Chapter 15

Chapter 15 :The Ego Sword Picked Me Up (15)

Water Purification

“That’s a baseless rumor. Nothing like that will happen, so trust me and wash every corner clean. Anyone who stinks gets no meat until they wash cleanly.”

Baluka happened to return from hunting just then, so the children swallowed their drool and headed to the waterside.

Baluka had piled the corpses of Vulfs and horned rabbits outside the village wall. However, their state was unusual.

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful not to damage the corpses?”

―I apologize.

“Flambeju, what happened?”

―Why the hell are you taking it out on me? That lunatic went berserk! It is the fault of the master who shoved hunting onto a bastard whose eyes roll back at the sight of blood!

“No summoning for one day.”

―M-Master, that is too…….

“Go to Hell and reflect on the mistake of not obeying my order. And think deeply about why you must remain by my side.”

Snap!

When I snapped my fingers, Baluka disappeared. He had returned to Hell.

Time in the living world and the afterlife were completely different. Baluka would burn in Hell for an immeasurable span of time, and during that time, he would desperately wait for me to call him.

―What are all those?

“Now they finally look somewhat human.”

―Do not tell me you washed the children?

“Then should I leave them looking that filthy?”

―It would be better to put them back the way they were. Demon-like bastards will target those children.

“Do you believe that superstition too? Or does there really exist some demon I don’t know about that hates clean people?”

―I did not say demons. I said demon-like bastards.

“Who are those?”

―There are insane bastards who target only decent-looking children everywhere. Everywhere.

I looked back at the children, whose clothes were shabby but whose faces now shone.

The children swallowed their drool while looking at the horned rabbit in my hand.

I understood Flambeju’s words a little. This was not an atmosphere that looked after children. Street children were classified as potential criminals.

There were probably perverts who took them away to satisfy their sexual desires, and others who kidnapped them and worked them like slaves.

“There’s more than one thing to fix.”

―Do you want to make this world like the one Master lived in? I warn you in advance, that is not something you can accomplish overnight.

Flambeju was right. Everything required a process. The further one went into the past, the slower the pace of change became because the foundation for accepting reforms had not been laid.

“If I accomplish something like that overnight, that might become an Achievement too.”

Flambeju looked back at me in surprise. His expression seemed as if he had been caught off guard.

SIZZLE!

I roasted horned rabbit meat on a stone slab. When I sprinkled a little rock salt on it as well, a fairly decent smell stimulated my nose.

“Let’s eat meat!”

“Uwaaaaaah!”

It was a world overflowing with hungry people.

Even the Rubalt Kingdom could not possibly feed them all.

Occasionally, the Church went around distributing bread, but that was not common. In a countryside place like this, even meeting a priest of the Church was difficult.

―I am saying this because I do not understand, but what exactly is this?

“Something aimed at an Achievement.”

―An Achievement? What Achievement?

“Suppose countless children no longer die from illness or starvation. If you were the Creator God, wouldn’t you be moved and recognize it as an Achievement?”

Flambeju narrowed his brow. He looked like he was thinking.

―……I have never heard such nonsense before!

“It might be an Achievement that hasn’t been discovered yet.”

―If you judge things that way, there would be nothing that could not become an Achievement!

“I hope so.”

―What?

“If there’s nothing that can’t become an Achievement, I’ll claim them all first.”

―Hah!

Flambeju looked utterly dumbfounded, but he did not actively try to stop me. A strange expectation even appeared in the blond young man’s eyes as he looked back at the children.

As I placed horned rabbit meat on the heated stone slab, I said,“There’s exactly one thing the place I lived in couldn’t tolerate. And that is starving children. I don’t know about anything else, but I can’t overlook the issue of food. A lord of a great city once decided to starve children of meals and ended up being driven out.”

―Do you think I would believe such nonsense? Even lies should have a limit, tch!

“I can’t help it if you don’t believe me, but don’t be certain such a thing can’t happen. That kind of rigid thinking blocks your master’s growth.”

―What?

“If you change your thinking just a little, too many things can change. Sometimes, you break the law and twist the Creator God’s will too. If we do that, won’t new Achievements be discovered?”

―What nonsense are you spouting?

“This is advice from an Achievement expert who established 3 Achievements while alive, so engrave it well.”

Flambeju firmly closed his mouth. It was because, among the countless masters he had served, none had established as many Achievements as I had in such a short time.

After finishing the meat, the children gathered around the stone slab and pushed their heads in.

“Do not be shy. Take it and eat. Do not be greedy, and divide it fairly.”

The meat felt slightly undercooked, but I handed it out without worrying.

It was because I had drained the horned rabbits’ blood with the Necronomicon.

―The Necronomicon is the scripture of dead spirits born from the fingertip of Yog-Sothoth. The first necromancer, Abdul Alhazard, is sealed within it and forms the root of the necromantic secret art that threads soul, flesh, and will together. It manifests secret arts by taking not only blood but also calamities such as curses, poisons, and diseases as sacrifices, and all its regulation follows the command of the one who sleeps at the boundary, Yog-Sothoth. It is a door leading to the order beyond death and a chain guarding the outer edge of the world.

The secret I learned by connecting to the Akashic Records was fairly interesting.

The Necronomicon absorbed not only blood, but all kinds of harmful things.

Because I had drained the meat’s blood with this book, there would be no chance of getting an upset stomach from the meat.

‘I confirmed something important. Though it is unsettling that the Necronomicon is Yog-Sothoth’s creation.’

At that moment, a commotion arose on one side.

“You beggar bastard, will you get lost? You stink of poverty!”

The children had split into two groups, and those with parents and those without were facing off.

Because this was a world where even children with parents had difficulty eating meals, I accepted them without discrimination. However, the children who had parents discriminated against those who did not.

“You dirty children over there.”

The children I pointed at looked at me in surprise. All of them had parents.

“If you want to eat meat, go to the river and wash. The soap is over there.”

Those who had suddenly been reduced to dirty children grumbled, but they went to the river anyway. It was for the sake of eating meat.

In any case, every child in the Barony of Azif became clean.

“If you want to eat again tomorrow, go to the stream and wash cleanly before you come. Wash your clothes too. You can at least do that, can’t you? Do not think you can get food without even that much effort. The less you have, the more you need to take care of your body.”

“Can I come again tomorrow?”

The child who had cursed at another as a beggar bastard asked cautiously, and I shook the water from his damp hair as I said,“Yes. I may not have money, but I have plenty of meat. I just have to catch it in the forest.”

“Thank you. Um, but…….”

The child came close to me and whispered.

“If you’re caught hunting just anywhere, you die.”

“Huh?”

“The forest belongs to the lord.”

Gulp. I swallowed.

That was the first time I had heard of it.

“The northern forest is…….”

“The north is fine. But people don’t go there much because it’s dangerous. Monsters come out there.”

That was a relief. I found a lord who mobilized an army more troublesome than monsters.

Relieved, I continued the rest of the work.

When I gathered large oak barrels on one side, the children came over one by one.

“What should we help with?”

The children chirped like sparrows and did not leave my side. It was because after making them work, I always paid them wages.

“Pair up in twos and wash the oak barrels.”

The larger children stepped forward and scrubbed the oak barrels with stream water, soap, bundles of dry grass, and the like.

“Five of you wash gravel over there and gather it. Five of you wash fine sand and gather it on one side.”

I laid gravel in the cleanly washed oak barrel, placed sand on top, and laid down charcoal. I also placed clean cloth over it and sprinkled a little diluted lye on top.

When I drilled a hole in the bottom of the oak barrel and connected a bamboo-like tube, the improvised water purifier was complete.

“Bring water.”

The children sprinkled the water they had brought into the oak barrel.

It took a little time for the filter to work, but the water that slowly seeped in passed through layer after layer and was filtered cleanly.

It had been purified.

To be certain, I would have to soak the Necronomicon in it to remove toxins, but considering Achievements, it was necessary to spread a more universal water purification technology.

“Wow! The water got clean!”

The stream water was polluted enough that it was hard to use directly as drinking water.

The street children would collect stream water in bowls and leave it for several hours, then drink only the top water after the impurities in the muddy water settled.

Everyone got upset stomachs, and in severe cases, some lost their lives.

Boiling it before drinking was best, but that was difficult for children without homes.

Contaminated water caused not only upset stomachs, but infectious diseases as well.

‘As expected, this much isn’t enough to be recognized as an Achievement?’

It was simple yet innovative technology, but it lacked influence.

‘If I spread this widely and make it take root, then there is a high chance it will be recognized as an Achievement.’

It was something that would save countless lives.

When dusk settled, I handed out pieces of soap to the children.

“Take one piece of soap each when you go home. Don’t forget to wash before you come tomorrow.”

***

“You washed my kid?”

It was a case of the guilty party lashing out first.

The man, who had rolled up his sleeves, glared with fire in both eyes and snorted like a wild boar. Behind him was a boy whose eyes were swollen. His whole body was also covered in mud and ash.

An infant was being carried on the boy’s back.

“No. I didn’t wash the children. Washing is something the children do on their own.”

“You said you wouldn’t give him meat if he didn’t wash!”

“Whether I give meat or not is my choice.”

The man looked as if he might swing his fist at any moment.

Around him, countless red lines gathered into a single pillar of fire.

He was a man not even worth killing.

‘Still, if I have to kill him, I’ll kill him.’

When I hardened my resolve and rose from my seat, the man flinched and stepped back.

He was a man with nothing else going for him, but at least his survival instinct was outstanding.

“M-My kid doesn’t need your meat! So don’t say weird things about washing or whatever.”

The reason I did not kill that man was not because of his hesitant reaction.

It was because of the boy who stood in front of his father with a swollen face. It was because of the wailing infant strapped to his back.

When I shrugged instead of answering, the man grabbed his child and walked away. He kicked the child from behind and struck him on the back of the head, but no one stepped in to stop him.

‘As expected, this is an age of savagery.’