Simulating Again, Cult Den?

The atmosphere in the office turned quiet all of a sudden.

Ansu glanced at the nervous Kevin.

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me who said anything..."

Ansu believed it wasn't Kevin who spoke, and of course, this wasn't just because he trusted his loyalty.

Mary must have only just received the news, which was why she called them both in to confront each other.

Otherwise, she only would have needed to press him slightly to find out the contents of the note, rather than asking him like this.

Therefore, he was very surprised in his heart; what surprised him wasn't that the other party knew about the note, but that they had clearly learned of the intelligence regarding the note from within the Church.

Ansu couldn't help but sigh; this cult organization was far too omnipotent, and the interior of the Church had been infiltrated until it was like a sieve.

"Teacher Mary, there might be a bit of a misunderstanding regarding this matter..." Ansu quickly thought of a countermeasure. Since the other party already knew about the note, there was no point in hiding it anymore.

"You liar, I should have known from the start that you couldn't be trusted." Teacher Mary was clearly implying something; she swept a glance at Ansu and then flicked her gaze toward Kevin.

"Tell me what he wrote on that note. I'll only give you one chance!"

"This..." Kevin looked hesitantly at Ansu.

"The Craig family, wealthy merchants on the border involved in the fur trade. Your father, old Craig, tried every possible way to send you children to Benalu or the Royal Capital, just to integrate into the upper-class circles." Teacher Mary had clearly grasped Kevin's weakness, and she spoke in a threatening tone: "If you don't want..."

"Kevin." Ansu said immediately: "Tell her the contents of the note."

Teacher Mary sneered.

Kevin looked at Ansu with a face full of apology, but he no longer refused. "Alright..."

He walked forward, recalled for a brief moment, and slowly wrote two lines of text on the notepad on the desk.

"Teacher Mary, he was merely a messenger." Ansu said to Mary: "This is a matter between you and me, so don't bother him again after this."

Mary crossed her arms and nodded expressionlessly.

Although the Craig family wasn't difficult to deal with, given the current situation of the cult, she didn't want to create extra complications.

Ansu didn't want to drag the innocent Kevin into this. Of course, saying that now might sound a bit "hypocritical," but at the time, he had just wanted to do his best to "call for backup." A member of the protagonist group like the Saintess, who was fully buffed with plot armor and destined to survive until the end, was indeed a very good choice.

Although the subsequent development had deviated slightly...

But one couldn't be a Monday-morning quarterback, right?

"You're actually quite willing to take responsibility..." Mary sneered as she looked at Ansu, then picked up the paper.

"You can go."

Kevin nodded hurriedly and left the office as if fleeing.

Afterward, Mary stared at the two lines of text on the paper, looking at them repeatedly in confusion.

"Tallin County, Blackstone Town, Elvin Village..."

"12:00, meet me at the park in the southwest corner of the Royal Academy?"

She raised her head, puzzled. "Ansu, what is the meaning of what you wrote here?"

"Well, about that..." Ansu thought to himself that it was fortunate he had acted like a "riddle-maker" back then; this left plenty of room for interpretation.

"Tell the truth, don't keep lying to me!" Mary's tone was cold. "Otherwise, you know my methods!"

She knew what this kid was capable of; after all, even Cecilia had been bewitched by him!

She had indeed been shocked yesterday. That witch, with her unpredictable personality and historically cruel methods, had actually let this kid off so easily!

She had even seen a hint of appreciation on Cecilia's face?

"Don't worry, Teacher Mary." Ansu nodded. "Of course I wouldn't dare lie. We're on the same side now, after all."

As if.

[You may simulate the following times]

[Future]

[10 minutes later (April 13, 16:12), consumes 10 points]

[10 hours later (April 14, 04:02), consumes 50 points]

[Start simulation?]

While Ansu was talking to Kevin just now, he had already constructed a "plan" in his mind to deal with this matter.

He could neither expose his "foresight" in knowing they wanted to kidnap him, nor could he make the act of sending the note seem unreasonable.

He had to weave a half-truthful lie and then observe the subsequent development of events.

Therefore...

[Simulation]

Initiating.

The moment Ansu silently recited the first option in his heart, the entire world seemed to have been pressed on pause.

Dust floated in the sunlight, and Teacher Mary's cold, scrutinizing expression was instantly frozen in place.

Darkness gradually shrouded his vision, and that string of vintage ornate countdown text appeared before his eyes.

[Future: 10 minutes later]

[Light Era 625, April 13th, 16:12]

[Starting simulation...]

[Remaining points: 38]

As the flow of time returned to normal, Ansu looked around in astonishment.

Wait a minute? Why did the scene change again?

The place he was in was extremely similar to the dim storage room from his first simulation, perhaps even darker.

Ansu's body was tied to a pillar with rope, the firelight around him flickering slightly, and the entire environment was exceptionally cold, much like a basement.

He hurriedly looked around, and by the dim firelight, he saw several figures surrounding him, dressed in dark clothing and hiding their faces behind eerie silver masks.

This mask...

Ansu remembered it very clearly; these were unmistakably the masks worn by the Echo of Truth Cult!

Had he been captured by Mary and brought to a cultist den?

No... why were there unexpected surprises in every simulation?

Could it be that the "lie" he had spent half a day meticulously preparing had been easily seen through? And so these cultists were going to kill him to vent their anger?

"How much longer until Elder Hall arrives?" Mary asked someone beside her in the darkness.

A cultist replied, "Elder Hall is at a remote location outside the city, but he is already on his way here."

"Good." Mary nodded, then her gaze slowly shifted toward the bound Ansu.

Ansu felt her gaze was strange, completely different from when she had interrogated him before, and there even seemed to be a hint of uncertainty in it.

"Mary..." that cultist also looked at Ansu and asked in a low voice, "Is it really okay for us to capture him behind the back of Lady Cecilia... After all, this student is her person. If Lady Cecilia blames us later..."

"This is Elder Hall's order." Mary left only this sentence and said no more.

"Alright then..." the cultist nodded.

Listening to their conversation, Ansu began to ponder secretly.

It seemed Mary had kidnapped him and brought him here without Cecilia's knowledge, and the one who gave her the order was an elder of the cult.

The Echo of Truth Cult was a cult group with a rather massive organizational structure, nominally managed by a "Council of Elders" composed of very senior elders who oversaw all the cultists under them.

The current Cecilia was still far from having the status she would hold in the future plot, but because Cecilia's strength was so formidable, she was mostly unrestrained; apart from her teacher, that is, the "Acting Cult Leader" Elder Samantha, no one could control her.

Although the [Simulation] ability was powerful, it had one shortcoming for Ansu.

That was, he didn't know what had happened during the blank period; he had essentially teleported into the future out of thin air.

"Teacher Mary..."

After thinking for a moment, Ansu decided to test the waters.

"I really wasn't lying just now, there's no need for you to be this angry, right?"

"And you even called over so many colleagues from the organization, what exactly are you trying to do...?"

Mary stared at Ansu suspiciously and walked slowly toward him.

"Has this brat's brain been fried by ether?"

"Whether what you said is true or false will be decided by Elder Hall; he will come to see you in a moment."

Ansu muttered to himself, how did he get knocked out by ether again...

Why do you black mages play with chemistry every single day?

He finally stopped probing and, like the rest of them, silently waited for this so-called Elder Hall.

He would know what they were up to soon enough.

The basement became increasingly quiet.

Ansu secretly checked his system panel.

[Mage Hand: Rank 0 Magic (Not Mastered) (Learning Progress: 46/50)]

[Create an imperceptible phantom hand that can manipulate objects (Increasing skill level can significantly increase the weight that can be manipulated)]

Just a little bit more...

This skill was perhaps the most useful one at the moment, but Ansu couldn't practice magic in front of these cultists; he could only wait for an opportunity in secret...

Just like that, about half an hour passed.

The entire basement suddenly became windy without a source, and all the firelight began to flicker violently.

"Elder Hall!" Mary looked toward the center of the basement, her tone becoming incredibly respectful.

Ansu also looked over, noticing that the floor tiles there suddenly trembled, and an eerie black aura spread rapidly.

Following that, countless, dense, and disgusting insects crawled out from beneath the ground.

The white worms gathered rapidly, twisting and writhing until they quickly coalesced into a humanoid shape.

The way Elder Hall made his entrance was truly a bit disgusting.

Including Mary, all the cultists bowed their heads toward the thin and ugly elder, but Elder Hall did not even spare them a glance, shifting his gaze directly to Ansu, who was tied to the pillar.

"Is he the one Cecilia chose?"

Mary nodded immediately and said, "Yes, Elder Hall."

A look of surprise squeezed onto Elder Hall's withered face. "I heard this brat is deeply trusted by her, to the point that she couldn't even bear to brainwash him?"

Mary nodded again.

"Very good!" Elder Hall grinned sinisterly. "Then he is perfectly suited to serve as our eyes..."