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We left the temple with five hundred coins we got from the priest. It seemed like he had been pocketing quite a lot of money to prepare such a large sum on short notice. On top of that Freya had made him promise to use his own private funds to build a simple shelter, gather rations to give out, construct an orphanage, and various other things like that. All the other people working in the temple under the priest had also gotten used to their lavish lifestyle, so I could imagine them going into a frenzy now that so many changes were happening.

Everything that happened could hardly be called a negotiation, and was more like Freya forcing them to do everything.

“Freya, why was the priest so terrified?”

Ciel asked that and I recalled how the priest acted like the world was about to end when Freya threatened him with that. His face had gotten so pale he looked like a sheet of paper and he started acting in a way hardly befitting of a priest.

“Hmm…it’s quite different from getting expelled from a martial arts school. To put it simply, it’s the destruction of everything they are. They obviously lose their position and standing, but all their personal belongings get seized, and in the worst cases they’re branded enemies of the church and hunted down by zealous believers.”
“That sounds a bit…”
“…Severe.”

Freya was all smiles, but we were filled with chills. I heard some martial arts schools would beat students before expelling them, but I had not expected the church to be even more severe.

“There’s only a handful of people who have ever gotten expelled. But we are in dire times, so we can’t afford letting people like him get away with being lazy, so if that threat gets him on the right path then so be it.”

Now it made sense why he coughed up the money so quickly. Anyone would give up all their belongings if it meant keeping their position and identity…I think?

“The orphanage and shelter should be ready in a few days, and they should start feeding the poor as well. And this money we got should help us advertise ourselves as heroes.”

No matter how fast they worked, it would take a few days for things to take off. We would use those days to find a way to get our names out there with help of the money Freya obtained.

“The first idea I have is to buy up a lot of food and then give it away for free. This money should allow us to feed quite a lot of people. I’m sure we can buy the necessary utensils to cook food as well, and maybe we could hire a few helpers too. If we stick with it for long enough, other temples will follow our footsteps.”

I was lost for words. Freya seemed to instantly think of ideas I would not have in a lifetime.

The next day we put our plan into action. We divided the party into various groups so we could buy food, utensils, and pick up a few helpers at the same time. Ciel and Karin went to buy food, Diaria and Luvias went to buy utensils, and me and Freya went to recruit people. We called it recruiting, but we did not simply call out to random people on the street. Almost no one would listen to us if we did that, and we had no way of knowing if they were trustworthy. Instead we went to a tried and true place, the merchant’s guild.

The merchant’s guild was different to the adventurer’s guild in many aspects, starting with the design of the building itself. There were multiple front desks, and the receptionists as well as the people lining up all wore clean and well-tailored clothes. But even if their clothes were not ideal for fights, they all had sharp gazes, showing they were experienced merchants. We ignored all the stares we felt from them until it was our turn at a front desk.

“Welcome to the merchant’s guild. What do you need today?”

The receptionist greeted us with a perfect smile. I felt a bit nervous noticing how more experienced she was than me at being a receptionist, but I carefully told her what we were looking for.

“You want helpers? Around how many?”
“At the very least ten, and I guess at most thirty.”
“Any preference as to gender or age?”
“Women if possible. Age…it doesn’t matter as long as they can move around effortlessly.”
“Alright, please wait a moment.”

She went to the room behind for a moment, and after a short time she came back out with some papers.

“These are the people who matched your criteria. Please choose whichever you prefer.”
“What does the diagonal line mean on these?”
“That means we can’t contact them right now. If you need the help right away maybe it’s best to avoid those. Also, the fees are paid upfront. We also charge a 30% commission for providing the information.”

That sounded like a big chunk just for passing the information. But as long as the workers did not mind then the guild could keep making money. We selected thirty names, and then a group of quick children ran out of the guild to find them. They were the guild’s messengers, and were always ready for situations like these.

“Everyone should be gathered in around an hour. If some of them aren’t home we can contact others, so don’t worry about that. Feel free to wait upstairs.”

There were various waiting rooms on the second floor where we could wait for our hires to arrive. We were served tea, which I sipped while restlessly looking around. Freya was completely calm though.

“You don’t seem nervous at all, Freya.”
“Hmm? Heh, I guess a lot happened. Maybe my mind just moved a step forward.”
“…”

She was right, Freya felt much different from how I remembered her. But she also spoke about her destroyed country with little sentimentality, almost like the sting had been taken out of everything. In a way she had gotten more resilient, but it also felt a bit dangerous. I felt like she could go downhill in a bad way if left unwatched.

“Anyway, I also want to know about your party. Can you tell me where you were all this time?”
“Sure.”

I knew she was just trying to switch topics before the conversation became bleak, but I did not oppose that. I told her how we fought against Leble, how Sorciere rescued us, and all the training Karin and the rest went through. She looked shocked to hear that, but also smiled.

“I guess if the hero Brave is still alive, then it makes sense for the legendary magician Sorciere to also be alive. But still…heheh.”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing. I just never imagined I would meet face to face with people I read about in legends.”
“Hahah, yeah, that does sound odd now that you mention it.”

We continued chatting like that until we felt someone approaching us. The hires were probably already here.