Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 161 The Maiden of the Moon
Just like the shadow cast by a church statue, even in the most powerful ancient times of "Amannatha," the guardian of the eternal sun, He never spread the sun's blazing light to every corner of the world.

Night will eventually fall.

The shadows never truly dissolved into the light.

While the nobles in their finest attire clinked glasses at lavish banquets, there were always others worrying about how to fill their stomachs.

Even in a large city like Newme, behind those magnificent churches and mansions lie countless filths filled with mud and garbage.

To some extent, it is precisely because of the city's enormous size and highly prosperous commerce.

This is why this stinking land, which makes people hold their breath and frown, has become even more rotten, sinking deeper into darkness, unable to escape.

The fluttering and falling sycamore leaves, the soothing gurgling of the fountain, the harp strings drifting from the roadside restaurant...

Autumn evening breeze,

For the wealthy people who stroll along Eagle Emblem Avenue after dinner with their pets, the atmosphere is always gentle, cool, and pleasant.

But when people under the cover of night lose the protection of thick autumn clothes and warm houses, and expose their vulnerable bodies to the cold wind, it will reveal its true nature of being a snob and a snob.

Newme, Lower Town.

Little Snot hugged his chest tightly with both hands, wrapping his thin, patched linen clothes even tighter around himself.

It's not very useful.

The biting, cold wind was like the stingy, fat newspaper owner. No matter how hard he pleaded and begged, he could only exchange all his coins for a stack of newspapers that he could never sell.

The coldness seeped into the skin through the gaps in the linen fibers, clinging to the collar and sleeves.

It made the little snot tremble uncontrollably.

At times like these, he can only try his best to push his sore and tired legs and quicken his pace in order to bring some warmth to his body.

The road home is long.

But as a child born and raised in this neighborhood, he naturally wouldn't rigidly walk around the main road.

They were like little rats hiding in the sewers, avoiding dangerous places and navigating through complex and narrow alleys.

"Cough...cough..."

The small house was so simple that it seemed to blend into the darkness, and no lights were on.

Due to prolonged lack of maintenance, moss has grown in the cracks of the walls, and several clumps of unknown vines are climbing in the corners.

It looks like it has been abandoned for a long time.

Only the occasional coughing sounds coming from inside indicated that someone did indeed live there.

He painstakingly searched through a pile of stones that was hidden very deep, a place known only to himself, and found the key.

Little Snot, with a newspaper between his fingers, gently opened the front door of the house.

"elder brother?"

A weak female voice came from the inner room.

"It's me!" Little Snotty replied quickly, afraid that the other person would worry.

After carefully locking the door, he gently placed a thick stack of newspapers on the already cleaned table.

There are still two days until the next issue is printed, but I still have more than half of the newspaper left.

This made him feel somewhat anxious.

We need to sell at least a large portion of them.

Otherwise, next month I probably won't even be able to afford the cheapest black bread.

He plans to leave before dawn tomorrow, and if he's lucky, he might be able to sell a few portions near the post station.

Then, I'll find an hour or two in the morning to go to "Griffin Department Store"...

In the pitch-black night, Little Snot lit an oil lamp.

Ignoring the flickering, weak firelight and the gradually spreading stench of blood in the air, he took out a blood-stained package from his pocket.

Even how to survive has become a problem. The teenagers who grew up in the slums have long suppressed their so-called "conscience" in the deepest part of their hearts and are never afraid of a corpse lying on the street.

Not to mention, he was an adventurer.

If it weren't for the fact that gang members from nearby streets happened to be passing by, he would have even considered stripping the armor and weapons off the corpse and bringing them back as well.

Of course, even so, the little snot still gained a lot.

He loosened the tightly tied bag opening, revealing a palm-sized human-shaped statue resembling a deer or a sheep inside.

It's ugly, I wonder how much it can sell for.

But since it's something from an adventurer, it certainly won't be cheap.

Little Snot had already made up his mind.

When I negotiate the price with the owner of "Griffin Department Store" tomorrow, I absolutely will not sell it for less than seven...five silver coins!

Besides the statue, there were some loose coins on the body of the dead adventurer. Some of them had been exchanged for food, while the rest were being warmed by his own body.

He carefully wrapped the statue in a bag as well. Hearing the coughing coming from the inner room, Little Snot's face showed a hint of urgency. He put the package on the table for the time being, picked up the oil lamp, and went inside.

What came into view was a girl with an extremely thin figure and a pale face that showed no trace of blood.

"elder brother……"

"Eat up." A smile appeared on Little Snot's face as he took out the nut biscuits he had bought with adventurer's coins on the way back.

Without waiting for the girl's reply, he said in a casual tone:
"Today I met a wealthy gentleman in a horse-drawn carriage who gave me a generous tip!"

"Eat quickly, and you'll recover faster if you eat your fill."

"Eat up, don't worry about me, I already ate before I got back."

Hearing him say that, the girl could only suppress her worry and start nibbling on the coarse bread in small bites.

Forcibly suppressing the hunger in his stomach, Little Snot stared at the girl on the bed in front of him, seemingly lost in thought.

The girl's name was "Polly," and she was his younger sister.

Two years younger.

I've been sick for almost a year now.

To be honest, although his family lived in a slum, their lives in the past were not nearly as difficult as they are now.

Both parents have jobs, and although their income is not high, it is more than enough to support a family of four.

Before the accident, he had even considered becoming an apprentice at Uncle Rim's carpentry shop.

Until last year, the infamous "sewage" incident.

A big shot whose name he still doesn't know polluted the water source in the downtown area.

Having taken her mother's life, her younger sister will likely have to spend the rest of her life in a hospital bed.

Unable to bear the heavy blow of his family's death, the taciturn but always supportive father also turned into a drunkard who numbed his mind with alcohol all day long.

They even depend on him for their livelihood.

He would pass by the church every day when he sold newspapers, and he could often hear hymns coming from inside.

It sounds nice, but there's never any hope in it.

"Brother, I'm full."

Her thin, bony arms trembled as she handed over half a coarse pancake.

Little Snotty was taken aback and wanted to refuse, but the girl's determined eyes and her shrunken, cramping belly made him just smile and accept it.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but suddenly a series of weak footsteps mixed with curses came from outside the door.

"Bang!" The door shook violently, and dust fell in a flurry.

"Open the door! Hiccup... Open the door for me, you bastard!"

The familiar voice, clearly tinged with drunkenness, allowed Little Snot to recognize the other person.

Although his face showed some helplessness, he could only hurriedly get up and run towards the door.

With great effort, I finally managed to unlock the door.

Little Snot felt a tremendous force coming from in front of him.

The door was kicked open suddenly, and he fell to the ground.

Exhausted and suffering from prolonged hunger, the body is on the verge of collapse.

After falling, he felt dizzy, his vision went black, and he felt weak all over, unable to even stand up.

He just lay there on the ground, watching the figure, reeking of alcohol, stagger into the house.

"You take so long to open a door... hiccup, what good are you?"

"Nut biscuits, struck it rich? Damn it, I can't even afford drinks, and you're eating so well by yourself."

"What is this? A statue?"

"It's fucking ugly, where did you steal it from?"

"I'm a bit short on cash these days, you..."

……

……

The soft, tranquil moonlight streamed down from the church dome, making the towering altar appear as if it were covered with a layer of white frost.

The faint, silvery-white light, like a veil of mist gently swaying in the air, lingered above the altar.

Xia Nan leaned back on the bench in the main hall, surveying the interior of the church.

Unlike the interior of the "Sun God" Amannata Church, which exudes rules and order.

The "Church of the Moon" in Serene, featuring the Silver Madonna and the Moon Maiden, are distinctly different in style.

The night was deep, and he hadn't had a chance to observe the church's exterior in detail due to his haste in arriving; he only had a rough sense of the building's grandeur.

Now that we've entered the hall, the gentle light shining on the smooth walls on both sides allows us to notice the interior design.

The pristine white columns reflect the moonlight, and the curved ribbed arches, resembling a crescent moon, support the towering dome. The stained-glass windows that cover the entire wall refract soft, clear light, making the church hall opposite them seem to be shrouded in a layer of pale silver light.

A faint, pleasant fragrance filled the air.

It's like a moonflower that blooms only at night.

As breaths flow into the nasal cavity, the whole person seems to calm down.

This helped calm and soothe the anxieties of Daisy and the others around her, who were unsettled by the rapid turn of events.

They simply sat on the bench, praying silently, occasionally leaning closer to whisper a few words.

The personality and allegiance of the gods also greatly influence the conduct of the priests and priests who believe in them.

The sun god Amannatha is stubbornly law-abiding, just and strict, and regards "covenant" and "order" as the most important parts of his doctrine.

Given Xia Nan's and others' status in Caranford, it would be absolutely impossible for them to enter the church outside of the current designated opening hours, let alone receive purification from the priest.

But it's different at the "Church of Luna".

【Moon Maiden】Serenne's personality is changeable and sometimes unpredictable, and she is very capricious.

However, the faction leans towards the benevolent side.

She is calm and gentle, never stingy with her compassion; like the bright moon hanging high in the sky, she reveals her maternal instincts and almost poetic tranquility to all beings.

This led the believers of this deity, especially the fanatical ones, to draw closer to the deity himself under the guidance of His teachings.

Serene's priesthood includes the Moon and the Stars, and nuns are often kept on duty at the Luna Church at night.

Xia Nan and the others arrived hastily, but the nun acted very kindly.

She didn't blame them for disturbing her meditation, but simply greeted them with a smile, and after inquiring about their purpose, went directly to the inner sanctuary to consult the priest.

Such a gentle and friendly attitude was beyond Xia Nan's expectations.

In his view, the clergy who worshipped the gods on this continent were, to some extent, almost equivalent in status to the local nobles.

For commoners like them who do not hold titles, it is inevitable that they will be somewhat distant, if not arrogant.

But whether it was the kind-faced presiding priest in the now-ruined Church of the Sun, or the nun who had just been worshipping the moon goddess, they all appeared exceptionally peaceful.

It's unclear whether this is their inherent personality, a requirement of their doctrine, or simply a way to exploit the faith of ordinary people.

It wasn't that Xia Nan was a conspiracy theorist; it was just that he had personally witnessed Daisy and the others, who had gone from being uneasy when they first entered the church, to gradually calming down after being comforted by the nuns, and now appearing devoutly praying to the altar. This experience moved him to write this.

"Mr. Xia Nan, we'll be alright, won't we?"

The question that Jeff had asked once before was asked to Shanan again by his daughter, Lilina.

The young girl, who had just graduated from the academy, fidgeted with the hem of her clothes, her eyes fixed on the deep darkness behind the church doors, her face filled with unconcealed worry.

I didn't feel impatient, but I couldn't guarantee it either.

Xia Nan simply smiled casually and replied jokingly:

"To be honest, I'm the only one who has experienced the effects of the statue. None of you, including your father, have felt anything significant."

"If anything goes wrong, I'll be the first one to be affected."

"But...look, I'm alive and well now, and I can even sit here and chat with you."

After Xia Nan's words of comfort, the girl's tense expression eased slightly.

I nodded, and was about to say something to him when I heard footsteps coming from behind me.

Turning my head, I could vaguely see a familiar silhouette approaching in the dark night.

He was panting heavily, his outer clothes were somewhat disheveled, and his weathered face showed deep fatigue, but the cloth bag that had originally wrapped the statue in his hand had disappeared.

"father!"

Lilina cried out in surprise and rushed over.

Daisy, his wife who had been praying for her family ever since they entered the church, also breathed a sigh of relief.

A little tenderness.

Jeff nodded gratefully to Xia Nan.

Although the street where they lived was relatively safe, it was already night, and he was really worried about letting his family walk such a long distance from their home to the church alone.

With this adventurer he deeply trusted by his side, he could go out on his mission with peace of mind.

Then, his gaze fell on his son Jamie, who was sitting on a bench.

“I have personally returned that wooden sculpture to your mentor.”

"This also illustrates the potential problems with the statue itself."

"but……"

Jeff's expression turned somewhat strange.

"He probably didn't take it seriously."

"I just want you to finish your homework properly and hand it in on time tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)