"Wow, that handsome guy came to read again."
"He looks so serious, and he's so handsome. He comes every day."
"What a pity that he's a Child of Curse."
"Next week is the entrance test. Can he pass?"
"I don't think so. The Holy See's entrance test is held in the imperial capital and covers the whole nation. It's not just for our remote little city—every outstanding young person will take part."
"After all, it's the Radiant Holy See, the foremost of the Seven Orthodox Churches."
"Besides, he offended Lord Calvin. He's finished now."
"I heard that Arthur Sunny, the young master of the Grand Duke of the Borderlands, will also be taking this Saint Trial!"
"Ahhh, the even more handsome and noble Radiant Lion Cub?"
The Holy See's library.
The morning sunlight was just right, and the air was fresh. It was a perfect time for reading and studying.
This was the largest library in Border City, with a rich collection of books covering every field.
At that moment, Ansu quietly selected a copy of "Imperial History" and studied it seriously, occasionally wearing a thoughtful expression.
He paid no attention to the whispers of the young girls around him.
Of course he came to read every day. After all, once he embezzled a total of twenty Faith Points from our army each day and exchanged them, he had six magic points—roughly the middle level among Tier 1 Mages.
As for the Young Master Sunny those girls mentioned, unlike Calvin, who was merely a passerby without even a character profile, Arthur Sunny was one of the important male characters in the original novel.
In the future, he would even become the Holy Son of the Holy See.
His family was the Grand Duke of the Borderlands. The Sun Family was old Naraku's Banner nobility, and they simply could not get along with an upstart family like the Morningstar Family.
Still, that guy's character setting was rather subtle.
Ansu could perceive that his senses had grown stronger. Even from this far away, he could hear the girls next door gossiping.
Perhaps that was one of the benefits brought by the Mother Goddess of Life's blessing.
Time slowly passed. By the time the shadows of the trees had shifted from one side of the library to the windows, changing from dark green to deep red, the sun was nearing the horizon.
Night was about to fall as well.
It was time for him to begin his plan.
Ansu closed his book, stood up, returned it to the shelf, and went to find his Maid.
After reading "Imperial History," Ansu felt that he had gained a great deal, especially from the rebel generals throughout imperial history. As they said, history was a mirror. He felt he could learn plenty of advanced experience from those great marshals.
Of course, it would also be useful for the exam.
He felt that, at his current level, scoring seventy or eighty points would not be difficult.
Enya was reading too, and she seemed completely engrossed, which surprised Ansu.
The evening breeze swept past, scattering her long hair against the pink sunset glow. She read quietly, and from a distance, she truly had the air of a literary maiden.
He walked over and asked, "What are you reading?"
"You guess." Enya closed her book and looked up. "The keyword hints are 'mother and son,' 'gender swap,' 'teacher,' 'incest,' 'nonhuman,' 'dismemberment,' 'hybridization,' and 'body modification.'"
She really did have the air of a literary maiden—provided she did not open her mouth.
What kind of R18 terminology was that? Ansu's lips twitched slightly.
"I'm guessing it's Chapter One of Druidic Biology Compulsory I: Pea Genetic Breeding."
Ansu snatched the book from her hands. Its cover was a vast expanse of lush green plants. "Stop reading. We should go. Is everything ready?"
"You really have no sense of romance."
Enya spoke helplessly, pointing at the handbag on the neighboring seat. Inside was a full set of clothes she had sewn herself.
They left the Holy See and followed the path outward, soon reaching the edge of the city-state.
If the Esoteric Cultists would not come kidnap Ansu, then Ansu would go find them himself.
The Mother God of Life Cult almost always held Sacrifice Rituals at two in the morning. According to their doctrine, that was the hour when the Mother Goddess awakened.
And today was Red Moon the 14th.
For Esoteric Cultists, this was an important day of the year. In ancient times, the Mother Goddess had descended here from the starry sky on the fourteenth. That day was known as the Day of Divine Arrival.
From the fourteenth to the sixteenth, sacrifice yields increased by thirty percent.
So at two in the morning over the next few days, many cultists would be conducting sacrifices in batches.
Once he knew the time and place, the next step was simple.
He would hijack someone else's sacrifice!
He would deliver himself right to their door!
He knew the locations of every small stronghold around the city-state. As long as he went looking at two in the morning, he could catch Esoteric Cultists in the middle of their sacrifices.
Then sacrifice every last one of them!
Since he was taking the initiative, he had to conceal his identity well to avoid being recognized.
Ansu knew he was handsome, so he had to hide that handsome face.
He needed to conceal his figure and cover his face, so Ansu had Enya sew him a new skin.
He took the clothes from the bag and quickly put them on.
The bulky cotton-padded appearance, the plain design, the utterly ordinary style—no matter how outstanding one's face was, this skin would conceal it.
No matter how noble one's bearing was, it would become honest and plain—this was Ansu's high school uniform from his previous life, version 2.0: the Winter is Coming Skin.
Put simply, it was a winter school uniform.
The one he had worn before was the summer version.
Once he put it on, no one would recognize anyone.
Besides that, he took a mask from the bag and put it over his face. The skin fitted tightly against him.
Mimic Mask Mid-tier Magic Tool
It could disguise his appearance.
This was a treasure he had stolen from Father's secret vault. It could perfectly conceal his face and mimic the appearance of a stranger. On the black market, it would cost at least ten thousand gold coins.
As for how Ansu knew Count Carlo had a secret vault, and how he had acquired its contents so easily—
It was because whenever he started a new playthrough in his previous life, he would raid Count Carlo's vault.
And whenever he ran short of money, he would go withdraw some from Count Carlo.
His Father in the Real World was affectionately known by his previous-life self as the Savings Bank Director.
Once everything was ready, Ansu accepted the mirror Enya handed him.
Beneath the grayish cotton hood was a plain, studious face.
His youthful shyness carried a clear intelligence. He was neither ugly nor handsome, but the sort of face that made people think he was good at science the moment they saw him.
The sort of face that looked like it belonged at Tsinghua University.
Everything was ready.
Next, it was time to withdraw money from the Construction Bank of his previous life.
To players, Count Carlo's vault was a savings bank, while the Esoteric Cultists' sacrificial altars were construction banks!
Enya brought over a carriage. Ansu mounted it and drove straight away.
It was eight in the evening now, with four hours until midnight.
And the Esoteric Cultists' rituals took a long time as well—if he kept traveling without rest and grinding monsters, Ansu was confident that he could clear every small stronghold near Border City in a single night!
I should set a fixed update schedule. For now, there will be two updates a day.
Raindrop will update one chapter at six in the afternoon and another at eight in the evening. Please support me!
Also, I recommend a very interesting light novel: The Talismans I Draw Will Definitely Be Banned.
Before you continue