Chapter 60
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Holy Nation (4)
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“Eh?!”
Sena was startled upon suddenly seeing a girl clutching a corpse and crying. She had tried to stop her from rushing out earlier, but the child had grabbed the body without giving her a chance.
And soon, the girl began to sob, tears streaming down her face.
“Oppa… sob… Oppa…”
“…Yujin.”
She looked at Yujin with trembling eyes.
It was her first time seeing a child who had lost her family—and the gruesome corpse of that family. It was a scene too horrific to behold in one's right mind.
She gazed at Yujin, pitying the child, wanting to help somehow.
But he showed no reaction. Even if he wanted to help, there was no way to aid the girl.
“We have to… help her…”
“How?”
Revive the dead? Perhaps one of the legendary saintesses from history could, but she hadn't fully unlocked her own unique powers yet.
Or take responsibility and raise the girl? Provide a warm home and become a family in place of her dead brother?
“……”
Sena opened and closed her mouth speechlessly.
‘Judging by her appearance, her only family was this corpse… her brother.’
So what could be done now?
‘Offer appropriate comfort and quickly take measures to prevent more victims from this curse.’
That was it.
The problem was… it wasn't possible right now. We didn't know the exact symptoms, the cause, or anything.
Yujin picked out one of the onlookers and said,
“You there, go call the guards.”
“Y-yes…!”
He quietly approached the child. Sena belatedly followed, having realized she was powerless.
As the two approached, the crying girl looked up at Yujin with wary eyes.
“Wh-what are you, mister…”
“I'm not a mister.”
He extended his hand toward the highly guarded child. She flinched and squeezed her eyes shut, but soon felt a hand gently stroking her head and opened them wide in surprise.
Realizing Yujin wasn't a bad person—just someone trying to comfort her—she quietly wiped away her tears.
“This person… is your brother?”
“…Yes.”
“Any other family?”
“…No.”
“…I see.”
…As expected.
“…What's your name?”
“Ellie.”
“Okay, Ellie. It must be hard, but would it be alright if I asked about your brother?”
“Yujin…!”
Sena started to protest about questioning the child right after losing family, but he raised his hand to silence her.
Not because of anything else—this Ellie was looking at him with calm eyes, perhaps ones that had lost the will to live.
“…Why? Why are you curious? Are you going to mock me as an orphan like the others, mister?”
“No. I just hope no more people fall victim to this curse. And who knows—maybe someone spread it on purpose.”
It might be harsh words for a child.
But Yujin believed he had to say it now. What this child, stripped of her will to live, needed was a powerful emotion to keep going.
And that was surely vengeance.
Intense vengeance against the being that stole her brother's life.
“…Someone did this to oppa?”
He wanted her to live on—even if dirty and hard—rather than die hollow and empty.
Because no matter how filthy, living was better than death. Even if it hurt enough to want to die, enduring would bring hope in the end.
That was why he implanted the will to survive.
…
“High possibility.”
Demonic Energy was clearly emanating from the corpse. Whether natural or intentionally spread by someone, the mere detection of Demonic Energy meant it wasn't ordinary.
‘The Holy Nation has its problems too, it seems.’
They couldn't possibly be unaware that this so-called devil's curse carried Demonic Energy.
Ellie, who had been hanging her head and shedding tears, finally lifted it with resolute eyes.
“If I tell you, will you catch the one who did this to oppa?”
“Promise.”
…
Soon, Ellie began slowly recounting her brother's story—not his personality or life, but focused on his final actions, in a way that could help Yujin.
That alone showed how steely her resolve had become.
Even at her young age, she was holding back her emotions.
“Oppa went out to get food. Then he came back with clean bread and juice. We could never afford that normally. So I was curious—where did he get it?”
“……”
“He said a nun recently appeared in the slums, giving out food and drinks for free. He got it from her.”
Hmm.
“So I just let it go… sob… but two days ago, oppa disappeared. He said he'd go get more food and never came back. And then…”
Tears fell one by one from Ellie's eyes.
“…That's enough.”
“Hic… waaah…”
He gently embraced Ellie. An unpleasant smell rose from her, as if she hadn't bathed properly, but it didn't matter.
While patting her back, the guards arrived with priests in tow. Yujin slipped several bottles of holy water into Ellie's hand where others couldn't see, along with a modest amount of gold coins.
“M-mister?”
“Take it without others noticing. Use the holy water yourself or sell it, whatever.”
But if this child tried to sell holy water, people would question it. And if they learned she was an orphan without family…
“However, I don't recommend selling. Use it yourself and discard the bottles. This much gold should cover your living expenses for a few years.”
“……!!”
“Can you manage it without getting robbed?”
“…Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Think of it as shallow pity. Or… you don't want it?”
She shook her head vigorously.
Her eyes were filled with gratitude for the kindness and sorrow for her lost family.
“Good then. I hope you survive well, Ellie.”
“Yes…!”
He wasn't sure if she would, but he hoped her odds had improved at least.
That was all.
After that, he revealed his identity to the approaching guards and priests, ordering them to preserve the scene and handle the incident quietly.
He wasn't a high official in the Holy Nation, but he was an Imperial Duke. And beside him was the veiled Saintess, so they obeyed.
“…Yujin.”
“What.”
As they headed off to find the nun who had distributed the food, Sena called out from behind. He replied in an annoyed tone, of course.
“…You're warm.”
“What is.”
“You.”
“What did you expect me to do?”
“…I thought you'd just pass by indifferently and hurt the child.”
But no.
Even after learning all the rumors were fake, I'd unconsciously seen you as some irredeemable villain.
After misjudging you so many times and hurting you with my own assumptions, I went and repeated the mistake.
“…Sorry. Really, I'm sorry…”
“……”
He said nothing and quietly continued walking.
It would be a lie to say it didn't twist his gut, but seeing her crumbling gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.
Just… he hoped she regretted it more.
Walking aimlessly, they soon entered the deep slums.
And…
“That's…”
“Shh.”
They spotted the nun Ellie had mentioned—the one distributing food.
‘Master! That woman reeks of Demonic Energy…! Just like the corpse!’
‘Demonic Energy? Really?’
‘Yeah…! My senses are spot on! That gross feeling is coming from her!’
‘So she has Demonic Energy?’
‘…Um, no?’
‘?’
‘Just the smell of it.’
Just the smell?
So no Demonic Energy, but she'd been in contact with something that had it?
‘Now that you mention it, I'm not detecting any Demonic Energy either.’
But the unpleasant feeling was there.
She appeared to be a warm-hearted nun serving the slums…
‘But something's off.’
Yuseol and he shared the same senses. Leaving Sena to wait, he loosely covered his face with a robe and approached the nun.
The nun smiled warmly at the approaching Yujin.
“Would you like one, brother?”
The nun offered bread. It seemed like ordinary bread for now.
‘No tampering with the food.’
“…I'll pass. But I have a question.”
The nun looked puzzled.
“This place is dangerous, so priests rarely come. Why distribute bread here?”
“You must be questioning why I give out bread. But no need to worry, brother. It's purely out of goodwill—I just want to help these unfortunate brothers.”
Genuine goodwill radiated from her.
“…Even with the risk to your safety?”
“People ask that often, but my answer never changes. My safety isn't important. What's important is that these brothers need help and salvation, and I want to aid them.”
She smiled brightly.
“Have your questions been resolved?”
“…Sorry for the rudeness upon first meeting.”
He gave a slight bow to the nun and withdrew. On the surface, she was just a priest with stronger faith and initiative than most.
Of course, that didn't mean he dropped his guard.
The nun resumed her warm smile, distributing bread orderly to the slum dwellers.
Returning to Sena and watching covertly, Yujin asked Yuseol,
‘Yuseol. Can you sneak into her shadow?’
‘Yeah, master. I can.’
With that, Yuseol slipped secretly into the nun's shadow.