Normally, I would wake up early, have breakfast, and immediately begin preparing for opening my shop. However, today is Saturday, a holiday from both work and school, so Kent and the others are starting their day a little later than usual.
“Actually, I’ve never been to the area called the slums before.”
“Well, I had only just heard about it myself, so if you want to put it that way, neither have I.”
Kent and Caro, guided by Al, headed towards the area known as the slums.
“Master, Caro-sama, before we go any further, I need to tell you that once we enter the area we’re heading to, the words ‘slums’ and ‘slum district’ are strictly forbidden. We have a different name for it – the residential area, so please be careful.”
“Understood.”
“All right.”
Al insisted on this point with Kent and the others, though it was unclear where he had acquired such knowledge.
“This is the entrance to the slums… I mean, the residential area.”
“Wow. By the way, does this wall mean to isolate the people living in this area?”
Kent and the others walked alongside a wall slightly taller than Kent’s height until they reached the entrance. It seemed like a segregation policy was being enforced in this town based on wealth, so Kent asked Al.
“It doesn’t seem to be the case. As you can see, there’s nothing at the entrance, so everyone comes and goes freely.”
“You’re right, now that you mention it. So, what is this wall then?”
Beyond the wall stood five-story, old apartment buildings of similar design, crowded together. Seeing laundry hanging from the windows, it was easy to imagine that people were living there.
“Ugh, it’s a bit… no, it’s quite a strong smell.”
“Caro, are you okay? If it’s too much, we can stop here?”
“No, I’m fine. I think I’ll get used to it soon.”
Caro, sensitive to smells, was clearly struggling. However, because she wanted to spend time with Kent, she desperately endured it until she got used to the smell. Then, Kent and the others stepped into the area called the residential area.
“It’s more lively than I expected.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t see it from the outside because it was surrounded by walls, but the first floors are shops, aren’t they?”
Given it was called the slums, they had an image of a grim place. However, contrary to their expectations, there were people walking around. The first floors of the crowded five-story apartment buildings housed various shops selling all sorts of things, though nothing particularly luxurious.
“You’re right, Al. With this many shops lined up, it seems likely we can find something for breakfast.”
“Al-chan, how did you know about this place so well?”
“Hmph. It’s not for nothing that I’ve been out and about so much.”
Al said confidently. However, that confidence vanished after they walked a short distance.
“That’s strange… all the restaurants that are usually open are closed…”
Every restaurant Al knew was not open. For some reason, all of them had signs indicating they would open from noon.
“Why are they only open from noon?”
Caro also looked puzzled as she gazed at the signs. After walking for a while, they saw a long line of people, dressed in a way that suggested they were residents of this district.
“What do you think that line is for?”
“I wonder.”
“I’ve been here a few times before, but I’ve never seen this either.”
The three of them looked at the long, winding line with curiosity. In the meantime, a few more people joined the back of the line.
“When there’s a line, it makes you want to join it, right?”
“I don’t think so, but if you want to, Kent, we can join.”
“I have a bad feeling about this… but if Master says so, I’ll go along.”
At Kent’s casual remark, the three of them decided to join the line for now. More and more people continued to join behind them.
“There are so many people.”
“Yes. I wonder how many there are?”
Kent and Caro commented as they looked at the long line. Suddenly, the line began to move.
“The line’s moving a bit. Hey, kids, hurry up and close the gap.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Urged by the person behind them, Kent and the others closed the gap. As the line advanced further, a small garden came into view in a section filled with identical apartment buildings.
“There’s a garden here.”
“There’s a strange building in the back.”
Amidst the rows of apartment buildings, there was a single small garden with a small building inside. Noticing it, Caro looked at it curiously, as if it were a type of building she had never seen before.
“…Is it a church?”
Kent said, looking at the building which had a somewhat familiar shape.
“Master. Actually, this building is a sanctuary.”
” “Eh?” ”
When Kent imagined a sanctuary, he envisioned a large building. Yet, this place looked no different from a dilapidated, small church. Moreover, religion was virtually non-existent in this country, so even Caro, who was well-educated, didn’t know much about it.
“Ah, this is the line for receiving food from the soup kitchen.”
“You’re right. I’ve never experienced a soup kitchen before.”
As the line moved forward, Kent and the others finally understood the purpose of the queue.
“Isn’t this for the people in this district? Is it okay for us to be in line?”
“I don’t know. Let’s just stay in line and if we’re turned away, we’ll give up.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Kent considered abandoning the line, but Caro’s words made him decide to continue waiting.
“Speaking of which, didn’t we talk about how the ‘god’ here refers to High-ranking Fairies?”
“Yes. However, I don’t feel any such presence from this sanctuary. There’s no residual magic either, so it seems the one being worshipped disappeared a long time ago.”
“I see.”
Kent asked Al about the High-ranking Fairy being worshipped, but Al replied that they were not there.
“Kent-san, the line has moved.”
“Oh, it has.”
Prompted by Caro, they moved forward and suddenly found themselves at the front of the line. Standing before them was a woman who appeared slightly older than Kent, wearing a beautiful outfit—likely a priestess or shrine maiden’s attire, though the design was a little unusual.
“Um. I apologize, but I’ve joined this line without knowing what it was for…”
“Yes, that’s perfectly fine. Our God bestows blessings equally upon everyone, without discrimination, so it’s alright for those from outside to partake. It’s not much, but please accept it. Here you go, you too.”
” “Thank you.” ”
From the smiling, beautiful woman, Kent and Caro received soup in wooden bowls. Looking around, those who had received the soup sat nearby and savored it. Those who finished returned their bowls to a designated spot.
“I see, so after finishing, we just return it to that spot.”
“It seems so. Then let’s find a seat and enjoy ours too. Al-chan, let’s go.”
“Crash…. rolling….”
As Caro called out to Al, a loud noise echoed. The woman from earlier had dropped her soup bowl. The sound drew the attention of everyone present.
“Ah, our God. You’ve finally returned…”
The woman’s gaze was directed at Al.
