chapter 20
20 – Revenge-3
“Is this really meaningful…”
When I saw the maid following me with bread baskets in both arms, I let out a sigh.
“Of course it makes sense!”
The maid smiled and followed me.
“Volunteering, that’s what I did.”
In a way, wouldn’t it be a kind of volunteer work that I’m just remaining here in a daze?
“It’s different from that! It’s just for fun!”
“enjoy it?”
“There are many noble things in the world, but not necessarily those who deserve the price of noble sacrifice benefit.”
“It can’t be helped.”
“Still, there is such a thing as efficiency.”
Perhaps because of meeting the archer, my heart was cold.
You may not be putting on a desirable face to meet young children.
“Service to aristocrats or royalty is really bad value for money. Even if you do hard work, they think it’s something they deserve and go their own way without saying thank you.”
“Is that something a maid can do?”
“Uh, anyway! While there are people who truly appreciate even a little help, even risking their lives to help, ‘Did I really have to make this sacrifice for this person?’ There are people who make you think.”
If you think of a maid in general, isn’t it a symbol of service and dedication?
Well, in reality, they’re also people, so they might have different goals, or maybe they’re swearing at each other from overwork.
“So, an orphanage…”
“You’ve been looking depressed lately. Let’s spend some healing time watching the cute kids!”
“…”
It wasn’t a sound intention.
-You are children abandoned by your parents, so you should be sincerely grateful for even such a small help.
-I’m the only one who cares about people like you, so of course you should look good to me and appreciate my donations.
Will service with that kind of heart become meaningful service?
“You don’t look very innocent.”
“Action! Action matters!”
“If you put it like that, this isn’t even my money in the first place.”
I don’t know how much money the imperial family spends in my name, but the maid tactfully bought things for me to donate to the orphanage.
“The emperor told the baron to give you ‘everything you need’? This is recognizing the baron’s credit, so after all, it’s right for the baron to donate!”
The maid’s footsteps stopped at an old building with a strange symbol.
“Is this an orphanage?”
“To be precise, it is the temple of Erinis.”
“I don’t think it’s good for the kids’ emotions.”
At first glance, I didn’t feel the beautiful glow or light that I felt when I saw the cathedral.
Small sculptures that felt a bit cruel were lined up in the yard.
It was a statue that looked like a god holding a spear stabbing a person, or something that was burning. And towards the end, the shape of the statue gradually became more and more crushed.
At the end of it, there was also a bizarre and shapeless statue of unknown meaning.
“What the hell is this?”
In my experience, the relics clearly made angels, goddesses, or even metaphysical forms.
It’s not just that clear statues are nice to look at.
Those who worship an evil god are afraid to directly see the god’s form, and even to carve it.
Besides, if a statue of an evil god was made openly, there would be no excuse when the Heretic Inquisitor came, so he would make a statue of a god whose shape could not be specified, as ambiguous and hideous as possible.
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Judging from the fact that the maid’s expression hadn’t changed, there was no doubt that this was where such a sculpture had originally been. I hate being caught up in an incident…
“It’s a goddess statue carved by the kids who go here! Isn’t it pretty?”
“Well, it could be.”
After hearing that, I looked at the sculpture again, and it seemed that I could vaguely feel the human form. The material of the statue was not made by carving hard stones, but it seemed to be made by hand-clumping mud that was found nearby.
“Now, take your turn and come out in a row. You mustn’t be rude.”
An old man with a white beard came out leading small children.
“thank you!”
It was just children.
Seeing more than 20 children bow their heads and express their gratitude to me was heartbreaking.
No one thanked me. Even though I endured and endured that hardship, and went through patience that is ridiculous even thinking about it now.
By the way, even with these few bread baskets that aren’t mine, these kids thank me.
“Thank you very much, Baron. Come inside and talk for a while.”
“…All right.”
Of course, that wouldn’t be their true intention. But that’s normal.
In the first place, if a child can properly express gratitude to someone he or she is seeing for the first time, then that child is mature.
The old man, who seemed to be the abbot or the priest of this place, looked quite stubborn. He would be patient enough to discipline even unruly children.
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“Thank you very much. I’m trying my best not to go hungry, but kids at that age are always hungry.”
“It’s the age to grow up…”
“Because the grudge caused by starvation is etched into the bones.”
It was a simple room, but there were still a few old torches hanging on the walls.
“Is that red-haired… god worshiped here?”
The old man smiled and looked at the torch with eyes full of respect.
“Yes, Erinis, Goddess of Vengeance. The God we serve.”
“The church manages to let it go.”
“They tend to treat everything other than the ‘goddess’ they serve as cults, but empires are different. If you serve a god and do good, I tend to let it go.”
“So you run an orphanage?”
The goddess of revenge and the orphanage didn’t suit her no matter how much she thought about it.
“No. Whether the Empire allows it or not, there are many who want revenge. Those who serve Erinis will not disappear.”
He rolled up his arm lightly, revealing a rough, crude tattoo with someone’s name on it. An X was engraved on it.
“I took refuge in Erinis and finished my revenge. It is my mission to reduce even one more resentment that will arise in the rest of my life and give his tired body a rest.”
“Isn’t the Goddess Church running a place like this?”
“No. They run an orphanage with a bigger and better facility. But there are some they don’t accept, and there are some they kick out. If you leave them as they are, the prostitutes and the criminals will take them, so they see an opportunity and bring them in.”
The old man handed over a red car. It was fishy, but it was a feeling that woke me up and opened my eyes.
“Because those seeking revenge, and their children, are more likely to be roaming the streets than blue blooded.”
Thinking so, it didn’t feel particularly strange for a priest who served the goddess of vengeance to run an orphanage.
“Fortunately, this demon king was defeated very quickly… I was relieved. If it took a year longer, food would be food and even space would not have been enough.”
“Is that helpful…”
“of course!”
Little by little, I felt better.
Because what I did wasn’t just meaningless. That patience, that hardship, in the end, was something that could save someone’s life.
If everyone else was wrong, I wasn’t wrong.
Maid was right. I was skeptical at first, but it wasn’t a bad place to unwind.
“Thank you for your hard work. Then, let’s go.”
As I was about to get up and leave feeling refreshed, the old man stopped me.
“Are you leaving already?”
“…Is there anything else I need to do?”
“Isn’t there something you want, you’re looking for this old man?”
The mood has changed.
Even though I’m not looking at him, I feel his fierce gaze. Instead of being a kind and obstinate old man, he is pictured in his mind as a priest of the God of Vengeance.
“No. It’s just that there’s bread left over…”
“He has sorrow and resentment in his heart.”
“Revenge… Well, I don’t have the need to do it, and I hope I don’t do it.”
I’m more important than that damn warrior party.
I really hate the warrior party to the point of trembling, but if I harm them right now, I will have to pretend to be the emperor. return is delayed
At the very least, even if I pierced the princess or the wizard right away with a knife, I had to look at her face and body for that moment. I hate even that.
Even that hatred is not more important than me.
“You are wise. Even Erinis said, ‘Not holding grudges is the best thing, and achieving revenge is the least evil.'”
The priestess of the Goddess of Vengeance stood tall, undisturbed by the sound of her breathing.
“But it is against justice to give up the vengeance that must be done, and it is to make the rest of one’s life suffer.”
It can’t be. First of all, I can’t remember them all that long.
“Forgiveness is a noble thing, but it must never be compromised, no matter what.”
The statue of vengeance, firmly formed with firm conviction, opened its mouth and spoke to me.