Chapter 291

Larpentia may be a small town, but it’s still a proper city. At a time like this when the city is completely ruined, arguing about housing prices is meaningless, but in the past, the buildings here were never cheap.

Even this ordinary house, which isn’t larger or taller than the neighboring houses, was quite expensive if you considered its price.

A house bought with the retirement money received after leaving the Hero Party.

The priest usually didn’t lock the door of that house. So, of course, he didn’t leave a key for Ralph either. He just left the door wide open, saying to use it if needed, and left.

“Did you bring the key or whatever?”

“There’s no such thing. Just open it. The priest who lived here didn’t lock the door. I did put a lock on it while borrowing it, but I took it with me when I left. We can’t have the priest coming back from his trip and finding his house locked.”

“…So, is that house still intact? Lately, thieves have been running rampant. Did you go and find the windows broken or something?”

Clark expressed his concern. For a while, Larpentia had been caught up in the chaos of mobs and robbers, with destruction rampant everywhere. Strange people went around smashing even perfectly good houses with clubs, so empty houses were hardly intact.

Even though these two are sturdy adult men, they couldn’t bring themselves to walk the streets alone during the day. Even now, when the thieves have somewhat calmed down, they still couldn’t.

So, several ‘guests’ from the Alms House followed behind them. For the past few days, anyone who had to wander the city had to move in groups without exception.

For those who remember this once beautiful city, it’s a sight that only brings sighs. So, looking around, few buildings remain intact.

But despite all the worries, that house was still there. Not larger or taller than other houses, just an ordinary house, welcoming visitors just as it did back then.

Not a single window was broken, and the bell hung at the door was still there. The door was neither broken nor burned, still standing in its place. Even though it hadn’t been empty for more than a few months, there were no signs of mice or spiders, which are common in empty houses.

“For an empty house, the inside is cleaner than expected.”

“Well, I did a thorough cleaning before leaving the house.”

“No, it’s like we’re the first to visit. What’s going on? Most empty houses should have been ransacked by now. Did the thieves avoid the house where a priest lived?”

The two looked at each other and stepped inside. Others followed, looking around. Even though there should be no presence, and the fireplace should have been extinguished long ago, there was an inexplicable warmth flowing through the hallway.

‘Whoosh’

The warm candle that had been lighting the house even while it was empty was extinguished by a breath of wind from somewhere. The subtle warmth it had emitted for so long would linger in the house for a while, but it wouldn’t last forever.

A miracle should remain just a miracle. It should never become everyday life. The Apostle thought so, and it truly became so. The rejuvenating spring water in the corner of the yard had lost its sacredness and returned to being an ordinary pond. But the water was still clear.

Those who discovered it were delighted. What was once just a worthless pond had now become a very attractive source of drinking water.

“This spring, I can’t be sure, but it seems like it can be used as drinking water. It looks very clear. Is there an underground water vein flowing beneath it? I can’t tell where the water is coming from.”

Even though it had lost its Divine Power, clean water itself is a blessing. Larpentia is a city, and there aren’t many places to get water. Although there’s a river nearby, the water quality isn’t suitable for drinking. It might be fine for bathing, but drinking it directly would probably make you sick.

So, the city mostly relied on groundwater and wells for drinking water. If that wasn’t enough, they would boil river water. Even then, there were no problems. Firewood and wells were plentiful in those good old days. At least back then.

Thinking back, that good past was once just everyday life, but now looking back, they realize they were truly living a blessed life. When the merchants who brought firewood disappeared, the firewood quickly ran out. The small mountains near Larpentia quickly became bare.

To cook food, to boil water, to survive cold nights… there were many reasons to need fire. Soon, people started chopping wood in the city park, and even that was considered decent. People truly realized they were in a dangerous situation when they had to chop their own furniture for firewood.

It didn’t take long for people to start chopping down others’ houses for firewood. In such a situation, there was no way to have enough firewood to boil water. Even if they had tea leaves, they had to chew them directly because it was a waste to use firewood to boil tea.

With no alternatives, they had to fetch and drink river water, but if there was cleaner water, why not use it? Moreover, there was no need to carry jars to the distant river to fetch water.

The city always needed a place to dump garbage, and many chose to bury it, but some preferred easier solutions. So, the river’s water quality became increasingly unreliable.

“If we take some, it won’t dry up, right?”

“Of course not. Look, the water keeps bubbling up. Just this makes the trip worth it. It was worth it…”

The excitement of grown men over a mere spring soon ended. A voice called them from the kitchen. Someone who had been looking for something to eat in the kitchen had found something. He was shouting in an almost trembling voice.

“Everyone, come here! I found something truly amazing. Oh, my God!”

At the sound of someone discovering something mysterious, people gathered. They all gaped at what they found. On the kitchen table, which should have been empty, several freshly baked barley breads were steaming hot, filling a sack.

“Is someone here?!”

“Hello, is anyone here? You can come out. We’re not thieves!”

It looked as if someone had just baked the bread to eat for dinner but had to leave for an urgent matter. The bread was warm as if just made, emitting a fragrant smell. People hurriedly checked the oven, but it had long been cold. It seemed unused for a while, with no warmth at all.

“Where did this bread come from? Who baked it and where?”

“Could someone be hiding and have run away because of us…?”

“Impossible. Look at the amount of bread. Is this something one person could eat? No, even a starving family couldn’t finish half of it. Judging by the quantity, it was baked to feed at least ten people. That means there are at least ten people here.”

“But if there were that many people, unless we’re blind, we should have seen some trace of them, no matter how stealthily they ran away. Why didn’t we see anything?”

People whispered among themselves. They decided to wait a bit before touching the bread. Perhaps the people who baked it had to leave for some reason. If they returned to find the bread gone, it would be awkward for everyone.

But as the night fell, the presumed owner of the bread didn’t show up. And even as the night deepened, the bread remained warm, still steaming. Seeing this, people were at a loss for words. They finally realized this wasn’t an ordinary occurrence.

“Is there some kind of保温魔法 (heat-preserving magic) on it?”

“Maybe that’s it. Perhaps there’s magic on the sack.”

“Who knows. More importantly, the smell is driving me crazy. Since there’s no owner, can’t we just eat it?”

So, even though their stomachs growled, no one dared to reach out and eat the bread. They all looked at each other, then turned their eyes to Ralph and Clark. They implicitly gave them the authority to make the decision.

“Looks like this bread has been abandoned. If we leave it here, the precious food will just go bad. With this amount, if we cut and share it, everyone can have a taste. If the owner shows up later, we can apologize, but for now, let’s take it.”

Instead of hesitating, Clark stepped forward and took the sack. Ralph, who had been hesitant until the end, finally nodded in agreement. He sighed and agreed to take the bread on the condition that he left a note behind.

The bread from that sack was enough to feed everyone at the Alms House and more, but that’s a story for later. Later, when Larpentia stabilized again, the sack disappeared as if it had never existed in this world.

“It wasn’t mass hysteria or hallucinations. Neither Clark nor I filled the sack with bread. Whenever we thought we had eaten all the bread, some great being replenished it. Yes, there’s no evidence now. But my memory is still vivid.”

Later, they went around muttering that they had witnessed a miracle. But no newspaper believed them. Even those who had seen the endless bread later rationalized the miracle within the bounds of common sense. They thanked Clark and Ralph, thinking they had continuously filled the sack with bread to give people hope.

Thus, the Alms House they established gained fame, and donations started pouring in. They lived noble lives as city dignitaries and passed away surrounded by many blessings.

Although they couldn’t see all of it, they saw it vividly. Now they could use the Observatory of Star’s Dream again, but whether they used it or not made no difference.

The Apostle didn’t stay here long. He still had much to do.

When he closed his eyes and opened them again, he was in the territory once ruled by Duke Vlad Shimira.