Chapter 589

She’s an orphan who came to live at the Alms House.

As much as Leon wanted to tell the Administrator Matron this, he reconsidered since it sounded a bit too out of Hades, so he rephrased:

“She’s a sort of probationary member of our Bureau. She’s here with me to rent a place.”

“Ah, I see…”

The Administrator Matron nodded understandingly but couldn’t help furrowing her eyebrows and asked in confusion:

“This child… she looks only twelve or thirteen? Does your Bureau hire child labor?”

“No, she has looked like this for the past ten years. If you calculate properly, she should be around twenty-three or twenty-four now.”

“But how could she…”

“Hmm… She had a severe illness ten years ago, so she hasn’t changed since.”

Ten years sick? And stayed the same ever since? The Administrator Matron paused, then whispered as if suddenly realizing something:

“Could she have… what’s it called… Dwarfism?”

“Ahh, yes yes! That’s exactly it!”

After grabbing the small hands that were stealthily pinching his sides from behind the Jade-eyed Maiden, Leon continued his fabrication without missing a beat:

“It might be genetic or something, I don’t really understand these matters. Anyway, she just doesn’t grow taller… Auntie Mary, Phelia prefers quiet. Could you arrange a room for her on the sixth floor?”

“Ah, sure.”

The Administrator Matron nodded upon hearing this, then flipped through the tenant records before asking:

“On the sixth floor, quiet, not facing the street… There’s only one large room left with a monthly rent of 12 silver wheels. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes!”

Leon decided for the Jade-eyed Maiden and turned back to explain to Phelia: “Don’t worry, I’ll be staying here too. I know the situation at Happiness Apartment well. The facilities might be a bit old, but everything necessary is there, and cleanliness is impeccable… Oh, Auntie Mary.”

At this point, Leon turned back somewhat sheepishly and said: “Phelia’s family suffered a disaster. Someone set fire to her house, burning all her savings, furniture, and house. So she doesn’t have much money right now. The rent might need to be paid half a month later.”

“Ah, I see, that’s why she’s looking for a place at such an odd time.”

Upon hearing about the “dwarf girl’s” situation, the Administrator Matron sighed sympathetically, glanced compassionately at Phelia who was both disabled yet resilient and had suffered calamity, then softly said: “No problem, Auntie will vouch for you. Child, just stay here first. Don’t worry about delayed payments; just start paying next month!”

“Th… thank you…”

“Oh, don’t mention it! Life isn’t easy for anyone. We should help each other when we can.”

Seemingly having triggered the Administrator Matron’s innate compassion due to being labeled with “suffering from a serious condition,” “family disaster,” “poverty-stricken,” and “struggling to survive,” while also being cute and delicate, the sympathy index for the Jade-eyed Maiden soared even higher.

After completing Phelia’s check-in, she led Leon and the others upstairs while consoling them kindly:

“Child, don’t worry. There’s no obstacle in life that can’t be overcome. As long as we don’t give up hope, things will get better eventually. I’m always in the duty room, so feel free to ask for help anytime… By the way, do you have any other family members?”

“Does he have a place to stay? If not, he can come over too. Your big room has plenty of empty space, accommodating two or three people is no issue…”

“Cough cough!”

Leon cleared his throat forcefully, interrupting the Administrator Matron, and whispered: “The fire I mentioned earlier… was set by her own brother…”

“Ah zhe…”

Upon hearing Leon’s words, the Administrator Matron struggled to hold back her emotions, then secretly turned her head and, out of sight of the Jade-eyed Maiden, mouthed:

‘Why? How could someone set fire to their own home?’

“Uh, I don’t understand his motives either.”

While answering with his mouth, Leon pointed at his head, then made a helpless expression on his face.

Oh, her brother must have brain issues! Understanding Leon’s hint, the Administrator Matron’s sympathy for the adorable “little” girl behind her rose another level. Meanwhile, Phelia, who witnessed all the exchanges between her and Leon, was fuming.

You scoundrel! You’re the dwarf! Your brother’s the one with mental problems! Overcome with anger, Phelia completely forgot her fear of Leon and started climbing the stairs with her short legs, huffing and puffing, while simultaneously pinching Leon’s thighs fiercely.

Without giving a damn about her attacks, which were akin to tickling him, Leon continued walking steadily. When he noticed she was tired after reaching the fifth floor, he picked her up and carried her directly to the sixth floor.

“Here, this is the room I mentioned earlier.”

Watching Leon earnestly helping his ailing colleague behind her, and Phelia, who seemed stubborn and determined to climb the stairs herself despite her condition, the Administrator Matron couldn’t help but smile satisfactorily. She handed the keys to Leon and shyly requested: “Could you introduce the rest to this child? It seems someone came to the first floor just now. Since the old man isn’t here, I need to check it out.”

“Sure thing, leave it to me!”

After taking the key and watching the Administrator Matron rush downstairs, Leon quickly handed the keys to Phelia before she exploded, then pushed her into the room.

“You scoundrel…”

“This is your room… alright, I’ve finished introducing everything. Remember to report to the Bureau at seven tomorrow morning. See ya.”

After finishing what could be described less as perfunctory and more as not even bothering to be perfunctory, Leon ignored Phelia’s roar from inside the room and directly utilized the soul vision of the Black Goat to glance at his own home.

Empty.

That’s right, at this time, William, Melanie, and Little Elie should still be in school, probably not returning until the afternoon. And since Anna wasn’t helping Auntie Mary, she must be out shopping.

According to her shopping habits, after buying things, she likely won’t detour home but instead wait outside Naval Bridge Public School to pick up William and the others, so they would return together in about three to four hours.

Since that’s the case… Might as well review the probationary recruits? After calculating his idle time, Leon didn’t go home but directly took out the form the Red-haired Bureau Director had given him earlier and began flipping through it one by one.

Considering he had three and a half hours, he needed to reserve half an hour for cleanup, plus the time required for evaluating new recruits, so it would be best to find someone within an hour’s distance from Bridge Street…

Hmm? Wait a moment, there are actually tenants from Happiness Apartment on this evaluation form?

(End of Chapter)