Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 191 The Tragedy of the Lower Classes
"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you crying? I didn't say anything, I didn't do anything."

Looking at the frail girl whose body was trembling violently and who was constantly sobbing, Haven was at his wit's end, feeling like he was the bad guy.

Damn it, I, Hai, am a beloved and model young man in Whiterun City, okay? What do you mean by crying like this?

But in Annie's eyes, she stole the mage's wallet and was chased after. Although she indirectly saved herself and her mother from Jamie the Rat, the fact that the young mage could scare away such an evil person as Jamie the Rat meant that the young mage in front of her was even more evil.

In Annie's simple logic, this cause-and-effect relationship is immediately established without much thought. It's just that Haven hasn't learned mind-reading magic yet; otherwise, if he could read Annie's thoughts, he would probably be furious. This not-so-pure good intention is being taken for granted.

Seeing Anne crying harder and harder, Haven scratched his head in annoyance. This whole situation was truly baffling. Looking at the naked woman whose breathing was getting weaker and weaker in the little girl's arms, he touched her neck. Underneath the scarf was a pale blue sapphire necklace, the surface of which shimmered slightly. A cotton cloak appeared in Haven's hand.

“If you don’t want your mother to die right now, I think you’d better get her to a warm place as soon as possible.”

Anne stared blankly at the woolen cloak thrown at her mother, momentarily forgetting to cry.

"Master, are you not going to kill us?"

Upon hearing the girl's words, Haven's forehead creased with annoyance. He immediately understood why the little girl had been crying so fiercely earlier—she thought he was going to kill her and her mother.

"I didn't intend to kill you. Well, even though you stole my wallet, that's not enough to justify killing you."

Having received education in his previous life, Haven still has great respect for the fate and lives of the underprivileged. Although he would not hesitate to kill anyone who deliberately caused trouble or attacked him, he would still actively lend a helping hand to the truly impoverished people living at the bottom of society.

Furthermore, while theft is wrong, it depends on the circumstances, at least in Haven's worldview. Theft is bad, but it must be judged in conjunction with the thief's living environment and experiences. If someone like Anne has no other way to obtain money besides stealing, then it's considered normal theft. In Haven's view, this is more the fault of the country and society. Otherwise, what could such a young, underdeveloped girl do? She couldn't possibly sell herself, could she? (For related details, see the story in the Philippines.)

Just as the two were talking, the woman lying in the girl's arms began to convulse violently. Her sunken eyes rolled back repeatedly, as if she was about to pass away. The life force she had subconsciously activated when facing the evil rat Jamie was now almost completely exhausted, which was a great burden for a woman suffering from illness.

This undoubtedly put the already limited life of this woman on the verge of ending. Faced with this situation, Annie was terrified and at a loss. She could only hold her mother's withered body and make meaningless "ah ah" sounds, with tears streaming down her cheeks like broken pearls.

Seeing the rather pitiful scene before him, Haven's inner desire to help others, instilled in him since his previous life, kicked in again. He couldn't bear to look at her any longer. After a sigh, he walked up to Annie, picked up the woman who looked so thin she probably weighed less than seventy pounds, and, under Annie's bewildered and tearful gaze, crawled into a dilapidated shack nearby.

The little girl, who had been stunned for a moment, quickly followed him inside. As soon as she poked her head into the shack, she saw that her mother had already been laid flat on a straw mat by the young mage. He then picked up a small fireball and relit the nearly extinguished fire next to them. With the flames of the fire burning continuously, the temperature inside the shack quickly warmed up.

"Mommy, she~~~ Mommy, she~~~"

Hearing the girl's question, which was trembling with tears, Haven answered without turning his head:
"Oh dear~~~~ Your mother's condition doesn't seem too good right now. Her vitality is worse than that of an 80 or 90-year-old. Why do you have such a big lump here?"

While performing a simple examination, Haven turned the woman over and discovered a large lump on her back from which a pale yellow liquid was constantly seeping. He pressed it with his finger; the lump was hard, feeling like an enlarged pimple.

Despite knowing where the problem lay, Haven still had no way to deal with the large bundle. However, he made a simple deduction: the reason why the little girl's mother was not doing well was that the large bundle was constantly absorbing the woman's life force.

Having figured this out, Haven knew what to do. He then reached for his neck with his right hand again, and a small glass bottle emitting a pale green light appeared in his hand. Speaking of which, he had swiped this specially made potion to replenish his life force from the chubby boy He-Man. It just so happened to come in handy today, but he didn't know if it would work.

"Come here, help me lift your mother up. I'll give her some medicine. Whether she lives or dies depends on whether this medicine works."

When Annie, who was squatting to the side, heard that the young wizard in front of her wanted to save her mother, she quickly crawled over on all fours and hugged her mother's upper body while waiting for Haven to feed her the medicine. In order to prevent Haven from falling ill, she also thoughtfully pried open her mother's mouth.

After a large mouthful of the pale green liquid entered the woman's mouth, a few seconds later, whether it was because the potion given by the chubby boy was too effective or because the woman absorbed it too well, her violently trembling body gradually stabilized, her sunken eyes stopped rolling back, and she slowly closed her eyelids.

Seeing that the woman's breathing had become steady, Haven couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He then wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. These few minutes felt more tiring than sparring with someone for more than ten minutes.

Once Anne confirmed that her mother was still alive and wouldn't die anytime soon, her tense nerves finally relaxed. In this place she called home, she quietly sobbed beside her sleeping mother. Everything that had happened today was far too heavy for a girl who was only thirteen years old.

After crying for a while, the little girl suddenly seemed to remember something and looked sharply at the fire beside her. There she saw Haven, who had been treated, squatting by the fire, fiddling with an iron pot that had appeared out of nowhere.

Seemingly sensing the little girl's gaze, Haven turned around and looked over, revealing a rather cheerful smile.

"Oh, it's okay, you can keep crying. Everyone needs to vent when under pressure. Your mother is out of danger now. Although we don't know what that big bag is, that bottle of medicine should have stabilized her condition for now. She can continue with normal treatment later."

I'm planning to make some soup, would cream of mushroom soup be okay?

When Haven asked her questions, Anne felt a strange sense of relief, as if all the hardships she had endured were over.

After sensing that the young mage meant no harm, she grew bolder and slowly approached him.

"Thank you so much."

Looking at the timid little girl squatting in front of him, Haven gave her a friendly smile.

"It's alright. Saving people is a very enjoyable thing. Besides, I didn't do anything."

As the cast iron pot heats up, the cream, mushrooms, and other spices in it blend together, releasing an enticing aroma.

The little girl, who hadn't eaten all day, started growling as soon as she smelled the aroma of food.

Hearing the sounds coming from her stomach, Annie felt a little embarrassed and lowered her head shyly, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Hehehe, you must be very hungry, here you go."

Anne took the large bowl from Haven and immediately turned to look at her mother.

"You eat yours. She drank that life potion; she can go a week without eating." Hearing Haven say that, the little girl turned around and started eating heartily, not stopping even as the cream of mushroom soup burned her teeth.

The overcooked mushrooms, cooked until soft and tender, easily break in two with a gentle bite of the upper and lower teeth, and the smooth mushrooms slide down the tongue, through the throat, and into the stomach.

The aroma of cream and diced ham filled Annie's eyes with delight; it was the most delicious food she had ever eaten in her life.

Soon, a large bowl of cream of mushroom soup was gone from Annie's stomach. The little girl even stuck out her tongue to lick the remaining soup at the bottom of the bowl, still looking at the still fragrant soup pot with lingering relish.

Would you like some more?

Seeing the little girl looking at the soup pot, Haven asked a question.

Anne swallowed, seemingly savoring the taste of the delicious cream of mushroom soup she had just eaten, before firmly shaking her head at Haven.

"No need, Annie is already full. Oh, by the way..."

As if remembering something, the little girl put down her bowl and ran to the pile of straw nearby, squatting in the corner of the shack, doing something unknown.

A dozen seconds later, the little girl came up to Havent with a leather wallet in her hand.

"Master, this is for you."

Haven, who had already sensed the location of the wallet, chuckled as he watched the thin girl's actions. Although he wasn't short of money, and the amount wasn't even enough for Dea's daily meals.

The girl's current actions further confirmed to Haven that she was influenced by external factors rather than being inherently bad, which made Haven very satisfied.

"It's alright, you can keep it. Besides, you did me a favor, so consider this your reward."

"But, but... you saved Mom, and Mom said she received help from someone..."

Seeing Annie's unusually serious gaze, Haven hesitated a bit. After all, if the other party were a real villain, it would be a simple matter for him, but Annie's situation was much more difficult to deal with.

For someone like Anne, who is already prepared to face all the evil in the world, and is therefore a kind person—a good person in a broad sense—the opinions and perceptions of others are extremely important to her.

This is a common trait among people living in the mire: the deeper they are in darkness and filth, the more they yearn for the light. And whenever the light shows any disdain or contempt, it is more painful for these people than being tortured by evil people for years.

Knowing that his answer was quite important, Haven carefully organized his thoughts before speaking.

“Hello, Anne. I’m Haven from the North.”

"I must say your mother has raised you very well. But what I want to say is that helping others is entirely up to you. It's not about pursuing any reward or compensation. The important thing in this process is to gain spiritual satisfaction."

Looking at the little girl who seemed to understand but not quite, Haven scratched his face and continued.

"Of course. If you really want to repay me, you can wait until you're older and more capable. Right now, you need to take care of your mother."

Although she knew she couldn't help this kind-hearted mage, Annie was still a little sad after being politely refused, and her head was spinning with disappointment, not knowing what to do.

Seeing the silent little girl, Haven assumed he had successfully communicated with her and that it was time to leave to explore the next location. If all went well, he would make arrangements for the mother and daughter, but where to place them was indeed a problem…

"Um, Master..."

Just as Haven was lost in thought, Annie's timid voice came from the side.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Annie?"

Having his thoughts interrupted, Haven looked at the little girl who was looking at him nervously.

"Is the monk investigating the recently missing persons?"

"Hmm~ that's right. There's something I need to check, and it happens to be related to the people who have been disappearing recently. I said I plan to investigate in this direction."

Hearing Haven's words, the little girl hesitated for a moment, as if she had done a lot of mental preparation before speaking;

"Master, if you're investigating this, I think I know something about it, and I wonder if I can help you..."

Haven glanced at the thin, severely underdeveloped little girl with a hint of surprise, and couldn't help but let out a strange cry in his heart. His luck seemed a little too good; things were going too smoothly.

"So what is it? If it's useful information, then Annie, you've really helped me a lot."

Seeing the smiling monk looking at her, the little girl seemed greatly encouraged, and a blush rose on her sallow cheeks.

“It’s like this, Master. A while ago, about a week ago, my mother’s illness worsened. Annie had no other choice but to ask Sister Hena for help. After my mother’s condition improved, Sister Hena asked me to help her find out where Uncle Johnny had been all this time.”

As she spoke, the little girl seemed lost in her memories, a hint of fear rising on her innocent face.

　Sorry, my phone is out of battery.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)