Before long, the two started the car and headed deeper into Chernobog. Watching the scenery along the roadside turn impoverished and dilapidated, their hearts were filled with mixed emotions.
"Every time I see a scene like this, I can't help but sigh. People are clearly living in the same city—how can some look at all of this so calmly without doing a thing?"
Looking at the progressively poor and broken city, Lemuen couldn't help but lament that the gap between people could truly be this vast. She had seen many such scenes over the years.
They were only two blocks away from the city entrance, yet the houses here had a desolate feel to them. Even the surrounding air carried a hint of oppression.
"Then how does Laterano handle these issues? I've truly never heard of Laterano having such things as 'slums.'"
Hearing Lemuen's lament, Jeanne suddenly realized that Laterano was indeed a strange country. She had never heard of it having anything resembling a slum. Even for the Infected among the Sankta, the only requirement was that they were not allowed to return to Laterano; other than that, everything remained the same, and they even retained their civil rights!
"There's the Church! If you truly can't afford to eat in Laterano, you can go to the Church; they provide free meals. While there aren't any expensive delicacies, they have corn chowder and plenty of bread! And the soup actually tastes quite good."
Lemuen recalled the days when she lived in Laterano and would sometimes run to the Church to grab a free meal.
"Your salary isn't low, right? How did you end up needing to scrounge for food? Besides, the Church actually provides bread? That life is better than what most ordinary people in other countries have."
Jeanne had seen it herself—the bread they spoke of wasn't black bread, but white bread! Did their Church truly have that much money to provide such food for free every day?
"It's because I had no money after buying guns! Besides, I donate when I have money! As for the finances? Don't worry, when the Sankta pray as a group, Holy Water is produced. This is Laterano's most important trade! It's a trade monopolized by the Laterano Church!"
Jeanne naturally understood Lemuen's words. When she met those Archbishops, they clearly recognized Holy Water! In other words, Laterano also possessed the ability to manufacture it.
"It's just that the production of Holy Water is scarce. Since Laterano needs to use it internally as well, the amount available for other countries to buy is naturally even less, so the price is quite expensive."
"Then aren't there people who pray on their own to create Holy Water and sell it privately?"
Jeanne was filled with curiosity. Was the moral standard of the Sankta so high that even money couldn't shake it? Could they face such temptation calmly and remain unmoved?
"Because the concentration isn't high enough! Sankta usually go to the Cathedral to pray on Sundays—that's tens of thousands of people! If there are fewer people, it's impossible for Holy Water to appear. You and Alina are special cases and don't count."
Lemuen clearly knew a lot about how Holy Water was made; she must have encountered many related matters in the past.
"And there's no need. Laterano gives the Sankta a stipend every year, which is quite a lot, so there's no reason to sell it secretly."
"Then how much could the Holy Water I make sell for? I remember you saying the concentration of this Holy Water was ridiculously high. Could it sell for an astronomical price?"
Jeanne remembered the pained expression on Lemuen's face back in the village. It seemed she had still underestimated the price of Holy Water. Her intuition told her that the price Lemuen was about to state would be beyond her imagination.
"Well... I'm not sure. One bottle of yours is equivalent to the amount a whole city of ours produces in a month... I can't even calculate such a large figure. But treasures like that are things we use as family heirlooms."
Screeeech—!!
Jeanne slammed on the brakes, nearly sending Lemuen flying out of her seat. Lemuen looked at Jeanne's "I'm going to be rich" expression and guessed what she was planning.
Jeanne felt like she was about to strike it rich. Why was she worrying about money? She could just soak herself in a pool and sell the Holy Water!
However, in the next moment, Jeanne dismissed her own idea. Once she stepped in, she would disrupt the entire market and even affect Laterano's income. There was no need to drag Laterano down just for her own profit. They had helped her so much; pushing them into a fire pit in return would be inappropriate.
Besides, the miracles bestowed upon her by God were not meant for amassing wealth. Otherwise, she could just walk into any casino and strike it rich by rolling dice, but that would be too sacrilegious toward that power.
"You could collaborate with Laterano! We need Holy Water ourselves to suppress Originium activity, so there's never a surplus. Laterano would be very happy to work with you."
"We'll see about that later. There's no rush anyway."
Jeanne continued driving. She knew Laterano wouldn't cheat her. On the contrary, she felt that if they did business with her, they might even end up paying out of their own pockets to help her.
"Please, let us go! Can anyone help us? Sister Wolf, where are you! We're so scared..."
Suddenly, Jeanne heard a sound—the plea of a child, transmitted to her ears through the power of Revelation. Jeanne made a sharp turn into a side street. Following the guidance of Revelation, she accelerated toward the scene.
"What happened? Is someone attacking us?"
Lemuen was startled by Jeanne's sudden acceleration. She couldn't understand why the Jeanne who was chatting normally just a moment ago had suddenly become like a different person.
"I heard a cry for help, it sounds like a few children. Get your gun ready, we might have to use force in a moment!"
As she spoke, Jeanne stepped on the gas again, and the car roared forward. Lemuen gripped the nearby handle tightly, feeling like the fluorescent tube (halo) on her head was about to fly off.
"Slow down, slow down! I won't have time to change my ammo! What's in my gun right now are real bullets that can kill!"
Lemuen shouted at the top of her lungs. She remembered that Sankta were forbidden from using live ammunition in most urban areas. If the military police caught her, she would likely be looking at a life sentence.
Though, she had heard that Ursus prisoners were exiled to the snowfields to plant potatoes; that wouldn't be so bad, she could just go back to the village.
"No need, use live ammo directly! The Ursus military police don't have time to check that right now; they've temporarily abandoned this area."
Hearing Jeanne's words, Lemuen gripped her submachine gun tightly, ready for combat at any moment. Since Jeanne spoke with such certainty, she didn't need to show the enemy any mercy.
The next moment, the car crashed through the doors of a warehouse. It was unclear if the door material was shoddy or if the car was just that sturdy, but the two inside hardly felt the impact as the doors were pierced like paper.
Inside the warehouse, a group of burly Ursus men were threatening several children with various weapons. From the look of them, they were about to strike the defenseless children at any second.
Jeanne drove the vehicle directly toward where the men were standing, forcing them back and separating them from the children.
"Open fire! The people in front are the enemies!"