Chapter 20: Something that can never be compromised (3)

Well, you’ve done it now…

In a filthy room with wooden walls covered in mold, the Unyielding Rock lay fast asleep on a bed that seemed untouched by laundry for ages.

Despite the unsightly bruises on her body, the direct cause of her unconsciousness seemed to be exhaustion and hunger.

Not even the Saint’s divine power could do much to help.

With proper rest and nourishment, she should recover.

It could’ve been a simple matter of slipping a few coins to the innkeeper to ensure she was taken care of.

That’s what I would’ve preferred, but my companions thought differently.

Having seen her being beaten in the village, they insisted we take full responsibility for her care.

It made me wonder if they even realized that our current enemy was her Red Tail Tribe.

“Mmh…”

“Ah, she’s waking up!”

Taking shifts to nurse her and staying up all night was incredibly stressful.

Perhaps understanding my plight, the Unyielding Rock began to stir and slowly move.

She was a beastkin girl with deep crimson hair braided into two plaits that hung below her shoulders.

She wore an outfit adorned with a surprising number of feathers.

Her sharp features made her look fierce, but she was undeniably beautiful.

A true heroine, indeed. Like Laura and Natalia, her appearance alone was outstanding.

To be fair, even I sometimes get flustered looking at myself in the mirror.

She was a radiant beauty with bronze skin, blessed with the “Blessing of the Guide.”

This ability allowed her to instinctively find the correct path.

In the game, it manifested as a map that was fully revealed, a handy feature when navigating the fortress’s ever-changing structure to hunt demons.

However, outside that context, her ability wasn’t particularly useful, reducing her to little more than a throwaway character designed for NTR scenes.

Harsh treatment for a heroine, but then again, all the heroines in this game seemed to suffer similarly.

If anything, the Saint, who bore the brunt of the game’s infamous “love scenes,” seemed the most pitiable.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Where… is this?”

I didn’t want to get too involved, but it was better to make a good first impression.

Deciding on that course of action, I smiled warmly. The Unyielding Rock stared silently at my face before looking around the room.

A strange ceiling, unfamiliar walls, and unknown people—it was only natural for her to feel disoriented.

I intended to explain the situation, but she suddenly moved with startling speed.

“Where am I? What are you planning to do to our tribe?”

“W-wait…!”

In one swift motion, she grabbed my arm, yanked me onto the bed, and twisted my arm behind my back.

The pain was excruciating, and I found myself lying face-down on the bed.

“W-we were trying to help…”

“Don’t lie to me! Who would help us in a situation like this?”

She pressed down hard on my shoulder, and the pain only intensified.

This ungrateful girl! Not only did she ignore the help we’d given her, but now she had the nerve to threaten me? I was beyond baffled.

Fortunately, my companions quickly noticed the commotion and entered the room.

Unfortunately, they were armed, which only made things worse.

The Unyielding Rock, somehow pulling a dagger seemingly out of nowhere, pressed it against my neck.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

“Hero, follow my lead. I’ll give you the signal.”

“…Understood.”

There was no way a regular person, even one with her blessing, could keep up with the Hero’s movements.

Realizing this, the Hero and Natalia seemed ready to resolve the situation by force rather than negotiation.

“Wait, a nun…?”

“Yes, I’m a nun…”

“Ahhh! I’m so sorry! I’m such an idiot for doing this!”

At that moment, the Unyielding Rock noticed my current attire—a modest black nun’s habit.

Realizing that I could use divine power, she began apologizing profusely.

Technically, I was a Saint, but there was no need to elaborate.

“I know words can’t express how sorry I am, but… this is all I can say. I’m truly sorry!”

I didn’t understand why my nun’s habit held such significance, but her relentless apologies were starting to feel overwhelming.

My companions, equally baffled by her sudden change in behavior, exchanged uncertain glances without saying a word.

“Sister, please… I have one request. Could you come to the sanctuary and visit us?”

Of course, everything has a reason and a price.

It wasn’t long before I understood why the Unyielding Rock was treating me with such reverence.

“I’m sorry for doubting you, Sister. To think you would grant my request… There are good people in the church after all.”

As we walked down a dark path with the Unyielding Rock leading the way, she continually expressed her gratitude.

For now, I was keeping my identity as a member of the Hero’s party a secret.

She seemed convinced that I was a high-ranking nun, with my companions serving as my escorts.

Not that she seemed particularly devout.

Her offhand remark about “good people in the church” revealed an unconscious prejudice against the institution.

In other words, they’re only flattering me because they need my help.

If they didn’t, they probably wouldn’t hesitate to keep this hostage act going.

Just as I strive to speak like a saint in front of others, hiding one’s true feelings isn’t an easy feat.

“Actually, there’s a mysterious illness spreading in the sanctuary.

At the very least, medicine would help, but as you can imagine, obtaining it in our current situation is almost impossible.”

“So, they need your help, Sera?”

“Yes, it’s embarrassing to admit, but we’re hoping the Sister could tend to the patients.”

“I’m not sure how the warriors will react, though.”

“…That won’t be a problem. The warriors are all stationed at the fortress. Besides, even we sometimes find them intimidating.”

Why was it treated as a foregone conclusion that I’d be the one to look after the patients? Neither the Hero, Natalia, nor even Laura, who had remained silent, seemed to have any objections to this premise.

I’d felt this way ever since arriving in the Holy Kingdom, but the title “Saint” was really the issue.

Why was I expected to perform these thankless tasks without compensation or benefit? If only I’d been called something like “Grand Inquisitor,” I wouldn’t be in this position.

“Ah, there’s the sanctuary up ahead.”

She was quite skilled, truly. The Unyielding Rock walked the pitch-black path as though it were broad daylight.

Her navigation ability was remarkable. A journey that would’ve taken half a day was completed in just two hours.

When she mentioned a shortcut earlier, she hadn’t been lying.

“…This is…”

“Terrible, isn’t it? They call it a sanctuary, but it’s really just a dumping ground.”

The sanctuary was land designated for the Red Tail Tribe, who had lost their ancestral homes.

It was an area where they were granted autonomy.

The residents here didn’t have to pay taxes and received a modest subsidy.

Yet, the state of the sanctuary was appalling.

The river was filled with trash and muddy water flowing downstream.

The buildings where the tribe members lived were dilapidated, riddled with holes, and looked ready to collapse at any moment.

To make matters worse, some people were clearly under the influence of cheap drugs, their eyes white and unfocused as they muttered incomprehensibly.

Pointing at them, the Unyielding Rock continued her explanation.

“The sanctuary’s autonomy means it operates under its own laws, separate from the kingdom. That also means things illegal in the kingdom aren’t necessarily illegal here. Not that anyone is monitoring us in the first place…”

“…Then why not outlaw drug distribution here?”

“Haha, that would be nice, wouldn’t it? But the truth is, many people here have no way to survive without the drug trade.”

The so-called autonomy was, in reality, an abandonment.

It meant the Red Tail Tribe were not considered citizens of the kingdom.

As a result, they didn’t enjoy the rights and protections that citizens received.

Infrastructure was limited to the areas near the fortress, where merchants congregated.

This naturally left the sanctuary isolated. In such neglected areas, opportunities were scarce.

Land for farming was limited, and much of it had already been taken.

The kingdom’s reluctance to crack down on drug dealers or illegal gambling stemmed from this reality.

With legitimate jobs hard to come by, some tribes even invited illegal merchants into their sanctuaries to scrape by.

“See the garbage floating down from upstream? It all comes from the villages around the fortress. No matter how much we complain, the kingdom doesn’t lift a finger. Even if we manage to meet someone in power, we’re often beaten and told to handle it ourselves since it’s an autonomous zone.”

The soldiers stationed at the fortress, along with the merchants catering to them, had established villages upstream.

However, to them, the Caputa Highlands were merely a place to make money, not a home.

The waste they generated inevitably flowed downstream to the sanctuary.

Some of this waste included unidentified chemicals and even human waste.

“Being unaligned means this is what we face. What our tribe truly needs isn’t the land we’ve lived on for generations but a nation willing to protect us.”

With their autonomy and small subsidies came the complete loss of the rights that kingdom citizens enjoyed.

The situation of the Red Tail Tribe was even more dire than I’d anticipated.

It was almost miraculous that they had managed to align with humanity to fend off the demon invasion in the game.