On the shores of Loch Lomond, the small town of Luss.
There used to be a quarry around the town, but of course it has been abandoned for decades.
For a long time, most of the town residents were descendants of past quarry workers. They lived a secluded life in this small town.
, maybe even the government will forget this place.
However, after Benitez built a church and orphanage in the town a few years ago, some subtle changes began to occur in the town.
Perhaps the children in the orphanage are a little naughty, but in the eyes of many townspeople, their appearance has also added a bit of vitality to the quiet and monotonous life of the small town in the past, especially the leader named Elena Kaslana
The child king is a little devil that people love and hate.
For example, she once secretly took away the explosives left in the mine and went to the lake to fry a lot of fish.
When the belatedly arrived Environmental Protection Association and the police arrived at the town, there were several lake fish hanging at the door of almost every house. A severe reprimand was naturally inevitable, but with the intercession of the townspeople, this
The matter finally ended with Elena being imprisoned for half a month.
In fact, when people saw the child who was struggling to support the orphanage with the priest, most people felt an unspeakable pity.
Not to mention, in addition to the occasional mischief, Elena also brought a lot of changes to the town...
Elena and Benitez are behind most of the new things that are gradually appearing in the town, such as the street lights, pipes, and compost piles.
Because of this, when everyone learned that Elena had been adopted and sent to a certain aristocratic boarding school, they were somewhat reluctant to part with them despite their blessings. The children in the orphanage seemed to have lost their backbone.
Became taciturn and introverted again.
Of course, people also know that it is obviously very lucky for the children in the orphanage to be adopted during the Great Depression.
The old man who called himself Apokalis was extremely generous. In addition to completely renovating the church and the orphanage, he even spent money to renovate the streets of the town and the roads leading to the outside. By the way, he also gave money to everyone in the town.
Each family sent several bacon sausages as an ancient aristocratic family from Austria. It can be said that Mr. Apokalis and his party perfectly interpreted the image of nobility in people's minds.
As for Elena?
At best, during the occasional chat after dinner, people would lament and say a few words about how lucky the child was.
At most, we can fantasize and discuss a few words about how to learn etiquette in the legendary aristocratic school, and what kind of well-educated and sensible upper-class lady Elena Kaslana will become in the future. There will be no more discussions. After all, the upper class
Society is too far away from them.
This is not surprising, human memory is always short and forgetful, especially the memory of strangers.
Compared to Elena, who has been away from the town for more than a year, the town residents talk more about the foreigners who have just moved here.
On the isolated shores of Loch Lomond, the "new townspeople" who have left their homes due to the drastic changes in Eastern Europe are the windows to the world in the eyes of the town residents.
As time goes by, most of the town residents gradually begin to forget about Elena Kaslana.
However, this obviously does not include the children in the orphanage who were raised by Elena.
"Father Benitez, you big liar!"
"So, sister Elena won't be back for Christmas this year?"
"That's right, you clearly said before that Sister Elena will come back to see us at Christmas."
"Cough, cough, cough, I was saying that Elena might come back, maybe."
In the main hall of the orphanage located at the end of the town, Benitez looked at the children surrounding him with a look of helplessness.
Ever since Elena became a wizard, the treatment in the orphanage has increased dramatically.
The first is the free three meals promised by Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Every morning, noon and evening, those mysterious "house elves" will deliver sumptuous dishes to the kitchen, and then Benitez will bring them to the table and announce the meal.
, the external explanation is of course the sponsorship of the Apokalis family.
Just by looking at the rosy and shiny faces of those children, you can tell how much they have changed in the past year or so.
In addition to the provision of three meals a day and even the renovation of the room, which is no less than that of a normal college dormitory, there are many invisible changes.
As the Queen of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Elena used a little trick to easily win the special benefit of free tuition from various surrounding schools for all her children. In this period of the Great Depression, anyone with children
The schools I am studying in have all received generous funding from the "Austrian Destiny Group" without exception. The only condition is that they must demonstrate the school's proper teaching quality and quality.
Or, to be more precise, when the Tianming Group conducts random inspections, they can get satisfactory answers from some orphans.
With all the explicit and implicit benefits, the future prospects of the children in the orphanage are much brighter than before.
However, as they gradually grow, another problem arises.
Everyone knows that these beautiful lives that seem like fairy tales now actually all come from Elena.
In the minds of many children, Father Benitez actually "sold" Elena to the Apokalis family in exchange for so much generous compensation. Even though adoption is quite common in orphanages, Elena
After all, Lina is different from others.
Therefore, Father Benitez was quite embarrassed every time he answered questions about Elena.
According to the previous agreement, he must strictly abide by the confidentiality agreement of wizards in the magical world and not disclose any information about that world.
This is not just because of keeping the promise, but more importantly, if something unexpected happens, no one knows whether several wizards will suddenly fall from the sky and wave their wands to erase their memories. This is not only to protect him, but also to protect him.
Those children.
"Okay, okay, have you done your Christmas prayers before dinner? Get ready to eat!"
Benitez raised his voice and looked seriously at the little guys who started making noise again.
Unlike the Anglican Church in England, which is the largest faction in Protestantism, Benitez belongs to the Roman Catholic Church.
Although he regards "priest" as a job most of the time, at least at Christmas time, some basic prayers and rituals must be adhered to. Catholicism is considered one of the several Christian sects in terms of Christmas doctrine.
The most rigorous and complicated one.
When Elena was still there, that girl would occasionally make a fuss and be willful for a while, but now these little guys don't have the courage.
As Benitez straightened his face, the group of little guys around him fell silent instantly.
Of course, it's just about being respectful in process and ceremony.
At the Christmas dinner, everyone prays in their hearts before eating and drinking.
This is somewhat similar to the New Year prayers during the Eastern New Year, or the wishes on birthdays. At this time, people will quietly review the past and pray for new good luck, but most of the time they usually do so silently.
Make a wish in your heart instead of...
"Sister Elena, come back quickly, Brown misses you so much"
"Sister Elena, I want to eat roast goose and juice"
"Sister Elena, I want to eat apple pie"
"Sister Elena, I think"
"..."
The corner of Benitez's mouth twitched and he looked around at the little guys at the dining table who were clasping their hands and talking casually.
It is obvious that even though Elena left the orphanage for more than a year, the traces she left here have not dissipated.
According to Catholic teachings, the Christmas dinner originally consisted of only water, wine, and bread. But since Elena brought out a large plate of grilled fish, roast goose, pies, apple juice and other things at this time a few years ago,
Everything is in chaos.
More importantly, as a priest, he had just finished a few black boxing matches, and his stomach growled loudest under the stimulation of the scent.
"Don't be ridiculous! This is a Christmas wish!"
Benitez frowned and said in a serious voice.
"You should at least have some long-term, seriously thought-out goals, instead of this..."
"But, Father Benitez, you said before that if we are obedient and study hard, then our wishes will be passed on to God for us to realize. In the past year, Brown has been obedient, and this is indeed the case.
Brown’s biggest wish right now.”
After Elena left, eleven-year-old Brown became the eldest of the children.
He turned his head to look at Benitez and explained with a serious face.
Immediately afterwards, Brown continued to put his hands together and began to make a wish.
"Sister Elena..."
"these wishes"
"Father Benitez, don't you want sister Elena to come back?"
At this moment, a timid voice said.
Benitez turned his head and met nine-year-old Al's green eyes like emerald gems.
"Maybe you didn't make a wish, so God didn't hear our voices. You are the priest of this church. People say you are the one who can communicate with heaven. If you are with us, then maybe Sister Elena
You’ll be back soon.”
"……How can it be"
Benitez looked feebly at the group of children around him, and finally sighed helplessly.
"Okay, okay, actually I also want Elena to come back. But... alas..."
It was the first time since Elena left that he truly felt the hardship of raising a child.
Many times, it is not just the care in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation, but those naive and sincere ideas that are the most difficult to refuse.
But on the other hand, Benitez knows better than anyone else the responsibility Elena bears in "that world".
Mr. Otto Apokalis told him a lot of things, and the summary was that Elena was learning how to become the Queen of Magic in the wizarding world, and what was even more outrageous was that she had even been named "
Fairy Queen".
From the former Soviet Union to London, UK, from Australia to New York, USA...
Elena has things to consider all over the world, and every decision she makes may affect the fate of tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of people.
Even if he only serves as the largest shareholder behind the scenes of the "Premier League", Benitez feels the pressure that is almost suffocating, let alone Elena.
Elena Kaslana, if it is true as Mr. Apokalis said, she is the chosen future Queen of the Magical World, then it is normal for her to be so busy. Even the British royal family, which has lost its real power, spends Christmas time
Most of them can't eat with peace of mind.
However, it’s better to be busy.
At least Elena can finally spread her wings and fly freely in the world, instead of being trapped in the backward and remote Scottish Highlands, accompanying him to worry about what the children will eat tomorrow, or who is bullied, who is sick, and who
I encountered an assignment that I didn’t understand.
"Well, I hope Elena can come back, at least next Christmas."
Under the gaze of all the little guys, Benitez said helplessly and shrugged.
As an adult, as a fraternity member, Benítez never believed in prayer.
If God is really useful, then it would not have been the brotherhood that took him in and allowed him to study and take exams to become a priest. He still remembers how he was ruthlessly treated by the church personnel in Spain when he was desperate.
expelled.
In fact, he very much agreed with what Elena said before.
There is no savior in this world, or everyone can be a savior.
And now Elena is trying to save the larger world. He should not and cannot become a burden to the child at this time.
Benitez retracted his thoughts that were gradually diverging, looked at the children around him, and his voice dropped slightly.
"That's it. Now can you eat? After eating, go back to your respective beds and sleep."
squeak
At this moment, the originally closed wooden door of the hall was suddenly pushed open.
Benitez subconsciously raised his head and looked at the door. All the rest of his voice was blocked in his throat and turned into a strange whine.
"Phew, I knew they were definitely still praying or something..."
Elena said proudly, behind her there were three little girls who were slightly taller than her.
She turned around and waved to the middle-aged man sitting not far away and the dumbfounded little guys.
"Merry Christmas! I heard all your wishes just now."