78. Cleric
“I’m going back tomorrow.”
This was the most pleasing thing I heard today.
It would have been better if this place I was listening to wasn’t a dark, secret room.
Even as the welfare of the back alleys improved, sleeping was all about a blanket on a hard floor.
Because of that, I didn’t even feel drowsy, and I could clearly hear her voice, which was lying about five spans away from me.
I responded.
As inconspicuously as possible,
I said something I didn’t even mean to say.
“It’s been a while since you went home, are you already going?”
Please go back.
Please. I pray like this.
“…Yes. I looked around and saw almost all the familiar faces.”
“I see.”
And, what she wanted to say even as she dragged me in.
It was probably this.
“Can’t you go together too?”
“…”
A short silence.
Once again, I was able to feel how special her back alley was to her.
Scarlett and I crossed the line of fire.
I also saved her,
She also saved my day.
This is a situation where human trust cannot be built.
But, nevertheless.
Even though I assured her that I wouldn’t do anything special here, she was anxious.
It’s just that Ivan has a ‘justice’ to do so.
Rather than saying it is unpleasant,
It came a little differently.
“Why are you rushing to return?”
She has a soft spot for her alley.
To the people who live here.
But, I felt something more.
I wanted to know that.
I cannot emphasize this enough,
Because mental care of disciples is important.
After a short silence, the answer came.
“The people here.”
“…”
“Not long ago, she didn’t know the color of her hair. They were all similar gray.”
Because she grew up here,
She remembers the back alleys of the past.
Hell without the support of the church.
“There is no water to drink, let alone wash. If they find even a piece of bread, they aim their blades at each other to claim it. If they fight to the point of blood, the bread is gone before they know it. Then they go to steal it again.”
I didn’t reply.
I just turn over to let you know that I am listening.
“Personally, I don’t believe in Arca. But the fact that this place has become like this. It’s like a miracle.”
“It’s a miracle achieved through ignorance.”
“Huh, that’s right.”
She smiled,
She didn’t speak for a while.
Still, I could tell.
When she left this place behind and entered Russell, what thoughts did she have through her life?
A soft bed where you can lie down at any time.
There is a private room where no one will interfere and you won’t be rushed.
When you turn on the water, water comes out.
You can buy bread when you go out.
The daily life that every student enjoys like breathing,
She must have approached her differently.
And at the same time.
Every time I experience happiness,
I guess I felt a strong sense of guilt.
It was a difficult situation to talk about, so I decided to just laugh it off on my own.
“So, she only ate that damn bread?”
“At least it tastes better here.”
“There is no such insult to a bakery.”
“Then make it well…”
The atmosphere became lighter, but
I had to say what I had to say.
“Do you think the people here were like that too?”
“……”
“If you fall while drunk and break your nose, will you wake up grumbling, “Ah! What if I fell on the well-paved path Scarlett was walking on!”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“I don’t know. There is nothing more foolish than living alone and tired.”
Like all places where people live,
The basis of success ultimately comes down to meritocracy.
She stood out here enough to be heard by the imperial family.
That’s why she was chosen and came to the academy.
Because Scarlett had her powers, she was saved,
The rest could not.
And, the most important thing.
The ‘rest of her’ she left behind was not something she sacrificed for her.
It’s just that no one has made more of an impression on the Empire than Scarlett.
“So, when you go back to Russell, don’t think about other things and just focus on the present. “If I had to personally recommend it, how about breaking the bread as the starting point for change?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“I was going to do that anyway. “The kids here eat better than me.”
Having such a private conversation with her,
It’s not the first time.
I was relieved to think that I had meaningfully corrected her direction this time.
And, information sneakily inserted into an emotionally charged atmosphere.
“Well, I think I’ll look into it for a few more days and then go back.”
I spoke in a nonchalant tone, but I did not care. Inside, I am saying ‘please’ over and over again.
Just like when she burned her report card as a child and made excuses to her mother,
I heard from her mouth, ‘Really? I prayed that the words ‘Then come with me’ wouldn’t come out.
And, she answered.
“Yes.”
It was proof that the trust built up was not in vain.
Rather than be more suspicious of me and bother me, she decided to just go back alone.
Great job, Scarlett.
I stood up with a relieved heart.
“Business is over, I’ll just leave.”
“What, aren’t you sleeping?”
“Because it’s more comfortable to stand.”
Let alone the quality of the blanket,
The floor here is quite cold and hard.
In order to greet the cleric who will come someday in perfect condition, I had to at least get a good nap.
I thought it would be better to sit in the hallway and doze off.
“…I don’t care.”
For some reason, Scarlett speaks in a low voice.
I guess it doesn’t matter to you. Sleeping on the street must have been a daily routine.
But that is not Ivan.
I left the room with a brief greeting.
One word stuck in my back.
“Thank you.”
Although she had a sense of guilt in her alley, this was Scarlett’s hometown nonetheless.
It was her duty of gratitude to me, who had no intention of doing anything about this place.
I couldn’t receive those words.
“See you in Russell.”
—
How long has it been since I roughly placed a chair in the corner of the hallway and sat down, dozing off and conserving my stamina?
Because I repeatedly took a light nap while maintaining alertness, I was able to sense someone’s presence even while I was sleeping.
I open my eyes and check who came to see me.
“Oh, good morning.”
“…Good morning.”
It was Pelia.
Even though we exchanged good morning greetings, it was still dark outside the window.
No, it might be morning.
There are no clocks in the back alleys,
Because it’s always dark here.
When I unconsciously looked at the room where Scarlett was, Felia snorted.
“It’s been a while since Scarlett came back.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“All the noble priests are like that, but Mr. Hyung is especially sociable. Really, even if you lay a plate on it, you’ll kick it-“
Shoot!
A sudden sound cut off her words.
A door somewhere in the hallway opened.
That’s definitely the room where the kids are.
Sure enough, the children rushed out.
Wow-
Children are like fish in water,
I ran down the stairs with a bright face like a puppy going for a walk.
When Felia saw that, she smiled.
“Mr. Priest, it looks like you woke up at just the right time.”
The window she silently pointed to.
Opening it, she takes her head out and takes a closer look at the front door below.
Children are gathered together like clouds,
One visitor standing in the center as if sticking out.
Black short hair, slender figure.
He was slightly shorter than Scarlett.
Its personality is so docile that it is difficult to even think about biting children.
“You came to see him, right?”
“…Yes. Yes.”
The owner of the stigma I came to kill.
He was a cleric.
The chattering of the children greeting the director could be heard up to here.
“Director’s sister! “Come one day early!”
“Huh? “What happened?”
“It’s not a bad thing! “It’s a good thing!”
Children with their arms wide open, busy expressing the size of yesterday’s supplies.
“The priest is here!”
“With bread the size of this!”
When the cleric heard those words, he raised his head,
Coincidentally, our eyes met.
“…Oh my, it’s true.”
She smiles brightly.
I jumped up and went downstairs.
Cleric and children opening the front door and entering.
Her children didn’t seem to want to leave her yet, but the cleric directly asked for them.
“Shall we play with Felia for a moment? “I need to talk to the priest.”
“Yes, Director!”
“Where is Felia?”
I answered for him.
“He is upstairs.”
“Thank you!”
Children rushing up the stairs.
She is finally alone.
The locations where stigma is assigned are different.
In her case, it was the side of her neck.
A thorn pattern that looks like it has torn open a circle and protruded from it. It also represented her original sin.
Jealousy.
The darkest feeling.
Her stigma was stronger than Velen’s.
It probably means that it has been fully manifested.
The cleric held out his hand.
“This is the first priest I’ve met. “I am a cleric who manages this place.”
“This is Evan.”
I bowed my head and said hello.
It was to avoid shaking hands.
Her ability is copy. In other words, ability replication.
The moment she touches her hand, she digs out everything about her opponent and reconstructs it as her own.
That’s why I instinctively avoided contact.
Actually, it wasn’t a big deal if it touched it.
Her greatest weakness is that it takes time to demonstrate her abilities.
In other words, it is very vulnerable to surprise attack.
“As I remember, it’s not yet time for the supplies to arrive. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing special. I’m here to take the kids. “The last ones didn’t last long.”
At my answer, her eyes narrow.
Because he was wearing a rank-and-file uniform, I thought he was just a low-ranking member who brought supplies, but judging from the way he spoke, he knew the ‘real purpose’ of the church.
What I will be playing now is not an ordinary low-ranking priest.
In order to create a psychological gap for her, we must first gain solid trust.
I am the same type as the priests who guard the temple in the back alleys here, who are already as corrupt as they can be.
It was a bluff put out to appeal to that point.
And, the answer that comes back.
“Oh my, you’re a rank priest, that’s amazing. “I guess you’re someone the leader particularly cares about?”
It worked.
I nodded her head, and she smiled.
“You can give as much as you want to the children. But, could you please wait a moment?”
No matter where or how I heard it, it was not something the orphanage director would say. This is her bare face.
Her hands were itching.
You are facing an opponent whose psychological resistance has disappeared, but it is a bit ambiguous to strangle him to death.
It doesn’t matter as long as there are orphans here,
The problem is that right upstairs, there is a demon who knows nothing about the world and is playing with the kids.
If you get caught,
Will it be possible to immediately overpower the revolutionary who is faster than Scarlett?
In order to secure time to think,
I just threw out some random words.
“Is there anything more important than this right now?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s something that’s very important to me personally.”
“What is that?”
“It’s about dealing with traitors.”
“Traitor?”
“I just heard it too. “If I don’t kill him right now, I think it will be difficult to promise the next time.”
With the words thrown out,
A big fish was caught.
So, there is a traitor in the Resistance now.
I have to go kill that guy.
“I definitely don’t plan on hanging it out on the street. “Is it an assassination?”
“Yes. I already have someone attached, and I’m planning on luring them to an empty house. All you have to do is wait there.”
Waiting for a traitor to enter an empty house.
So, what you mean is that you will enter the secret room on your own.
Then…
“I will go with you too.”
“Oh my.”
Let’s go together.
I really want to be with you.
She didn’t even know what I was thinking, but it seemed like she interpreted my suggestion as a twisted taste.
“Do you like looking at dirty things that much?”
“I guess it’s not a question you’re asking for an answer to.”
To die there,
Not a traitorous babbler.
“Then, shall we go together?”
It will be you.
