358 - Revival and Reunion #9

"Wow, I heard everything, Samaritan. So you're actually the son of a renowned god? Man, hiding your identity like that. I almost committed a huge discourtesy."

This is East Gate Street, the Temple of the Goddess Juno located on expensive real estate.

Friede and I visited Juno's Temple to find someone who could help me, as I was in urgent need of connections with priests.

I wondered who would be here, but the women I saw were quite familiar.

"Ah, it's Delfina."

"Samaritan friend, you shouldn't go sending me to Hell or anything."

Delfina is the leader of the Silver Rose team, the party Friede used to be a part of. She's an ambitious Silver-tier adventurer, a blonde girl with short hair who is bright and cheerful, making friends with anyone instantly.

If I had met her during my University days, she'd be the type of active girl who gets along well with guys, jokes around, and often gets confessed to because people misinterpret her friendliness.

"Friede, is Delfina the person you were talking about?"

"No."

However, Friede shook her head at my question.

"It's Edwin."

Who was Edwin? For a moment, the name felt both familiar and foreign, making my head buzz like an electric current was passing through it.

Soon, I recalled that among Friede's party members, there was a beautiful magic-user who carried a long staff-like object and always had a languid smile.

"Edwin is a priest of Mercury, so she has wide connections. Since Mercury is the god of bonds. She'll definitely have some connections at the theological University."

"I see."

"So, Delfi. Is Edwin here too?"

At Friede's question, Delfina furrowed her brow slightly.

"What, you didn't come to see me? I'm a little hurt."

Of course, it felt more like a playful grimace than actual offense.

"Of course she's here. The reason I'm here playing with orphans every Saturday is because of Edwin anyway. Over there, if you go that way, she'll be playing with the kids."

In the direction Delfina pointed, there was indeed a park where the noisy chatter of children was spreading.

"Ugh, I'm staying here because I can't play with them anymore. Those kids never get tired. Anyway, don't tell them I'm here. I'm technically slacking off."

Juno's arboretum, filled with plenty of flowers and trees.

As we walked there, we saw a grown woman running around and playing with children much smaller than herself.

"Stop, st-stop it alreadyyy...."

"Wow! I defeated the evil Witch!"

"Heeeuuuu...."

A woman in a long, blue priest's robe was screaming while buried under a pile of children. She must be the Edwin that Friede was looking for.

Friede approached Edwin and spoke.

"Edwin, I came because I have something to say."

"Ah, is it Friede-ssi? You've come at the right timeee. Please help me play with the kidsaaay."

Edwin flailed under the children and looked around. There were quite a lot of orphans. Maybe over thirty?

But the only people in charge of playing with those orphans were Edwin and the fighter, Lili.

"Surrender already-."

"Hieeek-!"

Of course, looking at the fighter Lili, who was holding a child in a chokehold from behind with a grappling technique, I wasn't sure if that counted as playing or not.

Even for Friede, who enjoys sadistic things, seeing a grown woman overpowering a young boy seemed a bit much, so she asked a question.

"Is that okay? Shouldn't we stop that?"

Still, looking at the boy who seemed happy being buried in the fighter's large chest, it didn't seem like much of a problem. To be receiving pain and pleasure simultaneously while buried in a big sister's chest.

"Hurry up and surrender-."

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"N-Nooo-. Hehehe-."

It's a bit scary to think what kind of man he'll grow up to be after experiencing something so incredible since boyhood. But still, we have no right to stop that.

"Let him enjoy it."

"What are you talking about? Anyway, Edwin, I have something to tell you. It's quite important."

"Thennn, let's talk when the time for playing with the kids is overrr-."

* * *

"It's a dragon! An evil dragon has appeared!"

The children shouted noisily. Where those children's fingers pointed, and where their eyes filled with interest and fear were directed, Friede, wearing a blindfold, was flailing her arms about.

"...Kya, kyaaaa."

Soon, Friede awkwardly opened her mouth and let out something that might have been a roar.

Seeing how her face was flushed quite red, it seemed she was considerably embarrassed to be acting like a dragon to play with the kids.

Then Friede opened her mouth slightly.

Hwareureuk-.

A small flame rose into the sky from her mouth. It was likely magic. For someone of Friede's caliber, emitting a small flame from her mouth without an incantation would be easy.

And such a trick, whether magic or sorcery, was enough to drive the children wild.

"The, the dragon is breathing fire! Everyone run away!"

As the one who seemed to be the leader of the children shouted, the little ones immediately began to scream and scatter in all directions.

At the same time, the children began to clap one by one. It seemed to be a game of tag where Friede, her eyes covered by the blindfold, would grope around and catch the children one by one.

Friede, the master of whipping, playing with children.

It might seem quite unexpected, but it had always been common for Friede to occasionally sponsor or volunteer at places like orphanages or clinics.

Because she maintains a kind and gentle image for other people.

"Wow, run away!"

"...Gya, gyaooo-."

In fact, the children followed Friede well. Beautiful women are highly preferred as caregivers for children, so it was a natural outcome.

I sat on a bench and watched Friede play with the children for a long while. Since the kids would tremble in fear if they saw my face, I had nothing to do.

Just as beautiful women are preferred by children, it was inevitable for a large, dark man to be rejected by humans.

Of course, even with me, some kids were bound to take an interest.

"It's, it's a Samaritan...."

"He looks exactly like Kiri. He's really terrifying...!"

A newborn pup doesn't know to fear the tiger-that's exactly what this was.

Since the children seemed to be creeping toward me out of curiosity, I hesitated on what to do before deciding to put on a grim expression.

"Get lost."

"Hieeek-!"

At that, the little ones scattered in all directions.

One might wonder what kind of sociopath would act like this, but I had a good enough reason for doing so. In fact, I could excuse scaring them away as an act for the children's sake.

These children are orphans.

In other words, they are kids with no one to lean on.

Right now, they might be living relatively happily in the temple, receiving affection from priests and volunteers.

But once they hit puberty and get old enough to look after themselves, they'll have to become independent.

In this world full of swindlers and cultists looking to deceive and exploit such orphans, it would be a disaster if they developed a liking for a Samaritan.

Leaving them with the perception that Samaritans are scary beings would help those kids survive.

Just then, a snort came from beside me.

"I heard Pluto hates children, and it seems that's true."

It was the fighter Lili. I had never spoken to her and felt awkward, so I had remained silent, but she even clicked her tongue as if she found me unpleasant.

She probably dislikes me.

Whether there's a reason or not, I'm used to receiving such hateful attention, so I just let it be.

But Pluto hates children? I had a question about that.

"Pluto hates kids?"

"Because children are beings far removed from death."

"I see."

"But even among kids, there are bound to be those drawn to such eerie horror. Did you know?"

At the fighter's question, I slowly turned my head. Then, I saw a pair of black eyes staring at me from behind a temple pillar.

Who was that again?

I think it was a Samaritan brat from the orphanage. I remember her saying something about defeating me to make a name for herself so her parents would look back at her.

She was the one who didn't do a single one of my errands and even tried to mess things up. Her name was Kiri, daughter of Rak, or something like that.

Thinking of that time suddenly made me angry.

To think she took my coins as payment for the errand but didn't handle the job properly.

"Hey, brat. Come here."

I called Kiri, who was peeking at me from behind the pillar. At that, she flinched as if she hadn't expected her name to be called.

"You'd better come quickly."

As I growled, she reluctantly and hesitantly approached me. Though she didn't say it, her slow steps clearly showed how much she didn't want to.

However, the difference in status between her and me was more than immense; it was like a great mountain.

I am a Silver-tier adventurer and the owner of a temple.

This brat is an orphan, a Samaritan kid.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?"

"...."

She was extremely restless. But it seemed like humiliation or anger were greater emotions than simple fear.

"So there's a history between you?"

I answered Lili's question lightly.

"This kid took my money and ran. I gave her an errand, but she pocketed the money and didn't do the work."

"That's quite a serious crime. If she were an adult, she couldn't complain even if her hand was cut off."

Lili, who had thought ill of me, seemed to agree with my opinion this time. It must have been because she found it offensive that a young child was already learning such wicked deeds.

"Apologize and say you're sorry. Then I'll forgive you."

"...."

Of course, the Samaritan brat Kiri just kept her mouth shut and glared at me.

Samaritans are notorious for their high pride, and among them, the stubbornness of the women is said to pierce the heavens.

Because of that, they say while there are Samaritan male slaves, there are no female slaves. Samaritan women can never be tamed. Looking at Gloria, I can understand why.

She's just a kid, but her stubbornness seems no less than that of any female warrior.

But am I not the powerful and grand god, Hassan? If I can't even get an apology from a kid like this, I can't surpass my father.

"If you don't apologize, I'll give you a flick on the forehead. My flicks hurt like hell. I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl."

"Ggggh.... S...."

"S?"

"S... Sorry. Here, the money-."

She then held out two coins to me.

Two shiny silver coins.

It seemed to be the payment for the errand I had given her.

Since I hadn't expected to get this back, I was quite dazed.

"Were you glaring at me because you wanted to give this back?"

"...I don't know, dummy!"

She then threw the two coins into my hand and ran off somewhere in a hurry.

At the same time, women in red dresses, who appeared to be priestesses of Juno, clapped their hands and gathered the children.

━Now, it's time for a nap. Everyone, come inside.

Only then did the voices of the children who had been noisy in the garden quiet down.

Friede, who had finally escaped from acting like a dragon, took off the blindfold from her face and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Maybe it's because they're kids, but they never get tired, so it's exhausting."

"For saying that, you seemed to enjoy acting like a dragon."

"I did not! Anyway, playing with the kids is over, so Edwin. You have time to talk now, right?"

"What is it you want to sayyy-?"

We explained the general circumstances of why we had come here to Edwin, the priest of Mercury.

We had built a new temple, but the number of priests and managers was too small compared to the people flocking in, so we didn't know what to do. We wanted to increase the number of priests through a place called the theological University, so if she had any connections, we asked her to let us know.

"That isss, an easy thing to dooo-. Very well, I, Edwin, will write a letter to Aquinas University for youuu-. Since you're at the center of the current buzz, there will be many theology students who are interesteddd-."

"Center of the buzz?"

As Friede smiled as if she had heard an interesting story, Edwin narrowed her thin eyes quite seriously and spoke.

"I heard you can bestow incredible graceee-. Then people and rumors will naturally gather, and the religious influence will growww-. In that sense, I could even help you personallyyy-."

Seureureuk-.

Edwin's slender arm entwined around my waist like a snake. Thanks to that, her chest was pressed firmly against me beneath her long robe.

"What do you thinkkk? How about making a small bond with meee-. It would be nice if you could bestow a small grace upon me as wellll-."

Perhaps because she had been running around with the kids until just now, the slightly sweet scent of sweat made me lose my focus.

The fact that Edwin would help personally was very pleasing to me.

She seemed quite skilled as a priest, and since I was desperate for every bit of manpower, there was no reason for me to refuse.

But Friede suddenly snatched my hand away.

"No, that's enough. We'll handle this on our own."

With that, Friede left Juno's Temple, looking very angry for some reason.

Only when we had left the vast temple grounds and reached a quiet alley did Friede finally let go of my hand, which she had been holding tightly.

I said.

"Hey, what are you talking about after coming all this way? Doing it on our own...! She said she'd help."

"Don't you have any pride when another woman teases you like that? You're just loving it, aren't you? She's trying to use you!"

"No, what?"

I was dazed by the completely unexpected question.

"Fool, idiot...! Impotent bastard...! Retard...!"

Friede continued to hurl insults at me. I could tell she was angry. I wondered what on earth had made her so angry. Only one thing came to mind.

"What, Friede. Are you jealous right now?"

"Ha-? Why would I be? I don't even know what that is."

Friede clicked her tongue as if she found it absurd.

"And why would I be jealous of you? Do you think just because I had to, you know, sleep with you for a day because of mana, that I've fallen for you or something?"

However, her long ears couldn't hide her emotions and twitched up and down. I don't know if she was trying to hide her anger, but her face, starting from her ears, had long since turned red.

I suddenly thought Friede was cute.

How many opportunities would I have to be psychologically superior to her like this? So, I spoke as if it were nothing, partly to tease her.

"Then Friede, I won't join hands with Edwin, so let me touch your chest."

"Are you seriously crazy? Why are you bringing that up here all of a sudden? And why would you touch my chest?"

"Because I like you, Friede. Even if you combine all the girls in the Silver Rose, you're the prettiest."

"Wh-What-!?"

Friede shouted as if she were truly shocked.