Abandoned by my Childhood Friend, I Became a War Hero chapter 77

77 – Sinner

Just as shadows form where light shines, brilliant light naturally attracts deep darkness.

That was the case in the back alley where criminals flocked.

As more people gather in the system like now, it is a garbage dump where various criminals and people like thugs also gather. That was the back alley now.

I had the students wait outside, and then I ran across the back alley in search of Marian and Gwynn. In the meantime, I did not forget to kindly ask the criminals in the back alley.

“Turn it off… look, see… Saw… A red-haired girl and a black-haired boy… !”

“Where did you go?”

“The girl over there… The boy goes straight… Keugh! Go, all of us just to ask about that… ?”

I roughly threw the bully that I no longer needed on the floor.

The most effective way to get information quickly is to first subdue the opponent and start. After all, they are just criminals who make a living from crimes like pickpockets and scammers, and the more obedient they are to these guys, the more they look down on them.

Anyway, why did the two of them split up?

Marian must have known that Gwynn was a gilchi, so it’s hard to believe that she split on purpose.

Then, who should we find first?

Marian is a golem pilot with considerable skill even if he looks like that. I didn’t use her often during my class because she was afraid she would break in my hands, but her golem wasn’t enough to be beaten by mere thugs in a back alley like this.

It was a problem for her to underestimate herself due to her lack of practical experience, but as much as she taught herself, Marian knows her skills well. If it becomes dangerous, I will have enough skills to take my body out.

The problem is Gwin. Unlike Marian, who is quick to grasp the situation, Gwynn has a simple side. In addition, he lacks a sense of direction due to his serious path, and it is difficult to predict how far he will go if left unattended.

Perhaps he even entered a place he shouldn’t have entered. We need to find it as soon as possible before it causes a big accident.

As I continued on the path I had found Gwynn, I immediately felt a presence in front of me. When I followed the sound of a fight, I saw Gwynn grabbing a boy and holding him down.

The chatter was the sound of the boy struggling to get away from Gwynn.

“Let go, let go! sh*t!”

“Give me back what I stole! Then let go!”

“Already handed over! Because I don’t have it!?”

“Then guide me to the person who handed over the goods!”

Unbeknownst to me, I burst into laughter that I couldn’t tell if it was admiration or absurdity. I thought I was lost and in distress, but I never thought Gwynn would have caught the pickpocket here.

As I approached, Gwynn raised his eyebrows as if wondering if he had recognized me only then.

“Instructor? Why here….”

“That’s what I’m going to say. I would have told you not to take care of anything you cannot handle yourself, but to report it to me right away.”

“Ha, but this guy took Schurz’s wallet… !”

“That doesn’t mean it’s okay to leave the area and go to places like this. Gwin, 1 penalty point. Just go back.”

Gwynn pursed his lips and shook his head as if he was heartbroken, probably shocked that he had been scolded by me rather than the fact that he had been penalized. And he hesitantly said.

“Then what should I do with this child?”

Gwynn pointed at the boy he had subdued.

“Ugh… !”

The boy was pressed to the floor by Gwynn, and when I arrived he stopped struggling and looked up at me with a slightly terrified expression on his breath.

Perhaps the students were easygoing because they looked young, but I didn’t seem to be that way.

“Let go for now.”

Gwynn had a puzzled look on his face as to whether he could understand my intentions, but he did not refuse the order and let the boy go.

The boy thought he was going to let him go. As soon as he got up excitedly, he tried to run away, but my hand grabbed the boy’s nape faster than he did.

“Don’t move.”

“What, what! Didn’t you let go!?”

“I never said anything like that.”

I glared at the boy with sad blue eyes.

“Take off your coat and shoes.”

“What? My, why am I-“

“If it’s good to cut off his limbs and forcefully strip him, I will.”

At my radical remark, both Gwynn and the pickpocket boy gasped in shock. Soon the boy hesitated for a long time and carefully took off his shoes and coat. When I looked, all that came out was dust.

I stared blankly at the boy.

“Damn….”

In the end, the boy spat out resentful words and even took off his yellowed socks. That’s how I found Schurz’s wallet hidden under both feet.

Gwynn asked curiously.

“How did you know it was hidden there?”

“Just.”

It would have been obvious to say that it was a place where pickpockets hid their goods. Even in the military, there were a lot of guys who secretly stole loot and even military supplies, so I knew roughly where they were hiding it just by looking at it.

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Gwynn looked at Schurz’s wallet, which was a bit messier than the first one, and said with an embarrassed expression.

“Umm, I shouldn’t have told Schurtz where I found my wallet… So what are you going to do with this child?”

I’m still thinking about it.

The boy must have felt that the atmosphere was turning unusually, so he fell to the floor and hit his head.

“Oops, sorry! I won’t do that again! It’s hard to eat and live, so I stop without even realizing it… ! Please don’t kill me or cut off my wrists!”

“Cut off your wrist… ?”

“It used to be like that.”

Actually, even now, that kind of thing has happened to me from time to time. Cutting one’s wrists when stealing was a phenomenon often seen in other countries or empires’ outer cities, or even in the frontlines.

The system doesn’t say it’s barbaric, but it was the same as being sent to a camp or a mine for forced labor, so it was difficult to judge which was harsher.

After much thought, I opened my mouth.

“I just leave it.”

“Can I? I’d rather leave it to the military police….”

“It is important to find Marian now.”

The lost wallet was also recovered, and now the priority is to find Marian and get out of this alley.

Catching one or two such pickpockets did not make the crime in the back streets disappear, and it was very troublesome to take the boy outside.

We winked at the boy, and he immediately turned bright and ran away from us, swearing loudly in the distance.

Gwynn’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, but I felt calm.

“… ….”

That boy won’t live long anyway.

No matter how talented a pickpocket is, he won’t mess with soldiers or military police. Academy students are the same in that sense.

Seeing that he couldn’t distinguish between those who were allowed to steal and those who weren’t, that boy’s fate was obvious.

Not taking him to the gendarmerie right away was the best mercy I could give him.

“Follow me.”

“Yes, Instructor!”

I wanted to get Gwynn out of the back alley right away, but unfortunately, it was next to impossible for Gwynn to find a way out alone. In the end, I had to look after Marian while also taking care of Gwynn.

I took Gwynn and walked in the direction Marian was heading. She didn’t sound like a fight like when she found Gwynn. She focused her ears and surveyed her surroundings.

I heard the boiling breath of the poor, the beggars sniffing drugs, the sound of swearing, the sound of rats eating corpses, and the thin breathing of a woman in the back alley, which is not suitable for this kind of back alley.

I found it.

I followed her signs as I quickly passed through the complicated alleys. Then she found Marian standing alone in a fairly large space.

It was impressive to see more than ten men lying unconscious around her.

Marianne, who was standing there dazed somewhere, noticed our arrival and her face returned to life.

“… Instructor? And Gwynn!”

“Marian! You were here!”

Marianne went right over and frowned her fine brow and poked Gwynn’s chest with her finger in protest.

“Where the hell have you been!? Doesn’t it follow the pickpocket on its own, doesn’t it suddenly disappear from the side! Do you know how dangerous I was alone because of you!?”

“Mi-sorry… ! I was wrong. I won’t do that again!”

“Ugh, really… Glad to know You don’t seem to be hurt anywhere either.”

Marian looked back at me, exhaling her relieved breath.

“Instructor. Thank you for coming. I was already worried about how to find Gwynn. Did she find her wallet by any chance?”

“Yes. And Marian, no matter how much you chase after Gwynn, it’s the same as doing something dangerous, so you also get 1 penalty point.”

“Eh.”

“If you knew, you would never do such a risky thing again.”

I looked around and said.

“Who have you met?”

“Yes? No? I was the only one here.”

Marian shook her head with a calm expression. His nonchalant appearance was so natural that anyone would think he was telling the truth.

But I could see. The way her eyelids quivered slightly and her throat tensed as she swallowed her dry saliva.

There were not only men around here, but fragments of what was believed to be Marian’s golem were shattered and scattered. Just looking at it, I could guess how strong the force was at work.

In addition, a lifeless and withered corpse was also visible. Even the weak remaining black magic and the traces of its purification.

Not only killing a human who was swept away by dark magic, but also purifying it cleanly without leaving any aftereffects such as contamination all at once in such a short time was impossible with quite a bit of divine power.

There were only two people on the continent who possessed such strong divine power, and since they had experienced the divine power of those two, it was immediately possible to find out who these traces belonged to.

“Marian.”

“… Yes. Instructor?”

I opened my mouth after a short silence.

“Move.”

“Eh? Ah yes… !”

I could guess who she was meeting with, and she had a vague idea why she was trying to hide it.

So, instead of digging into Marian’s lies, I took the two of them out of her alley.

As I was walking like that, I suddenly looked back quickly at the gaze I felt from far away.

“… ….”

But when I looked back, there was no one there. Only the scenery of old buildings and dark back alleys unfolded before my eyes.

I looked at the spot for a while and then slowly turned my back.

***

Saint Charlotte hid behind a wall to calm the beating of her heart.

My heart beats so wildly.

It looks like it will explode.

Did you see this? Did you notice me

I knew I shouldn’t. Even though she knew it was dangerous to watch him from afar, she couldn’t contain her emotions.

I wanted to see him again, but I couldn’t get out from behind the building for fear of seeing him again.

This is a sin.

The original sin she carried.

Charlotte wanted to cry, but her tears wouldn’t flow. Because even such shallow feelings seemed false.

She was weighed down by her guilt, which sat deep in her heart.

She wanted to see his face. She wanted to hear his voice. She wanted to reach out and talk to him.

But she couldn’t.

Because I said with this mouth that I would never see him again. Because he himself is a sinner who does not deserve such happiness.

‘Goddess….’

Charlotte fell to her knees on the floor helplessly. She then put her hands together and closed her eyes as if in prayer.

Her white robe was stained with the filth of her back alley, but she didn’t care.

‘Is this your punishment for me?’

Love men and their faith.

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The guilt of betraying both of them was so deep and heavy.