Volunteer Service (2)
When we arrived at the slums, I couldn't help but scowl.
One-eyed men, bald heads, and other shifty-looking types were mixed in among the poor in no small number.
These bastards aren't even trying to hide what they are.
How was anyone supposed to look at that lot and call them destitute civilians? They were criminals who'd gone to seed after living on the run. And the way their eyes lingered on Emily sat even worse with me.
Part of me wanted to act like the old Hex and drive them off then and there—but…
"All right. Let's start with the food distribution."
"Understood."
This was volunteer work meant to raise Emily's affinity, so I held myself back. Kicking people out just because I didn't like the look in their eyes was something Emily would never allow.
Even so, the unease wouldn't leave me. The way they traded glances and prowled around felt like something was about to go wrong.
These bastards are going to pull something.
And sure enough, they did.
The one-eyed bastard came at me from behind without warning and drove a knife into my back.
What the—
I jolted as cold steel pressed against my body with no lead-up at all. Until now, whenever a surprise attack came my way, I'd always felt a prickling sensation beforehand—but this one had given me nothing. Probably because this body hadn't registered the man as a threat in the slightest.
That didn't mean I was any less annoyed.
"…"
When I turned without a word, the blank look on his face slowly drained into pure horror.
Yeah. Finding out your knife won't go into a person would tend to do that.
I took a step toward him. He scrambled backward, then shouted in a panic.
"St…stab him! Hurry up and stab him!"
No one answered that desperate cry. If anything, they averted their eyes and pretended they had nothing to do with him.
The man's face went bone-white. He started trembling all over. Pity stirred for a second—watching a grown man reduced to that was a sorry sight—but…
Not a chance.
I had no intention of letting him off. This was the same bastard who'd tried to knife me in the back. Far more vicious than I'd expected.
What do I do with this piece of trash?
I wanted nothing more than to put a fist through him, but the goblin incident had taught me that was a bad idea. Pulling a fatality in a place this crowded would drive Hex's already rock-bottom reputation straight through the floor. And since we'd come here to raise Emily's affinity, that was off the table. The Church of Light held human life as its highest value—murder was the one thing they would never forgive.
I thought it over for a moment, then made my decision.
"Fine. I'll settle for breaking your arms."
"Eek!"
I was still deciding between the left and the right when—
"Hex, what's going on?"
Emily walked over with a puzzled look. She'd finished handing out food to the ones who couldn't move and come back.
"He…Hex?"
The moment my name left her mouth, the air froze solid. The one-eyed man and every other criminal-looking type nearby stared at me as if they couldn't believe their ears. They'd figured out we were part of the Hero's party.
Once I explained the situation, Emily turned to me with a look of pure shock and started checking me over.
"The place you were stabbed—is it all right!? You're not hurt, are you?"
"Hey. Back off."
Treatment or not, an unmarried woman putting her hands on another man's body was not happening. I'd have to give her another lecture on that later. For now, I still had to figure out what to do with these scum.
Using violence in front of Emily feels wrong, though.
Maybe he caught something in my eyes. The man rolled his one remaining eyeball around frantically, then lit up the second he looked at Emily. He'd clearly realized she was his only lifeline, because he threw himself down and started begging her.
"Priestess, please spare me!"
Since the Church of Light prized human life above all else, he must have figured that clinging to Emily would get him out of my hands. Sharp little bastard.
I strode toward him, intending to snap his arms before soft-hearted Emily could forgive him. She stopped me.
"Hex, don't."
"You're not seriously telling me to forgive the guy who stabbed me, are you?"
Affinity or no affinity, that was where I drew the line.
Emily shook her head.
"Punishing criminals is the lord's authority. As long as we're guests here, we have to consider Lord Beyond's position."
That caught me off guard. I'd expected flower-brained Emily to say something like, "If he truly repents, he can become a new man."
The one-eyed man looked just as stunned. He stared at her in disbelief.
"P-Priestess!"
The only rope he'd thought could save him showed no sign of shielding him, and the panic set in hard. He cried out desperately.
"Please spare me!"
Emily sat down in front of him and spoke.
"I don't know your past. I don't know what kind of life you've lived, or how great a sin you've committed. But as a priestess who serves the Goddess of Light, I can tell you this—no matter what sins you carry, the Goddess will love you without change. However…"
I looked at Emily's face and nearly jumped. That pure, gentle girl was wearing a cold expression for the first time since I'd met her.
"As a human being—I simply cannot forgive someone who attacked my comrade."
The moment the words left her mouth, a system window appeared.
Affinity Level with Emily has risen to Lv. 3
Special Skill Devotion is now available
Not long after, a patrol of guards from nearby took the criminals into custody. Rooting out the ones who'd been hiding among the poor wasn't difficult. Their appearances had already given them away, and the residents themselves were more than willing to help.
"Thank you, milord."
They thanked us with tears in their eyes. Whatever these bastards had put them through, it clearly hadn't been minor. When an old man took my hand and poured out his gratitude, I turned my head in embarrassment.
"Ahem."
How long had it been since this body had received thanks like that? The first time since I'd rescued that little girl from the goblins, maybe? I was so awkward I couldn't even keep my face straight, and Emily watched me with a small smile.
"Well? Doesn't it feel good?"
"Hmph. Not half bad."
Emily smiled—not the smile she showed everyone, but the one she reserved for a precious comrade.
When Beyond heard that the criminals had been turned over, he looked thoroughly pleased.
"It seems I keep receiving nothing but help from you lot."
He was far too happy for a man who'd simply had a few city criminals rounded up. Apparently the ones we'd caught were worth more than I'd thought. From what I gathered, both the neighboring city of Aiden and the cathedral wanted them in custody, so Beyond was enjoying a pleasant little dilemma over who to hand them to.
"Take this for now."
"This is…?"
"The bounties that were on their heads. You can't very well travel all the way to Aiden to collect, so I'll pay them out myself."
A courtesy from Beyond, considering we were mid-adventure. I stared at the money for a moment, then spoke.
"I'd like you to use this money for the people of the slums."
Beyond and Emily both looked startled. Even with my affinity relatively high, enough of Hex's evil disposition still clung to me that the choice must have seemed completely out of character.
Of course, it had nothing to do with any sense of justice or pity for the poor. It was purely to raise Emily's affinity.
They really weren't worth much, huh.
The bounty being underwhelming played a part too. In the past I would have scraped together every last coin no matter how small, but our party was flush with funds these days. Pocket change like this was more than worth spending on affinity farming.
"Hex…!"
"Splendid."
Just as planned—Emily and Beyond both looked at me with genuine emotion.
"Emily, you're fine with that too?"
"Yes! Of course I am."
With the matter settled that way, Beyond handed the money to Emily.
"In that case, Miss Emily—I'd like to donate this to the cathedral."
"Donate it?"
"Indeed. It will be far more effective to aid them through the cathedral than for me to spend the money myself."
This city was ruled by the Agra family, a great house of magic, so the Church's influence wasn't particularly strong here. Even so, maintaining good relations with the cathedral inside the city walls was useful to Beyond as lord in any number of ways. And doing it through Emily—who was practically a living symbol of the Church—made the picture even prettier. There was politics mixed in, sure, but it wasn't a bad thing.
Beyond and Emily headed for the cathedral, and I made my way back to my room, satisfied with the day's results—until I spotted someone sitting in the distance.
It was Layla.
"What are you doing out he—"
I never finished the sentence. The dazed look on Layla's face vanished the moment she saw me, and her cheeks flushed red.
Layla's body was burning up.
She'd heard that Galatea—her idol—had appeared in the city the day before.
If I miss this chance, who knows when the next one will come.
Galatea was also the guardian of the wandering gypsies who roamed the continent. Miss this, and Layla might end up chasing her trail across the entire land. So she decided to ask Mela for help. A guide as skilled as Mela ought to be able to track Galatea's movements.
Layla went to Mela's room and knocked on the door.
"Mela, do you have a minute?"
No answer came. Layla tilted her head. She'd already confirmed with detection magic that Mela was inside.
"Mela?"
She knocked a few more times—then noticed the door was slightly ajar.
Layla should never have opened that door.