Chapter 22: Part (4): Almsgiving

“Dear… people of Eisenberg…”

Her voice echoed through the loudspeakers across the entire square, but the moment she spoke, a noticeable tremor came with it.

The dense crowd below fell silent, tens of thousands of eyes fixed on her in unison.

Mi Li opened her mouth but found she couldn’t continue reading.

Those ornate phrases—“holy mission,” “radiant grace,” “supreme glory”—she couldn’t bring herself to say them.

What meaning did they even have?

Whispers began spreading through the crowd, and Evelyn’s face grew increasingly stern.

“Ahem—!” Kaya coughed softly from below, gesturing with her mouth and pointing first to herself, then to Mi Li, flicking her eyebrows toward the expectant faces in the distance.

—Just.

—Say.

—What.

The girl read her words from Kaya’s lip movements.

She looked down at the crowd again.

These people…

Were all waiting for her.

Then she closed the folder on the lectern:

“Phew… I… I’m not very good at saying… fancy words.”

The crowd quieted again, and even Evelyn froze.

“I’m just… an ordinary person, like all of you.”

Mi Li’s voice gradually steadied as she scanned the countless blurry faces ahead.

“If… you think of me as a Saintess, I want to say—I’m really not that great.”

A few scattered light chuckles came from below.

“But… I want to help everyone…”

“Just like… just like those children I met at the clinic on the other side of the wall.”

She paused, recalling the eager expressions of the little ones.

“Although… every family has their own difficulties, we’ve never given up on each other… that’s real.”

“When one is in trouble, help comes from all directions—not just words… it’s truly there around you.”

“Countless anonymous people push forward, helping others in their own ways, even strangers…”

“I’ve seen people who struggle to make ends meet, yet quietly give a bowl of porridge to a neighbor who ran out of food…”

“I’ve also seen people risking being torn apart by mutated monsters just to save a stranger they barely know…”

“You are all such people too.”

The girl exhaled deeply and pressed her lips together:

“Working hard every day, not for anything else, but truly wanting your families to live a little better.”

“Even when exhausted, you still lend a hand when others need help…”

“I know… life is hard, with food, medicine, and family matters… even a single coin feels like it must be split in two…”

“But you’ve never given up, and you keep striving to make this world a better place. That is truly remarkable. I sincerely respect all of you…”

“So…”

“If I can really help anyone, it’s not because I have any special power.”

“—It’s because… I also want to learn, like you, how to face life bravely, and protect the people we care about.”

“We all hope… children can grow up healthy, families stay safe, and tomorrow will be better than today… we strive and work hard for this.”

“I can’t claim I can change anything, but I want to try.”

“So, your needs—I will also do my best to meet them.”

“Th-That’s it. Thank you all for coming today…”

The crowd began nodding.

“I heard that today, some things will be distributed to everyone…” She glanced at the supplies stacked to the side of the stage:

“But before we distribute them, I want to ask…”

“—What do you need the most?”

These words caught everyone completely off guard.

The crowd stirred.

“Food!” someone shouted.

“Medicine!”

“Job opportunities!”

“School for the children!”

Various voices rose and fell as Mi Li tried to identify them all.

Evelyn frowned from below.

This was completely outside the plan…

“Alright, I’ve got it,” the girl said after the noise subsided.

“Although I can’t solve everything immediately…”

“I will work with all of you… tackling each step, making progress, so you can see each step’s results, and see true… security and prosperity…”

Mi Li took a deep breath and turned to the supplies at the side of the stage: “These things prepared today, though not many, I hope can help everyone a little.”

With that, she bowed deeply.

The speech ended.

A strange silence fell over the entire square.

Mi Li steadied herself against the lectern, looking at the tightly packed, silent crowd, her heart racing.

She…

Had messed up…

Seraphina would be angry…

Just as she prepared for the Queen’s wrath, a child’s voice suddenly rang out from the crowd:

“Saintess sister!”

It was a child, clear and bright.

“Ah?” she was momentarily stunned.

But in a moment, the shout acted like a switch, instantly igniting the whole crowd.

Thunderous applause and cheers spread like waves, cries of “Bountiful Saintess! Bountiful Saintess!” made her ears ache.

The people’s gazes were no longer numb or filled with reverence—they were now full of ecstatic excitement, as if they had seen a savior…

“Long live the Saintess!”

“Thanks to the Saintess’s grace!”

“May the Saintess bless the children!”

The cries rose in successive waves, shaking the entire square.

Mi Li was dumbfounded by the sudden fervor, frozen on the stage, still unsure of what had happened.

“Little Saintess, come down quickly!”

Kaya rushed onto the stage, pulling Mi Li half-protectively, half-dragging her down.

“The crowd is too excited! Let them calm down first!” the merchant woman’s voice was almost inaudible over the roaring cheers.

“If you stay any longer, it’ll be dangerous! They might literally tear you apart!”

“Alright, alright, have a drink and rest first.” She handed Mi Li a small spray-sized water bottle from behind:

“If you freeze here any longer, I’m really afraid your legs will give out and you’ll fall.”

Mi Li leaned against the iron frame backstage, finally realizing her legs were shaking badly, her mind still in a daze.

Why was this happening?

“Did… I do something wrong?”

“Wrong? You did exactly right!” Kaya’s eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh… no, I’m starting to think you really are a Saintess.”

“…”

The cheering from below continued relentlessly. A little girl’s voice stood out sharply: “Saintess sister’s words are so nice to hear!”

Her words drew smiles all around; the previously tense atmosphere instantly warmed.

“Yes! Much better than those charlatans!” someone nearby loudly agreed.

“Finally, someone asked what we need…”

“Not like those fakes who just come up and talk about ‘decrees’ and ‘heavenly grace’!”

The exhausted middle-aged man even had moist eyes, clapping hard with his rough hands, repeatedly murmuring, “Truth… it’s all truth…”

The crowd surged toward the stage, wanting to get a closer look at her.

Soldiers immediately stepped forward, forming a human shield with their bodies and raising shields to keep the excited people outside the barrier.

“Maintain order! Maintain order!”

Evelyn shouted commands to the soldiers to control the scene.

She had seen this kind of situation before.

Many times.

But never this fervent…

So overwhelmingly passionate it was frightening.

“Vice Officer!” a soldier ran up to report, “Their emotions are too excited! They’re trying to break through the cordon!”

“Send in more personnel!”

She glanced at Mi Li sipping water quietly in the shadows, her eyes complex, gritting her teeth and activating her communicator:

“Lock down all security! Everyone, no firing! —Repeat! No firing!”

“I don’t care what methods you use! Hold the line!”

“Anyone who harms civilians will be dealt with by military law!”