Splash.
Blood sprayed into the air as the Chains of Heaven pierced through the heart of a stray devil, instantly taking its life.
Not far away stood Qin Xiao, dressed in his Kuoh Academy uniform.
Ding!
Template inheritance +0.1%
Looking at the fallen stray devil, Qin Xiao felt a bit speechless.
Recently, not only had the appearance rate of stray devils dropped significantly—
Their strength had also become pitifully weak.
This one was barely a Low-Class stray devil.
Most of the others were even weaker.
During this entire period, Qin Xiao had only gained 1.5% inheritance.
And even that included 1% from the only decent stray devil he had encountered.
The harvest was simply miserable.
The only thing Qin Xiao was happy about recently was that he had finally moved out of his cramped 1DK apartment.
With the help of Akeno Himejima, he had found a much better place.
Instead of an apartment, it was a small two-story villa.
It was close to Kuoh Academy and even had a shopping street nearby.
After finishing off the stray devil, Qin Xiao prepared to head home.
The gains from hunting lately were getting worse and worse.
— Story Divider —
On his way back, Qin Xiao stopped by a dessert shop and bought some small cakes and pastries.
Just as he stepped out—
A soft, gentle voice came from behind him.
"Um… excuse me, do you know where the church around here is?"
Turning around, Qin Xiao saw a blonde girl wearing a nun's outfit.
She radiated a warm and gentle aura that naturally made people feel comfortable.
Her first impression was excellent.
"You're talking to me?"
"Y-yes, sorry for disturbing you. Could you tell me where the church here is?"
Qin Xiao looked at her.
"You're a nun?"
"Yes. I just arrived here."
"My name is Asia Argento."
"Nice to meet you."
"Asia Argento… I see."
"The former saint expelled by the Church."
Those words instantly changed Asia's expression.
She lowered her head.
Qin Xiao hadn't expected that simply buying desserts on the way home would lead him to encounter a blonde beauty like this.
This must be the so-called protagonist luck, he thought with some envy.
"I-I'm sorry for troubling you."
"I'll leave now."
Asia bowed slightly and prepared to leave.
Even though Qin Xiao had just opened her old wound, she didn't argue or complain.
She simply endured it silently.
Later, she would probably cry alone in some corner.
Seeing her like that made Qin Xiao feel a little pity.
This girl was a true saint.
In Qin Xiao's view, "saints" could be divided into two types.
1️⃣ A genuine saint who helps others selflessly.
2️⃣ A hypocritical "saint" who forces others to help while doing nothing themselves.
The difference was simple.
A true saint says:
"This person looks pitiful. I should help them."
A hypocritical saint says:
"This person looks pitiful. Why aren't you people helping them?"
The first type might be rare—
But people genuinely admire them.
The second type just makes people want to slap them.
And the girl standing before Qin Xiao was clearly the first type.
Her kindness was so pure that it made people feel sorry for her.
As a former saint of the Church, she would even heal injured devils.
That kindness eventually became her tragedy.
Because she possessed the Sacred Gear "Twilight Healing"—also called the Smile of the Virgin—she could heal devils.
The Church labeled this as corruption.
And she was expelled.
Now she had come to this distant eastern country after reaching a dead end.
She had accepted the protection of the fallen angels.
But unfortunately—
The fallen angels were interested only in her Sacred Gear, not in her.
"Wait."
Qin Xiao called out to her.
Asia turned back immediately.
"Is there something else?"
"You're looking for the church?"
"Yes. Do you know where it is?"
"I do."
"Really? Thank you so much!"
"But telling you wouldn't help."
"Why?"
"Because I personally destroyed that church."
"…Eh?"
"Not only the church."
"I also killed the fallen angels inside."
Asia froze completely.
For her, that church had been the only place left in the world willing to accept her.
Yet the moment she arrived—
Everything was already gone.
Watching her stand there as if she had just lost the direction of her entire life—
Qin Xiao suddenly felt a little guilty.
Maybe he had gone too far.
"Asia, right?"
"Yes."
"Can you cook and clean?"
Asia blinked.
"I can cook simple things… like sandwiches."
"And cleaning isn't a problem. I always cleaned my own room at the church."
"Good."
"Then from now on, you're my housekeeper."
"On call 24 hours a day."
"Food and housing provided."
"But no salary."
Asia's eyes widened.
"You… want to hire me?"
"But I've already been expelled by the Church."
"Why should I care about that?"
"I'm just looking for a housekeeper."
"Do you want the job?"
Asia's face lit up with a bright smile.
"Thank you!"
"The Lord will bless you!"
Qin Xiao waved his hand.
"I don't believe in God."
"Anyway, follow me."
"And don't call me 'sir.'"
"My name is Qin Xiao."
"Just call me by my name."
"Yes, Qin Xiao-san."
Just like that—
Although the stray devil hunt had been disappointing—
Qin Xiao had unexpectedly picked up a lost little nun on the way home.
And that made him feel much better.
After all—
Healing-type Sacred Gears were extremely rare.
Especially one like Twilight Healing.
Fortunately, Qin Xiao had already moved to a bigger house.
If he were still living in his old 1DK apartment, he wouldn't even have dared to take her in.
One of them would have ended up sleeping on the floor.
That would have been embarrassing.
Soon they arrived at the villa.
Asia looked around with amazement.
"So this is your home, Qin Xiao-san?"
"It's so big!"
Qin Xiao chuckled.
After the success of his light novel "Oregairu", plus the support from the Gremory family, his income was now extremely high.
"Alright, stop staring."
"Come inside."
"Yes!"
The two of them entered the house one after another.
But inside the villa—
A surprise was waiting for Qin Xiao.
Patreon.com/Killua_001