Chapter 3: Yuniya (Please vote and follow!!!)_1

At 2 AM, Marvin slumped in the chair in front of the living room fireplace, the flintlock pistol resting on his knee as he stared blankly at the red and black embers.

Behind him, a girl dressed in an old white dress was running around excitedly, as if she were a newborn baby, full of curiosity about everything.

The clothes were borrowed from next door's Mrs. Cecil, and although they were old, they were at least clean and wearable, much better than running around wrapped in a white bedsheet...

In questioning, he learned that the little girl's name was Yuniya, she was three years old, and...

A god.

Of course, Marvin didn't believe this answer at first, until he discovered that the statue he had carved by hand and placed in the drawer had vanished into thin air, which made him start to doubt.

All the doors and windows were locked, with no signs of being opened; the girl seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, suddenly presenting herself before him, catching him completely off guard.

The statue had become a living person?

Damn it...

Could such a thing really happen in reality?!

Thump!

A sudden weight fell on his shoulder, and Marvin turned his head to see the little girl hugging his arm, saying to him, "Daddy, Yuniya is hungry!"

Having no other option, Marvin took her to the kitchen on the first floor, warmed up the leftover tomato beef stew from last night that was intended for breakfast, and cut two slices of wheat bread, placing them on a plate in front of Yuniya.

She couldn't use chopsticks or a knife and fork, so, after seriously selecting her utensils, she still ended up grabbing a soup spoon to scoop up a piece of soft beef into her mouth.

As she chewed, she kept looking at Marvin across from her, laughing while eating.

Fat Orange and Little Black, the two cats, crouched next to the dinner plate, one on each side, like two stone guardians.

"You..."

After a long moment of hesitation, Marvin asked, "You said you are a god?"

"Yeah!" Yuniya nodded vigorously.

"Then you must have incredible powers, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Could you demonstrate it? Just to prove that you actually have extraordinary powers... Please don't go overboard." Marvin spoke with great care; he was still unsure whether the little girl really was a god, and if she was, unleashing her full potential could spell disaster, which he didn't want to see.

Yuniya blinked, trying to understand Marvin's request, and then she raised her little hand and gently touched the foreheads of Fat Orange and Little Black, and at that moment...

Marvin saw a stream of red light gleaming in the palm of her hand, flickering and disappearing into the foreheads of Fat Orange and Little Black in a flash.

"Okay, Daddy."

"What did you do to them?"

Marvin nervously picked up Little Black, examining him from head to toe; Little Black was as usual, rubbing his head affectionately in Marvin's arms and meowing softly, "Idiot, it's about time you gave me some dried fish, meow~"

Marvin's hand froze, and his entire body stiffened on the spot.

He... oh no... Little Black...

Did it just talk?

"Meow~" Little Black rubbed even harder, "Idiot, hurry up and give me dried fish, meow~ I want to play with a yarn ball, meow~"

Marvin's face turned 'whoosh' dark as he clearly heard every word.

Idiot?

So, in Little Black's eyes... he was an idiot?!

And to think he adored that cat so much!

Little Black wasn't stupid; noticing that Marvin was looking very unhappy, with murder in his eyes, it stopped its actions and tentatively asked, "Master?"

"..."

Marvin didn't utter a word.

"Scared me to death, meow!" Little Black heaved a sigh of relief, jumped in front of Fat Orange, and said, "I thought this idiot could understand us speaking, meow!"

Fat Orange glanced at Little Black and then said to Marvin, "It wasn't me who taught him."

"Big bro?"

Little Black suddenly froze, "What do you mean by that, big bro? This idi... master can't understand our language, meow!"

Marvin still didn't speak, just giving a cold smile.

"Master, say something, meow!"

Little Black came up nervously, even exposing its belly in a pleading, endearing manner, "How could Little Black ever call master an idiot, I was just joking with you, meow!"

"So you admit you've called me that?"

"No! Absolutely not, meow!"

With a tremble of fear, Little Black was now certain Marvin could understand its words, scared out of its wits, "Little Black loves master the most! In Little Black's eyes, no one is more important than master, meow!"

Fat Orange looked on coldly, then gracefully walked away, leaving the kitchen.

"Big bro! Don't get the wrong idea, meow!"

"Yuniya, are you full?" Marvin suddenly asked.

"I'm full, Daddy!" Yuniya put down her spoon and said obediently.

"If you're full, then it's time to go back to your room and sleep. It's getting late."

"Okay!"

Marvin picked up the kerosene lamp, holding Yuniya's hand, and followed behind Fat Orange, also leaving the kitchen.

Just before stepping out...

He also made sure to close the door behind him.

"Master! Big brother! Don't leave me behind! Little Black is afraid of the dark! Meow!!!"

.....................

The next day, early in the morning, the sun was just beginning to rise.

Wrapped in a felt blanket, Marvin had sat in front of the fireplace all night.

He had been pondering the matter concerning Yuniya.

It was proven by facts that Yuniya did indeed possess extraordinary powers. Although he still didn't know the source of these powers, Marvin was clear...

The appearance of Yuniya was probably related to last night's earthquake.

Having a deity calling him daddy did not make Marvin happy; instead, he was filled with anxiety.

A deity... Would there only be one?

If Yuniya's appearance was due to the fact that he had established the Church of Truth, and had gathered a few hundred followers, then was it possible that other churches might also get their own worshipped deities descending upon them?

After all, the Church of Truth was just a local church with very limited influence, having no comparison with the Great Churches.

Marvin had ambitions, but he understood all too well the implications of "possessing the gem invites trouble."

If no deity appeared, then the Church of Truth might continue to exist peacefully. In a few decades, or a hundred years, becoming a Great Church was not an impossibility.

But once a deity descended...

The balance would inevitably be broken.

Churches with deities would have their ambitions and desires magnified infinitely. It was not hard to imagine the bloodshed that would follow.

In this looming storm, Marvin had no confidence in prevailing, and should he fail...

He would surely die.

And not just him—every follower of the Church of Truth, as well as Yuniya, Fat Orange, and Little Black, would not survive.

Under a destroyed nest, can there be any intact eggs?

This was an opportunity, but behind this opportunity was endless danger.

After much thought, Marvin planned out two paths for his future:

1. Abandon Yuniya, close the church, take the remaining money, go to the countryside to buy some land, and live the life of a local magnate without worries for a century.

2. Adopt Yuniya, get involved in the transformation of the era, do all he could, fight desperately, either to achieve fame and success, or to end up as bones in a grave.

The chances of success for the latter were slim to none.

Hope, one might even say, was faint.

The most critical aspect was that after last night's questioning, Marvin realized that aside from her supernatural powers, Yuniya was just a completely ignorant child, her understanding of the world almost nil, as clean as an unwritten piece of paper.

Marvin who had never experienced raising a child felt an enormous headache.

Creak...

"Daddy..."

Yuniya, wearing a cotton white nightgown, pushed open the living room door and walked in rubbing her sleepy eyes, pursed her lips and said, "Bathroom..."

"Didn't I tell you last night where the bathroom is?"

"I forgot..."

Sighing inwardly, Marvin got up and took Yuniya to the washroom at the end of the hallway, opened the door and said, "Go ahead, don't forget to wash your hands after you're done. There's a small stool beneath the sink; you can reach the faucet if you stand on it. Use the Windsor Kingdom Cuisine Manual I placed on the toilet lid for wiping."

As someone from modern times, Marvin found he couldn't adapt to things like chamber pots and field toilets from this era, so he simply spent a fortune to install a ceramic flush toilet at home. To be not the least bit exaggerating...

The most valuable thing in his house was the toilet.

In the domain of attending to his business, he was already living the life of nobility.

It was just that the toilet paper was somewhat basic...

After using the bathroom, Yuniya stood on the stool, turned on the tap, carefully washed her tiny hands, and seemed to no longer be sleepy. She ran out of the bathroom excitedly, calling out "Daddy" all the way to the living room and jumped into Marvin, who was lost in thought, smiling and saying, "Daddy, Yuniya wants to go out and play!"

Go out and play?

Marvin looked at her and nodded:

"Alright, go brush your teeth and wash your face. After breakfast, we'll take a trip to the orphanage."