Chapter 97

Chapter 97: The Future is Approaching.

Xia’er didn’t know much about Nia.

From the first impression, Xia’er thought that Nia was merely a dedicated, stern, and loyal guard.

It wasn’t until the “Tempter” simulation that Xia’er had more than two sentences of dialogue with Nia, but that interaction only reinforced Xia’er’s preconceived notions.

However, later on, when it came to the Other Realm and Tempters—spiritual and ethereal damage—Nia’s extremely low resistance left a deep impression on Xia’er.

Now it seemed clear that Nia’s background was indeed complicated.

Perhaps due to her experience as a “candidate Holy Maiden” many years ago, her spirit and ethereal essence became exceedingly fragile.

This explained everything.

At the same time, Xia’er was somewhat curious about Nia’s experience as a candidate Holy Maiden.

She had once considered running away to join the Salvation Goddess Religion as a Holy Maiden if the crisis ever became unsolvable, using this method to resolve the situation.

But perhaps because it touched upon painful memories, Nia did not continue speaking and instead left the study under some pretext, disappearing somewhere.

After Nia left, Aivana slowly began to speak, sharing what she knew about Nia’s current state.

“Some of Nia’s past memories have been temporarily ‘forgotten’ by my ability,”

Aivana explained Nia’s departure, “but after so many years, if she encounters the aura of the Other Realm or discusses related matters, it still causes her to gradually recall her previous pain.”

“What exactly happened back then?”

Xia’er asked, voicing her inner doubts, “What is a candidate Holy Maiden? And what are the duties of a Holy Maiden?”

Aivana helplessly shook her head and said, “I don’t know much either. I can’t delve into such deep memories; I can only seal most of her past recollections with ‘forgetting.’”

“I just heard from the elders of the family that Nia used to be a talented monk in the God of Order Church. Somehow, her ethereal essence must have come into contact with something in the Other Realm, causing the potion inside her body to backfire, nearly driving her insane.”

“After more than ten years, her spirit finally stabilized, but her heart no longer held any faith in the Eye of Order—she was like a walking corpse.”

“Later, she was taken in by the Rossul Family, briefly trained, and became my guard. I’ve practically been protected by her since childhood.”

Upon hearing this, Xia’er nodded slightly.

God of Order Church… Eye of Order…

It sounded like the Rossul Family had a deep connection with the God of Order Church.

No wonder Aivana could skillfully use the Pact of Order and also master its counteraction techniques.

Adelle, who had been listening quietly, worriedly asked, “Is there any way to treat her condition?”

It was clear that Adelle wanted to cure her.

But if it were truly curable, it wouldn’t have dragged on until now. Likely, neither the God of Order Church nor the Rossul Family had any solutions.

“With the extent of her potion erosion, there’s no way for her to recover. She has lost the possibility of consuming the next level of potions.”

Aivana shook her head.

“It’s already a miracle that she’s managed to stay rational until now.”

To be sent to interact with the Other Realm, touching objects within or bringing them back…

Xia’er thought about the church’s main purpose—to use the Holy Maidens as bridges to communicate with their deity or divine servants in the Other Realm…

Although Xia’er had never truly entered the Other Realm, she had once obtained fragments of memory about it through her deep simulations.

Just watching those few fragments almost overwhelmed her spirit. Even after the arrival of Radiant Bishop Xiu, he had to stabilize Xia’er’s mind.

If it was hard for herself, it was unimaginable how the Holy Maidens or candidates managed to interact with the Other Realm…

Could they really be treated as expendables?

Why didn’t the higher-ups explore the Other Realm themselves?

Was it because they couldn’t? Or because they feared death?

What methods did they use to open the Other Realm?

More questions flooded Xia’er’s mind, but she quickly set them aside.

Because for Xia’er, these were all questions without answers. Even if she speculated on a “result,” it would only be one “possibility.”

Now, she preferred to explore the “truth” within her simulations.

At this point, the only certainty was that becoming a Holy Maiden didn’t seem like a good idea.

“Those churches are too cruel…”

Adelle pouted but suddenly remembered that her sister was also part of a church, so she reluctantly closed her mouth.

“If it’s true, from our perspective, it might seem very cruel,”

Aivana calmly spoke, “but for the believers of those churches, being chosen is an honor.”

“Aivana, there’s something I’m curious about,”

Xia’er looked at Aivana, whose voice had become quieter, and asked, “What exactly is the relationship between the Rossul Family and the God of Order Church?”

This question didn’t seem to bother Aivana, as she directly answered, “It’s similar to the cooperative relationship between the Salvation Goddess Religion and the Redemption Society—but even closer.”

“Currently, almost half of the family members are believers of the God of Order. The rest, who aren’t believers, mostly hold important positions in local governments or serve as senators in the An Su Upper House, representing the interests of the God of Order Church.”

“So we’re kind of caught between the government and the church.”

Though Aivana didn’t explicitly express dissatisfaction, from her description of the relationship between the church and the family, it seemed she wasn’t fond of the current situation.

Just hearing this relationship made it easy to understand that if there were conflicts between the government and the church, the Rossul Family would likely be the first to be targeted.

After a brief exchange, all three expressed opposition to Amy joining the church, though they hadn’t yet decided on her future plans.

Amy hadn’t done anything wrong, but simply possessing “treasure” was itself a sin—something predetermined by birth, with no one able to change it.

However, this conversation gave both Aivana and Adelle a sense of impending crisis, originating from their own lack of strength.

Both Aivana and Adelle agreed to digest potions at the hospital tomorrow, but Xia’er had already taken a day off.

Finally, things had come to an end, and Xia’er gained “freedom” to arrange her holiday plans and prepare for studying in An Su.

The first priority was naturally to find a new place to live with her sister in the Gemstone District; she couldn’t keep staying at Aivana’s house indefinitely.

Moreover, her sister had been living alone for several days. Without friends in the Gemstone District and without Xia’er around, she probably struggled to even chat with someone, let alone cook for herself.

Hearing about Xia’er’s intention to rent a place, Adelle became enthusiastic and offered to help inquire about landlords.

Though Aivana had mentioned renting her properties to Xia’er, it was declined.

Most of Aivana’s properties were shops, and even if there were residential units, even with Aivana’s discount, the price was far beyond Xia’er and Li Qi’s budget.

Currently, Xia’er had almost no cash left, only holding a large bag of potions.

She’d need to find an opportunity to digest one or two bottles in her simulation and then sell the potions to Aivana in reality.

Lower prices weren’t an issue; she just hoped to sell them quickly to obtain some disposable funds.

As for the potion given to Amy by the divine servant, it remained in Xia’er’s slightly faded canvas bag. Xia’er didn’t intend to let Amy use it.

The materials and recipes inside the potion were unclear whether they were correct…

“This is definitely the flesh and blood of an Extraordinary Person, inherently containing a large amount of negative mental emotions.”

Even if Amy’s talent allows her to resist these effects fairly well, why drink this when better Potions are available?

After Xia’er proposed the idea for Amy to choose a different Potion, Aivana and Adelle both agreed unanimously. They decided that after finishing dinner with Amy later today, they would help her find a suitable Potion tailored just for her.

There was still some time before dinner, and the steward of the Manor had already returned to Aivana’s estate. She needed to brief him on some matters while also arranging for some repairs around the estate.

Adelle, on the other hand, prepared to return to her rented house, hiring some workers to move her equipment to Aivana’s clinic. After receiving the backup key to Aivana’s clinic, she bid farewell and left.

Seeing there was still some free time, Xia’er pre-emptively collected two Su Pounds from Aivana as her weekly salary—thanks to Adelle, her pay had increased—and prepared to go house hunting near Gemstone Avenue.

Adelle earned almost the maximum salary of a private doctor at fifteen Su Pounds per week, while Xia’er, as Aivana’s assistant, received two Su Pounds per week, wages that were impossible for ordinary people to obtain.

However, neither Adelle nor Aivana seemed to care about the amount of their salaries. After all, in their eyes, Extraordinary Persons had many ways to earn money, so the salary was merely a formality.

As for the Potions, Xia’er left them at Aivana’s estate. Storing them there was no different than keeping them in a safe.

Xia’er walked down the afternoon streets, clutching two one-Su-Pound gold coins and a few half-crown silver coins in her pocket, feeling a faint sense of unease.

By total assets, including the Potions temporarily stored under her care for Amy, Xia’er already had a fortune worth over ten thousand Su Pounds.

Why did she still feel poor?

Because the Potions she had were still unarchived simulations and couldn’t be sold yet.

“Sigh…”

Xia’er sighed. After renting a house, she would have to quickly find an opportunity to enter the simulation and digest the Potions in her possession.

A newsboy ran past Xia’er, interrupting her thoughts. She stopped him, spending two pennies to buy the latest local newspaper. Skipping over the popular novels, horror stories, and crime reports, she looked at the rental ads.

If you didn’t want to run around too much, the best option was to look through the small ads in the local newspapers to see if any landlords were offering rentals.

Real estate agents would certainly not offer such affordable prices.

Landlords in Clock Tower Lane mostly relied on self-written flyers or word-of-mouth to rent out their properties, since most workers couldn’t even read the newspapers.

Thus, the listings in the newspaper were likely from Gemstone District or nearby areas, occasionally featuring a couple of listings from Jazz Bridge District, though those prices were enough to make Xia’er shudder.

After a quick scan of all the rental ads, Xia’er found one that caught her eye:

Rent: A two-bedroom semi-detached house on Gemstone Street in the Gemstone District of Borough City. Well-maintained property with a spacious living room. Rent: 1 Su Pound per month. Suitable for small families or professional couples. For inquiries, visit Mrs. Jamison at No. 23 High Street, Gemstone District.

About five Shillings per week…and this was just for a very small unit.

This must be the price of living close to the city center. It was hard to imagine how expensive it would be to rent in An Su.

Xia’er noted down the address of the landlord and went to meet her. The landlord turned out to be a very humorous old lady. The property was part of her late husband’s inheritance, and she found it difficult to manage alone, so she decided to put it up for rent.

She seemed very interested in Xia’er, especially upon learning that Xia’er was an assistant to a doctor, eagerly consulting her about her own health issues.

Unfortunately, Xia’er had no medical knowledge and could only pretend to be socially awkward to avoid the conversation.

After inspecting the house, Xia’er was quite satisfied. The rent was within her budget, and although the house wasn’t large, it had everything she needed. With a bit of furniture replacement, it would be perfect for herself and her sister.

Most importantly, the location was extremely convenient, being close to both Aivana’s clinic and her sister’s workplace at the jewelry store. Plus, the landlord was easy to deal with. On the spot, Xia’er decided to rent the house.

In this area, few people used rental contracts; generally, it was just a verbal agreement. Xia’er immediately paid one Su Pound and received the key to the upstairs of the house.

From now on, for the next month, this would be Xia’er’s new home.

Xia’er glanced at the System’s time. It was about the time Amy would be heading to Aivana’s place, so she started walking towards Aivana’s direction.

Instead of directly going to her sister, Xia’er planned to finish her errands at Aivana’s first and then surprise her sister in the evening.

On her way back, Xia’er idly flipped through the System’s functions, using it as a distraction without having a computer or phone.

Xia’er also internally questioned the System, confirming something again.

“System, if I transfer from Rank Two ‘Avenger’ to Rank Two ‘Missionary’ and save it in another archive, does that count as collecting Rank One ‘Reformed Monk,’ right?”

[Of course, possessing archives of higher ranks naturally counts as completing the collection of all lower ranks… Didn’t you ask this before? ^^]

Xia’er knew she had asked it before, but she just wanted to confirm again.

But thinking about it this way, she wouldn’t need to collect the Potion for ‘Reformed Monk.’ Simply transferring the ‘Avenger’ archive into ‘Missionary’ would automatically count as collecting Rank One ‘Reformed Monk.’

That meant for each similar path, she only needed to complete one Replication Ritual, whichever was simpler.

Transferring between same-rank paths was much easier than completing rituals, though it required enduring double whispers. Of course, it wasn’t like Xie Lun, who transferred paths while also completing higher-rank replication rituals.

Xia’er wasn’t worried about the double whispers since they wouldn’t carry over to reality.

Instantly, Xia’er felt the pressure of Potions decrease significantly.

When Xia’er arrived at Aivana’s doorstep, she saw armed guards standing by. After a few minutes of trouble reporting, Xia’er was finally allowed to enter Aivana’s estate.

Xia’er was about to turn off the System interface but instinctively clicked on the Simulation interface before doing so, glancing at the Simulation time.

[Future Day: 96Day (Sheng Year 741, September 27th, 7:00) (Consumption: 100 Mortal Points)]

[Past Day: 7Day (Sheng Year 741, June 16th, 7:00) (Consumption: 10 Mortal Points)]

[Old Day: *** , ***Day (???) (Consumption: 10,000 Mortal Points)]

[Dice Count: 1]

Hmm… The Past Day simulation extended from five days ago to seven days ago. After all, the last time she checked, it was still the 21st, and today was already the 23rd.

Xia’er casually closed the simulation, but the next second, she had a sudden thought, and the System panel unfolded before her once more, quickly opening to the Simulation interface.

Xia’er’s gaze shifted slightly as she stared at the number of Future Days, feeling uncertain…

Past Day added two days, but Future Day… lost four days?

If she remembered correctly, the date she could simulate before was September 29th…

[Future] was drawing closer…

PS1:

Previously, some readers kept asking to see my rejected design of “Avenger” Xia’er. Initially, I didn’t plan to release it because I wasn’t satisfied with it and intended to find a more skilled artist to redo it.

But since there’s demand, here it is. Consider it a third creation. 2333.

“Avenger” Xia’er rejected draft.