Chapter Seven
The rest of the process went smoothly; after all, this seemingly cunning fellow did have some good methods for dealing with corruption. The girl's level of corruption was kept very low, so Karl didn't have to put in much effort to complete his task.
Even so, it still took several hours.
"Thank you so much." After Karl finished the whole process, Ark handed him a money pouch: "Would you like to have dinner together?"
“Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t need it, and I’m not eating out for dinner.” Carl pushed the bag of money away. “This job is free; you don’t need to spend any money.”
This kind of thing has to be free, because if it's not dealt with, monsters will be created. Monsters created by humans are far more insane than most naturally generated monsters.
Broadly speaking, this is to maintain social stability. More specifically, it's to reduce one's own workload.
“No, you’re not working now, but you still need to be paid overtime.” But Yak forced the bag of money into his pocket and whispered in his ear, “And please don’t tell anyone that I and this guy were here.”
"Why?" Karl suddenly became alert, his body tensing involuntarily: "You haven't shown me this girl's identification."
"Didn't I say that she accidentally lost her ID on the way and will get a replacement later?"
"Please don't try to fool me with such a lame lie." Karl raised his eyes, his pupils suddenly flashing with a crimson-gold light: "So, what do you, a monster, want to do in this city? I hope you only stay here for a few days. This is a human settlement, and we do not welcome you."
Ark's body stiffened for a moment, and the tense expression on his face twitched.
Carl didn't give him a friendly look at all, snorted coldly, and walked behind him with his hands behind his back.
After a long while, Ark could only shake his head helplessly: "I understand. Don't worry, we won't stay here for long. We'll leave once we have enough supplies."
“That would be best.” Karl closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the eerie authority he had just displayed vanished. “I hope you can be more self-aware. Besides, I’m not the only clergyman in this city. There’s also a knightly order and a paladin here. You understand what I mean?”
"Don't worry, we won't cause any trouble." Yak carried Lady, who had fainted from the pain, on his back. "Sweet dreams tonight."
"Be careful on the road, and don't forget your things," Carl replied coldly, tossing the bag of money in his pocket far away before turning to pack his things.
He's been held up by those two monsters for too long; it's time to go back.
The bag of money was full and heavy. But this guy named Karl just casually tossed it far away, all the way to the door.
"Looks like you really hate monsters," Ark said, catching the money pouch just before leaving.
“I wouldn’t say I hate them, but I’m also a guardian of this city, so I can’t let my guard down when it comes to monsters.” Carlton paused and said, “I need to protect the safety of humans.”
......
"Does he hate me?" Lady asked cautiously, her arms around Ark's neck.
She was carried on Ark's back, and in just a short while, all the wounds on her body had healed as if she had never been injured.
"So you're awake." Ark didn't answer the question, but instead said something completely unrelated.
"Yes, I woke up a while ago, but I just hadn't figured out what to say." After saying that, Lady paused for a long time before adding, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"You haven't answered my question yet."
“I don’t know how to answer that question. Anyway, it’s clear he doesn’t like us.” Yak paused on the street, looking up at the falling snow. “But he’s a good person; I can tell he doesn’t mean any harm.”
Why do you say that?
“It’s an innate ability. I can sense someone’s malice towards me, even if I don’t know why.” Acton paused and said, “And he also gave us some warnings, such as that there’s a knightly order led by a paladin in this city. He was probably trying to warn us not to provoke those guys.”
Are the people in the Knights of Faith bad?
“No, they’re all good people.” Yak hesitated for a moment and said, “They’re a bit too good… They’re too upright, so I guess they’ll cause us trouble.”
Yes...they are all good people, very upright. God has always chosen people very well; they are all rigidly good people.
Yak sighed, though his expression was blank and his voice devoid of any emotion.
But he did feel a little sad. There were people everywhere, but he felt like he was walking on a lonely path.
After a while, Lady said softly, "Put me down, I can walk now."
After she stepped onto the ground, she turned around and looked Ark up and down: "Aren't you human either?"
Ark took out the sign he had shown Karl from his pocket: "I am a monster, but I have already obtained identification."
"That's not bad." Lady nodded.
“You’ve become more talkative, unlike before when you wouldn’t say a word for a long time,” Ark said, looking at Lady. “Why?”
“My dad said I’m not human,” Lady said softly. “Actually, I’m not exactly a monster either… but he told me that rational monsters are safer than humans, at least for me.”
"Heh, you can't really blame those people for hating us so much. After all, most monsters are dangerous to humans." Ark was a little embarrassed by what was said, and the little emoticon on his head looked away. "Can you drink alcohol?"
Why bring this up at a time like this?
“Because we need to figure out what to do for dinner.” Acton paused and said, “Plus, I also want to have a drink. It’s so cold tonight, I feel like I’m going to freeze.”
"I've never had it." Lady looked at the wooden house at the end of the street. "Is that the tavern?"
It was a simple but clean shop, separated by a plain wooden door. But no noise came from inside, because most people there were just drinking and didn't talk much.
"Hmm, it seems there's wheat being grown in this safe zone."
......
In the alley behind them, Karl glanced at the two men who had entered the tavern, then disappeared into the dark alley.
The priest followed them closely, tracking the two creatures from a distance.
However, Carl had no intention of harming the two creatures; at least he was ready to leave once he was sure they had found a place to stay.
He had to make sure these two guys weren't dangerous, otherwise he'd be in big trouble if they caused trouble in the city.
Fortunately, it seems they don't intend to do anything bad, so I should talk to the knights and ask them to send someone to keep an eye on things just in case.
Carl walked through the dark alleyway until he emerged from the other side.
It's very late now, and the celestial discs have completely gone out. The whole world is pitch black, with only a few torches providing any light.
He turned left and right, walking through this strange cluster of buildings.
Frequent earthquakes and other forms of destruction have led to chaotic development in the city, making it difficult for residents to even figure out its layout.
However, Carl was very familiar with the area, so he walked around quite leisurely.
He doesn't walk fast, so that if someone needs his help, he can get there quickly.
He walked for an unknown amount of time before stopping in front of a house that looked exactly like the houses next door. He took out his key from his pocket and opened the door.
This small house was his home. Housing in this city was centrally allocated, so no one lived in luxury, nor did anyone sleep on the streets. Therefore, even a high-ranking priest had to live in this seemingly inconspicuous place.
He pushed open the door, and a warm breeze wafted out. Karl let out a long breath, a smile unconsciously spreading across his face, as if all the fatigue of the day had been dispelled.
He wasn't the only one living in the house; there was also a little girl who was sleeping on the table with a book in her arms. She looked quite young, probably around twelve years old.
She was wearing a somewhat comical bunny pajama set. She was sprawled on an open book, looking like she had fallen asleep rather hastily, perhaps reading beforehand. The fireplace next to her crackled and popped, making the room warm and cozy.
There was also a ceramic jar on the table, and even with the lid on, you could smell the fragrance inside.
Karl closed the door and put the earthenware pot into the fire. It seemed the child had made him dinner, but he had returned too late and it was cold.
Then he took off his priest's robe and draped it over the little girl, sat down beside her, took out a notebook from his pocket, and wrote something on it.
After taking off his priest's robe, he was only wearing a linen garment similar to that of an ordinary person. If we remove the fact that his eye color was different from that of ordinary people, he really looked like an ordinary person.
"You're back?" The girl suddenly looked up at Karl, her face still half-asleep, and rubbed her eyes. "Why are you so late today?"
"Something came up, but it's all sorted out now." Karl smiled and ruffled the girl's hair. "Did you take good care of the house after I left?"
"Yes, I'm very well-behaved," the girl said, patting her small chest with a proud air.
"Hehe, that's good." Karl got up, took the earthenware pot from the stove, and placed it on the table. "Have you eaten?"
"I'm full, don't worry about me."
Inside the earthenware pot was a pot of porridge made with rice and some meat. Although the ingredients weren't anything fancy, it was definitely a delicious porridge.
Even though she said she had already eaten, Carl still asked her to sit next to him and served her a bowl as well.
The city is currently facing a food shortage, which is the norm. Even though he is a clergyman, a supposedly privileged group, he still has to rely on rations for food.
However, for some reason, he was the only one short of food rations. It was always a struggle for two people to share the rations of one person. Fortunately, the other one looked like a little girl and couldn't eat much.
Even so, food shortages remain the norm.
Based on past experience, if the child comes home late for dinner, he will lie and say that he has already eaten, using this somewhat pathetic method to save some food.
The girl looked at the bowl of porridge, hesitated for a moment, and then seemed a little embarrassed.
"Thank you," she said softly, slowly taking the bowl and eating in small bites.
It certainly seems like he's lying to himself; this child is probably making him go hungry again.
Carl shook his head slightly, sighed softly, and then began to deal with his own dinner.
I should eat some myself too, otherwise the child will worry.
Having grown accustomed to hunger, most people are somewhat malnourished. Fortunately, this child doesn't seem to be in that situation yet.
"What happened outside today?" the child suddenly asked in a low voice after a short while.
Because she didn't leave from here, she didn't know what was happening outside. She used to only know about the outside world through Karl.
“Nothing major, just like before.” Carlton paused and said, “However, a merchant came to the city today. He’s a monster, but he’s got the proper identification. He’s with a monster girl in human form, and they don’t have any security clearance yet.”
Will they hurt us?
“With me here, they can’t do it.” Carl expressed his attitude in the simplest terms.
However, he was indeed confident that as long as he was there, these monsters wouldn't be able to cause any real trouble.
"That's good." The girl said softly, then slowly leaned on Karl's shoulder and yawned.
Carl held the child in his arms. It was indeed a bit cold today, and the child looked sleepy and cold.
He thought this as he looked out the window.
For some inexplicable reason, he's been a bit irritable lately. He has a feeling that something big is about to happen, but he doesn't know what it will be.
Today, too, the reason he was a bit rude to those two guys was because this bad feeling made him dislike everyone.
But nothing happened until they left, which wasn't a good thing, because the feeling that something big was about to happen became even stronger.
Carl slowly closed his eyes. He trusted his intuition, but there was nothing he could do.
He needs to rest because he hasn't eaten much, and sleeping more will help him conserve his energy.
Thankfully, there's still a bed here. It's not pretty, but at least it's warm. At times like this, all you need is a warm bed to feel happy. It's just that when material things are scarce, no one feels unhappy because they lack something, but rather joyful because they have it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com