After Ansu told Cecilia what he was thinking, she let out a mocking laugh.
"This Leonard is hiding a lot more than I thought. He must already know about Terry's scheme and be waiting in the shadows for the big showdown at the Royal Academy. What he wants most is for both sides to suffer heavy losses."
Ansu thought of the campus tragedy that had already happened in the simulation.
He still remembered how Terry's side had been unable to cast Divine Descent for some unknown reason. That had given the Echo of Truth a rare chance to catch its breath, and even allowed Samantha to escape by making a lucky use of the magic circle's immense Magic Power...
Maybe Leonard had been behind that, too. After all, if Terry had succeeded, he really would have become a great hero—the Church's savior, acclaimed by everyone.
Their conversation left Freya rooted to the spot in shock.
She covered her slightly parted lips, her eyes full of disbelief. "Th-this is true? Bishop Leonard really is so sinister... He secretly pushed this whole conspiracy forward?"
Ansu looked at Freya's expression and silently nodded.
Freya lowered her head in despair. "How could this happen? How... What's wrong with these highly respected archbishops? If this really happens, how many people at the school will die..."
Ansu sighed inwardly. Suddenly, he felt a little sorry for this kind-hearted, guileless girl.
The Church had always been a sacred place in Freya's heart. Yet today, one after another, the archbishops—each seemingly more righteous than the last—had revealed their darkest, most despicable sides to her...
It was nothing less than a collapse of her worldview...
"Ansu, I..." Freya's eyes had reddened. She had so much she wanted to say, but in front of other people, she didn't dare.
"This is the human world. You'll have to learn to get used to it." Ansu didn't know how to comfort her. Freya's first lesson had come three years earlier than in the story.
He could only speak gently. "You should head back first. So much has happened today, and things at the Church will probably get very busy. They'll need all the help they can get."
Keeping busy would stop her from dwelling on all those upsetting things.
"Okay." Freya nodded softly.
Ansu's voice seemed to give her something to hold on to.
That was right... There was still Lord Ansu.
Without him, those two sinister archbishops would have gotten their way. Lord Ansu had stopped the tragedy from happening.
Thank goodness she had found Lord Ansu!
Even if the Church had become so filthy, she still believed Lord Ansu could change everything!
The light returned to her pale golden eyes. As if she had come to terms with it, Freya smiled gently and waved goodbye to Ansu.
"Ansu, I'll head back now! See you!"
"Yeah, see you."
After Freya left, Ansu looked at Cecilia, wondering if she ought to leave, too.
It was already very late, and he still had to go home and let his sister know he was safe.
But Cecilia was eyeing him with displeasure...
"You're pretty good at comforting people, aren't you?"
"Uh..." Ansu looked helpless. "Does that count as comforting? My lady Witch, I just told her to head back..."
"But your voice was so gentle with her!" Cecilia suddenly leaned closer, scrutinizing his reaction. "You even talk to her like that when I'm right here. Who knows how much more brazen you get when I'm not around!"
As that flawless, stunning face drew near, Ansu had no thoughts of admiring it. His first instinct was that the Scum Witch was about to hypnotize him as a test again.
But after a moment of nerves, he noticed that her eyes were still deep purple.
Hmm... It did seem like Cecilia had been hypnotizing him less often lately.
She seemed to trust him a lot more now.
"My lady Witch, that's just how I talk... Am I not gentle with everyone? My classmates all know that!" Ansu made an excuse and tried to change the subject.
"Besides... Getting Saintess Freya on our side wasn't easy. Our organization's been trying for years to infiltrate the Church's upper ranks..." Ansu shrugged, sounding rather pleased with himself. "But I did more by myself than all the Council of Elders put together."
"Why are you comparing yourself to those idiots on the Council of Elders?" Cecilia rolled her eyes, her tone as disdainful as ever.
"But speaking of the Order..." Her brow furrowed. "I need to report what happened with Terry to my teacher and uncover the Order's traitor as soon as possible."
Cecilia glanced at the sky outside. It would be light in two hours.
"Anyway, if there's nothing else, I'm leaving."
She waved casually.
"Okay, sure." Ansu waited eagerly for her to go.
But halfway there, she suddenly turned around.
"You're pretty slick at changing the subject!" Cecilia huffed. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Once I'm done with this, I'll come back and deal with you!"
Deal with him good and proper!
Ansu gave her a timely look of Don't, my lady Witch!
Cecilia held back a laugh, glared at him in exasperation, and finally disappeared into the night.
Before he knew it, it was well past midnight.
There was no public transport back to the Black Port District at this hour. Ansu waited on the deserted street for ages before he managed to flag down an expensive horse-drawn cab.
When he got back to the shabby house at 221A, Ansu took out his key.
But before he could put it in the lock, the door suddenly opened.
"Bro, you're finally back..."
Dark circles shadowed Vera's eyes, and her little face was full of exhaustion. She must not have slept at all while he was gone.
When she saw Ansu had returned safely, she relaxed, though she couldn't help being curious.
"Were you on another mission with Sister Freya today? Did you catch the bad guy?"
Ansu had stayed out all night for several nights in a row, and his sister was already fed up with him, sulking at him all day.
To keep Vera from worrying, Ansu had let her in on a few details. He told her that two departments were working together to help Freya's side catch a bad guy within the Church.
The three of them really had been busy with that for the past few days. Apart from Cecilia's questionable identity, the story was fairly believable.
"Yeah, we caught him." Ansu gently ruffled Vera's hair. Unlike usual, Vera didn't duck away from his hand. Instead, she led him back into the living room.
"Bro, what was the bad guy like? Are there bad people in the Church, too? Tell me all about it!"
Vera seemed to have lost all her drowsiness. Her big eyes were wide open, and curiosity was written all over her little face.
Ansu couldn't help laughing. His sister was so curious about adventures, unlike other little girls her age.
He had also noticed that Vera secretly read his book of magic. On the surface, she seemed worried that the "heretical book" would get them into trouble, but deep down, she was fascinated by the mysterious world and supernatural powers.
Ansu watched Vera listen with her chin propped on her hands. Perhaps her nature had already destined her to enter the supernatural world.
Had he been too overprotective of her?
Before you continue