Chapter 109: The Lord is With Us (30)
Chapter 109: The Lord is With Us (30)
A short distance from the orphanage, in a small clearing, a group of people had gathered.
It was the adults of the orphanage, myself included. Led by Mr. Guildford, the group consisted of the Saintess, Yuren, Seniors Delphine and Elsie, and my close friends Seria, Celine, and Reto.
Including me, we were a party of nine. Furthermore, with the exception of Mr. Guildford, everyone was a student of the Academy whose skills had been thoroughly proven.
Even Mr. Guildford was a former mercenary who had once made a name for himself. To call us a group dispatched merely to solve an orphanage's problems felt like an overstatement.
If a staff member from the Academy’s Department of External Affairs had seen us, they might have been horrified at the blatant waste of manpower.
The continent was rife with incidents, and there were naturally many places in need of help. To deploy this many people to a single orphanage would surely make their stomachs churn.
Despite our numbers, I felt a lingering sense of unease.
According to the contents of the letter, even with a group this size, an incident might occur that would require us to put our lives on the line. From the mysterious boss beast to the strange behavior of the unknown monkey-like demonic beasts—the mysteries were piling up.
It was the reason I couldn't truly feel at ease.
However, no one else here seemed to share my anxiety.
If anything, everyone looked a bit excited. Celine approached me and poked me in the ribs, a beaming smile on her face.
"Ian, did you really take them all down yourself? All these demonic beasts?"
"…I told you, I did."
I didn't know how many times I'd heard that question already. Celine’s admiring gaze shifted toward a certain spot, and my eyes naturally followed.
There stood a wagon. Piled high in the back was a mountain of demonic beast carcasses.
They were the monkey-like demonic beasts. We had spent the morning recovering the thirteen beasts I had hunted during the night.
I had worried about an ambush during the recovery, but surprisingly, no such misfortune occurred. Thanks to that, the task of gathering the bodies went quite smoothly.
All that remained was to head to the city and sell them. They would fetch at least several hundred gold; even if only a portion of that went toward the orphanage's operating costs, it would be enough to sustain them for a while.
Everyone’s expressions were bright with the hope that they could finally escape that watery, pale porridge.
In truth, the problem could have been solved long ago if Seniors Delphine or Elsie had used their personal wealth, but unfortunately, using private funds during a request was forbidden.
If that were allowed, one could simply hire dozens of mercenaries to complete a request and still receive a grade. The regulation existed to prevent such loopholes.
However, funds earned through one's own efforts during the request were fair game. In other words, the proceeds from selling the thirteen demonic beasts I hunted last night could be used however we pleased.
Dietary habits occupy an important place in the quality of life. This was doubly true for young men and women in their twenties, whether they were engaged in mental or physical labor.
Celine was already debating with Reto about what to eat. She was passionately preaching her preferences to him.
"Then let's use this money to buy some demonic beast meat!"
"No, seriously, is your sense of taste okay? Why the hell would you eat that crap?"
Despite Reto’s incredulous reaction, Celine remained persistent. 'Demonic beast meat' was a delicacy that had recently begun to trend, popular among certain gourmets for its unique flavor and texture.
Of course, it was also an ingredient that people either loved or hated. Demonic beast meat—the name alone was enough to make most people recoil.
"Hmph, what do you know, Reto? Demonic beast meat is famous among the nobles these days!"
"It’s common for high society to gossip about eccentric tastes."
"N-No, it’s not! Your mind will change once you try it!"
Despite Celine’s fervent arguments, Reto remained indifferent. With a face that looked like he was listening to a dog bark, I let out a bitter smile.
It’s my money anyway, so what’s the point of you two arguing?
I wanted to say that, but I held back. Celine and Reto were practically my family, after all.
Eventually, Celine began to tug on my sleeve with a pout.
"I-Ian, you say something too! As a fellow member of the Demonic Beast Meat Squad!"
"I never joined such a suspicious organization."
Shot down by my blunt response, Celine’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. But it couldn't be helped.
Demonic beast meat was expensive. One only had to think about how much those carcasses would sell for to realize that.
Even if we spent all several hundred gold, there would be a limit to how much we could buy.
On the other hand, there were hundreds of mouths to feed at the orphanage. It would be a struggle even if we only bought the cheapest, highest-quality ingredients possible.
Celine probably wasn't being serious anyway.
She likely just wanted to show how excited she was by my achievement. Sometimes in human relationships, you only need to accept the intention behind the words.
Surprisingly, the one who comforted the dejected Celine was Mr. Guildford. He let out a hearty laugh and stroked his bushy white beard.
"Demonic beast meat… that’s a name I haven't heard in a long time. I used to eat it myself back in the day."
"…Huh? Didn't it only start trending recently?"
"I was a mercenary. When you don't want to starve to death, there are times you have to eat anything."
Celine’s expression stiffened at those words. It was an unexpectedly serious story. She gave a somewhat awkward smile and scratched her cheek.
To some, it was meat eaten for survival, yet here she was throwing a tantrum because she wanted to try it for fun. She had no defense if he thought she was being immature, whether she had been joking or not.
However, Mr. Guildford didn't show the slightest hint of such a thought. Instead, he simply maintained his benevolent smile.
"I remember being surprised by how delicious it was. I wondered if it was just because I was hungry at the time, but if I’d known it would become this popular, maybe I should have opened a demonic beast meat restaurant."
"…Wouldn't the children here be very sad if you had?"
"That’s true. Haha, my dream since I was young was always to be an orphanage director."
At Reto’s wry comment, Mr. Guildford chimed in agreement.
No matter how many times I saw him, he was a truly remarkable man. To care for orphans so sincerely—I had heard from the Saintess that Mr. Guildford himself was from an orphanage.
He was a man who understood the plight of an orphan, whom no one cared for, better than anyone. Perhaps that was why he was so attached to them.
The children followed him well, and he was a good man in many ways.
With those thoughts, I turned my gaze back toward the wagon.
Yuren was inspecting the demonic beast carcasses. He was trying to estimate roughly how much they would sell for.
Surprisingly, Yuren was well-versed in such matters. According to him, it was because he had handled all sorts of odd jobs since he was young.
Well, to serve that ill-tempered woman, he must have gone through a lot of trouble. A faint sense of pity welled in my eyes as I watched Yuren’s back.
It was then that Yuren, who had been examining the beasts intently for a while, spoke up.
"…Alright! We should get at least three hundred gold for this. Incredible, Ian. At this level, the Holy Knights should have been the ones stepping in."
A low whistle escaped Reto’s lips as he chatted with Mr. Guildford. It seemed the grade of the monkey-like demonic beasts was higher than expected.
Last time, the reward for subjugating ten wolf-like demonic beasts, including a high-ranking one, had been 70 gold.
But the thirteen monkey-like demonic beasts from last night were worth 300 gold. Even a rough calculation showed they were worth more than four times as much.
Considering those terrifying claws and their agility, it wasn't surprising. However, another mental stumbling block remained.
Generally, the stronger a demonic beast was, the more aggressively it hunted to expand its territory.
But the monkey-like demonic beasts hadn't done that. If anything, they were on the passive side compared to other beasts.
They only attacked those who trespassed into a specific area, even though they were capable of securing a much larger territory.
That question lingered stubbornly in my mind.
Regardless, Yuren was already in the driver's seat. He took hold of the reins. Having been tasked with disposing of the carcasses, he was set to head to the city alone.
He would likely have to stay in the city for at least a day or two, as he had to sell the bodies and then buy daily necessities to bring back.
Actually, there was one other person besides Yuren who was skilled in speech and negotiation.
That was Reto, but he had refused to accompany Yuren for the following reason:
"Why the hell should I go on a trip alone with another guy?"
Since he wasn't wrong, I had immediately accepted his reasoning. Since we couldn't send Reto alone without an escort, Yuren going by himself was the best option.
Yuren shared a final farewell with the Saintess. Then, as I approached to say goodbye, he whispered to me.
"…Take good care of my sister, Ian."
The only response I could give Yuren was a hollow laugh.
What an absurd thing to say. Why on earth should I have to look after that ill-tempered woman?
The Saintess seemed to feel the same way, as she let out a snort and spoke.
"Hmph, if anything, you should be asking me to take care of this—no, since Brother Ian and the other brothers and sisters are here, don't worry too much, Yuren. The Heavenly God will watch over us. Immanuel."
She had been so flabbergasted that she briefly dropped her facade. Of course, she hurriedly recovered before anyone could notice.
My dubious eyes turned toward the Saintess. In response, she shot back a sharp, piercing glare.
She was still a woman I didn't like. The only exception was that sinful body of hers. With that thought, my eyes inadvertently drifted toward the curves of her chest.
"…Where are you looking?"
"At your divine power pouches."
Such whispers were exchanged between the Saintess and me. Immediately after, I felt the Saintess give the flesh of my side a sharp, hard pinch.
I barely managed to suppress the urge to scream.
Trembling for a moment as I endured the pain, a pained whisper escaped my lips.
"I almost screamed…!"
"W-Who told you to say something like that? That’s—that’s sexual harassment, seriously!"
It was right as the Saintess and I were bickering like that.
Suddenly, both our mouths snapped shut. We felt a strange gaze from our surroundings.
Before we knew it, everyone’s eyes were fixed on us. Those eyes held a variety of emotions.
Distaste, disbelief, suspicion, and disapproval.
Leaving all those emotions behind, Yuren burst into a snicker.
"I guess I don't need to worry. Well then, I’m off. Immanuel!"
With those words, Yuren departed. And among those of us exchanging flustered glances, one woman caught my eye with a beaming smile.
It was Seria. Her aquamarine eyes were sunken deep, like the color of the abyss.
"…You two seem to get along very well."
It was a truly beautiful smile. However, an inexplicable chill ran down my spine, forcing the Saintess and me to lock eyes again.
Both the Saintess and I were breaking into a cold sweat.
It felt so unfair.