11 The Rescuer and the Rescued

“…God loves all people. When you have nowhere to turn, it is the Observer’s duty to help you through your hardships.” Silva forced himself to speak calmly and without expression, delivering the grandiose reasoning so convincingly that even he began to believe it.

Indeed, the church could offer shelter to the homeless and wandering souls, but Silva knew well that the true reason he invited Anjiu was something else.

He wanted to repay her for saving his life—there was nothing wrong with that, was there?

“Really? Thank you so much!” She quickly composed herself and expressed her gratitude to the kind-hearted priest.

[Place of Comfort (Completed)]

[Church Beneficiary: You may now use the safe point at White Rock Church.]

Such are the great ups and downs within the game. She took Silva’s invitation as a sign that good deeds bring good fortune.

Her genuine joy was infectious, and a faint smile involuntarily curved Silva’s lips.

Silva regained his composure but noticed something else. Seeing Anjiu’s happiness, he hesitated for a few seconds before asking, “Anjiu, haven’t you done an on-site inspection?”

Solving her unspeakable troubles would be best, Silva looked at her with concern.

Anjiu’s icy blue eyes shimmered like a spring beneath his worried gaze. She admitted silently that she had felt the weight of his stare and took the opportunity to reveal the truth.

“Um…” She was unusually shy, her gaze wandering before settling into Silva’s eyes as if about to share something important.

Silva had known Anjiu for only a short while, but his instinct told him she was not one to be shy.

He held his breath, waiting patiently, ready to help her no matter what she said.

“…Can you read the books here?” Anjiu nervously glanced at the surrounding bookshelves and asked abruptly.

Caught off guard by the question, Silva paused, then guessed, “Yes, the books here are open to the public.”

“To be honest, I can’t read the words. Could you teach me? I will pay you.” Her words flew out quickly, her hopeful gaze like shining silver needles piercing Silva’s heart.

“Of course.” Relieved that his guess was correct, Silva breathed easier—thankfully, Anjiu had not encountered any insurmountable problems.

With this answer, another piece of her mystery unraveled.

She fumbled to take out the few remaining gold coins—the last of the one-eyed dragon’s wealth was now in her hands, just three coins.

Anjiu grabbed his hand, pressing the coins into his palm. “Is this enough? This is all I can give…”

“No, you don’t have to.” Silva lowered his head, bangs shadowing his expression.

With swift firmness, he pushed the coins back into Anjiu’s hand, mirroring her earlier resolute manner.

“…This is what I should do. You don’t need to treat me this way.” He repeated his refusal several times, then turned away to browse the spines on the bookshelf.

“Silva! You really are a good person!” Anjiu never hesitated to give praise and hand out a “good person” card.

She had guessed right—Silva was a holy father. Her money returned to her pocket intact, effectively winning a free boost in his favor.

Anjiu followed behind him, browsing the bookshelves together.

Though she couldn’t understand the text, she maintained the proper atmosphere and attitude.

Silva selected books she would need for learning, and just to be sure, he asked, “Are you only learning the common El language?”

Anjiu saw an opportunity, her eyes burning brightly: “I don’t know any others either. Please teach me, Silva!”

“…Then add Uka language, the dialect of the natives here.” Silva chose the books, holding them to his chest, and informed her, “We’ll start learning after dinner tomorrow. I need to prepare some more common language materials.”

---

“All right, I’ll go check out that land and be back tonight.” Anjiu quickly agreed, turning to continue her exploration.

“Wait, Anjiu.” Silva remembered she was illiterate and recalled a detail he felt he should clarify. “Have you confirmed with Ortega that you only have six months to use the resources on his land?”

Another piece of intelligence? Anjiu paused mid-step, then approached him with serious eyes: “Please, tell me more.”

Surprised by her speed, Silva instinctively stepped back but bumped into a bookshelf.

“Are you okay?” Anjiu helped him up, brushing off the dust from his shoulders.

“I’m fine…” Silva smoothed his robes. “May I double-check the documents?”

“No problem.”

He sat back on the bench, and Anjiu sat beside him, handing over the recently acquired papers.

Silva carefully reviewed the purchase agreement line by line and explained to her: “The buyer may use the resources on Ortega’s land for construction within six months. Ortega holds final interpretation rights on the specific conditions.”

“This kind of 'discount' has recently become a trend in Ilsolado. With many lands for sale around, sellers advertise free use of their resources to attract buyers to the New World,” Silva pointed out the trap in the terms. “In reality, only the building materials provided by the seller have discounts, or only the buyer may gather the resources.”

Silva pulled out a smaller document among the files and showed it to her: “This is the pass they gave you. You can use it to collect resources on Ortega’s land for six months.”

Anjiu was a little stunned—was there even a tyranny clause inside the game? But she quickly realized this was the game’s way of limiting players.

To prevent players from quickly completing a task, the game imposes time limits or sets extremely difficult conditions.

Damn you, Seven-Color String, why so realistic?

It was just a timed free resource challenge—if it was fun, she would give it a try.

“I see. Got it.” Anjiu composed herself and smiled, “Then I’d better make good use of my time starting now!”

Seeing her smile, Silva knew he had worried for nothing; she even had a playful spirit left.

“I’ll take you to your lodging first.” Silva was concerned about the heavy backpack she had been carrying for so long—even at sea, she never seemed to put it down.

What important thing could she be holding on to, refusing to discard it even in life-or-death moments?

Unaware of his thoughts and thinking Silva simply wanted to guide her, Anjiu said, “Okay, okay.”

For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, Silva arranged for Anjiu to stay in the room next to his.

“This will be your room.” Silva handed her the key along with the learning materials. Out of respect, he avoided entering a lady’s private space. “I’ll go pray now. If you have any questions, come find me.”

After Silva left, Anjiu closed the door, dropped her backpack, and lay down on the bed.

[Confirm sleep?]

This time, the system prompt came without a warning—comforting.

Strangely, maybe it was the atmosphere, she felt a bit tired.

How long had real time even passed? She wasn’t really this exhausted, was she? It must be an illusion!

Anjiu sprang up and began placing items she didn’t need to carry onto the storage box by the bed.

Clothes? Not needed.

Empty glass bottles? She could come back for them if necessary.

Unreadable books? Silva probably wouldn’t rummage through a player’s belongings…

---

With everything sorted, her backpack freed up a large compartment, and Anjiu was ready to happily scavenge again.

She stretched and strapped on her backpack once more, declaring herself revived!

…

Silva knelt long before the altar, eyes tightly shut.

For days now, his prayers lasted half the day.

Yet no matter how long he prayed, since the moment he encountered the sea monster, no divine voice had returned.

“Silva, do you have a nearby map?” It was Anjiu’s voice.

The priest interrupted his prayer and stood: “Wait a moment; I’ll get it.”

His attention lingered on the ever-present backpack she carried. It now seemed much lighter than before, and Silva’s heavy heart eased unexpectedly.

She had packed up in her room—she trusted the church.

Did that mean she trusted him?

Trust between the faithful was mutual, Silva stopped himself from overthinking.

Anjiu followed behind him and thanked him again: “Sorry to trouble you.”

It was just a casual question, but Silva was able to provide. Was he some kind of all-purpose early-game tool?

Back in the small library, Silva pulled out a yellowed parchment map.

“There’s an extra copy; you can take it directly,” Silva reminded her. “But it’s quite old, so some places aren’t marked.”

[You have obtained map information for Pachakan (El Colony).]

[Pachakan: Located on the eastern coast of Ilsolado, under El rule.]

Anjiu opened her menu; an animation played as the newly acquired map overlaid the original blank map.

The updated system now marked most nearby locations and roads, including the boundaries of her personal land—situated in that patch of empty land between White Rock Church and Ortega Manor, with a mineral resource not far away.

In Silva’s eyes, Anjiu carefully slipped the map into her personal notebook.

Knowing she was an adventurer, Silva did his best to help: “Anjiu, when you go exploring, you can use the tools in the last room as needed.”

Here it comes—the true novice guidance. Anjiu immediately understood the plot development. Whether it was the charitable church or the kind priest, it was all part of the tutorial.

“Thank you, Silva! You’ve been a huge help!” Anjiu finished her thanks and dashed like the wind toward the storeroom indicated on the map.

“…” Silva watched her busy figure and chuckled softly.

What he didn’t plan to tell Anjiu was that the church’s relief didn’t actually grant homeless people a private room or free access to tools.

Anjiu looked like a first-time adventurer experiencing hardship—not like the usual congregants he met, whose eyes were numb and filled with fear of life.

The divine light that shone upon her was so dazzling that surely surviving the sea ordeal was the greatest hardship she had endured.

How could he watch her suffer any longer?