Come to think of it, this seemed to be Leticia’s third time entering a church since she came to this world.

The first time had been related to the illness Leticia had suffered from before. She’d apparently gone there for follow-up observation and recovery, and that was also when she first met Pastor Marshall.

The old man, dressed in gray church robes and wearing a kindly smile, stood in stark contrast to the villagers of Innsmouth, who always seemed to wear cold expressions.

Simply put, the pastor had made a pretty good first impression on Leticia. If only his church had been a little brighter inside, instead of so gloomy that it needed candles for light, she might have thought even more highly of the old man.

The second time had been because Uncle John fell ill, leaving Leticia no choice but to steel herself and ask Pastor Marshall for help.

The outcome had been good. The process, though, had been a little frightening...

As for the third time, well, that was now. Pastor Marshall had called some of the village children together, and Leticia had no idea what he wanted.

She’d asked her uncle, too, but what could an ordinary country bumpkin possibly know?

Leticia walked along, mulling it over, her little bare feet letting the gravel dance between her toes.

She didn’t like going barefoot. It was uncomfortable. But the few pairs of shoes at home were either full of holes that hadn’t been mended yet or far too big for her to wear.

Then she’d looked at the other children her age, all barefoot, and realized that this was the local “custom.”

“Leticia!”

Just as Leticia’s thoughts were about to wander somewhere stranger and stranger, a black hand suddenly reached out from behind her...

And yes, this hand was actually black—a genuine black hand. It reached up from behind and came to rest on Leticia’s shoulder.

“Uh, Layla? What are you doing here?”

Leticia quickly sifted through what she knew about the village children: mining district, cheerful, girl. Then she matched those details to the voice and figured out that the owner of the black hand was a child from the outskirts of Innsmouth Village, near the mining area.

Layla Bliss.

Layla was a cheerful child. Unlike most of the villagers of Innsmouth, she hadn’t yet been infected by the heavy, cold atmosphere here. She still had a warm heart.

She had a gap where one of her front teeth should’ve been, and her hair was cut short, just to her ears. In the faint sunlight, her flaxen hair looked like waves of wheat.

Unlike her black hand, Layla’s face was fairly clean, apart from a few dark smudges—the result of helping out in the mining district.

“Ha ha! My father told me Pastor Marshall wanted me to go to the church. He said the pastor had something to talk to me about.”

Layla said it frankly. When she lifted her hand from Leticia’s shoulder, she left behind a very obvious black handprint. “What about you, Leticia? Why are you here?”

There weren’t many children in the village—only a few dozen. The original Leticia hadn’t seemed to get along particularly well with them, and things were even more distant now.

Layla, meanwhile, had simply barged her way over with her boundless enthusiasm and sheer foolishness.

Leticia didn’t really mind.

“Oh, what a coincidence.”

Leticia smiled at her. It was a faint smile, but a sincere one. “Pastor Marshall called me here, too.”

“Really?”

Layla Bliss covered her mouth in surprise. “I thought the pastor had only called me. So there are two of us?”

She suddenly leaned in close to Leticia’s face, practically bursting with excitement. “Hey, hey, Leticia, this is something we’re doing together! We have to keep it a secret until we’ve seen the pastor. Then we can go out and brag to all those other kids!”

“Those other kids” naturally meant the rest of the children.

As Leticia listened to Layla, her eye twitched. Her urge to make a snarky comment had never been stronger.

Never mind that Pastor Marshall had surely called more than just the two of them. Even if, by some miracle, it really was only them, Layla was so loud that word of the pastor summoning them would probably spread through the whole village before they even reached the church...

For someone like her to exist in a place like this was a miracle!

Or maybe she acted this way precisely because she was a child?

“I heard he called quite a few kids, so I don’t think there’s much point in keeping it secret.”

Leticia shrugged, mercilessly puncturing Layla’s fantasy. “I’m pretty curious, too. What does Pastor Marshall want us here for?”

“He called a lot of people...”

Layla couldn’t hide her disappointment. “Aw, I thought the pastor had noticed we were talented and wanted us to take an apprentice test...”

An apprenticeship?

Leticia caught the word at once and turned to her, her voice perfectly calm. “An apprentice test? Why would you think that?”

She’d been living here for two months, and this was the first time she’d heard the term. She had to find out more, just in case she gave herself away.

“Um, because, because...”

Layla awkwardly scratched her head. “The pastor said the Church opens up some positions every year and takes in some sort of... I can’t remember exactly. Anyway, new people, I guess. Mom and Dad said if you get in, you’ll never have to worry about food or clothes again!”

“Don’t you want to join the Church, Leticia?”

“Ah, oh, ha ha. Of course I do.”

Leticia had been listening so intently that Layla’s question caught her off guard. She coughed twice before answering. “I don’t think anyone would turn down the chance to join the Church. But there’s no way people like us would get picked, right?”

Not having to worry about food or clothes was certainly tempting. But if she had the choice, Leticia would rather stay far away from the Church for the rest of her life and grow old alone somewhere quiet...

They say living under a ruler is like sleeping beside a tiger. The Church’s schemes run deep—I’m going back to the countryside.

Who knew what might happen in a place like that? If this world really did have any kind of divine or supernatural power, her secret might get exposed.

She did not want to end up on a pyre!!!

“But Pastor Marshall can offer someone a spot. Why couldn’t it be us?”

Good. Very good. This kid’s thinking is way ahead of her time. If she’d been born in the right era, she’d definitely have thrived...

Leticia silently applauded Layla, then managed a strained smile and said nothing.

“Oh, right. Leticia, were you coughing just now?”

Who knew how this little kid’s mind worked? One moment she was on one subject, the next she’d jumped to something else. She hadn’t even finished one conversation before launching into a brand-new one, catching Leticia completely off guard...

“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s nothing.”

Layla’s enthusiasm made Leticia feel a little awkward, but also a little warm inside. “Nothing’s wrong. You don’t have to worry, Layla.”

“Oh, good.”

Layla nodded. “I heard your uncle was sick a while ago. I was worried for a bit.”

“Thank you.”

Leticia said with a smile. Her eyes quickly flicked toward the person beside them, and she deliberately added, “It was also a blessing from the Lord.”

“Wow... You seem really grown-up, Leticia...”

Layla pouted. “My parents are always scolding me, saying I’m a little kid who’ll never grow up or something. I’m so jealous of you...”

Believe me, it’s really nothing to be jealous of...

Leticia gave a couple of awkward laughs and didn’t reply.

As the two of them chatted on and off, the little black church was already just ahead.