“Wh-What do you mean by that? Why are you even here?”

The girl spoke with eyes full of suspicion.

Well, it was a reaction I expected.

Who would believe a suspicious person who suddenly appeared claiming to help?

No one who is naïve enough to believe that would have survived in a place like this for long.

Most people here have a terminal case of suspicion.

Thanks to that, when distributing food to starving people, I had to take a bite in front of them to prove it wasn’t poisoned or drugged.

When we opened the shelter, we advised the children to understand such common sense and told them it would take time to prove our harmlessness.

But the situation is a bit different now.

When I saw that child among the crowd, she seemed to be limping slightly, as if injured, so I followed her.

Had I been a bit later, she might have been a corpse.

And the woman lying down… she looked like the girl’s mother, and judging by the progression of the illness, it wouldn’t be strange if she died at any moment.

I didn’t have the luxury of proving my harmlessness to this child.

So, I quickly approached the collapsed woman.

“St-Stop! What are you going to do to my mom?”

“I told you earlier. I’m here to help.”

The girl struggled to pull me away from her mother, but it was futile.

If it were the me from a few months ago, it might have worked.

But now, after consuming several elixirs and receiving one-on-one lessons from two top-tier instructors, it would be strange if I were overpowered by a child.

“Let go… Let go of my mom….”

The girl cried out, making me feel like a villain. But I had already declared my intentions.

I said I would save them, even if they didn’t want me to.

There was no reason for guilt.

I took out the syringe given to me by Miss Rubia and injected it into the woman’s arm.

The green liquid flowed into her veins.

Not long after opening the shelter, we had distributed food and treated the injured with potions. But this was my first time encountering a severe case of magic addiction.

And in such a critical state.

Yet, I felt no anxiety.

The performance is guaranteed! I can stake my name on it!

I don’t know why someone would stake their name on something developed by someone else, but…

Miss Rubia isn’t the type to make empty promises.

I trust her competence.

Even if she’s a bit clumsy at times, I believe in her ability to deliver when it matters.

“I’ll do anything… Just don’t hurt my mom…”

The girl, tears streaming down her face, pleaded with me. But I smiled calmly and said,

“If you have time to spout nonsense, go to the shelter and bring back some blankets and water. She’ll need to rest for a while.”

Her face filled with confusion at my words.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking in a dazed voice.

“Mom…?”

The woman who had been lying down slowly began to sit up, holding her head as if dizzy.

Step by step, she staggered toward the girl.

Sensing the situation, I quietly stepped aside, not wanting to interrupt their reunion.

From a distance, I watched the two of them.

It looks like I’ll have to get the blankets and water myself.

I should bring enough for two. After crying like that, the girl would surely be exhausted.

As I thought this, I watched the two embrace, repeatedly apologizing to each other.

A story that would have ended differently was changing by my hand.

And it felt surprisingly good.

*

After a long time in her mother’s arms, talking about various things, the girl finally came to her senses.

The situation was clear.

For some reason, the man in the black robe had cured her mother.

She had heard that there was no cure for magic addiction. The current medications only prevented the symptoms from worsening, and they were absurdly expensive, beyond the reach of commoners.

But somehow, this man had cured her.

He had effortlessly treated an illness that had never been cured before.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

But the girl knew.

There is no such thing as a miracle without a price.

So, after discussing it at length with her mother, she decided how to pay that price.

Soon, the sound of footsteps approached.

The man in the wolf mask returned, carrying blankets and food.

As soon as the girl and her mother saw the man, they knelt and spoke.

They promised to do anything, anything he asked, as long as he didn’t separate them.

But…

The man’s reaction was strange.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke.

He hadn’t done it expecting anything in return.

He had simply saved them because he could.

However, if there was one thing he wanted, it was to know the locations of others in similar situations.

He wanted to save as many people as possible, and any information they could provide would be a great help.

It was a reaction they couldn’t have predicted.

Her mother, after being stunned for a while, began to tell him about the people she worked with in the mines.

“Thank you. And you… you seem injured, so go to the shelter. There’s someone better than me who can treat you right away.”

His tone was kind.

The man asked for nothing in return for his miracle.

He simply asked for help in saving others.

Even after performing such a miracle,

Even after saving someone they thought was lost,

The man smiled calmly, saying he was glad it all worked out.

Not long after, the man disappeared.

He vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

Only then did the girl realize the true identity of the strange man.

It wasn’t surprising.

The black robe, that inexplicable power.

A mysterious organization that helps people with such abilities.

There was only one name that came to mind.

The Black Fangs.

That enigmatic organization had helped her.

The girl stared blankly at the spot where the man had stood… then got up.

Her body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and she ached all over. Her mother tried to stop her, worry evident on her face.

But this time, the girl was determined.

She needed to see. She needed to see the outside world again.

She had an inexplicable feeling.

Staggering, she stepped outside and saw a strange landscape.

The sights she had missed, lost in her depression and despair, were now visible.

The girl saw people in black robes repairing crumbling buildings and distributing food to the people.

And most notably,

She saw people smiling.

How long had it been since she saw someone smiling in this desolate place?

As she thought about this, she realized she was smiling too.

The reason was clear without any need for contemplation.

“Ah…”

Days that seemed to fall endlessly,

A life that didn’t seem to improve no matter how hard she tried.

In such a dreadful existence, a light had finally started to appear.

For the first time in her entire life, the girl felt hope for tomorrow.

Hope for happiness in tomorrow.

Hope for a better tomorrow than today.

*

Rumors of Black Fangs spread throughout the empire.

Stories of Black Fangs appearing and helping people were spreading.

One possessor smiled, seeing the plan progressing smoothly.

But the possessor was unaware of the gravity of the situation.

He did not realize the significance of this event.

For those who lived lives of mere survival, struggling just to stay alive,

News of Black Fangs brought hope.

An organization capable of opposing the monstrous empire.

A group that could stand toe-to-toe with the empire.

And, someday, an organization that would save them.

Though they didn’t say it out loud, everyone in the empire was thinking it. That Black Fangs might bring a better tomorrow.

That Black Fangs might actually succeed.

And this faith, unbeknownst to anyone, triggered a butterfly effect.

In retrospect, it was inevitable.

The act of believing in something and being convinced that it would bring a happy future.

The name of that act was ‘faith.’

The possessor was gradually becoming less human without even realizing it.

*

Your followers are increasing!

Your followers are increasing!

Your followers are increasing!

…A change is occurring in your spiritual rank.

Your existence is becoming closer to ■■.