Half-elf Notebook

Chapter 115 Return to the Church

In the slums of Leishi City, the Church of the Goddess of Dawn.

Ina, hidden in a black robe, stopped in front of the weather-beaten church building.

The emerald eyes reflected in it difficult to describe the emotions and melancholy.

As the last thing that should appear in the ghetto.

It is as dilapidated and decayed as the world around it.

The plaster on the outer walls has peeled off severely, exposing the bricks and stones.

Even many bricks have disappeared, making it look like the cheek of an old man, full of age spots of varying sizes.

Fortunately, the short church roof was built with large bricks and stones and high-quality cementitious materials.

Otherwise, there will be no repairs for decades or even longer.

Ina thought, this is more than just a dilapidated place.

The chapel is still open for prayers and its doors are open.

Ina stepped in without any hindrance.

It was as dark inside as ever, because the only source of light was the door.

All that was left was the podium, with a hole reserved on the top of the wall.

In bright sunlight, the light that shines through it creates an effect like the magic mine lamp in a theater.

From noon until dusk falls, it will start from the podium, walk along the aisle, and disappear at the gate.

The furnishings in the church hall were not noticeably different from what she remembered.

However, some places have indeed been renovated, such as the first two rows of seats.

Ina remembered that the seats in the front row were no longer seatable before she left, and the second row was also damaged and broken in many places.

Even though it is old now, at least you can see that new benches have been replaced.

There was also the pulpit, the paint of which was almost peeling off and there were several holes made by rats.

It was obviously replaced with a second-hand one, even though the workmanship was rough.

On the pulpit, a nun named Boer, wearing a patched but clean old robe, was reverently reading the confession.

It seemed that she was not aware of Ina who was hiding behind her hood.

The unidentified man entered the church.

Perhaps in her heart, the goddess will not reject anyone who wants to be saved through confession.

Ina found a seat and sat down, lifting her hood.

He drew a cross and a circle to represent the goddess, placed his palms horizontally on his chest, made a believer's gesture, and waited quietly for the priestess to finish her prayer.

The sermon was not long and was halfway through when Ina came in.

It ended in just over ten minutes.

Reverend Boll looked up at the only audience in the room, his eyes inevitably filled with some doubt and confusion.

In her eyes, the girl sitting below, wearing expensive jewelry, was pure white, with a dignified and elegant posture, like a white rose that was carefully cared for in a greenhouse.

Even though she is slightly inferior in aura, she is probably the eldest daughter of a big businessman.

Even if she was a devout believer, she should be in a formal church in the East End, not here.

"Did she have a falling out with her family and, on her way to elope with her lover, choose to find a way out of town in the slums without attracting attention?"

"Or is this girl the lover of a high-ranking member of the gang, hoping to use this opportunity to confide his suffering and despair to the goddess?"

Bol's mind was full of thoughts.

She decided to be a listening ear to the young lady's talk.

Whether it is the anxiety about the road ahead, or the suppressed hum, or the curse of collapse.

Then, in trying to comfort, she knew she couldn't offer any solutions or help.

But she also wouldn't allow herself to turn a blind eye to these things.

But before she approached the girl.

Ina stood up and saluted, and greeted her with a lively voice and a smile:

"Good morning, Father Bol, we haven't seen each other for a long time."

"She knows me?"

Bol was extremely shocked.

He quickly searched his memory for girls who looked like the girl, or family members with similar identities, trying to confirm the identity of the visitor.

Unfortunately, Bol gave up soon.

She found that she couldn't find anyone like him.

There were very few people coming to church to worship, usually no more than five a day, and almost all of them were poor people with little faith.

There are even fewer people who dress nicely and cleanly.

"I'm sorry, maybe we've met before, but I don't quite remember it. If you can tell me where we met in the past, maybe I can remember it... Miss Believer."

Ina felt inexplicably lost.

"As expected, Reverend Boll couldn't recognize me?"

But I don’t think it’s strange.

In recent years, her life has been no different from that of a rich girl from the upper class.

Apart from being in the warm classroom, he stays at home.

If it weren't for practicing magic and learning swordsmanship, he would rarely even bask in the sun.

Not to mention the cold and hunger.

She is no longer the skinny homeless child with long, messy, fluffy hair.

In response, she just smiled and responded nonchalantly:

"Perhaps you will have some impression of my nickname, Reverend Boer."

"Xue, my former name, I wonder if you still remember it."

“Xue…you are Xiaoxue?!”

Bol looked incredulous.

As far as she knew, the little girl should have passed away in the winter five years ago.

Bol looked at Ina carefully, as if he was trying to find the figure of the little girl passing by in her.

She sincerely hoped and prayed that this was true.

Ina's long, smooth hair like snow and her eyes as bright and clear as emeralds seemed to prove the truth of this conjecture.

Half-elves with elven blood will more or less inherit some of the elven characteristics.

Half-elves with exactly the same characteristics are not uncommon among the half-elves as a whole.

It can even be seen in some communities formed by half-elves.

But in a remote border city of a kingdom with few half-elf citizens, it is almost impossible.

Bol gradually believed what Ina said:

"Is it really Xiaoxue?"

Immediately, she felt a soft embrace in her arms.

The white-haired girl walked out of the long row of seats and gave Boll a deep hug.

After a long silence between the two, Ina playfully retreated.

"This should be the protection of the goddess."

There was no ambiguity in Ina's tone.

From being adopted by Rick, step by step to today when he personally killed John Peake to avenge his friend.

Everything is like a gift from fate and a blessing from the goddess.

It was just her past experiences that prevented her from truly becoming a believer, or believing in anything...

"Thank the goddess."

Boll repeated the gesture of faith in the goddess.

Then, without Ina noticing, her eyes flashed with a moment of darkness and guilt:

"If you don't mind, you can tell me what happened? I have something I want to tell you too."