It wasn't long before the children of the orphanage began to awaken. Just as usual, after washing their face and rinsing their mouth, they obediently went to the dining room to wait for breakfast.
After being baptized through all the various surprises Alina had brought them over the years, these children were extremely capable of accepting this inordinately sumptuous breakfast.
After all, anyone who had been through that full-fish breakfast that could adequately feed fifty adult men would find many things much less impactful.
Benitez simply explained that this breakfast was provided by the generous Professor Dumbledore, upon which the children's curiosity immediately took priority over their food.
Cough, cough.
Alina stood up, placing her hands on the table and standing on tippy-toes. Clearing her throat, she began to softly guide the other children in expressing their thanks to Dumbledore.
"Before we begin eating, everyone must first thank the man sitting next to me, Professor Dumbledore. Because of his generous support, we can enjoy today's sumptuous breakfast."
As these children who were all less than ten years old earnestly voiced their thanks in childish voices, Dumbledore smiled. Just when he was prepared to speak...
"And it's not just for today."
The crisp voice of the silver-haired girl rang out in Dumbledore's ear.
"Professor Dumbledore has already agreed to provide all the breakfasts for the orphanage."
???
The old man's silver beard trembled, and the smile on his face went stiff. He looked in confusion at Alina.
"For real?!"
"Wow, that's great! Big Sis Alina is awesome."
"We can eat this kind of thing every day?"
Before Dumbledore could argue, the children erupted like cold water thrown onto hot oil.
"Ah? No..."
Caught off guard, Dumbledore showed a rare moment of panic and vigorously attempted to clarify the situation.
"Professor Dumbledore, if you find this problem, I can naturally continue to prepare breakfast for everyone each day, but this would be..."
Alina pulled on Dumbledore's sleeve with her left hand, intentionally or unintentionally, revealing the back of her hand to him as she softly spoke.
"...Just this once? And then you will focus on your studies."
Dumbledore did not directly refuse her, instead of raising an eyebrow and staring into Alina's eyes as he softly asked.
For Hogwarts, providing breakfast for a small orphanage with not even ten people was hardly a problem. After all, they were both located in the Scottish highlands and weren't very far from each other.
If this could put an end to any other requests from this restless girl, Dumbledore would find the exchange worth it.
"Just this once."
Seeing that Dumbledore was open to the idea, Alina forcefully nodded, her eyes going up and down as she shook Dumbledore's sleeve while speaking in a sickly sweet tone.
"If you can include lunch and dinner, I guarantee that I will obediently study and won't make any more requests. Pleaaaase~"
If not for today's reminder, she would have forgotten that once she went off to Hogwarts, the responsibility for the orphanage's three meals a day would have fallen on Benitez.
If the orphanage could freeload off of Hogwarts for its daily meals, Benitez would have much less pressure on his shoulders.
At the minimum, Benitez wouldn't have to secretly take part in illegal fights or do something even more dangerous for the sake of getting money.
This could be considered the last patch she would give for the orphanage.
"..."
Dumbledore said nothing, his azure eyes calmly examining the half-Veela girl as if wanting to peer into her heart and see what she was honestly thinking.
"If it's no good, I'll pay Hogwarts back for the orphanage's food costs."
After engaging in a stare-off with Dumbledore, Alina finally conceded ground.
A smile appeared on Dumbledore's lips, and after looking around at all the hopeful and eager eyes around him, he gave a slight nod and answered in a bright tone.
"That's right. And it's not just breakfast. Starting from today, we will be providing three meals a day for everyone."
"Okay, it's done. We'll end the discussion here."
After receiving Dumbledore's firm agreement, the silver-haired girl hastily affirmed the agreement and declared that the discussion was over.
Alina straightened her face and clapped her hands, looking around at the children who had gathered around the pair.
"Okay, okay. That's enough, thanks for now. Everyone, go back to your seats and eat."
"Oh—"
The scraping of chairs and the clinking of knives and forks against saucers resounded through the room.
The majority of children obediently followed Alina's orders and went back to their seats to eat.
But Bran, who was usually the most obedient to Alina's words, remained standing where he was, looking somewhat unhappily at Alina. Clenching his teeth, he gathered his courage and asked a question.
"Big Sister Alina, you're not abandoning us, are you? Are you not going to cook eggs for us anymore? Then I don't want to eat any of this..."
Unlike all the other children, who had been tempted by the fantastic breakfast, when that older man suddenly appeared, Bran suddenly felt that Alina was about to leave.
The dining room fell silent, all the other children turning to Alina.
"I..."
"Don't worry. Big Sister Alina is merely going to a nearby boarding school to study. During the holidays, she'll come back to see all of you."
While Dumbledore was hesitating, Benitez suddenly extended a hand and rubbed Alina's head, smiling as he explained to the children.
"Is that why you didn't open that letter?"
Bran, the ever-curious child of the orphanage, continued with his questions.
"Oh? What letter?"
Alina tilted her head in confusion, mumbling out her reply while eating a salted herring.
"Didn't you say that as long as you didn't open the letter, we could have Scottish Round-Faced Chicken stew every day?"
Plush! Cough! Cough!
Alina was suddenly taken by a fierce bout of coughing, at the same shooting an embarrassed glance at Dumbledore.
The distressed silver-haired girl looked around, snatched a piece of buttered toast, and crammed it into Bran's mouth.
"Enough! Focus on eating! No more talking!"
"Haha, Bran, you're so dumb!"
A somewhat older child, rejoicing in Bran's misfortune, patted him on the shoulder while also correcting him.
"Big Sister Alina said that those chickens all come over on their own from a chicken farm called Hogwarts. It has nothing to do with any letters."
Alina grew even more embarrassed as she took up a spin and rapped the older child on the face.
"You think you're so smart! Quiet down and eat! And today, your homework is double!"
After all, she had just extorted a long-term meal ticket for the orphanage from Dumbledore. To talk about this matter, a time like this was genuinely inappropriate.
Scottish Round-faced Chicken? They would keep coming as long as the letter wasn't opened? Hogwarts chicken farm?
Dumbledore turned his head and glanced at the silver-haired girl, a strange look on his face. It seemed that this half-Veela girl had done a lot of research to eat the school's owls.
Cough, cough, cough! "Professor Dumbledore, I'm done eating. I'll change clothes, and then we can head out!"
Alina swallowed the food she was eating and put down her knife and fork. Awkwardly and slightly impolitely chuckling, she flew out of the dining room and back to her room.