Sincerity

Anne was extremely curious about this cute little girl.

She just beat up tens of people a moment ago. Looking at her small and thin-looking frame, Anne wondered how she beat them up so miserably.

"Why are you all alone? It's almost nighttime. Go back to your house now. You just saw firsthand how dangerous it is for little girls like you to roam around alone. Come with me, I'll stay with you till we reach the nearest guard station."

Anne scolded the little girl.

"Hmmph! Who are you calling a little girl? Do you want a beating like those men in the alleyway?!" Stella was still quite angry. And getting called a small girl touched her only sore spot.

"No no! I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. You're a brave and strong girl. You're much much stronger than me. How will I survive if you hit me?" Anne cried out as she realized the little girl was serious about giving her a thorough beating.

"Why are you alone? Did you get lost?"

Anne tried to calm her down.

"No, I'm not from here. I just came to this city today, alone." Stella shook her head.

"All alone??" Anne was shocked. 'Her clothes seem very exquisite. Her demeanor is also quite different. She seems to be from a well-off background, possibly a high-ranked noble. She should be surrounded by guards. But why is she here all alone? Did something unfortunate happen during her journey to the city, and only she managed to escape?'

Anne's eyes became much more gentle. 'Poor girl. She must've gone through a lot to reach the city.'

"I see, should I take you to the civil affairs office? What's your family name? They should be able to take you back to your home out of the city." Anne tried to pat Stella's head but was shocked to see she couldn't touch her.

There was some kind of repulsion force when she tried to touch her.

'A defensive artifact? They are incredibly rare. She must have a very high-ranking one to have such protective effects. She seems to be someone incredibly important to have this kind of defensive artifact.'

As Anne was a member of the Church, she naturally had access to much-advanced information such as defensive artifacts, defensive and healing magic, and so on. This was one of the reasons each member of the Church was very carefully screened and their background was meticulously checked.

"No need, I don't have a house. " Stella replied as she kept walking towards the open road.

"What happened? Did your family come under any attack? Did you flee here? If that's the case, the officers at the civil affairs will surely help." Anne felt more and more sorry for her.

Stella sighed.

'What is wrong with her? Isn't she overthinking too much? Can she be a little bit less pessimistic?'

"You're overthinking things. I just don't have a house to live in. I don't have a family. Whatever you're thinking, none of that happened." She grumbled as she looked at Anne's information.

[Name: Anne

EP: 15000

Age: 16 - Soul Cycle: 6

Abilities:

• Vena's Blessing (S)

• Follower of the Church (A)

• Fate of Misfortune (B)

Skills:

• Healing Magic (A)

• Defensive Magic (B)

• Mopping and Sweeping (A)

• Amateur Cooking (B)

Intent:

• Friendliness: 24%

• Hostility: -

• Love: -

• Lust: -

• Kindness: 40%

• Possessiveness: 58% ]

'She's pretty strong for a normal person. Are all the followers of a Church this strong? Is it because of the blessing? Seems like that. But she has the aura of misfortune too. The blessing and misfortune are canceling each other out. However, she's a bit too obsessed with me. Is it because she thinks I'm too pitiful?'

Stella silently kept walking as Anne followed her from behind.

"Where are you going? It's getting dark." Anne softly spoke out to Stella with a gentle expression.

"I'm just looking around. I can see just fine in the dark. But, why are you following me?"

"Erm.... Even though you're strong enough to beat up some bad guys, it's still dangerous. This is a big city with many powerful bullies. Um, what if they sneak attack you? Or maybe, what happens if you fall into one of their nasty schemes? There are also guards patrolling, if they see you alone, and you say you don't have any family members, they'll send you to the orphanage!" Anne tried to coax her with some hilarious excuses.

Hearing her, Stella was speechless. She gawked at the girl and thought, 'Is she really 16? She's spouting nonsense even a five-year-old would find hilarious. I may not be 16 yet, but I feel like I'm much better at finding excuses than her.'

Even though Stella didn't know her exact age, she could pinpoint that she should be between 14 and 15 years old.

'Hmmph, I'm not stuck at being a 7-year-old anymore. A couple of more years, and I'll finally be a tall and elegant beauty. Nobody will call me a little girl anymore. I'll be stuck at 14 but still, I'll be much taller!'

Stella was quite insecure about her height. She knew she looked absolutely gorgeous, but she didn't have any pride in that. She found excessive beauty troublesome.

Forcing her to stay as a 7-year-old for a reason she perfectly knew, yet getting her beauty enhanced noticeably each passing day despite her being troubled about being too beautiful.... She knew she was plainly getting bullied. And she knew the culprit behind the bullying really too well.

But if she admitted to getting bullied, she had to admit guilt to a few of the 'antics' she pulled on the bully too. And the 'bully' identifying as the 'snack sender'. Admitting guilt to them was too embarrassing for her, and she'd rather ignore the matter entirely in classic 'Stellar' fashion.

Stella sighed and noted inside her mind that when she returns, she must pull another of her sure-success 'antics' to vent her anger. But she forgot to take into consideration the emotions of the person she'll pull her antics on, again and again.

She put this matter to rest for now and asked the girl, "So what do you suggest?"

"Um, you can stay in my house for the time being. I'll feel very uneasy and guilty to leave you like this." Anne meekly said.

Stella did expect this, but the amount of guilt in Anne's eyes was quite unexpected.

It was impossible for someone to fake their emotions, intents, and tell any lies in front of her.

Because of her [Gaze of ######], no falsehood and deception would work in front of Stella, she would immediately know that the person was lying and deceiving her. She would know even if someone was telling the truth, but slightly altering it or leaving out parts of it to mislead her.

Trying to take advantage of her? Yeah, dream on. That's not happening, ever.

'Why is she blaming herself for? Sigh. She's too pure and softhearted.' Stella was a bit perplexed.

'Fine. Your true sincerity made my day a bit better, after encountering those horrible beings.'

"Mmm. I'll stay with you until I figure out what to do." Stella smiled at Anne. 'Guess I'll erase your Fate of Misfortune as rent for staying at your home.'

"Really? That's great!" Anne felt a heavy stone lift off her chest. She couldn't let something happen to this adorable little girl. She hated to see people suffer, especially after what happened to her. 'At least she has enough power to defend herself.' Anne thought to herself.

Anne and Stella started walking toward her house.

Neither of them talked during the duration.

'Why did she never ask my name, what do I do, where do I live?' Anne was a bit puzzled.

Stella knew what she was thinking. She smiled and said to her, "You're a kind and gentle soul. There are not many that are so sincere and true to themselves, Anne."

"Huh?"