Chapter 572

Ellen never thought that her small and cute cat could be treated as food by someone. She was aware of the hunger problem in the refugee camp. However, after the gate incident, Ellen repeatedly went to the battlefield and returned through the mass teleportation, so her time in the wasteland since the gate incident was very short. She is currently serving in the Allied Forces. From her expression, it was clear that she had just entered the refugee camp area today. Everyone, including adults and children, was starving, and she saw corpses left behind due to starvation, not killed by monsters, for the first time today. It was not because of me that she was surprised, but because it was so shocking that it was hard to bear when she saw it with her own eyes. Ellen stood still for a while, holding me on the bed, lost in thought. "I'll go alone." Ellen gently stroked my head and left the room. Unlike Ellen, I had seen the situation in the refugee camp firsthand, but I felt that the situation had become more serious than before. The distribution of food to the refugees would have decreased as much as the food needed to feed the army, so starvation could only worsen. There were occasional people who looked sick, not just starving. It was a moment that required the power of the gods of purity and Tu'an, but the refugees hated the Tu'an and Al's sects to the extreme. Perhaps the priests were not able to work properly. The problem was food. And it was winter. There would be countless people starving to death, freezing to death, or dying of illness. It was a sad and desperate situation. But it was something I couldn't solve. The population of the wasteland alone was over 100 million. Even though the food situation in Edina Island was better than in the wasteland, it was not relaxed. Even if there was enough food to feed millions of refugees, there was no way to transport it to the wasteland. I can't solve the starvation here. What I can do, or rather try to do, is to reach the end of the gate incident. The next step should be considered then. * * * Heinrich and Ellen went on patrol, but Heinrich returned to the dormitory first without Ellen. "Meow?" The cat looked up at him as if he was trying to take it away. "Are you trying to take it away?" Heinrich didn't seem to be hurt. There wouldn't be many monsters near the wasteland, and even if there were, they wouldn't be a threat to Heinrich. That's right. If an orc appeared in the outskirts of the wasteland and started causing trouble, dozens of refugees would die easily, but Heinrich could handle that orc with a gesture. "Sigh..." Heinrich sighed as he looked out the window. He must have had to go into the refugee area to go around the outskirts, and he must have seen the same thing Ellen saw today. "So it was inevitable that their expressions were like that. After Heinrich returned, it took about two hours for Ellen to return to the dormitory just in time for dinner. Although it was natural for her to return safely, she couldn't help but feel relieved. The dinner hall was filled with other students, but only Ellen, Heinrich, Rudbich, and Detomorian, who had returned, were there from the second year. The three researchers did not return from the laboratory, Detomorian's complexion was originally not good, Ellen's complexion was not good due to what she experienced today, and Heinrich's complexion was also bad because he saw a similar situation to Ellen's. Therefore, the four of them had dinner with bad complexions. Ellen hesitated to serve scrambled eggs on my plate. A feeling of guilt that cannot be hidden on her face, like thinking about how raising animals in a famine-stricken country is such a luxurious behavior. I thought Ellen would have such thoughts. Ellen looked at me with a face that seemed like she was about to cry. In the end, Ellen couldn't starve me and served me the scrambled eggs and gently stroked my head. It was like she was saying that it wasn't my fault. Ellen didn't eat too much when she returned. It was natural to feel guilty about feeding, so it was natural to feel guilty about eating itself. They both continued to do what they could to help and hope for a solution to the food shortage. Heinrich asked Ellen how the patrol was and they moved to check the situation in the wasteland. They both seemed to be considering volunteering for the mission of patrolling the outskirts of the wasteland and subduing monsters. Of course, Ellen hesitated and shook her head, thinking it might not be possible." Berthus hoped that Ellen would rest during the winter, but it was obvious that they wouldn't allow her to volunteer for a subjugation mission. Heinrich also couldn't participate in the mission due to the food shortage. They both decided to move separately and patrol the outskirts of the wasteland to subdue monsters. The real enemy was hunger, not monsters. They both knew that killing hunger was impossible. Meanwhile, King Konstantin von Schwarz was more concerned about the disappearance of his two princes than his patrol. Louise didn't think lies would work with the regent and admitted to killing her two brothers. There was silence between them, and Louise nodded when her father asked if she had nothing else to say. Just like Heinrich and Louise, they only spoke when necessary. Heinrich was temporarily sent to the temple. "That's what the king understood without saying anything. He wouldn't know the heart of Louise who had sheltered her son, for fear that unnecessary sparks might fly. King Konstantin von Schwarz did not say a word about the actions of his daughter, who killed her two sons. The daughter did not make any excuses. They could only know what each other was thinking. There are relationships where they understand each other without speaking, and relationships where they cannot understand each other because they do not speak. 'Your princes died because of Heinrich.' The two women belonged to the latter relationship. Two were in the hands of their son. Two were in the hands of their mother. That was the day when one Heinrich von Schwarz had to die for another prince. Louise quietly spoke those harsh words. 'If they hadn't laid a hand on my son, they wouldn't have died.' There was a sharp response to the sharp words. The two princes who tormented young Heinrich burned to death in Heinrich's awakened hands. And the two brothers who tried to assassinate Heinrich died at the hands of Louise. The problem was that they could have left Heinrich alone. As the conversation went back and forth between sharp and harsh words, words that could not be undone might eventually come out. But Louise had made up her mind. She decided to protect her son no matter what she heard. So Louise looked at the silent king. 'A little earlier, I thought.' '...What?' Louise couldn't help but be surprised by Konstantin von Schwarz's words. 'I said I thought it would be earlier.' '....' 'I thought you would lay a hand on your brothers a little earlier.' Louise didn't think her father would think that way. Konstantin von Schwarz thought it would happen someday. Children don't know their parents. Parents don't know their children either. But parents know their children a little better than children know their parents. That's why Konstantin von Schwarz thought something had to happen. It couldn't be accepted as natural, but it couldn't be helped. 'Were you in love with your brothers?' Louise couldn't answer. She couldn't say she loved them or she didn't. She could only shed tears of indescribable sadness, self-hatred, and guilt, watching her daughter shed tears that were mixed with tears that she couldn't even express, and couldn't even wipe away. Although the father could not forgive his daughter who killed her brothers." He had no choice but to accept it. * * * Whatever the real reason was, Louise helped with King Konstantin von Schwarz's Keernstadt army inspection, as it was the original purpose. They talked about the status, power, and supply situation of the army. And after the report was over, Konstantin von Schwarz said the same thing Louise had said to Heinrich. "Rest." "......Yes?" "I will take charge of the army command during the winter. Just as the mother ordered rest for her son's long fatigue, the father ordered rest for his daughter's long fatigue. "I will get permission from the emperor. Since you wanted to go so much, spend the winter with Heinrich at the temple." Rest that she never expected. And to be able to spend time with her son in a place she had even been forbidden to see from afar. When he heard about the disappearance of his sons, the king accepted what he had to endure and understand. In the end, the king was in a cruel position. If his daughter were to do such a thing, she had to watch it because she had to become the king. The important thing was the succession to the throne. Since what was expected to happen could become a reality, she thought she had to make up for what was left. There may be no reason for those who remain to continue to suffer. The behavior of the regent is not understanding but resignation. Knowing that, Louise could only feel greater guilt.