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The Hidden Side of the Imperial Capital – Part 04

Even in the large, bright, and vibrant capital, there were dark alleys where even the city’s patrol soldiers hesitated to tread, dangerous places that had to be approached cautiously. Most of the buildings lacked entrances, only endless walls with no windows, or the occasional dilapidated house. The slums.

The residents had diverse backgrounds. Some were born and raised here, while others ended up hiding due to insurmountable debt. Some were adventurers unable to continue working due to injuries, and some were elderly individuals, abandoned because they were thought to have contagious diseases.

Despite their circumstances, these people still got hungry and horny, so there were those who sold bread to them, and engaged in prostitution.

“You can’t see at all, Sir?”

An old man sat hunched in a corner of the street, covered in filth. It was hard to tell when he last bathed. The skin from his forehead to his left eye was festered, while his right eye was clouded.

“Huh…? Who are you?”

He clearly couldn’t see, but he seemed to sense light, perceiving the open sky behind the figure standing before him.

The person extended their hand to touch the festering wound on the old man’s forehead. Even his own family had avoided contact with it, ultimately kicking him out of their house.

“You can’t stay here anymore,” they had said. “We don’t want you infecting the kids.”

Startled, the old man tried to push the hand away, but he couldn’t.

“O’ God who art in heaven, in your name I ask for a miracle. In my right hand is the gift of life, in my left the blessing of death. Bless us who live in this world. My mana I offer…”

Golden light poured forth, and something warm flowed onto the old man’s forehead.

“A-Ah…”

The festering part remained, but the skin beneath it improved in color. The cloudy eye cleared, revealing the old man’s green irises.

At last, the old man saw the person before him—an individual wearing a mask carved with a flower pattern. Using a cloth, the masked figure gently wiped the old man’s face clean. Both his left and right eyes had been restored to normal.

“You’re a kind soul. You tried to push my hand away to prevent any possible infection.”

“Wh-Who are you?”

“I have healed you completely, so now you can move just like a healthy person. Please accept this small offering. Use it to clean yourself up and return to your former life.”

The masked girl placed a small pouch filled with coins in the old man’s hand.

“If you have any problems, please turn to the Church.”

With that, the girl vanished like smoke.

The old man gazed blankly at the spot where the girl had vanished. Then, he checked his own hands. He could see them clearly, his same old palms.

There was a clink, and the old man looked at the pouch.

“I can’t believe it…” With trembling hands, he grasped it and raised it toward the sky, pressing his head against the ground. “It’s a miracle. A miracle has happened. God sent an angel.”

---

Elsewhere, an ex-adventurer who had lost her right leg was standing on a street corner, working as a prostitute. Her eyes were lifeless, and although she was wrapped in a sheer cloth seemingly designed to expose her body, she kept her missing leg hidden.

“Excuse me. Are you Kate, the former Rank C adventurer?”

“Huh?” The woman turned.

The masked nun noticed the faint flame deep in her eyes.

“I heard about you from the Adventurers Guild. They said that if you had your leg back, you could return to active work anywhere.”

“Are you messing with me? Look, I’m missing a leg, so the only thing I can do is whore myself out.”

She lifted her long skirt, revealing the absence of anything below her knees.

If you were to ask an adventurer what was the most important part of their body, it would be their legs. Legs were necessary for navigating awful roads, engaging monsters in combat, and for running away from danger.

“If you’ll excuse me.” The masked nun suddenly crouched down.

“H-Hey!”

Kate, losing her balance, tried to keep the nun away, but someone grabbed her from behind.

“Don’t move.”

“Wh-Who are you?!”

Kate, completely unaware of the other person’s approach, shivered at the ice-cold voice. However, her fear was dispelled the next moment.

“O’ God who art in heaven…”

Kate immediately recognized the masked nun’s use of healing magic, having been in the same party with a male monk during her long adventuring career, who used this spell regularly. She had spent many nights with this monk, but he was womanizer, and after she lost her leg, he disappeared from her life along with her other party members.

Rank C monks were capable of casting mid-level healing magic, but compared to the current surge of magical power, the difference was like a ditch and a grand river.

“A-Ah, wh-what is happening? I feel itchy!”

“Lord Silver Face.”

“Yeah.”

Bathed in golden light, a tingling sensation surged through her missing leg. The man restraining her from behind quickly drew a knife and made cuts in the bandages.

What Kate saw as the bandages gently unraveled she would remember for the rest of her life. Just like the way a plant’s shoots sprouted, bone and flesh extended in unison. It took only a matter of seconds for her lost leg to be completely restored.

“Phew, that should do it. Your leg has just started receiving blood again, so please practice walking for at least a month.”

“Wha… What?”

Kate, who still couldn’t comprehend what had just happened, couldn’t take her eyes off her restored leg.

“The weapons and armor that you threw away when you retired are still stored at the capital’s Adventurers Guild. I’m sure your gear is waiting for you to return.”

Upon hearing this, Kate raised her head with a start.

But there was no one there, and all that remained was the bandage that had slipped off her leg, fluttering in the wind.

---

The sound of a coughing fit filled the dark room. A thin, pale young boy lay on the bed, his vacant eyes wandering around.

The only time he talked to someone was when his mother returned home late at night. His father was absent. A heavy drinker, he left after the boy caught a lung disease, not wanting to catch it. He was the type of man who was always searching for reasons to leave, but his mother still held a glimmer of hope for his return.

The mother worked from early morning to late at night, splitting her time between the market and the tavern. After buying medicine for the boy, her wages hardly left her with anything, and the boy’s meals were restricted to a single breakfast. He could only eat at night when his mother brought back leftovers from the tavern.

During the day, he would stay still. This way, he wouldn’t tire and wouldn’t feel hungry either. His continuous slight fever meant that he couldn’t move much anyway.

“Maybe it’s better if I’m dead.”

Talking to himself in the small, empty house was a common practice. He had to, or it would feel like the world had left him behind, and the darkness around him would crush his heart.

“I wish I died from the epidemic. I didn’t see anyone, so I didn’t get infected.”

The Accursed Toxin that struck the capital had reached the vicinity of the boy’s house, too. The family two houses down had contracted the disease, but they recovered afterward thanks to the antidote, sparing the boy from any possible infection.

“Back then, Mom stayed home all day. We talked a lot, and it was fun.”

When the poison was wreaking havoc, the markets and taverns were closed, and his mother had stayed at home. They were running low on food, but having his mother around made the boy happy. He had heard his mother’s old stories countless times, and listening to her fond memories of his absent father was heartrending, but he was grateful nonetheless.

“Maybe those times were God’s final gift for me.”

Clatter.

No mice approached this house that lacked food, so the only time there was a sound was when the boy’s mother returned home. However, it was only afternoon.

“L-Lord Silver Face, I can’t leave this boy alone like this.”

A voice came from nearby, and the boy saw a masked nun crying.

“Well, we didn’t come here just to leave. We’re here to help.”

“R-Right.”

Beside her was a masked man. His young-sounding voice suggested he was only a little older than the boy.

“Um… Are you robbers?” the boy asked, realizing that they had heard him talking to himself. “There’s nothing here.”

“We’re not robbers,” the woman said tearfully. “In fact, we came to help you.”

“Um, my mom forbids me from receiving anything. She says charity often means debt.”

The woman burst into tears. “What a cruel world!”

At this point, the boy started to think that they came here for a different purpose, not to rob his home.

“Then use your magic already.”

“O-Okay. Can you stay still?”

“Um… What’s going on?” the boy asked, confused.

The masked nun gently rested her hand on the boy’s forehead.

The boy recognized the magic invoked by her resonant voice. A basic healing spell. He felt relief knowing he wouldn’t be charged for it, and at the same time, he was surprised by the masked nun’s considerable amount of mana.

Normally, this spell would produce a soft glow from her palms, but her entire form was engulfed in a radiant, golden light, her garments billowing.

The boy sensed that this was no ordinary magic, and at that moment, a warm surge of magical energy flowed into his body.

“A-Ah…”

His body warmed from its core. Energy surged all the way to his chipped fingernails. As the fever receded, the fog that had clouded his mind dissipated, gradually making way for clarity. His first sensation was a gnawing hunger.

“Ah…”

When his stomach let out a faint growl, the light had dimmed, and the masked nun and her companion had vanished. A freshly baked loaf of bread and three shiny gold coins sat at the corner of the bed.

The boy couldn’t resist the enticing aroma wafting from the bread, finding it more alluring than the faint glow of the gold coins. He grabbed the bread and devoured it, not caring about the gold coin rolling off the bed.

On that very night, the boy’s mother returned home to find her previously bedridden son on his feet, tidying up the house. After the initial shock, joyful sobs and comforting words filled the shabby dwelling, reaching far beyond its dilapidated walls.