Chapter 283: 59. Rabbit Nun
“Boom!!”
The terrifying snowstorm sweeping the northern coastline has just dissipated, but the spectacular aftermath is already clearly visible within the borders of the McDowell Fiefdom, a place along the coast of the Sardinia Kingdom.
The previously gray sky, under the power of the storm, seems to have been washed clean, revealing a sky blue behind it that looks like an oil painting background. The sea surface is now littered with ice fragments of various sizes, along with debris of wood and soil blown down from the shore, proving the terrifying destructive power of the previous storm.
The McDowell Fiefdom is the border of the Sardinia Kingdom, known for its frequent storm disasters along the coast. It was also an ancient port for exchanges with Shivali, but in modern times, the main ports for interaction between Shivali and Sardinia have been moved to the more well-equipped Hammond Fiefdom.
Since then, the borders of the McDowell Fiefdom are no longer busy, leaving behind annual disasters and a quiet life.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Outside the city of Luxiang Fort at the southernmost point of McDowell, a series of resounding bell chimes can be heard near the coast, breaking the quiet atmosphere outside the Luxiang Fort like an alarm clock waking up the sleeping people at eight or nine in the morning.
Upon closer inspection, the sound of the bell comes from a dilapidated church, built of stone bricks covered in moss, with time leaving very obvious marks on it. Nevertheless, it has survived the northern storms until today.
Notably, there are no feather symbols often found in northern religious sites above the church; instead, a circular moon-shaped symbol appears, indicating that the master the church venerates is not the Frost Phoenix, but the Mother from the Western Continent.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
As the bell chimes three more times, the heavy stone door of the church slowly opens, and the clean sunlight outside pours in, illuminating the neatly maintained prayer hall and the Mother God Statue inside. At the same time, a delicate figure appears before the stone door, with long rabbit ears that sway slightly above her head.
“Hehehe~”
She is a subhuman dressed in a traditional black nun’s robe. The classical nun’s robe is very fitted and elegant, quite in line with the image of abstinent and devout classical ecclesiastical personnel. However, due to historical changes, church personnel now rarely wear such classical styles; they prefer modernized and improved versions of clothing.
Yet, the subhuman before us, with a pair of long rabbit ears, still wears the ancient style, embodying a pious and graceful demeanor. Coupled with her cute and pure face, she fits the identity of a “nun” perfectly—if only we could overlook those rabbit ears.
For anywhere in the world, there would be no subhuman serving as religious personnel of the Mother, yet for some unknown reason, a subhuman nun appeared here.
The nameless subhuman nun has long, light golden hair wrapped under the black headscarf of her nun robe, with two rough holes made at the rabbit ear position allowing them to pass through. Unlike typical rabbit ears, hers have crescent-shaped notches at the ends, as if a fragmented moon from the sky had been plucked and temporarily placed there.
She carries a small basket, skipping happily towards the seaside, along the muddy road outside the dilapidated church, where the chaos stirred by the raging storm looks shocking. She stands outside the tilted forest, then looks down at the basket in her hand with a frown.
“Hmm, such a strong wind! The wild vegetables outside have been blown away. What should I eat today, Ilos? Ah, right, let’s go to the seaside to gather some shells for soup.”
The nun, who calls herself “Ilos,” glances at the quivering, swaying forest in front of her, then turns to look at the gradually calming ocean, deciding to go there to see if she can find something to eat.
Her rabbit ears sway as she light-footedly walks to the beach she has seen countless times before.
The beach in the northern region is quite white, but it is very hard overall. The cold has caused the seawater submerged in the sand to freeze, solidifying the beach into a large block of white sea salt.
Besides the marks left by the strong winds, many wooden fragments have appeared on the usually flat beach, resembling the remains of a ship that has fallen apart.
But Ilos doesn’t mind; there have been so many things blown in from the sea. Just last month, a beached giant whale washed ashore here. If it hadn’t swum back out to sea after the tide rose, Ilos wouldn’t need to go out looking for food today; she hasn’t tasted whale meat before.
Occasionally, some drift bottles float in, with papers inside containing many words Ilos cannot understand. She wonders if they are guidance from the Mother, taking all those bottles back to the church. If Sister Shalu were still around, she could ask her about it.
In any case, Ilos does not pay extra attention to the wooden debris washed ashore. These things are inedible, and she has collected enough firewood needed for this winter, so she no longer needs those woods. Wait, what is this?
Just as Ilos squats down on the beach to check if there is any meat inside the shell she holds, she suddenly catches a glimpse of the outline of a book lying among several chunks of wood.
“Puff puff puff!”
With the rise and fall of the waves, a sound like a fountain also arises from that direction.
Ilos’s rabbit ears gently sway, and then she carefully carries the wooden basket towards the direction of the book. Not expecting, her eyes widen in surprise upon closer inspection.
She sees that the book’s cover bizarrely has an eye and a mouth growing on it. At that moment, the eye is half-closed, while the mouth continuously spews out murky seawater. Moreover, it seems that there is a glimmer of golden light sparkling within the seawater; upon a closer look, glowing golden characters float within the water.
“What an ugly book.”
“…”
She murmurs softly, hesitating for several seconds before slowly reaching down to pick up the sand-covered book from the ground. She doesn’t know what kind of object this is; it seems she knows nothing about relics. She only vaguely understands that this object is quite extraordinary.
Ilos treasures this book and tosses it into the basket filled with shells, then looks down at the beach around her, ready to see if there are any other interesting items like this book to take back to the church.
Life in the church is too boring; with only her solitary time, no matter how many times she studies the Genesis, she feels it cannot alleviate that loneliness.
Ilos buries herself in searching for treasures on the beach, even casting aside the plan to dig out the meat from the shells because she finds a strangely shaped wooden staff. She has never seen anyone use this before, and it doesn’t seem suitable for hanging clothes either.
Forget it, I’ll just keep it for now.
Next, Ilos finds a black hat, a white piece of clothing, but it seems too big for a girl of her size. Soon after, she discovers a person.
Hmm?
A person?
The rabbit ears on Ilos’s head wiggle as she gazes down at the man quietly lying amidst a heap of wooden debris.
He is bare-chested, his strong body covered in sand, seemingly washed ashore by the waves, and for some reason, he is not wearing any clothes.
Ilos raises her right hand holding a white shirt, thinks for a second or two, and then suddenly realizes something, her face turning red as she feels a bit embarrassed.
Could it be that all the things she picked up earlier belong to this man before her?
Shyly kneeling beside the prone man, she looks wistfully at the gathered items.
“Mother God bless, greed is the original sin, I shall return everything of this man to him now.”
As she prays with her head bowed, she struggles to place the shirt in her hand onto the man’s body, but after pausing for a second, she suddenly thinks of something.
“Right, the Mother said, ‘People come cleanly and leave cleanly.’ Is he still alive? If he has already died… no, if he ascended to heaven, then I don’t need to return it to him!”
A glimmer of cleverness flashes in Ilos’s eyes. Clapping her hands, she quickly snatches back the white shirt draped over the man, and then she turns the unconscious man lying on the beach over, revealing his original appearance.
It turns out to be a very handsome human man; even in quiet slumber with sand covering his face, his outstanding looks cannot be concealed. His black hair sticks to his mouth’s corner, tempting one to reach out and touch that bit of black away from his lips.
Ilos’s long ears jiggle, and her gaze swiftly sweeps over the man’s strong body and handsome face. Then she quickly shakes her head and prays,
“May the Mother witness the purity of my intentions. Sorry, Sir, I am being rude!”
Pressing her lips together, she gently places her hand in front of the man’s nose. One finger moves forward while her head turns in the opposite direction, as if trying to maintain a safe distance. Upon feeling a hint of warm breath, she breathes a sigh of relief and quickly retracts her hand.
It seems he is still alive.
Ilos sits on the beach, glancing troubled at the man lying there, unconscious.
The wind in the northern region picks up, blowing in from the snow-covered mountains, making her nun robe flutter wildly. The church’s bells ring out again, breaking the tranquility of the area once more, as if this ancient church, long devoid of fresh air, has regained its vitality.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
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(End of Chapter)
