Chapter 571

Ludwig does not like killing, strictly speaking, he is afraid of it. However, he fought because he believed it was necessary. Ludwig is the type of person who runs towards a clear and just goal without hesitation. But he gets lost in problems without clear solutions. He has received help from his friends in the past, but now he is alone and facing problems with no clear answers. Ludwig's justice is to punish clear evil, such as the demon king who wants to destroy humanity. However, in a chaotic refugee area where everyone is struggling to survive, he does not know what to choose. Ludwig thinks that the battlefield is terrible, but the scene of people fighting over a piece of bread is even more terrible. Ludwig walks through the refugee area with the patrol guard, and he sees many people hiding in the alleys. The patrol guards deal with most crimes with extreme punishment, so people avoid them even if they have done nothing wrong. Ludwig sees a guard hitting a young boy for bumping into him, and he is at a loss for words. Ludwig is currently traveling with two patrol guards. Among them, Son-tein, who is in charge of the senior soldier role, stands on the street and looks somewhere. "We should go over there." Beyond the pawnshop, one of the patrol guards points in a direction. "Is there anything over there?" "I smell roasting meat." "That's right. Smoke seems to be coming out. Why is that..." The patrol guard shrugs his shoulders, seeing Ludwig not understanding. "Why would there be meat here?" "...". Ludwig understood what that meant. * * * Later. "Ugh! Ugh!" The emaciated ones with only bones left were staring at the ground with sunken eyes, and the patrol guards clicked their tongues as they watched Ludwig vomiting. "It's a common thing." Other patrol guards are not surprised or amazed. They eat because they are hungry. It's natural. There are cases where cannibalism becomes the only choice for those who are cornered. The casual attitude of the patrol guards who are not surprised. And the eyes that swallow saliva while watching the contents poured out by the patrol guard from a distance. Ludwig gritted his teeth as he saw those eyes. This is beyond difficult. It was painful. * * * Cannibalism is in extreme circumstances. Even if they are starving, such behavior cannot be forgiven. If punishment for such behavior is not carried out for reasons of unavoidable choice, people will think not that they should not do such things in the future, but that they should not be caught. Then, cannibalism becomes a natural culture in the refugee area. Killing is not because the sin is so wicked that it cannot be forgiven. Some sins can ruin this entire refugee area. Ludwig knew that help was needed in the refugee area. When he thought there was something he could do himself. He thought he could find the meaning of his existence even through that small thing. "...". But where is this small thing in this matter? Someone may judge that these things are better than fighting for their lives on the battlefield. This terrible place where everyone becomes everyone's enemy because of the single enemy of starvation was the most difficult workplace for Ludwig. He wants to run away. For the first time in his life, Ludwig put that thought in his head. * * * Ludwig felt with his own eyes how unreasonable it was for the army not to starve in the Allied Forces' base. He could only know why ordinary soldiers in the Allied Forces were constantly being replenished. Because they can't starve to death even if they are trampled under the feet of monsters. The soldiers in the Serendia Allied Forces base will spend the winter comfortably. He could only feel how important 'eating' is in the problem of eating and living. There is only one problem. Starvation. But the numerous derivative problems caused by that problem did not boil down to a single cannibalism. "....What is this?" "I don't know." Ludwig felt a difficult sense of disgust when he saw the bone fragments that Son-tein had brought from a pawnshop, which were pieced together into something unrecognizable. Seven people were praying to the bone idol in the small pawnshop, and they believed in an unknown god. Ludwig understood the importance of "eating" in the problem of eating and living, but the numerous derivative problems caused by that problem did not boil down to a single cannibalism. The patrol guards' casual attitude towards cannibalism and the strange beliefs of the refugees made Ludwig feel helpless and want to run away. The patrol guards' judgment determines whether people live or die, and Ludwig realizes that punishment is necessary to prevent cannibalism from becoming a natural culture. The refugees cannot like the patrol guards who kill them like animals. There are countless patrol guards who died after being stabbed while acting kindly towards the refugees. Just as the patrol guards execute the refugees, the refugees also kill the patrol guards. The patrol guards treat the refugees harshly, and the refugees seek revenge, causing the patrol guards to take more extreme actions. This chain of hatred is the current situation in the refugee village. Ludwig nodded his head gloomily at Son-tein's words. Well-made laws do not remain in effect on their own. As long as there is power to support the law, it can be maintained. The standard can be vague, and it doesn't have to be fair. Even if the law becomes so vague that it cannot be called a law, it is not a matter of trust if there is no power to enforce it. Therefore, the foundation of the law itself is not in its perfection, but in power. The refugee area clearly shows this reality. The situation where refugees are suppressed only by violence will eventually reach a tipping point. If the threshold that can suppress the anger and hatred of the refugees with force is crossed, the law, which was the only power that supported them, will lose its meaning, and confusion will arise. Hunger. Cannibalism. Heresy. The murder of patrol guards. And. Attacks on patrol guards. -Bang! -Die, you devil bastards! Ludwig saw a boy disappear into an alley, holding only a rock that had flown towards his face, and shouted words of hatred. Son-tein was briefly surprised by Ludwig's reflexes, but calmly looked down the alley. "Should we chase him?" "It's okay. It was me who was attacked." -These days, even a retard can be a patrol guard! Ludwig laughed bitterly, hearing the echo of the boy shouting towards him from the alley. Not only those who directly attacked, but also the gaps in the pawnshop and the gaze of those who looked at them in the alley. The flesh and hatred mixed in that gaze were felt on the skin. Even if the patrol guards hit and suppress helpless people and sometimes execute them arbitrarily, they do not punish that gaze itself. It's not because they can't exact retribution for that gaze. It's because if they kill everyone who has such a gaze, they will have to push the refugee village itself away, so they can't do that. Ludwig shook his head, holding the rock that had flown towards him. If he gets used to this, he will have to kill refugees like other patrol guards. After the probation period is over, Ludwig will also have to participate in such private sanctions. Can he do that? It's something he can do. No matter how much he thinks about it, Ludwig doesn't seem to be able to handle such a thing. Fighting is not allowed, and what he can do is to hit and subdue helpless people and sometimes execute them under the pretext of maintaining public order. "Maybe it would be better to go back to the temple and stay quietly in the dormitory. Or find something else to do elsewhere." Ludwig eventually came to such thoughts. But leaving here does not mean that the tragedy here will disappear. Ignoring it because it is difficult to endure is never the right thing to do. He did not know what was right, but he knew one thing. * * * Patrols literally go around various places to identify abnormalities on the streets and take action on the spot. The patrol led by Son-tein, who leads Ludwig, did not only do violent things that killed refugees. They collected corpses left in alleys and identified the identity of the deceased. They mediated small disputes so that they did not spread to violence. They monitored thieves at places where food distribution was taking place. They listened to the situation on the street from refugees and checked if there were organized crime groups in the area. There was also a job of taking a child crying on the street, holding his mother's hand, to his parents safely. Many refugees feared and disliked the guards, but not everyone. 'If only we did things like this....' Ludwig smiled as he watched a child waving his hand to him while holding his mother's hand. Executing refugees was a very extreme situation and not something that happened frequently. There were small things, important things that had to be done. It was not just about doing difficult things. Until the patrol was finished, Ludwig walked around the streets with Son-tein. "That area is a restricted area. You don't have to patrol there." "....Is there a rope?" Ludwig saw a rope for blockade inside a certain alley. It seemed like they had closed off a certain area. Ludwig was watching the gray smoke rising towards the sky from a certain area. It was clear that there was a fire. "Is there a reason to blockade it?" "There is an epidemic." "....An epidemic?" "It's a common thing. Epidemics occur frequently." "Isn't it dangerous? If an epidemic breaks out when people are crowded like this...." Even if they closed it off, if the epidemic started to spread, a huge problem would arise. It would not end with one or two people dying, but thousands would die. No, the epidemic was not the problem in the first place. "Shouldn't the priests come...?" Treating diseases is the role of the priests. Even if they did not have the ability to treat one or two wounds, priests should be involved in big problems like epidemics. But they only closed off the area where the epidemic occurred and did not come. Son-tein looked at the smoke rising from the closed area in silence at Ludwig's words. It was clearly smoke from burning corpses. "The power to treat diseases is the power of the pure god Tu-an." "Then shouldn't the priests of Tu-an...?" "Many of them have died." "What?" "You know how they are treated now...." "Ah...." "However, as the situation worsens, people hate not only the priests of Tu'an and Alus but also all the priests of the Odae religion. The persecution of the Odae religion has been intensifying since the Gate incident. Although there are cases where priests come to treat diseases and provide aid to refugees, the hatred towards them has already gone too far. Those who need help are in a situation where they hate those who provide help. Therefore, even when the epidemic is rampant, when the priests of Tu'an enter the huge refugee area, they have to worry about returning alive. Ludwig could only find out through Son-tein's words that there were countless priests who had died. Therefore, the priests could not enter the refugee area recklessly. The epidemic is left untreated. 'Of course, if left alone, it could become a big problem, so we sent a request for cooperation to the Holy Knight Order. Therefore, the purification of this epidemic will be handled by priests who have hidden their status. It may be a little late, but it doesn't mean we're not dealing with it.' '...I see.' In order to save people, it is a situation where you have to hide who you are serving. 'Let's finish the patrol at this point. You can go home right away. I will report to the guard captain.' 'Ah...I understand. Thank you for your hard work.' 'Ludwig.' Son-tein called out to Ludwig, who was about to leave. '...You don't have to do this kind of thing.' It meant that he was not suitable for such a miserable and disgusting job, even though he had done a glorious job and returned. Ludwig couldn't say anything in response."