Is there truly any safe place left within Anvil City?
Now that the Abyss has already seeped into the city, with even humans succumbing to its corruption, there was no place left in Anvil City untouched by danger.
No matter where you went, harm from the Abyss might find you. In such circumstances, where could she possibly take these children?
Did she really have the ability to help them?
“Big sister?”
Alyosha seemed to notice the faint confusion on her face and cautiously called out.
“Big sister, are you alright?”
“It’s nothing, I was just thinking about something very important.”
“Alyosha understands.”
With that, she turned and motioned to the other three children to be quiet, lowering her voice.
“Let’s keep our voices down, everyone. Big sister is thinking about something important, so let’s not disturb her.”
The children nodded in turn, their previously excited voices—having just received things they liked—quickly fading, as though afraid of interrupting her thoughts.
Alyosha, what a considerate child she is.
Yuri didn’t know her past, but she must have experienced something to become like this.
If she hadn’t gone through all that, she probably would have had a happy family and lived a joyful life.
Just as Yuri herself once did, before the curse ever appeared.
Yuri gently shook her head, the memories that had just surfaced in her mind drifting away.
She had nothing left to long for in the past—now, she only wanted to live on.
Looking at the small, thin children, Yuri pondered for a while about where they might go, and at last came up with an answer.
An orphanage.
There should be an orphanage somewhere in Anvil City.
After asking around, Yuri brought the children to Saint Anna Orphanage, located in the north of the city. It was said to have been established by the city’s church, and even the Lord’s Manor provided funds to keep it running.
For Alyosha and the others, this was undoubtedly the best choice.
As for the church, Yuri had once thought about trying their purification rituals, to see if they could purify Elise from her body.
But after returning to Anvil City, so many things had happened that she simply never found the time. It was delayed again and again.
Now that she thought about it, those low-level purification spells of the priests could never possibly drive Elise out of her body.
Even if Elise was now just a lingering soul attached to her, she was a heretic god, not something that could be expelled by simple purification.
Arriving at the orphanage gate, Yuri looked up at the three-story stone building, which was clearly quite old. Ivy crept across its exterior walls. In the yard, a few children were playing, but the overall atmosphere seemed a little heavy.
As Yuri led the children inside, a middle-aged woman in a nun’s habit stepped out. When she saw the sallow, skinny children behind Yuri, her eyes filled with pity.
“These children are…?”
The nun questioned as she looked at the children behind Yuri.
“These are children wandering in the east of the city. They ran into some danger there. I want to bring them somewhere a little safer.”
“May the Goddess bless you, but I’m sorry.”
The nun shook her head, gazing at the poor children.
“Our orphanage simply can’t take in more children right now. We’re already running short on food and supplies. The Lord’s Manor’s grant for this year still hasn’t arrived, and the church has no more hands or resources to spare. We can barely take care of the children we have.”
Yuri looked at the children playing in the yard—their faces pale, their clothes fairly clean but patched in many places, likely not changed for a long time.
Even the orphanage itself was in need of repair. Yuri noticed several broken windows merely covered over with cardboard.
The orphanage’s circumstances were tough, but for these children, it was already the best choice.
Yuri took out her coin pouch from her spatial storage bag, not counting the amount, grabbing a handful of silver mixed with a few coppers, and handed them to the nun.
“This is all I can give for now. I hope it’ll help these children find shelter. If you need more, I’ll find a way.”
“The Goddess will remember your kindness.”
The nun took the coins from Yuri and called over a young nun.
“Take these children to get washed up first.”
The young nun nodded and led the children inside. As Alyosha was taken away, she looked back at Yuri several times—perhaps she had something she wanted to say.
“Thank you, kind miss. With your help, life for these children will be a little easier.”
“I only did what I could.”
Just like that, the children settled down at the orphanage. Before Yuri left, the nun told her that a girl named Alyosha had something she wished to say.
Yuri walked over to a large locust tree in the courtyard. Alyosha hugged her gray rabbit plush, looking up at Yuri.
Her freshly washed face was delicate and pretty; if she could get proper nutrition, she’d grow into a beautiful girl. But now, those lovely eyes brimmed with anxiety.
“Big sister…the monsters have come again. Will…will everyone die? Just like last time…”
“Hm? Why do you ask that?”
Yuri knelt down, gazing into Alyosha’s uneasy eyes. The girl must have experienced something terrible.
Alyosha lowered her head, nervously picking at her rabbit’s ear. “The place where Alyosha used to live was a small town, much smaller than Anvil City. Everyone there was friendly, and Alyosha was happy every day.
But one night, black monsters suddenly appeared in the town… They killed everyone they saw. Everyone in the town was killed…”
Her voice began to tremble.
“Papa and Mama hid me in a wine barrel in the cellar and told me not to come out no matter what.
I stayed there for a long, long time. I covered my ears, but I could still hear everyone screaming, and the monsters roaring… Later, the noise faded, and I crept out… The town was covered in blood, and there was so much black, sticky stuff everywhere.
I wanted to find Papa and Mama, but I searched and searched, and I could never find them.”
Tears sparkled in the corners of Alyosha’s eyes, and her voice choked with sobs.
“Besides Alyosha, a few people survived in the town. I left with them.
We walked, and walked… walked a long way, and finally came to Anvil City. The people who brought me here said it was safe, that we wouldn’t meet monsters again.
But, but…the monsters seem to have come again… Will everyone end up like before…?”
Alyosha’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she bit her lip tightly, refusing to cry out loud.
Looking at the girl before her, Yuri reached out and gently patted her head.
“They won’t,” Yuri said softly. “Don’t worry, everyone in Anvil City will be alright.”
Yuri wasn’t used to smiling, but for the sake of this girl, she managed to put on a smile.
“Really?”
“Trust me, everyone will be fine.”
Alyosha stared into her eyes for a long time, then nodded slightly, hugging her plushie even tighter.
“Then…will you come to see me again?”
“I will. Once I’ve taken care of some things, I’ll come back to see you, Alyosha.”
“Then it’s a promise. I trust you. Everyone will be okay.”
Alyosha wiped away her tears and gave Yuri a sweet smile.
—
After leaving the orphanage, Elise, who had been quiet for a long while, suddenly appeared before her.
“Hey~ Yuri-chan, even though none of this has anything to do with you, why go to such lengths?”