An infinite journey starting from paradise

"Ok?"

[Okay... I discovered a new world, so I didn't notice. Sorry, sorry. ≥﹏≤]

"You... forget it. Go have fun by yourself."

【Okay~】

The dream might be a symbol or a premonition. Although Lin Shangren had all sorts of dream theories in his head, from Eastern and Western perspectives, from Zhou Gong to Freud, he still couldn't figure out the full meaning of the dream.

He just had a vague feeling that Dongzi had undergone some kind of transformation, and this transformation was related to him and also to the demons in the subspace.

"Is there something wrong with Dongzi's background?"

Lin Shangren looked at Dongzi. She had already put on her clothes and was combing her hair which was a little messy because of Lin Shangren.

"Are we going to the Dear Sisters next?" Dongzi asked, turning around.

"Yeah. There's something I want to confirm."

"I'd also like to go see it. It's the place where I used to live." Dongzi said softly, "Maybe when I get there I can remember some of my childhood memories."

According to Hayashi Naoto's investigation, the Sisters of Dear were located in Kojima City, near Kurashiki City. Eleven years later, in 1967, the two cities, along with Tamashima City, were merged into one.

The Dear Sisters' Convent was located in the suburbs of Kojima City. In 1956, when transportation was not very developed, it took Naoto Hayashi and Fuyuko Kuchiki quite some effort to get there.

An old O302 bus was driving slowly on the outskirts of Kojima City. Fuyuko, who was sitting by the window, watched the changing scenery outside the window. The somewhat desolate street scene gradually turned into farmland, wasteland, and then into a dark cedar forest.

The evergreen fir trees, already in early spring, had begun to block out the sun, casting a deep shadow over everything. The wind blowing in from the window had also become damp and cold. Dongzi couldn't help but shiver.

"Cold?"

Lin Shangren closed the car window.

Dongzi shrank back and asked, "A little bit. This place... is so remote. Is it really okay to open an orphanage in a place like this?"

"Yes."

Being far away from human habitation was not conducive to the adopted orphans' contact with the outside world, but it was conducive to doing things secretly, such as human experiments. Of course, it was not entirely true. Perhaps the Christian orphanage simply hated contact with the secular world.

"Oh, I remember, there is a lake over there."

Dongzi pointed to the end of the fir forest in the distance.

"Arrived."

The conductor shouted at the top of his lungs, perhaps worried the passengers would fall asleep. But Lin Shangren and Dongzi were the only two people on the bus, so perhaps shouting was a habit. Or perhaps he was a bit hard of hearing.

After getting off the car, the two of them had to walk the rest of the way by themselves.

"Out of the woods, there's a large meadow and a lake..."

Dongzi's dusty memories gradually became clear.

"There's more... there's more..."

"An acquaintance." Lin Shangren continued.

"what?"

There was indeed an acquaintance of Lin Shangren's there. Walking out of the cedar forest, standing on the vast grassland was a blonde girl wearing a dark blue long dress and a painter's beret - Maryse Stella, the art interpreter of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

At this moment, she was dancing with the wind on the lawn, surrounded by some boys and girls in white clothes.

"she……"

"She is the daughter of the person in charge here." Lin Shangren said.

"How do you know?" Dongzi's tone was a little jealous.

"Because I'm a detective."

Dongzi said, "Then I will be your detective assistant in the future."

After taking a few steps closer, Stella also noticed Lin Shangren and Dongzi.

Stella's expression was a little confused, as if she didn't recognize Lin Shangren. She asked in awkward Japanese: "Excuse me... who are you?"

"Ms. Stella, don't you remember me?" Lin Shangren asked.

"I'm sorry, my memory isn't very good and I've suffered from aphasia, so... I'm sorry."

The children around Stella looked at the big uncle and beautiful big sister in front of them with curiosity.

"Appraisal."

Lin Shangren activated the Eye of Innocence and took a quick look around, finding that all the children were in good health. Only a few of them were slightly malnourished, probably because they were picky eaters.

The Caterpillar War God's telescope was activated at the same time, and Lin Shangren saw the church-like building in the distance. It was surrounded by a white stone wall about one person high. The iron gate was a little dilapidated, but its original style could still be seen.

From a distance, Lin Shangren saw an elderly woman in a black nun's uniform slowly approaching. It was amazing: even though she was elderly and her face was covered in wrinkles, she didn't look old. Instead, she exuded a sense of vitality.

"Maryse! Don't play too late. It's time to bring the kids back for dinner."

The old woman's voice was powerful and could be heard from far away.

“Maris!…Ah…?”

The old woman's footsteps suddenly paused, and then she ran over.

"Mother?"

Stella turned around and saw her mother avoiding her and walking straight towards Dongzi.

"Misa, you're back?!" the old woman's voice was a little excited.

"Eh?"

"No... the age is wrong. Yes, you are Dongzi, right? It's Dongzi."

The old woman took Dongzi's hand.

"you are……"

[Name: Katsuragi Motoko]

[Race: Human female]

[Identity: Sister of the Dear Sisters]

【State: Excited and joyful.】

[Note: The nun who has been helping orphans for many years is a kind and upright person.]

"Hello, Sister Katsuragi, my name is Hayashi Shangren, and I'm a priest. This is indeed Miss Nakahara Misa's daughter, Kuchiki Fuyuko." Hayashi Shangren said.

"Kuchiki...ah, the couple who adopted Fuyuko did call themselves Kuchiki. That's right, the adoption was lost during the bombing, so Fuyuko's uncle couldn't find her."

Katsuragi Motoko showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

"Uncle?" Dongzi looked at Katsuragi Motoko in confusion.

"Ah... This happened after the war, after you were adopted. Ah, let's not stand here anymore, let's go back to the monastery. It's almost dinner time. Children, get ready to go back and eat."

"Oh oh oh."

The children excitedly surrounded Marys and walked towards the monastery.

"You guys come along too. Don't be so shy."

Katsuragi Motoko walked with big strides. Her enthusiastic performance was not like that of a nun dedicated to God, but more like that of a kind relative mother-in-law.

The interior decoration of the Dear Sisters is also quite simple. Hayashi Naoto and Fuyuko followed Katsuragi Motoko and the children to the cafeteria. Dinner was borscht and rice balls, a rather mixed dinner.

After dinner, Katsuragi Motoko called Hayashi Naoto and Fuyuko to the main hall alone.

"Fuyuko's mother, Misa, was a very kind person," Katsuragi Motoko said. "Fuyuko and her mother are very much like each other, almost as if they were cast from the same mold. Fuyuko was also very well-behaved as a child and loved to draw. Those old newspapers are covered with her doodles. I kept those drawings for a long time, but after the air raid, many of them were lost. Only a few remain... I'll see if I can find them."

"Mammy..." Dongzi suddenly said, "Compared to the painting, I want to know more about my uncle you mentioned. He..."

"His name is Liu Shiming, and he's a very kind doctor. He cured Maryse's aphasia."

"Six Senses…?"

"Well, Rokushi is your mother Misa's real surname. Come to think of it, she also registered you as Rokushi Fuyuko... perhaps because she hated the cold-bloodedness of her husband's family.

As for your uncle, Mr. Liushi found you two the year after the war. Your mother never revealed her identity, so he searched for you for a long time. But by then, you had already been taken away, and the adoption documents were lost. I only remember the couple's surname was "Kuchiki..."

"Then, where is my uncle now?" Dongzi asked.

The Sixth Sense mentioned by Katsuragi Motoko may be her last blood relative in this world. Although Fuyuko no longer needs to rely on blood relatives for a sense of belonging, she still hopes that her wedding with Lin Shangren will have a real family member present.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rokushi hasn't been here since seven years ago. He was about to get engaged to Celestine, but... that child..." Katsuragi Motoko said sadly, "She was my eldest daughter, and she died of an illness... Mr. Rokushi must be in great pain, not being able to save his lover as a doctor."

"Feel sorry……"

"nothing."

Katsuragi Motoko smiled and said, "I'm the one who should be sorry. Fuyuko..."

"I am very good."

She hugged Lin Shangren's arm.

"Mr. Lin is a priest, right? My husband is too..."

Katsuragi Motoko showed a nostalgic look.

"He was a very sincere man, both in his attitude towards others and towards God... He has passed away. To verify the rumor that Jesus actually died in Japan, he went alone to the small village where Jesus' tomb was said to be. His investigation revealed that the so-called tomb of Jesus was actually the tomb of a Portuguese missionary from the Taisho period. He pretended to be the Lord in order to spread his teachings and survive.

Just for such a meaningless rumor, he lost his life in vain. A flash flood only found his body and his investigation notes..."

Looking at the dejected Katsuragi Motoko, Lin Shangren hesitated. He had carefully inspected the monastery with his shadow touch upon entering, and everything seemed normal, with no signs of a hidden agenda. The four nuns who had assassinated him were likely acting on instructions from some other faction.

So, should he now inform poor Sister Motoko Katsuragi of the death of the four nuns?

Chapter 122: Slurp~

Katsuragi Motoko found the graffiti that Touko had written when she was a child from the cabinet. Looking at the birds drawn with childish strokes on the old newspapers, Touko was also moved.

"I remember now."

Dongzi looked at the bird on the newspaper with some nostalgia.

"I, Mom, still have a heart..."

"A glazed blue bird flying into the sky." Lin Shangren whispered.

"Yes, a bird flying freely." Dongzi said.

Looking at the happy Fuyuko, the sadness on Katsuragi Motoko's face also dissipated a little.

Lin Shangren asked, "Sister Katsuragi, do you know the whereabouts of Dongzi's uncle?"

"I don't know. I do have a photo of Mr. Six Senses and Celestine. Is it... huh? Why is it gone?"

Katsuragi Motoko kept rummaging through the cabinets.

"Why is he gone? It's strange..."

"It doesn't matter if you can't find the photo. You can still find him if you know his name and general appearance," said Lin Shangren.

"Strange, who would move my cabinet? Or... did I remember it wrong?" Katsuragi Motoko said with some annoyance, then she smiled with relief, "I'm getting old, I'm getting old..."

She then asked, "Donghzu and Mr. Lin should stay here tonight. Sadako and the others left last year, so their room is still empty."

"Sadako is?"

"They were nuns here, and they were the ones who grew up here. Last year, the four of them left. There's nothing we can do about it; this place is really a bit remote. It's better for girls their age to stay in more populated areas..."

Ah, let me take you there first."

Katsuragi Motoko picked up the oil lamp and motioned Lin Shangren and Dongzi to follow her.

Walking through the somewhat dim corridor, Katsuragi Motoko led the two to two adjacent rooms on the other side of the monastery.

"This is it. You guys should go to bed early."

"I'll take you there." Lin Shangren said.

"what?"

Katsuragi Motoko was stunned, but seeing Lin Shangren's expression, she probably guessed that the young man had something to say to her.

"Come back soon."

Dongzi whispered and opened the door of the room.

"Mr. Lin, do you have something to tell me?" asked Katsuragi Motoko.