Seeing Jerome like this, Life Freya couldn't help but speak up, even though he was an enemy. “If you truly wanted to save this country, you shouldn't have tried to prepare your advancement ritual in the Kingdom of Tarapaca. Wouldn't it have been better to go directly to the Pentagram Alliance, the ones trying to wage war on us?”
Of course, Life Freya's words were essentially easier said than done. A massive plan involving an entire city was not something that could be pulled off on a whim.
First and foremost, where would the materials come from? Such a massive occult array naturally required an immense amount of materials. Jerome had only been able to gather them in a city of his own country by leveraging his position as a General and with the help of others. If he had tried to do this in another country, the difficulty would have skyrocketed.
Jerome wore an expression of sheer helplessness and admitted, “I did think about that. But just the logistics of transporting such a large amount of spirituality crystals was enough to completely bottleneck me.”
Life Freya said, “Then that is your own problem. You aren't even afraid of death, and you've already resolved yourself to 【save the Kingdom of Tarapaca no matter what】. So don't go blaming the world. Ultimately, you just didn't work hard enough.”
Hearing this, Jerome froze. He fell silent for a long time before suddenly laughing again. “You're right. When it comes down to it, the root of all this is that I'm not strong enough, and I didn't try hard enough.”
Life Freya sighed and said, “In a way, I actually understand you. I can't accept that King surrendering without a fight either. If I were the decision-maker, I wouldn't yield a single inch of land no matter the cost. Every inch of a nation's territory must be fought for.”
“Every inch must be fought for... Every inch must be fought for...” Jerome muttered the words over and over. Finally, he looked at Life Freya and smiled. “You're right. I...”
However, before he could finish his sentence, the effect of Battle Continuation seemed to wear off. His body collapsed stiffly to the ground, completely devoid of life. Yet, Life Freya sensed a faint anomaly. She knitted her beautiful brow slightly, but before she could say anything, a system prompt suddenly popped up in front of Freya's main body in the distance:
【Second death crisis successfully survived. System upgrading...】
Seeing this, Life Freya swallowed the words she was about to say. Since the system declared that the death crisis was over, it meant the city was saved. The remaining matters had nothing to do with her.
Life Freya turned to Archbishop Pantheon and the others, saying, “Let's go.”
But before she could leave, Jessica couldn't help but ask, “Thank you so much for your help. And this... may I ask what your name is...?”
Life Freya paused in her tracks. After a moment of thought, she spoke in an airy, adorable voice that felt incredibly soothing to the ears. “You can call me Columbina.”
Speaking of which, even the members of the Church of the Earth, like Pantheon and Atticus, didn't know Life Freya's name. She had rushed to the church in a hurry and dragged everyone out to help. Jessica was actually the first person to ask for her name.
However, Life Freya certainly couldn't use the name 'Freya' or 'Life Freya'. She needed an alias. She thought about it and realized that the outfit she was wearing happened to be designed as a Columbina cosplay, even if the resemblance wasn't perfect.
So when asked for her name, her second instinct after her real name, Freya, was 'Columbina.' Come to think of it, the name Columbina itself carried meanings like 'peace' and 'purity,' which was indeed quite fitting for this Earth Pathway clone.
Sorry, little dove, I'm borrowing your name~ Life Freya murmured in her heart.
Jessica nodded and said, “Miss Columbina? That's a beautiful name. Thank you.”
After that, the members of the Church of the Earth left the scene. Meanwhile, switching back to Freya's main body and Euphemia, the latter, who had watched the entire battle, said excitedly, “Fufu, did you see that? That white-haired girl from the Church of the Earth in the white dress is so amazing! She sent the Rank Five General Jerome flying with a single punch!”
“And she's so cute and pretty, too!”
“Uh... yeah.” Freya didn't know what face to make. After all, wasn't Euphy basically showering her with praise right to her face?
But seeing Freya's expression, Euphemia suddenly added for some reason, “Of course, you're super cute too, Fufu~”
A question mark practically popped up over Freya's head. She said, “Why bring that up all of a sudden? Besides, I already know that, obviously.”
Now it was Euphemia's turn to look bewildered. “Huh? Normally, aren't you supposed to act humble and deny it? You just accepted it flat out like that?”
Freya said, “Yeah, is there a problem with that? Isn't it a good thing to have self-awareness?”
Euphemia was temporarily at a loss for words. “Uh, I guess... you're not wrong?”
Freya stuck out her tongue, acting cute on purpose. “Ehe~”
...
Meanwhile, the scene shifted to a small hill on the outskirts of the capital of the Kingdom of Tarapaca. Two people stood there. One of them was a refined-looking middle-aged man wearing loose black robes and glasses, standing just over 1.8 meters tall.
The other person was someone Freya would have recognized at a single glance had she been there—General Jerome, who was supposed to be 'dead.'
His presence here had a very simple explanation, stemming from the Adjutant's 'Devotion' ability. A Rank Five General could have two Adjutants. Aside from that Rank Four Hunter, Jerome had been searching for another suitable Adjutant, which was why he had taken an interest in Freya in the first place.
But that didn't mean his second Adjutant slot had been vacant. Even without a perfect candidate, he could have easily pulled someone in as a placeholder.
Without a doubt, it was this second Adjutant who had used the Devotion ability at the last moment, saving Jerome's life. It was worth noting that in the previous simulation battles, this Adjutant had not used this ability.
Because those were simulation battles, Life Freya's attention had been entirely on the fight. Once she won and confirmed Jerome's death, she immediately exited the simulation. In reality, however, she had spoken a few words to Jerome at the end of the battle out of sentiment.
Perhaps those few words had caused Jerome to change his mind, suddenly making him unwilling to die. Although a General and an Adjutant could not communicate directly through telepathy, they could still transmit very simple thoughts. Thus, this second Adjutant saved his life at the final moment.
In reality, Life Freya had noticed this. But once she saw the system prompt indicating that the crisis had been resolved, she didn't care to meddle in whatever General Jerome planned to do next.
With his hands clasped behind his back, the bespectacled man looked at Jerome, whose spirituality was nearly depleted but whose body was completely unharmed. He spoke in a magnetic voice, “Jerome, you failed. And you failed before you could even begin.”
Jerome wore an expression of utmost helplessness. “Who could have guessed that before my plan even started, before the array was even drawn, someone would present a partially drawn array blueprint as evidence and call the Mobile Squad?”
Hearing this, the bespectacled man couldn't help but look surprised. “Predicting the future... Did you encounter an extraordinary of the Destiny Pathway?”
Jerome said, “No. But it's too late to talk about that now. Failure is failure.”
The bespectacled man said, “You're right. And it won't take long for the Mobile Squad to realize you aren't actually dead and come after you again. What do you plan to do next? Live as a fugitive, or surrender and face imprisonment?”
Jerome's crime was no small matter. Preparing an advancement ritual at the cost of a first-tier city was an absolutely monstrous crime.
Jerome asked, “If I surrender, what awaits me?”
The bespectacled man said, “According to the laws of the kingdom, sentencing you to death wouldn't be an exaggeration. But knowing that King's temperament, he probably wouldn't hand down such a severe punishment. In all likelihood, considering your years of service guarding the frontlines, he would sentence you to life imprisonment.”
Jerome curled his lip. “I'd rather be executed.”
Pausing, he looked at the man before him and added, “By the way, you've already prepared the Rank Six War Pathway potion, right?”
“Of course.” As he spoke, the bespectacled man retrieved a potion bottle from his pocket. He had been planning to find someone to deliver it to Jerome, but before he could act, Jerome's plan had blown up in his face.
Furthermore, not only this Rank Six potion, but also the Devil Pathway potion formula, materials, and the transport ship had all been provided by this bespectacled man.
Jerome said, “Can you give me the potion?”
The bespectacled man replied, “I won't help you plan another advancement ritual.”
But Jerome shook his head. “I don't need your help. Besides, I don't plan to prepare the ritual in the Kingdom of Tarapaca anymore. I'll go to the Pentagram Alliance, or... the Kingdom of Kirkland.”
The bespectacled man frowned slightly. “By yourself? Preparing a ritual in another country? You can't possibly succeed.”
Jerome said, “It's just a small attempt. And even if I fail, I'll find a suitable opportunity to consume the potion by force.”
The bespectacled man was taken aback. “Are you mad? Consuming a potion by force without preparing the ritual is certain death. No, it's even more terrifying than death. The potion's power will tear your body apart, warp your consciousness, and turn you into an absolute monster.”
Recalling his earlier conversation with Life Freya, Jerome said very calmly, “That's still better than doing nothing. A completely maddened, Rank Six monster will at least be incredibly strong, won't it?”
“Right now, the Pentagram Alliance is constantly deploying more troops to the border. Anyone with eyes can see their intentions. However, the reason they haven't officially declared war on the Kingdom of Tarapaca yet is simply because they are currently at war with another country, the Kingdom of Kirkland.”
“It's just that the Kingdom of Kirkland is currently showing clear signs of surrendering. Perhaps I can go over there and add some fuel to the fire.”
For instance, he could cause direct destruction within the Kingdom of Kirkland. Everyone knew that the War Pathway was the official pathway of the Pentagram Alliance. If a Rank Six monster like Jerome appeared in Kirkland, it would be hard for people not to suspect the Pentagram Alliance, effectively pinning the blame squarely on them.
“And if that plan doesn't work, I might operate within the Pentagram Alliance instead to cause them some trouble. Regardless, I'll play it by ear and do whatever I can to delay the Pentagram Alliance's invasion of the Kingdom of Tarapaca. When the time comes, I'll leave the rest to you, 【Trig Hurst】.”
The bespectacled man—Trig—remained silent for a moment, then nodded. “I will do everything in my power. Go. Leave the rest to me.”
The first thing he needed to do was find a scapegoat to replace Jerome, someone who would be captured by the Mobile Squad, judged by the King, and sent to prison.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't just to clean up Jerome's mess, but to guard against investigations by the Pentagram Alliance. After all, if a fugitive like Jerome remained at large, and then a monster suddenly emerged in the Pentagram Alliance, anyone could guess who it was and point the finger at the Kingdom of Tarapaca. Trig was doing this to completely eliminate that possibility.
Before leaving, however, Jerome suddenly said, “Oh, right. There's a very interesting girl in the Church of the Earth in Auxerre. If you have the time, you might want to go meet her. I don't know her name, but she's very easy to recognize. She's petite, wears a white dress, and is incredibly beautiful.”
Trig nodded. “Understood.”
...
Returning to Freya's side, because of the collateral damage from the battle, Euphemia's house next to Jerome's home had also been destroyed. Left with no place to stay, she had to rent a temporary home.
Freya accompanied her to look at the new house, and they had dinner together. During the meal, Euphemia said, “So, the next commission is to help you figure out where your Countless Blessings and Countless Resentments came from, right?”
Speaking of this, however, Freya hesitated. The method Euphemia had suggested involved having someone read her memories. But she was a transmigrator and possessed a system; she definitely didn't want anyone else knowing about those things. She said, “Um... is there really no other way besides letting someone look through my memories?”
...
Rate on N.U.
