Driving a small single-seater car that could stop and start at any ti, an overweight uncle passed by the street before halting.
"Valke, you're back, are these your classmates?" he waved, his tone familiar.
"It's , Uncle Hood." Valke stepped forward too, and the two started to chat.
"It's rare for you to bring classmates ho for a visit. I'll talk to Old Xi Ke later, let him prepare a lavish al to treat everyone well." Old Xi Ke was the owner and chef of the only restaurant in town.
"That would be trouble for Uncle Xi Ke." Valke had to nod, accepting the hearty offer, though he was burly, he always gave off a rather simple and honest vibe.
"No worries, I've watched you lads grow up, just like my own kids, haha." After finishing, the uncle waved to Tilan and the others, and then drove his small car away following the flock of sheep.
"He seems like a nice uncle, this little town doesn't seem bad." Ruby hopped along, taking out her cara to capture the sheep and grassy adows in the morning light.
"It's indeed not bad now." Valke wanted to say sothing, but eventually, he shook his head and didn't ntion so things from the past.
"Follow , Boise the pastor is probably still doing morning prayers."
Valke led the way, greeting the residents they passed through the streets with ease, and then entered the churchyard.
A group of children saw Valke return and peaked out the church windows to greet and wave to him, being noisy and boisterous, but when the church's main door opened, their voices imdiately ceased.
A man dressed in a predominantly white pastor's uniform ca out, he looked to be in his forties or fifties; his face wasn't very old, but his temples were graying.
"You're back, my child." Upon seeing Valke, he stepped down from the staircase and opened his arms.
"I'm back, Pastor." Valke embraced him and gave his shoulders a light pat.
After a few seconds, the two broke the embrace, and Pastor Boise finally looked at the group behind him, "You are Valke's classmates, aren't you? You seem like a good bunch of kids."
As he said this, his slightly dark-circled eyes glead with joy.
"That's great, Valke, you've made new friends too."
"Oh, right, co on in with , don't just stand outside." Saying this, he rembered sothing, stepped aside, and let Tilan and the group into the church.
The church's decorations were sowhat simple, the floors were very clean, so areas were worn white from frequent use, and the wall in the center had several transparent glass holes through which light filtered in, falling inside the church, making it quiet and solemn.
"Please, take a seat, I'll go prepare sothing." He motioned for everyone to sit and then quickly went to a side room.
As the group looked around, they asked Valke about so local details. Not long after, the pastor ca out pushing a cart with a teapot on it, adorned with an angel pattern; it was likely used for distributing communion during worship.
"We don't have very fine teas, I hope you can manage." Knowing Valke's classmates were wealthy or noble, he doubted they would find much here impressive, so he tried to sound as humble as possible.
"It's no trouble at all, Pastor." Ruby took the tea and helped distribute it, acting wisely and understandingly, completely unlike her usual little devil persona.
After a brief exchange with everyone, Pastor Boise seed restless and got up to leave, heading towards a room on the side of the church where so very young children were.
"The pastor seems a bit afraid of us, probably worried about not doing well enough." Yeyeber said softly.
"Actually, we wouldn't feel neglected at all, but I guess among regular folks, students from places like Edith Academy are probably seen as very haughty." Ruby said, holding her teacup and complaining.
Tilan was also slowly sipping her tea, her gaze wandering over the church walls and various facilities, eventually resting on the empty main seat.
"There isn't a particular Angel enshrined here?" Although deities didn't exist, those luminaries who shone through history had beco objects of faith in the new era, which is to say, Angels after being canonized.
"There used to be, but the Angel sculpture was vandalized by the children, and later Pastor Valke simply removed it," Valke reminisced.
"The local residents have grown accustod to it too. Originally, their faith wasn't focused on any one Angel. Without a specific form, it has actually reduced the occurrence of conflicts."
After sitting for a while, Valke stood up, inquired with Pastor Boise in the side room, and then led the group into another part of the courtyard.
The church also served as an orphanage, ho to a dozen or so children aged 8 to 15, who were now sitting indoors studying. Pastor Boise was answering questions for so of the inquiring children.
Basic education was provided by remote AI, negating the need for specific teachers; it was only when they encountered complicated or life-related problems that the children would ask the pastor.
The black desks, seemingly carved from stone, felt slightly cold. Although the children were said to be studying, most of them were obviously not focused on it—so were daydreaming, so sneakily playing with toys, so randomly hitting the projection keyboard, while others looked around, preoccupied with other thoughts.
When Tilan and her group walked in, the children suddenly beca more serious, feigning a studious appearance, but certain details still betrayed their lack of genuine engagent with their studies.
"You're here; sorry you had to see such a humble scene," the pastor seed sowhat embarrassed, his hands nervously fidgeting together.
"It's nothing; we're the ones who have inconvenienced you," Tilan shook her head and then led everyone out of the classroom.
Halfway through their walk, she sighed and explained to her companion at her side, "Children aren't as pure and innocent as the dia portrays—many are mischievous, even rather naughty."
"Pastor Boise must have expended a lot of energy raising these children," she reflected.
"Tilan really is understanding."
They then sat down on the grass in front of the church to watch the slowly rising sun, and that's when Valke began to talk about the hardships faced by the orphanage.
"Although Pastor Boise is very dedicated, the children might not understand. Many of my peers were also mischievous when I was young. At the ti, I didn't see anything wrong with it; only in retrospect do I realize how hard pastor had it to co this far," Valke said, shaking his head.
"Each child has their own thoughts and circumstances. Among those abandoned, many were due to congenital reasons—either illness, deformities, or ntal and character abnormalities. Caring for them not only drains energy but also seldom garners positive feedback."
"I was quite worn out before graduating, or rather before getting discovered by Edith Academy's teachers. The pastor would occasionally have to drink to relieve his anxiety and stress."
"It was only after Edith Academy's teachers approached that Pastor's ntal state improved sowhat, not just because the academy provided a substantial donation to the church, but probably because he saw the tangible results of his years of effort." Valke said, shaking his head again.
"Despite Pastor's past, or let's say his occasional less-than-Perfect actions, I won't bla him. So unavoidable mistakes and misunderstandings, I try my best to empathize with his difficulties."
"The reason I'm telling you this is because I had a childhood friend who grew up with , and he didn't see things the sa way I did—he resented Pastor's unfairness and questioned his original intentions."
"I don't want to say he's wrong, because I was luckier, never having endured what he did, and I can't easily judge his feelings." Having said that, he sighed, understanding all too well from his own grim childhood experiences that, in such situations, morality is often compromised for survival; one shouldn't ask for too much.
"What happened to that friend of yours later?" Guluo asked.
"Well, he's now in South First District's prison. After I return, I plan to visit him, hoping he's still alive." Valke clenched his fist, trying to grasp onto sothing, yet he felt profoundly the minuteness and helplessness of individual power in the face of the tis.
As a child, he thought that becoming Transcendent would guarantee a life free of worry, but now he realized that even powerful Transcendents in the city were often at the service of various conglorates, sotis hardly free at all.
Wanting to change sothing isn't so simple; perhaps he wasn't strong enough yet. If he could climb to Sequence 7 step by step, he might bring harmony between Pastor and his friend, creating an environnt where everyone could live together peacefully.
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