Euphemia leaned back slightly, staring at Freya with sheer shock. Perhaps Freya herself didn't realize just how absurd her words sounded.
Stripping away all the chaotic details, the information Euphemia had just received was simple: a villain was about to commit a crime, but his entire plan, objectives, strongholds, and accomplices had already been completely exposed.
If what Freya said was true, Euphemia actually felt a wave of despair on the villain's behalf. What was even the point of plotting anything anymore? He might as well go home and till the fields.
Euphemia looked at Freya with a complicated expression, completely at a loss for words. Although Freya wasn't an extraordinary, she seemed far more mysterious than any average extraordinary in her eyes.
Pausing, Euphemia suddenly thought of something and asked, “So, the two of us investigated and found out all of this together?”
Freya nodded. “Yes, the two of us together.”
“Hmm...” Euphemia wore a conflicted expression. There were only two reasons she would get involved in such a massive case. The first was to “uncover the truth” to help digest her potion.
But now, the truth was laid bare right in front of her. While she was indeed the one who uncovered it, it wasn't the current her who did so, but her future self. How did that work? Did her current Scholar Pathway potion digest or not?
However, Euphemia quickly stopped dwelling on it, adopting a “what will be, will be” attitude. Instead, she asked curiously, “So what was the investigation process like back then? Can you tell me about it?”
This was the second reason she might participate in an investigation. Euphemia had been obsessed with detective novels for a long time, so she naturally fantasized about stumbling upon a shocking, high-profile case, embarking on all sorts of novel adventures, and successfully solving it in the end.
“Sure.” Freya didn't mind at all. As she organized her thoughts, she picked up her coffee and took another sip, intending to wet her throat. Once again, the bitterness made her stick out her little tongue. “Ugh...”
Euphemia pushed a jar of sugar from the small round table toward Freya. “Add some sugar if it's too bitter.”
“Okay.” Freya picked up the spoon and began adding sugar like crazy. She then started her story from when their initial investigation of the dilapidated warehouse yielded nothing, prompting Euphemia to rent a house near the warehouse for six months.
Of course, Freya completely skipped over trivial details like “somehow” becoming the Church's Saintess or “somehow” becoming a Rank Four Earth Pathway extraordinary. She focused primarily on their experiences investigating Jerome.
She detailed staking out the rented house for a week, going out on a date and coincidentally bumping into Jerome, wearing the Invisibility Cloak to tail him to a hotel and waiting outside all night, continuing the tail the next day to discover Jerome's residence, only to run into his Adjutant and make an emergency teleportation escape.
Freya wasn't much of a storyteller. Her voice lacked any dramatic rise and fall, sounding as plain as water as she calmly narrated the events. Yet, this very lack of embellishment lent the tale an air of absolute authenticity.
Euphemia listened intently throughout, nodding from time to time.
“Mm-hmm, that sounds exactly like something I would do.”
“The Invisibility Cloak really is super useful.”
“Eh? How did that guy manage to spot us? That doesn't make sense.”
When Freya reached the part where they arrived at the Special Service to wait for the Mobile Squad, Euphemia remarked, “It's hard to believe my future self would do something so crazy. Tailing a Rank Five extraordinary... You should know, I'm actually a big coward. I usually run far away the moment I sense even a hint of danger.”
But Freya shook her head. “No, I think you're actually very brave~”
After all, in a moment of life and death, Euphemia hadn't hesitated to use her life-saving extraordinary item on Freya.
Euphemia asked again, “And then? What happened after the Mobile Squad arrived?”
Freya replied, “The Adjutant blocked them at the cost of his life. Jerome forcibly activated the occult array, blowing up a third of the city to complete his promotion ritual from a Rank Five to a Rank Six of the War Pathway.”
“Aw, why did it have to end like that?” Euphemia took a sip of her coffee. Seeing this, Freya stared intently at her, but Euphemia didn't show even a hint of grimacing at the bitterness. She continued, “We went through so much, only to get a bad ending? I can't accept this. In novels, when the protagonist goes through all kinds of hardships to reach the end, they definitely get rewarded with a happy ending!”
Freya nodded. “I thought so too. That's why I came to find you... or more accurately, waited at that intersection for you to find me.”
Euphemia said, “So what do we do now? Should I write another letter to my grandfather to use as evidence, and then call the Mobile Squad immediately? If General Jerome is only just starting to draw the array, launching a raid on him now would prevent him from detonating it ahead of time.”
“The Mobile Squad...” Freya murmured. In truth, she could understand Jessica's previous action of turning back at the last minute, but understanding did not mean forgiveness. As a result, Freya's impression of the Mobile Squad—or more specifically, Jessica's squad—had plummeted.
Still, they had to be called. After all, they represented crucial Rank Five combat power. Freya said, “Actually... I don't think you need to write a letter.”
As she spoke, Freya pulled out an envelope and a notebook. These were the pieces of evidence Euphemia had provided to the Special Service in the previous simulation, which Freya had casually brought back with her.
In fact, there was even more critical evidence—the blueprint of the massive occult array designed to burn down the city, which they had found at General Jerome's residence. However, in the simulation, Nolan had submitted it as evidence for Jerome's trial, so Freya had no excuse to ask for it.
Seeing the two items Freya produced, Euphemia was utterly dumbfounded. Leaving the envelope aside for a moment, she immediately opened her satchel and pulled out an identical notebook.
Because Freya had revealed so many absurd things in such a short span of time, Euphemia felt almost desensitized. She had assumed she wouldn't be shocked anymore, but she had overestimated herself—or rather, underestimated Freya. “Wait, this... you... I...”
Seriously, Euphemia was incredibly curious about what kind of expression General Jerome would make if they showed him this occult array copied into the notebook.
Euphemia had originally assumed Freya knew these things through some form of “predicting the future,” but who in their right mind could extract physical objects from the future through mere prediction?
After a pause, Euphemia whispered to Freya, “You're not pulling my leg, are you? Are you absolutely sure you aren't a high-ranking extraordinary of the Destiny Pathway?”
Freya replied, “No, I really am just an ordinary person right now. Oh, speaking of which, I actually have another matter I'd like you to help me investigate.”
Euphemia immediately patted her chest. “I'm a Great Detective who can crack a massive case like this! What's the commission? I'll handle it with ease~”
Freya said, “Well... if I simultaneously possess blessings and resentments on the scale of tens of millions of people, where the former is enough to let me instantly digest Earth Pathway potions from Rank One to Rank Five, and the latter is enough to let me instantly digest War Pathway potions from Rank One to Rank Five... what do you think would cause that?”
Euphemia's first reaction was, naturally, disbelief. She wasn't some ignorant novice to the extraordinary world; how could such a thing even exist? However, looking at Freya's earnest, pensive expression, and then glancing down at the two identical notebooks in her hands, she swallowed hard. “Are you serious?”
Freya nodded. “Yes.”
In any case, Freya was certain this wasn't some karma or fruit inherited from her “previous life,” nor did it seem to have much to do with her Future Simulation System. In a world governed by extraordinary powers, such gifts from heaven likely came with a hidden price.
Therefore, after resolving her immediate crisis of death, the next goal Freya set for herself was to uncover the source of these blessings and resentments.
But if she tried to investigate on her own, she would be completely clueless. This was when she needed an experienced hand specializing in occult knowledge, and Euphemia was the perfect candidate.
Euphemia wore a hesitant, thoughtful expression. “To be honest, even if you ask me to look into it, I don't have any leads right now. This is actually the first time I've even heard of ‘advanced digestion.’ But are you sure these tens of millions of blessings and resentments aren't just because you did too many good and bad deeds in the past?”
Freya said helplessly, “I'm only seventeen. Even if I started saving and killing people from the moment I was born, I couldn't possibly reach that number.”
Although her soul had transmigrated, she retained clear memories of the body's original owner. Before her arrival, the original owner was truly just a very ordinary student from an orphanage, working hard to support herself while studying.
Euphemia countered, “You can't be sure about that. Memories can lie. As far as I know, the Mind Pathway has three class advancements: 【Mind Reader】, 【Memory Thief】, and 【Dragon Warrior】. Both Mind Readers and Memory Thieves are capable of modifying or concealing other people's memories.”
“Maybe you really did do those things in the past, but the current you just doesn't remember.”
Freya asked in confusion, “But like I said, even if my memory is wrong, I'm just an ordinary person. There's no way I could have helped or killed that many people, right?”
Euphemia remained silent, merely staring at Freya with an expression that clearly said: Do you hear yourself right now? In what way are you ordinary?
Freya was momentarily stumped, not knowing how to reply. Euphemia said, “That's my take on it. If we want to investigate what's going on with these tens of millions of blessings and resentments, the simplest way is to find a Mind Reader or a Memory Thief to look into your past.”
“Hmm...” Freya thought for a moment, then said, “Let's discuss the details later.”
Euphemia nodded. “Of course. For now, let's handle the case at hand. With my grandfather's letter and this... notebook of mine, we should be able to call the Mobile Squad directly. We can ambush Jerome at his residence and take him down in one fell swoop!”
Freya said, “Then you go to the Special Service to report the case first. I have other things to take care of. Shall we agree on a place to meet up later?”
“Sure,” Euphemia agreed readily. But she couldn't help but ask, “What are you planning to do now?”
Naturally, Euphemia assumed that since Freya was someone harboring so many secrets and had just spilled such critical intelligence, she must be off to do something incredibly important next.
Instead, Freya replied, “Go to Cobdo National Academy for class.”
Euphemia: “?”
Wait, sister, what did you just say?
Freya tilted her head slightly and blinked. “Isn't it normal for a student to go to class? Even though I'm already super late.”
Euphemia: “......”
Euphemia stared at Freya, looking her up and down. Freya wasn't wearing the original owner's old, worn-out tops and trousers anymore. Instead, she wore one of the outfits Euphemia had bought for her during the last simulation. Yes, Freya had brought all those bags of clothes back with her when the simulation ended.
Although the clothes had been bought for Life Freya, they were essentially the same person, save for a different hair color and a tiny height difference. Thus, the real Freya could wear them just fine.
Freya wore a white inner shirt with a brown coat, a light-colored bow tie fastened at her chest, and shorts that exposed her fair thighs and calves. On her feet were white ankle socks and a pair of sneakers.
It was worth noting that the socks and shoes hadn't been brought out of the simulation; they were her own from home.
Freya looked vibrant and cute from head to toe, the very image of a pure, innocent schoolgirl. Compared to when she first transmigrated, she had finally learned the basics of coordinating outfits and dressing herself up.
On top of that, she had just mentioned she was seventeen. At this age and dressed like this, going to school indeed seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do...
Like hell it was!
Euphemia grumbled, “Seriously, you're already this amazing. Why on earth are you still going to school...”
......
Rate on N.U.
