NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37 - Rubina (1)
If one were to be precise, it could be called a whim.
Yona herself couldn’t understand why she was doing this. More than not understanding, she first thought that this wasn’t something she should be doing. Nevertheless, the warmth touching her left hand now, the warmth of that hand so small it fit perfectly in Yona’s, was holding on tightly as if not wanting to let go of Yona’s hand.
“What’s this?”
Kairoc’s voice was the first to greet Yona.
Then Alec’s gaze turned towards Yona.
“Isn’t that the little girl from earlier?”
James seemed to recognize this child. Probably because he’s a married man with children of his own.
“…Just a whim.”
Yona didn’t give a long answer.
After all, it was an action she herself didn’t understand, so she couldn’t explain it at length either.
“I’m going to wash up.”
“Okay.”
Alec seemed to have something to say but ended up closing his mouth.
Yona gave a brief glance to Alec, then headed towards the bathroom while holding the child’s hand.
Then, she turned back and looked into the room.
“Alec, find some clothes that this little one can wear.”
“…At this hour?”
“Ask the village chief. There should be something.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll do that.”
“Yona.”
While Alec nodded, Kairoc’s voice stopped Yona.
Yona, who was about to go back into the hallway, turned to look at Kairoc.
“…Compassion like that, it eats away at your life. You know that, right?”
“I know. Very well.”
Yona nodded and turned away.
It’s not something she doesn’t know. It’s a fact she knows very well.
“Let’s go.”
Yona held the hand of the child who was looking at her with anxious eyes in the hallway and headed to the bathroom.
The bathroom was just a large tub made of wooden planks, a water basin connected to the well in the yard, and a brush made from hollowed and dried loofah. That was all.
“Wait here for a bit.”
Yona went out to the yard and drew water from the well.
Throwing a bucket tied with a rope into the well, she drew water and poured it into the pipe, which then flowed into the water basin in the bathroom.
After repeating this five or six times, she returned to the bathroom to find the child still standing quietly, waiting for Yona.
“What’s your name?”
The child rolled her black eyes and looked up at Yona for a moment.
The child, who had been quietly looking up at Yona, opened her small mouth just as Yona’s patience was about to run out.
“…It’s Rubina.”
‘Rubina…’
A pretty name.
“Alright, Rubina. Raise your arms.”
“Arms up-”
As soon as the child raised both arms high, Yona removed Rubina’s clothes.
Rubina’s hair, which Yona touched while removing the clothes, was so matted that it wasn’t spreading strand by strand but was clumped together.
After removing the clothes, Yona also took off her own clothes.
However, she didn’t remove the holy cloth wrapped around her right arm.
It was also something she didn’t want to show easily.
Moonlight shone through the window near the bathroom ceiling, so it wasn’t too dark.
In the bathroom of moderate size, neither too wide nor too narrow, Yona started washing Rubina using a ladle to scoop water.
In this era, there’s no such thing as shampoo, so they used things like this to wash hair. This was the bran left over after harvesting grains and removing the kernels.
You rub this with your hands and use it to scrub the wet hair for washing.
It removes dirt and oil from the hair better than expected, so Yona also washed her hair like this.
Rubina, washed this way, now finally looked human.
The dirt water flowed so much that Yona thought she had drawn enough water to wash herself too, but it wasn’t enough, and by the time she finished washing Rubina, the water had run out completely.
Yona, I brought the clothes.
“Leave them in front. Thanks.”
At Alec’s voice, Yona wrung out Rubina’s hair by rolling it in a cloth.
After the water drips out, they’ll have to wait for it to dry naturally from now on.
“Wait a bit.”
Rubina, who had been silent throughout, nodded.
Yona slightly opened the door and picked up the clothes left outside, unfolding them to find that they were at least more like proper clothes than before, which was fortunate.
After washing the child like that, Yona just washed her face.
Thinking this much should be enough, Yona returned to the room with the child.
The three people were still gathered in the room.
Alec, Kairoc, and James were all together, and they all looked at her simultaneously as Yona entered the room.
“What are you looking at? You’re making me uncomfortable.”
“We’re looking because someone came in.”
Yona ignored Alec’s words and pointed to her bed for Rubina.
“Sleep there. Understand?”
Rubina nodded silently.
Then she carefully went to the bed, lay down, pulled the blanket up to her neck, and soon fell asleep with even breathing.
“Now, Yona. We need to talk, don’t we?”
As if he had been waiting for Rubina to fall asleep, Kairoc got down from the bed.
Yona glanced at Rubina, who had fallen asleep so quickly, and then nodded.
“Yes.”
As soon as they gathered around the table in the living room, Kairoc opened his mouth.
“So, you’re not saying you’re going to take her with us, right?”
“No.”
It was an immediate answer.
Although she had brought the child, washed her, and put her to bed on a whim, it was just that – a whim.
It wasn’t about taking the child with them or doing anything else.
“Compassion kills adventurers, Yona. The kindness you can offer ends here. No more.”
Kairoc drew a firm line.
He understands that the child is pitiful. He understands that Yona brought the child, washed her, and put her to bed. But taking the child on this journey is a different story altogether.
“No. I said it’s not like that. It’s just a whim, a whim.”
“But why did you bring that child?”
Yona grinned at Alec’s question.
At least Alec asks somewhat sensible questions.
“…I said it was just a whim. She’s a little girl who lived with her sister, and her sister was killed by the troll today, she said. So I brought her, washed her, and put her to bed because she was crouching alone.”
“That’s all?”
“That’s all.”
That really is all.
There’s no other reason.
To begin with, there couldn’t be, and Yona wasn’t thoughtless enough to suggest taking a child she just met today.
“But I wonder if there’s really a need to draw such a firm line.”
James, who had been silent until now, unexpectedly spoke up.
As the gazes of the other three turned to James at once, he awkwardly scratched his molar with his fingernail and gave a seemingly good-natured smile.
“James.”
“Ah, I know what you’re going to say. Kairoc, I’m just stating my opinion, that’s all.”
As James is the only one in this party with a family, he seemed worried about a child left alone – especially a girl.
“Well, you know. It’s not about compassion or anything, but we’re on our way to the Grand Duchy of Capatia anyway. It wouldn’t be difficult to take her to a church orphanage or something like that there.”
“A church orphanage…”
Yona fell into thought at those words.
The church orphanage was where Yona had briefly stayed when she first fell into this world.
Thanks to realizing her holy power at the church orphanage, she moved up to the church school and lived in the dormitory, but the orphanage facilities were very good. They provided meals and systematic education. If she stayed there and awakened her holy power, she would at least live a much better life than staying in a village like this.
Especially if she’s judged to be a priest.
“…Let’s think about it a bit.”
“I’m against it. That’s just compassion, nothing more. Think about it, everyone.”
Kairoc was still against it.
It was clearly strange for a troll to attack a civilian house like this. Moreover, they had encountered many demonic beasts strangely on their way here. Although they couldn’t know the details, it was certain that something strange kept happening.
“Besides, it will complicate our journey. We will pass through the Grand Duchy of Capatia, but that’s just passing through. Our goal is to cross through the Grand Duchy of Capatia and pass through the Medial Plains. How are we going to deal with the delay if we go to a church orphanage or whatever?”
“That’s certainly true. Well, Yona’s schedule is the most important thing. I’m just offering an opinion.”
“…Aren’t you trying to provoke Yona, the cleric? You damn orc.”
“Haha, does this lizard want to taste an arrow after a long time?”
“An axe will be stuck in your forehead faster than that.”
While Kairoc and James were furrowing their brows as if they might start fighting at any moment, and Alec was trying to stop them, Yona fell deep into thought.
The next morning was quite noisy.
People from the church who had come to move the troll’s blood and corpse were noisily haggling with the village chief, and since the village chief wouldn’t know the value of such troll by-products, Kairoc was there talking with them.
Meanwhile, Yona was sitting side by side with the child in a nearby open space, watching the scene.
“It’s strange.”
Yona muttered without realizing it.
There were many people wearing pure white Celestial Church robes. Everyone working at the church was dressed in robes, and among those wearing robes were beastkin with sharp ears, orcs, and even dwarves with short stature and strangely braided beards.
“It’s my first time seeing something like that.”
Even though it had been roughly 3 years since she left the church, she wondered if things had changed this much in that time.
Only humans could convert to the Celestial Church.
The Celestial Church, which worshipped and upheld the Celestial Deity, was a human religion that did not accept other races. So when Yona was staying at the church, everyone was human.
But now there were beastkin, orcs, and dwarves wearing church robes.
It was the first time she had seen such a bizarre sight.
Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Yona suddenly stood up from where she was sitting.
Patting the head of the child who was about to stand up with her, telling her to wait, Yona approached one of the beastkin standing among those busy preparing to move the troll’s corpse and blood.
“Hello.”
“…Hello.”
When Yona, wearing a nun’s habit, greeted him, the beastkin glanced at Yona and returned the greeting.
“Ah, you must be working hard.”
“It’s nothing. We’ve been rushing here since last night because we heard there were valuable troll by-products.”
Fortunately, he seemed to have a gentler personality than expected.
“Right, no one would have thought a troll would appear in a place like this. But seeing you come so quickly, the Celestial Church is really impressive.”
“Of course. Although I’m still in the process of learning the doctrine.”
From the beastkin’s words, Yona thought that this beastkin had not yet fully converted to the Celestial Church.
If he’s learning the doctrine, he’s probably something like a trainee.
“I see. But it’s really amazing that you’ve become a member of the Celestial Church as a beastkin.”
“Oh, you didn’t know?”
“No, actually I’m someone who goes around bestowing the grace of the Celestial Deity. I’m a bit slow with news.”
Well, it’s not wrong since she goes around healing with holy power.
“Half a year ago, the policy changed to allow the Celestial Church to proselytize in the Catus Empire, Capitulosi, and the Eight Brothers Alliance.”
“…Permission to proselytize? Then you and those orcs and dwarves over there…”
“We’re priest trainees. We’re in the middle of training. After the training is finished, we’ll return to our home countries to carry out missionary activities.”
Ah.
So that’s how it was.