"Good morning, Isabella."
Contrary to her usual self, Liza had woken up early. With bright, overflowing energy, she greeted Isabella, who was moving from bed to bed, waking the still-drowsy children.
Isabella paused for a moment. Ever since a few days ago, the girl's personality had changed completely, she had become far too energetic. Slightly overwhelmed, Isabella simply nodded. "Good morning."
As they passed each other, their hands brushed lightly, almost by accident. Neither reacted. They continued on as if nothing had happened.
Liza had indeed changed a lot lately. But that side of her only surfaced in front of a select few. After all, they were already companions.
Once she left the room, she immediately activated her [Presence Dilution] skill. Her figure seemed to fade into the background as she headed downstairs toward the kitchen.
Mom was already there, moving in steady rhythm as she prepared breakfast.
"Mom, good morning!"
Her greeting was lively and loud.
Unfortunately, Mom continued working at the stove as though she hadn't heard a thing.
"Hehe."
Recently, Liza had grown rather fond of this little game. She didn't try again. Instead, she casually picked up two warm pieces of bread from the counter, poured herself a glass of milk, and added a slice of fried ham onto a tray.
Then she walked right out in front of Mom.
From beginning to end, Mom acted as if no one was there. She didn't notice the missing food, nor the extra footsteps leaving the kitchen.
It didn't matter anyway. Breakfast was never prepared according to an exact headcount. Even if a little went missing, no one would starve.
Liza moved through the dormitory building and climbed to the top floor. There, she stopped in front of what looked like a long-abandoned storage room.
From her pocket, she pulled out a small white key.
It wasn't taken from Mom. Though, even if she had taken the original, Mom likely wouldn't have noticed.
The key itself looked crude, like something molded from clay by a primary school student. But appearances were deceiving. It was made from a special solid slime material that could mimic soft liquid metal. Heat it until pliable, press it into a keyhole, wait for it to cool, and it would harden into a perfect replica of the lock's interior.
A practical little item from the Reincarnation Space Mall.
After unlocking the door, Liza stepped into the dilapidated, empty storage room. A gentle smile curved her lips.
"Nina, time to wake up. Big sis brought you breakfast."
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, from the old wardrobe pushed against the wall, came a faint rustling sound.
Creeeak—
The wardrobe door opened just a sliver.
"Big sister Liza~"
The moment she saw who was standing there, the door swung fully open. The small child hiding inside jumped down and ran toward her.
"Shh."
Liza quickly set the tray aside. Pressing a finger to her lips, she bent down and caught Nina in a quiet embrace.
"Keep your voice down."
"Mm-hmm!"
Nina hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands, her wide eyes practically declaring that she wouldn't make another sound.
"That's right. As long as you stay quiet, it'll be fine. Come on, eat breakfast first."
Liza gently patted her head.
Isabella had been the one to tell her about this hiding place. How Blank managed to recruit a plot character like Isabella to his side was still a mystery to her, but she no longer cared about the details.
The key she used earlier had clearly been prepared long ago. Isabella said Eren and Nina had handed it to her together. The moment she recognized its shape, she understood. That very night, she had brought Nina to the unused storage room on the top floor and hidden her there.
If it weren't for the annual dormitory cleaning, the top-floor rooms were almost never entered. In many ways, it was the safest possible hiding spot. There was no need to worry about Nina's safety or health.
As expected of Blank.
Every contingency had already been arranged in advance.
That only strengthened Liza's resolve to take Blank as her master. Even if he showed no intention of accepting a disciple, she wouldn't give up. If becoming his apprentice wasn't possible yet, she would start with something simpler, becoming his friend.
"Big sister's expression looks strange."
The innocent remark from Nina snapped Liza out of her thoughts, leaving her momentarily embarrassed. But she quickly recovered.
Her heart was filled with hope and determination.
There was less than a week left until her "Shipping Day," yet she didn't feel fear. Even though Blank had never explicitly promised she wouldn't die, simply following his arrangements and acting according to plan each day was enough to calm her.
Was this what it meant to have someone to rely on?
In the end, it was because he was truly trustworthy.
"Nina, big sister has to go out now."
"Remember what I told you. Move quietly. Don't touch anything else in this room. No matter who comes, don't open the door and don't answer. Understood?"
"I understand, big sister."
After saying goodbye and locking the door behind her, Liza's expression turned serious.
There was still some time left on her skill duration, though not enough to reach the farm's central facility for intelligence gathering. So she would use the remaining window to continue investigating the hidden room inside Mama's quarters.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Isabella focused on building deeper trust with the other children. Even if they couldn't reveal the entire truth yet, preparations had to be made in advance. When the moment to escape arrived, there couldn't be hesitation or disagreement.
In the afternoons, during free activity time, new routines were quietly implemented. Arthur and Saeko Busujima took different groups of children into the forest each day. Under the guise of playing tag, they trained the children to run, change direction, and evade pursuit.
Isabella remained on the meadow, supervising the younger ones while discreetly keeping an eye on Mama. If anything unusual happened, she would find a way to alert the others.
At the same time, Liza made her way toward the farm's central facilities, using her skills to gather intelligence and secure useful items. Today, fortune favored her—she managed to obtain a detailed map of the surrounding area.
Thus, time in the Orphanage passed in slow, deliberate increments.
And before long, Liza, who had yet to deliver any truly critical intelligence, found herself on the brink of her "Shipping Day."
On the night before the shipment, Mama followed her usual routine and headed to the farm's center to submit the monthly report. This pattern had been discovered the previous month, and the report logs Liza retrieved confirmed it.
After Mama disappeared into the darkness with her oil lamp, the dormitory fell into silence.
Then, one by one, the children opened their eyes.
The older ones quietly lifted the youngest into their arms. No one spoke. No one cried.
The long-prepared plan...
The jailbreak had finally begun.