Rain

Feeling the small but stubborn grip on the hem of his coat from behind, Liao Ji was forced to stop and turn around. ✊😺  🐨☺

Actually, he had a hundred reasons to ignore her and walk away.

But the thing was—

She had happened to hit upon what might be the one and only reason he couldn't bring himself to leave.

After all, there had once been another homeless wandering nun who'd said something similar to him.

But Liao Ji remembered clearly that the little nun back then had been in far worse shape than this one. Her clothes barely covered her, she was skin and bones and starving, with only her last breath left. While fleeing from monsters, she'd given all her food to others and kept pushing herself past her limits, using her ability to heal them.

In the end, those "others" had all made it safely to the shelter in a big city. She, meanwhile, had staggered along until she collapsed, barely alive, at the entrance to some ramshackle settlement that had only just been established.

It was bringing back memories.

Liao Ji pulled his thoughts back to the present.

He didn't refuse or answer right away. Instead, he looked the nun over from head to toe, taking another good look at her where she'd been sleeping beside a garbage can.

Her nun's habit was dirty and wet, but at least it was intact. He couldn't even see any patches.

Her little face looked helpless and pitiful, but she was actually in decent health. If she washed off all the dust and mud caked on her, Liao Ji thought she'd have fair, delicate skin.

Life five hundred years in the future had certainly improved, but not so much as to explain this.

His assessment was that even if Irin came over and played the part, she'd look more like a dumpster-diving vagrant than the nun in front of him.

"What's your name?"

"Ma-Maria," the nun answered weakly.

"If you really are a nun, why are you in this state? Why not go to The Church? In Black Cave—no, across the whole Holy Kingdom—nuns should be among the best-treated professions, shouldn't they?"

Faced with Liao Ji turning the tables and grilling her with questions right off the bat, Maria looked a little frightened and shrank her neck pitifully. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to have any effect on Liao Ji.

Seeing that the young man was about to turn and leave if she didn't speak up, Maria hurriedly explained:

"It's because I—I don't share the same faith as The Church."

"I..."

"I don't believe in that so-called Saintess."

As she spoke, Maria pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes, but the stubborn conviction on her face didn't waver.

She was like a lone, brave soul fighting against the current. Even in such a wretched state, she refused to ally herself with the Church's stuffy ways or worship that "hypocritical" Saintess.

She believed that the young man, after uncovering so many "secrets," must feel the same way, too.

In response,

Liao Ji nodded, showing that he understood completely, then said:

"Sorry, I can't take you in."

"I—I can do lots of things! Wash dishes, cook, iron clothes, clean—if there's something I don't know how to do, I'll learn! Whatever you ask of me, I—I can do it! And I don't eat much! Just a little food is enough. I don't need a bed; just a little space on the floor is fine. I..."

She seemed to have expected that Liao Ji wouldn't take her in so easily, and began pleading desperately.

But the young man's next words were completely beyond what she'd expected. The nun froze, caught off guard, and all the arguments she'd prepared vanished from her mind. She was left speechless.

All she heard was:

"No, no, no, it has nothing to do with that. It's a matter of principle."

"Simply put..."

"You don't believe in the Saintess, but I do. In fact, I'm Stia's most devoted and faithful believer."

As he spoke, Liao Ji worried that Maria might not believe him, so he pulled a silver cross from his pocket and waved it before her eyes as proof.

In the rainy night, the silver glimmer emanating from the cross stood out all the more. A cheap imitation couldn't do that. Only a genuine cross issued by The Church and imbued with the Saintess's holy power could shine like that.

After all—

If it had been a fake cross, Kalleva wouldn't have handed them out to the factory members as "protective gear."

That was right—it was one of the things he and Irin had been given just a few hours ago, when they'd pretended to be gang members and entered Zhuo'e Factory.

But no matter how he'd gotten it—

Tell him it wasn't a genuine cross!

"You and I have different beliefs. Out of respect for freedom of faith, I won't hold that against you. But you're asking me to take you in..."

Liao Ji shook his head firmly.

Then, in a tone that left no room for discussion, he said, "I won't be friends with someone who doesn't believe in the Saintess."

After saying that, Liao Ji ruthlessly pulled his coat hem from Maria's hand and turned to leave, leaving the nun frozen in place all by herself.

Maria looked a little dazed, as though she still hadn't recovered from some sort of feeling.

Fortunately, just as the young man was about to disappear from sight, Maria quickly patted her cheeks and rubbed them hard several times, until she finally managed to stop the corners of her mouth from twitching upward.

Pitter-patter.

The sound of someone running through the rain came from behind. Liao Ji knew who it was without looking back.

Just as he began to frown, growing a little impatient—

"Sir! A-Actually, there's another reason I asked you to take me in. Whether or not you agree, I beg you to hear me out!"

"I—I'm actually a Corrupted, and my awakened ability is Divination. To some extent, I can glimpse the paths other people's futures might take. That's exactly why I wanted to stay with you."

Maria took a deep breath. Seeing that the young man had indeed stopped and turned to look at her after hearing this, she spoke each word carefully:

"I saw a bad future for you!"

"A bad future?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for peeking into your future without permission, but if my ability is right, you're on your way to save someone now, aren't you?"

"..."

Interesting.

Liao Ji nodded at Maria without trying to hide anything, then gestured for her to continue.

"B-Because I had to do it in a hurry, I couldn't see the details clearly. But I'm sure the person you're going to save is still safe for now. If you rush in recklessly, though, it'll only backfire and end up hurting her!"

She emphasized the last sentence, saying "her" instead of "him."

"So you asked me to take you in because you wanted to stop me from saving someone and change this bad future?"

"Mm-hmm!" Maria nodded like a pecking chick.

Then she lowered her head a little sheepishly, like a child who'd lied to sneak some candy, and twisted her fingers together as she murmured:

"And, um... the real reason I can't go to The Church is that I'm a Corrupted, not that I don't believe in the Saintess. I—I actually like the Saintess, and I admire her a lot..."

The rain kept falling around them. Deep in the night, Liao Ji hadn't expected things to take this turn.

After hesitating for a long while, he finally asked:

"How am I supposed to believe you?"

"I-I used my ability in a hurry just now. If you don't mind, you can take me to where you're staying! Give me something belonging to the person you're going to save—a daily-use item, clothes, pants, shoes, anything like that. It doesn't have to belong to the person herself, either; something belonging to a blood relative would work. But the closer they are, the better, so I can use the objects to activate my ability more effectively and divine more results!"

"Once I do, all you have to do is listen. I believe you'll know I'm not lying to you!"

Divination needing a medium was a common enough concept.

And the place with the most possible mediums was undoubtedly Irin's home. On top of that, the girl had just been sent to Brian's place, so Irin's home was empty now.

Liao Ji made up his mind.

"Give me the umbrella."

He took the umbrella from the nun and opened it again.

He changed course, heading not toward The Church but toward the slums. Fortunately, he'd once asked Irin to show him her home, so he'd already marked it on his map and didn't have to worry about getting lost.

"Come on. Stay close."

The young man shifted the umbrella half a step to the side. Maria slipped naturally beneath it, as if she'd rehearsed the move in her mind countless times.

As they walked, the nun made a few discreet attempts, but in the end she managed to resist the urge in her heart. Settling for the next best thing, she didn't take Liao Ji's hand and instead reached for the hem of his coat again.

Strangely enough,

Not long after the two walked away under the umbrella in the night rain, the rain in that area suddenly began to let up. In the span of just a few breaths, it stopped completely.

(PS: Let's see who's up working early on a weekend morning. Oh, it's me!)