The figure was that of a lean lady dressed in a nun’s robe with black hair peeking out of her veil. And on her face nestled a wry smile.

When did she…?!

Before Rain could even process his thoughts to a reasonable degree, Alice had already dashed towards the lady and set her sword on her neck.

“Who are you?” she asked with a tone that was more unfriendly than indifferent.

“A nun,” the lady replied sarcastically while using her eyes to gesture at her outfit. “One who looked after your little boy.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed, and so did Rain’s. J and Sean came out of the woods at that moment, and he instantly understood what she meant.

This nun was obviously with the robed children, and the fact that she had bypassed Alice’s perception, gotten behind them, and came in contact with J and Sean meant that she was not on their level. If she meant them any harm, they would already be dead.

Alice knew that too, but her personality still kept her sword up.

“She’s not a bad person,” Sean said as soon as his little naive self appeared.

“And how do you know that?” Alice asked. “Do you think things like that are written on a person’s face?”

A little too harsh, Miss Alice.

“Uhm… She told us that the bear will die and you will live.”

Alice’s eyes narrowed; she fell into thought for a moment there, and Rain could guess which. “And how does that not make her a bad person?” Sean remained silent.

“But I’m not a bad person,” the nun spoke. “The Plexus would have let you know if I was.”

Alice scoffed. “Do I look like a newbie?” The nun’s eyes narrowed. “You’re with those children, and their Skills are obviously those of the Rogue Division. I’m ninety-nine percent certain yours are too. In other words, I can never know if you have any animosity towards me.”

Up went Rain’s brows.

The nun smiled. “Is that so? I doubt that. You can know if I have any animosity towards you, your Perception just has to be high enough.” Alice frowned. It was obvious that those words were a jab at her below par skills when placed side by side with the nun’s. “Still, I do not bear any animosity towards you.”

“Well, I don’t believe you.”

“Nun Cathleen!” It was a feminine voice from one of the children. Rain turned around to see them all approaching. “Who are they?”

“Friends,” Cathleen answered.

“We’re not friends,” Alice refuted.

“Do you want the children to see you doing this? Threatening someone, moreover, their guardian, I mean?” Cathleen asked. Alice remained silent.

Rain had come to realize that Alice had a soft spot for children. She would not want any of them to see her as a threat even in the state the world was in. The reasons, though, were known only to her.

“And besides, how long are you going to carry on with this?” Cathleen looked up at the sky, Alice and Rain did too. “Night is coming.” Cathleen returned her gaze to them. “Put the sword down. I can provide you with shelter.”

At that moment, the children got to where they were, and with them came mutters mostly involving J and Sean who were together to the side of the one-sided heated exchange between Alice and the nun. All except one person.

“Huh?” Rain turned to see the blonde haired boy with a wrung up nose. “What in the camel’s arse do you think you’re doing Missus?! You tryna pick a fight?!”

He stretched out his hand, and his shadow rippled like a pond a stone had been cast into. Rain watched in awe as he saw droplets of black rise and swirl, coalescing as they began to form something. Though that was cut off halfway.

“Now, now. Relax, Ray.” The nun kept smiling. “It’s been a while since a human crossed this path, we don’t wanna fight or make enemies of them now, do we?”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“She’s right, Ray.” The girl who had been called a klutz, Mei Mei, was the one to talk. She had on round glasses and pink hair tied into twin ponytails. Although, it seemed her speaking only angered Ray more.

“Shut it, klutz!” Ray spat. It was then that the boy who went by Klein grabbed his hand.

“Nun Cathleen says to stop it,” he said with a flat tone.

Ray hesitated for a moment, tsked, and finally let his ability die down.

The ability of the Rogue Division… It’s fricking cool… I wonder which Skill these children are using? They all seem to be in possession of the same thing. Rain lowered his brows. Why, though?

“No, thanks,” Alice’s reply was for the nun’s offer, and for a moment there Rain was dazed by her words. They needed the shelter, what was she saying? But a second later, he understood why she had replied in that manner. She didn’t trust them, and also… Their number had increased. In other words, a Glade could spawn at any moment, after all, there was a Protagonist in their midst.

Although, because he did understand her did not mean her decision making at this moment was right. Since the nun was offering help, they should take it; a Glade spawning was the least of their problems now. If they did not find shelter soon, the fog would kill them before a Glade would.

Rain decided to take matters into his own hands. “If you will, please.”

Alice drilled him with an angry gaze. “Are you out of your mind? No, we won’t.”

“This city is even more rundown than Dechmont, how long do you think it would take for us to find a suitable spot to stay? There’s no guarantee that we even will,” Rain argued. “And moreover…” He stole a glance at Sean, the boy was gawking at the rest of the kids. “We have a child with us.”

“He’s right,” the nun said. “You should make the right choice quickly, we don’t have all day.”

Rain peeked at the nun. He was also suspicious, rather, uneasy. The fact that she was the one who had offered them shelter left a bad taste on his tongue; they should have been the one to have requested for one.

Well, he could look at it from another perspective that it was because Alice was holding a sword to her neck, but no… She was clearly stronger than Alice and him both. Subduing them should barely be a task for her. And she had those weirdly battle oriented children too.

Was she the one who had trained them? In what way?

All in all, it was pointless rejecting her offer. If she wanted to harm them, they could do nothing. The best thing for now was to follow her quietly, find out if she had an ulterior motive, and if that was the case, then down the line, give her the slip. And besides, it would be easier to deal with a human that meant them harm than the Wraiths.

Alice seemed to have come to this realization too, despite her obvious seething at him for not supporting her. The rage in her eyes cleared, but her skepticism remained.

“What’s your Skill?” she asked bluntly, eliciting a frown from the nurse and an incredulous look from Rain.

“What?”

“Your Skill? What is it?” Alice pressed. “I have to have something to trust you with. In exchange…” she gestured at Rain. “He’ll tell you his.”

“Huh?” Rain jerked backward. “Why?”

Alice frowned at him. “You’re the one who wants us to go with them, it’s only right you’re the one who surrenders something in exchange.”

J growled fiercely, seemingly understanding that Rain had been put on the spot. Alice glared at her, but she didn’t stop. In fact, she intensified it.

Rain was about to speak when Nun Cathleen interrupted, “This is funny. I offer you shelter and I get this in return?”

Alice scoffed. “So? You won’t answer? Should I take that as ‘I have ulterior motives for offering you help’?”

“And what if I lie? How would you know?”

“Why would a nun lie? Isn’t that against the teachings of the doctrine?”

Nun Cathleen chuckled. “Fine. But I do not want the handsome boy’s Skill in return.” Rain breathed a sigh of relief. He was already weaker than a couple of kids, exposing his greatest card was setting him up for failure. But if she did not want his, then… “I want to know the child’s Role.”

“Huh?” Alice’s face blanked, Rain’s gaze narrowed as well. She stole a glance at Sean who was seemingly confused too. “Why?”

“You won’t lie now, would you?” The nun wiggled away from the question she had been asked.

Rain looked up at the sky and slowly became worried. The sun was already almost gone. Even though he was sort of iffy as to why Sean’s Role was being sought out, simply saying it wouldn’t cause any problems, right? It was not like she could figure out if he had a Benefactor or his Skills just from that.

Alice having her suspicions was good and all, but right now she had to change her priorities.

“Fine.” She made up her mind. “Speak.”

Nun Cathleen smiled, her thin lips widening to the side as she said, “Shadowmancer.”

Alice downturned her lips. It was obvious that she was now more wary of the nun than even before. Was the Skill that strong?

“So you and the kids really possess the same Skills? Is that coincidental?”

“That’s not what I was hoping for? You’re to tell me what the boy’s Role is now, you know?” Nun Cathleen narrowed her eyes, giving it the sharpness of a feline beast. Her visage sent shivers down Rain’s spine so much that he considered changing his mind to go with her. “Liars go to hell too.”

“Pfft. Earth has already become hell.” Alice removed her sword from the nun’s neck and sheathed it. “Deuteragonist.”