Twilight Cafe
It was one of the few businesses in the wealthy district of the Black Cave Settlement that stayed open 24 hours a day.
The clock on the wall had already reached two in the morning. Aside from a clerk who kept nodding off, the only person in the cafe was a young man sitting by the window, sipping hot chocolate beneath the dim yellow lights.
Unfortunately, the peaceful scene lasted only a few minutes before it was shattered by the sound of a car speeding down the street in the distance. The screech of brakes that followed was especially jarring in the silent night.
The cafe door was shoved open again, this time quite roughly. The clerk at the counter jumped, but didn't dare say a word. The newcomer was wearing a Knights Order uniform.
The knight glanced around and immediately spotted Liao Ji, who had deliberately chosen a conspicuous seat. He strode over and dropped heavily into the chair across from the young man.
His expression was just as grim as his.
"Captain Dulin, I thought I'd called Knight Tamik. Why are you here instead?"
"Cut the crap. At 1:17 a.m., the Knights Order received an anonymous call from a resident reporting a large cloud of reddish-brown fog in the southeastern part of the Black Cave. It was suspected to be a serious Corrupt Calamity outbreak. At 1:39, the Knights Order arrived and confirmed that Kalleva's leader, Falmu, was dead. Almost every gangster inside the entire secret factory was dead too."
"The Knights Order found a single survivor at the scene, a gangster named Artur. After a nun helped stabilize his mental state, we learned from him that only two people were responsible for all this—a very young man and woman."
Dulin paused for breath, his eyes fixed on the young man across from him, who was still drinking his hot chocolate. Then he continued:
"Yet this afternoon, the Corrupt Calamity incident at Haisha Bar had the same two people as its prime suspects—a very young man and woman. So, Mr. Liao Ji, what do you have to say about that?"
"I'd say this is probably what you call a difference in ability. We're all young, so how come other people can be so capable, ridding the common folk of these criminals, while all I can do is report it to the Knights Order and ask for help after my family was taken? And then I get accused of being the criminal and interrogated instead. Sigh."
Liao Ji let out a deep sigh, as if even the heavens were taking his side. A "pitter-patter" sounded outside the window, soon turning into a curtain of rain that poured through the darkness.
It was raining.
"Your family was taken? Hmph. I'd like to hear who in this little backwater of the Black Cave could possibly be that blind."
Dulin thought the young man was speaking in riddles, going around in circles. Then he heard the next two words from Liao Ji's mouth.
"The Church."
The knight captain's brow furrowed for an instant. But when he saw the serious expression on Liao Ji's face and realized the young man wasn't joking or mocking him, Dulin's earlier aggression and grimness gave way to silence.
Liao Ji relaxed a little. He knew he'd found the right person.
"Wonderful. I knew you were the right man, Captain Dulin. Judging by your expression, you've already put the pieces together without me having to explain."
"Please, you have to help me. If you don't... Well, I think I can understand the two young people who wiped out Kalleva. At our age, it's easy to get carried away and act impulsively. Don't you think, Captain Dulin?"
Dulin didn't respond. He seemed to be hesitating, struggling with himself. But just as no one could stop the rain from pouring harder outside, there were some things no one could stop.
The knight captain took a pocket watch from his chest and opened it. Inside was a photo of a married couple. Dulin stared at the gentle, kind blonde woman on the right, then closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"There's a forbidden area in the Church: the second basement level of the library. No member is allowed to enter. Once, a young knight defied the order and sneaked inside. He discovered that it connected to an abandoned sewer, which led to an even larger underground space. And in there... there were monsters. A great many terrifying monsters."
"Every day, the Knights Order leaves the Church to patrol at ten in the morning and three in the afternoon. Usually, a quarter of the knights stay behind. But with so many cases lately, they'll probably have to pull those guards out too because they're short on manpower."
"Remember, they'll only be pulling people away for this one week."
After saying that, Dulin stood and left, not bothering to wait for whatever Liao Ji might say.
But as soon as he stepped out of the cafe, Dulin spotted a young knight waiting there. He hadn't noticed him before.
Liao Ji glanced over and narrowed his eyes. He recognized him as Tamik. The young knight had brought three umbrellas.
Three.
The cafe door opened again, but this time politely. Tamik hurried over to Liao Ji, straightened up, and bowed deeply in apology.
"I'm terribly sorry! I—I had an urgent matter, so I couldn't come and answer you in person, Mr. Liao Ji. My tea—cough, cough—Captain Dulin didn't give you a hard time, did he?"
Seeing the young knight cautiously testing the waters, Liao Ji smiled. "Of course not. Captain Dulin is a good man, very responsible. He's already helped me deal with what was troubling me."
"Oh, that's good. That's good. Anyway, I'm truly sorry. The Saintess teaches us that we must always lend a hand to those in need, but I let you down, Mr. Liao Ji. That was my failure. If you ever run into trouble again, I, Tamik, swear by the name of the Saintess that I'll drop everything and do all I can to help you!"
"Thank you. I'm sure the Saintess is happy to have a believer like you," Liao Ji said sincerely.
"You're too kind. Well, I have something to take care of, so I'll be off. Ah! Right, right, here, take this!"
Tamik had brought three umbrellas: one for himself, one for Dulin, and the last for Liao Ji. It was clear that the young knight's promise to help those in need was more than an empty slogan.
Only after Liao Ji took the umbrella did Tamik leave the cafe.
Through the window, Liao Ji could see Captain Dulin outside the cafe, dressing down the young knight for his "unauthorized actions." He was probably furious that Tamik had actually come over to meet such a "dangerous person" as him.
As Tamik kept nodding and apologizing, the two got into the car and quickly drove away.
Liao Ji rubbed his nose. Did he really look that much like a bad guy?
Having gotten what he wanted, Liao Ji had no reason to stay at the cafe. He opened the umbrella Tamik had given him and set off toward the Church. Although Dulin had kindly told him two times when the guards would leave, Liao Ji couldn't wait.
However...
Liao Ji had barely left the cafe and taken a few steps when, beneath the gray moonlight of the rainy night, he saw a frail figure curled up beside a trash can in a corner of the street, shivering.
Her whole body trembled. She hugged her knees and buried her head between them, apparently trying to keep warm on the cold night. But the rain mercilessly soaked her, stealing what little warmth she had. Whenever the cold wind blew, she shivered uncontrollably.
A homeless person.
There were plenty of people like that—not just in the Black Cave, but even back on Blue Star, where Liao Ji had lived before. So he only glanced at her and kept walking.
Unfortunately, Liao Ji's steps grew slower and slower, until at last the young man stopped.
Then Liao Ji turned back. Perhaps he'd been influenced by a certain young knight in the cafe. With a sigh, he placed his umbrella beside the curled-up figure next to the trash can.
It was only when he drew closer that Liao Ji noticed, to his surprise, that although the clothes on her body were drenched and soaked through, he could still make out that they were...
A nun's habit?
Though he found it strange, Liao Ji didn't say anything. He set down the umbrella and turned to leave.
However...
Liao Ji didn't know that the instant he turned away, the homeless person beside the trash can—no, the homeless nun—raised her head from between her knees.
The young man's umbrella shielded her from the rain. Watching his retreating back, she broke into a bright, happy smile—a smile that seemed almost smug and proud.
But it was gone in an instant.
The next second, the little homeless nun looked pitiful again, shivering with cold. She quickly took a step forward and clutched the hem of Liao Ji's clothes with her dirty, trembling hands.
"Sir..."
"Could you take in... take in a nun?"
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