Volume 8, Chapter 39 – The Fireworks That Push to a Climax

Although the refugee camp housed several thousand people, it was a very cramped place. To prevent foreign invasion, Dahl City was surrounded by water, leaving only a small patch of land at the foot of the city wall. Camilla and Laxy soon found Alice.

As Mary had said, Alice was exceptionally popular in the refugee camp. When the two of them arrived, more than a hundred people were already crowded into the small open-air square. Alice was saying something among them. Due to the dense human wall obscuring their view, the two of them had to stand on a nearby, higher stone pier to see clearly what Alice was doing.

In a crowd of mixed brown and black hair, Alice’s blonde hair and her [Alice in Wonderland] attire were exceptionally conspicuous. With just a cursory glance, Camilla spotted her.

“With so many people gathered, I thought Alice was going to provide relief like the temple, but it turns out she’s just giving out small gifts. Compared to these little stone-like things, food and clothes are what these refugees really need.”

From Camilla’s perspective, Alice, without any guards, was dragging a sack behind her, taking out one glowing stone after another, each tied with a thin golden thread. Although the stones themselves had had their sharp edges smoothed, it was clear that they had been processed very roughly. Apart from emitting a faint golden light, the stones had no other redeeming qualities.

“Those aren’t ordinary stones.”

“They are very low-quality luminous stones. Without processing, a piece of stone that two people can wrap their arms around can only be sold for one silver coin. It’s usually ground into powder and carried as a marking pigment to prevent getting lost in a labyrinth or a forest at night. But if this powder is not exposed to light during the day, the light it emits will disappear after one night at most.”

“Can’t they be used for lighting at night? They should be in dire need of candles. These stones could come in handy.”

“They’re too small. The light they emit can at most only spread a hand’s breadth. Any further and it’ll be too dark to see. Hah, I really don’t know why these people are so keen on a worthless little stone. Normally, even if you gave it to someone, no one would accept it. Only children would like it.”

Camilla sighed.

Although the refugees were crowded messily in the square, as soon as they got close to Alice, they would voluntarily stop crowding and orderly and politely receive a glowing stone tied with a golden ribbon from her hand. After receiving the favor, they would thank her with a look of gratitude and reverence. It was less that Alice was distributing relief, and more that the people here already saw her as a god. Anything given by a god, even an insignificant stone, was a priceless item.

Seeing the gratitude and hope in the refugees’ eyes, Laxy nodded thoughtfully.

“What they are receiving from Miss Alice is no longer just an item, but a psychological support. They see her as a light in their suffering. As long as they can see her every day, the bitterness in their hearts will be greatly reduced. It’s probably because Miss Alice has taken such good care of them before, and over time, it has become like this.”

“Spiritual support…”

Laxy was right. Although subsistence was a basic problem, spiritual support in times of suffering was also important. There was no hierarchy between the two. Lacking either one was the difference between a motionless corpse and a moving one. To repeat the same thing aimlessly every day, in a way, it was not an exaggeration to call them the undead. For these refugees, Alice was their spiritual support. As long as they could see her, they could continue to strive for a better life.

Alice probably hasn’t realized her status in the hearts of the refugees yet.

The glowing stones tied with golden ribbons were probably made by Alice herself. Although they couldn’t solve the various problems the refugees faced, Alice was also comforting the people here in her own way.

Taking out a pen, paper, and a wooden board, Camilla recorded everything she saw. Since she had realized that the refugee camp was a destabilizing factor, it was undoubtedly necessary to record it in the most detailed words and hand it over to Yisi. To overlook details was definitely not in Camilla’s character.

Just as Camilla was writing, a strange male voice sounded beside them.

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“Are you also here to admire the venerable presence of Lady Alice?”

“Hm?”

The speaker was a man wearing a gilded monocle, his attire completely out of place in the refugee camp. Although he was not fat like most middle-aged men, but rather very thin, his balding head and the mustache under his nose gave him a very comical feel.

He must be a small merchant who often comes here.

Camilla made an immediate judgment. The other party’s gaze held timidity, a desire to please, and scrutiny. Only merchants who were not very wealthy and were good at taking small advantages would behave this way.

Ignoring the merchant, Camilla continued to write without looking up. To make the situation less awkward, Laxy answered in her stead.

“We are helpers from the temple. We came here to see what Miss Alice is doing—our companion was with her just now.”

“Helpers from the temple…” the merchant muttered to himself. After a moment’s pause, a look of realization appeared on his face. “Oh, I know. It’s that little chestnut-haired young lady, right? She was just distributing gifts with Lady Alice.”

“Mm, that’s her. Her name is Mary. And you are?”

“I’m a frequent visitor to this refugee camp. Oh no, it’s too much to call it a refugee camp. The people here are all humans, just like the ones living in the city. They’ve just run into a bit of trouble. We shouldn’t insult them with a word like ‘refugee.’ I’d rather call this place…”

“Call it?”

“I don’t know what to call it either,” the merchant said with a wry smile. “I’m a small-time businessman. I usually travel between the surrounding villages and the capital, selling small items. Now, besides the capital, I can’t go anywhere else, so I have to take care of my old customers. Although I can’t give them food and clothes like the temple, I help them where I can, like introducing them to jobs.”

Laxy nodded in satisfaction.

“Mm, you’ve done well. But you don’t get any benefit from helping them. Since you can’t go out now, why aren’t you worried about your own future? Humans are not like us angels; you can’t live without eating.”

“I have some savings from my past business, so I don’t have to worry about food and drink for the time being. I just hope the villagers here can return to their villages soon, so I can continue my own business.”

At this, the merchant secretly glanced at the clipboard in Camilla’s hand, but because she was standing on a stone pier, he could only see the empty back of it.

“I’m sorry. I only made a few gifts for everyone these past few days, and they’re all gone now… But I’ll prepare more next time!”

Alice’s apologetic voice came from the crowd. Like a hound that had scented its prey, the merchant with the monocle straightened his expression.

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“Lady Angel, I must go to Lady Alice’s side now.”

“Your business is more important.”

Cupping his hands in a salute to Laxy, the middle-aged merchant unceremoniously squeezed into the crowd, pushing aside those in his way and shouting.

“Move along, move along. Lady Alice is already troubled enough. We can’t bother her any further.”

“It’s Jorick.”

“Jorick is here.”

“Jorick is right. Lady Alice has been working through the night to make gifts for us. She’s already very tired. We shouldn’t trouble her anymore. If she were to collapse from exhaustion, we couldn’t repay her even if we died ten thousand times.”

“That’s right. Even though she’s a duke’s daughter, she’s completely different from those bloodsucking nobles. She’s both cute and cares about us. If it weren’t for Lady Alice secretly taking my daughter into the city for treatment, I’d be all alone now.”

“Ah, me too.”

“I was also helped by Lady Alice.”

“Who here hasn’t received Lady Alice’s kindness? She is the benefactor of us all.”

Similar words rose and fell. People, while excitedly praising Alice, slowly left the square. Some of the more extreme ones even knelt on the ground and offered prayers to Alice as if she were a god. Strangely, all the refugees who saw this not only did not cast strange glances at the extremists, but instead wore expressions of familiarity and approval.

“Lady Alice, it’s almost noon. Would you like to go home first? The carriage is just outside the camp.”

Skillfully walking up to Alice, the middle-aged merchant’s demeanor was full of concern. But this concern only made Alice feel troubled. She hesitated.

“No… I’d like to eat lunch here.”

“Then would you like to say something to everyone? They all like you very much. If you could say something to them, they would be more motivated to live. You see, these are all the believers you have saved.”

Hearing the word “believers,” Alice’s expression suddenly darkened.

“Jorick, I’ve told you, I’m not helping them because I want to gain something. I just don’t want to see people die without helping them. I don’t want the word ‘believer’ to be used on these people.”

“But the gods did not save us in our time of need. It was you who extended a helping hand to us when we needed it most. If you cannot be worshipped as a saint, then who else can bear this heavy responsibility?”

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The merchant turned to the refugees who were prostrating themselves before Alice. The ragged refugees quickly nodded in response to his words.

“Lord Jorick is right. The Goddess has forgotten us.”

“Only Lady Alice is a noble who truly wants to help us.”

“Long live Lady Alice!”

“Long live Lady Alice!”

Someone started it, and the scene suddenly became both orderly and chaotic. Many of the refugees who had just been watching on the sidelines joined the cheering. Alice, who had just wanted to tell Jorick to shut up, was suddenly at a loss. For a twelve-year-old girl, the situation was far beyond her control.

“Jo… Jorick, I don’t like this.”

“But only in this way can we repay your kindness. Please accept it frankly. This is the reward you deserve.”

Just as Alice was about to say something, a woman wearing a headscarf walked up to her, her arms full of cooking utensils.

“Lady Alice, I’ve brought the cutting board and other utensils you asked for. Although they are a collection of things borrowed from various households, they should be enough for cooking.”

“Thank you. Ah, I just wanted to learn how to cook from Mary. I don’t need so many tools.”

“It would be bad if you didn’t have them when you need them, so I just got a few more. Don’t let those people fool you. They’re usually so stingy they won’t even share a single vegetable leaf. But as soon as they heard that you, Lady Alice, needed them, they brought them out without a word. Before I left, they even asked if I wanted to use the food they had hidden. You, Lady Alice, are used to noble cuisine. How could you eat something as hard as black bread? So I refused on your behalf. Er, there are a lot of things. This table is too small. It seems I can’t put them all down…”

Startled by the exaggerated number of utensils in the woman’s hands, Alice quickly stepped forward, trying to help her hold them. But because the stack of utensils was half a person tall and the structure was very unstable, swaying dangerously from side to side, when Alice placed her hand on the stack, it was like the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The mountain of tableware suddenly scattered all over the ground.

“Hey, what are you doing! What if you hit Lady Alice!” his voice was tinged with anger. As if to protect Alice, the merchant stepped between the woman and her. The people who had been kneeling to Alice also got up one after another, their eyes filled with suspicion and hostility as they looked at the woman. “Lady Alice, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Why are you hiding your hand if you’re fine? Are you bleeding?”

“I-I didn’t do it on purpose! I just wanted to help Lady Alice more. I didn’t mean to hurt her!”

As if she had violated some taboo, the woman stumbled backward in fear, her slightly plump face filled with dread. She trembled all over, begging Alice for forgiveness on the one hand, and fearfully looking at the ‘believers’ who were gradually approaching her on the other.

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But the merchant did not give the woman a chance to be forgiven. Before Alice could speak, he roared in an unimaginably loud voice.

“Seize her! She may be a lackey of a noble who intends to harm Lady Alice! Duke Herbis and Duke Wozwahl have always been at odds. We cannot let Lady Alice be harmed!”

“If anyone wants to harm Lady Alice, I’ll be the first to not allow it!”

“Over my dead body!”

“Wait, she didn’t do it on purpose! Let her go!”

Like a lit powder keg, the scene instantly spun out of control. The incensed crowd, led by the merchant and ignoring Alice’s pleas, forcibly dragged the woman to a deeper part of the refugee camp. The remaining men formed a human wall like guards, not allowing anyone to approach Alice.

Camilla stopped her pen.

Found him.

Her guess was not wrong. Everything had indeed been planned long ago. All that was left now was to drag the plotter out of the darkness and sort out the process.

Laxy, at her side, folded her wings and said in a low voice.

“Camilla, it’s not safe here anymore. I’m taking Mary and leaving.”

“Mm, let’s go back and report to Onee-sama. Let her decide.”

Although the life and death of the people of the kingdom had nothing to do with her, to be able to handle matters with Onee-sama was a very satisfying feeling.

Boom.

A dull explosion was heard from within the city.

Because of the distance, the sound was not very loud, but this actually highlighted the power of the explosion. To be heard at such a distance, it must have been at least a magic that could blow up a house.

No matter who you are, when you meet Onee-sama and me, you have only one end.

Pronouncing their sentence in her heart, Camilla put away her pen and paper.