How did she do that?
No wonder the surrounding onlookers were thinking the same thing. What had just happened was simply too surreal.
Or rather... was it just a coincidence?
But even if it was a coincidence, wasn't it a little too perfect?
How could it have landed in exactly that spot?
When there were too many questions, the mind simply couldn't keep up.
Some people were already starting to feel headaches coming on.
But none of that concerned Elise, because the elderly woman had already caught up.
"This is the coin purse that was snatched from you just now. Please tuck it inside your clothes. It's not very safe to keep it on the outside."
Looking at the flustered old woman before her, Elise handed over the purse in her hand while quietly using her purification ability, trying to soothe the woman's emotions.
"Huff! Huff!" The old woman was clearly not in good health. She had chased after the robber all the way here, and her face was drenched in sweat. It was obvious how panicked she had been.
"Thank you, young lady."
"Ah... I'm old now. My body just isn't what it used to be."
She pounded her lower back and coughed from time to time.
"By the way, ma'am, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"Hmm? What is it?"
Hearing Elise's words, the elderly woman paused her movements.
"I'd like to know—in a city like Orario, does something like what just happened occur often?"
The moment the question left her mouth, Elise could clearly feel the sorrow in the woman's emotions deepen.
"What's wrong? If it's inconvenient to answer, I won't ask."
"No, it's nothing." The old woman wiped at the corner of her eyes and continued, "There's nothing inconvenient about it."
"It's not very suitable to talk about this here. Let's change locations."
...
In a dim room, sunlight only entered when the door was pushed open.
"This is my room. I haven't tidied it up in a long time, so it's a bit messy. Please don't mind it..."
"How could I?" Elise immediately shook her head. "This is proof of your hard work in living your life!"
"If I were to laugh at someone who strives so hard just to survive, Lord Holiness would surely give me a good spanking, wouldn't He?"
From the moment she had taken the coin purse, Elise already had a rough idea of how much valis was inside.
And she could clearly feel just how rough the old woman's hands were.
They were like land long parched by drought, covered in cracks. Even the muscles in her arms twitched from time to time.
She had been working far too hard...
At that moment, Elise couldn't help but think of the robber from earlier.
Was handing him over to the Guild guards too lenient?
If he dares to do something like that again after he gets out, I'll find time to make sure he can't take care of himself. Let him experience what others go through...
"Haha! Is that so?" Elise's words successfully drew a smile from the old woman. A nostalgic look surfaced in her eyes. "If my granddaughter had grown up safely, she might be about your age now."
"..."
The meaning behind those words was self-evident. Elise could only remain silent.
Soon after, the old woman set down what she was holding and said, "Let's continue what we were talking about—your question from earlier."
"Does something like that happen often in Orario?"
"Often? Of course it does!"
"Especially in recent years—it happens countless times almost every single day!"
As if recalling something, the old woman sighed helplessly. "Back when the Zeus and Hera Familias were still in Orario, if something like this dared to show its face, it would be wiped out immediately."
"But now..."
She didn't continue, but Elise already understood.
The Zeus and Hera Familias once possessed adventurers at Level 8 and even Level 9. They held absolute dominance and suppression over the city.
If anyone foolish enough dared to commit crimes here, wasn't that simply courting death?
But now, Zeus and Hera were gone. In their place stood Loki and Freya.
The highest level among the current top Familias was only Level 6—nowhere near what the former peak forces had achieved.
At the same time, the darkness that had long been suppressed by Zeus and Hera rebounded the moment they fell.
The accumulated darkness of many years erupted completely. Though Loki and Freya's Familias could suppress it, they could not eradicate it entirely. Incidents like this continued to occur from time to time.
Not to mention that the Guild frequently demanded large-scale expeditions from those major Familias, leaving them with even less time to govern the city.
Thus, Orario had entered its dark age.
"Even my son, my daughter-in-law, and my granddaughter didn't die to the Dungeon or monsters... they died at the hands of other humans!"
Perhaps recalling her family, the old woman's emotions became agitated.
"With no one by my side, I work every day just to survive, and even then I have to live in fear..."
"When will days like this ever come to an end?"
Orario's dark age...
Elise's expression remained unchanged.
The novel hadn't described it in much detail, and Elise had never taken it too seriously.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case.
This darkness had clearly brought fear.
It had brought despair.
And it had brought something Elise hated most...
Elise glanced at the old woman, who was quietly weeping.
Tragedy...
There's really no helping it.
After all, I'm a saintess.
If such an obvious tragedy exists here, then I'll be the one to dispel it!
Elise gently embraced the sobbing old woman and said softly, "If you don't mind, may I call you Grandma?"
"Th-this... how could I possibly deserve that?" The old woman was still hesitating, but Elise's next action left her stunned.
"Grandma!"
Elise took a step back. Her eyepatch had already disappeared, yet she did not open her eyes. She simply smiled like that.
"It's so similar..." The old woman's eyes filled with tears. That smile reminded her of the past. "If my granddaughter were still alive, she'd probably be about your age now..."
"Do you agree?"
"Of course!" The old woman wiped her tears. "To have such a beautiful granddaughter like you is this old woman's blessing."
"From now on, just call me Grandma Norn."
"Grandma Norn!"
"Mm, I'm right here!"
Perhaps due to her age and emotional exhaustion, Grandma Norn soon fell into a deep sleep.
Elise gently pulled a blanket over her.
"As expected of me!"
"Winning Grandma Norn over was that easy!"
At this moment, the young saintess couldn't help but praise herself a little, satisfying her vanity just slightly.
Soon after, Elise sighed.
"Now then, I suppose I should clean up this proof of her hard work. There's really quite a lot of dust in here... how long has it been since it was last cleaned?"
"Oh right, there's one last thing..."
Elise lightly tapped her right fist against her left palm, her expression turning slightly dangerous.
"The darkness of Orario needs someone to clean it up as well..."