The atmosphere in the office suddenly became very quiet.
Ansu looked at the nervous Kevin.
"It wasn't me, I swear it wasn't me..."
Ansu believed it wasn't Kevin who spoke, and that wasn't just out of faith in his loyalty.
Ms. Mary had likely only just received the news herself, which was why she had called both of them in to confront each other.
Otherwise, she could have simply forced the contents of the note out of him instead of asking like this.
Thus, he was quite surprised—not that the other party knew about the note, but that they had clearly obtained information about it from within the Church.
Ansu couldn't help but marvel; this cult was simply too pervasive. The interior of the Church was practically a sieve.
"Ms. Mary, there might be a misunderstanding here..." Ansu quickly thought of a strategy. Since the other party already knew about the note, there was no point in hiding it anymore.
"You're a compulsive liar. I knew I shouldn't have trusted you from the start." Ms. Mary was clearly referring to something specific as she swept her gaze over Ansu and then glanced at Kevin.
"Tell me what he wrote on that note. I'm giving you only one chance!"
"This..." Kevin looked at Ansu hesitantly.
"The Craig family, fur traders from the border. Your father, Old Craig, tried everything to send his children to Benalu City and the capital just to blend into high society." Ms. Mary had clearly grasped Kevin's weakness, her voice turning threatening. "If you don't want..."
"Kevin," Ansu said immediately. "Tell her the contents of the note."
Ms. Mary let out a cold laugh.
Kevin gave Ansu an apologetic look but no longer refused. "Alright..."
He stepped forward, recalled for a moment, and slowly wrote two lines of text on the notepad on the desk.
"Ms. Mary, he was just a messenger," Ansu said to Mary. "This is between you and me. Don't go after him again after this."
Mary crossed her arms and nodded expressionlessly.
While the Craig family wasn't difficult to deal with, she didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble given the cult's current situation.
Ansu didn't want to involve the innocent Kevin. Of course, saying this now might seem a bit hypocritical, but at the time, he had just been trying his best to call for help. The Holy Maiden, as a member of the main cast and someone with a massive protagonist aura who survived until the end, was indeed a great choice.
Even if things had gone slightly off track later...
One couldn't exactly benefit from hindsight, could they?
"You're quite brave to take responsibility..." Mary sneered at Ansu, then picked up the paper.
"You can go."
Kevin nodded quickly and fled the office as if escaping for his life.
Afterward, Mary stared at the two lines of text on the paper, looking at them repeatedly in confusion.
"Talin County, Blackstone Town, Elvin Village..."
"12:00, meet me at the park in the southwest corner of the Royal Academy?"
She looked up, puzzled. "Ansu, what is the meaning of this?"
"Well..." Ansu thought it was lucky he had played the riddle-maker earlier, as it left plenty of room for explanation.
"Tell the truth. Don't keep lying to me!" Mary's voice was icy. "Or you know what my methods are like!"
She knew what this boy was capable of; after all, even Lady Celia had been charmed by him!
She had indeed been shocked yesterday. That witch, whose personality was unpredictable and whose methods were always cruel, had actually let this boy go so easily!
She had even seen a hint of appreciation on Lady Celia's face.
"Don't worry, Ms. Mary." Ansu nodded. "Of course I wouldn't dare lie. We're on the same side now."
As if.
【Times available for simulation】
【Future】
【10 minutes later (April 13, 16:12), consumes 10 points】
【10 hours later (April 14, 04:02), consumes 50 points】
【Begin simulation?】
While Ansu was talking to Kevin earlier, he had already constructed a plan to handle this matter.
He couldn't reveal that he had foreknowledge of their plan to kidnap him, and he also had to make the act of sending the note seem perfectly logical.
He needed to weave a lie that was half-true and half-false, then observe how things developed afterward.
So...
【Simulation】
Activate.
The moment Ansu mentally selected the first option, the entire world seemed to hit a pause button.
Dust suspended in the sunlight, and Ms. Mary's cold, scrutinizing expression was instantly frozen in time.
Darkness gradually shrouded his vision, and a string of countdown numbers in vintage script appeared before his eyes.
【Future: 10 minutes later】
【Radiant Calendar Year 625, April 13, 16:12】
【Starting simulation...】
【Remaining points: 38】
When the flow of time returned to normal, Ansu looked around in shock.
Wait? Why had the scene changed again?
He was in a place extremely similar to the dim storage room from the first simulation, perhaps even darker.
Ansu's body was tied to a pillar with rope. The surrounding torchlight flickered slightly, and the entire environment was exceptionally cold and damp, much like a basement.
He hurriedly looked around. By the dim firelight, he saw several figures dressed in dark clothing surrounding him, their faces hidden behind eerie silver masks.
These masks...
Ansu remembered them clearly. These were unmistakably the masks worn by the Echoes of Truth cult!
He had been taken to a cultist den by Mary?
No... why was there a surprise every time he simulated?
Could it be that the lie he had painstakingly prepared for half a day was easily seen through? So these cultists were going to kill him to vent their anger?
"How much longer until Elder Hall arrives?" In the darkness, Ms. Mary suddenly asked the person beside her.
A cultist replied, "Elder Hall is in a remote location outside the city. He is already on his way here."
"Good." Mary nodded, then her gaze slowly shifted toward the bound Ansu.
Ansu felt her gaze was strange, completely different from when she was interrogating him before, appearing even a bit lacking in confidence.
"Mary..." That cultist also looked at Ansu and asked in a low voice, "Is it really okay to kidnap him behind Lady Celia's back? This student is her person, after all. If Lady Celia blames us later..."
"This is Elder Hall's order." Mary left it at that and said no more.
"Alright..." The cultist nodded.
Listening to their conversation, Ansu thought it over privately.
It seemed Mary had kidnapped him here without Celia's knowledge, and the one who gave her the order was an elder in the cult.
Echoes of Truth was a cultist group with a fairly large organizational structure. Nominally, it was managed by a Council of Elders composed of very senior members.
The current Celia was far from having the status she would have in the future plot. However, because Celia's strength was so overwhelming, she was mostly unrestrained. Aside from her teacher—the Acting Cult Leader, Elder Samantha—no one could control her.
While the 【Simulation】 ability was powerful, it had one drawback for Ansu.
That was, he didn't know what happened during the blank period in between; it was as if he had teleported into the future.
"Ms. Mary..."
After a moment of thought, Ansu decided to test the waters.
"I really wasn't lying just now. There's no need for you to be this angry, right?"
"You even called so many of your colleagues from the organization over. What exactly are you trying to do?"
Mary watched Ansu suspiciously and slowly walked toward him.
"Did the ether fry your brain?"
"Whether what you said is true or false will be decided by Elder Hall. He'll be here to see you shortly."
Ansu grumbled inwardly. How did he get knocked out by ether again?
Why do these black mages play with chemicals all day long?
He finally stopped testing them and, like the rest of the group, waited silently for the so-called Elder Hall.
He would know soon enough what they were up to.
The basement grew even quieter.
Ansu secretly checked his system panel.
【Mage's Hand: Rank 0 Magic (Unlearned) (Learning Progress: 46/50)】
【Creates an imperceptible spectral hand that can manipulate objects (Increasing skill level significantly improves the weight it can handle)】
Just a little bit more...
This skill was perhaps the most useful one for now, but Ansu couldn't practice magic in front of these cultists. He could only wait for an opportunity...
About half an hour passed like this.
A wind suddenly rose out of nowhere in the basement, and all the torchlight flickered violently.
"Elder Hall!" Mary looked toward the center of the basement, her tone becoming incredibly respectful.
Ansu looked there as well. He noticed the floor tiles there suddenly trembled, and a sinister black aura rapidly spread.
Then, countless, dense, disgusting insects actually crawled out from underground.
Those white worms quickly gathered together, and amidst their constant writhing, they soon transformed into a human shape.
Elder Hall's way of appearing was truly a bit disgusting.
Including Mary, all the cultists bowed their heads to the thin and ugly elder. Elder Hall didn't even give them a second glance, moving his eyes directly to Ansu, who was tied to the pillar.
"He's the one Celia chose?"
Mary immediately nodded. "Yes, Elder Hall."
A hint of surprise squeezed onto Elder Hall's withered face. "I heard this boy is deeply trusted by her, to the point she can't even bear to brainwash him?"
Mary nodded again.
"Very good!" Elder Hall grinned sinisterly. "Then he'll be perfect to serve as our eyes..."
Rate on N.U.
