A lot had happened that night.

First, Garin, the commander of the legion stationed at the Holy Church and the husband of Ailan, had successfully surrounded and annihilated the base of the Holy Knights who had fled with the stolen goods.

More accurately, it was an alliance between the remnants of the Holy Knights and corrupt priests.

“We’ve got all the money and food here! But there wasn’t much to begin with!”

The victory had been far easier than expected, and the result felt somewhat anticlimactic.

It seemed Agreus and Kastie had poured everything they had into their uprising, as the “loot” the Holy Knights had stolen amounted to only a few gold coins and less than a week’s worth of food.

No wonder the knights were so weak and emaciated.

Except for Agreus and Kastie, all the remaining Holy Knights had perished.

Meanwhile, in Garin’s army, there had been only one injury—a soldier who had twisted his ankle after charging in too eagerly and falling over.

Garin had no choice but to make the surviving two confess their misdeeds in front of the people before handing them over to the angry mob.

There was nothing left to see. The two were beaten to death by the furious crowd.

This helped ease some of the long-held frustrations of the Church’s people, making it a convenient choice for Garin and the imperial forces.

But the real issue lay elsewhere.

It was the survival of the children from the slums.

Naidrian had left the camp once more and returned at dawn with Reuben.

“Priest! Are you all right?”

Rabin greeted him with concern, but Reuben didn’t look too bad.

“The food the porter gave us lasted well enough. The only problem was that we couldn’t use fire often for fear of being discovered, so our mealtimes were irregular.”

“That’s a relief.”

Arsil, listening from a distance, sighed in relief as well.

She had promised to teach the children how to throw a hook the next time they met...

But now, the thought of showing her pitiful self before those pure children felt like a terrible sin.

“I can send a few soldiers to protect the children and priests. But food is another matter.”

Lin and Rabin brought the priest to Garin, but Garin seemed troubled.

He looked tired, having just finished the subjugation of the remaining forces.

“The food we brought is barely enough for us. If we bring the children here and try to feed them, the people we’ve already been helping will become even more upset.”

“They’re children. Can’t you make an exception?”

“I want to help, believe me. But Rabin, you must know this better than anyone. People are resenting the slums just because the hero’s party provided aid. They’re being irrational, refusing to accept their situation and only getting angrier. Bringing the children here and dividing the food could trigger a disaster.”@@novelbin@@

“Then how about this.”

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