It was already afternoon by the time Ansu and Vera arrived at the school, and people were already heading back along the way.
"It looks like it's almost over." Vera held Ansu's hand, her large azure eyes filled with curiosity as she looked left and right.
"It can't be helped; we both overslept," Ansu said, looking at the students who were packing up their stalls. Many of them were selling trinkets related to their respective majors.
"It was Brother who overslept! I woke up very early!" Vera corrected him.
"Right..."
"Oh? Isn't that Ansu?" Some upperclassmen from the same major noticed Ansu wandering around with his sister and smiled as they greeted him.
"What a cute little girl. Is she your sister?"
"Yes, she is." Ansu smiled and greeted them back, then led Vera toward their stall to take a look.
His major was alchemy and chemistry, but the things these upperclassmen were selling didn't seem to have much to do with the major. They were mostly cute little ornaments and even plush dolls.
"Do you see anything you like?" Ansu instinctively looked at his sister, thinking of picking out a cute doll for her.
Vera, however, shook her head immediately. "Boring! I don't like such childish things."
Seeing those girls chatting enthusiastically with Ansu, she pulled her brother's hand and walked toward the other side.
"Let's go, Brother! Let's check over there; it looks like there's something interesting."
Ansu could only give the upperclassmen an apologetic look.
He was dragged by Vera to a stall with very few people. As luck would have it, he saw Kevin gloomily packing up his things.
"Kevin?" Ansu looked at him in confusion. "Weren't you supposed to perform at the auditorium? Why are you setting up a stall?"
"Big brother, look at what time it is!" Kevin pointed at the three o'clock sun. "The performances were over in the morning. After I finished, I came over to help a senior watch the stall."
"That's true..."
"Wait, the Academy Open Day is almost over. Why did you only just get here, Ansu?" Kevin glanced at Ansu's sister and saw her squatting on the ground, picking through the small ornaments on the stall with curious eyes.
"Oh? Does Vera actually like these things?"
"Yes!" Vera nodded and picked one she liked. "Brother Kevin, how much is this?"
Being called 'brother' by such a cute little girl was very gratifying for Kevin. He glanced at Ansu and said, "Well... for your brother's sake, I'll give you a forty percent discount. Five pounds!"
"Five pounds? You bastard, why don't you just rob us?" Ansu was shocked. He took the ornament from his sister's hand and held it up to the sun to examine it closely.
What Kevin was selling was indeed a 'specialty' of their major. It was a glass sphere device with a brass base. Inside the sphere was a trace amount of alchemy reaction that changed colors from red to yellow, looking like fireworks. At first glance, it was quite beautiful.
However, this device held no technical value for Ansu. He clicked his tongue. "Don't try to fool an outsider. You might trick a little girl, but trick me?"
"Uh..." Kevin was also a bit embarrassed. He couldn't help it; these were the prices set by the seniors specifically to sell to tourists who didn't know better. "How about half off? I can't go any lower."
Ansu stuffed the little alchemy device into the hands of a delighted Vera, then tossed fifty pence to Kevin. "This is all you're getting. The cost isn't even half of this."
"What? This is robbery, Ansu!"
Ansu left Kevin with only his back, waving his hand coolly.
"Don't feel like you're losing out. You should know that I saved your life today, and I haven't even charged you a rescue fee yet!"
Kevin stared at Ansu's back in confusion. "Saved my life? When did that happen..."
"What do you mean by that... Hey! Hey, don't just walk away!"
...
Ansu and Vera walked around the Benalu Royal Academy for a long time. Since it was almost over, there wasn't much worth seeing, but Vera remained excited throughout the journey. After all, it had been a long time since she had gone out with her brother.
After leaving the school gates, Ansu took Vera shopping until evening, buying her several pretty dresses and taking her out for a big meal before they finally headed home together, chatting and laughing.
At night, Vera was exhausted from playing all day and went to sleep early. After washing up, Ansu opened his bedroom door, preparing to rest as well.
But as soon as he opened the door, he saw Celia sitting in his chair, her beautiful legs crossed, squinting as she examined him.
"Lady... Lady Witch?" Ansu was startled by her every time. "Why are you back all of a sudden?"
Didn't she say she was going back to the cult to handle matters? Had she finished so quickly?
Did she kill everyone? Is her efficiency that high?
"It seems you had quite a happy day!"
"Yes..." Ansu nodded. "I went shopping with my sister today."
"Oh~ Shopping with your sister?" Celia knew the siblings had a good relationship, so she didn't mind. She joked with a smile, "I thought you went to see Freya, which is why you were so happy."
"How is that possible? The Holy Maiden and I don't have that kind of relationship. Why would we go shopping?" Ansu immediately cleared the air and then asked, "It's so late. Do you have something for me, Lady Witch?"
"Of course." Celia stood up and gave a mysterious smile. "Come with me to the cult stronghold. My teacher wants to see you."
Ansu froze for a moment. Samantha wants to see me?
The gloomy, two-faced Acting Cult Leader from the simulation had left a deep impression on him.
This teacher of Celia's was not an easy person to deal with. Ansu immediately became wary; he had to keep a low profile this time...
"When I went back, I immediately told Teacher about the conspiracy between the Restorationist faction elder and Terry. The Church's arrest of Terry today confirmed the plot, and Teacher is very angry." After leaving Ansu's house, Celia looked at the dark night road and whispered:
"We handled the traitors on the Truth faction side first, but we won't let the elders of the other faction off either. We are going to discuss this matter today."
"Additionally, Teacher heard about you assisting me and is very curious about you. She insists on meeting you today."
Ansu frowned, his mind constantly racing as he wondered what Samantha was up to. Was it because he had performed a service... and she wanted to promote him?
The two walked one after the other. Celia led Ansu across the street where a black carriage was waiting.
"Get in. The journey is a bit long."
Ansu instinctively glanced at the driver. The driver's appearance was rough and ordinary, and he didn't look at Ansu once throughout the process.
After boarding the carriage, it slowly drove out of Benalu City, speeding along the night road toward the outskirts.
A salty and cold sea breeze blew gently. The carriage passed an abandoned fishing pier before finally stopping in front of a large seaside winery. This stronghold was likely one of the cult's assets.
Seeing that it was Celia bringing someone, the estate's waiter did not stop them but instead nodded respectfully.
Subsequently, the two were led by the waiter to a massive, renovated underground wine cellar.
Ansu looked inside from the entrance and saw many cultists wearing black robes and metal masks gathered together.
"Put this on." Celia handed him a silver metal mask, while she herself put on a golden one.
The masks of the Echoes of Truth were ranked. Ansu noticed that most were silver, like his, while a few people who seemed to be elders or managers wore golden masks like Celia's.
Ansu put on the mask and followed behind Celia, slowly walking into the cultists' gathering.
Rate on N.U.
