Volunteer Work (1)
Whenever she had free time, Emily made a habit of going out to do volunteer work.
The religion she followed taught that one should give freely to neighbors who went hungry and barefoot, and she took that doctrine to heart.
Even the day after the battle with the Duke's forces, she headed to the cathedral to serve. And so I found myself trailing after her, ending up at the cathedral as well.
I really don't want to do this.
I had never done volunteer work even in my original world. Having to do it after ending up here made me want to die. The thought of inventing some excuse and turning back right then crossed my mind, but I forced myself to endure it for the sake of raising her Affinity Level.
Hadn't just offering to help with her volunteer work already raised her favorability? Once this was done, there would be real progress.
Getting close to Emily in this body still feels wrong, but there's no helping it.
Being alone with Emily while wearing Hex's body sat poorly with me, yet there was a solid reason for it. Among the party members, she was the easiest one whose Affinity Level could be raised — and since she was already in a relationship with Kyle, there was no risk of her favorability developing in some strange direction.
On top of that, considering her class as a priestess, the special skill unlocked through her Affinity Level would almost certainly pair well with a tank like me.
"Welcome."
The cathedral priest beamed as he greeted Emily.
"Thank you, Priestess Emily. To take part in work like this even while on a journey to save the world… the Goddess will remember your devotion."
"It's only what I ought to do."
Emily spoke with the solemn piety of a saint who had spent her entire life for others. Once I would have taken that for her true nature without a second thought — but after watching her and Kyle go at it lately, I found myself wondering which side of her was the real one.
The priest, blissfully unaware of any of that, gazed at her with open admiration before finally noticing me. His expression turned dubious.
"And the gentleman behind you is…?"
The look in his eyes was far from friendly. It was the kind of stare that asked, What the hell is a thug like that doing here?
"This is Hex, my companion. He came with me today to help with the volunteer work."
Even after Emily's introduction, the priest's face didn't change. A guy like me showing up to do charity work was hard to swallow, no doubt. Still, with Emily — a fellow priestess and one chosen by the Goddess herself — vouching for me, he could hardly keep pressing the point.
With a look of reluctant acceptance, he moved past the subject of me and got down to the work itself.
"What I would like to ask of you, Priestess Emily, is the distribution of food to the people of the slums, and the healing of their ailments."
"Yes, of course."
Emily's eyes lit up as she answered. Relief work for the poor was the kind of service she loved most. People in the same circumstances she had known as a child — helping them brought her genuine joy.
The priest's expression, however, remained clouded.
"However…"
He hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with what he had to say, then steeled himself and spoke.
"The condition of the poor currently in this city is… not good."
"Not good? Do you mean their health?"
"No — their health is actually quite fine. That's rather the problem, though…"
Emily looked puzzled. She couldn't understand how being healthy could be a problem. I, on the other hand, had a pretty clear idea of what the priest was driving at.
So there are ex-criminals mixed in among them.
Emily believed that all people were fundamentally good, that anyone who received help would be grateful. Reality was nothing like that. Plenty of people treated kindness as their due, or worse, tried to exploit it. And this game world was especially bad for that sort of thing — a place crawling with rape and NTR triggers.
"The lord has stationed soldiers to maintain order, but the priests who come into direct contact with them are still exposed to violence and sexual harassment. That is why I had hoped to assign Priestess Emily something else…"
"I'm grateful for your concern, but we'll be fine."
"But…"
Despite the priest's worry, Emily answered with a serene face.
"There's a saying, isn't there? Even the deepest darkness vanishes before the faintest light."
Even the worst of men could be moved by pure goodwill. That was what she believed — and she turned to look at me.
"Right, Hex?"
"Of course. Trust me."
Emily smiled. She seemed to take my words as proof — after all, I myself was a successful case of rehabilitation. Naturally, that wasn't what I'd meant at all.
The second those bastards try anything funny, I'm killing every last one of them.
Thinking entirely different things, the two of us set off for the slums.
Hinji opened his eyes inside a shabby tent and, out of habit, spat a curse. He still hadn't gotten used to this life of sleeping rough.
Damn it. How long do I have to live like this?
He had once been the boss of a reasonably successful outfit. He'd managed to open a line of business with Multu, the famously wealthy merchant — selling him kidnapped people, handling Multu's dirty work, raking in serious money. Everything had been going up and up, until Multu's empire collapsed overnight.
Once Multu's crimes came to light — and worse, the fact that he had dealt with a demon — Hinji and his men were suddenly branded traitors to humanity, collaborators with a demon-worshipper. The lord of Aiden put a bounty on their heads, and the cathedral started hunting them too.
If they hadn't blown most of their remaining cash on a dark-alley teleportation circle, they would already be down in the cathedral dungeons, being "purified" by the inquisitors.
At least I've still got some money left. Find somewhere quiet and start over.
That was what Hinji was thinking when he narrowed his one remaining eye. In the corner, one of his men was polishing his head to a shine.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Heh heh! Today's the day the priests come from the cathedral, ain't it? Gotta look good beforehand."
"You lunatic."
Hinji snorted a laugh. Not that he couldn't understand how the man felt. Among the priestesses of the Goddess of Light's order, beauties were especially common — and with their trusting, naive natures, they made mouthwatering targets for criminals like them.
"More importantly, boss — how long are we supposed to keep living like this?"
At his subordinate's grumbling, Hinji scratched at his neck. He felt the same way.
"Well… looking at how things have been going lately, it might actually be a good opportunity…"
They had heard about the incident the day before. Some maniacs had started cutting people down in the streets and even set off magic, and the soldiers had been poured in to clean it up. A few days before that, the lord's own daughter had been attacked out on the open road. The whole city was in disarray. With fewer soldiers left to keep the peace, this was a gift from the heavens.
"So we're finally getting out of here?"
His men's eyes lit up. They had been playing beggar to dodge bounty hunters and inquisitors, but back when things were good they had spent every day with expensive booze and whores. They missed that life so badly they could hardly stand it. Hinji felt the same, so after a moment's thought he nodded.
"We leave today."
His men let out a cheer. The one still polishing his head spoke up, trailing off with a sly grin.
"Then, while we're at it…"
Hinji grinned right back. He had built up plenty of frustration during the long stretch of rough living himself.
"Yeah. We've been stuck with nothing but scrawny scraps this whole time. Today we treat ourselves properly."
"What about the laborers and beggars who come with them?"
"What kind of stupid question is that? Kill them all. Any of them with holes, we take turns."
Hinji and his men were still wearing those ugly smiles when someone burst in. It was the subordinate who, fired up by the talk, had gone out to check when the priests would arrive.
"Boss! People from the cathedral are here!"
Grinning, Hinji and his men stepped outside — not forgetting to tuck blades into their sleeves and coats.
Once outside, though, they couldn't help feeling disappointed. Only two people had come from the cathedral, and only one of them was a woman. Still, neither Hinji nor his men felt any real complaint. The priestess they had never seen before was extraordinarily beautiful.
That one's going to be real busy today.
Lust was already boiling up so hard it was difficult to hold back. His men were all but drooling as they stared at her too. There was just one thing that grated on the eyes.
Who the hell is that guy?
Some thug-looking bastard was planted solidly behind the priestess. The men muttered among themselves.
"That ain't the usual weakling who always comes."
"Some new guy the cathedral sent with her?"
"Look at that face. You telling me he works for a cathedral?"
Then someone said:
"Or maybe…"
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe she's already that guy's woman."
"His woman?"
Hinji scowled, and the subordinate hurried to explain.
"Y-you know how some of the priestesses are a bit dim, right? Maybe she's one of those, and that thug is playing house as her kept man."
"Hmm. Fair point."
Plenty of priests in the Order of Light got married, so it wasn't a wild idea. If that were the case, it was a shame she wouldn't be a virgin — but looks like hers would more than make up for the disappointment.
The conversation didn't get any further, though. The man's muscles were no joke. The subordinates shrank back and looked to Hinji.
"What do we do?"
As career criminals, Hinji and his men had a well-honed sense for people stronger than themselves. And that sense was screaming: this one was dangerous.
But the new priestess's beauty was simply too outstanding to just walk away from. Watching his men hesitate, Hinji thought it over.
He reeks of the underworld. Best not to mess with him…
If he had been alone, he would never have touched this opponent. No matter how much he liked women, he wasn't about to risk his life for one. But he was the boss of an organization. He knew full well that if he failed to deliver the reward he had promised his men just because the target looked strong, he could kiss their loyalty goodbye.
Hinji decided to take the risk.
"What do you mean, what do we do? We go through with it, obviously. Stick a blade in a guy's throat and even someone like that can't do a damn thing."
His men looked at him with admiration. Their gazes fed his confidence. That was right. Unless you could block a blade with pure muscle, nobody was invincible against steel.
Having steeled his resolve, Hinji looked at his two most reliable men.
"You and you. The second I stab him in the neck, turn his gut into a rag. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Understood, boss."
At their solid answers, Hinji gave the rest a look. As soon as the priestess and the thug began distributing food, his men casually blocked the road leading into the city — to stop anyone from fleeing toward town, or anyone from town coming this way.
Just kill that one guy and we're done.
The beggars were cripples, and the priestess was just a female. After receiving his share of the food, Hinji quietly slipped around behind them. The moment the man's gaze moved on to the next person in line, Hinji whipped out his blade and thrust it at the man's throat.
In the instant before the edge touched skin, Hinji was already certain of victory.
Got him!
But before he could even see the result, the sensation in his hand told him something had gone wrong.
What?
Whatever had happened, one thing was clear: the blade had not gone in.
Through Hinji's blank stare, he watched the thug slowly turn around. The man's fist was clenched.