Cloud stopped his subtle attempts to seduce Goniko.
Instead...
He took her out of the church and into those corners forgotten by sunlight.
He spent his own money buying large quantities of flour and clothing, then went door-to-door with Goniko, distributing them to the poor who couldn't afford food or clothes.
Using handyman skills worthy of a "professional engineer," he led the town's young people in repairing those leaky, dilapidated houses.
He even used his meager "chemistry knowledge" to teach the villagers how to make simple soap and candles to improve their lives.
Through the most direct, most effective means, he taught Goniko a truth she had never considered—
Prayers alone cannot truly fill an empty stomach.
True kindness isn't just words of compassion. It's extending your hands and taking action!
Watching this man—who possessed such vast knowledge yet was willing to roll up his sleeves and work alongside the lowest of the common people—
Watching this man whose face always wore a devil-may-care smile, yet whose eyes held a deep tenderness even she couldn't quite understand—
Her heart was thrown into complete chaos.
She felt that her heart, always calm as still water, had been struck by a stone called "love," thrown by this man who seemed like a visitor from beyond the stars.
[Ding! Target Goniko's Affection has changed: 0 → +30 (Lord... please forgive my sin. I... I think... I've fallen in love with someone... I shouldn't have fallen for...)]
...
But where there is light, there must also be darkness.
This town bathed in holy light also bred its own "sins."
One day, when Goniko went to deliver food to the orphanage outside town as usual—
Several local thugs, obviously lowlifes at a glance, cornered her in a secluded alley.
The leader was a bald brute with a face full of menace and lecherous eyes.
"Hehehe... Isn't this our beautiful, kind Saint?" The bald man rubbed his hands together, approaching Goniko with obvious ill intent. "Why isn't your pretty-boy bodyguard with you today?"
"What... what do you want?!"
Goniko's pretty face went pale with fear. She instinctively stepped back, clutching the basket of food protectively to her chest.
"What do we want?" The bald man leered. "We brothers are a bit short on cash lately. We were hoping the Saint might... save us poor lost lambs."
"The... the Lord will forgive your sins..." Goniko's voice carried a sobbing tone as she still tried to use her "holy mother" philosophy to reform these villains.
But her pitiful appearance only looked like a silent invitation to these scum whose hearts had been blackened by desire!
"Hahaha! We can repent to the Lord after we've had our fun!"
The bald man howled, reaching out with his filthy paw—as large as a bear's—toward Goniko's exquisite face that could drive any man mad!
And Goniko, in her extreme terror, saw a faint azure wind mark flash uncontrollably in those blue eyes!
A terrifying power—enough to tear these thugs to shreds in an instant—roared and thrashed inside her, as if trying to burst free!
But...
That power was firmly imprisoned at the deepest level of her bloodline by an even stronger golden shackle! She couldn't access even a fraction of it!
She could only watch helplessly as that filthy hand grew larger and larger in her vision...
At that critical moment—
"Fuck off, you piece of shit!"
A curse—delivered in perfectly enunciated, quintessentially Chinese profanity—exploded like thunder in the quiet alley!
A black shadow descended like a hunting leopard from above, striking first!
One kick landed with perfect precision on the bald man's face!
WHAM—!
The bald man's two-hundred-plus-pound body flew backward as if hit by a speeding truck. He crashed into the wall behind him with a miserable scream, immediately rolling his eyes and passing out. His already ugly face was now so bloodied and mangled that his own mother probably wouldn't recognize him.
It was Cloud!
Hands in his pockets, he strolled in from the alley entrance.
Gone was the usual devil-may-care expression. In its place was a bone-chilling coldness, like ten-thousand-year-old ice!
"A few cockroaches... not even worthy of being sorted into the trash."
He looked at the thugs, now completely paralyzed with fear, his voice cold and emotionless.
"And you dare... touch someone who's mine?"
Cloud used the most "physical" methods to uproot the gang that had been terrorizing this fairy-tale town. As a bonus, he "confiscated" all their ill-gotten wealth and distributed it to the local poor.
Only then did this town bathed in holy light truly achieve absolute peace.
And our protagonist Cloud, having successfully played the role of "crime-fighting hero," was finally ready to make his escape.
He had no choice. If he stayed any longer, he was afraid he really wouldn't be able to resist... "plucking" that pure, flawless "snow lotus."
...
The day of departure, a light drizzle fell on the little town.
At the church entrance, Goniko stood in her pure white nun's robes, holding a black umbrella, quietly seeing Cloud off.
She said nothing. She just watched Cloud with those sky-blue eyes, filled with reluctance and... a hint of a maiden's wistful sorrow.
...
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