Do you like white-haired girls?
If you were to ask Aililan, she would say: Who doesn’t like adorable white-haired girls?
But Theresa was different. She was once the daughter of a duke in the Kingdom of Tirlia, whose entire family was wiped out by the king of Tirlia. As a child, her eyes were blinded by poison, which allowed her to narrowly escape, eventually ending up in the Slums of Atester City.
The white-haired girl hesitated, then quietly said, “If you trust me, please follow me.”
Theresa turned and walked straight into the alley.
Aililan followed without a second thought.
“Saint”
“Aililan!!”
Renata sounded a bit anxious. She glanced at the approaching gang members, then at their own Saintess… Had the Saintess really been lured away by a blind girl?
Clenching her teeth, she and Milisanel hurried to chase after them.
The alleys in the Slums were like a labyrinth.
There was no city planning at all here.
Whoever snatched an empty spot would just pitch a tent or put up a few planks and a fence—that counted as a House.
Theresa walked with incredible speed, nothing like what one would expect from a blind girl.
After winding through twists and turns, they finally arrived at a small House on the edge of the Slums.
The House wasn’t large.
But outside was a huge Flower Garden filled with Bukulu Flowers, which were common across the Starlane Continent. It was said they produced the sweetest, most fragrant nectar, beloved by many nobles.
Renata remained on guard and said with suspicion, “You’re a girl, and a blind girl at that yet you have your own House?”
The implication was that, in a place like the Slums, shouldn’t it have been taken from her long ago?
Theresa looked a bit timid. She glanced at the honey jars on the shelf, wanting to pour a cup for each of them, but was afraid her actions would make Renata suspicious.
“I…”
“I…”
Theresa could only reach out her hand, where a faint, illusory scale appeared in her palm: “As you can see, I have some ability to protect myself.”
Heart’s Scales!
Aililan was all too familiar with this ability. In the game, after recruiting the girls, they could become teammates.
And Heart’s Scales was absolutely a god-tier support skill. Its effect was to weigh the good and evil of the enemy; if the judgment succeeded, one teammate of your choosing could deal a guaranteed Critical Strike.
In extreme cases, you could build a whole Glass Cannon one-shot playstyle achieving the same kind of instant-kill as Feng Aotian’s blond-hair “one-hit victory.”
Yet Aililan felt a bit complicated.
Because she also recalled some CGs about Theresa. Theresa was the only one, after the protagonist “wooed” her, who would say, even during intimate moments, that she had never felt true happiness with the protagonist, right?
“Miss Theresa, you just brought us home like this, aren’t you afraid we’re bad people?” Aililan asked curiously.
“Because you’re not bad people,” Theresa said with conviction.
“Who told you we’re not bad people?”
“Heart’s Scales never lies. You’re a kind-hearted girl.”
“I don’t think so, myself!”
“Then why do you help the poor?”
“If I told you I don’t really mean to help, would you believe me?”
“This person, um?”
“My name is Aililan.”
“Miss Aililan, to me… Although I’m blind, I know that kindness is judged by one’s actions, not by one’s heart. Even if you say a hundred times that you’re not sincere, the fact is that you did help the poor.”
This topic didn’t have much substance.
After dodging the chaos of the gang’s pursuit.
Theresa suddenly gathered her courage, came up to Aililan, and apologized softly, “I heard you complain earlier that your Medicine Box was stolen. I’m very sorry about that.”
Aililan was taken aback. “It wasn’t you who stole it.”
“But I’m a part of the Slums.”
“Then, Miss Theresa!”
“Please speak, Miss Aililan.”
Aililan leaned close to Theresa and suddenly asked, “Do you think medicine can save the Slums?”
Theresa was silent for a long time.
In the end, she shook her head.
There might be all sorts of reasons in the Slums, but in the end, it’s still a pit, you can’t blame everything solely on oppression.
Aililan asked again, “Then do you believe I can save the Slums?”
Theresa still shook her head, gently brushing her forever-dark eyes. “Unless I can see the light.”
“Then, Theresa, do you believe in the light?”
“Miss Aililan, please don’t joke with me. Besides, it’s getting late, those people who were after you have probably left by now!”
Was this a hint to leave?
Aililan didn’t insist on staying, simply got up and left with the two Knights.
Now that she had learned about Theresa, she could come back anytime.
Aililan said, “Then, see you tomorrow.”
Theresa was clearly stunned.
Why “see you tomorrow”? She had been alone for so long, she wasn’t ready to make new friends just yet.
This… this Aililan was a bit too forward!
On the way back.
“Renata.”
“Saintess, yes?”
“Find a few trustworthy people and have them temporarily leave the Knight order. Starting tomorrow, have them act in the Slums under my orders.”
“Great! You finally thought it through and decided to clean up those little punks?”
“Not to clean up the little punks, but to integrate all the gangs in the Slums.”
“That’s not right! You came to Atester City to govern the city, so why are you getting involved with those little punks?”
“Knight Renata, if I can’t even manage the Slums, how can I talk about governing the city? Besides, aren’t the Slums also part of Atester City?”
“But… You’re the Saintess of Chastity! Staying in such a filthy place every day, I really don’t think it’s proper.”
“The Saintess of Chastity is not just pure in body. A Saintess who never touches mud, never sees dust, and never hears the voices or cries from the lowest class, who only knows how to chant hymns—do you really want me to become that kind of person?”
“You… I can’t argue with you,” Renata scratched her head and muttered, “But I think you’re right. No one would like a Saintess who only chants hymns. I’ll find the people for you by tomorrow.”
“Don’t let Fina Nisi know.”
“Don’t worry. Fina Nisi may be the Grandmaster, but her mind isn’t on the Knight order at all.”
“And don’t let Pella know, either.”
“All Pella cares about is the Grandmaster.”
Aililan: !!
Fine, she asked too much.
When they returned to the City Lord’s Mansion, Fina Nisi happened to be there too. Pella, beside her, still had a hint of blush on her face, as if something odd had just happened!
Pella gazed affectionately at Fina Nisi, then looked at Aililan and asked, seemingly meaningfully, “Saintess Aililan, you’re back? I wonder, as our resident do-gooder, how many people did you save today?”
Aililan held up one finger. “Just one! And my Medicine Box got stolen.”
“Pft~”
Pella quickly straightened her expression and smiled sweetly.
“The Slums are so big. If you save one person a day, it’ll be the year of the monkey before you’re done. I think you should focus on your real work, don’t you? Hehe.”
Pella was implying that Aililan was wasting her time every day?
Renata could feel her blood pressure rising. How could someone be so passive-aggressive?
If it weren’t for Fina Nisi and Aililan both being here, she’d really want to throw her white handkerchief in Pella’s face and shout: Pick up the handkerchief.
I challenge you to a duel!