Chapter 210

Chapter 210

I started to head upstairs. The son of Vanmon lord and the soldiers saw us then bowed to us in surprise.

“Oh, oh my God! S, saintess!”

I was caught off guard for a moment, as the men inside the inn appeared to recognize me, despite my having given them no prior indication of my arrival.

Suddenly, a man at the back of the room waved in greeting, and a middle-aged fellow emerged from the shadows, bowing low in respect.

“T, thank you for saving me then!”

“You are…?”

“Adman was at Baros estate. He said he heard your speech at the front row.”

It seemed like one of the war prisoners that we let go was here.

“That’s good, this should be a short chat.”

Ravis smiled kindly, walked into the room and let their guard down.

I quickly checked their status first. It wasn’t like I had medical background, but it would be easy to check whether they had noticeable differences.

“None of us are showing symptoms, but…”

It seemed like they were more starving than ill. I gave them the bread and cheese we brought. Their eyes changed. As I flinched, Adman stepped forward.

“There hasn’t been any stores or restaurants open, so we haven’t eaten in three days. We appreciate your help.”

He bowed then took the bread and cheese and distributed it evenly. They bowed as well and started quickly eating.

Adman seemed to be responsible as he was the leader, so he didn’t eat first so he could explain the situation in the estate to me.

The state of Lorkdie estate was quite serious. There was much dark mixture of emotion.

“Were there any demons spotted?”

“Demons? We didn’t spot anything, but something was weird…”

Adman tailed off. I couldn’t believe he was so logical and sane even after being starved for a few days. I was a bit afraid of what was coming next.

“We didn’t see any corpse.”

“Pardon?”

I was very surprised. No demons were spotted and no corpse as well.

‘Something’s off.’

I frowned a little.

“Then what happened to those who caught the disease?”

“From what we hear is that if you catch it, you become dark puddle of goo. But how is that possible! That’s nonsense.”

He lost his composure and shouted for a moment then flinched and came back to his senses. I put my hand on his shoulder and put some divine power in him.

“Calm down. I’ll do something.”

“S-saintess.”

As I tried to console him, I noticed the stress etched on his face, and it appeared as though he might burst into tears at any moment. Feeling awkward, I slowly rose to my feet.

“First, please eat something,” I said, motioning towards the food on the table. “Then, accompany these people back to the Vanmon castle. I’ll give you a letter to take with you.”

As an afterthought, I handed him a few bottles of holy water, hoping that it might offer some comfort or protection on their journey.

“B, but that place is invaded…”

Adman stuttered as he thought that maybe because I’m a saintess and because the situation was so dire that I may have forgotten. He meant that wouldn’t they become a war prisoner if they go back. I smiled.

“The Vanmon’s lord and his wife are all doing well in their cottage. We’re also going to give the castle back when we leave.”

“T-that’s absurd…”

“It’s true.”

As Adman showed distrust, Dylan cut him off.

“Don’t doubt the saintess’s words.”

Adman immediately shut his mouth. It seemed like Dylan’s crusader armour was shown underneath the cape.

“Thank you, Sir Dylan.”

As I thanked him for cutting it short, his face became a bit off.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. It seemed like this is the first time I was thanked.”

“Really?”

I thought for a moment if I was so strict to him.

After, I put in enough divine power into the soldiers who finished eating so they could be fully healed. They soon looked great, and I gave them a message I told them earlier.

“Here. Please have a safe journey back.”

“T-thank you so much, saintess!”

They all looked touched as they bowed. We left the inn after. Adman followed with his cape on.

“Sir Vanmon?”

“I’m coming with you.”

“Don’t you need to get ready to head back?”

“Don’t you need a guide?”

That was true.

“But it’ll be dangerous…”

“It’s ok. We have you so it won’t be dangerous, saintess.”

Despite my efforts to become accustomed to it, I still found myself uncomfortable with the way they looked at me with admiration and referred to me as saintess. Their eyes twinkled with respect and awe, but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy under their gaze.

Ravis asked for guidance.

“Then, can you lead us to where the disease first began?”

We followed him. The quiet street of Lorkdie I saw seemed to be because it was close to the castle gate. The deeper we went in, the more patients we saw on the ground.

I pushed down my hood even further. There was a terrible smell all around.

“Just one piece of bread!”

“Get lost!”

That moment, a man who went into a bakery was kicked out by a man who seemed to be an owner. They started arguing.

“As you can see, the epidemic caused hunger and fear.”

I nodded.

‘Just what is Piett after?’