By the time Vera finished recounting the events of the past two weeks to Ansu, she had just finished her meal.
She set down her utensils and gave her small stomach a satisfied pat, a bit of color finally returning to her face.
"Brother... what should we do next?" Vera looked at Ansu curiously. "You're going to save Big Sister Freya, aren't you?"
"Of course." Ansu nodded.
In his mind, he saw the pink-haired girl who had helped him so much, who always trusted him unconditionally without ever asking for anything in return.
"Freya has done so much for our family. Now that she's in trouble, we definitely have to help her!" Ansu chuckled. "Your brother is a man who believes in returning favors."
"Oh, I see..." Vera blinked, feeling a secret sense of relief.
So it was just about returning a favor...
It seemed Big Sister Freya's place in her brother's heart wasn't quite that high yet.
"But how do you plan to save her?" Vera was still curious. "Master Danielle said that someone like me, who was framed for 'withholding information,' is at most an accomplice. But those two are the primary suspects! They're going to be judged by the Church. Are you planning a jailbreak?"
"Well..." Ansu had been thinking about this on his way over. Although Freya was at the very center of the storm, the situation wasn't without room for maneuvering.
In truth, the detention of Archbishop Paul and the house arrest of Freya weren't exactly legal or procedurally sound.
After all, the old Pope was dead, and these were all orders issued by Archbishop Leonard... but he didn't actually have the authority to unilaterally dispose of an archbishop of the same rank.
During the period following a Pope's death and before a successor is elected, the Sacred Cardinal Guard handles all Church affairs. The cardinals must discuss and decide on all matters, and both Leonard and Paul were archbishops—meaning they were both 'cardinals'.
Therefore, Paul could hardly have voted for a resolution to arrest himself...
He had his own supporters within the Church. Regardless of whether he was actually guilty, Leonard's actions had not been approved by the Sacred Cardinal Guard. It was an abuse of power and a breach of protocol.
Ansu understood the old fox Leonard's calculations perfectly. He was exploiting the power vacuum within the Church, using his lackeys to seize control of Paul first to prevent him from attending the meetings at the Royal Capital.
Once the situation in the Royal Capital was settled, it wouldn't matter how much Paul protested his innocence; it would be nearly impossible to reverse the outcome. The mud Leonard was slinging would likely become a 'fait accompli'.
But was Leonard the only one who knew how to sling mud?
A meaningful smile appeared on Ansu's face. He was quite the expert at this game himself, especially with the help of Echoes of Truth, who specialized in intelligence.
'Infiltrating the Church' was a minor accusation compared to the massive labels he could fabricate. He surely had one that would fit Archbishop Leonard perfectly.
He would muddy the waters and trade accusations.
"Brother... your smile is scary..." Vera noted the sinister expression on her brother's face and asked instinctively, "Have you already thought of a good plan?"
"Yeah, I have an idea for now." Ansu stood up to leave. "Vera, stay here at home. I'm going to see Freya first."
Vera also stood up quickly, her deep blue eyes filled with urgency. "You're leaving already? You just got back..."
Ansu looked at his sister's reluctant expression and smiled, pinching her slightly chubby cheek.
"Be good. I have some things to discuss with her. If all goes well, we'll see each other again the day after tomorrow. I'll take you away from here then!"
At the thought of regaining her freedom soon, a flash of joy finally appeared on Vera's face. She nodded her head obediently. "Alright, Brother. I'll wait for you at home..."
"Oh, right!" Ansu remembered something else. He walked to the sofa and began pulling one item after another from his 【warehouse】.
"Keep all of these safe. Make sure you carry them with you at all times. These are good things that can protect you!"
"Huh?" Vera's eyes widened in surprise as she watched her brother pull out several ancient and mysterious-looking objects. "These are..."
Ansu first handed her the magitech communicator crafted by Professor Duncan. This was far more comprehensive than the 【Communication Amulet】 Celia had given him; while the amulet could only transmit simple characters through magic, Professor Duncan's device worked much like a walkie-talkie.
"If you run into any danger or anything unusual, use this to contact me. I'll be able to hear you anytime!"
Vera took the palm-sized magitech device and nodded blankly. "Oh, okay..."
"And this!" Ansu picked up an ancient disk engraved with runic structures. This was the magic item Samantha had used to teleport him to the North, known as the Homing Compass.
He and Celia had spent half a day studying the principles behind it without understanding a thing. The item had the effect of 'instantly' teleporting the holder back to an 'initial location,' similar to a return scroll in a game.
After hearing her brother explain the effect of the magic item, Vera continued to nod. "Okay... if those people try to take me away by force, I'll use this..."
"And this one releases a Shield spell, and this one... this one has a powerful magic strike effect, and it's high-tier magic..." Ansu couldn't take Vera with him right now, so he had carefully selected several items from the demon army's treasure.
Many of these powerful magic items were one-time use, like the 'return scroll,' and the methods for making them were mostly lost to time. It pained Celia every time he took one because she hadn't even had the chance to study them before Ansu took them to 'squander'.
But there was no other way; Vera's safety was the priority.
Vera didn't know how precious these things were, nor did she know where so many magic items had come from. She simply stared at her brother's gaze, which was full of concern and protectiveness. Her heart felt as if it were wrapped in warmth, and her expression softened considerably.
Her brother was always the one who cared about her most.
In his heart, her safety was always the top priority...
"I know, I know... you don't have to give me so much. Keep some for yourself!" Vera smiled at Ansu, her blue eyes curving into beautiful crescents from her grin.
"Don't worry about me. I have plenty!" Ansu waved his hand dismissively.
"Really?" Vera smiled helplessly.
Though she didn't know the exact value of these magic items, she had heard her brother say before that magic had declined to its lowest point in this era. Yet these items of his could even release high-tier magic effects; they had to be incredibly rare.
And yet, her brother spoke of such rare magic items as if they were cheap trinkets found at a street stall... It wasn't possible! How could he have that many magic items?
He just didn't want her to feel burdened...
At this thought, Vera's heart grew even softer. She stepped forward and gave her brother a tight hug.
"There will definitely be more guards where Big Sister Freya is. You must be careful. I'll be waiting for your good news at home..."
Ansu looked down and smiled, stroking the soft top of Vera's head. "Don't worry!"
Rate on N.U.
