On the morning of the second day after the disaster, a large number of E-Rantel citizens gathered in the city square, blocking the entire square and surrounding streets. The air was tense, mingled with burning hope and anxiety.
There was an makeshift wooden stage in the center of the square, which looked like a platform for making announcements. It was surrounded by rows of city guards and members of the Kingdom Warriors, providing a sense of order amidst the chaos. People seemed a little anxious, but they were patient and did not rush towards it. Instead, they stared at the empty stage with hope in their eyes, awaiting the outcome that could change everything.
At the edge of the stage, Gazef Stronoff and the vice-commander of the Warrior Troop stood side by side, looking at the crowd around them with serious expressions, the weight of responsibility clearly visible on their faces.
"Warrior Captain, there are too many people," the vice-commander said, his voice a little strained.
"Well, this also means there are many casualties from this disaster," Gazef replied, his tone heavy.
"..." The vice-commander was silent for a moment, but eventually he couldn't help but express his true feelings, "This work is not easy to do, and it's also very easy to incite the anger of the people. Could it be that God did it on purpose?"
"Vice-Captain! Please be careful with your words!" Gazef turned his gaze to the subordinate beside him and reminded him in a serious tone, his eyes sharpening. Then, he continued: "Miss Enri Emmott said that this matter was not the God's idea, but was initiated by Miss Enri."
"For the people, this is just a drop in the ocean, but it is also a good deed that can save hundreds of families. Miss Enri and the others are willing to show their kindness, so why can't we bear the negative impact and let this matter proceed smoothly?" Gazef said, his tone now softer but still firm.
"...Yes," The vice-captain nodded with a guilty expression on his face, realizing his error.
Gazef said nothing more upon seeing this, and shifted his attention back to the crowd in front of him. Previously, when Enri told him about her desire to revive the victims in the city, he agreed without hesitation and used the remaining city hall staff to issue an announcement to all city residents.
That was why so many people gathered here this morning. The number of resurrection quotas given by the Church of Destiny was limited. For the densely populated E-Rantel residents, it could be said that the number was very small. Most of the people gathered here would return disappointed. At that time, as the host of the event, both City Hall and himself would have to bear the resentment of a number of losing parties, and it was unavoidable.
If it were other nobles in the kingdom, it was highly likely they would reject this event out of respect.
As Gazef was thinking, he noticed a sudden commotion among the crowd, whispers began to spread.
At the edge of the crowd, a platinum-robed blonde girl, protected by City Hall representatives and four black-armored warriors, parted the dense crowd and slowly walked towards the stage. That girl was the other protagonist of today, Enri Emmott.
Since they had received the news beforehand and knew the girl's identity, as she appeared, the people around her cast eager glances at her, and respectfully made way for her as they saw her, as if seeing a goddess.
Soon, the escort team arrived at the stage, and Enri and Gazef met smoothly. Both nodded to each other in greeting, then walked onto the announcement stage together.
Under everyone's gaze, Gazef stepped forward and took the main seat, then used the magic item amplifier in his hand to announce to all city residents:
"Fellow citizens of E-Rantel, I am the Royal Warrior Captain Gazef Stronoff. I invite all of you to gather here today so that this disaster-stricken city may find solace." His voice boomed, filling the square.
"Next to me is Miss Enri Emmott of the Church of Destiny. She is a strong believer in God and possesses the powerful ability to revive the dead."
"She feels deep regret for the suffering of the city and all of you, and with Divine permission, she proposed this charity event to the City Hall to revive the victims."
"But even someone as powerful as her has limitations. Therefore, within her capabilities, this event will last for fifteen days. Fifty families will be chosen from all victim families each day, and each family will have one chance to be resurrected."
"As for the lucky ones, their selection will be completely random. We investigated the number of deceased families in all streets of the city and made these things promptly." As he spoke, Gazef gestured for everyone to look at several large wooden boxes beside the stage.
Although the wooden boxes were stacked high, judging from the overflowing bits from the mouths of the boxes, they should be slips of paper used for drawing targets. The way people looked at the wooden boxes changed, for what was meant here was no longer mere slips of paper, but the hope of resurrecting loved ones who had died, a fragile yet real hope.
"Now, please line up and collect your identification cards according to the requirements. All identification cards will be checked on the spot to immediately determine whether you will get the chance to save your loved ones."
"However, I want to remind everyone that this lottery is a very serious matter. Our city hall is fully responsible for it. Any form of fraud or disturbance of order will be considered a criminal offense. Violators will not only be disqualified from participating, but will also face imprisonment!"
As he said this, Gazef's expression and tone were very serious. His majestic gaze swept across the entire audience, causing everyone present to fall silent, feeling the weight of his words. After that, he said nothing more and announced the official start of the lottery.
In a tall building on the edge of the square, Blue Roses and her group stood by the room's window, observing the situation of the event. Because the city hall forces maintained order, there were no unusual situations at the scene, and everyone obediently lined up to draw lots with the event certificates previously issued by the city hall.
Warrior Gagaran looked at the crowd below and asked Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra beside her: "Lakyus, do you think that little girl named Enri can do such a thing? Raising ordinary people or something?"
"I'm not sure," Lakyus shook her head. She was a priestess-warrior who could use Fifth Tier magic [Raise Dead]. However, ordinary people couldn't bear the huge loss of vitality caused by this magic, so she couldn't raise ordinary people. In the past, those she raised were all powerful adventurers.
"I heard that Miss Enri is a Magic Caster with a stronger level of faith than me, and she has the support of His Excellency Kael behind her, so it's not strange that she can do such a thing." Lakyus remarked, her tone sounding a little awestruck.
"Hey, don't you feel reluctant?" Gagaran playfully patted Lakyus's shoulder and said, "You've worked so hard all this time, but were surpassed by a country girl in just a few days. Why don't you try to believe in that God? You have good qualifications, and you will definitely be stronger than this little girl in front of you."
Lakyus couldn't help but roll her eyes when she heard that and said, "Gagaran, I think you're starting to care about the Church of Destiny because you lost the fight yesterday, right?" She grinned, knowing exactly what was on her friend's mind.
"Actually, if you want to become stronger that way, I wouldn't mind." Lakyus added, a faint smile playing on her lips.