Of course, Clara expected them to assist her. They must have realized how erroneous this was.
None of them, however, offered assistance. They were trying not to laugh while avoiding her sight and pointing fingers at me. All of their reactions were identical.
"Please don't do this. Please help me..."
"Trrr..."
As the sound of tearing clothes fell on Clara's ears, her back shivered from the cold breeze, and that instant her face become very pale.
"You ask for support from the guys here who all want the same thing as me?"
"No...they are not like you, they will be not like you!"
"She seems disgusted by you, cant's leave her alone."
Clara who heard the voice was relieved that someone had stepped forward for her rescue, but it took her a moment to distinguish this voice.
'A cold and snickering voice, this voice... it was the one which pushed me into the depths of this hell.'
"Ah! N-No…"
"Are you disgusted by me?!"
"Ah!"
"Answer me! Am I disgusting?!"
"You will, without a doubt, appear more filthy than me in the future. It'll be lovely to have a good time with you before we sell you."
'Help me.'
"Please help…"
"So, Ms. Mother Teresa, what did I say? Just because someone is poor doesn't imply they're a good person, right?"
"Ah…"
Clara saw the face she despised the most when her eyes gazed in that direction.
*********
I could tell how brutally she had been beaten up as I neared her.
Of course, I was aware of what had occurred. After all, I had been following this young woman's journey from beginning to end.
She had a teary expression on her face and a runny nose at the time. Her entire demeanor betrayed the fact that she was terrified. I tried to preserve a compassionate expression on my face, even though I didn't feel any sympathy for her. It probably seemed like divine intervention at this time.
The girl in front of me, in contrast to the clean and arrogant Clara, I had just seen this morning, had a battered, swollen face and was dressed in torn-up rags. I knew she would have been in serious trouble if I hadn't arrived sooner.
"You were right! Please save me I want to escape this place...I really want to..."
"Alas…"
At that precise moment, the tears I had purposefully stored in my eyes began to fall.
I could see the man pulling Clara's hair, as well as the bums who appeared to be waiting their turn
"Can you tell me who you are?"
"Scum, you don't need to know."
"Don't attempt to be arrogant around me, bastard. I'm curious as to who you are."
"Do not budge."
The man side, however, "Bang bang bang!"
The bullet shot out of my gun cleanly and piercingly finished the bums standing behind him. Also, thanks to the short range, I felt no trouble aiming.
Clara began to run towards me and Ana, quivering and her round eyes open. She had concluded that I was the only person who could help her get out of her current situation.
'That's what I needed...'
"Thank you..." I can see her barely standing with help of Ana, she had already lost all the strength in her legs.
"You can relax, Clara."
As I spoke, I turned to face the man who had grabbed her initially.
"How does it feel to walk through the slums on your own?" I see you've taken in some sights."
"Thank you. Thank you for your help. Quick, let's go.… Please… Let's get out…"
Clara, as far as I could tell, lacked the mental capacity to communicate correctly at the moment. Her instincts warned her to flee the scene.
'However, that's not gonna happen...'
But first, I wanted to have a serious discussion with her. After all, this was why I suggested her course of action in the first place. I felt like I walked on a load of shit when I saw her traumatized countenance.
"It's time to let this go."
"Yeah?"
"How do you feel?"
"What…"
"Now that you've disguised a poor person, you've seen how they really are, right?"
"You're correct. You are completely correct in everything you said."
But I could tell she wasn't thinking straight. I could only see a look of desperation on her face. It was a frantic plea for help, not a mask of regret for her way of thinking.
"Take a look over there."
"Yeah…?"
The faces of the thugs who had tried to harass our precious Clara turned blue. The man on the lead was already dropped dead to my bullets it was obvious, "Their turn to die now."
"Here..."
"Why...?"
"It's obvious...shoot him!"
I extended the gun toward her, "Why? Why are you doing this?"
"Is that even a question?"
"Even if they had harassed me, I will never have the will to kill a human being..."
Seeing this girl, an apostle of divinity...I was a bit dumbfounded, even though I know this Clara was kind-hearted... "Do you want to live?"
The man frantically nodded his head even without covering his crotch.
"This woman… Are you willing to kill her?"
The man's fearful expression indicated that he didn't understand what I was saying, so I went into greater detail.
"If you kill her, not only I will let you live... on top of that, you will receive loads of money, much enough to leave this shitty slum..."
"Why… Why are you saying this?" Clara stammered.
"I feel sorry for this woman. I don't know why she started to do charity...however, is this worth it?"
'It's a lie...of course, I know why she started coming to slums...even so, I will not reveal it...'
"…"
"You die if you refuse to admit this."
"Yeah, I'd be willing."
"Good."
Clara was now standing with a poker face.
"W-What... Why..."
Her hands slowly rose towards the location where the man was lying.
"Is...is it really right to kill him..."
'I knew she won't kill him this easily...'
"This type of scum deserves to be killed! Today it will be you tomorrow, many!"
"I-i understand..."
"If he by chance entered the other side of the compound wall...what do you think will happen?"
"Please stop..."
"If he awakened...it will be much worse than this, perhaps..." This was quite a site to see her character changing from the original portrayal, "He will even think of raping you again..."
"NO...!!"
"BANG!"
'Ha...Now my mission is successful~'
I assumed while staring at the crimson blood coming out of the bum's head.