We were on our way to our destination, guided by Mary, when Toya suddenly left us.

　He said, "By the way, I promised to teach Yasue [swordsmanship]. I'm going to go now.

　It's true that he's scheduled to leave tomorrow, so I guess it can't be helped, but what about leaving ...... a potential wife (my own fantasy) behind?

　Well, that's what happened. I'm sure you'll be able to understand why.

　If I had to use a metaphor, I would say it was like a back alley in a downtown area where it is difficult for fire trucks to enter.

　A corner of such an area.
　A number of buildings were burned down and a large space was created.

　A lot of rubble still remains in the vacant lot, and people who look like day laborers are collecting it.

Mary, is this it?
Yes, I'm here. ...... There's nothing here. ......
There's nothing here. ......

　Mary and Mitya look around with a sad expression on their faces.
　

"Excuse me, can I have a word?
"Hmm?　I'm working, as you can see.

　The one who approached the adventurer in the middle of his work was Yuki.

　The adventurer looked back a little unhappily, but when he saw Yuki's face, his cheeks relaxed a little.

　The target was a young man, so Yuki would certainly be more likely to listen to him than I would be to talk to him.

It won't take long. Didn't any bodies come out of here?
"Bodies?　I've heard that some bodies have come out.
Yeah, what about them?　What happened to them?

　The man thought for a moment and then Mary asked him to hurry up.

　The man's voice startled him a little, and he glanced somberly at Mary and the others' burn scars before answering quickly.

He said, "They've all been collected and buried in the temple. In the nearest temple of Lord Westhimir.

　The man politely told us the location of the temple of Westhimere.

　He probably understood the situation from Mary and the others' behavior.

　He seems to be a good person, despite his appearance.

Thank you very much. But why only here ......"?

　On the roads I've taken so far, there are only a few burned houses, but none as densely burned out as this one.

　There are many flammable houses in this area, and it may be that the fire just spread by bad luck, but it is not as if the houses were made of straw.

　Nevertheless, the difference between this area and the rest of the city was clearly large.

"Hey. There's a rumor that the landlord who owns the building here set it on fire himself. ......

Huh?

　The adventurer's words may not have been the answer Yuki was expecting, but something unexpected came out of his mouth.

　We were surprised, but the adventurer shrugged his shoulders and continued.

There's a rumor that he saw the landlord at the fire. It's just a rumor.

Are you going to investigate ......?

No.

What the...!　I'm sorry.

　I'm sorry.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in your life.

　The adventurer didn't seem particularly bothered by this, and shook his head with a wry smile.

It's simple. It doesn't make sense. We're burning to death together.

"Well, that's .......

"Even if I find it suspicious, I can't ask him, and I don't have the head to lose. There's no time for that in the first place, according to the lord.

　Arson is a felony even in this country, and it is usually executed without argument.

　But what if the suspect is dead?

　It's a waste of time and money, so leave it alone.

　If there was a nobleman among the victims of the fire, there is a possibility that the whole family of the perpetrator will be beheaded, so there will be an investigation, but the dead are just commoners.

　That is the general view.

　Since there is no one to punish, the ruler will put more effort into reconstruction.

　On the contrary, he is an excellent ruler in a sense, because he has put a large bounty on the Saint Satomi, who is the cause of this disturbance and could be a disaster if not caught.

　Of course, there may be some menial issues, but apart from the feelings of the victims, it is realistic.

You're right. ....... Thank you very much.
Thank you. ...... I know you have a lot on your mind, but stay positive.

　In the end, the adventurer said to Mary and the others, and went back to work.

"Mary, Mitya, are you okay?

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do that.

...... Yes. Can I come by the temple?
Of course. Is it that way?

　The adventurer told her to follow the path, and within ten minutes she saw the temple she was looking for.

　It was the first time I had visited the temple of Lord Westhimia, but it didn't look much different from the temple of Lord Adversus that I usually visited.

　The statue of the god in the center was different, but without it, I would not have been able to tell the difference.

　In terms of size, it is not much different from the temple in Rafan.



　The only difference I can think of is that there is no priest in the temple.

　For a moment, I thought, "Don't we have to worry about money thieves? For a moment, I thought, "Don't I have to worry about money thieves?" But when I thought about it, in this world, divine punishment is real. But then I thought about it.

　As usual, we threw in some money from ......, or more than usual, and prayed.

　--Yeah, nothing special.

　That's normal, but in the temple of Adversus, you can hear voices all the time, and it makes you feel slightly uncomfortable.

　We finished our prayers quickly, and Mary and Mitya continued to pray for a while, but they got up after a minute or so.

"Are you done?
"Yes. Thank you very much.
"Thank you.

　Mary and Mitya smiled a little and thanked me, as if they had recovered to some extent.

　This is like a kind of visit to the grave.

　In the case of the common people who do not have individual tombs, they pray at the temple where they are buried like this, or at the temple of the same god in another city.

But there is no temple of Lord Westhimir in Rafaan.

　There are two temples in Raffan, one of Adversus, which we usually visit, and one of Belforg, which I've never been to.

　I've only passed by the temple of Advaistris, but there was not much difference in appearance.

"It's all right. Your father wasn't a follower of Lord Westhimir.
Really?
Yes.

　He was more flexible than that.

　If he was buried because he was a follower of the god, or if he was buried in a temple chosen because it was close to the god, then it is not so important.

　In other words, in a case like this, it doesn't matter if Mary and her friends are going to pray in the temple of another god.

　However, it might be a good idea to bring them to this temple at least once a year to visit the grave.

　In the Japanese sense of finding meaning in remains.


Oh, this place also has an orphanage in the back, doesn't it?

　After finishing our prayers at the temple, we went outside and heard the noisy voices of children.

　Perhaps it bothered her, but Yuki turned around and said something like that to me.

　I looked back and saw the building behind the temple in front of Yuki's eyes.

"Yeah. It's a bit strange to call it .......

　The size of the orphanage he could see was not much different from the one in Raffan, but the presence of people he could feel from it was very different.

　The sound of children screaming and crying, running around, adults shouting, there was no room to spare.

　There was not a single priest in the temple, perhaps because they were busy with the orphanage and did not have the manpower to help us.

　Mary and Mitya stare at the orphanage.

　What are they thinking?

"Mary, if you want to go to the orphanage...
"Yes!　Please take me there!
Please!

　I'd like to ask you a question," I said, but Mary and the others interrupted me by shouting.

　Well, that situation, which can be felt from the outside, would not be very comfortable, even before the race.

　Besides, if you don't feel comfortable in our home, you can make a small donation to Rafan's orphanage and leave it to them, though it may be a bit irresponsible.

　There's no need to jump to conclusions.

"I see. Shall we go home then?
You're leaving!

　So says Mitya, taking my hand.

　I'm not going to leave you without doing that, but I don't need to let go.

　In the event that you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find a lot more information on the web.