I, Who Came From the Abyss, Will Save Humanity Again Today - Volume 2 Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Children

 

***

 

Looking at the two figures fleeing in panic, I pouted, feeling bored.

 

They ran away just like that!

 

Why couldn’t they be a bit more stupid? Shouldn’t they have shouted “I don’t believe you’re a Pontifical Knight” and done various foolish things to get themselves killed? That would have been more interesting!

 

Or they could have just gotten lustful, holding their claws like werewolves, saying standard lines like “no one will come save you even if you scream,” while pulling out weapons measured in millimeters, drooling as they approached me.

 

Isn’t that how minor villains are written in novels? How else can the protagonist show off and slap faces? This script isn’t working.

 

However, although these two young thieves weren’t very smart, they were patient. Their actions were clearly organized and premeditated, unlike those noisy street thugs.

 

Following the usual pattern, I felt this development must have some connections behind it. Perhaps the largest criminal gang in the Emerald Capital, or some underground organization that steals from the rich to help the poor. Anyway, maybe I could follow the trail and investigate something. If it really was a theft organization, I would smash them with my fists as big as sandbags, doing something good for the people of the Emerald Capital.

 

After all, the food here is really delicious.

 

I looked up at the sky, then picked up the cloth bag of food at my feet and quietly followed them.

 

…………

 

Brother Abel dragged his younger brother, running all the way without daring to look back.

 

Bad luck, they had run into a Pontifical Knight… although he still had doubts about this matter.

 

If it had been someone else, he might have really believed it, but that girl’s age, appearance, and overall impression, besides being adorably cute beyond words, how could she have any connection with the imposing, heroic Pontifical Knights in his impression?

 

How could you equate that seemingly delicate and fragile beauty, whose every glance and smile could drive men crazy, with those heroes of extraordinary strength? It was forcing a connection, truly unbelievable, this was clearly a joke!

 

But he dared not take the risk.

 

No matter what, the badge around that girl’s neck, with its flower design, was indeed the genuine symbol of a Pontifical Knight, he had enough discernment to recognize that.

 

Besides the Pontifical Knights, no one would dare wear items engraved with iris flowers! They would lose their heads.

 

So he still ran away without hesitation, leading his brother through several twisting alleys.

 

“…Brother Abel, I… huff, huff, I can’t… run anymore.”

 

His brother was too young, unable to keep up with Abel’s stamina. After running so far, he was now breathing heavily.

 

Hearing this, Abel had to stop, turning his head to look behind them. It was pitch black, not even a light could be seen, and there seemed to be no one there. So he pulled off the black cloth covering his face, revealing a somewhat youthful teenage face.

 

“No one followed us? Then let’s rest.”

 

The two walked towards some stone steps nearby and sat down on the cold stones. Meanwhile, I was hiding on the roof eaves above their heads, crouching and perking up my ears to listen to their conversation.

 

“Brother Abel, we… huff, just ran away like that?”

 

The younger brother asked, panting heavily, with childlike defiance in his words.

 

“What else could we do but run?! Didn’t you see what that girl was wearing? My goodness, a Pontifical Knight badge!”

 

Abel still seemed shaken.

 

“That girl… huff, isn’t she just messing with you? Too hateful. That kind of noble lady, used to throwing her weight around, you can tell at a glance she’s never suffered. I say, we should just kidnap her, starve her for a day, then she wouldn’t dare act up, she’d definitely confess everything, and we could ask her family… huff, for money.”

 

Looks like they completely took me for one of those sheltered noble ladies.

 

“Stop those crooked thoughts! It’s fine to make a little money with small tricks. If we try something big and it gets exposed, what then? How can people like us, who struggle just to stay alive, fight against those noble lords? We’d be lucky if they left us with complete corpses! Besides… that badge was the real thing.”

 

“How do you… know that?”

 

“…Because I’ve seen one before. Remember when I told you about the Pontifical Knight who saved me when monsters massacred our village? I saw the badge he wore on his chest, it was exactly like that one, no mistake. If the Pontifical Knight hadn’t arrived in time then, I probably would have died.”

 

“…But that girl doesn’t look like a hero at all! She even… cried!”

 

“…Anyway, that girl must at least have connections with the Holy Church… we can’t mess with someone like that no matter what.”

 

“But… we didn’t get anything tonight…”

 

“It’s okay, the stored bread can last a few more days. Let’s eat less tonight, and tomorrow we’ll find another chance to make a big score!”

 

“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Brother Abel.”

 

“…Let’s rest a bit and then head back?”

 

“Mm.”

 

…………

 

It seems they were just two half-grown children whose lives had been destroyed, with the younger brother possibly much younger than me.

 

The two children had drifted to the Emerald Capital, living a life where they couldn’t eat their fill. As for their previous village and family… one could guess what had happened without thinking.

 

Monsters… besides the Abyss, what else could be called that?

 

I had originally followed them just for fun, but at this moment, I didn’t know what expression to show.

 

The two children only rested briefly before getting up to leave.

 

I hesitated for a moment, then continued to quietly follow behind them, all the way to a remote corner in the south of the city, a place that was completely at odds with the prosperity of the Emerald Capital.

 

Here, the streets were narrow and uneven, without paving stones, covered in dirty mud slurry, with rotting garbage piled everywhere, polluting the air with a foul stench.

 

In such a harsh environment, there were scattered dilapidated buildings. Most of these buildings were just dark skeletons, with only a few slightly more intact ones still showing firelight.

 

It wasn’t appropriate to call it a slum, this place was more like Narangard’s large garbage dump, without even a place to step. The foul air made me frown.

 

The human calendar in this world has only continued for just over 1,000 years, many things are still too backward.

 

Abel and his brother skillfully crossed various piles of debris, walking to a house with flickering candlelight, and knocked gently.

 

A moment later, a little girl who looked only 7 or 8 years old opened the door and let them in.

 

After the door closed, I moved the cloth bag in my hand to my right hand, lifted my skirt, and tiptoed over.

 

The windows of the house were nailed shut with crisscrossing boards. I stretched my head over and looked inside through the gaps between the boards.

 

The room was very dim, and I could vaguely see that besides Abel and his brother, there were three little girls no more than 10 years old living there. At this moment, several people were gathered together eating hard bread.

 

“Brother Abel, why aren’t you eating?” one little girl asked somewhat naively when she saw Abel wasn’t eating with them.

 

“You eat, brother’s not hungry.”

 

“You’re lying, you haven’t eaten all day.”

 

“Brother really isn’t hungry.”

 

“If brother doesn’t eat, we won’t eat either,” another little girl put down her bread, saying somewhat petulantly.

 

“Brother isn’t lying, we both ate outside,” the younger brother spoke up at this point, “Isn’t today, what, the carnival night? There’s so much food on the streets! We secretly took lots of meat skewers while people weren’t paying attention, and now we’re too full.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really!” The younger brother swallowed secretly while speaking.

 

“Meat skewers… were they fragrant?”

 

“Very! But we were in too much of a hurry today, next time brother will definitely take more and bring them back for you to try too.”

 

“Mm!”

 

“…Is the bread too hard?”

 

“It’s okay.”

 

“Let brother show you a magic trick. Look, like this.” Abel took a bowl of water and poured it on the bread in the little girl’s hand, “Try it again, isn’t it much better?”

 

“…It really is! Brother Abel is amazing.”

 

“Brother Abel, did you see any heroes today?”

 

“Mm, we did~”

 

“What did they look like! Were they, super handsome!”

 

“Super handsome! Wearing bright silver armor, a white cloak, holding an elegant sword. Looking so magnificent and mighty, just seeing them makes you feel safe.”

 

These words made me, who was eavesdropping outside the door, blush slightly. How could Abel describe my embarrassing appearance from the day so… wait, what did I do during the day?

 

I didn’t do anything, forget about it.

 

However, the hero Abel described, why does it feel somewhat familiar?

 

“We also saw the Pope!”

 

“Really! What does the Pope look like?”

 

“The Pope…”

 

There was no need to listen to what came next.

 

I turned and walked to the rotting wooden door. Hesitated, then hesitated again.

 

After hesitating several times, I placed the cloth bag full of food in front of the door, knocked gently twice, and vanished into the darkness.

 

After a while, one of the little girls opened the door, and finding no one there, looked around puzzled, then saw the bag at her feet.

 

“What is this… food! So much!” The little girl was excited, “Brother Abel! Come quick, someone left lots of food at the door!”

 

“What food… huh? This bag looks familiar.”

 

“Brother Abel, isn’t this the bag that girl was carrying?”

 

“…We were followed!”

 

“Brother Abel! It’s all food in here! There’s goat cheese, fried fish, and even fragrant fruit! This is so expensive, I’ve never eaten it before!”

 

“…Don’t touch it, those are someone else’s things.”

 

“Eh, but there’s really so much food…”

 

“Brother Abel, didn’t you always say, no matter whose things they are, once they’re in our hands they’re ours?”

 

“But…”

 

“I don’t care, I want to eat the fragrant fruit…”

 

I walked away through the mud, the conversation gradually fading behind me.

 

It would be nice if I could help them.

 

I’ll ask Carlos tomorrow.