Under the gaze of the Goddess Statue, Bai Shuang was escorted by three nuns into the church’s prayer room.
As a little half-witch, Bai Shuang couldn’t help feeling nervous under the watchful eyes of the surrounding nuns.
Before Bai Shuang even realized what was happening, the three of them found a spot and pulled her directly beneath the Goddess Statue.
Intense holy light bathed the entire church.
Perhaps because of that radiance, or perhaps because of a miracle descending, the grandest part of the church—which logically should not have been touched by sunlight—was now brilliantly illuminated.
The other three nuns hesitated noticeably after witnessing the divine manifestation.
They glanced at Bai Shuang, who was sandwiched between them, and all three were visibly curious about what might happen if a witch were to pray to the Goddess.
“Are we really doing this?”
“What if that nun superior finds out…”
“If Her Ladyship blames us, worst case we just spend half a year reflecting in the confession room…”
***
It was nearly noon, so the prayer room was empty of other nuns.
Apprentice nuns had their own duties outside, while ordinary nuns were usually occupied with healing or helping people unburden their hearts.
At first, Bai Shuang felt uneasy inside.
She, too, seemed to believe that a witch had no right to ask the Goddess for a blessing.
With some uncertainty, she looked back at the three behind her.
“Starting today, you’re officially a nun of the Holy See. Her Ladyship personally vouched for your identity…”
“That’s right. Daily prayer is something every nun must do…”
Bai Shuang, who had still been slightly hesitant, forced down her inner anxiety upon hearing those words and slowly knelt before the Goddess Statue.
After all, she was a witch—and in the Holy See, witches were the very symbol of depravity.
Praying to the Goddess in such an identity?
Bai Shuang didn’t even need to think to know what would happen: she would surely be rejected by the Goddess and then leave in embarrassment under the nuns’ matter-of-fact stares.
After all, how could a witch possibly hope for the Goddess’s blessing?
That was something everyone already took for granted.
Yet the moment Bai Shuang slowly knelt on the ground, not only did the entire church fall completely silent—the light itself seemed to take on shape.
The Qiming Nun had still been discussing what might happen when a faint phantom appeared within the sunlight.
All three of them immediately widened their eyes.
Bai Shuang closed her eyes.
In that instant, something seemed to gently touch her forehead.
From the perspective of the other three, the sunlight—now given form—became a Goddess veiled in white gauze, who softly kissed the forehead of a witch.
The black-haired Goddess had her eyes gently closed.
Though she was merely a carved stone statue, under the sunlight she seemed to gain color.
When the three nuns saw their most revered Goddess actually kissing a witch,
jealousy—or perhaps sheer shock—surged in their hearts.
But when Bai Shuang opened her eyes again, she touched her forehead in confusion, seemingly unaware of what had just happened.
She only felt as though she had been bathed in warm sunlight, her whole body comfortably warm.
“Wait… did I see that right? The Goddess’s light—why would it…”
“Could it be that this witch actually believes in the Goddess?”
“If that’s the case… could a witch possibly learn divine arts…?”
The moment one of the little nuns said those words, the room instantly fell silent.
If anyone had dared say something like that before, the other two would have mercilessly mocked her.
But after witnessing the scene just now, no one could confidently say such a thing was impossible.
The absurd notion of a witch learning divine arts might no longer be pure fantasy.
“I felt something strange in my body just now. Sisters, did you…”
Bai Shuang had wanted to ask about the odd sensation she had just experienced, but the moment she turned her head, she saw all the nuns staring intently at her—eyes filled with jealousy, and perhaps a hint of curiosity.
Startled by their gazes, Bai Shuang jumped.
Before she could even get a second sentence out, they all rushed forward at once.
“You were just blessed by the Goddess! Did you feel anything amazing?!!”
“What does receiving a blessing feel like? Does it hurt?!!”
Facing the excited crowd, Bai Shuang felt like a small, helpless lamb.
Trying to calm them down, she could only answer their questions in a flustered panic.
“You! You didn’t feel any discomfort anywhere, right?”
“N-no… none…”
***
“You didn’t feel any burning pain?”
“No… not that either…”
***
“When the Goddess blessed you, did you feel any part of yourself become stronger??”
“I… I don’t know…”
Surrounded by the nuns, Bai Shuang fielded one question after another in growing confusion.
Somehow the news spread, and soon several more nuns arrived from outside into the prayer room.
The nuns who had once looked at her with fear no longer seemed as frightened.
Now their eyes shone only with pure curiosity.
Facing so many nuns at once, Bai Shuang felt like she could hardly breathe.
After all, a witch receiving the Goddess’s blessing was completely unprecedented.
For an existence that should despise the Goddess to instead receive her grace—if word of this got out, even the Saintess would likely be shocked.
“S-so… so many people… what should I do…”
Just as Bai Shuang began to feel overwhelmed, a loud shout cut through the crowd.
Immediately afterward, one nun stepped forward with hands on hips and shoved the others aside.
“Quiet down! So a witch got blessed—what’s there to make such a fuss about?!”
The moment the little nun interrupted everyone, all eyes turned to her.
She brushed back the long hair by her ear and put on an extremely smug expression.
“But it’s a witch receiving a blessing! Weren’t you the one who looked utterly shocked just now?!”
One of the nuns immediately retorted at the boastful little nun, only to receive a disdainful look in return.
“I was only mildly surprised earlier. But now I understand everything~!”
“??!”
Hearing the little nun’s words, the other nuns stared blankly.
Then the little nun spun around, pointed directly at Bai Shuang, and declared,
“Since the Central Nun chose to take this path, she must have had a goal in mind…”
“Bai Shuang, as a half-witch and the subject of an experiment, is naturally a little different from the rest!”
“And all of this was already within the Central Nun’s calculations!”
The moment those words rang out, everyone in the prayer room sucked in a sharp breath.
Even Bai Shuang froze for a second upon hearing them.
“So that’s how it is… I thought Sister Zhou was just giving me a reasonable excuse for my identity…”
Bai Shuang rubbed her head in confusion, still feeling that something didn’t quite add up.
Yet looking around, roughly ninety percent of the nuns seemed to have completely bought the explanation.
“No wonder the Central Nun suddenly became so kind to a witch…”
“Right, right! So the Central Nun had already noticed how special this witch lady is…”
“But… couldn’t this just be a coincidence…?”
“Shallow. No wonder you’re only an ordinary nun!”
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