### Chapter 138: A Twist of Fate
Am I seeing things?
Standing not too far in the crowd was indeed that big boy from Silgaya who tried to rob me without success.
I remember he had a younger brother and three little sisters… Then Carlos sent them all off to an orphanage, but that was the orphanage in Silgaya.
Are they also the chosen ones sent here?
What a coincidence…
“Ah! Sister, do you know him?” Aili exclaimed, waving at Abe. “Abe! Come over here, your sister wants to say hello!”
Huh? Abe?
Isn’t he supposed to be called ‘Big Brother Abe’?
Abe seemed a bit hesitant, standing there dazed for a moment before slowly walking over.
“Hello…”
He looked down and greeted me. It seemed… he didn’t remember me?
Well, it’s been ages. If I hadn’t suddenly seen him here, I might have forgotten about him too.
“Do you remember me? In Silgaya, you and—”
“I remember,” Abe said with a deep voice, “I’m sorry.”
“Uh…” That really caught me off guard.
He remembers me? Does he think I’m going to hold a grudge over ancient history?
I even brought food for you guys!
“You better not do that again!”
“Since you, I haven’t done anything bad,” Abe lifted his head and gave me a faint smile. “We were sent to the orphanage. There we had food and clothes; we wouldn’t starve. So there was no need to go back to those things.”
I looked at his face.
For some reason, that smile felt off… it looked kind of stiff, and his eyes seemed dull.
This is completely different from the slightly silly rascal I remember… Did I get it wrong?
“How did you end up here?” I tilted my head and asked.
“I’m one of the chosen ones sent to Cataloma, just like them.”
“Abe got here way earlier than me and Lucas!” Aili chimed in.
“Uh huh.”
Looks like they’re quite lucky.
The kids from Cataloma, as long as they work hard, have the chance to work for the Church in the future, becoming clerics, and even priests or bishops. The Church pays a good salary to clergy and provides housing in the parishes. This way, their lives are absolutely guaranteed, never having to worry about going hungry.
And the kids here… maybe they lack a lot, but they certainly don’t lack effort.
Thinking of this, I felt happy for them.
“That’s great.” Glancing around, not seeing any familiar faces, I turned to Abe and asked, “Where are your brother and sisters?”
“They didn’t come.” Abe still smiled, “Only I and one sister came; the others… were left in Silgaya.”
“Is that so…”
For them in this world, separation almost always means a final goodbye. This clearly isn’t good news, so why… why are you smiling?
Something feels off.
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Abe is strange.
“It’s okay, Abe. You’ll see them again someday! Trust me!”
Lucas threw an arm around Abe’s shoulder, grinning at him with all his teeth showing—was he comforting or scaring him?
Abe just kept smiling.
“Sister—” Aili seemed to want to say something more to me.
Ding—ding—ding—
Suddenly, the tall bell tower of Cataloma rang out. The bell’s tone was solemn and deep, echoing through the air.
“Ah, the holy bell is ringing.” Aili’s little face looked a bit disappointed, “I wanted to talk to you more… but the holy bell is ringing, and we have to go pray quickly… We need to hurry to the Father.”
I nodded at her: “Go ahead.”
“Sister, you have to come again, okay? Next time, I’ll give you a gift.”
“Alright.”
“Ice girl…” Lucas called out to me, then turned away, speaking to my back, “If you run into trouble in the royal city… if it’s possible, ask me for help…”
Aili laughed and punched him playfully, “What can you even help Sister with?”
“… I just can!”
Shouting this, Lucas marched away without looking back, and Abe gave me a light bow before running off too.
Aili smiled at me, “Sister, Lucas is a good person.”
“Pfft—”
“What are you laughing at, Sister?”
“N-nothing…”
I felt a bit sorry for Lucas.
“You should hurry along too.”
“Okay! Off I go!”
“Goodbye.”
The little figures ran off with the other kids.
“Those are poor kids…” The old gatekeeper, who had been watching from a distance, finally approached me and spoke, “To come to Cataloma is a blessing for them.”
“Yeah.”
…………
The old man led me to a room on the third floor of Cataloma’s main building. He opened the big door at the end of the corridor and told me to wait here for a while before going back.
Left alone, I began to idly examine the dean’s office.
An old wooden long table and hard chairs, a row of display cabinets in the corner, and some potted plants by the side—there wasn’t even a sofa.
Too plain, but it does resemble Sister Teresa’s style.
The only thing resembling a decoration in the room might be the long-handled double-sided axe hanging on the wall—if it could even be considered a decoration.
The axe was pitch black, exquisitely crafted, over two meters long, firmly embedded in a mirrored display case on the wall behind the table. Just by looking at it, you could tell it wasn’t light… this must be Teresa’s collection, right? Does she like things like this?
Can’t tell.
I walked up to the display case, craning my neck to look at the medals sitting on top.
Aside from the most conspicuous Pope Knight badge, the others… I don’t recognize any of them, but they all seem to be awarded by the Church. Next to them was a gold trophy the size of a head, the base inscribed with a small line:
[In the year 1179, the esteemed Sister Teresa used great divine miracles to quell the spread of the northern plague in Ethanbel. Her deeds deserve our praise.]
Signed by Cardinal George of the Holy Church.
Looks like Teresa isn’t as unremarkable as she says; that’s just humility.
On another side of the display case, there were many books and documents, mostly related to the Church. I spotted the book “The Sorrow of Love” in the corner, tiptoed to take it out, and sat down at a wooden table to casually flip through it.
I remember Sarah said this was a book written by Sister Teresa herself.
My stomach started to ache more and more.
It was okay this morning, but now it was at a level I couldn’t ignore.
What bad luck…
I rubbed my belly with one hand while flipping through the book with the other. The first page read: All suffering in this world is merely a result of human hearts, nothing more.
Hmm… saying that might be too extreme, right? You can’t just blame all disasters and tragedy on the human heart…
I casually flipped to the next page to continue reading since I had nothing better to do.
Just when I thought I’d have to wait a while longer, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps outside the door.
It was fast, and there were more than one pair.
I put down the book with a frown and stood up. Before long, the door creaked open, and Sister Teresa walked in, still dressed as a nun but looking quite serious. Behind her were seven or eight clerics in black robes, closely following her.
“Sister Teresa…”
“Silvya, you came just in time.” She quickly interrupted my words, her tone somewhat rushed. “The shipment arrived early in the royal city; The Gate of Truth is here.”
