Chapter 8

“Ahh, I’m exhausted. I wanna find somewhere to rest.”

I grumbled as we left the establishment.

I’d already worked more than enough for one day.

Sure, staying up all night was practically part of a host’s job, but walking around this much and taking in so many new things had worn out both my body and my brain.

“The places to rest around here are not suitable for Your Highness.”

Clive spoke as he used his lantern to light the ground at my feet.

“I’ve arranged accommodations in the upper district. Please bear with it a little longer.”

The upper district meant somewhere that wasn’t the slums, right?

Man, it was nice being in a prince’s body. People really took good care of you.

I was a little worried that the guy from earlier might be waiting to ambush us, but apparently, that concern had been unnecessary.

Well, even if he did show up, I had a bodyguard who served a prince. There was nothing to be afraid of!

We left the slums and entered what seemed to be the middle district, then continued climbing even higher.

Properly paved roads, stone buildings, and streets patrolled by guards came into view. There were even streetlights illuminating the night.

Wow. They really did divide the city so clearly according to social class.

We entered an inn located somewhere between the upper and middle districts.

The room I was shown was reasonably spacious, and the bed was nice and fluffy. The sheets felt wonderful against my skin, and I let my body sink into the mattress.

The moment I closed my eyes, I fell asleep.

The following day, sometime after noon.

Today’s plan was a fun shopping trip.

I’d intended to look around for accessories, dresses, alcohol, and other things that might come in handy at cabaret clubs and the like, but—

While wandering freely around the city (under supervision, of course), I suddenly noticed something strange about the atmosphere.

As I approached, my bodyguard, Clive, spoke in a slightly panicked voice.

“Please wait, Your Highness. That area is—”

What, was there something he didn’t want me to see?

In that case, I definitely had to take a look.

Grinning, I stepped into an alley with a distinctly unsettling atmosphere.

The moment I entered, the entire mood changed.

Between the buildings lay a dark alley where sunlight never reached. Women stood at regular intervals along its length.

They glanced at me for just a moment before lowering their heads without saying a word. Yet none of them made any attempt to leave their spots.

They were almost like part of the street itself.

From a building deeper inside came the sounds of a woman’s excited cries, but nobody paid them any attention.

The ground was littered with garbage, and the whole place felt deeply unsettling.

And it wasn’t just women standing there. A few men were scattered around as well. They glanced over the women before approaching one of them and speaking in low voices. The exchanges were brief. Once they’d apparently reached an agreement, the men wrapped their arms around the women’s waists and led them into the buildings farther down the alley.

“…………”

I was practically speechless.

This wasn’t the slums, was it? We were in the middle-class district, weren’t we?

Even in an area full of ordinary people, places like this existed?

So, what the hell was going on with security around here? Wasn’t anyone going to crack down on this?

From a public safety standpoint, this was way out of line.

And places like this were dangerous. They were breeding grounds for disease and crime. They were bad for education, too. What were they supposed to tell a child who accidentally wandered in here?

—Well, since I was here anyway, I might as well take a little look around.

I stepped forward, and Clive and the other guards followed, their breathing growing slightly tense.

I strolled along with a carefree air, taking a closer look at the women. There weren’t any young girls. Their skin was rough, their hair was unkempt, and they stared blankly at the street with lifeless eyes. Their clothes weren’t clean, either. Coughing could be heard from all directions.

Then I noticed a woman crouching in the shadow of a building.

She was in terrible shape from head to toe, her shoulders trembling as she coughed. Her complexion was poor, and her eyes were vacant.

When she noticed me looking at her, she flashed me a fawning smile, as if trying to ingratiate herself with me. It was like a broken reflex.

“Hey, mind if I practice my divine arts on you?”

The words slipped out before I could think.

I smiled pleasantly, pretending to be a good-natured, harmless guy.

“I’m still training, you see. You might feel a little better afterward.”

“…One hundred lux…”

Oh, right. I’d even learned the name of this country’s currency. One lux was worth about ten yen. So that was roughly a thousand yen.

Damn, that was cheap.

—In other words, that was how much these women were worth.

I took out a 100-lux silver coin and handed it to her.

All right, deal.

The light of my divine arts appeared in the palm of my hand.

It was gentle yet powerful, enveloping her entire body.

Her darkened skin gradually cleared, and her swollen lips regained their vivid color. Her wounds disappeared. So did her cough.

Our eyes met.

The vacant look in her eyes had vanished. A clear light had returned to them.

“…I can see clearly again… It’s like I’ve come back to life…”

The moment she spoke in a trembling voice, tears began streaming down her face.

As I thought, this power worked on all kinds of illnesses. People who sold their bodies were bound to suffer from diseases, and they were often subjected to violence, too. I hadn’t slept with customers for money, but I’d found myself in dangerous situations plenty of times. Like when a princess’s (customer’s) ex-boyfriend had nearly killed me. We ended up becoming friends, though.

I grinned and activated my divine arts across the entire alley.

I made sure the light reached everyone there, including the people inside the establishments farther down.

The coughing stopped. Even the air seemed cleaner. With the lingering glow of the miracle still hanging around us, I smiled.

“I’m going to be in Seven Trees.”

I spoke loudly enough for everyone in the alley to hear.

“I’ll be practicing there regularly, so come by and see me if you want.”

Then I left the alley, leading my guards behind me.

“…You are very kind, Your Highness.”

Clive murmured the words quietly.

“Am I? If I were really a kind person, wouldn’t I help them until they could stand on their own two feet?”

Sorry, but I couldn’t take responsibility for that much.

All I could do was lend them a little help. I couldn’t carry them on my back and take them all the way to safety.

Whether they sat back down where they were, started walking somewhere else, or lost heart and gave up…

Irresponsible kindness was something I was good at.