When this person dressed as a nun appeared, Xiaoya’s body visibly trembled, like someone caught doing something wrong.
She hurriedly put down the Aoki she was carrying on her back and stammered, “Th-that… Good day, Lady Yuelan… Are you well? I—I’ve always been so worried about you, haha.”
“Mm… Thank you for your hard work.”
Yuelan gave a gentle smile, her nun’s veil making her look all the more soft and lovely, and her blue eyes were as gentle as the ocean. “Pious believer, Halfling Priestess Akaya, who is the person behind you?”
“Ah…”
Xiaoya stomped her foot anxiously. The Aoki behind her had already slumped to the ground and met Yuelan’s gaze.
“It—it’s Advisor Aoki the Hero… I, um…”
“So, you came to save him, right? You rescued him from that woman named Lin Qiyou and brought him to me, didn’t you?”
Yuelan pressed her hands together beside her ear, her face full of expectation.
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Xiaoya nodded with difficulty. “That’s it, I’ve always been a pious believer, your follower. I was only forced to join her by Lin. Please, let the Holy Light and you forgive my sins.”
“Very good, very good.”
Yuelan was clearly pleased with Xiaoya’s answer.
“Yuelan!”
At that moment, Aoki, who had fallen to the ground, spoke up.
Right now, facing Yuelan, he felt an extremely complicated mix of emotions—both hatred and relief.
He hated that Yuelan was still here, alive and well. Yet he was also glad—if she wasn’t dead yet, he still had a chance for revenge.
“Ahem, I’m here, Aoki.”
Yuelan looked at Aoki on the ground as though his speaking to her was just what she wanted.
“So you woke up a long time ago? I suppose it’s thanks to my daily prayers to the gods… Then, all those things I said to you at your bedside—did you remember them?”
“What things?”
Aoki frowned, fragments of those crazed ramblings flashing through his mind. When pieced together, they revealed Yuelan’s long-concealed, troubled mental state.
“How could I possibly believe the mad words of a lunatic? Don’t be silly.”
“How hurtful… But the road to sacrifice is always filled with misunderstanding and thorns. I accept that.”
Yuelan gazed at the sky. As she spoke, the Holy Light shimmered behind her, making Xiaoya’s eyes burn with admiration.
That wasn’t just some deceptive magic, but rather the sign of someone filled with divinity, recognized and praised by the gods.
Gods? Praise?
Maybe Yuelan’s god was a lunatic, too.
Even after all these years in this world, Aoki still couldn’t muster the slightest bit of respect for so-called gods.
Not just him—Yueqi as well, and likely even the now-radiant Yuelan, deep down.
“Did you collude with the Demon King?”
As Aoki spoke, Xiaoya reached out and pulled him upright. Her reason: “Lord Aoki, it must be uncomfortable talking while lying down.”
“Me? Collude with the Demon King?”
Yuelan pointed at her own nose, sighing in disappointment. She looked at Aoki for several seconds with a plaintive gaze, then shook her head. “What Demon King? I have no idea. Everything I’ve done from the beginning has been for the betterment of this world, for peace on the continent.
Why would someone like me collude with the Demon King? Where did you even hear that?”
“You killed Yueqi! Colluded with the Demon King’s army! Attacked the border outpost! What else? What else have you done?”
“Killed Yueqi… She wasn’t Yueqi—she was a demon.”
Yuelan raised a finger to correct Aoki. “Who’s accusing me of colluding with the Demon King’s army or attacking the border outpost?
Who told you that? If you came up with it yourself, I really should feel sad… But it’s fine. God loves all people, and so do I~”
Saying this, Yuelan pointed in Aoki’s direction and shouted sternly, “Yueqi! I command you, damned demon, stop blowing your evil wind before Aoki! Your days are numbered!”
“Lunatic!”
He and Xiaoya both turned their heads—but there was no Yueqi there at all!
Yuelan really was crazy!
“Halfling Priestess Akaya, do you think I’m crazy? Is Yuelan Windbell a lunatic?”
Yuelan stared at Xiaoya, who quickly shook her head when asked.
“Why are you here?”
“I was taken by Nongli, look.”
Facing Aoki’s question, Yuelan answered calmly, lifting her robe to show her leg, which was covered in spell runes.
“This is…”
“If I refuse her commands, I’ll be wracked with pain—pain beyond endurance.”
Yuelan hugged herself. “But when I think of doing it for you, I can bear it, I can!”
“You… Where is Nongli?”
Aoki was gradually coming to an understanding.
Everything that happened in the Simulated World was in the past—those stories would influence the future, which was the present.
He still didn’t know what Nongli was like now… In the simulation, had they made peace?
Aoki felt a heightened sense of danger.
If something went wrong in the simulation, what then?
No… There’s no need to fear, no need to panic.
He could enter the simulation again and change everything.
The butterfly effect from another world could cause all these problems and unknown dangers to vanish.
What he needed to do now was leave here and find a safe place to run the simulation.
“Nongli is in the Deepwood District.”
“Let me go, Yuelan…”
Aoki frowned, his voice filled with command and threat.
“Let you go… Alright… Fine…”
Yuelan’s words left Aoki stunned.
“Go.”
She said it, and did as she said. Yuelan stepped back, opening the way, gesturing down the path like a welcoming hostess.
“Why are you doing this?”
Aoki couldn’t understand her actions.
“…Do you really think all the things I said for your sake were lies? Even now, do you still think I’m trying to harm you?
I’ve told you—Yueqi is a demon, I didn’t collude with the Demon King, and I never tried to hurt you. But you always judge everything I do with your own bias.
If our story were ever written down, it’d surely be the world’s most misunderstood tale.”
Yuelan calmed down, a sorrowful look breaking hearts as she leaned back against the tree, closed her eyes, and softly hummed a nameless tune.
“Ahhh… God, O Saintess…”
The halfling priestess recognized the melody—it was the song the Holy Mother hummed while atoning for humanity’s sins.
Even though she understood little of what had just happened, as the breeze blew and golden hair drifted, a scene of holiness appeared before her eyes, and all her doubts melted away.
Yes, the Saintess is great—she loves all people!
“Let’s go! Don’t waste Lady Saintess’s kindness!”
Xiaoya hoisted Aoki onto her back again. Her small frame carried the much larger Aoki, comically passing before Yuelan.
As they grew more distant, agony seized Yuelan’s body. The runes suddenly spread across her entire form, becoming tangible stones that weighed her down, making blood flow from every orifice.
“Beware… outsider from another world!”
That was the last thing Aoki heard from Yuelan.
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