“Please, let us at least fetch the children” The old lady says. Children? I am guided by her to another room on the groundfloor. In there, some eight children are present. Shit.

“All right, everyone listen up, we’re moving out!” The old lady proclaims to them. This might be a problem.

I guide the brothel employees and the children a bit away. Many of them appear to be suffering under the cold weather, as none of them are really dressed for it. I don’t know the streets very well, but I can easily tell where there are people or not, or at least where there is fewer of them.

After a little while I think they are in the clear.

“You are safe now, but watch out. That new cult hates indecent things” I think for a little while.

“Is there an alchemist’s guild in town? They could be under fire too.”

“Ah, they are pretty close by to the brothel” The old lady who seems like the leader answers.

Shit. It’s probably going to be too late by now.

“Nothing I can do then. You guys take care now” I say, as I start to march away.

“Wait!” The old lady holds me up. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Huh? Why is that my problem? I just didn’t want to see you get lynched.”

“You got us out at swordpoint. We didn’t bring any valuables. Most of us have nowhere to go either! We will die if you just leave us now!” That’s strange… Following this world’s logic, women shouldn’t be expected to take care of themselves at all.

“Couldn’t the young girls just marry someone?” Eyes are averted. Either to the sky or the ground.

“We… We can’t” The girl who comforted me speak up.

“Why?”

“Noone would take woman who sleeps with a man she wasn’t married to.”

“Why would they know? I mean, just don’t tell them, right?”

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“But… For many of us… There’s proof. We would have to make the trip to another…”

“What proof?” Did they get marked or something?

“The children” Oh.

“But why could you not just lie and say they were from a previous marriage?”

“We have no bangles, no one would believe us.” I remember seeing a lot of women wearing bangles. Even the old lady here has one.

“What are those?”

“Bangles of Matrimony. The temple provides one upon marriage, to show your eternal devotion.”

Shit. What is this? Do I have to do with this? Can’t I just run? If I have to move all of these girls and their children to another city, it would take a long time, not to mention I would probably have to provide for them all. And if I were to travel my original route, I would have to pass what was described to me as “The Icy Road” going through uninhabitably cold temperatures with poorly clothed women and their children.

“Can I just give you my money? Would that be enough?”

“How much do you have?” The old woman quite shamelessly asks.

“A little more than 300 asti, I think.”

“Nowhere near enough”

Why do I have to deal with this? It’s that damn mob’s fault.

“This isn’t doing anything, we are going back!”

“Didn’t I tell you about the bloodthirsty mob moving towards the brothel?” I asked

“We haven’t seen it, and the path you are leading us to will surely end in our deaths, we have no choice.”

Fuck. Well, I tried, right?

As I turn to leave, somebody grabs my sleeve. I turn around and see the young woman who comforted me yesterday.

“Please, if the situation really is as you say, you must help us!” Not only is she making an earnest plea with her words, but her eyes too, are compelling me. In addition, a little boy, no more than 4 years old, is hiding behind her, having grabbed her short dress and peeks at me with innocent eyes.

Maybe I can just use my inhuman ability to defuse the situation? I was planning on leaving anyway. Quickly melting to the soft pressure, I find myself resolute on helping.

“Okay, I’ll take care of it” I say, to which I receive a whisper of “thanks”.

As we head back the way we came, this time with the old lady leading the pack, as I am not really sure as how to return, I try to think of a strategy. Could I just say they are under my protection? Could I try something like saying I am a messenger of God and their ways are wrong, backing that up.

“What are you thinking about?” The young girl asks me.

“Rikiya! Don’t fraternize with him, we don’t know if we can trust him” The old lady admonishes her. Granted, I did threaten her with a sword, but it was to help them.

Rikiya merely responds by sticking her tongue out at her, then turns back to me, expecting an answer.

“If you had overwhelming power, how would you resolve the situation?” I ask her. Maybe she has some ideas.

She visibly thinks a little, with one arm supporting the other by the elbow, the other on her chin. I don’t know if she does it on purpose, or if it is a habit of the trade, but the pose heavily emphasizes her breasts.

“I think I would just show off my power, then saying ‘go away’ in a threatening way. Why? You some kind of super human?”

“Yeah, I guess you could call me that.” As we approach the brothel it is clear something is wrong, judging by the large plume of smoke that starts flying through the air.

And as we get there, the building is lit on fire. Great, what now?