Elisa didn't know exactly what Silas had done.
But after coming out, seeing the fires burning in every direction... and the living dead filling the streets with their grotesque walks and eerie smiles...
She understood.
Silas had shattered the fixed order of the Holy City. The Church was panicking.
She was different now than she used to be.
Aside from her speed, if she wanted strength... as long as she could endure the hunger, she could carry Silas and keep going for a long time.
Her identity was exposed.
Was that a bad thing?
She could just carry him away from the Holy City.
She could do that... but something was still missing.
"..."
Elisa placed Silas in a sewage canal she deemed safe enough. She cut her wrist to let him drink her blood for recovery. She was more familiar with the dark, hidden places than the world above.
Then she circled back to knock on Dorothy's door. She thought Dorothy would surely be implicated by Silas's actions; regardless of whether they would marry later, she had to take her along. It wouldn't be right for the two of them to suffer because of her.
Even though the Duchess had been involved in high society, Dorothy's home was just a wooden house slightly better than a commoner's, located in a remote suburb far from the bustling center.
Knock, knock.
She knocked twice, but there was no response.
Was she already asleep? Or had something happened?
Elisa grew anxious and climbed in through an unlatched side window.
Tiptoeing through the living room, she glimpsed a faint light in the bedroom. A candle flickered.
Scribble, scribble...
She saw Dorothy sitting intently at the desk, writing something with a quill. Perhaps because she was too focused, she hadn't heard the knocking.
"How could he offend the Church? Suddenly there are rumors that a sword instructor killed Church officials..."
"Bastard!"
"Now all the social balls I arranged are gone. If we had just followed my plan, within five years, I definitely could have become a noble by sucking up to those noble ladies."
"..."
But it wasn't what Elisa expected. Dorothy wasn't staying up to study her lessons.
Her parchment was densely packed with names—which lady had what hobby, what they liked, when they went out.
"Ugh, seriously."
Dorothy scratched her hair irritably and bit her nails. "The instruction... except for making an excuse the first time to not give it to him, I did everything. Then that niece had to show up. Looking back, it's lucky I did. I'm still a virgin, so I still have a chance to find someone else."
"Damn it, in this huge Holy City, there isn't another man besides him who looks easy to manipulate. He had to have potential and listen to me. So annoying. If he had just stayed a teacher, I would have been a virtuous wife and mother."
"I have to cut ties quickly... right, I'll put on a crying face now. I'll say that disgusting, beautiful woman is his mistress. I must not let this touch me... it's terrifying."
"Yes, I'll say that... I was just one of the noble girls he threatened and coerced. Especially since the Duchess is dead, I have no money or power... I couldn't resist at all. Yes, that's more convincing than anything those other girls at the academy will say!"
"..."
Elisa had been standing behind her for a long time.
"?"
Perhaps too immersed in her plot to distance herself from Silas, it took Dorothy a while to notice an extra shadow on the table.
She turned around.
She met a pair of glowing, ghostly green eyes.
"Michelle... eh?"
Her consciousness wavered; Dorothy's eyes became dull.
"What do you think he is to you?" Elisa spoke.
"He... who?"
"Silas."
"Teacher Silas. To me, he's an excellent candidate to ensure my future is comfortable. His views on women are different from others; he doesn't have noble arrogance, but his status is essentially that of a noble."
"Aside from profit?"
"Mmh... his body. Teacher Silas is indeed very big, and his stamina is great."
"Aside from those?!"
"He has no ambition. He refuses to use those ladies to move up, which is absolutely frustrating."
"...What about the 'love' you mentioned?! Dorothy!"
"...Teacher Silas has a lot of money. I know it's all hidden under the bed. He doesn't pay much attention to money, which is good for me. I've taken over a dozen gold coins and he didn't even know."
"You bitch!"
Slap!
Elisa struck Dorothy across the cheek; the latter's face immediately swelled up. There were signs of her waking from the hypnosis due to the pain, but she was instantly re-hypnotized.
"..."
After a dozen consecutive rounds, Dorothy's face was swollen like a pig's head.
Elisa panted.
She had come here to tell her to run.
To tell her that if she truly loved Silas, she should cherish him. Even if she lost her assets in the Holy City, Elisa had hidden plenty of treasure outside... enough to live without worry.
What did that make her?
She had suffered so much, thinking that as a fallen princess and a latecomer, she had no right to compete.
"Since you love money and power so much, cry while holding the ashes of those things."
Elisa mimicked Silas's methods. She carried the blank-eyed Dorothy outside and then set the house on fire.
Inside were all the various jewelry Dorothy had stolen, along with her gold coins.
"If you don't intend to cherish him, I will."
Elisa didn't kill her. She turned her back on the sea of flames.
"..."
A long time passed.
Dorothy, slumped on the ground, woke up.
Her face throbbed with pain. But she had no time to worry about the pain; she looked in horror at her house, which was now engulfed in fire.
"Ah! My money!"
It wasn't just the money. Also perishing in the fire were the notebooks where she had recorded the ladies' preferences over the years. That was the foundation of her survival.
Outside the Holy City.
In the forest. Silas woke up.
It wasn't until they reached this small cave, where he had once stayed with Elisa for a day and night, that Silas truly felt safe enough to sleep.
When he woke up, the wounds on his body were all healed.
Is hypnosis that powerful? It's just... there were too many bandages wrapped around him; he looked like a mummy.
"..."
So, where was Elisa?
Beside him were the clothes she had helped him change out of—tattered and soaked in blood. The more he looked at the claw marks on the fabric, the more he felt that not only was the Archbishop not human, but he himself, surviving and jumping around the next day, wasn't very human either.
Additionally, there were some small bottles likely used for food, wild berries, and the like.
Aside from being a bit hungry, Silas felt great.
"..."
He was about to get up to find Elisa.
Snap.
Silas heard footsteps.
Peeking out, it wasn't the Princess. It was knights with swords at their waists. Three of them, of varying heights, roughly in their 30s. The scruffy man in the middle wearing a trench coat seemed to be the leader.
Searching outside the Holy City already? He didn't know whether to be flattered that the Archbishop took him so seriously or what.
[You woke up in a cave outside the Holy City. You did not see the Princess. You noticed people who looked like knights nearby.]
[They haven't discovered you.]
[You decided to...]
[Option 1: Strike first. Kill them.]
[Option 2: Strike first. Question them about the situation in the Holy City.]
[Proceeding with Free Simulation]
So that's why I didn't enter a Regular Simulation after sleeping all night... the game was waiting for this moment.
Silas felt that with Elisa's abilities and speed, she wouldn't be caught by mere knights. She was probably nearby looking for supplies.
[You chose Option 2]
"Who's there?"
Swish!
Silas didn't waste words. He grabbed his short sword, intending to knock them out with the hilt and tie them up.
"..."
One of the knights was actually quite skilled. Trying to use the hilt while playing around seemed a bit too disrespectful.
Fine, let's fight for real. If they die, so be it.
"Wait, you're Teacher Silas, aren't you?"
The scruffy knight suddenly spoke.
"So what if I am?"
Silas caught an opening and pressed his sword directly against the man's throat. However, the latter didn't seem afraid; he just stared straight at Silas's face. Is this guy gay?
"My name is Leitman."
"Oh, I've heard of you. The noble lapdog who's closest to the Church?"
"Lapdog?"
Leitman gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I was. But since you made the Archbishop go missing in that half-human, half-demon state, I'm not anymore. Last night, I took my men and killed all those freaks the Church created."
"But as long as he lives, the Holy City will never have peace. I hope... you can help us finish this."
"..."
Silas didn't have any grand desire to change the city, but there were two reasons to agree. First, to finish the mission. Second, because being killed until he ran out of free simulations just to take one of the werewolf's lives made him pissed.
If someone was willing to help, he had no objections.
Except...
"It's natural for you to have doubts."
Leitman threw his sword aside and took a brand new family crest from his pocket. "But if anything I say is false, you can cut off my head the moment you notice something wrong. You can trample this crest into the dirt and spit on it twice."
"I get the gist, but I have to tie you up first."
After stripping Leitman and his men of their weapons, Silas took the old clothes from the cave and tore them into strips.
He tied them all up.
"An abrupt visit leading to this outcome isn't surprising."
Leitman rubbed his neck, where a faint bloody line remained from Silas's sword. "However, to be able to keep breathing and discuss what comes next... I am already grateful to you. With your swordsmanship, you could have killed me in two moves."
"How strong are you compared to the rest of the Knights?"
Silas didn't like flattery, but he really wanted to know what level his skills were at.
"While it might sound like bragging in front of you, I believe... I could be a Vice-Captain in the Knights without any problem."
"Ah, only a Vice-Captain?"
"...Sorry."
Leitman's eyelid twitched.
True, the man before him was someone who could fight the Archbishop to a standstill. A Vice-Captain must seem insignificant to him.
"Fine. Have you seen my companion?"
"About this tall, body like this, quite pretty."
"..."
Leitman and his two subordinates looked at each other and shook their heads.
Was there anyone who looked like a potato?
"Forget it. I can't describe her. It seems you haven't seen her."
Silas gave up and walked out.
He had only gone a few steps.
"..."
He saw the Princess, dressed plainly with dust on her cheeks, carrying a large pile of wild berries and some dry rations she'd found somewhere.
"Y-You're awake?"
The Princess was a bit flustered, instinctively clutching the food in her arms tighter.
"Are those red ones actually edible? The color is so bright."
Silas pointed at the berries on the top of her pile.
"Of course they are! This is all from my twenty years of wandering... experience... mgh..."
Elisa showed a hint of pride, but then immediately felt so awkward her toes curled. Her voice trailed off.
However, none of that was important!
Next, she just had to gather her courage, invite the man before her to leave the Holy City with her, and go back to the cave!
"Is this beautiful lady the companion Teacher Silas was just talking about?"
But.
Elisa soon discovered that the wild boar cave, which was supposed to be a private spot for just her and Silas, now contained several figures who shouldn't be there.
"Carrying so many berries and food... is she actually your wife?"
"Enviable. In a situation like this, to have such an extraordinary woman willing to stay by your side."
"..."
Silas ignored their misunderstanding. "Elisa, let me introduce you. This is a noble I just met after a fight, Leitman. He seems willing to do his part for the Holy City."
"..."
"Elisa?"
"Ah."
After being called several times, the Princess snapped back to reality. She put down the berries and forced a smile. "That... that's great."
What should she do?
Maybe he really wanted to change the state of the Holy City, but she had already shrunk back. She was starting to feel the bloodiness and danger that came with power.
She thought that if he were willing to leave with her, in the end, it definitely wouldn't just be her hands... she would give him everything.
Several times she wanted to stop Silas, who was chatting happily with Leitman, but she could never find the words.
Mmh.
Even if Dorothy was trash. No one would come to compete.
But, would he really like a fallen princess who was so weak at heart?