Early morning, Sijina sat on the steps behind the Dawn Trading Company, turning over and over in her mind what the Steward had said to her that day.
Actually, she had never really been interested in religion or anything like that.
When she was young, missionaries had come to her village, speaking in vague and confusing terms, and she hadn’t even bothered to listen.
But from what the Steward had said yesterday, it seemed the Church was going to launch an investigation into the Blackstone Family?
If that was the case, she actually did want to get involved.
“Sijina? What are you daydreaming about here?”
Just as she was thinking, the Steward’s voice came from behind her.
“Nothing… nothing.”
Sijina snapped back to reality, hesitated, then asked:
“The Church Open Day you mentioned earlier, it’s today, right?”
Hearing the girl’s question, the Steward’s eyes lit up slightly, but quickly returned to his usual expression.
“What, are you interested in taking a look?”
“Hmm…”
“That works out perfectly. I need to run some errands over there. Let’s go together.”
***
The church in the village was much larger than Sijina had imagined.
The white stone walls gleamed in the sunlight, a golden cross stood atop the towering spire, and the flowerbeds at the entrance were meticulously trimmed.
Just standing at the entrance filled one with a sense of reverence.
“This is it.”
The Steward stopped in his tracks.
“Go on in and have a look. Don’t be shy.”
The scene inside the church was even more surprising to Sijina.
She had expected to see a solemn religious space so imposing that people wouldn’t dare speak, but the sight before her was completely different.
The hall of the church was filled with all kinds of supplies.
Bread, clothes, blankets…
Quite a few people were already lining up to receive them.
A bit further back, a few priests in white robes could be seen patiently listening to people’s stories, nodding and offering comfort from time to time.
“These are all provided free of charge by the Church to the nearby villagers.”
The Steward explained.
“Whether you believe in the faith or not, as long as you’re in need, the Church will lend a helping hand.”
Sijina silently observed everything, and a strange, indescribable feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.
When she had worked as a mercenary, she had seen too much of the warmth and coldness of the world.
There were so many people in need of help on this land, but very few were willing to reach out to them.
Regardless of what the Church of Light’s true intentions were, at least at this moment they were genuinely helping these people.
“How do you feel?”
The Steward asked with a smile.
“Pretty good.”
The girl’s tone was somewhat complicated.
“Sijina, I think by now you understand what our Church mainly does.”
As if he had seen through the girl’s thoughts, the Steward’s expression turned serious.
“To be honest, we are really short on manpower. If possible, I really hope you can become one of us and help us save more people.
You have also experienced the taste of being oppressed by nobles. So I think you can understand us, right?”
Sijina stood there in silence for a long time, and finally, as if she had made up her mind, she took a deep breath.
“Okay!”
***
Blackstone Duke’s Mansion.
His was lying on the bed, dazed.
As the number of businesses under his control grew, the time he could completely relax his mind like this became rarer and rarer.
Just as His closed his eyes wanting to take a nap, a rapid knocking came from outside the door.
“Come in.”
Ni Wei pushed the door open and entered.
“Not bad, you learned to knock this time?”
His’s tone was light as he looked up at the girl before him.
The moment their eyes met, Ni Wei’s gaze dodged away.
She still remembered last time when she barged into His’s bedroom without knocking and ended up stumbling upon that scene…
Even though several days had passed, thinking about it still made Ni Wei’s ears burn.
“Have a seat first.”
His bounced up from the bed, then pointed to the edge of the bed.
Ni Wei hesitated slightly, but still went over and sat down.
“Today is the last session. Um… you still need to take off your outer skirt first.”
“Hmm…”
Ni Wei nodded gently, then reached out and untied the ribbon of her dress.
The silk fabric slid from her shoulders, paused for a moment at her waist, then she caught it with her hand, folded it, and set it aside.
Under the white camisole was her slender and fragile body.
‘But maybe she had developed a little recently…’
“Ahem…”
His coughed loudly twice, interrupting his own wandering thoughts.
“Lie down.”
Ni Wei lay down on the bed, resting her chin on her crossed hands, turning her face to the side.
Her obedient demeanor stirred a curiosity in His.
‘This girl… why is she so obedient today?’
However, the moment His’s palm touched Ni Wei’s lower back, he still felt the girl’s body tremble slightly.
A dark purple glow emanated from His’s fingertips, slowly permeating the element into Ni Wei’s skin.
“Nn…”
Ni Wei gently bit her lower lip.
But unlike the previous times, this time her body quickly relaxed.
His’s palm started from the dimples of her back, slowly moving upward along the girl’s spine.
The Dark Element was like a warm current, gradually seeping into the parts that made her feel sore.
The previous treatments had already cleared most of the Element Accumulation; this time only a few remaining spots needed to be dealt with.
So the tingling numbness brought by the treatment was not as strong as before.
But precisely because of this, Ni Wei could feel even more clearly the movement of His’s palm traveling over her body.
“This spot will be cleared soon.”
His’s fingertip suddenly pressed down firmly on her shoulder.
“Uh…”
Ni Wei’s body arched up slightly.
The tingling numbness spread from her shoulder, like countless feathers brushing through the inside of her body.
The girl clenched the bedsheet, and her toes curled up as well.
“Bear with it a little.”
“Nn… Ah!”
As His pressed with greater force, Ni Wei’s body jerked, and a short cry was choked back by her.
“Don’t move, it’ll be over soon.”
His’s voice still sounded calm, as if he hadn’t noticed the sound the girl had just made.
But Ni Wei’s breathing grew more and more rapid.
She grabbed His’s pillow and buried her face deep into it…
A few minutes later, His finally cleared the last spot of Element Accumulation.
Ni Wei lay motionless on the bed, her back rising and falling slightly.
Fine beads of sweat covered her fair back. The camisole was soaked through with sweat, almost becoming translucent, making the girl’s back contours fully visible.
One strap of the camisole had slipped down below her shoulder at some point, revealing the curve of her shoulder.
“Alright, you can get up now.”
Ni Wei did not reply.
After a long while, she slowly turned over.
The girl’s face was flushed, her eyes carried a thin layer of moisture, and her lips were slightly parted.
“So… after this… I… don’t need to come again?”
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