-Twilight Coffee House.
Located in the wealthy district of Blackhole Plains, this was one of the few establishments that stayed open 24 hours a day.
The clock on the wall had already reached two in the morning. Except for a sleepy employee behind the counter, there was only one person sitting by the window, sipping hot chocolate, bathed in the dim yellow light.
Unfortunately, this peaceful and tranquil scene didn’t last long. It was disrupted by the sound of a speeding car coming from a distance, followed by the screeching of tires, which was particularly ear-piercing in the silent night.
The coffee shop’s door was pushed open again, this time more roughly. The front desk employee was startled but didn’t dare to make a sound because the person entering was wearing a Knight Order uniform.
The Knight took a quick glance and spotted Renji, who had intentionally chosen a conspicuous spot to sit. With quick strides, the Knight approached and sat heavily across from the young man.
His expression was as dark as the atmosphere.
“Captain Durin, if I remember correctly, I made the call to Knight Tamic, didn’t I? How come it’s you now?”
“Don’t waste my time with nonsense. At 1:17 in the morning, the Knight Order received an anonymous resident’s report of a massive brown-red mist emanating from the southeast corner of Blackhole Plains, suspected to be a severe outbreak of Tainted Miasma. At 1:39, Knight Order personnel arrived on the scene and confirmed the death of Callewa’s leader, Ajax, along with almost all the gang members inside the secret factory. The only survivor found by the Knight Order at the scene was a gangster named Artur. Only after Sister Michelle continuously helped him stabilize his mental state, we learned from him that only two very young powerful man and woman were responsible for all of this.”
Switching his tone, Captain Durin stared fixedly at the young man still sipping his hot chocolate and continued:
“However, during the Tainted Miasma outbreak at the Sea Sand Bar this afternoon, the biggest suspects were also a very young man and woman. Regarding this… Mr. Renji, do you have anything to say?”
“I want to say that perhaps this is the difference. We’re all young people, but how come the others can be so powerful, protecting us common folks from harm, while I can only report to the Knight Order for help when my loved ones are captured, and yet, I’m treated as a suspect and interrogated. Sigh…”
Renji let out a heavy sigh, as if even the heavens were unfair to him. Outside the window, the sound of raindrops started as a gentle “drip, drop” and quickly escalated into a cascading curtain of “whoosh, whoosh.”
It was raining.
“Captured loved ones? Hmph, I’d like to hear who in our little corner of the Blackhole Plains would be so blind,”
Captain Durin thought the young man sitting across from him was playing riddles or beating around the bush. However, when he heard the next two words from Renji’s mouth, his expression changed.
“The church.”
He briefly furrowed his brows, but when he saw the serious expression on Renji’s face and realized that he wasn’t joking or mocking him, Captain Durin fell silent, his previous grim and assertive demeanor shifting.
Renji felt considerably relieved; he knew he had found the right person.
“Excellent, as expected of Captain Durin, by the looks of it, without me saying more, you seem to have pieced together the sequence of events.”
“I must implore you to assist me with this favor. Otherwise… Well, I can quite understand the young people who took down Callewa. At our age, it’s easy to get hot-headed and act on emotions, don’t you think so, Captain Durin?”
Facing Renji’s words, Captain Durin remained silent. He seemed to be hesitating and struggling, but just like the rain outside that grew heavier, there were some things that no one could stop.
The Knight Captain took out a pocket watch from his pocket, opened it, and inside was a photo of a couple. Captain Durin stared at the woman on the right side of the photo, a gentle and virtuous blonde, and closed his eyes as he let out a long sigh.
“There is a forbidden area within the church, the underground second floor of the library. No member is allowed to enter it. Once, a young Knight ignored the church’s orders and secretly ventured in. He discovered that it was connected to an abandoned sewer, leading to a much larger underground space. In that space… there are many monsters, a great number of terrifying monsters.”
“The Knights would leave the Church to patrol at ten in the morning and three in the afternoon every day. Usually, a quarter of the personnel would remain, but given the recent spate of cases, it’s likely that this guard force would be temporarily diverted due to the shortage of manpower.”
“Remember, we only have this week to mobilize manpower.”
With those words, Captain Durin didn’t pay any further attention to Renji’s reactions and promptly left the coffee shop.
However, as he had barely stepped out of the coffee shop’s entrance, Captain Durin noticed that a young Knight had been waiting for him there, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Renji recognized him as Tamic, and the young Knight was holding three umbrellas.
Three umbrellas.
The coffee shop’s door swung open again, but this time it was done very politely. Tamic briskly approached Renji, stood upright, and bowed deeply to express his sincere apologies.
“I’m really sorry! I… I had some urgent matters, so I couldn’t personally respond to Mr. Renji. My mentor… cough, cough, Captain Durin, didn’t give you a hard time, did he?”
Watching the young Knight cautiously probing, Renji smiled and replied,
“Not at all. Captain Durin is a very good person, very responsible. He has already helped me resolve my troubles.”
“Oh, that’s good to hear, that’s good to hear. I’m really sorry again. The Goddess’s teachings instruct us to extend a helping hand to those in need, and I failed in my duty to you, Mr. Renji. If you encounter any difficulties in the future, I, Tamic, pledge in the name of a Knight order to do my utmost to assist you!”
“Thank you. With faithful followers like you, I’m sure The Goddess will be very pleased,” Renji sincerely responded. .
“You’re too kind. Well then, I have to go. But before I leave, here, take this!”
Tamic had brought three umbrellas with him—one for himself, one for Captain Durin, and the third one he handed to Renji. It was an act of extending a helping hand to those in need, and it was clear that Tamic’s words were more than just empty slogans.
After Renji accepted the umbrella, Tamic left the coffee shop. Renji could see Captain Durin scolding the young Knight at the entrance for his “unauthorized action.” Captain Durin must have been furious that the young Knight had taken the initiative to approach someone as “dangerous” as Renji.
Under Tamic’s repeated apologies and nods, the two men got into their respective cars and quickly left the scene.
In response to this, Renji couldn’t help but touch his nose.
‘Do I really look like a bad person?’
Now that he had what he wanted, Renji had no reason to stay in the coffee shop. He opened the umbrella given to him by Tamic and prepared to head toward the church. Although Captain Durin had kindly provided two time slots, Renji couldn’t wait any longer.
However, just as Renji had barely left the coffee shop and taken a few steps, he noticed a trembling and huddled figure next to a trash bin in a dimly lit corner, illuminated by the faint moonlight on this rainy night.
She shivered all over, hugging her knees and burying her head deeply. It seemed she was trying to keep warm on this cold night, but the relentless raindrops fell on her, stealing away the little warmth she had. As the cold wind blew, she shivered uncontrollably.
A homeless person.
People like her, not to mention in Blackhole Plains, were not uncommon even in the world Renji had lived in before. So, he cast a glance and continued to walk forward.
However, Renji’s pace gradually slowed down, and in the end, he came to a halt.
He turned back.
Perhaps it was the influence of the young Knight in the coffee shop, but Renji sighed and placed the umbrella he was holding next to the huddled figure by the trash bin.
Worth noting, when he approached, Renji was a bit surprised to see that the person was wearing what seemed to be a nun’s outfit, even though it had been soaked through by the rain, making it difficult to discern. It raised a curious question—’why was a nun out here?’
Regardless, Renji didn’t say much. After placing the umbrella down, he turned to leave.
However.
What Renji didn’t know was that in that moment when he turned away, in a place where he couldn’t see, the homeless person by the trash bin—no, the homeless nun—lifted her head from her buried knees.
The young man’s umbrella shielded her from the rain, and as she watched his retreating figure, she revealed a bright and happy smile, a proud and satisfied smile.
But all of this was fleeting.
The next second, the little wandering nun once again looked pitifully cold and shivering, and quickly stepped forward, grabbing the corner of Renji’s clothing with her dirty, trembling hands.
“Sir,”
“Can you please shelter, shelter a… nun?”
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