The Girl Who Looted Tomorrow

Freya’s face filled with question marks.

“Why are you suddenly saying that? And of course I know that.”

This time, it was Euphemia’s turn to look confused.

“Huh? Under normal circumstances, aren’t you supposed to be modest and deny it? You just accepted it that directly?”

“Yeah. Is there a problem?” Freya asked. “Isn’t it a good thing to know yourself well?”

For a moment, Euphemia had no idea what to say.

“Uh… you’re not wrong?”

Freya stuck out her tongue and deliberately acted cute.

“Ehehe.”

⸻

At the same time, the scene shifted to the outskirts of the Kingdom of Tarapaca’s capital.

On a small hillside, two people stood together.

One of them was a middle-aged man wearing loose black robes and glasses. He was a little over six feet tall and had a refined, scholarly air.

As for the other person, Freya would have recognized him at a glance if she were here.

It was General Jerome, who should have been “dead.”

The reason he appeared here was actually very simple. It came from the adjutant’s [Devotion] ability.

A Rank Five [General] could have two adjutants. Aside from that Rank Four [Hunter], Jerome had always been looking for another suitable adjutant. In the beginning, had he not taken a liking to Freya for that very reason?

But that did not mean Jerome’s second adjutant slot had been empty. If there was no suitable candidate, he could always choose someone at random to serve as a temporary stand-in.

Without a doubt, it was this second adjutant who had used [Devotion] at the final moment and saved Jerome’s life.

It was worth mentioning that in the previous simulation battle, this adjutant had not used the ability.

Because it had been a simulation battle, Life Freya’s attention had been entirely on the fight. Once she won and confirmed Jerome’s death, she had immediately ended the simulation. In reality, however, after the battle ended, she had spoken a few words with Jerome on impulse.

Perhaps those few words caused Jerome to change his mind. All of a sudden, he no longer wanted to die.

Although a [General] and his adjutant could not communicate directly through the mind, they could transmit very simple thoughts. Thus, at the last moment, the second adjutant saved his life.

In reality, Life Freya had sensed this. But after seeing the system prompt that the crisis had been resolved, she could not be bothered to meddle in whatever General Jerome wanted to do afterward.

The man in glasses clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Jerome, whose spirituality was nearly exhausted, yet whose body was completely intact without the slightest injury.

In a rather magnetic voice, he said, “Jerome, you failed. Worse still, you failed before you even began.”

Jerome wore an expression of utter helplessness.

“Who could have imagined that before my plan even began, before the array was even drawn, someone would bring out a partially drawn array blueprint as evidence and call in the Mobile Unit ahead of time?”

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Hearing this, the man in glasses could not help showing surprise.

“Future sight? Did you run into a Fate Path practitioner?”

“No,” Jerome said. “But it is too late to talk about that now. Failure is failure.”

“You are right,” the man in glasses said. “And it will not take long for the Mobile Unit to discover that you did not actually die. After that, they will continue hunting you. What do you plan to do next? Become a fugitive, or surrender and prepare for prison?”

Jerome’s crime was not some minor offense. Using a first-tier city as the price for an advancement ritual absolutely counted as a monstrous crime.

Jerome asked, “If I surrender, what awaits me?”

“According to the kingdom’s laws, sentencing you directly to death would not be excessive,” the man in glasses said. “But with that king’s temperament, he probably will not give you such a severe punishment. Most likely, he will consider your years of service guarding the front lines and sentence you to life imprisonment.”

Jerome curled his lip.

“That would be worse than killing me.”

After a pause, he looked at the man before him and asked, “By the way, you have already prepared the Rank Six War Path potion, haven’t you?”

“Of course.”

As he spoke, the man in glasses took a potion bottle from his pocket. He had been planning to ask someone to deliver it to Jerome, but before he could act, Jerome’s situation had blown up completely.

And it was not only this Rank Six potion. The formula, materials, and transport ships for the Demon Path potions had all been provided by this man in glasses.

Jerome said, “Can you give me the potion?”

The man in glasses said, “I will not help you plan another advancement ritual.”

Jerome shook his head.

“I do not need your help. And I do not plan to continue preparing the ritual in the Kingdom of Tarapaca. I will go to the Pentagram Alliance, or perhaps… the Kingdom of Kirkland.”

The man in glasses frowned slightly.

“By yourself? Preparing a ritual in another country? You cannot succeed.”

“It will only be a small attempt,” Jerome said. “Even if I fail, I will find the right moment and force the potion down.”

The man in glasses froze.

“Have you gone mad? If you take the potion by force without preparing the ritual, you will die without a doubt. No, it will be worse than death. The potion’s power will tear your body apart, twist your mind, and turn you into a complete monster.”

Jerome recalled his earlier conversation with Life Freya and spoke very calmly.

“That is still better than doing nothing. A completely insane Rank Six monster would at least be very strong, wouldn’t it?”

“The Pentagram Alliance is currently adding more and more troops to the border. Anyone with eyes can see their intentions. But no matter what, they have not formally declared war on the Kingdom of Tarapaca yet. In the end, that is because they are currently at war with another country, the Kingdom of Kirkland.”

“However, the Kingdom of Kirkland is already showing a clear tendency to surrender. Perhaps I can go over and add fuel to the fire.”

For example, he could directly wreak havoc inside the Kingdom of Kirkland. Everyone knew the War Path was the official Path of the Pentagram Alliance. If a Rank Six monster like Jerome appeared inside the Kingdom of Kirkland, it would be hard for people not to suspect that the Pentagram Alliance was behind it.

He could pin the blame straight onto the Pentagram Alliance.

“And if that plan does not work, I may act within the Pentagram Alliance itself and create trouble for them. No matter what, I will act according to the situation and delay the Pentagram Alliance’s attack on the Kingdom of Tarapaca as much as possible. When the time comes, the rest will depend on you, [Trigg Hurst].”

The man in glasses, Trigg, fell silent for a while. Then he nodded.

“I will do everything I can. Go. Leave the rest to me.”

The first thing he needed to do was find someone to replace Jerome. That person would be captured by the Mobile Unit, judged by the king, and sent to prison.

Strictly speaking, this was not to clean up Jerome’s mess. It was to guard against an investigation from the Pentagram Alliance.

After all, if Jerome remained an uncaptured fugitive, and then a monster appeared in the Pentagram Alliance, anyone could guess who that person was. The blame would then point straight at the Kingdom of Tarapaca.

Trigg was doing this to prevent that outcome.

Before leaving, however, Jerome suddenly said, “By the way, there is a very interesting girl at the Earth Church in Auxerre City. If you have time, perhaps you can go meet her. I do not know her name, but she is very easy to recognize. Small, wearing a white dress, and very beautiful. That will be her.”

Trigg nodded.

“I understand.”

⸻

The perspective returned to Freya.

Because the battle had spilled over into the area, Euphemia’s house beside Jerome’s residence had also been destroyed. As a result, she now had nowhere to live and had no choice but to rent another place temporarily.

Freya went with her to look at the new house, and the two of them had dinner together.

During the meal, Euphemia said, “So the next commission is to help you figure out where those countless blessings and countless resentments came from, right?”

At this, however, Freya hesitated.

The investigation method Euphemia had suggested was to let someone read her memories. But Freya was a transmigrator, and she also had the system. She did not want anyone else to know about those things.

So she asked, “Um… is there no other method besides letting someone look through my memories?”