Chapter 28

The young man appeared to be not much older than herself.

However, he stood straight despite his medium build and height, and his arms, visible from under his sleeves, suggested years of training.

More than that... though it was hard to put into words, she felt a certain "weight" from him.

"Excuse me, I’ve come to make a donation to the church."

Before she could ask about his business, the young man held out the package he was carrying.

For a moment, Lena didn’t understand what he was saying.

But she quickly grasped it... and couldn’t help but ask for confirmation.

"Y-You... are making a donation?"

"Yes."

The young man smiled and, as if to emphasize, moved the package closer to Lena.

She took it instinctively... and was surprised by its weight.

She had hardly ever touched gold, but she could tell that this was a large sum.

But that was why it seemed out of place for someone not much older than herself to be carrying it.

"Um... um..."

Just as she was about to ask about it...

"Don’t worry. It’s not ill-gotten gains."

His response seemed to anticipate her concern.

Realizing that her expression had been rude, she hurriedly bowed her head.

"S-Sorry... my thoughts must have shown on my face..."

"It’s fine, it’s a natural reaction."

Narrowing his eyes, the young man smiled.

Despite being of the same generation, the way he looked at her seemed very mature.

"I’m Elise. The money is what I earned as an adventurer. I’ve been blessed with capable companions, and my party is S-class, so we do make a decent living."

"S-S-Class..."

"Well, I said I lead the party, but actually, there are only two of us, including me."

The young man was modest, but even the naive Lena knew about S-class.

It was a special title given to adventurers who had suppressed the stronghold of the Demon King.

To Lena, they were like beings from another world.

And he said he led the party.

That meant the young man in front of her was the leader.

He had said there were only two of them, but that also meant they had suppressed the Demon King’s stronghold with just two people.

And he was not much older than herself.

Lena was so surprised she lost her words and stood there in shock. Elise smiled again and pointed to the church.

"Excuse me, I’d like to pray... could you show me the way?"

Lena hurriedly bowed her head multiple times.

"O-Of course, please come in!"

"Thank you. Um..."

"Yes?"

"If you don’t mind, may I have your name?"

"S-Sorry, you introduced yourself first...! I’m Lena!"

"Pleased to meet you, Lena."

Despite her rude response, Elise didn’t seem to mind.

In front of him, she felt terribly young.

They walked the short path to the building.

In the courtyard, children were playing and hanging laundry.

Just as she was about to lead him into the church, Elise suddenly stopped and called out to the children in the courtyard.

"Hey, everyone, come here!"

He gathered the children and took out an unfamiliar box from his hand luggage.

He opened the box, revealing its contents.

Brown objects were neatly arranged inside.

"Everyone, these are pastries imported from neighboring countries. There’s only one per person... but let’s all enjoy them together!"

"P-Pastries... sweets!?"

Lena knew the words, but she had never seen sweets before.

In a country where even daily meals were scarce, sweets were a luxury that common people could hardly afford.

She had heard that they were sometimes specially provided to soldiers on dangerous missions that could cost their lives.

The children, holding the unfamiliar items, looked at the sweets with puzzled expressions.

After a moment of hesitation, one child sniffed the sweet and then put it in their mouth...

"Oh... oh wow, it’s delicious! What is this? I’ve never tasted anything so good!"

Hearing the enthusiastic review, the other children started to put the sweets in their mouths one by one.

At that moment, Elise moved smoothly.

It wasn’t fast, but it was a smooth motion.

Elise held out his palm, and a sweet fell onto it.

It seemed a young girl had dropped it in her haste to eat it.

"There’s no need to rush, the sweets won’t run away."

While handing the sweet to the child, Elise patted the child’s head.

The child, without saying thank you, quickly ate the sweet and smiled.

Watching Elise’s gentle smile, Lena had a concern.

Sweets were, of course, a luxury.

The children might never have another chance to taste them.

Wouldn’t it be better if they didn’t know about such things?

She always felt the pain of losing something that could never be regained.

As Lena watched the children happily eating the sweets with a complex feeling...

"Come on, Lena. You too."

"Me too?"

Elise held out a sweet to Lena.

Hesitating due to her earlier thoughts...

Elise, still holding out the sweet, said while looking at the children.

"Life in this country... is tough. Especially for children. That’s why I hope that when the children think, ‘I want to eat those sweets again, so I’ll work hard,’ it will give them the strength to overcome their hardships... just a thought."

Lena was startled by his words.

Elise’s perspective was something she, who tended to see the worst in things, had never considered.

To put it dramatically, what Elise distributed was not just sweets, but the vitality and hope to live.

Feeling ashamed of her shallow thoughts, she took the sweet and put it in her mouth.

"Delicious..."

It was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted.

Her earlier thoughts were blown away, and she finished it in no time.

She even licked the powder off her fingers...

"I’m glad you liked it."

Elise was smiling, watching her actions.

Lena felt her face heat up.