Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 937 - 54 Lina’s Home

Chapter 937: Chapter 54 Lina’s Home

"Aren’t you curious at all?" After seeing off Cain and Margaret, Lina, linking arms with Pannis, meandered through Denia’s Holy Sanctuary. The two walked in silence until, after more than ten minutes, Lina finally couldn’t resist asking, "Don’t you want to know why I wanted you to come with me?"

"What else could it be but the library?" Pannis rolled his eyes, curling his lip as he spoke. "Do we even need to think about that?"

"Alright, it seems quite easy to guess." Lina dropped her head in resignation and said helplessly, "Indeed, I want to go back to the old library to have a look. It could be considered my second home. Even though it has been burned down, I heard from Aunt Margaret that no other buildings have been constructed there over the years and it has remained as it was. So, I want to go back and see it. You will come with me, right?"

"My pleasure." Pannis chuckled, "Is this a way to finally say goodbye to everything in the past?"

"You’re finally wrong this time." Lina revealed a brilliant smile, playfully sticking out her tongue, "Every minute of the past, whether sad or joyful, is the most precious memory. I’m not planning to forget them, nor am I planning to say goodbye. This time, I just want to go back and express my gratitude. When I was at my most painful and most fearful, it accepted me, tolerated everything about me. Without it, there wouldn’t be the ’me’ today. So, I must say ’thank you’ to it, even though it’s just a building, and a burned one at that, but for me, it remains the same ’him’."

"Maybe you’re right." Pannis nodded thoughtfully and asked, "But why don’t you go directly? Why wander around the Holy Sanctuary? Are you not mentally prepared to see it again?"

"No, I have been mentally prepared for a while now." Lina pointed ahead and said, "Just around that building, and you’ll be able to see the old library area. It’s a very open space."

Lina was right. After rounding an obstructive building, they saw a vast open area, spanning tens of thousands of square meters, covered with weeds tall enough to reach the knees. In the center of the barren ground stood a dilapidated building, or rather, the ruins of one. The building was large, covering thousands of square meters, but the entire structure had collapsed, making it impossible to tell if there had once been higher floors. The remaining building was crumbling, most of its walls had collapsed, and debris was covered with mud and moss. Only a few walls still defiantly stood, their stone exteriors marred by dark scorch marks that spoke of the fierce and terrifying fire from years past.

"Four years have passed, why haven’t they cleared the ruins and reused this land?" Pannis, staring distantly at the building’s ruins, asked perplexedly, "Even if Denia’s Sanctuary has enough space and isn’t in a rush to use this land, there’s no need to keep such a pile of charred rubble here. Even if they don’t build anything new, at least they should clear away the ruins timely— it’s unsightly, and it could be very dangerous if someone passing by when the walls collapse, couldn’t it?"

"Because we have no money." Lina’s answer was very straightforward and simple, "Cleaning up the ruins costs money, including dealing with the discarded trash, but what the church lacks most is money. You should know that there are not many wealthy people among those who believe in our Lord. The finances devoted to the church are just enough to maintain normal operations, and there might be a little surplus each year, but that surplus is needed in more important areas. Thus, the progress of clearing the ruins is seriously lagging. In our church, this is quite normal; for thousands of years, the church has always been in a state of financial strain. The last time a plan was made to renovate the entire Holy Sanctuary was over five hundred forty years ago, and it has been carried out intermittently since then, moving forward only when enough money has been saved. Therefore, it has still not been completed to this day."

"It sounds like a truly sorrowful and tearful history." Pannis said with schadenfreude, "I think Catherine, your Archbishop, and those in charge of managing church finances would have a lot in common. How about letting them exchange experiences of poverty? I think it’s a great idea, and she would definitely like it."

"I think she’d prefer her weapons and fists even more." Lina sighed helplessly, "Life is so precious, yet why can you always find various ways to seek its end? What do you say, shall I tell my older sister how about that after we go back? I, like you, think it’s a good idea. You’ll definitely like it."

"I was wrong, please don’t do that." Pannis’s face immediately fell, pleading, "I still want to see tomorrow morning’s sunrise. Give me a chance, benevolent Sage Lina."

"You talk too much." Lina, with her issues resolved and even her reproachful glare filled with laughter, said, "Wait here for me for a while. I’ll get closer and have a look. As for going inside, I won’t, partly because it’s not very safe and partly, I’m afraid it would be too difficult."

Pannis nodded, watching as Lina left his side and slowly approached the distant ruins. Standing at the edge of the ruins, the young priest stretched out her hands and gently caressed the charred walls, standing motionless, her thoughts unknown. After a while, the young girl finally began to move, walking along the edge of the ruins. Every few steps, she would pause to peer into the ruins, perhaps revisiting the days spent in the dark, abandoned library in her imagination. Her movements were slow, and her pauses frequent, as time slowly slipped away with her ongoing stops and memories.

Pannis still stood at a distance, not going over to disturb the priest immersed in her own world. He knew well that the ten years spent in the library belonged solely to her memories, something only she could savor and explore the different feelings of two mindsets. No one else had the right to interfere, no matter who it was. Therefore, Pannis didn’t rush or urge her; he just patiently waited, arms crossed, leaning against a tree as if he had turned into a statue.

Walking around the ruins took only a few hundred meters, but that short distance took the girl more than two hours before she finally walked back to where she had started. Lina then stood quietly for a while before slowly walking back to Pannis. As Lina approached, Pannis slightly furrowed his brow and waited for the girl to reach his side before finally asking, "Katerina?"

"No." The girl shook her head, "We are all here." (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)