Ansu looked at the address on the letter, his brow furrowing slightly.
Samantha looking for him at this time and at such a remote location—he knew it couldn't be anything good...
"I cannot think of any other reason she would look for you besides reporting on the mission for the Chosen One," Celia whispered. "She has been in a very wrong state of mind lately. Perhaps... you should not go."
"A very wrong state?" Ansu raised an eyebrow. What, was she depressed too?
"She has become irritable and short-tempered, with a heavy bloodlust... even her closest confidants do not dare to approach her." Celia looked at Ansu, her eyes filled with worry.
Ansu thought to himself that the old hag probably felt her end was near. The more she failed to find the Chosen One, the more desperate and insane she became...
But he still had to go. Avoiding her in a situation like this would only increase her suspicion.
Ansu thought for a moment, walked back to the table, and picked up the pastries he had given to Celia.
"Vera, the boss and I have to step out for a bit."
He looked at his curious sister and rubbed the top of her head. "Brother has an important task and might be back late. Eat dinner on your own."
"Mhm... okay."
Vera could see the heavy thoughts on her brother's face, so she cautioned him carefully.
"Brother, don't try to be a hero if you run into danger! Didn't your boss say... she would protect you if anything happened? So, we should just slack off when we can!"
Ansu couldn't help but smile. This sly little girl was actually teaching him how to slack off at work.
He certainly wanted to slack off, but Vera probably couldn't imagine the complexity of his job... if he truly slacked off, he might have died on his first day joining the cult...
But aloud, he just smiled and nodded. "Alright, alright. How could it be that dangerous? I am just going to see a big boss going through menopause."
"That makes it even scarier..." Vera thought of the dean at her school, who was a very terrifying old woman...
After seeing her brother and the female boss out of the old house and closing the door, Vera watched their figures walking side by side through the window, dazing silently.
Finally, she let out a long, faint sigh.
Why does it always feel like... I still lost...?
...
"Ansu, how do you plan to report on the mission?" Out on the street, Celia looked at Ansu with concern.
Previously, she had felt this matter was no big deal. So what if it was the legendary Chosen One? If they dared to show their face, she would just kill them.
But after learning that Ansu might be the Chosen One...
She could no longer remain calm. She was paranoid and nervous every single day.
Her teacher's sudden contact with Ansu made her even more alert, constantly wondering if her teacher already suspected Ansu's identity...
"I can only keep stalling..." Ansu had been thinking about it all the way. After all, it was impossible for him to see Samantha and excitedly say, 'Cult Leader, I found the Chosen One! It's me!'
"I am going with you!" Celia's gaze was serious. "With me by your side, she will not dare to move against you."
Ansu did not refuse. Only a fool would truly go alone as told. With Celia protecting him, he would feel much more at ease.
After all, the witch indeed possessed a certain beauty in her raw power...
As long as that 'power' wasn't directed at him, Ansu felt he was the safest person in the world... of course, the opposite was also true.
After a brief, low-voiced exchange, the two split up. Ansu hailed a hired carriage alone, while Celia's figure vanished into a dark alley.
...
The carriage drove out of the bustling Benalu City and bumped along the potholed country dirt roads for the entire afternoon. Ansu arrived at Maplewood Town around four o'clock.
Maplewood Town was a small trading town on the outskirts of Benalu, primarily providing wood products to the city. Following the agreed location, Ansu arrived at a cult underground stronghold—a remote tavern with almost no customers.
"Hermit, good afternoon." A middle-aged man behind the bar was wiping a glass. Seeing Ansu enter, he revealed a smile. "The Cult Leader is in the second room on the third floor. Go straight up to see her."
"Lord Chief Inquisitor." Ansu also gave a polite smile. He had seen this middle-aged man once at a secret meeting. Codenamed 'Scholar,' he was the chief inquisitor Samantha had just promoted.
The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Ansu carefully glanced upstairs, putting on an expression of seeking advice. "Lord Chief Inquisitor, could you give me a hint... why did the Cult Leader summon me this time..."
"What else could it be?" The chief inquisitor sighed and shook his head, lowering his voice. "She can only be looking for you about the Chosen One. But looking at your expression... you probably haven't found them yet, have you? I advise you to just follow her lead once you go up. Speak as little as possible. After all, the Cult Leader's temper these past few days..."
At this point, the chief inquisitor looked toward several cult colleagues in the tavern. The cultists all wore expressions of terror.
"Besides you, Hermit, the Cult Leader has several other informants looking for the Chosen One, but their fates lately..."
The chief inquisitor sized Ansu up and gave a sympathetic look. "None of them even left behind a whole corpse."
"Oh... I'm doomed!" Ansu put on a look of extreme nervousness.
The chief inquisitor patted his shoulder. "Anyway, I can't say anything else. Good luck to you..."
"Thank you, Chief Inquisitor." Ansu nodded gratefully and prepared to go upstairs.
The chief inquisitor glanced behind him, seemingly unintentionally. "Oh... by the way, did Lady Celia not come with you?"
"Lady Celia?" Ansu froze for a moment and shook his head. "Of course not. Why would she come with me?"
"Oh... that's good then..." The chief inquisitor breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Lady Celia did not care for this Hermit as much as they had imagined...
"This is for the best." He explained as he saw Ansu's confused expression, "You should know that the Cult Leader does not want Lady Celia meddling in the mission for the Chosen One. Moreover, you must understand that the Cult Leader is our supreme leader, the one to whom our true loyalty belongs."
"Of course!" Ansu put on a 'loyal' expression. "It is my honor to serve the Cult Leader. I am willing to die for the cult's great cause!"
The chief inquisitor looked at the ambitious Hermit and nodded with a smile.
Walking up the stairs with a smile, Ansu's heart was incredibly dark.
The other party was very concerned about whether he had come here alone...
This was very wrong.
Scholar didn't know much, but the old hag knew that Celia cared about him. If he had her protection, he could keep stalling even if he wanted to...
But what if he didn't have her protection?
Ansu looked out the third-floor window while thinking. Celia was definitely hidden among the people on the street. Even Samantha would find it hard to see through her disguise.
But his life was never lacking in surprises, so to be safe...
When Ansu reached Samantha's door and touched the handle, the system panel appeared before his eyes.
Simulation, start!
【10 minutes later (May 26, 16:22), 10 points consumed】
【Starting simulation...】
...
Darkness rapidly shrouded Ansu's vision. When his sight returned to normal, a bone-chilling cold suddenly enveloped his entire body.
Ansu observed the surroundings ten minutes into the future, and his heart couldn't help but be surprised, because he was not in the tavern upstairs in a town near Benalu.
This was an inn room painted in grayish-white. The window was currently half-open, and the biting cold wind outside was blowing the curtains.
Ansu saw the environment outside. In the distance was a range of snow-capped mountains, while below the inn was a busy and noisy border market...
The reason he could tell it was a border market at a glance was that he saw Northern nomads on horseback, merchants from the Novalon Empire, and several wolf-eared men and women laughing and talking in public.
Wait... where the hell am I?
Ansu's gaze immediately turned to Samantha, who was not far away.
Her expression was cold, and her gaze stared at Ansu's face like a venomous snake.
"I have had enough of your stalling. One week. I am giving you only one last week!"
"If you complete the mission, you can come to me for the antidote. If you still cannot find the Chosen One..."
Samantha smiled coldly. "Then you can wait for your internal organs to rot and implode, dying in agony on the streets."
Rate on N.U.
