“Do you think this place has changed?”
“I think the walls are nicer. And apparently there are flowers growing in the garden.”
Say Rurika and Chris after stopping in front of a building, sounding nostalgic.
“Has it been four years?”
“You’ve got that right.”
We hear an answer to Rurika’s whisper coming from behind us, and after we turn around, we see a woman carrying a lot of stuff on her back.
She looks to be about thirty years old.
“Is that you… Filo?”
“Yes. You’re here too, Chris? Welcome back. You’ve become so beautiful.”
She charges this way with her arms wide open, and hugs the two girls.
“W-wait, Filo, that hurts.”
“Yes, It hurts.”
“Stop complaining. I was really worried.”
The intense hug continues for a while, until she notices us and looks a little embarrassed.
“Sorry. So…”
She stops, as her eyes meet Sera’s this time, and she starts looking at her up and down.
“Is that… Sera?”
She asks, shaking with surprise.
“It’s been a while, Filo.”
Sera looks very normal, but her tail is wagging all over the place.
“I see, So you managed to find Sera… Want a hug?”
“It’s fine, that’s embarrassing. More importantly, you haven’t changed at all.”
“You’ve… Grown in more ways than one.”
Her eyes are locked on Sera’s chest, and I feel like it’d be dangerous to say anything.
“And the other three?”
“The boy is Sora, this is Mia, and this is Hikari. They’ve helped us a lot in our travels.”
“I see I see. Well, there’s nothing, but come in and relax.”
We go in, and see a lot of small kids.
“We’ve taken in more since you left. Of course, there have also been ones who left to lead their own lives.”
Apparently there have been more kids ending up here than people leaving.
Among them are kids that know Rurika and Chris, so they come up to talk to them. The rest of us are treated a bit more distant, because we’re strangers here to visit. That is, except Mia, who the kids take to right away for some reason. Is this the power of a saint?
Ah, someone is signaling for Sera to come closer.
That leaves just me and Hikari, and some kids looking at us while sucking on their thumbs.
I feel someone tugging at my sleeve, and when I turn to look, I see Hikari holding it, while facing the ground.
“Master, these kids are hungry.”
I get a better look at them, and all of them do seem pretty thin.
Although at least they don’t look that pale or anything.
“Should we check?”
I ask, and Hikari nods.
As for who’d know, that would be the people working here… I look around the room, but don’t see Filo.
I have to use Presence Detection, and find her reaction somewhere else.
We exit the room and head there, and see her rummaging for something.
After I hit the wall near the door, Filo looks our way with a surprised look on her face, but quickly switches to a smile.
“What is it? Are you lost… Probably not.”
“Yes, I just wanted to ask something. Is that food?”
“I guess…”
A shadow hangs over her face for a second, which pretty much answers my question.
“…For how many days?”
“…Five.”
I look at the pile of food again, and feel like it’s too little, considering how many kids are here.
“Is it because you don’t have money?”
Hikari asks bluntly.
“…We receive funds, but the price of food has gone up.”
She says as she bites her lip in frustration.
“Filo, can I ask why?”
Asks Chris, who suddenly appeared without making a sound.
Filo faces down, but after sighing, she looks up with a troubled smile, and answers.
“Have you heard about the ruins?”
“Yes.”
“That’s what’s causing everything. This was a town built where no one lived, and it started out self-sufficient. That would still be fine if it was just the townspeople, but…”
I can see the frustration, as I look at the side of her face.
“The governor of the town tried to do something about it, but the merchants who came here looking to strike it rich bought up all the food, and prices soared.”
“I see…”
And the food being bought is sent to the base being built near the ruins.
They’ve also been asking other towns to send food, but the cost of transporting it alone also makes it expensive.
Usually they would ask nearby agricultural villages, but those were destroyed in the war.
“People farm in this town too, but stuff like vegetables don’t grow too well. Especially in this season when the weather is unstable.”
“Sora, can’t we do anything?”
I don’t know anything about farming. If the problem is the soil being barren or something like that, maybe I can do something with alchemy.
“Can I see one of those farms? And… Take this.”
One of the kids can take me there, so that’s what we’ll do.
And when I start taking monster meat from the Item Box, one after the other, Filo looks at it with her mouth open.
Chris says thanks, but it really is important for them to fill their stomachs.
I turn to Hikari, and she hugs my arm. Is she telling me I did a good job?
Filo finally snaps out of it too, and also thanks me. She then asks one of the kids that knows Chris to guide us to a farm.
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Thanks for the treat.
Shouldn’t it be the girls from the town that give their food since they are from there also this temp food won’t help in the long run need to do something about those crazy prices