Chapter 286: Church Life (Part 2)

Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Church Life (Part 2)

Nighttime, inside the dilapidated church, beside the worn-out "dinner table."

"I’m going to eat—!"

Ginny pressed her hands together, closed her eyes, and shouted the phrase with a sense of ceremony.

Then, she opened her eyes and pounced on the huge wooden bowl—which was the size of a basin relative to her—like a chick starved for three days.

—It was piled high with chunks of black bread, exchanged for the firewood sold today. Coarse, but filling.

"Awwoo! Awwoo! Munch, munch..."

She barely chewed, wolfing down the bread chunks at an astonishing speed, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster’s.

In just a few minutes, most of the "basin" of bread had disappeared.

In sharp contrast to her was Kuma, sitting opposite. Only a few small pieces of bread were placed in front of him.

He was not in a hurry to eat, but watched Ginny’s terrifying appetite with tenderness.

The orange-yellow firelight flickered, illuminating his honest face and his eyes that were always filled with kindness.

"Ha... ha..." Ginny finally finished the last piece of bread, letting out a small, satisfied burp. Then, she immediately rubbed her still flat belly, wrinkling her face into a pitiful pout and muttering:

"I’m not full... my stomach still feels empty..."

Kuma reached out and pushed the bread in front of him toward Ginny. "Here."

Ginny’s eyes instantly lit up like stars in the dark night. She sniffed, asking with uncertainty yet full of expectation:

"I-Is that okay?"

"It’s okay." Kuma nodded affirmatively, his smile warm. "I’m not very hungry."

"Thank you, Bear Cub!!" Ginny cheered, took the bread, and plunged back into the "battle."

Kuma’s appetite was actually not small; the Bacania Tribe constitution requires a lot of energy, but he always silently gave most of his food to Ginny, who seemed to have a bottomless pit for a stomach.

Seeing her full made him feel more at ease and satisfied than being full himself.

"So delicious—!!!" After destroying the last bite of Kuma’s bread, Ginny raised her hands high and shouted sincerely and loudly, her face radiating the pure happiness that comes from being satiated.

Watching Ginny’s adorable, satisfied appearance, Kuma smiled quietly.

The fatigue of the day, the hidden pain of the past, and the vague worries about the future all seemed to be gently soothed by this simple smile and sense of contentment at this moment.

Ginny’s presence was like a tiny but tenacious flame in this dilapidated church, dispelling the coldness and loneliness in his heart.

"Ginny’s appetite is truly huge,"

Kuma tidied up the crude "tableware," his tone containing only a calm statement, no complaint.

"It seems we’ll have to find a way to work harder tomorrow."

"Okay—!! No problem!!" Ginny replied full of energy, clenching her small fists. "Let’s work hard so we can eat our fill!!"

The night deepened, the moon bright and the stars sparse.

The broken window frame carved out a deep square of night sky, where a few cold stars twinkled.

Ginny did not fall asleep quickly as usual. She hugged her knees and looked at the bright Moon outside the window:

"Bear Cub... how old were you... when you became a Slave?"

Kuma, who was washing the wooden bowls, suddenly froze. The sound of running water stopped. His broad shoulders, turned away from Ginny, seemed to tighten imperceptibly. Silence spread in the cold Moonlight.

After several seconds, he slowly turned around. The Moonlight illuminated half his face; the usual gentle smile was gone, replaced by a deep sense of dejection.

But he finally managed to pull at the corners of his mouth, forcing a somewhat strained, yet still gentle smile, and answered softly:

"Four years old."

"Me too—!!!" Ginny interjected almost as soon as he finished speaking, her voice clear, carrying a hint of... strange excitement?

Kuma was stunned. "Ginny... that’s... not something to be happy about, is it?"

"Hehehe..." Ginny didn’t answer, just looked at the Moon and let out a silly laugh.

She rubbed her stomach, which was finally no longer empty. "My stomach is so full..."

The Moonlight flowed quietly. A broken church, old tables and chairs, a cold night, and two homeless children.

Materially, nothing had changed. They were still destitute, and the future was uncertain.

But something... seemed to have become different.

"Full... I really ate my fill..." Ginny repeated in a murmur, her voice gradually fading.

She was full now, but she would never see her parents again.

Kuma, who was drying the last wooden bowl, noticed the tremor in Ginny’s tone:

"Ginny?"

The next second—

"Bear Cub—!!!!"

The Damselette suddenly turned around. The Moonlight clearly illuminated her face—that small face, usually full of vitality, fierce, or smiling, was now drenched in tears!

Tears surged out like a bursting flood, leaving bright, crystalline trails.

She opened her mouth, letting out an inarticulate, long-suppressed wail, crying until her whole body trembled, crying heartbreakingly.

This sudden sound of sorrow struck Kuma’s deepest, most painful corner of the heart like a heavy hammer.

The calm shell he had painstakingly constructed to protect himself instantly cracked in the face of this resonating sadness.

Past memories surged uncontrollably, flashing through his mind like the cruelest silent film—

His father, trying to counsel his young son, was shot dead by a Celestial Dragon, his blood staining the luxurious ground. His father’s last look toward him was filled with reluctance and despair... His sickly mother’s body gradually growing cold, finally closing her eyes forever in his arms... The Celestial Dragons’ cold, gem-studded whip, whistling through the air, striking his back and shoulders again and again, the searing pain, and the indifferent, high-and-mighty gaze that viewed them as ants... The hellish scene of God Valley: collapse, flames, screams, and his own desperate struggle feeling small and powerless... And interspersed among these dark fragments were older, warmer, yet now agonizingly sharp images—

His parents bringing his young self to worship in this church, sunlight streaming through the stained glass, his father’s broad hands, his mother’s gentle singing, the plain yet incredibly happy time they spent as a family... "Wuu... Wuaaahhh—!!!"

A sound of extreme suppression escaped Kuma’s throat, immediately transforming into uncontrollable weeping.

His massive body curled up, his shoulders violently heaving, and tears, like broken strings of pearls, rolled down in large drops, splattering onto the cold floor.

He futilely wiped his face with the back of his hand, but he couldn’t dry the torrential tears.

"Ginny... don’t cry, Ginny!!!"

While struggling to control his own crying, he clumsily and tearfully tried to comfort the equally broken Ginny, reaching out to pat her back, but fumbling due to his blurred vision.

Ginny was sobbing for breath. She rushed over, hugging Kuma with all her strength, burying her tear-streaked face into him, her voice muffled but full of reliance and resonating grief:

"Bear Cub... Bear Cub... we... we don’t have Mama or Papa anymore... we... we almost died... Wuwuwu..."

"Mhm... Mhm..." Kuma choked, unable to form a complete sentence, only nodding forcefully, his tears falling even harder.

He extended his other arm and carefully, clumsily, pulled the crying Ginny into his embrace, offering a tiny bit of reliance with his broad, yet equally trembling chest.

Under the silent night sky, in this semi-abandoned small church forgotten by the world, there was no longer just the sound of wind and insects.

Instead, there was the sound of two young souls, finally shedding all pretense and strength, letting out a heart-wrenching wail full of endless sorrow and trauma.

The crying was so loud, so desperate, and so real, as if they were pouring out all the tears, fear, humiliation, and loss they had been forced to swallow in the past, soaking the cold Moonlight and their co-dependent, scarred young hearts.

The Moonlight continued to shine coldly, silently witnessing this tragic scene. But within these intertwined tears, in their shared vulnerability and reliance, a bond tougher than blood was quietly germinating and solidifying in pain.

They were not just companions who shared misfortune; they were kindred spirits, the only ones in this dark world who could understand that bone-deep agony and mutually lick their wounds.

------------------------

I’ve posted 70+ Chapters in advance on Patreon.

Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.

It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?

[email protected]/SolyuraMT

"And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"