‼"

As I was thinking things over while cleaning, the director’s angry voice interrupted me.

"What is it?"

"Have you seen my book?"

"Book? The one you always carry?"

"No! The books in my room! Do you know where they are!?"

"Nope, haven’t seen them."

"I see… If you find them, tell me immediately. Damn it, did it appear here too at such a busy time…?"

Muttering to himself, he headed back inside the orphanage.

Only a handful of people, myself included, have access to the director’s room.

I thought he might press me further, but the missing books were all encyclopedia-sized.

One or two missing books might be manageable, but no child could carry off dozens of them.

He probably assumed it was the work of the thief who had been showing up in town lately.

Well… that thief is actually me.

◇

Since I was planning to escape, staying in this town wasn’t an option—I had to go somewhere else.

But travel posed a problem.

I knew that walking west along the highway would take about half a day to reach the next village, but I had no idea what the road was like or if it was safe.

I had never left this town before.

So, I decided to use 【Hideout】 to sneak into the carriage that the church would be using for their collection.

Hiding in the carriage stop in advance wouldn’t be difficult.

And from there, I’d be outside the town.

I had no clue about the security or economy of other towns, but staying here meant a bleak future.

Taking the risk was worth it.

As for a reason to run away from the orphanage—there were more than enough.

A few kids run away every year.

All I had to do was grumble about my frustrations in front of the right person, and that would be enough.

The church people should be arriving within a few days, and I’m fully prepared.

No need to wait. I’ll do it today.