67. Saint (2)
67. Saint (2)
'Is that kid really that monster called a Creature?'
Viviant checked her Status Window again.
It clearly stated her race as Raksha, and explained that Raksha were Creatures.
She couldn't understand it at all.
The child named Stacey, who was right in front of Viviant's eyes, looked like a completely normal child to anyone.
Stacey had a bright expression, as if she had received a gift, having taken a chicken skewer from the child following behind her.
Stacey started walking toward the Eastern District with the unidentified child while eating the chicken skewer.
Viviant felt her head spinning.
The Status Window that had allowed her to survive in this place until now. The reliability of such a Status Window was 100%.
But for the first time, she couldn't believe that this child was the same kind of monster as the Ners Creature she had seen in the video.
Everything she did was just like a 10-year-old child.
A child whose information the Status Window wouldn't show, citing a grade, and a child the Status Window called a monster.
If the Status Window was telling the truth—of course it would be the truth, there was no way it could be a lie, but...!
<Stats>
Strength: 82
Durability: 56
Agility: 90
Stamina: 85
Mana: 100
Those stats of Stacey's were terrifyingly high.
She's one year old.
Usually, humans take their first steps at one year old. Yet, Stacey's stats were on par with, or even better than, veteran knights, S-rank adventurers, and even Knight Commanders.
Even compared to the Holy Knight who came with her right now, her stats were overwhelmingly better.
'Does that child not know she's a Creature? If so, why is a child like that—or is she acting? Or has she just been raised as a human?'
Viviant's head began to ache as too much incomprehensible information flooded in.
Viviant decided to follow where the children were headed for now.
The place the children arrived at was none other than the orphanage.
"Mom!"
The child named Stacey ran to a woman, calling her "Mom."
The woman naturally picked Stacey up and hugged her. To anyone, it looked like a very happy mother and daughter.
But this was clearly strange.
Because they couldn't be mother and daughter. Because the child named Stacey wasn't a human, but a monster.
'Don't tell me... did that monster Stacey eat the mother's daughter and Mimic her...!?'
It was a situation worth suspecting.
Thinking that everything she had done so far was just acting, Viviant immediately used her Status Window on that woman as well.
<Information>
Name: Gwen
Race: Human
Affiliated Nation: Padix
Affiliated Organization: -
Gender: Female (26)
Height/Weight: 169.2cm / 62.5kg
Alignment: Lawful Good
<Stats>
Strength: 20 (-70)
Durability: 6 (-70)
Agility: 23 (-70)
Stamina: 5 (-70)
Mana: 15 (-70)
<Unique Ability>
Mana Trace Detection
<Status>
Poisoned
Weakened
Postpartum Complications
'Gwen? That Gwen?'
She was the former Knight Commander of Medherun City, and she had heard she died during the last Ners raid.
The existence of Gwen herself was quite famous.
Being a woman in the position of Knight Commander, and her skills were said to be quite outstanding.
And that was something that couldn't help but be understood when looking at her stats.
Looking at the Status Window, her stats had decreased significantly due to various negative statuses, but calculating before the decrease, she had overwhelming stats.
'Strength 90, Durability 76, Agility 93, Stamina 75, Mana 95. The total stats alone exceed 400.'
Those are stats fitting for a Knight Commander. The only problem is that all those stats are in the negative.
'Don't tell me...'
Viviant immediately checked the Postpartum Complications.
<Postpartum Complications>
In the process of conceiving and giving birth to Stacey, a large amount of life force was lost, including mana, causing the physical stats to drop significantly.
'What the hell...'
It was Gwen who gave birth to that monster-like child.
'Why is Gwen, who was said to have died, in the orphanage? And hiding her appearance at that?'
Viviant knew Gwen's original appearance.
Pure white hair, pure white skin, and pure white armor like a Holy Knight's. Everyone looked up to Gwen for her wonderful figure that matched such armor.
But Gwen's appearance now was completely different.
Her hair wasn't pure white but closer to bleached, and her smooth, pure white skin had all disappeared, leaving only dry-looking skin and a body that had collapsed, devoid of all muscle.
Gwen was so severely ruined that it was understandable why people didn't realize it was her.
However, her expression was happier than anyone else's.
Seeing Gwen patting the monster child with a mother's smile, Viviant couldn't understand at all how to interpret the current situation.
'This is driving me crazy. Then, what on earth is that child's identity?'
Gwen and Stacey. The mother-daughter relationship between the two, and Gwen becoming weak after giving birth to a monster Creature—fine. Let's say that's understandable to some extent.
Then what is the identity of that black-haired child, whose name and age even the Status Window, which provides all this information, won't reveal?
Just as she started to feel a little scared.
Viviant saw that child being hugged by a woman wearing a maid outfit.
'Is she a domestic maid working at the orphanage?'
<Information>
Name: Amber
Race: Creature / Human
Affiliated Nation: Padix
Affiliated Organization: Adventurer Guild
Gender: Female (24)
Height/Weight: 167.5cm / 62.5kg
Alignment: Lawful Evil
<Stats>
Strength: 90 (+12)
Durability: 92 (+20)
Agility: 98 (+15)
Stamina: 90 (+35)
Mana: 43 (+5)
<Unique Ability>
Weakness Detection
<Status>
??
She wasn't just a human, but a Creature-Human. She confirmed what that meant.
<Creature / Human>
A human encroached upon by a Creature.
'This orphanage is dangerous. It's a dangerous place.'
Viviant immediately reached a conclusion.
Furthermore, the "??" in the status was also very ominous.
Viviant, who had come here to protect Medherun City after judging it to be in danger from the Ners that appeared in the Forbidden Forest, realized that things had become more complicated than she thought.
She already knew of the existence of the orphanage in the Eastern District slums.
Because the woman called the Saint in this city was right here in this orphanage.
How could she not be interested when there were rumors of a woman called a Saint during the Saintess Selection?
The Holy Kingdom considered the existence of that "Saint" to be very blasphemous.
However, she knew from rumors that she was a person with a truly kind heart.
In the place run by such a person, Creatures were already lurking one by one.
'I have to meet that person called the Saint.'
An orphanage where over 300 children were staying.
Because she didn't know when or how those monsters might go on a rampage, she had to inform them as quickly as possible that there were Creatures in the orphanage.
As soon as she confirmed the monsters entering the orphanage, Viviant looked around and walked toward the front of the orphanage.
And she checked everyone in the orphanage yard with her Status Window.
She didn't know if she should call it fortunate, but except for those monsters earlier, everyone else was a normal human.
Viviant made up her mind to enter the orphanage immediately.
She knew this action would put her in danger, but she wasn't going in without a plan.
Saint Candidate.
As she didn't hold this title for nothing, she was confident that she could perfectly protect herself if a fight broke out.
The problem was that it was only her own body.
The reason she said she would protect all the Holy Knights by casting shields on them when fighting the Ners was because the Holy Knights' protective gear was armor with high mana conductivity.
It was very difficult to protect young children with very low Stamina and Durability stats without any equipment.
The best method would be to bring her Holy Knights, but worried about the tragedy that might occur if those monsters attacked this orphanage in that short time, Viviant moved her feet to enter the orphanage.
"May I help you?"
An adventurer dispatched from the Adventurer Guild as a security guard for the orphanage stopped Viviant.
"I am Viviant, who came to Medherun City from the Holy Kingdom as a Saint Candidate."
Viviant showed the token she had received when she arrived in the city and met the Lord-nim.
"It really is the Lord-nim's token. Verified. What brings you to the orphanage?"
"I came because I want to meet Lea-nim, who is said to be here."
"The Saint—ah, you mean Lea-nim? You can go in and ask the person wearing the maid outfit."
"Thank you..."
Viviant bowed her head at the adventurer's words and entered the orphanage.
'Amber... The adventurer who is being encroached upon by a Creature. She was wearing a maid outfit.'
Viviant checked if the precious scroll she had brought just in case was safe in her pocket, and walked toward Amber, who was cleaning the chapel in the distance.