Chapter 331 The Alliance's Tests
Tristan paused to gather his thoughts before answering. He decided to address her first question first. "The camps are secluded from the public and are a fair distance from each other, so there shouldn't be much chance of running into other camps unless you go looking for one or someone brings you back like you were," Tristan concluded before looking like he remembered something, adding. "Another reason could be that you have only taken the main route out of the slums, as they are often out of the way."
Aleshia thought about Tristan's explanations and understood why she hadn't seen another camp or orphanage.
Aleshia thanked Tristan, saying, "What you have said has really cleared things up for me. Thank you for explaining this stuff." Tristan replied, "It's no trouble."
After that, Tristan realized he hadn't answered Aleshia's last question. He continued, "Regarding what you asked, I was born and raised in this place. For a while, I moved between different orphanages. Once I outgrew the age requirement, they stopped moving me around. However, I missed the experience and also wanted to check up on a few friends." His mood seemed to sour at that last part, his expression darkening as he recalled memories. "So, I started actively traveling, retracing the paths I remembered to find them."
Aleshia wasn't sure what to say. "So, you are a local. That sounds good! You must have been able to see a lot of cool sights," she said, trying not to discount his struggles. "Were you able to see your friends again after all that?" she asked, driven by curiosity.
Tristan seemed a little touchy around the topic and didn't acknowledge her question, "Right, I just remembered, every few months, except during the colder season, kids at the camp were rounded up and moved to other camps. It was and still is apparently part of a test the Alliance or whichever organization is conducting to see if the children under an orphanage's care are being neglected or abused. The goal, I think, is to discourage directors from abandoning the orphans or children they take in."
Aleshia caught on to Tristan's discomfort and understood that she shouldn't try to press him further about his former friends. Instead, she decided to express her suspicions. "Those goals sound good, but how and why is the organization living up to that?" Her tone was pessimistic, revealing her doubts based on her understanding of the slums and the people she had heard of in her memories.