Unbelievable Betrayal (6)
Unbelievable Betrayal (6)
"Let go of that hand."
Nemesis's deeply lowered voice echoed through the cold air around her.
The eyes of the terrified children and the men worse than trash turned toward the owner of the voice.
"...What, you bitch?"
The short man who had been grabbing the girl's hair looked Nemesis up and down once and snorted.
As she got closer to the men, Nemesis caught a faint smell of alcohol at the tip of her nose.
The men, who seemed to be causing trouble under the influence of alcohol, didn't even recognize who Nemesis was when they saw her.
"By any chance, are you the guardian of these little bastards~?"
Licking their lips disgustingly, the men openly raised the corners of their mouths and approached Nemesis.
The men flaunted eyes that were utterly sinister and openly scanned the goddess's private parts.
"Fuck, this is completely top-tier stuff~?"
"If you're the guardian of these brats, then you'll have to take responsibility instead, keukeu."
The human scum approached Nemesis from front and back, letting out vile laughter.
Soon, one reached for her full chest, and the other reached for her firm backside.
But those dirty hands never reached their destination.
Ududuk!
Because Nemesis, without taking a single step, broke the men's arms right there.
"Uh, ugh?!"
"Ah, aaah!!"
As the arms that had tried to molest the beauty were suddenly twisted, loud screams burst from the men's mouths.
But Nemesis didn't listen long to the groans of those men.
She threw the thugs, who were twice her size, against a nearby wall just like that.
Kung!
"Keu, uk?!"
"Wha, what...?!"
Nemesis, who had been glaring with narrowed eyes at the men rolling pathetically on the ground, dusted off her hands.
Only then did the men, realizing something was seriously wrong, begin to scrutinize her face again.
"No, don't tell me—The Goddess of Vengeance?!"
"Your Excellency Nemesis...?!"
The faces of the two men, as if their drunkenness had flown away, turned pale white.
Realizing belatedly the identity of the woman they had tried to molest, without anyone being first, they both opened their eyes wide.
On the other hand, Nemesis, who didn't care at all about such reactions from the men, did not soften her sharp gaze.
"Get lost."
As the noble goddess, having placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist, muttered in a bleak voice.
The men, feeling a crisis to their lives, shivered with cold sweat.
"Of all people...!"
"Damn it!!"
The men, clutching their injured arms, began running away panting.
Nemesis stared at the two growing distant and felt a lingering regret that she hadn't completely broken their arms.
If it hadn't been a place where children were watching, she would have dislocated them to a level beyond repair.
"Th, thank you!"
The precarious situation somehow came to an end.
The boy who had safely overcome the crisis hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Nemesis.
When the boy bowed his head, the girl next to him also bowed her head in turn.
"I merely did what needed to be done, so you don't need to mind it."
Nemesis slowly stepped forward toward the children, cleared her throat, and spoke in a gentle voice.
Then the boy and girl, who had been holding their hands neatly at their navels, cautiously raised their heads again.
"Huljjeok."
The very next moment, the girl made a sad face as she saw something rolling on the ground.
It was the item that the short man had kicked and broken earlier.
"Don't cry. Crying makes you hungry."
"But......"
"We can make a new one later."
The boy wiped the girl's eyes with his sleeve and spoke warm words.
Then the girl buried her face in the chest of the boy who was slightly taller than her and sniffled.
Nemesis looked at the children and tilted her head slightly.
"By any chance, are all these items here made by you?"
"Yes, I made them one by one whenever I had time......"
Perhaps a bit embarrassed, the boy lowered his gaze slightly.
"Why were you selling these things on the street like this?"
"Because we needed money......"
The boy, clutching his very worn-out pants, continued in a small voice.
"We live in an orphanage with other family members. But lately the orphanage has been short on money, so the other family members are having a hard time. So I wanted to help a little......"
"We snuck out and have been selling them because we thought the adults would stop us if they found out."
The girl, who had stopped crying, added with bright, sparkling eyes.
Then the boy lightly scolded the girl, saying she should use polite speech to the goddess-nim.
After hearing the children's story, Nemesis finally roughly understood the situation.
'They came out early in the morning to sell mats by themselves because they wanted to contribute to the orphanage's finances.'
Even though their sales plan and skill seemed somewhat lacking, they seemed like very kind-hearted children.
"Take this."
Nemesis bent her knees to match eye level with the children and suddenly reached into the pocket of her hot pants.
And then what she pulled out was a small, brilliantly shining gem.
"Th, this is......?!"
"Use it to supplement the orphanage's finances."
The boy, who had unexpectedly received the gem, opened his eyes wide and couldn't hide his bewilderment.
In contrast, the girl, who seemed unaware of the value of the gem in the boy's hand, blinked and had a question mark over her head.
"I, I can't accept such a precious item! I can't be indebted any more to the goddess-nim......!"
"I'm not giving it for free."
Nemesis cut off the boy who was stubbornly refusing and spoke in a voice that felt gentle.
"I plan to make this Aronshied a peaceful and prosperous city, no less than the Lepodesia Great Forest or the Magic City Crezel, someday. When that time comes, earn money honestly and come to pay me back."
"Goddess-nim......"
"You are truly good children. Because innocent beings like you live in this city—no, on this continent—I hold no doubt in protecting this land. You are the true jewels of this world."
The goddess, with a faint smile, took the shining gem that had been placed on the boy's small hand and wrapped it with his fingers.
Then the boy, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion, wiped his eyes with his sleeve and opened his mouth, letting out a choked voice.
"Thank you! I will definitely, someday, return to repay the grace you have bestowed upon me today......!"
The boy, bowing deeply, repeatedly swore to Nemesis with a voice full of sincerity.
And then, he grabbed the hand of the girl next to him and ran energetically toward the opposite alley.
Nemesis, imprinting the receding backs of the children in her eyes, soon straightened her bent knees and stood up.
Soon after the children completely disappeared from view, she immediately turned her head and glared at a certain quiet corner.
"Come out now."
Nemesis, sending a warning toward the gaze that had been watching her all along.
Then the owner of the gaze, who had been hiding his/her presence, soon leisurely revealed himself/herself from around the corner.
"You seem to have become quite eloquent in the time we didn't see each other."
Athena, leaning her back against the wall, clapped lightly.
Nemesis narrowed her eyes and stared at the Goddess of War, who appeared without notice and threw a taunt.
She would have liked to just ignore her, but given their relationship, she couldn't.
"...What business?"
Nemesis asked bluntly, not hiding her brusque attitude.
"You never say you're glad to see me, even as a formality?"
"Were you and I ever that close?"
"What a sharp tongue......"
Athena lightly swept back her blue hair and twitched an eyebrow faintly.
In Athena's one hand was an unidentified something wrapped in a cloth.
Nemesis somehow found it distracting.
"Spare me a moment. I have something to discuss."
"Coming suddenly and being quite high-handed."
"I'll make it as short as possible. I don't have much free time either."
"If I refuse?"
At that moment, the cold air that had filled the street rippled like a shimmering heat haze.
In the eyes of the two goddesses glaring at each other, a deep enmity that was hard to express swirled.
As this unusual confrontation continued for a while, suddenly Athena threw something she had been holding in one hand toward Nemesis.
Deogureureu.
The thing that left Athena's hand hit the ground and rolled for a while.
Soon, the cloth wrapping its surface slipped off.
"......"
Nemesis stared fixedly at the contents of the cloth that had stopped at her feet for a while.
"...What's your scheme?"
"That's what I should be asking."
Athena, having thrown a bald head that hadn't started to rot yet, glared.
"Shut up and follow me quietly, traitor."