Looking at the way Freya kept nodding as she filled in the blanks with her own imagination...
Ansu thought to himself that the little Holy Maiden was as easy to handle as she was in the original plot; she truly had a personality that found it easy to trust others.
Moreover, with the 【Chosen One】 buff stacked on him, he felt like she was practically wearing the word "Loyalty!" on her face.
Ansu now had only one last doubt.
"So... how did you know I was the one who wrote that note?"
Freya blinked. "Scent."
"Scent?"
"Yes..." Freya lowered her head shyly; this matter was indeed a bit difficult to talk about.
Ansu looked at her suspiciously, remembering how she had just leaned in and sniffed him repeatedly. That image had been quite perverted...
"Because of my bloodline, I am very sensitive to scents," Freya explained bashfully. "That note had a faint scent left by the Lord Chosen One. I memorized it instantly. After meeting you today, I finally confirmed that you were the one who wrote it..."
Freya kept her head down, not daring to look at Ansu's shocked expression.
In truth, to find the Lord Chosen One, she had many other "methods" she hadn't confessed yet.
For instance, she had secretly investigated the social circle of that student named Kevin, matching the names and photos of everyone around him one by one, which was why she could call out Ansu's name immediately today.
"I think you shouldn't be a Holy Maiden; you should be a detective..." Ansu muttered. With a nose like that, what case couldn't be solved?
"Lord Chosen One..." Freya looked up.
"Don't call me Lord Chosen One," Ansu corrected immediately.
"Oh." Freya nodded. "Lord Ansu."
"That won't work either!" Ansu said helplessly. "Just call me by my name."
"Alright then... An... Ansu?" Freya asked curiously. "So, why did you write that note to find me? What is it you need?"
At first, she had thought a filthy person hiding in the shadows was trying to threaten her...
But this was the Lord Chosen One! How could he possibly have such dirty thoughts?
"About that..." Ansu thought for a moment and decided to maintain the mystery. "My mission is very dangerous. I need to go undercover in a mysterious organization, so I urgently need an outside source to provide some assistance. In the end, I chose you!"
"So that's it!" Freya continued to trust Ansu. After all... how could the Lord Chosen One lie?
"Your current mission must be incredibly dangerous!" Freya still used honorifics for Ansu subconsciously. "Lord Ansu, if you have a need, no matter what you ask of me, I will do it for you!"
Ansu couldn't help but look her up and down.
"You're really willing to do anything?"
"Yes! Of course!" Freya nodded quickly.
Ansu curled his lip and thought to himself, then go wipe out the Echoes of Truth for me, then catch that vile witch and let me punish her severely...
"Does Lord Ansu not believe me?" Freya clearly sensed Ansu's lack of trust, so she patted her ample chest and suggested to him:
"Are you worried about that mysterious organization you're infiltrating? I don't think you need to worry at all, Lord Ansu. If I deal with those guys for you, wouldn't you be able to stop hiding so cautiously?"
In Freya's heart, the Chosen One should stand at the forefront, leading the now-criticized Church to rise again and letting the vast number of devout believers truly feel the power of divine grace!
The prophesied world-ending crisis was already at hand, and the Chosen One was the opportunity to change everything! How could she let Ansu remain stagnant, huddled in the small Benalu Royal Academy as a mere student?
"Are you really sure you can solve my troubles for me?" Ansu looked at Freya with suspicion.
He didn't know where her confidence came from. Did she really know what she was facing?
"I am sure!" Freya revealed a confident smile that suggested everything was under control. She explained to Ansu:
"Because of the matter regarding the Chosen One, the three archbishops of the Church who have a chance to succeed the next Pope are all currently gathered in Benalu City! They are the peak combat power of the Church of Holy Light! And Lord Ansu, don't forget that I'm here too! I am a God-Awakened, a talent rarely seen in the Church in a century!"
Ansu studied the confident little Holy Maiden. In the game's setting, while a 'God-Awakened' didn't have the status of a Chosen One, they could be understood as a high-end transcendent.
The five Great Orthodox Churches on the continent each had a group of God-Awakened. They often received a "divine revelation" at some point in their lives, which was essentially a sudden enlightenment. These exceptionally talented individuals mostly rose to become the top powerhouses of the continent.
The future Celia was actually a God-Awakened in a sense, though her revelation didn't come from the five Great Orthodox Gods, but from the fallen demon god who had long been defeated by them and fallen into a slumber—Ersos.
"Then your plan is..." Ansu wanted to hear her plan.
"Lord Ansu, please come with me to the Holy Dome Cathedral," Freya said with a serious expression. "Several archbishops are currently there. These gentlemen control almost half of the Church. No matter what trouble you have, it will definitely be resolved then!"
"Hmm..." Ansu pondered silently. Bringing in the Church to balance against the Echoes of Truth was indeed a viable method. Perhaps the case of the cult sacrifice could even be solved ahead of schedule.
But Celia remained an obstacle that couldn't be ignored...
After all, the mark she had left on his heart was too heavy. Could they really defeat the heaven-defyingly powerful Celia if they joined forces?
Would they win...?
After thinking it over, Ansu still didn't want to go with Freya; he didn't want to seek death.
But he could try it in the simulation.
The simulation points were there anyway; it would be a waste not to use them. Moreover, he had figured out the system's pattern: only by constantly simulating and changing things could he continue to earn more points like compound interest.
Ansu opened the system panel.
【Remaining Points: 50】
【Can simulate the following times】
【10 minutes later (April 17, 18:15), consumes 10 points】
【10 hours later (April 18, 04:05), consumes 50 points】
【Start simulation?】
Ten minutes wasn't quite enough and could generally only be used for emergencies. His current points were just enough to simulate the 10-hour option...
Ansu decided to try the 【10-Hour Simulation】 option.
However...
Ansu remembered the problem that had troubled him for a long time: he couldn't know what happened during the missing gap of experience. It was as if his memory had simply jumped into the future.
For example, if he opened his eyes in a moment and saw himself locked in a dark room again, he would have no idea what went wrong in the middle. Was it the Church discovering his identity as a cultist, or Celia catching him and bringing him back...
This truly tested his ability to adapt, and there was very little room for maneuver.
Furthermore, the information from the intermediate stages was often the most important.
If only there were something he could use to record the events that would happen in the future...
Record them...
That's it, record them!
I don't want to travel to the future completely in the dark. Today, I'll find a way to exploit this loophole in the system!
Ansu suddenly looked at Freya. "Do you have a notebook? Give me one!"
"A notebook?" Freya looked confused. "I don't have one on me... but there must be notebooks or something similar in the chapel. Lord Ansu, what do you want to do?"
"Don't ask so many questions," Ansu urged her. "Go find me one quickly, and then bring a pen!"
Freya hurried to the chapel's office and found Ansu a small diary with a gold-embossed cover, as well as a fountain pen that still had ink.
"Very good..." Ansu flipped open the diary, thought for a moment, and wrote down several sentences in the blank space.
"From now on, no matter what happens, I must record it in this notebook."
"If time is short, record the most important or abnormal information."
"Freya wants to take me to the Holy Dome Cathedral, the headquarters of the Church of Holy Light in Benalu City. I have decided to follow her there in secret."
...
The script Ansu used wasn't the common tongue of the Empire, but Chinese characters.
In this world, he was the only one who could read Chinese characters. These mysterious and ancient characters became his method of encryption.
After writing this, Ansu closed the small diary and tucked it into his pocket, his back to Freya.
Then, he began to constantly perform "psychological suggestion" on himself.
"In every future simulation, I must find a way to record everything in the notebook..."
"I must record it..."
If this could truly be achieved, then Ansu would effectively possess a 《Future Diary》.
Rate on N.U.
