Can I ask you to take in... a nun?

Twilight Cafe.

This is one of the few establishments in the wealthy district of the Black Cave Settlement that remains open 24 hours a day.

The hands of the wall clock have now reached two in the morning. Inside the cafe, aside from a clerk who is constantly dozing off, the only other person is a young man sitting by the window, drinking hot chocolate under the dim, yellow light.

Unfortunately, this peaceful and serene scene doesn't last more than a few minutes before it is shattered by the sound of a car speeding from the distant street, followed by the ear-piercing screech of brakes that sounds exceptionally jarring in the desolate dead of night.

The cafe door is pushed open again, and this time quite violently. The clerk at the front desk is startled but dares not make a sound, because the person entering is wearing the uniform of the Knights Order.

The knight glances around and quickly spots Liao Ji, who is sitting in a conspicuous spot on purpose. He strides over with heavy steps and sits down firmly opposite the young man.

His expression is as gloomy as his mood.

"Captain Dulin, I recall that I called for Knight Tamik, didn't I? How did it end up being you who came instead?"

"Spare me the nonsense. At 1:17 AM, the Knights Order received an anonymous report from a resident claiming that a large amount of brown-red mist was permeating the southeast corner of the Black Cave, suspected to be a severe outbreak of Corrupt Calamity pollution. At 1:39 AM, after the Knights arrived, they confirmed the death of the Kalleva leader, Falmu, along with nearly every gangster inside the secret factory, all of whom were reduced to corpses."

"The Knights discovered the only survivor at the scene, a gangster named Artur. It was only after a nun kept helping him stabilize his mental state that we learned from him that the culprits behind all this were just two people—a very young man and woman."

Taking a breath, Dulin stares fixedly at the young man opposite him who is still drinking his hot chocolate, and continues:

"Yet, just this afternoon, during the Corrupt Calamity pollution incident at the Haisha Bar, the primary suspects were also a very young man and woman. Regarding this, Mr. Liao Ji, do you have anything to say?"

"I'd like to say that this is perhaps the difference between people. We are all young, yet others can be so capable, ridding the world of pests for us common folk at the bottom. Meanwhile, I can only report to the Knights Order for help after my relative is kidnapped, only to be accused and interrogated like a criminal instead. Sigh."

Liao Ji lets out a heavy sigh, as if even the heavens are feeling indignant on his behalf. A "pitter-patter" sound begins to echo from outside the window, and soon, it evolves into a downpour curtaining the night.

It's raining.

"Relative kidnapped? Hmph, I'd like to hear, in this pathetic little dump of ours, the Black Cave, whose eyes could be blind to such a degree."

Dulin thinks the young man opposite him is speaking in riddles and beating around the bush, until he hears the two words that follow from Liao Ji's mouth.

"The Church."

The knight captain furrows his brows for a split second, but when he judges from the serious expression on Liao Ji's face that the other party is not joking or teasing him, Dulin drops his previous gloom and aggression, falling into silence.

Liao Ji feels much more relaxed; he knows he found the right person.

"Excellent. As expected of Captain Dulin. Looking at you, I don't need to say more; it seems you have already connected the dots of the situation."

"I must ask for your assistance in doing me this favor, otherwise... sigh, actually, I can quite understand those two young people who wiped out Kalleva now. There's no helping it; at our age, it's easy to get hot-headed and act impulsively. Don't you think so, Captain Dulin?"

Facing Liao Ji's statement, Dulin still doesn't speak. He seems to be hesitating and struggling, but just like the rain growing heavier outside the window, some things cannot be stopped by anyone.

The knight captain pulls a pocket watch from his chest. Upon opening it, there is a photo of a couple. Dulin stares fixedly at the gentle, virtuous blonde woman on the right side of the photo, then closes his eyes and lets out a long breath.

"There is a restricted area in the Church, on the second basement level of the library, where no member is allowed to set foot. Once, a young knight ignored the order and snuck inside, only to discover that it connected to a supposedly abandoned sewer, leading to a much larger underground space. And inside there... there are many monsters, a great many terrifying monsters."

"The Knights Order leaves the Church for patrols every day at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Usually, a quarter of the force remains on guard, but because there have been too many cases lately, it is estimated that this guard force will be temporarily reassigned due to a shortage of manpower."

"Remember, the reassignment only lasts for this week."

After saying this, Dulin doesn't care about Liao Ji's reaction and stands up to leave immediately.

But just as he steps out of the cafe, Dulin discovers that a young knight has been waiting for him there for some time.

Liao Ji looks over and narrows his eyes, recognizing that it is indeed Tamik. In the young knight's hands, he is carrying three umbrellas.

Three umbrellas.

The cafe door is pushed open again, but this time very politely. Tamik trots over to Liao Ji, stands straight, and bows deeply to him with a look of apology.

"I am so sorry! I... I had an urgent matter, so I couldn't come to answer you personally, Mr. Liao Ji. My master... cough, Captain Dulin, he didn't give you a hard time, did he?"

Watching the young knight's cautious probing, Liao Ji smiles and says, "How could he? Captain Dulin is a very good man, very responsible, and has already resolved my troubles."

"Is that so? That's good, that's good. Anyway, I am truly sorry. The Saintess teaches us that we must extend a helping hand to those in need, yet I broke my promise to you, Mr. Liao Ji. This is my dereliction of duty. If you have any difficulties in the future, Mr. Liao Ji, I, Tamik, swear by the name of the knight to the Saintess that I will drop everything at hand and do my utmost to help you!"

"Thank you. I believe the Saintess must be very happy to have a believer like you," Liao Ji says sincerely.

"You flatter me. Well, I still have things to do, so I'll just... ah! Right, right, this is for you!"

Tamik brought three umbrellas: one for himself, one for Dulin, and this last one for Liao Ji. It is clear that the young knight's words about helping those in need were not just empty slogans.

Seeing Liao Ji take the umbrella, Tamik leaves the cafe.

Through the window, Liao Ji can see Captain Dulin at the entrance of the cafe scolding this "unauthorized" young knight severely, likely angry that he actually ran over to proactively meet a "dangerous person" like himself.

Under Tamik's constant nodding and apologizing, the two get into a car and quickly leave the scene.

Liao Ji rubs his nose at this. Does he really look that much like a bad guy?

Having obtained what he wanted, Liao Ji has no reason to stay in the cafe. He opens the umbrella Tamik gave him and prepares to head toward the Church. Although Dulin kindly gave him two time slots, Liao Ji cannot wait.

However...

Just as Liao Ji steps out of the cafe and walks a few paces, he sees a thin, shivering figure curled up next to a trash can in a corner of the street under the gray moonlight of the rainy night.

She is trembling all over, arms wrapped around her knees, head buried deep, seemingly trying to keep warm in the cold night in this way. Unfortunately, the rain beats mercilessly against her, stealing away her meager warmth, and every time the cold wind blows, she shivers uncontrollably.

A homeless person.

People like this, let alone in the Black Cave, were not few in number even on the Blue Star where Liao Ji used to live, so he glances at her and continues walking forward.

Unfortunately, Liao Ji's pace slows down more and more, until finally, the young man stops.

Liao Ji turns back. Perhaps influenced by the young knight at the cafe, he sighs and places the umbrella in his hand next to the curled-up figure by the trash can.

It is worth mentioning that after closing the distance, Liao Ji was somewhat surprised to discover that the clothing the other person was wearing, although soaked through and dripping wet from the rain, was still clearly identifiable as...

A nun's habit?

Though he found it a bit strange, Liao Ji didn't say anything further; he set down his umbrella and turned to leave.

However.

What Liao Ji did not know was that the very moment he turned around, in the blind spot behind his back, the vagrant by the trash can—or rather, the vagrant nun—lifted her head from between her buried knees.

The young man's umbrella shielded her from the rain, and she cast a happy, radiant smile at his retreating back, a smile that looked both triumphant and proud.

But these expressions were fleeting.

The next second, this little vagrant nun transformed back into a pitiful, shivering figure, quickly stepping forward to grab the hem of Liao Ji's coat with her dirty, trembling hands.

"M-mister..."

"Could you please take in... a nun?"