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"Please, anybody… can soone give my child so water?! He's dying! Please!"
Suddenly, a woman carrying a dehydrated, famished child started screaming in the middle of the crowd, nobody paying attention to her.
"Water? She's asking for water? Shouldn't that be available easily through the wells?" Asked Eraldine. "Do you need so water? I think I could conjure so easily."
Eraldine suddenly took out a cup of water from her bag and filled it with water with a simple Water Ball Magic Spell, which anybody with so Magic Circle knowledge could conjure even without talent.
"A-Ahhh…! W-Water! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
The woman quickly gave the water to her child, and the small boy, who looked to be around five years of age, slowly drank the cup until it emptied.
"Hahh… Hahh…" The famished boy seed to feel much more refreshed, his eyes shining bright blue.
"Better now?" Eraldine smiled.
"Well, I was about to give her water, but I guess you won the race," I added.
"If you need more, I could make so blocks of ice for you, they'll lt in a while and they'll beco drinkable water." Said Tear.
"T-Thank you so much, you're not from here, are you not? Travelers with the power to conjure water… Magicians of much strength, I see…" She muttered. "Ugh…"
"Of course, take so water yourself too." Eraldine offered the woman water as well.
"T-Thank you!"
"Water?"
"I saw her! She created water!"
"A priest?!"
"No, I've never seen those clothes around here!"
"T-Travelers…!"
"Please give us water, any!"
"If it's easy to conjure, it wouldn't bother you, right?!"
"We're too thirsty! We need water, please, we implore you!"
Suddenly, a large flock of people started to gather around Eraldine, Tear, and . They were all desperate for water. And I could tell, their faces looked tired and older than they should look.
They had big bags below their eyes, not provoked by lack of sleep, and their lips were as dry as raisins. They were suffering and needed so water.
And naturally, we'll supply it!
"Sure, please, stand in a line. We'll give you as much as you need! Bring anything to carry it!" I decided to just bear with the responsibility now that we went so far.
"T-Thank you so many adventurers!"
"We'll be right back!"
"P-Please don't go away!"
"Thank the goddess, she has not abandoned us!"
"Are you sure about this?" Lucifer walked in while raising an eyebrow.
"It's not like we can step back now." Eraldine sighed. "I cannot bear seeing people like this just for sothing as normal as water, sothing we think for granted is a privilege here. That can't be real!"
"I guess we'll be distributing water for a little while." I shrugged. "Might as well get a bit comfortable."
I took out so seats and a table from my inventory and sat near a house with Eraldine. I made a big wooden sign saying, "FREE WATER!", and if there were any cocky thugs, Lucifer, Jonathan, Partner, and Tear stood around us, looking big and strong, nobody dared co to us asking for more water than the rest.
When the day ended, we had supplied water to who knows how many people, perhaps over a thousand. This city was much larger than Ruby Temple, and while we distributed water, we talked with the lady we helped beforehand and her child whom we had given so fruits and sandwiches.
Her na was Nia and her son's na was Celes, both were just commoners, like many others. She had lost her husband to the disease two years ago, and since then has been raising her little son all by herself even in these terrible tis.
"The church… it happened ten years ago. The Lord suddenly gave the entire city to the church, and since then, they closed the Oasis and dried the Wells, leaving us with no water." Nia sighed. "Since then, they had been asking for money in exchange. Fifteen copper for half a cup, a silver for one cup, and one gold for a liter."
"A-Are you kidding ?! They're asking money for water?!" Partner was seriously angered. "Not even giving it so flavor or making it into a soup at least?"
"Those without money had been surviving by drinking animal blood or eating grass that has a bit of water inside. Even cactuses are too expensive, intensively fard by slightly wealthier commoners." Sighed Nia, her brown skin and long dark green hair made her look rather gorgeous, despite how tired and famished she looked after enduring for so long.
"Mama, this sandwich is very tasty!" Celes had been practically reborn, the green-haired boy with bright blue eyes was happily eating his third sandwich already, and his stomach was already very big. "Have so too!"
"I already had one, save it for later dear. We won't have this much food in the future." Nia caressed his little head. "Okay?"
"O-Okay…" Celes nodded, wrapping his sandwich with a piece of cloth.
"If possible, once we're done here, you'll have enough food to eat every day, as much as you want," Eraldine said with a gentle smile.
"Yep. We've co here to shake things up a bit." I laughed. "We would like to ask a few other questions, but in private…"
"O-Of course, co, although I am dirt poor, I do have a small, tiny house of my own," Nia said, as she led us to almost the end of the suburbs, a small house with just a single room. She had hidden most of her things underground so they wouldn't steal them, though she barely had anything anyway.
"I don't have much to offer you other than so dried cactus…" Nia said humbly.
"It's fine," I said. "Thanks for the al."
We accepted her food to not be rude… It was chewy and had no flavor at all and left my mouth tasting like ashes! Ugh, they eat this every day?!
"So anyways." Lucifer started to conversation after Eraldine began growing a huge tree behind her house with fruits. "Have you heard any rumors about… human experintations? Anything in that regard? Vampires? People disappearing? Or chira children?"
"T-That's…" Nia imdiately had a rather surprised reaction yet seed to know sothing. "Well… it is already well known that… people that are jailed after trying to get water from the Oasis are never seen again. I heard soone say… they turn them into monsters."
.
.
.
anwhile, within the Sapphire Palace's church, Saintess Emilia enjoyed yet another delicious dinner filled with many plates, alongside her loyal Priestesses and her Paladins.
However, out of nowhere, a low-ranking priest entered the room, bringing her so rather… bitter news, ruining her evening.
"What?! You say so foreigners ca and gave away the blessings of the Goddess so easily?!"
Emilia instantly grew furious! Her flawless face turned red, and her hair seed to be waving by the aura of anger she exuded.
BAAAM!!
She hit the table with a furious fit of rage and then cald down, glaring back at the ssenger.
"Dammit! Imdiately send your strongest paladins to deal with those knaves! If they're adventurers, they won't be easy to take down. But nothing you guys can't do with your improved bodies."
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