The underground passage used by the rebel forces was not particularly well maintained — a damp smell hung in the air and mold was visible here and there throughout.
'Well, given the conditions they're currently in, it would be stranger if it were well maintained.'
I thought that as I followed Maxsimon and Seize, moving my feet.
—It seems the rebel forces are not in very good circumstances at the moment.
Kyros's voice reached me as I did so.
His voice carried concern.
To a god, even rebel forces are those who must be embraced, it seems.
'Yes. In the end... they've had neither food nor water supplied to them properly, in harsh terrain.'
—That's true. I thought things might be somewhat better since they seemed to be running a tavern, but...
'I don't know if Lord Kyros noticed, but the drinks in that tavern were all quite old and cheap stuff. They seemed to have cleaned earnestly so it was reasonably tidy, but...'
—I see.
'Yes. And though it doesn't particularly need to be said, that tavern... hasn't had customers in a long time either. I don't know what hope they held onto to keep running the business.'
—It must have been in preparation for a situation like today. For them, you were quite an overreaction, child, when you appeared.
'Well, I suppose. After all, they are doing something that goes against the nation.'
As I spoke with Kyros, I had already reached the end of the underground passage. And at the end was a single wooden ladder.
"Go up from here."
Maxsimon said that and climbed the ladder first. Seize followed behind him. After all of them had climbed up, I took the ladder as well.
Clunk—
Meanwhile, Maxsimon — who had reached the top — opened the firmly shut door.
A little sand and dust fell, but I didn't mind and followed behind them. And when I finally reached the top of the ladder, what I saw was a shabby warehouse.
At the same time, a quest completion message came to me. The completed quest immediately updated with the connected content.
[Sub Quest 'The Herpheon Emperor's Request' 3. <Protect the Rebel Forces!>
Content: You have made contact with the rebel forces of "Odret." It is now time to protect them until Second Prince Cedric Herpheon arrives.
Objective: Ensure no one among the rebel forces dies for 24 hours (This quest is a linked quest)
Final Success Reward: ???
Upon Success: Discover next quest trace
Upon Failure: -]
[Will you accept?]
[Yes / No]
As I skimmed through the newly appeared quest, I laughed inwardly at the sheer absurdity of it. To anyone reading it, the quest content was clearly saying that the rebel forces would come under attack within 24 hours.
'The flow is the same as the original, but the scale will be different.'
It was the same quest as what I had seen through the walkthrough, but the circumstances were a little different from back then.
In the original, the ratio of Kyros Church and Diego Church believers was roughly fifty-fifty, so when Diego Church pursued the rebel forces, Kyros Church had helped the rebel forces as a matter of course.
And naturally, not a single person in the rebel forces had died, nor was anyone injured.
'But right now, Diego Church's numbers are still overwhelmingly greater.'
Still, it wasn't something to think about only pessimistically. If circumstances hadn't diverged too greatly from the original, those currently pursuing the rebel forces were at most an Archbishop.
'Naturally, something within my power to handle.'
And even if things went wrong and an apostle appeared, at my current level one would be more than enough to deal with.
As I was thinking that—
"Shall we head out now?"
Maxsimon said to me. Then he opened the door of the cramped warehouse.
"This is... the rebel forces' base."
I followed Maxsimon's voice and walked out after him. And immediately, their current situation was visible.
What met my eyes stepping out of the warehouse was, to put it simply, nothing more than a slum of shanties. And here and there, residents dressed in shabby clothes were going about their own tasks.
Maxsimon extended his arm to gesture toward them and said to me:
"Everyone here... is part of the rebel forces."
Among them were newborn infants, and elderly people of advanced age with backs bent all the way over.
Of course there were young people too, but most were in poor condition from not having had balanced meals.
'I thought things would be bad, but at this level... they'd be wiped out without even being able to resist if it weren't for me.'
Of course — that was if I weren't here.
—They all look impossibly fragile. Everyone here seems to be in poor health.
Kyros said to me in a voice full of worry.
'Yes. The circumstances are harsh, after all.'
And looking more closely, there were also people who appeared to have been injured here and there. With malnutrition, even injuries healed slowly.
"Maxsimon, who is this person?"
Just as I was looking at the people for a moment. One of the nearby elders approached us. He asked, addressing Maxsimon.
"Ah, this person is......"
Maxsimon seemed to hesitate briefly over how to introduce me. And so I directly greeted them with a smile.
"Hello, everyone. How do you do. I am... the Kyros Church leader, Leviathan."
At my words, the residents began to murmur among themselves. Some had heard of Kyros Church, while others regarded me with wariness.
"I am not someone who has come to harm you. I have come to help you."
I said this with as harmless-looking a smile as I could manage. Even so, when the wariness didn't easily subside, Maxsimon stepped forward.
"Please don't worry, everyone. This person truly came here to help us. He even healed Hayen's injuries."
At Maxsimon's words, the wariness of the residents visibly eased a little. Seizing the moment, I stepped one step closer to them.
"What Maxsimon said is true. I will do my very best to help you. And if there is anyone here who is in pain or injured right now, please come to me. I will treat you."
At my words, people began to approach little by little. Among them were some who looked visibly injured, some with serious wounds, and some who appeared outwardly fine.
"My stomach hurts."
"I have pain here, deep in my chest......"
After listening to each person, I extended both hands toward them. And I used area healing.
In an instant, the holy power that left my hands enveloped the people. Small sounds of amazement were heard from those who witnessed that sacred power.
After one round of healing, I looked at the people.
"Huh, it doesn't hurt at all."
"Wow... is this truly the power of God!"
The people embraced one another with joy, and some shed tears of emotion.
"Would anyone still in pain please let me know."
I said just in case. But fortunately, it seemed there was no one still unwell.
"Truly, truly thank you. Church Leader."
"Thank you!!"
"I had heard that the Kyros Church leader possessed healing abilities, but I never imagined it would be to this degree!"
In an instant people crowded around me. They offered their thanks and — even from their meager means — pressed what little they had on me.
Stale bread, potatoes, and even the little water they had.
'......Warm people.'
Thinking that as I looked at the rebel forces, I saw the eyes of the officers glistening. From their perspective, seeing people in pain had itself been an ordeal.
Being in a village that couldn't even afford to call a doctor, they had had no choice.
And the rebel forces officers wanted nothing more than to protect these warm-hearted people.
I received a warm welcome from the village residents and listened to their stories, and before I knew it quite a bit of time had passed.
The sun had set in an instant, and I was provided with lodging by the officers. It was, technically speaking, Maxsimon's own home.
Given their circumstances it wasn't a particularly large house, but it was a home reasonably furnished with what was necessary — and Maxsimon had readily offered it up worrying I might be uncomfortable. While he himself would be staying at Seize's home.
'Well, I'm grateful for it.'
I chuckled faintly and slipped out of the house. It was night, but not particularly late. Yet the people of this village had all gone to bed early.
And so I walked around the quiet village for a stroll.
"......Church Leader. What brings you out at this hour?"
As I moved about looking around the village, I ran into Maxsimon.
"Ah, Maxsimon. I just came out for a short walk. What about you?"
"I'm doing my rounds. The officers take turns patrolling the village at night."
"I see. Then may I join you?"
"Yes, of course."
I smiled at Maxsimon as he smiled back warmly, and moved over beside him. And I walked alongside him, surveying the surroundings.
"We never... intended to become rebel forces, at first."
The night breeze was cool when Maxsimon opened his mouth.
"If only the amount of food allotted to us had been even a little more, we would have endured."
"......"
"Because all we needed was the minimum support."
Maxsimon gave me a brief account of what had happened back then. It was something I already knew — but hearing it from the person himself gave it a different feeling.
I listened quietly to Maxsimon's story, then slowly asked him:
"If... all of it had been a misunderstanding, what would you do, Maxsimon?"
"What?"
"If it was not the Emperor's doing, but the actions of someone else?"
At my words, Maxsimon fell briefly silent. In truth, he probably already knew.
"The one who sent me here is Her Majesty the Emperor. Which means the one who drove you to this point was not Her Majesty the Emperor."
"What was it all for... that we came this far."
Maxsimon looked at me with moist eyes. He must have been in turmoil ever since hearing the truth about my identity.
It was precisely at the moment I was about to offer him a word of comfort—
Flash!
A sudden burst of red flame spread across the sky, a little way off. And Maxsimon, who had seen the signal at the same moment as me, widened his eyes and spoke.
"This, this is... Seize's signal."
Seize had mentioned that tonight, he would be going out to scout the area outside the village.
"And red means the village is in danger!"
After telling me, Maxsimon ran off to somewhere immediately. The place he headed to was the bell at the center of the village.
Dong, dong, dong!
He urgently rang the bell to wake the villagers.
'I had expected an attack to come at night, but...'
I let out a small sigh and slowly began to walk. In the meantime, roused by Maxsimon's bell, the villagers began hurriedly evacuating.
'It seems they've done evacuation drills many times before.'
The people evacuated swiftly under the direction of Maxsimon and the officers. The place they headed to was the warehouse where the underground passage I had arrived through was located.
And I confirmed that they had more or less completed their evacuation, then headed toward the village entrance.
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