"Nina is leaving tonight."
Arthur looked at the purple-haired girl standing in front of him, helplessness written plainly across his face.
"Mhm."
He already knew what Saeko Busujima was thinking. She didn't need to say it out loud. For nearly a month now, he had left Sophia in her care, so it was only natural that she wanted to know if he had any plans for tonight, if he was finally going to act.
After all, Saeko herself was a character who originated from another world's storyline. And even after Sophia had been turned into a child, the condition of her body hadn't changed. That snow-white hair, paired with her frail, perpetually sick appearance, made her stand out. If it weren't for her surprisingly excellent grades, Arthur had honestly worried she might've been the first to be "shipped."
With those two staying close together, though, almost no one suspected they were Reincarnators.
Over the past month, because Saeko had been taking care of Sophia, she'd naturally taken on the role of caretaker for several of the younger children as well. Nina was one of them. Like Sophia, currently going by the alias "Coco", Nina was small, fragile, and often unwell. The similarities between the two girls made it impossible for Saeko to ignore her.
Arthur had even begun to suspect something unsettling: if Nina were the one being shipped out this time… then when it became the eleven-year-olds' turn, Sophia might be at the very top of that list.
That was not good news.
But for Arthur, it didn't really make much of a difference.
He had never planned to stay inside the Orphanage for long in the first place. If he wanted a perfect clear, escaping the Orphanage was only step one. And with Sophia's physical condition, relying on simply surviving there until the end to earn an S-rank evaluation was unrealistic. He needed to carve out another path for her. If that path failed… then the last resort would be combining three A-rank evaluations to promote them into a single S-rank.
"I'll go check the fence in the forest this afternoon."
After saying that, Arthur turned and left.
A wooden fence surrounded the forest bordering the Orphanage. In truth, it wasn't very tall— even a child could climb over it without much trouble. But the children had been taught since they were young never to cross it, and none of them had ever disobeyed Mother's rules. She always said there were wild beasts on the other side, that it was dangerous.
The danger was real. The wild beasts were real too— except they were far more terrifying than animals. They were monsters known as "Demons." The area beyond the fence was the central zone where demons gathered… the processing plant for "Edible Children."
Arthur hadn't told Saeko Busujima or the others about this yet. It had been hard to explain where he'd gotten that information from. If it were only Saeko, it wouldn't matter, but with Selena's presence, revealing too much too early would've been inconvenient. Now that a month had passed, he could simply claim it was the result of his own investigation.
That afternoon, he persuaded Isabella to spend more time with Nina, who was about to leave. Then, avoiding Mother's gaze, he slipped alone into the deeper parts of the forest. He didn't show off his adult-level speed. Instead, he walked step by step at a normal child's pace.
Before long, he reached the wooden fence, the boundary of the area Mother allowed the children to roam.
He had barely stopped when a figure dropped lightly from a nearby tree.
Saeko Busujima landed soundlessly, her body as light as a falling leaf.
Arthur looked at her, half helpless, half amused. "I didn't know girls liked climbing trees."
She gave him a faintly smug look. "I thought this kind of entrance would leave a… deep impression on you."
So she'd heard about that incident too.
"Jealous?"
"A little…"
In truth, Saeko knew she wasn't jealous. Not really. Even though he hadn't spoken a word to her these past few days and had instead been constantly around that girl Isabella… she wasn't jealous after all was just a kid.
She just felt a little uncomfortable being ignored.
"By the way," she said, shifting the topic, "you called me out here today to—"
Arthur's ears suddenly twitched.
He cut in abruptly, voice louder than necessary.
"I want to form an alliance with you!"
Saeko froze for a second, but quickly played along.
"Oh? Is that the reason you called me out here?"
Arthur had already shared his suspicions with her beforehand, so Saeko Busujima's gaze didn't dart around nervously. Even though she personally hadn't sensed anything yet, she trusted Arthur completely.
"Eren, I don't think I understand what you're talking about."
She gave him a charming smile, as if she truly couldn't follow his words.
Arthur's expression tightened, agitation flashing across his face. "I'm not interested in playing games with you. We don't have the time for that."
His eyes moved restlessly, scanning the surrounding trees like he was checking for anyone hiding nearby.
"Yako… we're all in the same boat here. You don't seriously think we can survive until the end just by doing nothing, do you? That's naive."
His voice rose slightly, strained, like he was forcing himself to keep his excitement under control.
"This orphanage is just a façade. There's something much deeper hidden underneath it. The Mission already made that clear. There's no way we're meant to survive peacefully until the end… unless we cooperate and form an alliance."
Saeko's expression dimmed a little, as if she agreed with parts of what he was saying.
"Even if that's true… what can we actually do?" she asked. "From the way you're talking, it sounds like you haven't even figured out the orphanage's secret yet."
"No," Arthur replied firmly. "I already have."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"Didn't you notice during the last exam? The questions were way too difficult. There's no way they were meant for ordinary ten-year-olds."
"And yet the kids here answered more than half correctly. Failing grades were rare. That's not normal."
A hint of resentment crept into his expression.
"This place isn't an orphanage… it's a talent cultivation facility for gifted children. I don't know the exact purpose yet, but I'm certain kids with poor scores get sent away. Only the elites… the geniuses… are allowed to stay."
"Today it's Nina. Next time, it could be us."
Saeko looked visibly startled by that speculation.
"But that still doesn't mean adoption itself is dangerous, does it?"
Arthur shook his head slowly.
"You've seen it yourself. The children here are terrifyingly intelligent. I don't know what happens to the ones who leave… but for us, being 'adopted' definitely means failure."
He paused, then added:
"That's why I need an alliance."
"And if you still don't believe me… I can give you one more piece of information."
With a conspiratorial look, he leaned in close and whispered into her ear:
"I once saw the pocket watch Mom always carries. It's not a watch… it's a tracker."
"We're all being monitored."