I am back – Chapter 32

“Once, there was someone who came by saying they had food poisoning.”

After lunch service was over, my older sister said this while eating her late meal.

The meal we were having consisted of leftovers—rice and side dishes that had been shared. Thanks to what my sister mentioned earlier, we had enough to eat.

Sitting in the shade of a corner in the church’s front yard with our trays felt a bit surreal. It was like we were on a picnic, yet at the same time, eating from trays made it feel less so. Still, the food was tasty. I mean, it’s hard for curry to taste bad.

“Food poisoning, huh?”

I was a bit surprised and glanced down at the tray I was eating from.

It’s quite difficult for demons to sneak into human territories on the battlefield. The demon race had high-level magic allowing them to disguise themselves as people, but the kingdom was aware of that magic’s existence as well.

There was a department in the Magic Tower researching the unique magic of demons, and they had added spells to nullify demon magic at the boundaries encircling human territory, regularly modifying and improving it. Most disguise spells break when they pass through that barrier.

Moreover, priests were dispatched to various locations to sprinkle holy water and pray, essentially performing a sort of “disinfection.” Most demons suffer pain when touched by divine power. Naturally, very few demons willingly enter human territory only to experience that pain.

Only those who can endure that pain without flinching can set foot in human lands, but the transformation magic required for that is said to be quite advanced and not very efficient in terms of magical power. Naturally, attempts were only made a few times, and ever since, there were hardly any further attempts.

Since high-level priests were plentiful in the frontline troops, the chances of demons sneaking in and poisoning food were nearly nonexistent… Unfortunately, food and water frequently become contaminated without the need for such schemes.

Bugs living in contaminated lands and small animals like rats.

No matter how much we purify the land, it’s impossible to catch every single one of those little bugs. While priests do “disinfect” periodically, even they can’t ensure survival on the battlefield.

If all the priests in a unit were to die, the remaining soldiers would have no choice but to survive on the contaminated food. Ironically, in the demon king’s territory where supplies have been cut off, that ‘contaminated’ supply might actually be the only ‘relatively untainted’ food they could obtain.

And the end of such situations usually led to a miserable death. Rescue is extremely rare. Even if rescued, it often turned out that the internal organs had been severely twisted due to magical erosion.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry. We always check thoroughly. I wouldn’t want to hear any complaints for helping out and ending up in bad terms. It’s frustrating if someone says, ‘They gave me spoiled food because it was free.’”

“Ah…”

“And if there really had been food poisoning, it wouldn’t have been just that one person who showed up.”

Indeed.

I nodded. If so many people had eaten the contaminated food and only one got sick, it likely meant that food simply didn’t agree with that person rather than the food itself being bad. Or perhaps it was a different illness entirely unrelated to the food.

If that’s not the case…

“Right.”

My sister said with a bitter smile.

“It’s probably just a lie. They’re probably asking for money because they’re sick because of us.”

“……”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

Still, I tended to be generally welcomed wherever I went. After all, I was someone who saved people in situations where they could truly die. Even if they complained, it was more about not being able to accept the situation and looking for a cause rather than genuine hate toward me. If they were truly bad people, ignoring me would sufficiency.

Above all, the kingdom really treated me as someone important. If someone, especially a noble, were to disregard me, I could simply file a formal complaint with the kingdom, and most nobles were dealt with at Kalia’s level.

But here, it was different.

This volunteer activity isn’t something I do in my country, and even if it were, I couldn’t help every single volunteer. If I were to be assaulted… well, aside from police intervention, there would be little else to rely on for protection.

“So, what did you say?”

When I asked, my sister chuckled and turned her gaze toward the pastor.

“The pastor suggested that person go to the hospital with him.”

“Oh, I see.”

That would settle everything, really. If they went to the hospital and diagnosed food poisoning, the church would take responsibility for it. If not, they could look for another cause then.

And if it was just a feigned illness…

“So, what happened to that person?”

“They made all sorts of excuses and ran away.”

My sister said that as she picked up a piece of kimchi with her chopsticks.

“The pastor made a wise decision…”

“Huh?”

At my mumble, my sister blinked her eyes.

“Oh, no. At first, I thought that, but later on I heard that it wasn’t quite like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“The pastor was genuinely worried and wanted to take him to the hospital. He even asked where he was going while following him with a highly concerned expression as he was running away.”

“……”

I turned my gaze toward the pastor. From this angle, I could only see his back, so I couldn’t make out his expression, but seeing the other people around smiling comfortably, I figured he was probably wearing a similar expression.

“So… he was actually driving out evil with goodwill. Truly, he’s a religious person in many ways.”

My sister laughed.

If you listened to her words, it might seem like she also attended church, but when I asked her, she said that was not the case. She simply had received help once, and since then had kept in touch, gradually helping the pastor a little.

“I’ve never wanted to believe in God.”

From what she said, it seemed she truly didn’t have any religion.

Still, the pastor seemed like a good person, so that was a relief…

“But how did you end up helping with the volunteer work?”

At my question, my sister paused her spoon for a moment, wearing a thoughtful expression.

“Um… well…”

Honestly, I already had an idea of how my sister would answer. It was a question I had asked her countless times before.

The sister I saw now wasn’t much different from before. She was still as kind and wanted to help those in need.

So, my question had come out a bit impulsively.

I wanted to hear her answer from back then.

I subconsciously tossed that question, wanting to hear the words that had been lingering in my heart all this time.

“……”

But my sister did not respond immediately as she did back then. She just seemed to be staring into the distance, lost in thought.

“……It’s because of this world?”

I blurted that out, feeling impatient.

Only after I said it did I realize how impulsive I had been.

Of course, I didn’t think my sister would link my words to the past me. She had given that answer to more people than just me. That saying was quite famous among her friends too.

“Huh?”

At my question, my sister blinked in surprise, as if she had suddenly been pulled back into reality.

“No, that…”

I didn’t expect such a reaction from her, and it threw me off for a moment as I stammered.

“So, what I meant is, if we help each other and live… it’s a good thing…”

And thus, I ended up saying the words I had wanted to hear all along.

My sister stared at me for a moment, her eyes wide with surprise.

Of course, that didn’t mean her beauty disappeared completely, but… it was still a bit intimidating. What if she felt upset? Looking back, it wouldn’t have seemed strange if she thought of me as a stalker.

“……Nah.”

After a while, my sister slowly lowered the spoon she was holding and spoke.

“No. It’s not such a grand reason.”

“……”

At her answer, I became dumbfounded. But it seemed like my sister didn’t notice my change.

“It’s just…”

She was looking down at her tray, seeming a bit shy.

“It just feels like, by helping people here like this… I feel like I’m becoming a slightly better person.”

As if she was gingerly revealing a secret that had been deep within her heart, my sister spoke softly.

“Even though I’m no great person, I get to feel helpful to someone for a moment. So I feel a bit like a valuable person… that’s why I’m here.”

I had never heard such words from my sister before.