“By the way, Lady Angelica, I think I saw that person today...”
“Ah! So annoying! Stop talking to me!”
Angelica's dragon tail irritably whipped away Grace's right hand. She then sat back on the bed, her pupils gradually flickering with a pale blue flame.
“Damn it, that old woman's magic...”
Angelica clicked her tongue, seemingly troubled.
Grace asked worriedly, “Do you need anything?”
“Water, food—but not your human food. I want magic crystals.”
Grace nodded and was about to walk out the door when the other party called her back.
“Wait.”
“What is it, Lady Angelica?”
“It's, well... cough...”
Angelica's face flushed slightly, and she avoided Grace's gaze.
“It's just, when I'm healing my wounds, I need something... um... to distract me!”
Grace asked in confusion, “Do you need to bite on a wooden stick during treatment like other injured people?”
Angelica felt insulted.
“A mere injury! Only you humans need to rely on such external objects to endure pain! I'm talking about... about that!”
Grace wanted to ask, but a sudden voice echoed from the bottom of her heart, and the girl instantly understood everything.
“Oh, I see! You want—”
“No, I don't! It's not like I want to read the second volume of 《Flora and the Unspeakable Love》! This is just a necessary activation condition for my magic!”
Only after Angelica blurted out her incoherent explanation did she realize that the voice in her heart this time had been spoken by herself, not Grace.
Angelica's face instantly flushed bright red, and her dragon tail began to frantically thrash against the bedboard in her panic.
“Here you go.”
Grace smiled and pulled the pink-covered picture book from her bag.
Seeing that Angelica wanted to say something more, Grace smoothly added, “I know, it's for your treatment, right?”
“A-as long as you know...”
Angelica took the picture book with extreme “reluctance.”
“Cough, and...”
“The third and fourth volumes are also in the bag, you know?”
Hearing Grace's words, Angelica's eyes lit up.
To hell with Loretta, to hell with Ain...
Angelica decided she would think about those things tomorrow.
...
The evening breeze blew through Erylin's hair as the girl sat crouched alone by the creek, silently watching the flowing water.
“You clearly promised me...”
Without her realizing it, the chill beneath her feet had already spread to the edge of the creek, and the water that had been flowing a moment ago froze solid.
“Good evening.”
Hearing a female voice from behind, Erylin quickly stood up and turned around.
It was a blue-haired girl dressed in a gorgeous nun's habit.
“You must be Miss Erylin of Golden Branch Academy, correct?”
“Are you... from the Church?”
Grace nodded gently, then slowly stepped forward with a smile. “You seem to have encountered something unfortunate... Do you need my help?”
Erylin shook her head slightly, her eyes somewhat lonely. “No, thank you...”
“You don't have to be formal. This is my duty by birth.”
“What...”
Before Erylin could react, Grace took her small hand and lifted it to her own chest.
Under Erylin's astonished gaze, Grace closed her eyes, and a golden holy light slowly emerged between her hands.
Waves of warmth washed over Erylin's heart, and the frost on her shoulders melted away slightly. However, the layer of frost over her heart did not diminish in the slightest.
Grace slowly opened her eyes, which were shining like countless stars.
The person she had been yearning for day and night was right in front of her.
This Miss Erylin before her was the Goddess's Blessed!
“Such a noble and pure soul... You really are!”
Grace wanted to reveal her identity, but she stopped herself at the last moment.
Although there was not a trace of filth on the person in front of her, she lacked the most crucial characteristic.
Grace did not feel even a shred of divinity from Erylin.
“It's actually... not you...”
Soon, Grace swept the disappointment from her heart, still gently holding Erylin's hand.
“Please forgive my rudeness. It seems you are not the person I am looking for.”
Erylin asked softly, “Who are you looking for?”
“I'm sorry, I cannot tell you...”
Grace continued, “However, before the long night falls... the Goddess is willing to be the harbor where your soul anchors, accepting all your anxieties. You can confide in me about the confusion in your heart.”
Seeing that Erylin was still hesitating, Grace simply revealed her identity.
“I am the current Saintess of the Church. You can call me Grace.”
“Saintess...” Erylin murmured.
The Saintess was the first ray of light shed when the Goddess looked down, a living divine oracle walking the mortal realm.
“Forget it, Grace, I should still...”
“No.”
Grace gently held Erylin's hands and closed her eyes.
But soon, Grace gave a bitter smile and let go of Erylin's hands again.
“Your fate... I cannot see it clearly... But you seem to be... sad because of someone else, right?”
At the mention of Ain, Erylin bit her lower lip. After a moment of hesitation, she said, “Yes...”
“What happened?”
“I... don't know how to say it...”
Grace said gently, “Did he hurt you?”
“I don't know...” Erylin's eyes filled with disappointment. “Maybe it's just my unrequited feelings... But actually... I don't care whether he likes me or not... I just don't want him to be alone... doing things I don't know about...”
Grace asked softly, “Is he very important to you?”
“Yes.”
At this mention, Erylin's heart ached, and the layer of frost on her neck grew even thicker.
“But to him, I don't seem to be important... I don't want him to get hurt, and I don't want him to take risks... But he doesn't seem to want me to know about any of it...”
Seeing Erylin so dejected, Grace said easily, “If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to just give up?”
“What...”
“Living in past sorrow will only keep you stagnant. In that case, wouldn't it be better to just forget him?”
Staring into Grace's deep eyes, Erylin froze for a moment as another layer of frost spread across her heart.
Just letting go would be fine, right?
Ain said he couldn't bear the love of two people, so why should I become his burden?
Don't cause any more trouble for Ain...
Just let go, and it'll be fine...
Layers of ice crystals squeezed the girl's chest, and her neck was frozen so pale by the frost that not a trace of color remained.
Several ice crystals dug into her flesh, and trickles of blood flowed down her neck, spreading to her arms, sliding down to her fingertips, and dripping onto the ground.
Erylin placed her hands over her chest and closed her eyes.
“Grace, I...”
Erylin was about to say something, but she realized her hands had subconsciously gripped the necklace around her heart.
She lightly pinched the chain and slowly raised it, pulling out an ice crystal pendant.
Inside the pendant's ice crystal were countless torn bits of paper.
These were the scraps of the confession draft she had torn up with her own hands that night after overhearing Ain's answer.
Even so, Erylin could still clearly make out the awkward handwriting on them.
A moment later, a night breeze blew by, spinning the pendant in the wind. The crumpled scraps inside turned with it, perfectly displaying a few distorted words.
Ain...
I... like... you.
Such a simple phrase, yet she had never said it to his face.
Erylin's heart felt as if it had been struck, and the frost that was supposed to erode her chest froze in place.
“I think I know your answer...”
Erylin stammered, “What...”
Grace smiled gently and replied, “I'm sorry, those words just now were only to test you... You said he never cared about you... Actually, I can understand him.”
Holding the necklace, Erylin asked in confusion, “You say you understand... Ain?”
After hesitating repeatedly, Grace still nodded gently.
Although she couldn't completely see through Erylin's heart, she could at least see how important Ain was to her.
Even if that evil fellow with the power of a witch had deceived Erylin, she shouldn't reveal the truth at this moment...
Such a sincere and kind soul should not suffer from sin.
“He and I are the same kind of person.”
“When I was a child, a rebellion broke out in my family... My parents died because of it.”
“The wailing, the unwillingness, the regret...”
“The fire that burned my family's estate lasted for five days.”
“To protect me, my parents took turns holding up the collapsing beams in the ruins.”
Grace smiled bitterly and continued, “I watched with my own eyes as the flames consumed them... To this day, I can't forget the smell of burnt flesh... Because there was no food in the ruins, I fed on my parents' bodies... until... the Archbishop found me in the debris.”
Grace's face remained gentle.
“It's ironic, isn't it? The Saintess of the Church is actually a demon who devoured human flesh...”
Erylin's pupils dilated slightly, and she said in surprise, “Why are you telling me this...”
Grace replied, “Because I don't want this tragedy to continue... He is the same.”
“After witnessing the most desperate scenes, one does not want to see that despair play out again.”
“You said he never let you into his heart. Perhaps it's because... he doesn't want you to bear this tragic fate, and he doesn't want this tragedy to repeat itself.”
Grace smiled from the bottom of her heart.
“In truth, he is willing to... offer everything for you.”
Erylin looked at Grace in disbelief. Just as she was about to ask, Grace's next words immediately followed.
“Because I am the same.”
“I don't care whether my lord likes me or loves me... Up until now, even if he doesn't know everything I've done for him, it doesn't matter... I only hope that I can offer him the only value I have.”
“I think Ain is the same for you.”
Ain stood in the distance, watching the two girls by the creek.
“Though I don't know what they are talking about...”
“But in the original game, it should have been like this too, right?”
Ain sighed.
How ironic.
In the game, the girl he had tried to protect across countless save files was now crying because of him.
And yet, he couldn't return her feelings.
“Good thing I didn't tell Lillian everything...”
Ain could already imagine how Lillian would have told Erylin those things.
“Absolutely, positively do not tell Ain that I was the one who told you these things, okay!”
Ain couldn't help but hold his forehead.
“Even though Erylin's state isn't great right now, this is the only way...”
“Only when negative emotions dominate can the compass's effect be triggered.”
If Erylin knew he was seizing the compass for her sake, she probably wouldn't have such strong negative emotions right now, would she?
“I really am a sinner...”
Ain looked at his right hand and slowly clenched it.
“Leave it to me, Erylin.”
With that, Ain looked up at the sky.
“By the way, why hasn't the Goddess said a word lately?”
【Please bring happiness to the last witch in the world】
【Please reclaim the Wings of Dawn!】
【Please save the world】
These were the divine oracles the Goddess had passed down to him so far.
But logically speaking, now that he was about to seize the compass, shouldn't the Goddess say something?
At the very least, she could tell him what happened to her daughter next!
So he could go look after her!
Could it be that she would only show up when he was getting intimate with Lillian?
Just as Ain was about to leave, a status panel suddenly popped up in front of him.
“Goddess of Light?”
Ain spoke subconsciously. But when he saw the words on the panel clearly, he was instantly shocked.
“Wait, this is!”
【The Lovers has cast its gaze upon you!】
【Note: Acquired a negative status effect!】
【Vicious Blessing: Embrace of Thorns】
【Description: The blessing of The Lovers is often accompanied by blood and curses; no one has ever received a true blessing under its gaze!】
【Effect: Unknown】
“Tsk... of all times...”
Gods could not directly interfere with the mortal realm, but they would bestow blessings upon certain people.
The Lovers, the most mysterious deity in the original game.
Even when he cleared the game, he could barely find any information about it.
Thus, although his spell collection was fully complete, information regarding The Lovers had always remained an unknown.
“Embrace of Thorns... there didn't seem to be such a status in the original game...”
“I can only wait until this negative effect actually manifests to find out what it really is...”
Ain let out a long breath.
Anyway, he had the God of Light backing him up.
Though he felt that entity wasn't very reliable either...
At least the cheats she provided were quite useful.
“Come to think of it, during my first playthrough, the only temporary blessing I ever received was from that entity on the divination cards...”
With that, Ain materialized a Card of Canal.
God Card (Black Card)
【8】God of the Eternal Night
Upright: The eternally silent darkness, the home of all things, the abyss that can never be illuminated.
Reversed: The darkest hour before dawn. After the deepest darkness, the first light is about to arrive, nurturing hope within despair.
There were fourteen God Cards, divided into Black Cards and White Cards.
The first card among the White Cards was the Creator God.
And the first among the Black Cards was the Lord of the Dark Star, the God of the Eternal Night.
Up until now, of all the divine names he knew, there were only three.
Goddess of Light, Eliana.
Mother of the Tidal Moon, Cecilia.
Lord of the Dark Star, Erebus.
They were located at positions 3, 5, and 8 of the God White Cards, respectively.
The numbers did not represent strength or rank.
Furthermore, during his first playthrough, there was one other person besides himself who had received the blessing of the God of the Eternal Night!
The Dean who would die in Act Four...
Loretta.
Grace returned to her lodging. Seeing Angelica lying on the bed, eating snacks while reading the picture book, Grace asked in surprise,
“Have you recovered?”
Hearing this, Angelica closed the picture book, her face slightly pale.
“I still need some time...”
“Please rest well.”
Just as Grace was about to go wash up, Angelica added, “By the way, Grace, I forgot to tell you...”
“Your lord is right here.”
Grace blinked in disbelief.
She had originally thought that he wasn't in the academy's group this time and had only happened to appear in the south by chance.
“Where is he? Can you take me to him now!”
Angelica impatiently pushed back the eager Grace.
“I've been placed under a forbidden curse by that old woman, and some of my magic circuits can't be constructed...”
“So I can only sense that guy's general direction.”
A flash of disappointment crossed Grace's eyes.
“Cough, but, considering you let me... uh, read so much of your human 'literature,' I can help you point him out tomorrow.”
Angelica's face flushed slightly as she transformed into a palm-sized flying dragon, landing on Grace's shoulder.
“Wow! Lady Angelica, you're... so cute! Is this your true form?”
“This is magic! Magic! My true form can crush those human territories of yours with a single slap!”
“Oh! Thank you, Lady Angelica!”
Grace laughed happily.
Angelica said, somewhat speechlessly, “By the way, why are you so desperate to find that guy?”
“Don't you not even know him yet? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Grace smiled gently. “Maybe it's because...”
“I'm about to die soon?”
Angelica shifted back into her human form, completely unfazed, and waved her hand.
“Whatever you say.”
Soon, as if remembering something, Grace spoke up again. “Lady Angelica, about that Ain...”
“What?”
Grace said with some embarrassment, “That Ain... doesn't seem to be an evil existence...”
“B-but that might not be true either!”
Angelica instantly bristled.
“Huh?!”
“I don't care who he is! As long as he's in cahoots with that old woman, I will humiliate him in the most brutal and vicious way possible!”
“No one can stop me! I said so!”
Rate on N.U.
