I Shall Survive Using Potions! - Chapter 135

I ordered Riette-chan, it was her first job as an angel of the goddess Kaoru.

……Yes, it is [only her first time].

So of course, for her safety, the crews are hiding and supporting her from the shadows.

First, Emil and Bell conducted a preliminary investigation into the target group of orphans and confirmed that they were not involved with any local thugs or human traffickers.

The investigation also found that the boy who has the lead role was a serious person, that he allowed only the minimum necessary for living and that he was careful to inflict as little damage to the victim as possible, and that he did not carry out unreasonable violence, bullying, exploitation, etc.

……If Riette-chan gets along with them and says, <They’re not worth the blessing>, Riette-chan will be sad. That’s why I sent her to a group that had passed the exam from the beginning.

Francette, who heard it, looked stunned but passed by without saying anything.

Was that the kindness of Francette, or was she just disappointed and simply gave up?…

Riette-chan said, <Kaoru-neesan, you mustn’t follow me! Absolutely!> She has a rare, really unusual, serious face, so Kaoru was prevented from showing her face to the one called <Riette>…… And she softly pressed her face to the wall… Pretentiously……

Rather than ignoring Riette-chan’s request or breaking her promise, if Riette-chan finds out about it Kaoru might hurt her feelings and get hated by her, but she can’t take any trivial risks either. So, Kaoru gave up on secretly following her.

However, Riette-chan said, <Kaoru-neechan, you mustn’t follow me!>… Yes, she never mentioned anything about the others. That’s why she dispatched Francette.

She really wanted to send Emile and Bell, but Francette never allowed it because she would be leaving Kaoru’s side.

And since Roland, who had not been trained to shadow someone was only in the way, he was left out. I don’t care about that wilting Roland…..

[Oh, that’s…] Riette

Riette-chan arrived at <The grassy river, of the rotting prairie>… On the surface,there is something that seems to be a <rain and wind shelter> in a place that is a little higher than the shack, which is made of scrap wood, discarded logs, long grass, etc. There were 5 to 6 dreary children with ages ranging from around 4 to 8 years old.

(TN: 河原の草くさっ原ぱら。Hope I nailed it. But still, it sounds like a cool Skyrim/Fallout 4 mod.)

But then, it’s better to go outside than to be in that small, sultry <rain and wind shelter>. And those children are all too young to live by themselves. Perhaps the older ones were out to earn or collect food, while the younger ones were left to take care and protect those what could be called infants.

This area is close to the sea and due to the topography, even if it rains a lot, the river water will not come to that area. Also, there is little rainfall around the region. Besides, when the water rises, if it’s such a poor shelter, there will be no choice but to abandon it and evacuate somewhere else. Even so, it will be easy to rebuild it with pieces of scrap wood that have been washed away by a large amount of water.

The location of the riverside shelter has a favorable condition that is difficult to abandon, considering the convenience of everyday life, rather than worrying about the possibility of increasing water to dangerous levels. For those who are not allowed to use the common well, it is a literal <river of life> that supports a significant part of their lives like drinking, washing, bathing, and defecating.

[Okay, let’s start working!] Riette

Riette-chan is getting closer to the children.

And the children are staring at Riette-chan with suspicious eyes.

When she was about a few meters away, Riette-chan stopped and she called out to the children.

[Are you making money?] Riette

[[[[[[What the hell was that?!]]]]]]

Kaoru, what the heck are you teaching to Riette-chan?…

[…So, are you also an orphan? But you’re wearing such good looking and clean clothes?] Boi

The oldest boy among them says so while staring at Riette-chan, but Riette-chan has a calm expression.

Yes, the Riette-chan now has nothing to be scared of. After all, she’s in the middle of a top-secret mission for the goddess, so she doesn’t have to worry about her own life being in danger.

[Yeah! I was once sold by my parents and got kidnapped by a syndicate on the way to the people who bought me. I was almost sold as a slave, a sacrifice, or a plaything? But that person saved me from my predicament.] Riette

Buf~o!

The children blew magnificently.

Even children who are not familiar with the word plaything, they’re familiar with the words sold, bought, kidnapped, sacrificed, and slaves. It’s a dangerous thing since they don’t even know when they will get attacked, so the older ones have taught them with a sour taste in their mouths.

And what’s more, being sold by the parents was too heavy, even if they already died.

They thought they were the unlucky ones, but there was someone who’s even at the bottom below them. When they thought so, they wondered if they can be happy or sad for themselves…

Anyway, what the children understood was that this girl was <on this side> as well.

[Now I’m traveling with people who helped me and living in the city temporarily. And I was told that <I heard there are children living on the riverbank, so go there for a while>.] Riette

[[[[[[…………]]]]]]

If you knew about us, you would have seen this shelter here. And it is also that it is a gathering of orphans who may eat or may not eat at all…… But it’s not about letting this child come here…

（（（（（（……Abandoned？））））））

Riette-chan was taught a lot by Kaoru. And that includes things like <spouting lies>.

According to Kaoru:

<You can lie when you need to, but you shouldn’t lie so much when you don’t need to.>

<It’s unavoidable that the other person might misunderstand you just by forgetting to say a part of your word, even though you’re not lying. It’s bad if someone misinterprets it.>

<You can spit out lies that can make people laugh, entertain, and make you happy as well.>

<If you tell a lie, you have to embellish that lie with 99 truths.>

<To make the other person believe in your lie, you have to be the first one to believe in that lie.>

……And various other lessons in life, Riette-chan, who has been gifted such education a little too early for a 6-year old child.

[I, is, is that so. We, we, wewe, we~ll, just take a rest for a while.] Boi

[? Yeah……] Riette

Riette-chan calmly looked at the boy’s face who suddenly became suspicious.

[Well, shall we play together?] Girl

And the girl who seems to be the second eldest called out to Riette-chan.

[Yeah!] Riette

This is Riette-chan’s first interaction with the children similar to her age after leaving her village.

She’s joyful, honored, relieved, and happy to be with Kaoru, but not as a <friend>. After all, a child needed a friend.

[…Riette-chan’s infiltration seems to be successful…] Francette

Francette was sitting on a thick tree branch while watching the orphans from a distance.

Since there are no covers on the riverbank, they can only be monitored from a distance. Therefore, although it was enough to confirm the safety of Riette-chan, she could not hear the contents of their conversation.

[Well, babies have a job to cry, children have a job to play, and knights…] Francette

With that being said, Francette holds the handle of her sword lightly.

[It’s my job to defeat the enemies and fulfill my mission. No matter how easy it may be, …or how impossible. As the one who swore loyalty. As long as it’s an enemy. I won’t hold back!] Francette