The Successor of the Saint Does Not Fight - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: The Echoing Song from the Other Side Part 6

“Well then, shall we carry these children to the plaza in front of the station? Can everyone help out?”

My mother began speaking in her usual carefree tone as if she had returned to her normal self.

“I’ll jump to the station front with one child at a time, so I want you to carry the children out of the hut to make it easier for me.”

With my mother’s extraordinary physical abilities, it would take her no more than a few seconds to safely return to the plaza in front of the station with a child in arms (as I had just experienced).

As her assistants, we were to carry the children out of the hut one by one, like a bucket brigade – so that we could immediately hand the next child to my mother when she returned.

“Would it not be faster if you and your daughter carried them together?”

At that moment, the White Wolf made an outrageous suggestion.

This damned beast still believes I’m capable of performing the same feats as my mother.

“You don’t understand, Wolfie~. It’s more efficient to divide the tasks this way~”

Saying so, my mother picked up a child lying near the entrance and stepped outside the building.

“So, could you bring out the next child by the time I return?”

Then, with a “thump!” she kicked off the ground and vanished into the sky in an instant.

My mother could probably carry more at once if she wanted to, but it seems she chose to carry them carefully so as not to alarm the residents by handling the children too roughly.

However—

(Wait. Does this mean I’m not the main one carrying them?)

Yuno, who was kneeling with her head down, clearly wasn’t going to be of any help, and while the White Wolf might assist if ordered, it’s incapable of carrying in its arms. At best, it could pull by biting onto clothes, which isn’t very efficient.

But wait. This is no ordinary dog. It’s a demon beyond human comprehension. Maybe… it could transport the children with some incredible power. Believe in it.

“So, Wolfie? Will you help us?”

“Hmm.”

When I gave my best smile, trying to look appealing, the White Wolf obediently nodded.

It’s really helpful to have such an understanding creature at times like this.

Then, attempting to carry a child—the wolf simply bit the child’s clothes in its mouth and tried to pull.

With a rip.

Perhaps the wolf’s fangs were too sharp, because the clothes tore before it could pull the child along.

The White Wolf, with the end of the torn clothes still in its mouth, fell silent for a moment, then said,

“—My apologies. This task is beyond my capabilities.”

Useless.

What value does a worthless dog have at a time like this? I swear I’ll never feed it prosciutto again.

Maybe I should just ignore all of my mother’s requests.

I should not assist in this task as it is my mother’s duty, I could claim, leaving everything to her without lifting a finger.

Yes, that’s what I’ll do. Decision made.

At that moment, my mother returned in front of the building with a booming sound, apparently having delivered the first child.

Peering from outside the hut, my mother asked,

“Hey, Meril? Where’s the next child? Haven’t you carried them out yet?”

She smiled sweetly at me.

That smile was the same one my mother wore when she was about to scold me for not having cleaned my room yet.

“I, I was just about to do that!”

Reflexively, I pulled the nearest child towards my mother.

Unconscious humans are surprisingly heavy. For my slender arms, it was quite a burden.

“Alright, keep up the good work with the next child as well~”

After taking the child from me, my mother leaped away again.

It seems boycotting is not an option. I just can’t bring myself to go against that smile.

Resigned to my fate, I rolled up my sleeves and let out a determined snort. Then—

“Help out, Yuno! I won’t allow you to just watch me work in silence! Stop thinking about things and just move your hands for now!”

I found myself a companion in this ordeal.

A weak child is a hundred times better than no help at all. I understand he’s feeling quite down, but I need him to work mindlessly right now to lighten my load.

Yuno murmured without looking up, his gaze fixed downward.

“…In my current state, I’m incapable of being of any assistance to you, Miss Meril Klein.”

“Stop that and please help! It’s really heavy!”

As I dragged another child outside, I was already gasping for breath.

The mere thought of carrying dozens of children out by myself was enough to make me want to cry.

“…Yes. Understood.”

Yuno, with a vacant look and weakly turning towards me, eventually gave that response.

He approached with unsteady steps and took hold of one of the child’s arms I was carrying. Just getting into the position to pull together significantly eased my burden.

“That’s it! Keep it up!”

As I encouraged Yuno, he nodded slightly.

“…Huh. I wondered why you sought assistance, but now I see.”

Meanwhile, the White Wolf, seemingly having come to some understanding, sat down contentedly.

What are you slacking off for? If you can’t use your mouth, there must be another way, like rolling them with your front paws. Don’t you feel a bit guilty for letting me do all the work, you devil?

“Oh, this is going well~. Keep it up, keep it up.”

my mother came back again, taking the child from me and Yuno, then leaping away.

That’s when I targeted what seemed like the lightest one.

“Ahem. I will carefully carry the baby, so Yuno, please take care of the rest.”

Saying so, I picked up a baby.

Although it was light and less physically demanding, the cold and motionless baby somehow made me feel disheartened just by touching it.

“Huh. But, how did such a small child walk all the way here?”

According to what my mother said, children who heard the Song of Temptation would walk here in a somnambulistic state.

“For infants, it seems the entity behind the ‘Song of Temptation’ comes directly to fetch the children. Probably… the same happened to me.”

The question I blurted out unintentionally turned into an unwelcome revelation.

Choking and coughing, I hurriedly tried to cover it up.

“I’m sorry, just talking to myself! You don’t need to worry about it!”

The last thing I needed was for Yuno to become despondent and useless again. Right now, we need to devote ourselves to this physical labor without any distractions.

I carried the baby to the entrance and then moved towards the back of the building—but,

“Huh?”

There were no babies at the back of the building.

No, that wasn’t the only thing. The children lying near the entrance were distinctly different from those at the back.

(It seems the children at the back are… rather dirty?)

Their clothing, to begin with, was far from decent.

Almost entirely dirtied to blackness, with parts torn or ripped here and there. The fabric could best be described as flimsy, tattered rags.

Moreover, nearly all of them were emaciated to the point where their bones protruded.

(Do they become thin after a demon sucks their souls for a while…?)

No, even if we concede that point, it doesn’t explain why their clothes would also become dirtier.

At the very least, it suggests that the “children lying towards the back” lived in conditions where they weren’t even provided decent clothing—all of them.

Or if their emaciation isn’t due to a demon’s influence, perhaps they weren’t even given adequate meals.

At that moment, I suddenly remembered what Yuno had said just before.

“―For infants, it seems the entity behind the ‘Song of Temptation’ comes directly to fetch the children.”

He said it in such a way, not “to snatch away” but “to come for them.”

As if describing a benevolent entity.

“Oh my, what’s wrong, Meril dear? You’ve stopped moving.”

There, at the doorway, my mother stood again.

Caught in the act, I stiffened and waved my hands as if making excuses.

“Mo, Mom! It’s not that I was slacking off or anything… It’s just, don’t you think there’s something odd about the children lying at the back!?”

“Odd? What do you mean?”

“They’re clearly thinner than the ones at the front, and their clothes are dirty. It’s like they’ve been through a lot…”

“That’s right. After all, the ‘Song of Temptation’ appears to help such children.”

I could only widen my eyes, not understanding what my mother was saying.

“…What are you saying, Mom? Demons helping children?”

“Yes. Of course, being demons, it’s only a semblance of salvation. Yuno knows about it, doesn’t he?”

My mother’s gaze shifted to Yuno again.

Yuno, looking pained, nodded slightly.

“…Originally, the ‘Song of Temptation’ is a demon that appears in regions struck by famine. When food is scarce and the only option seems to be ‘reducing mouths to feed’ by abandoning children, it appears out of nowhere to ‘grant that wish.'”

My mother praised Yuno for remembering well and then took over his explanation.

“Parents want to reduce mouths to feed by abandoning their children. But their conscience and societal judgment prevent them. That’s when the ‘Song of Temptation’ becomes very convenient. They don’t have to lay hands on their own children. They don’t have to witness their children suffering. All the bad things can be blamed on the demon—allowing them to become victims.”

“But the children end up dying, right? That doesn’t save the children at all…”

“In a famine-stricken village, life must be very hard for a child secretly wished by their parents to disappear.”

My mother murmured softly.

“At such times, they hear a very beautiful song. If they listen to it, all their suffering goes away. Their souls are taken from their bodies, freeing them from hunger, cold, and sadness. Like these children—they can sleep peacefully.”

The sheer cruelty of the story made me dizzy.

But something didn’t add up. If the ‘Song of Temptation’ is such an entity, there’s one thing I couldn’t understand.

“Mom, this town isn’t suffering from famine or anything like that. It’s very prosperous because of the coal mines… Why would such a demon appear here?”

“It’s not about whether there’s a famine. The essence is whether there are children ‘who are wished dead and are suffering.’ The ‘Song of Temptation’ appears where such children exist. For example—”

My mother pointed to the children arranged in the back.

She observed their worn and dirtied clothes.

“Children who were continuously sent into narrow, dangerous mine shafts until their bodies broke down and they were deemed no longer useful.”

As she walked over to them, she touched their chests with her finger.

A faint light illuminated. It was the healing miracle of my mother that I was familiar with. Yet, they did not awaken. No matter how much their bodies healed, without their souls, nothing could be done.

“By the time the ‘Song of Temptation’ appeared, the church had realized what was happening in this town. Ironically, upon investigation, we found that the children used for labor were ‘purchased’ from villages struck by famine—soon, the higher-ups of the town will be dealt with.”

“Um… if that’s the case,”

I suddenly thought of something unusual.

Remembering the “Rain Serpent” that harbored no malice.

“If we tell the ‘Song of Temptation’ that ‘the church will protect the children, so they are safe now,’ wouldn’t it release their souls? If it appears to help suffering children, it doesn’t want to kill them, right…?”

“Meril-chan. Why do you think the ‘Song of Temptation’ has started attacking normal children as well?”

Instead of answering my question, my mother posed another.

Pointing to the well-dressed, ordinary children lying in the front.

“Uh, well…”

“A demon that gains power acquires a corresponding wisdom, right? Don’t you think so? Wolfie?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The White Wolf, who had been sitting quietly, nodded slightly when asked.

“This demon, too, must have thought the same after gaining wisdom—or self-awareness. ‘I want to eat more.'”