Changes

Early that morning in Corona City, Kemu opened his door with a pounding heart. Looking out at the cold, deserted street, he recalled the shouts of battle that had drifted in from outside yesterday and agonized over whether to go to work today.

But there was hardly any food left at home, and his eighty-year-old mother was bedridden with a serious illness! He gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and decided to go after all. He just did not know whether his boss would open the shop today.

With a soft sigh, Kemu walked cautiously down the street. Every so often, he encountered a person or two, all looking just as nervous as he was!

Kemu kept glancing around. Suddenly, a group of armored warriors appeared ahead!

His heart tightened, and he edged away from the middle of the road, terrified of accidentally bumping into these unfamiliar warriors-or of them deciding to trouble him simply because they disliked the look of him!

The warriors merely glanced at him. They did not come over to cause trouble as he had feared!

Kemu breathed a small sigh of relief and continued toward the shop. After quite a while, he reached it and saw the tightly shut doors. His spirits sank. "It's all because of this damned war!" He glanced at the gloomy sky.

As Kemu trudged home with his head lowered, he suddenly noticed a large crowd gathered in the square ahead, seemingly watching something! He considered it. Since it was still early, he might as well take a look!

"Everyone, anyone who registers their household with us can receive a free bag of food!" a blond girl of about fourteen or fifteen announced in a clear, ringing voice.

The crowd below began murmuring. Nothing this good had ever happened before, and their faces filled with doubt and disdain. Surely this was another powerful figure using the promise of free food to drag them off to work without pay or perform hard labor!

Seeing their disbelief, Mina did not get angry. Instead, she continued, "I know the uncles and aunties here probably don't believe me, but we're different from your local lord. We are Holy Light Clerics from Huayu Town, followers of the Holy Light. We came here to overthrow the lord's tyranny and bring everyone new hope, so that everyone can have enough food and warm clothing. We want to build a new, happy nation, like a heaven on earth!"

The people below remained silent. For lowly commoners like them, struggling in the mire, life had long since taught them that no favor came without a price. Favors from nobles and important figures in particular could cost them their lives!

Mina said no more. She quietly stepped down from the platform, sat in the red wooden chair behind the long table, and waited with a smile. She knew people never believed such things at first! But she believed that as long as she sincerely fulfilled her promises, everything else was only a matter of time. The Holy Light would never fail those reaching for a glimmer of light in the darkness.

About half an hour passed. Some people left, while others arrived, and occasional whispered questions arose from the crowd. Mina remained seated quietly before the platform, now holding a book issued by the Holy Church. It explained how to quickly establish a peaceful, happy nation and was required reading for every Holy Light Cleric!

Just then, a sudden stir ran through the crowd. Several young children with dirty faces and ragged clothes slowly approached in a line, holding hands!

Noticing the commotion, Mina slowly lowered her book and gave them a small nod and a smile!

The children approached unsteadily, stopping before the table, which was high enough that barely more than their heads showed above it. With a hint of wariness, one asked, "N-noble miss, can we register too?"

Looking at the trembling children, Mina felt a pang in her heart. Her voice grew even gentler as she said affectionately, "Of course you can!" Then she picked up the pen beside her and began writing in the register.

"How old are you, little one?"

"Eight!"

"What's your name?"

"Xiaolian!"

"Are they all your family?"

Xiaolian quickly nodded.

"Do you have a mother and father?"

"Not anymore!"

At that, Mina's pen paused. She did not pursue the question any further.

"Where do you live now?"

"We don't... we don't have a proper place to live. We all stay under the bridge over by the river!" Afraid the noble young lady would not know where she meant, Xiaolian pointed nervously in that direction!

"Have your younger brothers and sisters come register too! Once you're done, go over there to collect your food!"

Xiaolian quickly called her younger siblings over to register. Once they were finished, the children curiously approached a white tent piled with supplies. Several young women came out, wearing white robes with golden suns and white wings embroidered on their shoulders. They carefully cleaned the children with fresh towels, changed them into clean clothes, and soon brought out steaming hot food!

At the sight of the food, the children quickly forgot their unease and wolfed it down!

Then one of the young women stroked Xiaolian's hair and said softly, "Child, don't leave after you finish eating! Stay here, and I'll take you to the Holy Church. You won't have to struggle like this anymore!"

Hearing this, Xiaolian thought these pretty noble ladies had finally bared their fangs. In a panic, she dropped her chopsticks and fell to her knees. "Noble miss, please, let my brothers and sisters go! I'll go back with you!"

Seeing the terrified child kneeling on the ground, Meya hurriedly helped her up. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, child. We aren't nobles. I just can't bear to see you wandering the streets anymore. At the Holy Church, you'll all be able to study, learn to read, and have enough to eat!"

"Really?" Xiaolian wiped away her tears and asked earnestly.

"Of course. When you go outside in a little while, play nearby and don't wander too far. Once we pack up, you can come with us. If you don't believe me, you can still leave then!" Meya gently stroked Xiaolian's freshly washed hair.

"Yes! Thank you!"

Seeing that Xiaolian had finally relaxed, Meya let out a small sigh of relief!

Outside, the onlookers watched the ragged street children emerge in clean clothes. Their disbelief slowly began to waver!

Standing in the crowd, Kemu watched it all. Without another thought, he hurriedly pushed his way forward!

"My lady, I want to register!"

Seeing that someone else had finally approached, Mina knew that most of today's task was as good as done. She quickly recorded Kemu's information!

Holding the food in his hands, Kemu still could not quite believe it. They had not told him to stay or forced him to do anything. They had simply given him the food!

He thought of how his family was about to run out of food, how his mother lay gravely ill in bed, and how he could not work today either. Crushed by life until he could barely breathe, he felt for the first time that the world was worth living in!

Suddenly, his nose stung. Clutching the food tightly, Kemu crouched on the ground and burst into tears!

Seeing how easily Kemu had received food, the crowd surged forward to register and collect their own!

The Holy Knights guarding the area had to hurry over to maintain order.

"Everyone, line up! Don't panic, there's enough for everyone!" Mina shouted.

After the Holy Knights dealt firmly with a few ill-intentioned thugs, the crowd gradually settled into orderly lines. All the work proceeded smoothly!

Having recovered his composure, Kemu seemed to make up his mind about something. Carrying his food, he walked toward Mina's table. A nearby Holy Knight, thinking someone else was causing trouble, was about to drive him away when Kemu suddenly dropped to his knees and knocked his forehead heavily against the ground several times. Without saying a word, he turned and ran home!

"My lord, Lord Tiemu, what should we do now?" an elaborately dressed, white-haired old man asked anxiously. Above him sat an armored warrior with a thick beard!

"Patriarch Caesar, don't panic. Our best course now is to find a way out of the city and report this to the daimyo!" Tiemu said calmly, stroking his thick beard.

"Lord Tiemu, can't you send your Military Police Force to fight them?" Caesar asked, still anxious!

"Fight them how? Yesterday, my troops had barely engaged them before all but two or three were killed! Sending more men would only send them to their deaths!" Tiemu snapped in sudden anger!

"What are we supposed to do? Those bandits broke into my estate yesterday and actually ordered me to surrender all my ill-gotten wealth! They even wanted me to go to some Holy Church to stand trial! If my family didn't have a hidden passage, would I still be sitting here today?" the elderly Caesar said, looking as though he wanted to cry but had no tears left!

"Exactly! It's outrageous! We're nobles. How can we surrender the wealth our ancestors accumulated over generations for no reason, then stand trial like those lowly commoners?"

The other nobles present all voiced their agreement!

"Enough. Talking won't help now. No one panic. As long as we find a way out of the city and report the situation to the daimyo, troops will come to deal with it. Even if the army proves useless, there are still the ninja of Amegakure! I doubt they want their funding reduced because of a rebellion in the Land of Rain! Everyone's lost wealth will be returned then!"

"Yes, exactly! Even if we suffer losses, we can make those lowly commoners pay. Didn't they all go to collect food today? That all belonged to the Earl!" a sharp-eared, monkey-faced noble hurriedly agreed.

"Hmph, those lowly commoners don't know their place. They even dared to take what belonged to noble lords! Once the daimyo retakes Corona City, we must kill some to make an example of them!" Caesar said furiously.

"Then it's settled. We'll all have to put up with some discomfort for now! We'll hide in these slums temporarily. In a couple of days, when people can enter and leave the city normally, we'll split up and leave disguised as refugees!" After speaking, Tiemu glanced around at the nobles.

The nobles exchanged looks and reluctantly nodded. After all, they had always lived in extraordinary luxury, yet now they had to endure living in the slums!