Chapter 188

Continuing to walk through the Poor District while forcibly suppressing the chaotic emotions.

We soon reached an area within the Poor District where even fewer people were around, and the security was particularly bad.

“This is where people who are treated as the poorest of the poor live. Most of the people here are either suffering from severe illnesses that make it hard for them to leave their homes or have disabilities.”

“…I see.”

Upon arriving at the target location, Daria and Aila hardened their expressions and looked around.

The two unpacked the bundles they had brought from the church and took out items portioned for one person.

“…What is this?”

“Food and medicine to distribute to the people. Although it’s not expensive food or proper medicine, just flatbread made from flour mixed with water and dried common weeds, it’s still something these people desperately need.”

Saying this, Daria smiled awkwardly, as if apologizing for not being able to offer more.

“Food and medicine…?”

At that moment, a small doubt arose within me.

It was indeed suspicious that two people directly dispatched from the Holy Kingdom were engaging in volunteer work in the Poor District.

No, it was beyond suspicious—it didn’t make financial sense.

If they were nuns dispatched directly from the Holy Kingdom, they would likely be considered high-level personnel. Why would they be wandering the Poor District distributing food and medicine?

What reason would elite nuns from the Holy Kingdom have to do such a thing?

But what if their actions weren’t volunteer work?

What if, beneath the surface of what looked like volunteer work, there was some other ulterior motive?

In fantasy novels, isn’t it a cliché for suspicious cultists to distribute highly addictive food or medicine that mutates the bodies of those who consume it?

If so, then the suspicious thing would be…

The bundles containing the medicine and food.

Driven by that suspicion, I impulsively asked Daria to let me inspect the contents of the bundle.

“May I take a moment to check the bundle?”

“Mr. Kurt?”

Perhaps my question was too sudden, as it was Mari, not Daria, who let out a flustered sound.

Mari looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask why I was suddenly doing this.

But before Mari could say anything, Daria smiled and nodded.

“Of course, that’s fine.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

After receiving the bundle from Daria, I carefully sniffed the aroma of the flour flatbread inside.

As Daria had said, the flatbread seemed to be made purely from flour, as it only smelled of wheat.

Daria had smiled apologetically, as if sorry for only being able to offer such simple items, but the flatbread seemed to be made from mid-grade flour, as it didn’t have the musty smell of old flour.

The appearance and aroma were that of ordinary flour flatbread…

But there are things you can’t tell just by looking.

“Let me taste it for a moment.”

*Crunch*

The flatbread I chewed had no flavor, as if it was made solely to stave off hunger.

But what I was trying to sense wasn’t just the taste of the flatbread.

I used mana to heighten my senses, slowly examining the ingredients to see if there was anything else mixed in…

“…It’s just ordinary flour.”

But there were still the herbs left.

According to Daria and Aila, they were just dried weeds with minor medicinal properties, but there was no telling what kind of herbs might be mixed in.

After examining the herbs in the bundle…

“…They’re just ordinary weeds.”

They were truly ordinary weeds, with only slight effects like relieving stomachaches or reducing fever.

As a hunter, I had seen these kinds of weeds so often that I was sick of them.

They were just carefully dried and neatly prepared.

“That’s right. I wish we could offer something better, but I’m sorry we can’t.”

“…Mr. Kurt! What are you doing now?!”

At my words, Daria smiled bashfully, covering her cheek with one hand, while Mari blushed and protested, flustered by my sudden actions.

“Sorry. I just suddenly got curious about what kind of items the church distributes.”

“No, it’s me who should apologize for not being able to show you anything impressive.”

In the end, I had to admit that I had jumped to conclusions and returned the bundle.

After returning the bundle, I walked through the Poor District with Daria and Aila, distributing the divided items.

I definitely felt a sense of unease…

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After distributing the herbs and food in the Poor District, we returned to the church.

“Next, it’s time to play with the children. There’s nothing particularly dangerous inside the church, so you can just watch from a distance.”

“No, we can’t do that! We’ll play with them too!”

“Hmm. That’s right. Actually, despite how I look, I quite like children.”

“Feel free to use us as much as you want while we’re hired as your escorts!”

“Oh my… Thank you so much. Then, could I ask you to play with the children?”

“Of course!”

After returning from the Poor District, we spent time playing with the orphans without a moment’s rest.

But even then, I felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

It was something like a hunter’s intuition.

It felt as if the act of playing with the children was a facade to hide something else.

No, this is strange.

Why would a high-ranking priest dispatched from the Holy Kingdom bother to play with orphans?

Even if we assume that volunteering in the Poor District was necessary because those people needed the church’s help, playing with orphans isn’t something that needs to be done, right?

But suddenly, as I watched the two playing with the children, a suspicion crossed my mind.

Could it be…?

Come to think of it, in fantasy novels, it’s a cliché for cultists to kidnap children, brainwash them, and indoctrinate them with their teachings.

What if this act of playing with the children was a guise for ideological indoctrination?

With that thought, the image of the two playing with the children in the church, surrounded by black robes and tentacle decorations, suddenly felt eerie.

Feeling a chill, I immediately approached Aila, who was reading a book to the children.

“Mind if I join?”

“Eek!”

“Ah, ah…”

As the 2-meter-tall Lizardman approached, the children sitting next to Aila seemed frightened, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

If this was brainwashing disguised as play…

“Yes. What is it?”

“Reading that book looks fun. Can I join?”

“Of course.”

If they were conducting brainwashing, the most classic method would be using written materials like books.

As I approached, one of the children sitting next to Aila seemed scared and moved away, so I quickly took that spot.

Sitting next to Aila, I swiftly glanced at the contents of the book she was reading…

“…It’s just a regular fairy tale book, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. Many of the children here aren’t yet comfortable with reading, so we mainly use illustrated fairy tale books. Most of them are hand-copied because we don’t have the money for printed ones.”

“Ah, this is ‘The Ogre Princess and the Seven Goblins,’ isn’t it? It brings back memories. My mother used to read this to me a lot when I was young…”

At that moment, Karina, who had quietly approached, looked at the fairy tale book with a nostalgic expression.

“You know this book?”

“Of course. This book is famous across the entire continent.”

“Is that so…?”

It seemed that the books in this orphanage weren’t teaching the doctrines of the Black Tentacle Cult but were instead a collection of ordinary fairy tales famous across the continent.

And when they mentioned that most of these fairy tale books were hand-copied by nuns and priests because the church couldn’t afford to buy them, the three looked at the nuns and priests with deep respect.

What’s going on? Did I misjudge again?

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After that, time continued to flow as we escorted the two.

“Next, we need to go into the forest to gather herbs for people who were injured in monster attacks.”

“Gather herbs…?”

“Yes. Ideally, we’d like to just buy the herbs, but unfortunately, the church’s budget is limited. So, to save even a little money, we go into the forest to gather them ourselves.”

“A nun personally gathering herbs to care for patients…!”

“It’s truly a model behavior for all…!”

“If it’s about monster attacks, don’t worry! We’ll protect you!”

Once again, Daria declared that they would engage in volunteer work to help others.

And just like they had all day, the three were visibly moved by Daria’s words, looking at the two as if they were saints.

But at that moment, I felt a stronger sense of unease about their actions than ever before.

The vague sense of unease I had felt while escorting them now took on a logical form.

They’re gathering herbs themselves because they don’t have money?

But that was strange…

It was really strange.