Chapter 39: Huangmao, Victim, Female Protagonist—All the Key Elements Are Here

The little angel appeared.

Even though Aililan had already seen girls as beautiful as the Saint of Temperance, Lizberu, her elder sister—long live the Saint of Temperance, Lizberu… Ah, no, now is not the time to think about that sister.

Aililan was a little flustered.

The current situation was rather bad.

Inside the room was the girl who, whenever Aililan saw her, made her heart skip a beat. In the game, she was someone Aililan had once cherished, but she had been snatched away by the Huangmao of Phoenix Destiny.

Standing in the middle was the Victim, who also! Bore countless defeat CGs—Saint Plushball.

Standing outside was that Phoenix Destiny Huangmao.

At this moment, all the essential elements for a galgame were: present!

Aililan’s gaze gradually grew resolute.

“No!”

“I absolutely cannot let something like that happen.”

She thought.

At the very least, she must protect Theresa.

This wasn’t because she had fallen for Theresa, nor was it just because, in that fleeting instant, she’d been captivated by Theresa’s beauty, but rather, it was from the standpoint of ‘a friend.’

Thinking of this—

Aililan slammed the door with a loud bang.

In an instant, the door was shut.

But the terrifying pressure from behind was closing in. “Who’s that girl inside?” Fina Nisi licked her blood-red lips, impatiently demanding.

Aililan replied coldly.

“That’s none of your business.”

“On the contrary, I have the duty and responsibility to protect you. What if she’s an assassin? So I must know who that person is.”

“She’s just a friend of mine. Fina Nisi, I understand your loyalty and your desire to protect me, but please give my friend some respect.”

The implied meaning was clear.

Give me some face, understand?

On the surface, Fina Nisi was still the loyal Knight Order Captain serving Aililan. This face, she had to give. Yet seeing the Saint’s attitude so unyielding, her smile only deepened.

Fina Nisi took a deep breath, as if inhaling the floral scent in the air, then asked with deeper meaning, “Then, may I ask, what kind of person is this friend of yours?”

Aililan replied, “Just an ordinary girl, nothing more.”

Ordinary?

“I don’t believe it.”

“Believe what you want.”

“But with your status, how is that possible?”

“Enough. Despite my status, haven’t I always lingered in the slums, interacting with the poor at the very bottom? So, tell me, what is impossible about that?”

“But…”

“I already said, she’s just an ordinary girl—not pretty, not useful, just a plain girl.”

She hadn’t finished speaking—

Suddenly, there seemed to be a ‘thud’ sound from inside, as if someone had fallen.

Aililan: ……

Her words just now seemed, perhaps… a bit too harsh?

After a pause, Aililan continued, “Fina Nisi, use your head for a moment. If a beautiful girl were living in such a slum, do you think she’d be able to stay safe and sound?”

With those words—

Laughter echoed all around.

After all, Aililan’s logic was so self-consistent. A pretty girl couldn’t possibly appear in the slums, and in the slums, there wouldn’t exist a beautiful girl who hadn’t caught someone’s eye.

Listening to the bursts of laughter, Fina Nisi’s face alternated between green and red.

Could it really be that she was wrong?

Yet something still felt off.

When her eyes met Aililan’s, Fina Nisi saw a pair of eyes full of mischief and teasing.

“Damn it, she’s messing with me.”

Fina Nisi felt thoroughly played.

‘Pfft—’

Aililan barely held back her laughter.

Then, she strode away from the scene.

Before long, the group left. With so many eyes on her, Fina Nisi had lost all interest in checking the room herself—otherwise, wouldn’t she just become the clown?

As the footsteps receded—

The place returned to its usual calm.

Only… inside the house, the faint sound of a girl sobbing seemed to echo in the fireless, lightless, shadowy night.

At Frezeya Manor.

Aililan summoned the Head Maid. “Quick, put on my clothes and lie in my bed.”

Head Maid Yarandale: “??”

Aililan spoke with a bit of urgency, “I have something I need to go out for in a while.”

The Head Maid was a little disappointed.

She had thought she’d finally get the chance to serve the Saint! As the Saint’s maid, she’d long since prepared herself for the call to serve her at any time.

“Please rest assured.”

After Yarandale bowed respectfully, she took out a shape-shifting magic scroll, crushed it, and quickly transformed into Aililan’s appearance, then put on Aililan’s clothes.

Remembering her master’s behavior and traits was one of the basic skills of a qualified personal maid.

In a crisis, she could transform into her master to draw the enemy away.

Although she had never slept with her mistress, Yarandale was a perfectly qualified Head Maid.

Aililan, meanwhile, donned a black veil.

She slipped away from the manor under the cover of night.

She couldn’t be sure whether Fina Nisi had truly been fooled by her. As the saying goes, a wise man doesn’t stand under a dangerous wall—the best way was to stay away from danger altogether.

At the Town Street Knight Order’s inner city garrison.

“I’ll kill her!”

Fina Nisi was fuming with rage. She felt her pride had been gravely insulted. To be humiliated by Aililan with the mention of a so-called ‘ordinary’ girl from her own mouth—how could she swallow that?

For her, the solution was simple.

Pretty? Then lock her up.

Ugly? Just kill her.

Vice-captain Pella, eager to please, said, “Captain, it’s just a girl from the slums. I’ll handle her for you.”

“No need. I’ll do it myself.”

“What? You’ll handle her personally? You’re giving her too much credit.”

“Shut up, you stupid woman.” Fina Nisi grabbed Pella’s chin. Who knew what she was thinking, but then she patted Pella’s cheek and said, “Just get yourself cleaned up and wait for me. I’m in a really bad mood right now.”

Both sides left, almost at the same time.

When Aililan arrived at the small wooden hut—

She could faintly hear the sound of sobbing. Her heart pounded—she had a bad feeling! What she said earlier was indeed too harsh.

‘Knock knock knock—’

“Theresa, open the door.”

The sobbing inside stopped at once.

But the door did not open. Only a choked voice drifted out from within.

“You… what are you doing here again?”

“Theresa, listen to me. It’s no longer safe here. I want to take you somewhere safer.”

“Miss Aililan, please don’t joke with me anymore. Just as you said, someone as ordinary and useless as me—not pretty, not capable, a girl that not even people in the slums would bother to think about—what danger could possibly befall me?”

Aililan: (⊙o⊙)…!

Theresa, are you a parrot?

Not only did she imitate, but she repeated every single word Aililan had said, not missing a thing.