บท 41: The Fallen Saintess (37)

(City of Galrannor)

(Western District- The Slums)

The winds of change were slowly sweeping over the city.

The local temple of the Varion Church was now a force that none of the underground organisations could ignore.

The presence of a tier one knight was enough to cause most groups to temporarily slow down their criminal activities since no one wished to catch her attention.

Of course, there were some that continued as usual such as the man whom Claire was currently standing opposite to.

"Move aside or my blade will cut off your neck," Claire coldly spoke.

The skinny man in front of her dropped down to his knees in terror and held up his hands. He begged and pleaded but he would find little mercy from the powerful female knight.

He wore a white shirt with several holes in the fabric and his pants were in a similar condition.

Claire placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and with one smooth motion she threw his body to the side.

The man crashed against a nearby wall and fell to the ground with a dull thump.

Claire furrowed her brows as she felt a familiar murderous urge rise up in her body, but she pushed it down.

This was all part of her training.

Claire did not suppress the power but rather with Elisa's help they had managed to create a training plan for her to follow.

It involved slowly releasing the power bit by bit and stopping whenever she felt as though it was about to take over her body.

The holy knight knew that she needed to get this power under control as soon as possible.

No one wanted to become a mere puppet of some mysterious higher order entity.

Claire shoved those negative thoughts to the back of her mind and pushed open the wooden door that led to the interior of the shack.

The interior of the shack was empty except for a group of frightened children all huddled together in the corner and staring at her fearfully.

Claire's golden eyes shone with purity and righteousness as she felt the power begin to whisper once more in her ears.

These children were thieves… sinners… kill… kill them…

Claire took a few deep breaths and gently exhaled. She silently counted to ten several times regardless of the tense atmosphere inside the room.

Don't lose control… don't lose control… don't lose control…

Eventually the urges faded away to the background and Claire could think properly once more.

"My name is Claire Blanlyn, and I am a member of the Varion Church," Claire spoke gently but the cold expression on her face did not match her kind words.

"If you do not have a place to live then we offer shelter to orphans and children in need which includes three free meals a day."

"Would any of you like to come with me?"

Claire knelt down and offered her hand. The local temple had hired enough workers to expand the building and now hundreds of orphans and poor children could be housed.

There were few things in this world that could not be solved with coin and fortunately the late Father Simon had left behind plenty.

A little girl with missing teeth hesitantly stepped forward and took a few steps in Claire's direction.

She was followed by a young teenage boy who carefully looked at Claire's face for any signs of deception or deceit.

One by one the children headed towards Claire but there were some older ones in the back that did not move.

"If you change your mind then talk to the owner of the Jumping Swordfish Bar at the corner of fifth street," Claire explained softly.

"He will be able to contact me and then I'll send someone to pick you up."

What she didn't mention was the fact that the owner of the bar was a dark elf in disguise.

Elisa had shared her information network with Claire and her agents had been a tremendous help in accomplishing her goal of maintain some semblance of order in the city.

Claire stepped out of the shack and observed that the skinny man was now long gone. He left only a trail of bloodstains that led to a certain direction.

Hunt him down?

The thought did flash across Claire's mind, but she decided to settle in the children first before making a move.

A few carriages were parked on the other side of the road and the doors were open and waiting for Claire and her group.

There were men and women sitting down comfortably in the driver's seat of each carriage and their respectful voices echoed through the street.

"Good day Miss Blanlyn… it is an honour to serve."

"Greetings my lady…"

"Is this the last batch for the day?"

Claire politely nodded at the smiling workers and her eyes briefly gleamed eerily as she stared at their foreheads.

A small dark flame was flickering inside their minds. Elisa had made sure that none of the workers would betray them.

It was perhaps not the most moral act but when it came to protecting children, Claire found herself turning a blind eye to the use of black magic.

The children followed the holy knight to the carriages and one by one Claire helped them get inside.

"I still have work to do so you can leave first," Claire spoke to the drivers. She received nods of acknowledgement and then they departed.

The holy knight waited until the carriages vanished from her sight and then walked in the opposite direction.

A foul scent of sewage and blood entered her nostrils.

In a city of extreme poverty, the buildings were shoddily constructed and there were massive potholes in the middle of the road.

Claire's white armour had already been stained by dust, but the holy knight did not care if her armour got slightly dirty.

There were a few beggars along the sides of the road, but they did not dare get too close to the holy knight wandering through the slums.

Life was hard in the outer regions of the continent.

Claire personally believed that it was incredibly short sighted of the royal family not to invest heavily into the city or at least send a noble to be in charge of the land.

The adventurers living in the city were the only reason why the monsters and foreign races did not push further south.

Sinners… sinners… sinners…

"Shut up," Claire muttered darkly as the voice inside her mind began to whisper once more.

Golden threads violently squirmed around her body. They were waiting for the moment when Claire fully lost control.