I'm Really Not a Monster (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

After two sets of three knocks, the young monk's voice came from outside.

"Female Benefactor, Master asked me to bring you some charcoal."

"Come in..."

With a creak of the wooden door, the young monk came in carrying a copper basin—the kind with a wide, round rim.

Inside, red-hot charcoal glowed.

"Female Benefactor, this is charcoal. It's still very cold, and Master thought you might need some, so he sent me to bring it over."

"Mm, just set it there."

I nodded, then studied the young monk carefully. He stood there without leaving.

I clearly saw his gaze fall on my backpack.

He was just a child, and I didn't think there was any harm in sharing a little food with him. He might spend the rest of his life in this little temple. It was entirely possible that everyone outside would die before he did.

After a moment's thought, I took a piece of candy from my backpack and handed it to him.

"Here, have some..."

"Th-thank you, Female Benefactor."

Chapter 65: This Old Monk Really Isn't a Monster (Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter)

The young monk clumsily opened the wrapper. Although candy like this was hard to come by in the world outside, enormous quantities had been produced before the apocalypse. The number of people it had to supply had fallen from over a billion to just tens of millions. In theory, even if people ate and drank their fill, these supplies could last a long time. Unfortunately, they had expiration dates, and getting hold of them was difficult. In practice, there wasn't even enough food for a few million people to get by for a year.

That was precisely why food was so precious in the apocalypse.

And the price of that scarcity was... people would fight to