Chapter 122.

“Where the hell is this ……”

I looked around in confusion. Just a moment ago, I was in the capital’s neat alleyways, and now, lighthouses and sailboats could be seen all around me.

“Tratan is a sea port city.”

Hearing my words in general to myself, Winter answered me amiably.

“A harbor city? Isn’t it near the capital?”

“The forefront of the eastern part of the empire.”

Completely unable to understand, I asked back.

“Why come so far away?”

“This is where the war has caused the most damage.”

So that volunteer activity with the heroine, why do it with me, brat!

I swallowed the words that welled up in my throat with difficulty.

“First of all …… go check it out.”

Anyway, it wasn’t Wynter’s fault, it was the system that instructed him. Just take comfort in that and follow him.

We climbed up the embankment and were able to see the village in the distance, moving our feet. The village was getting closer and closer, and at a glance you could see the desolation. The road and buildings were half collapsed.

Not a single person was hanging around during the busy fishing hours, and the cold village looked like an abandoned place.

It’s so different from the gorgeous capital that I’m a little overwhelmed. Behind the empire where the war ended, there was such a terrible and cruel life.

”It’s also true that even the most powerful countries aren’t left intact.”

But what alarmed me was that it was all too realistic. The normal mode only showed the unfortunate heroine’s life in the capital filled with dreams and hopes. There was no detailed narration of this inner life.

Why is it that the vignettes performed in hard mode also have a gray background ……!

Ha ……!

Trying to swallow a deep sigh, he looked around.

“You’re the noble aunt who came that time, right?”

Lion Mask, who was quietly walking beside me, suddenly whispered. My eyes widened in surprise, glancing at the color of Winter’s eyes who was walking in front of me, and I lowered my voice.

“How did you know?”

“The way of speaking and the voice. I remember.”

“Not bad.”

“Heh heh.”

My praise made the child giggle. I smiled down, a smile that didn’t show then.

“Thanks then. Thanks to you, I’m still alive.”

Truly. If it wasn’t for the Lion Mask, I would have died from the plummeting goodwill even before being shot by the laser fired by Winter.

Hearing my thankful greeting, I saw the child’s eyes curved a bit through the gap, and immediately said sullenly.

“Auntie left and got a hard time from the teacher.”

“I can’t believe it’s auntie. Do I look old?”

Beautifully dressed, but the unambiguous name calling offended me a little.

“What’s the name then?”

“Call me Penelope, that’s my name.”

“I am Lavon. An extension from the lion, I named it myself. My favorite animal is the lion.”

“Yes, Lavon.”

I nodded in satisfaction and returned to the original topic.

“Why did you get a lecture? Because you took me in?”

“Yes. But was praised that the artifacts were well excavated. Auntie, no, thanks to Penelope!”

“Great.”

Maybe it was because the child was too young and the conversation was sparse. But I calmly listened to the child’s words with a guffaw.

“…… But the teacher was sad after that.”

“Why?”

“Losing trust by pointing a cane at random people who helped.”

I looked at Winter’s back in front of me with newfound wonder. A purple progress bar of favoritism clearly emerged above his head.

Was that guilt?

I cocked my head, and Lavon said quietly again.

“The day Penelope came back, the teacher was happy.”

“Is that so?”

“Where’s the best place to start with the volunteer activities that were planned as soon as Penelope left!”

I frowned when I heard the added words. It turned out that it didn’t even want to go on a date with me.

After thinking about it.

‘It also seems like it’s only service in normal mode.’

Other than meeting at the ball, service was the intersection with the heroine.

Looking at the back of his head from afar with distracted eyes. Without realizing it we walked up the small mountain road and reached the village.

At the entrance, children dressed in dirty clothes played and stared wide-eyed when they saw the appearance of outsiders.

”A noblewoman in a gown and two men in masks are worth seeing.”

I looked at myself in the eyes of others with a self-deprecating smile.

Wynter moved to a secluded place with no people and reached a clearing on the village, stopping a moment later. Then he pulled out a black pocket from his arms.

“Lavon. Make sure no one is around.”

Whispering the order, the lion mask recited a strange incantation. Like he was confirming a human voice.

“No.”

After a while, the confirmation seemed to be over. Lavon replied, and Winter acted immediately. He untied the knot of his pocket, took something small out of it, and dropped it on the ground.

Clang – so the thing that fell on the floor suddenly turned into a huge table.

“What ……”

I stared at it with wide eyes. Then, one after another, he took out some small things from his pocket.

After some time, the table displayed in turn a huge awning, a few easy chairs and tables, large metal buckets for multiplying soup, baskets with tons of bread, and bowls with salad. In an instant, the clearing took on the appearance of a snack bar.

“I shrunk it with magic.”

Winter looked at the stunned me and said awkwardly. At that moment, a sea breeze with a fishy smell blew in.

Click, click – a crisp bell rang. Turning my head after the sound, the paper hanging at the end of the tent swayed in the wind.

“Now people will come.”

Lavon told me in a whisper as he approached my side. Sure enough, after a while, the people who had heard the bells gathered silently. One by one, in rags.

“I’ll distribute the soup, can you distribute some bread?”

Winter said to me. Not a difficult task, I nodded. Standing up, I walked behind the bread basket. After a while, the distribution began.

“Thank you, thank you.”

People accepted the food, bowing to Winter in quick succession. Most of the people who came to receive the free meals were young children. Not that there were no adults, but children made up the majority.

I took advantage of the small crowd and asked Winter aloud.

“Why is it that most of the people who come to eat are children?”

Not knowing to ask such a thing, Winter gave me a look of surprise. But soon dutifully gave the answer.

“…… are war orphans. Lost their parents in a night of bombing.”

“Distant families don’t come to receive free meals, being from the Inca Empire, they consider it shameful.”

I can kind of understand why Winter came to serve so far from the front lines. Luckily there was plenty of food and no shortages. As it got to the point of depletion, Winter crept behind the tent, pulled out new food, and brought it over.

A strange thing happened. After finishing his share as the busy surroundings became a bit chilly, a dirty brunette child lined up again from the top and took the allotment.

Hungry?

But instead of eating, the kid suddenly disappeared somewhere and after a while was back in line pretending to be fine. Probably afraid of the masked Winter, ignoring the soup and coming straight to me for bread.

It wasn’t just him. Saw a couple of kids all pretending to take bread for the first time like that. I hand over the bread without saying a word, but it’s getting bolder and the interval between queues has shortened.

“It won’t end if you give it that way.”

The moment I tried to give the brunette bread for the fifth time. Probably not seeing it before, Winter just realized my action.

“Ho!”

Before I could say anything, the kid huffed and ran away.

“Didn’t …… you make ample preparations?”

“Of course, I prepared plenty of food, but not unconditionally more, ma’am.”

As he had taught me, Winter explained.

“Children who receive several rations are probably hidden in their homes and picked up again, or else turned over to the associates of the Unified Orphans.”

“I know that level.” I replied coldly.

“…… You mean you know?”

The army blue pupils contracted. I sensed the meaning of knowingly giving back bread.

Feeling like a little girl who doesn’t know what she’s doing when she comes to volunteer for the first time, imagining the way Winter looks at me, I open my mouth.

“So what.”

“I must be hungry after coming here today without a slice of bread on the street.”

I smiled bitterly at the memory of the distant past.

“Can’t you let me keep a few? Even then I’ll save it for a few days before I go hungry again.”

Seeing the army’s blue pupils dilate, as if they were completely unprepared for me to say such a thing.

“I know someone.”

He pursed his lips, searching for something to say, and then replied.

“Catch a kid like that and simply eat your fill in position before you leave.”