Seele, Who Couldn't Sleep at Night

"Papa Elias, it's me, Seele."

"Hm? So it's you, Seele. Still awake this late—what's the matter?"

Elias closed the novel in his hand and waved to Seele, who was standing at the doorway of the hall. The blue-black-haired girl immediately walked over with his permission.

Seele Vollerei.

A girl Elias had found in the snow a few days ago. Her family had been killed in a Honkai Beast attack, and she was taken in by him and brought to House of the Hearth.

With shoulder-length black hair tinted with blue, ocean-blue eyes, and pale skin, she looked like a porcelain doll—a pure and delicate girl. Her personality matched her appearance: quiet, obedient, and currently still a bit timid and insecure.

The grown-up Elias was quite tall; even while seated, he was a full head taller than Seele. He gently reached out and patted the girl's dark blue hair, speaking softly.

"Seele is a very good girl, but staying up this late... did you have a bad dream?"

"Mm... I dreamed about my mom and dad... about the monster that ate them. I'm sorry, Papa Elias... I'm too scared to sleep."

Seele's voice was faint, with visible tear marks at the corners of her eyes. Elias understood immediately and gently pulled her to sit beside him.

"Then stay here with me for a while. Don't force yourself to sleep. Don't worry, Seele. You'll soon walk out of that nightmare. House of the Hearth is your new beginning, and everyone here is your new family."

"Thank you, Papa Elias... but, am I being useless? This is already the third time I've bothered you."

"It's nothing. Seele just arrived not long ago. Actually, most of the others also couldn't sleep well at first—well, except for Rozaliya and Liliya. Those two carefree little rascals sleep like logs. Especially Rozaliya… her personality is just... sigh~"

"Hehe."

Seeing Elias' helpless expression, Seele couldn't help but chuckle softly.

She instinctively leaned a little closer to him. For some reason, even more than the fireplace, this butterfly-like girl felt the warmth and comfort by her father figure's side.

And that was indeed the case. The fireplace flames offered only visual warmth—

It was more of a symbol of House of the Hearth.

In truth, this single fireplace in the hall could never heat the entire orphanage.

The real reason none of the girls ever felt cold was that Elias used his incomplete power of the Herrscher of Fire to subtly maintain the orphanage's temperature at all times.

"Haaah... ah~"

Seele couldn't help but yawn drowsily.

Not wanting to sleep didn't mean she couldn't.

She was just afraid of nightmares. In reality, she was very tired, and wrapped in the warmth that Elias emitted, her eyelids were starting to fight a losing battle.

Elias noticed this sharply, so he reached out and gently stroked her head.

"You should sleep, Seele. Don't worry, with me here, you won't have nightmares. Once you're asleep, I'll take you back to your room."

"Eh? Really? Am I troubling you too much, Papa Elias?"

"Of course not. Like I said, everyone in House of the Hearth is family. Since you're willing to call me Papa, then between family, there's no such thing as being a bother."

Especially a girl like Seele Vollerei—so angelic, it was impossible not to love her. Elias was truly thankful he had found and taken her in a few days ago.

Just looking at this girl was enough to heal the soul.

Seeing how concerned and caring Elias was, Seele's heart thumped wildly. To every child in House of the Hearth, this father figure was the most beloved person.

Seele hesitated, torn for a moment, before finally summoning her courage and speaking.

"Then... may I make one more selfish request, Papa Elias?"

"Hmm, let me think. Aside from eating an extra piece of cake tomorrow, sleeping until noon, or throwing your clothes all over the place like Rozaliya and Liliya... I think I can accept pretty much anything."

"S-Seele would never do that."

"Hehe, I know. I was just teasing. So, what is it that you want, Seele?"

Though he always carried himself with a serious demeanor, all the children at House of the Hearth knew how gentle and doting their Papa Elias was. Even their real parents might not have shown them this much love.

Seele looked at him, eyes full of hope and anticipation.

"I... I want to hear Papa Elias sing again. May I?"

"Oh, that's all? Of course you can."

Elias gently pinched her cheek, then walked over to the piano placed in the hall. Because of his love for music in his past life, he had self-taught himself to play most instruments.

As for singing girls to sleep—he had done it countless times back at the Babylon Labs. It was now a fully mastered skill.

Seele's eyes sparkled immediately.

She couldn't wait to hear Elias play again. In her heart, she thought: if the other girls found out, they'd definitely be jealous of her.

Elias: "Hold on, I need to do a bit of prep."

(Can't wake the others... Let's isolate the sound using Herrscher powers. Okay, that should do it.)

He used his incomplete powers of the Herrscher of Wind. Now, even if he performed a fiery, explosive concert-level song, it wouldn't disturb the sleeping girls in their rooms.

Then, Elias' fingers fell onto the black-and-white keys of the piano.

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