Volume 7, Chapter 31 – The Defiled

“Saint-sama! Please wait! That boy is one of the Defiled. A noble person such as yourself must not go with such a creature!”

My escort soldiers kept trying to persuade me not to go, all talking over one another, but what they were saying was so nonsensical that my head was starting to ache.

I let out a sigh, took Idris-kun’s hand, and turned back to face them.

“There is no reason why I cannot go with him. Furthermore, I don’t understand why you discriminate against him just because you call him one of the Defiled. This boy is a kind and brave youth who came all by himself to ask for my help because he was worried about his sick mother.”

“No. That is not the case. Besides, to take the hand of the Defiled! It cannot be!”

This makes absolutely no sense. Just as I was wondering what to do, Chris-san’s anger finally exploded.

“Enough! Fiene-sama, the Saint, has spoken! Just who do you people think you are!”

“But! He is one of the Defiled!”

“Oh? And what of it?”

Saying this, Chris-san stepped between me and the soldiers and placed her hand on the hilt of the Holy Sword.

“If I were to draw the Holy Sword, I trust you would understand the meaning of that?”

“Guh.”

Um? Is this okay? I feel like this is about to become a major problem…

“Enough! Stop it! Saint-sama has spoken.”

“Khalid-dono! But!”

“Stop it! The Demon Lord Alert has already reached the level of an Elevated Alert. Do you intend to start a war at a time like this!”

“…”

“Khalid-dono. My thanks.”

Reаԁ οո KаtRеaԁіոgСаfе

With that, Chris-san removed her hand from the Holy Sword.

“Let us go.”

“Yes!”

And so, we retraced our steps, passed through the alley, and ventured further inside.

◇ ◇ ◇

“This is…”

We were left speechless by the sheer horror of the area we were guided to.

First of all, it stank. That one word alone explained exactly how unsanitary the environment was.

It was just like the slums of the Royal Capital—yes, that area that had been the epicenter of the Mummy Disease.

No, this was likely even worse.

The residents looked at me with expressions of shock and surprise, and the moment they noticed Khalid-san and the escort soldiers following a short distance behind us, they hurried inside their homes.

From this reaction alone, it was easy to discern the feelings these people held toward the ruling class of this town.

“Damn it. The nests of the Defiled reek. Why would Saint-sama want to be with such scum…”

“I can’t believe my luck, being assigned as Saint-sama’s escort only for this.”

“Who was the idiot who let that brat through? I’m definitely going to punch them.”

The escort soldiers following behind us were whispering some pretty awful things to one another.

They probably think no one can hear them, but do they never stop to think about what would happen if someone did?

Besides, I may be a fake Saint-sama, but Char would never choose to abandon this child in such a situation either.

Rеаԁ οո KαtRеadіոgСαfе

Speaking of which, I wonder if Char is alright? I hope she hasn’t collapsed from overworking herself…

While I was thinking about that, it seemed we had reached our destination.

“Saint-sama. It’s here. My mom is here…”

“Yes. Thank you for guiding me.”

When I said that, Idris-kun beamed with a smile again. He then energetically entered the house.

“Mom! Saint-sama has come!”

We followed Idris-kun inside to find a tiny, single-room house. Clothes were scattered across the floor, as if it hadn’t been tidied in a long time. A crude bed sat in the corner of the room, and someone appeared to be sleeping on it.

“Mom?”

Idris-kun climbed onto the bed and peered at the face of the sleeping person.

“…Idris?”

The voice was incredibly weak. It seemed she was severely debilitated.

“You see, Saint-sama came. She said she would cure you, Mom.”

“My… what?”

I stopped her as she hurriedly tried to sit up.

“Hello, Idris-kun’s mother. Please, just stay relaxed. I am Fiene Argentata. I have come to treat you.”

“Eh? Ah, eh?”

“May I begin the treatment now?”

“Eh? Eh? Yes?”

Rеαԁ оո KаtRеαⅾіոɡСafе

Hmm. She seems too confused to understand what’s going on, but she did say yes, so I guess it’s fine.

“Then. Disease Treatment! And also, Cleansing for the entire room!”

I felt almost no resistance from the Disease Treatment Magic.

I had a feeling she wasn’t weakened by illness at all, but by something else.

Incidentally, the cleansing magic seemed to remove a lot of grime. The inside of the room became considerably cleaner.

“Eh? Eh?”

“Hmm. Idris-kun’s mother, are you eating properly?”

“Eh?”

“I cast Disease Treatment Magic, but I suspect your physical condition hasn’t changed much. Therefore, I thought that perhaps you aren’t eating properly…”

“Ah, well… food is, well… we are the Defiled. To begin with, we cannot obtain satisfactory food…”

I see. So they can’t even get enough food in the first place?

“I see. Um, please forgive me for asking something rude, but what exactly are the Defiled?”

At my question, Idris-kun’s mother cast her eyes down and hesitated. After a moment, as if making a decision, she spoke.

“We Luma have been treated as a defiled people since birth. Therefore, we are not permitted to leave this district. Furthermore, the only work we are allowed are things like waste disposal or begging… Um, I am grateful for your mercy, but please, Idris…”

Ah, this is… yeah. So that’s how it is. This is cruel, no matter how you look at it.

“Fiene-sama. If you get involved any further, there’ll be no turning back. You are currently protecting Her Highness Sara, so I believe it would be best to limit this matter to making a request to Hilar-dono.”

“…Yes.”

I said that, but… is this really okay?

Reaⅾ on KаtRеаⅾiոɡCαfе

No, it’s not. At the very least, I’ll do what I can for them.

“However, the sanitary conditions of this district are poor. As it is, there is a possibility that diseases will break out, so I will clean everything up at once. Cleansing!”

I deployed Cleansing Magic in a radius of about 100 meters.

It must have been unbelievably filthy because the grime was incredibly stubborn.

But even stubborn grime should come clean if I just pour enough MP into it.

“Kuuu.”

Maybe because I was gritting my teeth, a strange sound slipped out.

After about five minutes, I succeeded in thoroughly cleansing the surroundings.

“Phew. I’ve cleaned the entire area around this house. I will strongly request Hilar-san to improve these problems, and I will also strongly request that Idris-kun not be punished.”

“Ah, S-Saint-sama. Thank you very much.”

As she tried to get up again, I stopped her once more.

“No. I am sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Oh, if you don’t mind, please eat these.”

I took four sandwiches out of Storage and handed them to the two of them.

“S-so many… thank you! Ah!”

“Wow, thank you! Saint-sama!”

With that, Idris-kun beamed, then performed a Jumping Dogeza starting from a Boon.

Yep. Still a 6 out of 10.