Surviving as the Second Main Lead: Second Lead's POV

“Jack, wait-”

Horas tried to hold Jack back but the elder man was out of the door before Horas was finished speaking. Jack could be so swift when he needed to be.

‘Ugh, I do not want to be here. I am sure I will be treated like a child as long as I am here.’

Horas hated to be treated like a child and not be taken seriously. And he was aware that it would be worse here than at the academy.

At least, he had proven himself in the academy and everyone knew not to treat him like a child. But no one knew who he was here and that made things complicated.

“That man is always in a hurry so don’t mind it. I am sure he will be back before you know it, Horas. So for now, let me take you around the orphanage and you can decide what you want to do next.”

Horas recognized those words for what they were - give up and do as we say.’

It was vexing but effective at getting Horas to comply. It was just easier to get along with what the adults wanted from him. It would protect him in the longer run.

“Here, you have fun in this playground as well. This is where most of our youngsters spend their time. I am sure a healthy child like yourself would be able to make friends here.”

Horas very much doubted that. This playground was made for toddlers and young children.

Now, Horas might look like a young child but he had a trained body. He would have to be careful not to break things here.

‘Ugh, what a mess. I guess I better find a corner to nap in.’

Yohan sat down on the bench and looked at the children playing in front of him. Many saw him as well but were vary to approach him.

After all, he was weirdly dressed and someone unknown as well. He would not have approached himself as well if he was in their situation

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Horas used this opportunity to relax and close his eyes. He could just fall asleep right now and no one would be the wiser. And Horas doubted that anyone would care to cause him trouble.

…………..…………..

“Hey, are you sure we should do this? We might get in trouble if he gets angry at us.”

“Relax Emma. Just believe in me and woah - look at my masterpiece.”

Horas was woken up by hands on his face. Someone was touching him and feeling his face up.

Horas would have woken up in panic upon the realization of that foreign touch if not for the light touch on his face. Not to mention, the one touching him had small and curious hands. It was easy to tell that they were kids.

“H-Howard, maybe we should not do that. What if he wakes up?”

“Emma, stop being scared of everything and help me out here. What do you think of using this-?”

Horas finally decided to wake up and the two children near his face almost screamed in fright. They were small, barely three years old but there was something familiar about their looks.

If not for them saying each other’s names, Horas would not have recognized them at all.

‘That girl, she’s Emma Dew. Her blond hair and green eyes are just as I imagined them being when I wrote her.’

Never mind that she was a child right now, Horas felt like he knew who she was just at the first glance.

And if there was a familiarity when looking at Emma, it was nothing compared to looking at Howard Spencer, his younger brother.

It was like looking at a familiar and foreign object at the same time. He had changed a lot from the newborn he had been when Horas last saw him but he had grown up just as Horas had expected him to.

‘Black hair and a small face which contain definite blue eyes. The savior of this world and the protagonist.’

“P-Please forgive us. W-We did not mean to offend you and- Emma run.”

Howard looked startled to see Horas awake and he quickly made a run for it along with Emma. Horas was not concerned about them until he noticed that they had left the orphanage grounds.

‘Shit! Are they running toward the outside? What about the barrier - oh yeah, the protagonist has an inborn immunity to mana.’

Horas realized too late that things were bad but Howard and Emma were out of the grounds by that time. This was not an incident Horas had written about.

Or at least, he did not remember doing it. But maybe it was one of the smaller details his memory had seen fit to forget.

“What should I do now? Should I get an adult here? No, let’s not involve adults and make things complicated. I can go out and get them back on my own.”

Horas was not too keen about getting adult help in this world. They could often cause the situation to become worse. And Horas did not want to explain why two kids had run after seeing him awake.

‘So annoying. I hate being a kid so much.

…………..…………..

“H-Howard, how long are we going to keep running for? My legs are starting to feel numb now.”

“Sorry, Emma. I guess I should not have grabbed you and run like that. You had nothing to do with what I did.”

Howard felt sorry for the friend he had dragged along behind him. But he could not have stopped himself from following his instincts.

There had been something familiar about that elder child and Howard’s curiosity had gotten the better of him. He had ended up approaching the sleeping child and then gotten into trouble.

“N-No, it’s alright. I am your friend so I want to be with you. I trust you.”

Emma’s words of encouragement made Howard feel better and then he realized that he had run quite far from the orphanage. He had never meant to leave the ground when he had gotten scared away.

“E-Emma, don’t get scared but I don’t think we are at home anymore. I don’t recognize this place.”

Howard looked around at the empty parking lot he had dragged Emma into. He did not recognize the area and now he was scared.

“H-Howard, what should we do now? How do we get back home?”

Howard was scared but he knew he could not show it. If he showed that he was scared when he will not be able to reassure Emma anymore. He needed to be brave and strong.

And just when things were starting to get bad, Howard felt someone looking at them. He looked up sharply, only to notice a pair of red eyes on him.

“Hello, children. Are you lost and trying to find a way back home? Why don’t you let this sister help you out?”

Howard looked up at the teenager who had approached him and Emma to help them out. She was beautiful at first glance and looked kind as well.

But there was something about her energy that warded Howard off. He knew instinctively not to trust this teenager. And his instincts made Howard, not like her.

“Y-You will help us out? You will truly help us out?”

Emma asked, truly taken in by the kindness of this stranger. But Howard was not going to be fooled. He held Emma back by her hand when she started to move toward the teenager.

“Emma, wait. Sister Julie always said not to trust strangers out here. Maybe we should look for a way back ourselves.”

Howard was not going to let Emma fall into a trap.

The teenager had an annoyed expression on her face which melted into a sweet one as soon as Emma looked at her. This sister was good at pretending to be a good person.

“Awww, don’t be like that. Look, if you cannot trust me because I am helping you out for free, then how about you do something for me in return? Would that make me more trustworthy?”

The teen’s smiling face looked so harmless that even Howard was beginning to feel like his senses were mistaken. Would it truly be so bad for him to trust this teenager?

“Howard, m-maybe we should let sister help us. And I-I am sure it’ll be alright if we help her in return, right? I-It won’t be a random act of kindness then, it’ll be a deal. And my parents say that deals are binding.”

Emma was from a rich family, but she was often left in the orphanage since it also acted as a daycare for other families.

Howard knew that Emma’s parents were rich and influential so that also meant that they must be right. It was the flawed logic of a kid that made Howard discard his instincts and trust the female.

“A-Alright, we will help you and then you can help us. So, who are you?”

“Me? You can call me Eurika. It’s nice to meet you both.”

Eureka was smiling calmly and there was nothing malicious about her smile. But Howard still got chills down his spine when he watched her. He did not like this sister.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's head out so that you can help me out, alright?"