The Church's Conspiracy?

Under Cecilia's scrutinizing gaze, Ansu slowly recounted his conversation with Freya.

He stuck to the original "script."

Freya had been furious at his threat, but he had her over a barrel.

If she didn't want her "impure" bloodline exposed, she had to meet Ansu's "special request."

In the end, trembling all over, Freya had no choice but to agree.

"Special request?"

Cecilia watched Ansu suspiciously. "What kind of special? The way you put it sounds like something out of a novel... like a scoundrel using some excuse to threaten an innocent girl. You're not planning to do... that sort of thing to her, are you?"

"Of course not!" Ansu replied helplessly.

"I want to use Freya to get a lead so I can investigate the Church in secret. I've noticed the Church's attitude toward the Chosen One is strange, and I suspect there's a conspiracy behind it."

"A conspiracy?" Cecilia furrowed her brow.

"That's right!" Ansu shared his suspicions. "I've always taken the Witch's mission seriously and tried all kinds of ways to find the Chosen One. So I wanted to sound out the Saintess for information, but I realized... the Church she described didn't seem to care much about the Chosen One at all."

That clue had certainly caught Cecilia's interest. She said at once, "Go on."

Ansu recalled some of what he'd discussed with Freya. "The Echo of Truth Cult has narrowed its search to the Royal Academy. But the Church, which is the Chosen One's own faction, not only doesn't seem to care about this, it doesn't even know the Chosen One will appear at the Royal Academy. Isn't that strange?"

"The Church itself doesn't know?" Cecilia looked surprised. "Th-that can't be right. After all, we got our information from inside the Church..."

"There's something wrong with the Church!" Ansu declared.

Though he was deliberately changing the subject to some extent, Ansu took his "Fated Death" very seriously. The whole matter was shrouded in mystery, and he needed to make reasonable use of Cecilia's help.

He'd suspected the Church for a long time.

He knew the original story: the Chosen One was supposed to appear on the timeline when the game officially began. How could the cult have been about to discover them three years earlier?

Cecilia's expression grew increasingly strange.

After thinking for a moment, she slowly said, "If that's true, then it's very likely..."

"A trap," Ansu said coldly.

The Chosen One's appearance at the Royal Academy was very likely something the Church had staged itself.

Following that line of thought, someone behind the scenes at the Church might be trying to draw the cultists out and wipe them all out at once.

And everyone in the cult who knew about it—including Cecilia—had clearly been deceived.

But if that was the case... there was another problem.

The Church's scheme was an awfully ambitious undertaking. Why had they chosen the Benalu Royal Academy?

It would inevitably cause many innocent people to die or be injured, and it might not even wipe out the entire cult. What did they stand to gain?

"No, I have to report this to my teacher at once!" Cecilia realized how serious the matter was.

But then she stopped.

"Wait... I almost forgot. She's still in seclusion. If I go back without warning, those Reformist Faction elders will find out..."

"We should investigate in secret," Ansu suggested.

Cecilia furrowed her brow and fell into a long silence.

Ansu waited quietly.

After a long while, Cecilia's brow finally relaxed a little. She looked at Ansu and sighed softly.

"You did well. If you hadn't secretly sounded out the Saintess, I might never have noticed anything was wrong..."

"This isn't the Witch's fault," Ansu said with a smile. "Compared to magical research and the Demon race's treasures, the Chosen One probably seems insignificant to you. I imagine your teacher was the one who insisted the cult assign you this mission."

For Cecilia, the mission felt like being pushed into something against her will. With her arrogant, high-handed nature, she probably didn't care at all about the person supposedly destined to "change the world."

"Mm." Cecilia chuckled. "It was a mission my teacher assigned, after all. I couldn't refuse."

"So, from now on..." Ansu asked cautiously. "Can I keep meeting with the Saintess, Freya?"

"Well..." Cecilia paused, looking troubled.

In the end, she could only glare at Ansu in exasperation.

"So this is what you've been waiting for? Are you that eager to keep meeting in secret with that beautiful Saintess?"

"Uh..." Ansu could have sworn he smelled jealousy.

He glanced cautiously at Cecilia. The Witch narrowed her eyes, her expression tinged with suspicion.

"You finally got to meet her today, and you talked with her in secret for so long. You seemed pretty happy to me."

"I wasn't happy at all. Not even a little." Ansu immediately shook his head. "She's really difficult to deal with, and so strange..."

And a little perverted.

After the atmosphere had fallen quiet for a moment, Ansu saw that Cecilia was only hesitating, not outright refusing, and continued to persuade her:

"This really is a good opportunity. I can threaten her into letting my sister attend a Church school, which gives me an excuse to keep seeing her."

"I can use her to dig out whoever's pulling the strings inside the Church. After all, you don't want Elder Samantha's mission to go badly, do you?"

Cecilia was so exasperated she laughed. "You really have thought this through! You've even considered your sister's schooling!"

Ansu gave an awkward smile, as if embarrassed that she'd seen through his little scheme.

Cecilia sighed helplessly. "All right. I agree."

"But!"

She suddenly added, "Once the investigation is over, I don't want you seeing that Saintess again."

"Of course, Witch." Ansu breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

Now that she'd agreed, he had a reason to keep meeting Freya.

Plan complete!

After explaining all that, Ansu thought the matter was settled.

He'd been about to ask if he could borrow a few books from Cecilia's house and see if he could unlock some more magic skills...

But just as he opened his mouth, Cecilia's smile grew increasingly strange.

"Wait a little longer~"

Her eerie Demon Blood Eyes appeared again, and a faint magical aura began to stir.

Here it comes...

Ansu had thought she wouldn't test her [Hypnosis] on him today.

Fortunately, he'd never let his guard down around this Scum Witch. It wasn't the first time she'd changed her tune without warning.

As if by muscle memory, the instant the Witch activated [Hypnosis], Ansu cast Lv2 [Magic Immunity] on her.

[Selected skill to become immune to: Soul Domination - Hypnosis Technique]

[Once selected, you will become permanently immune to the magical effects of this skill]

Cecilia watched Ansu stand motionless in front of her, his gaze growing vacant. With a faint smile, she asked:

"Do you really have no feelings for that Saintess, Freya?"

Without hesitation, Ansu answered stiffly:

"Of course not. The only person in my heart is Miss Witch. I will never betray you."

Only then did Cecilia's eyes show satisfaction. It seemed that her psychological suggestions over the past while had left a deep "mark" of her presence in his heart.

Now that he was so loyal, perhaps she could stop giving him those suggestions...

After asking the question that mattered most to her, Cecilia slowly asked Ansu about what he'd said earlier.

"Was all the information you brought me today true?"

"It was true," Ansu replied.

"Oh..." Cecilia nodded and fell silent for a moment.

She quietly gazed at the handsome young man standing right in front of her. A strange, inexplicable thought suddenly surfaced, and she found herself wanting to ask him something else.

"Ansu, do you feel anything for me..."

"Other than loyalty and admiration, is there really nothing else?"