The heatwave surged forward, carrying sparks that stung the skin as the fire consumed the entire mansion.
The sound of crackling timber was constant, and amidst the roar of the flames, Ansu could hear the intermittent gunshots from Ryan and the others clashing with Ken.
He looked down to see Freya still clinging tightly to his neck and let out a light cough.
"Alright, let go now. My subordinates can't hold their own against that demon hunter..."
Freya seemed to still be immersed in that warm embrace; her eyes curved happily, and her long eyelashes cast fine shadows under the flickering firelight.
"Freya? Freya!"
It wasn't until Ansu gave her a firm shake that she suddenly snapped out of it.
"Ah, right! Okay..."
Freya quickly let go of his neck, her toes lightly touching the ground.
She smoothed out her skirt, which had been scorched by sparks, feeling a faint sense of disappointment in her heart.
If only I could have held on a bit longer...
Ansu immediately moved out, with Freya following closely behind. It was only then that she belatedly remembered what he had just mentioned.
"Subordinates...?"
So Lord Ansu brought subordinates this time? She instinctively recalled the phrase Lord Ansu always used: "Don't underestimate my intelligence network!"
She had always been extremely curious about Lord Ansu's followers...
"I finally get to see them in person." Freya said with a smile, "After all, Lord Ansu has never revealed his intelligence personnel to me before!"
Ansu suppressed a smile. "It's not too late to meet them now."
The reason he wanted to laugh was... back then, where would he have gotten an intelligence network? Actually, it was all just the information disparity brought by the system's 【Simulation】; he had simply been bluffing the little Holy Maiden...
He had let her misunderstand until now, but unexpectedly, the results had actually aligned... after all, he truly did possess the cult's intelligence network now.
Heatwaves billowed behind them. As they reached the front courtyard, Ansu suddenly looked back.
"About this fire I started... don't you have anything you want to ask?"
Freya raised her pale gold eyes and blinked blankly.
"Anything I want to ask? No..."
"Lord Ansu must have a reason for doing this, right? I'll just listen to whatever you say."
Ansu suddenly felt a bit helpless. When the little Holy Maiden was by his side, she seemed to lose her brain entirely, offering him one hundred percent trust...
"Freya, aren't you afraid I might actually burn you to death...?"
"Huh? Would you?" Freya widened her eyes innocently, as if she had never even considered such a possibility.
"Lord Ansu wouldn't do that." She thought seriously for a moment before nodding with conviction, "You are my destined Chosen One. The only meaning of my existence is to carry out your every will and fulfill our mission together. If the day truly comes when you want to kill me, then it must be because I did something wrong..."
Ansu watched her helplessly, suddenly feeling like there was nothing left to say.
How does the little Holy Maiden live like an AI? Does she have no free will at all...?
The girl's sincere and burning gaze suddenly made Ansu feel a bit afraid... because he abruptly realized that Freya's issue might... be even more serious than Celia's?
"Lord Ansu, what's wrong?" Freya smiled softly, suddenly leaning closer.
"Are you testing my loyalty? Don't worry, Lord Ansu..."
Freya's voice was quiet but incredibly firm.
"I will never doubt you or betray you. Even if the world falls into that prophesied apocalypse, even if time comes to an end, I will not leave you. I will follow you forever, forever, forever, and stay by your side..."
"Alright, alright, that's enough..." Ansu's scalp felt numb; he was genuinely scared now.
She's a top-tier obsessive girl!!
"Freya, the reason I started this fire..." Ansu rubbed his brow, trying to steer the conversation back to the previous topic, "is actually to create an opportunity for your rebirth."
"Rebirth?" Freya's eyes showed a bewildered light.
"I'm sorry, Freya, but you won't be able to be this Holy Maiden for the time being." Ansu looked at her apologetically, "The best way to escape is to completely erase your identity. After this fire, in the eyes of the world, the Church's Holy Maiden will be dead. All controversies and accusations... will vanish into thin air."
"I don't know when the situation between the Empire and the Church of Holy Light will become favorable for us, but until then, you must be prepared to never return to the Church of Holy Light for the rest of your life."
Ansu had thought about how to break the deadlock for Freya countless times, but no matter what, it was always very passive.
Unlike his power within the Echoes of Truth, he was only a "Friend of the Church" over at the Church of Holy Light. Once Freya and Archbishop Paul fell, he couldn't get anything done.
It would have been fine if Archbishop Paul hadn't been exposed, but now it was absolutely impossible for him to be elected as the next Pope. The old geezers of the Church would rather put forward a mediocre person no one knew than elect the "demihuman sympathizer" and "radical reformer" Paul to the position.
So, even if Ansu used all his tricks, he would at most be dragging Archbishop Leonard down with them to prevent him from becoming Pope Gregory IV as in the original plot... and while he was at it, settle some scores and reduce his own enemies.
He couldn't exactly have Celia kill off all the conservative archbishops, could he?
She could do it, but how would the Echoes of Truth continue to lie low and bide its time...?
Pondering these things, Ansu looked at Freya's expression again.
He thought Freya would struggle with it for a long while, but she only thought for a moment before nodding gently.
"Okay."
"Won't you feel any regret?" Ansu watched her face, which was illuminated by the firelight.
"Regret?" Freya shook her head, "There's nothing to regret. Just as you taught me before, the god is the god, and the church is the church. The Goddess is not so narrow-minded. Am I no longer a believer just because I left the Church?"
During her years in the Church, despite being the one who received divine revelations, she had always been treated as a mascot by the archbishops. She always felt she hadn't done much of use, so she might as well follow Lord Ansu and leave...
Besides, she really looked forward to the days of walking side by side with Lord Ansu. She didn't know how many times she had fantasized about such a beautiful future.
"I'm glad you think that way." Ansu finally let out a smile. At least in this regard, the little Holy Maiden had truly grown a lot.
Receiving his approval, Freya's eyes lit up like a child who had been praised. "I will never fail Lord Ansu's trust!"
The two looked at each other and smiled. Freya suddenly remembered something and asked curiously:
"Then... Lord Ansu, if I can escape the identity of the Church's Holy Maiden through a fake death, what should I do next, and where should I go?"
"Go North." Ansu replied.
"North?"
"Mhm." Ansu nodded and said with a smile, "Return to the refuge of your demihumans, back to the beginning of everything. In that remote and cold North, which was also Archbishop Paul's original parish, that will be the place where you all make your mark."
"Okay..." Freya responded softly, her gaze becoming thoughtful.
After finishing this conversation with Freya, Ansu had already reached the main gate of the residence. Several charred bodies of clergymen lay on the ground, and the demon hunter Ken was currently firing at Ryan and the others hiding in the shadows of the street corner.
Alchemical bullets sliced through the night sky, their enchantment effects making a dangerous hum in the air.
The four cult executors were pinned down by the firepower, not daring to raise their heads. This demon hunter's ranged attacks were even more troublesome than his close combat; they had been waiting for Lord Hermit to take action.
Ken was stunned for a moment when he saw Ansu and Freya appear, and then his gaze turned gloomy as he shifted his aim toward Ansu.
Ansu, however, stared at the other's alchemical revolver and let out a disdainful sneer.
"That's it?"
"Take a look at mine!"
Rate on N.U.
