༺ The Lord Is With Us (45) ༻
When the Saintess entered the director’s office, Mr. Gilford’s sword was unsheathed with his back turned to her.
Resting atop a white cloth, the sword let off a cold glint as the man gazed down at it.
With eyes full of sorrow and regrets, he looked to be deep in thought as if he was recalling old memories.
He must’ve used that sword during his time as a mercenary
The Saintess thought to herself before opening her mouth.
“…Director Gilford.”
“Ah, Saintess.”
In response to her call, Mr. Gilford turned to face her, a kindly smile adorning his face as always.
The Saintess gazed at Gilford.
The color visible through the Spirit Eye was clear and pure, indicating that he, at the very least, wasn’t a bad person.
The Saintess was fundamentally distrusting of others. She knew fully well that beneath their seemingly kind exteriors, most people were selfish, arrogant, and calculating at heart.
Because she herself was like that.
However, she believed the colors shown through the Spirit Eye were somewhat reliable. Her spirit eyes were as developed as her holy power, allowing her to make a rough assessment of a person’s character.
And from what she saw, Gilford was one of the few genuinely virtuous people in the world.
That was precisely why she had come to him without any hesitation. She believed that Director Gilford was trustworthy.
Closing her eyes, she placed her hand over her heart and drew a cross as a benevolent voice left her mouth.
“Did you hear of the current situation?”
“…Of course.”
Gilford looked troubled as he sighed.
The Saintess thought it was understandable that he would react in such a way. He had diligently operated the orphanage for a long time, and there was simply no way he would have known that it would close down under such circumstances.
However, it was too dangerous to keep the orphanage open, be it for him, the children under his care, or even the world.
Mythical monsters couldn’t be allowed to roam free on the continent. Sympathetic, the Saintess tried to comfort Gilford.
“Please don’t be too sad, brother. The Heavenly God does not send meaningless tribulations.”
“‘Meaningless tribulations’, you say…”
The old man responded with a bitter smile. He seemed to have a lot on his mind at the mention of the ‘Heavenly God.
He began to wipe his sword with the white cloth.
“Saintess, would you mind hearing the story of this old man’s life?”
The Saintess looked at Gilford dubiously. They were in a situation in which time was of the essence. Every second was significant, and there wasn’t any time to spare for something like that. He must have been aware of that as well.
She sighed and shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Director, but now’s the time to make your deci-”
“I also grew up in an orphanage.”
The Saintess’ pale pink eyes bore into Gilford, who simply continued without caring for her gaze—as if the Saintess had no choice but to listen in the first place.
“But I was quite fortunate. I met a great director, and after he somehow discovered my talent for the sword, he even enabled me to develop my talent after searching and asking around. Ever since then, my dream has been to become an orphanage director. I wanted to become a wonderful person like the director and care for the children.”
“…And you succeeded.”
While the Saintess wanted to snap at him, saying they had no time to waste, she suppressed her urges. After all, maintaining her image as a benevolent Saintess was the foundation of her reputation.
Unaware of her impatience, Gilford continued with his life story. His eyes, fixated on his sword, contained a subtle sorrow.
“But it seems that life is hardly that simple. I rose to become a ‘Sword Expert’ and returned to my hometown after succeeding as a mercenary, but by then, the orphanage I grew up in had already closed down.”
“…How come?”
“The orphanage suffered financially. The director had taken loans, and in the end, he was murdered by the loan sharks. As for the children, they were separated and scattered across the land. This orphanage was built atop the previous orphanage site.”
The Saintess kept her mouth shut at his depressing story. It was an exceedingly normal occurrence on the continent for orphanages to close down.
There were countless orphans, but not enough orphanages. In addition, the more conscientiously they operated, the more financial support they required due to having fewer sources of income.
That was why most orphanages that shut down often had great and morally upright directors. Just like this Gilford Orphanage.
“I initially started this orphanage with many aspirations, but I, too, came to realize how difficult it was to protect the orphans. It didn’t take long before a few of our children started to starve. Humans are a truly vicious existence. Once their stomachs became empty, some children began to resort to violence, attacking others and stealing away their food.”
As soon as Gilford finished his sentence, a memory abruptly flashed through her mind.
It was something Ian’s friend had previously brought up—that it was odd how the orphanage had managed to operate until now, and that the numbers didn’t match up in any way whatsoever.
Gilford smiled bitterly as he sheathed his polished sword into the scabbard at his waist.
“I questioned the Heavenly God at the time. I questioned why kindhearted people had to suffer all the more when there are so many weak and suffering souls in this world.”
“Director Gilford, just what in the world are you-”
At that moment, screams filled the orphanage.
The Saintess looked out of the director’s office, her eyes filled with bewilderment. She could tell just by hearing the faint screaming in the distance.
It was an emergency, and there was no time for stories of the past.
She urgently called out to the director after turning towards the door.
“There’s no time! Director, we need to escape!”
“…There’s no need for that.”
The Saintess’ froze before dubiously turning her pink eyes back at Gilford.
Gilford’s voice was overly calm as he nonchalantly met her gaze.
His eyes contained a profound depth, concealing his thoughts. They contained sorrow and even appeared tormented
The Saintess instinctively clenched her teeth.
“Director Gilford!”
“I’m serious. There is no need, Saintess. Escape is no longer a possibility.”
Her mind became chaotic at his confident tone.
Countless thoughts raced through her head as she considered the possibilities.
She thought about how he could afford to be so composed and talk with her as if he already knew what was going on.
The Saintess struggled to find words as her mouth opened and closed.
Truthfully, she had already arrived at the answer.
She then opened her spirit eyes. However, no matter how many times she rubbed her eyes, the color of his spirit remained the same.
Even then, she frowned as she could no longer dismiss the possibility.
“…It can’t be.”
“It is my fault.”
Gilford lowered his gaze apologetically.
That meant only one thing.
A demonic human. Gilford was the demonic human.
Upon realizing his identity, the Saintess uncharacteristically cried out in a fit of anger.
“You… you devil! Y-You… You kidnapped those children and turned them into that?!”
“I had no other choice.”
His voice was tinged with pain, but she spared no sympathy for him. Only the memory of the child weeping tears of blood while trapped within a lump of flesh filled her mind.
Nonetheless, she surveyed her surroundings, looking for an escape.
Her opponent was both a sword expert and a demonic human.
As someone who specialized in support, he wasn’t an opponent she could face on her own, even if she was trained in the Holy Nation’s secret martial arts.
Regardless of whether or not he was aware of her thoughts, Gilford simply continued to make excuses.
“If this orphanage shuts down, hundreds of children will have nowhere to go. I prayed hundreds, no, thousands of times! But your supposedly benevolent Heavenly God remained silent. And that was when they came. It’s already been a long time since our partnership began.”
“The Dark Order…!”
She spat out the name through clenched teeth.
The old man’s shoulders slumped.
“One child per month. That was the agreement. In return, they promised to provide funds worth hundreds of gold every month.”
“So, you sold them? You knew the pain the children would go through!”
“Then where was the Heavenly God when we needed Him!”
The Saintess, whose voice rose in anger, immediately fell silent.
Gilford’s eyes raged in a fierce blaze as his previously calm demeanor vanished.
“Then should I have let the children starve to death?! The chances of an orphan growing properly in this horrible world aren’t even one in a hundred! Nobody cares about them! Neither the state, the temple, nor the Heavenly God! I prayed countless times! Could it be that the Heavenly God is deaf?”
Her eyes wavered in the face of his raging anger.
She knew she could logically refute him with her theological knowledge.
In the end, she squeezed her eyes shut after a brief moment of hesitation and recited the words she had memorized by heart.
“The Heavenly God is simply of few words. In the first place, human free will-”
“Then He must be mute on top of being deaf.”
Her eyes turned fierce at the blatant blasphemy.
However, without paying her any heed, Gilford lowered his head and spoke with a desperate voice.
“…Saintess, please. I don’t want to harm anyone else.”
“Haven’t you harmed countless people already?”
“And in doing so, I saved hundreds. Does being the saintess make you any different?”
The Saintess furiously took a step forward, but upon meeting the old man’s cold glare, she stopped in her place and fell silent.
“Saintess, weren’t you also thinking of abandoning the children here and escaping? Because that would be the smaller sacrifice! To me, the smaller sacrifice was giving up a single child every month… I even deliberately chose the children who only had a short time left to live!”
“Do you really think your sins will be forgiven for that?!”
“Saintess, there is nothing more futile and vain than a sermon without any plausible solution.”
His voice was grim. If his words had life, they might have already choked her to death. Gilford’s face seemed sunken and hollow.
“If you put it that way, we are all sinners. Hasn’t the world abandoned us? You must know as well… Since you were an orphan yourself!”
“So you’re saying we should turn a blind eye and abandon the children as well?”
“Giving up one child will save hundreds.”
With that, Gilford quietly unsheathed his sword and swiftly cut his wrist.
Drops of blood fell to form a pool, etching patterns and forming a shape on the table.
It was a magic circle.
The Saintess’ eyes shook as she watched on in bewilderment.
“…That’s the reality. A reality that isn’t mentioned in the scriptures, but one that my children and I are stuck in. So please, just look the other way this once.”
“What is this?”
She instinctively inquired as she sensed something ominous, and the old man explained in a weary voice.
“This is a contract magic used by the Dark Order. It’s a contract formed by putting both lives on the line. Lies and deceit won’t work.”
She gulped as the magic circle exuded a chilling, blood-colored light.
Gilford stood before her with an unwavering gaze that seemed determined to make her sign the contract by any means necessary.
The Saintess desperately found herself faced with a crisis.
