Gulp.
Sophie instinctively swallowed hard.
She finally understood what Kaila meant by pinning her against the wall and claiming to save her.
The good news was that at least one thing now matched her memories of Miaoyue.
The bad news was that it was the only thing that matched.
Trauma that had reached Lv.Max, harvesting the lives of others, Miaoyue being called the Moon Goddess, and the New Moon Cult being defined as a heretical sect...
These connected clues confirmed it for Sophie.
This was definitely not the point in time when she had last logged out of 《Red Moon》.
She couldn't tell if months or decades had passed.
But at the very least, it was enough time that she needed to relearn the common sense of this world.
The red moonlight flowed through the hall.
Miaoyue turned around, and the phantom of the pale, barefoot girl began to fade within the dense, crimson lunar radiance.
She was about to leave.
Just as Sophie let out a sigh of relief—
Vwoom—
A high-frequency magic vibration suddenly exploded in Sophie's ears.
【Log: You have entered the [Holy Light Irradiation] state; recovering 1,000,000 HP per second.】
The blinding holy light flared up again.
An extra zero compared to before?
Sophie's eyes widened.
Kaila, who had been pinning her shoulder just a moment ago, had already let go.
Not only that, but Kaila's petite body had crouched low at some point. In her hands was no longer that exaggerated giant scythe, but a pure white, eye-searing blade of light.
Going into combat mode in a split second?
“Judg—”
The power condensed within it was ten times greater than before.
And the target was undoubtedly locked onto the dissipating Moon Goddess, Miaoyue.
What is this girl doing?
Sophie's scalp tingled instantly.
“I know you're in a hurry, but take it easy for a second!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Sophie didn't even have time to think.
She kicked off the ground, lunging from the corner and wrapping her arms tightly around Kaila's waist from behind to intercept her.
“Don't... don't attack yet!” Sophie urged.
Sophie was never one for fighting; she only ever liked resolving fights.
Especially when two named NPCs were about to duel.
【Log: Strength gap too large; grapple check failed.】
She didn't need a notification for that; she knew she was just acting as a tag-along.
“Why?”
Kaila's movements paused slightly. She tilted her head, her yellow hair brushing against the tip of Sophie's nose.
But her momentum didn't falter in the least, carrying an aura that suggested she would blow Sophie away too if she didn't get a good answer.
“You're no match for her,” Sophie said firmly.
“I am strong,” Kaila replied.
“I know,” Sophie said.
Kaila's stats were indeed high; there was no doubt about that.
But Sophie also knew how strong Miaoyue was.
Since Miaoyue had the trauma traits Sophie had ground out for her, then the survival traits Sophie had ground out for her were surely present as well.
For instance: 【Vigilance: Immune to the first instance of surprise damage in every battle】, 【Indomitable Will: Survive with 1 HP once per battle upon taking fatal damage and gain invincibility for five seconds】, 【Last Stand: Extend invincibility duration by 100% when triggered】, 【Second Wind: Recover 100% HP when the first invincibility period ends】, 【Bounty of Life: Gain temporary HP equal to the amount of healing received】, 【Blessing of False Life: Gain high damage reduction while temporary HP is present】, and so on...
Sophie was a min-maxer.
Companions were simply part of her build's strength.
That was all.
So no matter how much power Kaila displayed now, she definitely couldn't one-shot Miaoyue.
“She only appears before the new moon. I cannot miss this,” Kaila said.
What did that mean?
It was a disjointed sentence that seemed to lack logic.
Sophie was momentarily stunned.
An ordinary person might have taken a long time to untangle the meaning behind Kaila's words.
But not Sophie.
She was a Galgame expert.
So she understood instantly.
With Kaila's stats, she obviously wouldn't have been caught by a group of ordinary New Moon Cultists; she had clearly let herself be captured on purpose.
Miaoyue was once the Saintess of the New Moon Cult and was now their goddess, so she would only manifest her true form during the Bishop's prayers?
And Kaila's goal from the beginning had been to kill Miaoyue. To that end, she hadn't hesitated to infiltrate as a prisoner, and the opportunity before them wouldn't come again.
Just how much of a grudge is this?
The light on the blade intensified again. Kaila's muscles tensed, and she was about to force her way through.
“If that's the case, then you definitely shouldn't attack! That's not her true body at all!”
Sophie strained to speak, trying to pull Kaila back, but her feet kept sliding across the floor.
“It's just a projection! An illusion! If you strike now, you won't hit anything except the air, and you'll just alert her! You'll throw your life away for nothing!”
Sophie stated with absolute certainty.
“You just saved me; I can't stand by and watch you die.”
Kaila asked in confusion, “Why?”
Why what?
Oh, she was asking how Sophie knew the Miaoyue before them was an illusion.
That was simple—it was because she couldn't sense her presence.
Sophie looked at her inventory.
【Moon's Vow (Bond Item) (Soulbound): Within 100 meters, you can sense Miaoyue's presence. Using this item allows you to summon Miaoyue; she will be friendly and assist you for 1 day. Cooldown: 300 days.】
As a soulbound bond item, its original purpose was to speed up game progression after a player's reincarnation.
With the help of a heroine or heroines from a previous save, the required grinding was significantly reduced.
Of course, Hiso had never used it. Since he had always played the same character, he didn't even dare to take it out, let alone summon her.
But right now, even though Sophie wasn't using it, she could confirm through the item's passive effect that the Miaoyue before her was just a clone.
The only problem was... how could she convince Kaila to believe her?
Could she say she was actually Miaoyue's mentor, and that she was the one who had seduced and abandoned her, causing her blackening, so she knew Miaoyue perfectly?
That wouldn't exactly sound proper, would it?
As for taking out the bond item... Little Yue had become a god; she really didn't dare show it.
Another suspicious point was that Miaoyue hadn't reacted at all to seeing Kaila wearing the Solar Cult pendant.
One had to remember that in Miaoyue's eyes, Hiso had been killed by the Solar Cult.
Had they made peace?
“Trust me, that's just how it is!” Sophie could only guarantee through sheer will. “I have special perception techniques! And I can lead you to the Moon Goddess's real body later.”
Once she figured out exactly what was going on, she would definitely have to find Miaoyue for a grand reconciliation.
She could just bring Kaila along when the time came.
“You will take me?”
“I've got you, girl.”
“You are not lying.” Kaila went silent for a moment. “Then I believe you.”
The holy light on Kaila began to recede bit by bit, and her tensed body gradually relaxed.
The pure white blade of light in her hand turned into specks of radiance and dissipated into the air.
At that same moment, the last sliver of crimson moonlight vanished completely.
Sophie breathed a long sigh of relief.
【Log: Kaila triggered [Hero's Eye]; you passed the check.】
【Relationship: Kaila's Favorability +4 due to a significant promise.】
Hmm? Hero's Eye?
Sophie instinctively clicked on the trait.
【Hero's Eye: The Hero gains limited X-ray vision and true sight. The Hero is unaffected by any effects that sense emotions or read thoughts; the Hero blocks any charm, mind-affecting, or information-stealing effects. The Hero can see through lies.】
A Hero? It didn't seem to be the kind of host-club cosplayer Hero from the Demon King's Castle in the traditional Red Moon world-view.
Was it a Hero born specifically to defeat a Demon King in the traditional sense?
When did our Galgame world-view get something like this?
And the passive is seeing through lies?
It's a good thing I wasn't lying just now and said exactly what I was thinking...
“Um, Sophie?”
“Yeah?” Sophie replied reflexively.
“Could you... let go of me first?” Kaila tilted her head slightly, a blush flashing across her cheeks. “And don't... keep staring at me like that. It's weird.”
“Oh, right, sorry.” Sophie hurriedly released the arms she had wrapped around Kaila and closed the system log. “But since it's night, we have to maintain physical contact, right?”
She had accidentally gotten too absorbed in looking at the powerful trait.
“Holding hands is enough.”
Kaila's small hand was soft and tender to the touch.
There were perks to having a girl's body after all.
Clinging feels great for a moment; clinging forever feels even better.
Thank you, Little Yue. This mentor, who never even held a girl's hand in reality, can now die without regrets.
“Let's go.”
“Wait, don't go so fast! Wait for me!”
Sophie hurriedly caught up at a full sprint.
Rate on N.U.
