episode_0008

“Alright, let’s go.”

Finally done with everything in the village, the Hero Party began their journey to capture Alen.

“So… we’re going to a town called ‘Jouhalle’ first, right?”

“Yeah. I heard there’s someone called a saint there.”

“And there’s a rumor that he’s good-looking too.”

Some may deny it, but appearance is quite an important factor.

Even if two people perform the same actions, it’s inevitable to feel more favorably towards the more attractive one.

At least in Irene’s opinion, Alen belonged to the very handsome category, and within Irene, the rumored saint was confirmed to be Alen.

“But… are you okay with this?”

“What?”

Perplexed by Jenny’s sudden question, Irene asked back.

“Well… you used to dislike men. Even if it’s Alen, you’ll encounter many men during the journey…”

“…”

Irene pondered for a moment.

Then she realized.

It was somewhat uncomfortable, but it wasn’t as repulsive as before.

She had met many nobles of the empire in the capital, most of whom were male.

Of course, having the emperor’s hand on her shoulder felt as terrible as a bug.

“… Yeah. I think I’m okay now. As long as there’s no physical contact.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“Is it because of Alen?”

“Thanks to Alen.”

Jenny and Rebecca affirmed.

For somewhat treating her illness.

Showing that men weren’t just dreadful creatures.

Of course, it wasn’t an overnight change.

Initially, Alen didn’t even approach Irene, spending time doing trivial things during the early days of the Hero Party.

Yet, with Alen’s persistent dedication to his comrades, Irene also opened up and spent time with him like a true comrade.

“And then fell deeply for him.”

“Yeah.”

It was fun at first, but now those thoughts didn’t arise anymore.

“Just get together already!”

Jenny and Rebecca thought inwardly.

“Thank you!”

Upon arriving in the village, the first thing Alen did was use his gold coins to buy food.

With the purchased food, he went to where the poorest people gathered and distributed it to them.

That was the hypocrisy Alen was currently engaged in.

“Thank you so much. My child has been starving for days…”

“Thank you is unnecessary. It would be better for you to hurry and cook some soup for your child.”

“Thank you!”

Another villager thanked him and hurried off into the distance, leaving only a brief expression of gratitude due to their starving child.

Despite this, Alen didn’t blame them.

He only hoped that his hypocrisy would slightly improve their lives.

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“You will be blessed!”

“Ah… to have someone like this come to our village… Thank you!”

Smiling at each resident who offered their thanks, Alen continued to distribute the food.

As most people received their share, the square where Alen sat also quieted down.

Around that time, the girl he saw yesterday cautiously approached Alen.

“…”

“Are you just going to stare?”

“!”

As the girl tried to retreat in surprise, Alen quickly ran up and grabbed her.

“Eek…! I-I’m sorry!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying. What mistake did you make?”

Allen had been aware of the existence of this girl from the beginning.

He continued to gaze at the small girl who kept looking at him as he distributed food.

Despite the fact that there were many people around and she couldn’t come out, he guessed there must be a reason, so the girl’s frightened attitude did not surprise him.

“You didn’t come to receive food, did you?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t deserve food like this…”

“Take it.”

Not wanting to keep seeing the scared child, Allen simply smiled and offered the food.

The girl, dressed in ragged clothes, hesitated for a while if she should take it, then quickly grabbed the food and disappeared into the distance.

…

Without even a word of thanks, Allen’s eyes watching the girl running away in fear carried a very sad expression.

‘What crime could that little child have committed…’

Even as winter approached, the pitiful girl clad in tattered rags.

People around, as if she didn’t exist, either ignored her or sent her hateful glances.

Although she was at an age where she should only receive love, the girl lived in this village almost as if she were being abused.

While one might think the girl had done something wrong, Allen had seen the small horns growing on her head earlier.

‘Is she a demon hybrid.’

It was understandable why the villagers shunned her.

Although the Demon King had been subdued, the remnants of the demons were still a nuisance.

Moreover, no one had been spared from harm by the demons.

‘It might be better to watch over her a bit.’

He thought this was just his hypocrisy, but he couldn’t turn away from the small girl everyone else ignored.

He was a hypocrite who received praise for his charity towards those who had sinned, while the girl, who had done nothing wrong, was a pitiful child persecuted by people.

At least she might become a more beneficial presence in the world than himself.

‘This must be fate.’

***

“Is this ‘Juhalle’?”

“Well, according to the map, it seems so.”

“Indeed, people here seem lively.”

Even after Allen had left, laughter could still be heard in the village.

The party of warriors who had come through several villages to find this place had never encountered such a cheerful place before.

“It seems Allen is doing well.”

“…Seems like it.”

“Well, let’s find Allen quickly and give him a good scolding.”

“Do we really need to scold him?”

“He ran away without taking responsibility, so he should pay the price.”

Jenny said with a smirk.

Irene seemed a bit uneasy, but she also nodded slightly as she was not without anger.

“Then I’ll also…”

“…How about calming down first and looking for Allen?”

“Oh.”

“Oh.”

Rebecca interjected between Jenny and Irene, who were drinking kimchi soup together.

‘Will he still be around?’

While the two were hopeful, Rebecca made a rational judgment.

Since quite some time had passed, there was a good chance that Allen had headed elsewhere.

“…Should we start looking for him?”

Having said that, Rebecca held up a picture of Allen and called out to a passing villager.

“Excuse me. Have you seen someone who looks like this?”

“Huh? Isn’t this Saint Allen!”

!”

!”

As Irene expected, the rumored saint was indeed Allen.

At this fact, Irene’s heart gradually began to beat faster.

“As expected… we are this person’s colleagues. Do you think we can know where he is right now?”

…

The resident’s expression quickly turned gloomy.

The sight of the resident showing extreme changes in expression in a short moment left the Hero Party bewildered, but soon the resident spoke.

“Saint… has gone to perform good deeds elsewhere. We realized that holding onto them was our selfish desire.”

“… Did he not mention where he was going?”

“… No. He did not say.”

They thought they would meet Allen at last, but he had already left.

“For now, everyone stay calm. At least we have identified the village where he stayed, so it should be possible to predict his next destination.”

“… Okay.”

Despite Rebecca’s encouragement, Irene’s expression did not improve much.

‘Well, there’s nothing we can do.’

“Can you tell us what he did in this village?”

“Yes? But…”

Clang-

Rebecca placed a coin purse in the resident’s hand.

“I will tell you. You can take back the purse.”

?”

Rebecca was slightly surprised by the man’s unexpected attitude.

To refuse even when one could receive coins just for telling a story.

“We cannot accept payment for sharing stories about the Saint’s good deeds.”

…

At this point, the resident’s attitude was so firm that it seemed as if he had fallen into a cult.

Reluctantly, Rebecca decided to take Jenny and Irene to a suitable place to hear his story.