Early morning, October 17, 1453 of the New Calendar.
Gloomy dark clouds blanketed the sky; it was a gray, overcast day.
“I actually... have a stiff neck again.”
Sophie, having dizzily climbed out of the double bed, held her head tilted at a bizarre, obtuse angle.
She wondered if there was something wrong with her sleeping posture, as she seemed to wake up with a stiff neck every single day.
“Sun, sun... Damn it, there’s no sun today.”
Sophie turned with difficulty, unable to find her beloved sunlight.
Naturally, she couldn’t use the sun to heal herself today.
Sophie reached out, pressing her palms against her chin and the side of her face, attempting to forcibly snap her crooked neck back into place.
“Hiyah!”
Her face turned red from the effort, and she let out a grunt of exertion that only she could hear.
Two seconds later, Sophie dropped her hands in dejection.
It was useless.
That was the downside of being so strong.
“The Hero actually left so early in the morning... how heartless.”
Sophie sighed and pulled a standard-issue iron sword from her bag, resting the blade against her own neck.
Then, as if playing a violin, the hand holding the sword slowly drew the blade across.
With a dull thud, Sophie’s head fell off, rolling twice on the floor.
The muscles and tissues at the severed neck instinctively contracted under the control of her transcendent physique, preventing any blood loss.
【Log: You have earned the achievement [Heavenward Slit], gaining 2 Free Attribute Points.】
The headless body sat on the edge of the bed and scooped the head up from the floor.
Then, those hands carefully cradled the head and, with a click...
She set the head back on, perfectly straight.
Sophie rolled her neck and put her hands on her hips triumphantly.
“Phew, all healed. I really am a genius, blegh...”
Before she could finish, she was choked by the scent of blood.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Even though she had tried her best to control the blood, a few drops of fresh blood had still splattered onto the pristine white linen sheets the moment her head fell, blooming into startling red stains.
Sophie quickly stuffed the iron sword back into her bag and ran to the door to pull the bell for the servant.
A moment later, the innkeeper, a man with a handlebar mustache, pushed a small cart into the room.
“Distinguished guest, how may I be of service?”
“Help me change the linen sheets, please,” Sophie said, pointing at the bed.
“Change the sheets? Of course... er.” The innkeeper’s voice suddenly trailed off.
On the snowy-white sheets, the bright red bloodstains were exceptionally conspicuous.
His gaze shifted back and forth between the blood on the bed and Sophie’s seemingly fragile, delicate body.
He remembered that two girls had checked into this room together last night, didn't they?
Under the Companion System, it wasn't rare for two girls to share a room to pass inspection.
But... ahem.
The innkeeper cleared his throat and nimbly rolled the blood-stained sheets into a ball, stuffing them into the cloth bag at the bottom of his cart. He then took out a fresh set of linens and spread them over the bed.
Once finished, he rubbed his hands together, a complex smile plastered on his face.
“The sheets are changed, guest.” The innkeeper paused before asking, “So... are you two ‘colleagues’?”
Sophie blinked, stunned.
Huh?
Seeing Sophie’s bewildered expression, the innkeeper immediately reacted.
“Forget I asked, forget I asked anything.”
The preferences of young people were their own business; he shouldn't interfere as an elder.
Sophie: ?
Seeing Sophie’s confused look, the innkeeper’s eyes widened.
“Could it be... you weren’t willing?”
Right, come to think of it, that girl dressed as a nun had kept a cold face the whole time.
Yet the one who paid was this delicate, weak-looking silver-haired girl in front of him!
Not only that, but the blonde nun had disappeared early this morning without even saying goodbye, leaving her companion alone in the room without hesitation.
Even though they were companions huddled together to avoid the moonlight, did she treat the girl in front of him as nothing more than a tool to release stress?
That frost-faced nun was actually a total sadist.
How pitiful.
To survive the night, she was forced to endure her partner’s brutality.
“Good child, cry if you need to.” The innkeeper took a clean handkerchief from his cart and handed it to Sophie, saying earnestly, “I’ve seen a lot of this in Solitude. The official matching centers never care about these things, as long as you don't die under the moonlight.”
Sophie: ???
...
The alchemy shop.
“My Lady, you’ve arrived? You don’t look very spirited.” Modi immediately stood up when he saw Sophie push the door open.
“It’s nothing...” A weary Sophie waved her hand.
She had spent a great deal of effort to restore the Hero’s reputation, clarifying that they were just ordinary friends and that there was nothing untoward between them.
“Then, your decision?”
“I’m in,” Sophie said. “Didn’t you say there was a gathering? We should head out, right?”
【Log: You have earned the achievement [Abandoning Light for Darkness], gaining 2 Free Attribute Points.】
She needed to understand the current Miaoyue before she could find a way to solve the blackening issue.
According to Sophie’s logic, the New Moon Sect should currently be the place with the most information regarding Miaoyue.
“Understood, My Lady... no, Lady Saintess.”
“Please follow me.” Modi showed a genuine smile.
He snapped his fingers.
【Log: [Moon Bishop · Modi] has cast Simulacrum.】
【Log: You have earned the achievement [Spellcasting Witness], gaining 2 Free Attribute Points.】
A figure identical to him appeared at the desk.
“Watch the shop,” Modi told him.
The simulacrum nodded. “I am now the alchemy shop owner, Modi.”
Modi turned, bowed to Sophie, and said, “Please follow me.”
Sophie followed him into the depths of the alchemy shop.
The interior of the shop was equipped with a teleportation array. As Modi led Sophie behind a wall, the surrounding scenery began to shift.
【Log: You have earned the achievement [First Teleportation], gaining 2 Free Attribute Points.】
It wasn't a long journey. After passing through a narrow corridor that smelled of sewers and mold, the view suddenly opened up.
They were in an abandoned theater.
The high dome was sealed tight with thick iron bars and heavy lead plates; even during the day, it could only be lit by magic lanterns.
The number of people gathered here was far greater than Sophie had expected for a group of ordinary cultists.
A quick scan revealed at least seventy or eighty people.
A centipede dies but does not stiffen, indeed.
Sophie thought silently.
However, in this meeting place that should have been secret and quiet, the atmosphere was unusually noisy.
Or rather, it was a standoff.
The New Moon cultists were clearly divided into two factions, crowding the spacious stage until it was packed tight.
Rate on N.U.
