Chapter 37 Don’t give money

‘This is so disgusting, so unbearable!’

In fact, Elia was very lucky, because what she ate was the snack made by the little boy.

Apart from having a bit of sand mixed in and poor presentation, its original taste hadn’t been processed much.

But human taste buds can be deceived by sight. Coupled with Elia’s subconscious belief that these things were incredibly unappetizing, the result was… she became even angrier.

Yes, you read that right.

Because spitting it out was impossible, and casting purification magic or anything similar was also impossible. With everyone watching, she had no other choice but to brace herself and pretend everything was fine.

But what angered her was that she had swallowed it despite her reluctance, yet no one else followed suit and took a bite… This immediately made her feel a psychological imbalance; the repressed dissatisfaction surged rapidly within her, wondering why only she had to suffer such indignity.

Finally, she decided: she would make these guys pay, make them suffer ten times worse than she had!

Soon, as the sounds of worship and praise faded, she immediately cast magic to make her clear, melodious, almost heavenly voice reach everyone’s ears.

‘Won’t everyone try a bite?’

Someone subconsciously wanted to obey and try, but immediately realized that the Saintess’s true intention was not to embarrass them.

This was because the Saintess’s voice held no tone of coercion, threat, command, or questioning; there was only sorrow and grief.

Furthermore, they noticed that the Saintess’s words were inaudible to the orphanage children.

Because the Saintess didn’t want to hurt them.

‘Honestly, these snacks are very unappetizing. I took a great deal of resolve to eat them, and I still feel somewhat uncomfortable now.’

Many looked with pity at the pink-haired girl whose voice transmitted to them. However, on her peerlessly beautiful face, there was not a trace of pain, as if all worldly suffering was but fleeting clouds.

But she did genuinely show an expression of sadness—for people other than herself.

‘Everyone needn’t worry about me. I am well, yet not at all well.’

Elia turned to look at Jorrit, whose face was full of guilt, then at the somewhat bewildered children around, at the simple furniture, at the old house… Finally, she looked at the clean plate in front of her, revealing an expression on the verge of tears.

‘Before coming here, I never imagined that there would be children living such arduous lives in the kingdom.

I also never imagined that while we stay in warm palaces enjoying delicious food, there are people in the kingdom wearing such thin clothes, eating things so hard to swallow, even things that cannot be called food, and then facing this biting, bone-chilling winter… Everyone, I am truly well, we are all well, at least far, far better than they are.’

The quick-witted, or rather, the fervent Saintess fans, had already reacted, standing up and loudly declaring:

‘Your Highness Elia, please rest assured, I will donate funds to the orphanage!’

‘I will donate too!’

‘Me too!’

This development was undoubtedly the situation Jorrit and all the orphanage children most desired to see.

But Her Highness the Saintess, who represented compassion and benevolence, shook her head.

‘Thank you for your kind intentions, but what this orphanage truly needs is not these things.’

Huh? Jorrit, who had been overjoyed and on the verge of tears just a moment ago, was instantly dumbfounded. He wanted to say that what he needed was precisely funds, but he feared that saying so would anger these nobles.

He could only gesticulate frantically towards the pink-haired Saintess, hoping she would understand his meaning.

However, upon seeing this, the latter merely smiled faintly.

‘Logically speaking, renovating the orphanage’s facilities and ensuring the children are well-clothed and fed should be no trouble for Sir Jorrit. But why is the reality so different? Is he deceiving us, or does he have an unspeakable difficulty? Sir Rod, what do you think?’

Viscount Rod was the Ministry of Transport official accompanying them this time, usually in charge of road repairs and toll collection at various checkpoints. He had frequently made things difficult for Jorrit.

Now, being called out by the Saintess, he immediately understood her meaning, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He quickly nodded:

‘Henceforth, I will ensure smooth and unimpeded transportation of supplies for Viscount Jorrit.’

However, Elia shook her head again.

‘It’s not one-sided help, but cooperation. The responsibility for the children’s healthy growth should not be borne by Sir Jorrit alone, and smooth transportation should not only benefit the orphanage…’

More people realized what was happening. Elia not only wanted to improve the orphanage’s situation but also intended to save the entire slum area.

Many immediately showed troubled expressions, because this would cost far too much compared to simply donating a small amount of money to the orphanage.

Although they intended to curry favor with Elia, if the cost was too great, it would be counterproductive…

‘Sir Walter, what do you think?’

‘Mr. Famelan, would you be willing to cooperate with Viscount Jorrit?’

But gradually, as Elia called out more and more names, many realized that the situation was not so simple.

Perhaps by coincidence, officials from various functional departments that could make a place flourish—roads, water conservancy, agriculture, commerce, handicrafts—were all accompanying them this time.

If money was only invested in one aspect, these funds would undoubtedly sink like a stone. But if they cooperated and invested in all aspects, it suddenly seemed… to have some potential?

Nobles were insatiable; whether it was wealth or reputation, they didn’t want to miss out on either.

Unfortunately, reputation was hard to come by, while wealth was easy.

They often chose wealth and disregarded reputation. But if an opportunity to gain both wealth and fame was presented to them, even if the financial aspect was merely breaking even, they would be eager to act, and then it would become ‘better to act than to be tempted’…

‘I believe that as long as everyone is willing to assist each other and work together, this orphanage, the slum… and even the entire kingdom will become increasingly beautiful.’

Finally, under Elia’s marketing of empty slogans, those present with a bit of wealth and power were all dumbfounded as they joined this development team centered around the orphanage, filled with beautiful fantasies about the future.

Of course, they would never have imagined that the true inner journey of a certain Saintess, whom they believed to be both wise and kind, and who was orchestrating all of this, was actually like this—

‘Want to wipe the slate clean by donating a bunch of money? Dream on! Don’t think I don’t know your underhanded methods of turning charity into personal gain!’

‘Viscount Jorrit, I haven’t even settled the score with you for making me eat such disgusting things, and now you want to gain something for nothing and claim the aid money for yourself? Heh heh, just watch me make everyone come here to get a piece of the pie!’

‘Yes, all of you, get involved! All of you, cough up the gold! All of you, spend money heavily! You damned misers! How many floors does one sack of rice need to be carried up?!’

Harboring thoughts of retaliating against all the bystanders present, making them bleed profusely in terms of wealth, Elia swiftly expanded what should have been a minor matter of sponsoring the orphanage into revitalizing the entire slum area.

To prevent these people from having only a three-minute burst of enthusiasm, she also stated that she would continuously monitor the matter.

Of course, the real reason was that she feared having to smell those foul odors again during the next inspection… Thus, plans to rebuild sewers and process excrement in bulk for agricultural use were also put on the agenda.

You ask if so many plans and projects can be realized?

Elia didn’t care; it wasn’t her money being spent anyway. No one asked her to pay throughout the process, and she didn’t intend to. If it succeeded, she would gain both profit and fame, so why not?

But if Luke were to describe it, the situation might develop even more smoothly than she imagined.

Because if she didn’t pay attention, plenty of others would.

The Church, for instance, planned to closely monitor this matter to publicize the Saintess’s achievements once it succeeded.

And those fervent fans secretly vowed to fulfill their Saintess’s wishes and let her glory spread throughout the world.

Regardless of the reason, it meant that this matter would develop in a positive direction.

You ask about the orphanage’s current funding issues?

In Luke’s view, that wasn’t even a problem.

Although a certain person said that funds weren’t the most needed thing, sometimes, even if you refuse, others will still do it.

Not to mention, some people were unable to join the city’s development and construction but still wanted to show some respect to the Saintess…

Besides these, Luke also strongly agreed that simple donations wouldn’t work.

Because the slum was nearby.

If those hungry and cold people knew the orphanage received such a large sum of money… they wouldn’t care if you were a good person, doing good deeds, or if it was for the elderly, children, or women.

However, now… with the addition of personnel from the Knight Order and city guards, and their promise to rectify public order, such worries were already somewhat superfluous.

‘How can this guy’s luck be so good?’

Gazing at the scummy pinkette who had unintentionally brought all this about, Luke couldn’t help but smile inwardly.