Triss's eyes barely flickered with a blue light, quickly sweeping past the man and the children before disappearing.
She slightly tilted her head and nodded to Karl, signaling that the other party was indeed telling the truth about "voluntary."
Karl was expressionless, took out a heavy money pouch from his hand, and tossed it casually.
The gaunt man hurriedly caught it and couldn't wait to untie the cord.
Peering inside, the gold Orens lay quietly, reflecting a tempting light in the torchlight.
An uncontrollable smile instantly bloomed on his face, and the corners of his mouth almost grinned up to his ears.
At that moment, Karl said indifferently: "Yes, there are one hundred and thirty-five Orens inside."
"Calculated at two Orens per person, the extra is considered a reward for your work."
He glanced over the group of nervous children and then looked back at the man: "Now, this is none of your business. You can leave."
The gaunt man nodded several times without the slightest hesitation.
He didn't dare to ask these two mysterious adults how they were going to take these sixty-seven children.
Years of experience at the bottom told him that sometimes the more you know, the faster you die, and he wanted to live a few more years.
However, just as he greeted his four companions and was about to leave, Karl and Triss were surprised.
He actually turned back, faced the group of bewildered children, raised his voice, and said with slight reproach: "Children, don't be afraid!"
"Listen, this lord is a great, benevolent aristocrat!"
"He's come for you to give you the opportunity to become guards and soldiers in the future, to be loyal to him!"
"Follow this lord; you won't have to worry about being hungry in the future, and you won't have to be afraid of freezing on the street in winter!"
"This is a good thing that many people can't even dream of! Be smart and obedient!"
With that, he and his four companions quickly left the alley and disappeared into the winding alleys of the slums, under the seemingly understanding and still panic-stricken eyes of the children.
Karl looked in the direction the man had disappeared, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.
He whispered to Triss: "This man is quite interesting; he still has a bit of unbroken conscience."
The other party's words saved him a lot of calming and explaining.
Triss also nodded slightly and said quietly: "I looked into his details beforehand. If he were a person who did a lot of evil, abducting and selling children, he wouldn't have even had the chance to stand here today."
Karl smiled and looked again at the group of yellow-skinned, skinny, frightened, and expectant children.
He put a smile on his face, trying to dispel their anxiety.
"Alright, children, everyone line up. Don't worry, be careful not to crowd, and don't step on those around you."
Then, under the amazed gazes of the children and Triss,
he raised his right hand and aimed it at the void beside him, and just as before, smoothly made a few circles.
A faint ZZZ sound, like electric welding, sounded again.
Following the trajectory of his fingertips, a few golden sparks of energy appeared from nowhere, quickly outlining a swirling circular outline.
A portal with a clear view of its interior, starting from the size of a fist, with gradual rotation, rapidly expanded its outer ring.
In the blink of an eye, a stable golden portal, large enough for three people to walk side by side, was formed.
On the other side of the portal, the scene of Terra's training ground was extremely clear.
You could even see the knights in training being drawn by this movement and gradually approaching the portal with looks of vigilance and curiosity.
Triss was again shocked by this spectacle, which contradicted her common sense of magic.
She stared intently at the portal, which was incredibly stable and allowed direct observation of the scene on the other side.
She looked again at the calm Karl, pressed her lips together, and a flicker of mixed feelings appeared in her eyes.
There were shock, admiration, and an indescribable loss.
She asked in a quiet voice, her words carrying a barely perceptible dryness: "Is this... also an ability you've mastered recently?"
Karl nodded slightly, acknowledging her guess.
He explained little and turned to the stunned children.
He said in an encouraging tone: "Come on, don't be afraid. The other side of the door is a safe place."
"There will be people there who will take care of you, give you food, and a warm shelter."
However, faced with this completely unknown and miraculous event,
the children's eyes were full of fear; they looked at each other, hesitant, and none dared to be the first to take this step.
At this impasse, on the other side of the portal, Dalton, having sensed Karl's presence, quickly approached.
He first looked at Karl and Triss, who had changed their appearances.
But, feeling the warm, sun-like breath, he immediately recognized Karl and cautiously called out: "Lord Karl?"
Seeing this, Karl withdrew his mind and canceled the camouflage covering himself and Triss, returning to their original appearances.
Dalton, seeing it was Karl, knew in his heart, and his gaze swept over the group of gaunt, anxious children before Karl.
He immediately understood that these were the orphans his lord had mentioned earlier, the ones to be taken in and raised.
With a friendly smile on his face, he took a few steps forward and approached the children.
He raised his hand, pressed it down, made an encouraging gesture, and shouted in the loudest, most encouraging voice: "Come on, children! Follow me!"
"Look at yourselves; you need to get cleaned up first."
"Then I'll have someone prepare some hot food for you! Definitely fill you up!"
Dalton's calm and clear words, especially the words "food" and "full," played a certain reassuring role.
Although still a bit restrained and scared under Dalton's leadership,
the children began to hesitantly, one by one, step through the golden portal and onto what might be the first real "home" of their lives.
When the last child passed through the portal, Karl's mind spun.
The energy sparks at the edge of the portal quickly flared up, suddenly contracted, dissipated, and finally completely vanished into the air.
Only a few scattered energy sparks were left to fall to the ground, like fireflies, quickly disappearing.
Triss looked at them thoughtfully; the gradually dissipating energy sparks sparked thoughts in her head.
When she was studying at Aretuza Academy, she was a genius praised by her instructors.
It had taken her just over ten years to graduate with honors and successfully become a royal court sorceress.
She was the best among sorcerers her age, and she had always been proud of this, but...