Three people.
You could say they each had eight hundred schemes in their minds.
You set your sights on someone’s cast-off, and someone else sets their sights on you.
Aililan was the least scrupulous of the three—she was hoping for those two blondes to start fighting as soon as possible.
After all, this was the world of a galgame!
No matter who lost, a blonde always ended up entering the cg wormwood.
Don’t ask how Aililan knew; she was just a pure, small-time player. She didn’t care about the plot or who was with whom: watch my ultimate move—have the defeated speak—unlock cg—on to the next.
There was only one thing Aililan needed to worry about: Could the blonde who preferred married women win against the blond Mary Sue?
The answer was: No way.
Though they were both blondes, there was a difference in strength.
The weak one used honeyed words and schemes, but the strong one could press the weak down and grind them against the floor—in every sense.
These two were pure in their own ways: one had overwhelming force, the other was swimming in wealth.
Fina Nisi’s in-game performance was: sweeping aside all enemies, suppressing everything before her.
Briana Tell’s specialty was: hiring the Continent’s most elite Mercenaries and Adventurers to fight for her.
Aililan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“But!”
“I have to watch out for the two of them joining forces. Otherwise, wouldn’t every woman and married woman on this Continent become their playthings?”
“When that happens, I, the Saintess, after being made a cast-off by the Mary Sue, might get picked up and used by the other blonde. By then, who knows how badly I’d get played with.”
As for the solution!
It was actually quite simple.
How could two titans—one a Mary Sue, the other a rich queen—endure sharing the stage for long?
The key to breaking the deadlock lay with Pella.
It really wasn’t about Aililan sending a woman as a gift; it was just that someone like Pella was far too shoddy, nothing but a used-up cast-off. Aililan had no interest in such a woman.
In Aililan’s heart, the type she liked was the restrained Saintess Lizbel—now that was quality.
She took a deep breath.
“Ahem, cough~”
Aililan cleared her throat, pretending she had official business to discuss: “Miss Briana, I still have some matters to attend to here.”
Briana smiled gracefully and said, “In that case, I won’t disturb you further.”
“Wait a moment.”
“Your Holiness the Saintess?”
“I’ve heard Miss Briana is considering establishing a Wine Estate. I’ve been frequenting the Slums lately—why not go there and see if you can find a suitable site?”
Briana looked slightly troubled: “Ah, well…”
Aililan then glanced at Pella and snorted, “I still have important matters to discuss with Grandmaster Fina Nisi. Why don’t you accompany Miss Briana to the Slums for a look around?”
Pella was stunned.
It seemed she had no way to refuse, so she could only agree: “All right!”
Aililan sighed to Briana and said, “Of course, if Miss Briana is too busy, let’s just forget it! I can send someone to escort you back first.”
Briana clapped her hands and hurriedly shook her head, “No, no, a Wine Estate is a big enterprise. I just haven’t found the right location. Since Your Holiness the Saintess is so thoughtful, how could I let your kindness go to waste?”
“Vice-captain Pella, correct?”
“I’ll be in your care!”
Isn’t it just as people say, three people and eight hundred plots among them?
Aililan had sold out Pella while also naming her own price. Did they really think it was just a casual stroll through the Slums?
I set you up, built you a bridge.
Now go and build that Wine Estate for me, understood?
Everything looked perfectly reasonable—Aililan and Fina Nisi had urgent business, so the two less important people left first. Who could find fault with that?
As for what the blonde Briana would do with the cast-off Pella, that was another matter. Aililan now turned her attention to Fina Nisi—she had another issue to resolve.
“Grandmaster Fina Nisi.”
“Your Holiness, what are your orders?”
“Are you aware of what happened this morning?”
“I’ve heard a little.”
“Then, I wonder, Grandmaster Fina Nisi, what do you think? Knights publicly demolished slum housing—how is that different from bandits or marauding soldiers?”
“Your Holiness, ultimately they were concerned for your safety. The Slums, as you know, are full of unsavory types—nine out of ten are thieves and prostitutes.”
“Absurd.” Aililan slammed the armrest of her chair and scolded, “By your meaning, is my Chanting Church’s domain filled with nothing but thieves and prostitutes?”
Fina Nisi frowned and protested, “You misunderstand. That’s not what I meant.”
Aililan kept her face cold: “Then what do you mean? Even under the Church’s rule, the poor still make up a huge part of the population.”
“But you said—”
“That they’re all thieves and prostitutes.”
“What you’re slapping isn’t my face, but the face of the entire Chanting Church. It’s a denial of centuries of the Church’s achievements. What exactly are you aiming for?”
Even with Fina Nisi’s immense strength, sweat began to bead on her forehead—the charge was simply too heavy.
If she wanted to keep playing by the Rule System, she’d have to face this accusation.
At the same time, she was surprised.
She felt the Saintess had grown so quickly.
Back in the Holy Land, she’d been just a timid, soft, sweet little Saintess. Now, she could even make Fina Nisi break out in a cold sweat.
Faced with the hat placed squarely on her head, Fina Nisi said, “Your Holiness, you really misunderstand. The Chanting Church’s achievements are well known. As you said, there may still be many poor under our rule, but compared to other countries, at least our poor are treated with basic dignity.”
In plain words: elsewhere, the poor are worse off than dogs; under the Church, at least they’re a bit better.
And Fina Nisi wasn’t wrong. Even in distant village churches, there were rules for aiding the poor—part of every priest’s merit assessment.
But that wasn’t Aililan’s goal—she wanted to lay the charge first.
She brought up the Knights again: “I’ll let this go since you spoke without thinking. But let me ask—are the Knights still my Knights? Who do the Chastity Knights really serve?” Aililan threw out her (╯‵□′)╯ bomb! •••*～●
“Of course they serve you, Saintess Aililan.”
“Excellent.” Aililan drew a deep breath and said slowly, “Let’s clarify this matter. According to our earlier Debate Result, do you, Grandmaster Fina Nisi, believe the poor under Church rule are all thieves and prostitutes, or do you believe those Knights broke the rules by oppressing the poor?”
‘Boom—’
Fina Nisi’s mind went blank.
She finally realized where the trap lay. If she said the poor were bad, she’d wear the blame; if she said the Knights were at fault, they’d have to be punished.
Fina Nisi replied, “It’s the Knights’ fault.”
Aililan said, “In that case, do I still have the authority to discipline them?”
“Of course you do.”
“Then perhaps I should go handle it personally?”
“This matter…” Fina Nisi looked deeply at Aililan and, gritting her teeth, said, “I’ll handle it for you.”
“Then I’ll trouble you, Grandmaster.”
“To serve the Saintess is my duty.”
“……”
Watching Fina Nisi eat a loss, Aililan was inwardly overjoyed.
As always: within the Rule System, she was unbeatable. But if Fina Nisi decided not to play by the rules, then she’d have no choice but to break things herself.
This was a stress test!
Can’t let the Mary Sue go wild.