For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Chapter 257: Bad News

“Professor, you only want my body, don’t you?!”

“Hm? Hm?”

“You beast! Succubus! Lustful demon!”

“What’s with you all of a sudden, Yandel…?”

Iona looked troubled, like someone dealing with a child throwing a tantrum.

But listen up, everyone. Last night, Iona was seriously something else.

Covering my body with the blanket, I pretended to sob before flipping over and shouting.

“If you want it so much, just do it already!”

“Oh? Oh? So you’re saying you want a bit more? Since it’s morning, let’s go easy without any tools!”

Iona grinned and climbed on top of me. Even after a night of fun, her blood-red eyes were still full of desire.

Looks like I might be late today.

---

A small commotion erupted as Iona and I walked to school together a bit later than usual… but no one dared to speak up.

Even though I was hearing things like, ‘This is a bit…’ as soon as the second semester began, my skills were undeniable.

And as for Iona, what more was there to say? She was practically a living legend. Even the other professors couldn’t easily criticize her.

Of course, I should probably refrain from showing up late next time.

That said, if this were during the first semester, there would definitely have been much worse rumors going around, or some upperclassman confident in their skills would’ve picked a fight with me, but now, there’s none of that.

There were various reasons for it, but primarily, it was because my reputation had been established.

With the support of the Church of Righteous Radiance backing me, and even the Levantin Empire showing interest, it wasn’t easy for anyone to badmouth me.

Especially for the people of the Eurelia Continent, who still valued honor.

“So, when enchanting, it’s not just about the power of the magic but also considering the cost involved and its practicality when actually used; that makes a good magic tool.”

The enchantment professor, who seemed to be speaking in a slightly subdued voice while watching me, was still trying to conduct the class.

Even if you don’t know how to make magic tools, you must know which ones are effective in real situations.

It’s hard to focus on the class.

“Tsk.”

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“Is something wrong, Yandel? Do you have any complaints about the class…?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I politely shook my head at the professor, who seemed to react strongly to minor things, and continued my thoughts.

The Levantin Empire… maybe it’s time to make contact.

That way, I could expose the identity of the current head of the Boiling Silence Church and the main culprit who framed the Lindelheit family. This was the major figure who was promised the position of apostle when the Evil Gods would descend.

Empress Fiona de Levantin.

Of course, it was impossible right now. Even though the Boiling Silence Church didn’t boast high combat power.

Their strength didn’t come from direct force but from hidden positions of power.

This was someone who had infiltrated the position of empress in the strongest country on the Eurelia Continent, the Levantin Empire.

Suspecting the empress of the Levantin Empire, who, though not as firm as the Church of Righteous Radiance, takes a hard stance against the forces of the Evil Gods? And not even being able to prove it?

That would be asking for a backlash. If it’s that cunning Fiona, she might even be waiting for such an opportunity.

She uses all her powers just to conceal her identity and manipulates the emperor solely with her beauty and abilities—an unparalleled villainess.

If I rashly expose her, I might have to face the entire Levantin Empire.

If I die, that would be the best-case scenario, but even if I survive and escape, I’d find it difficult to operate publicly from then on.

Whether successful or not, it could also spark conflict between the Church of Righteous Radiance, which supports me unconditionally, and the Levantin Empire, which would be gravely insulted.

By quietly infiltrating and causing internal strife, she weakens the opponent’s forces even before the battle begins.

This was the perfect strategy for the Boiling Silence. No wonder they were called a future apostle.

It would’ve been great if I could have taken a shot at Fiona with the Shining Lion Dagger when I exposed that Frank Miller, who dueled with me, was a cultist…

Unfortunately, back then, I wasn’t in a position to say, ‘Let me just take a stab at the Empress.’

Given that these people could even mimic holy power and infiltrate the United Divine Orders, they must have prepared for the Shining Lion Dagger’s discerning ability by now.

I must catch her, but… just thinking about how is giving me a headache.

By the way, in H&A, we never managed to catch her. After the Evil Gods descended, the goal was to take down Fiona, who had awakened as an apostle, with as few casualties as possible.

Could we save the Emperor? Could we save the swordmaster captain of the imperial guard? How many aura expert knights and high-ranking magicians of the imperial family could we save?

Depending on the outcome of the Fiona Subjugation Battle, the level of support we received from the Levantin Empire as allies varied.

But no matter what we did, it was impossible to save everyone.

If you saved the Emperor, the swordmaster died. If you saved the swordmaster, the Emperor died. And the survival of the knights and magicians depended on how quickly you defeated her.

Some players even used a trainer tool to max out the protagonist’s stats and challenge the battle, but… even then, either the Emperor or the swordmaster always died.

If you saved the Emperor, you got massive military support from the Levantin Empire, along with a substantial amount of gold and rare items.

If you saved the captain of the imperial guard, the military support was reduced, and you didn’t get much in terms of gold or items, but the swordmaster himself participated in the later stages of the game.

If you’re a newbie just aiming to clear the game, you save the captain of the imperial guard, but if you’re a seasoned player looking for more, you save the Emperor.

That was the standard strategy in H&A.

But now that it’s reality, if I could prove that Fiona is a cultist and kill her before she awakens…

Wouldn’t it be possible to save both? Could I receive double the support?

…That’s what I thought as I wracked my brain, but I couldn’t come up with a good solution.

The cultists were already quick to respond to my moves, and there was no model answer to follow.

This wasn’t something I could solve by thinking alone. I’d have to find an opportunity to discuss it with others.

But in any case, I definitely need to visit the capital of the Levantin Empire at least once…

Should I ask Helena to help with this later?

The Levantin Empire and the Church of Righteous Radiance weren’t on bad terms, probably because they shared a common hatred for the Evil Gods.

If a saintess, the first in 300 years, requests an audience, they wouldn’t refuse.

I wonder what Helena is up to now. Has she left Solaris yet? She should be arriving soon… I gave her the communication crystal, so I’ll contact her later.

While I was lost in thought, the class had already ended.

Seeing the enchantment professor hastily leave the classroom as soon as the bell rang made me tilt my head in confusion.

What’s going on?

I behaved in class this time…

“Oh.”

I didn’t actually attend the class, did I?

---

Lunch break. I visited the research lab to feed Iona some blood and contact Helena.

Taking a bite of the sandwich I had stashed in my inventory as emergency rations, I opened my mouth to speak.

“So, Professor Iona, do you think there’s anything we can do about this?”

“Hm? Hm? What are you talking about, Yandel? Are you asking me to say ‘ah’ with a sandwich?”

Iona tilted her head in confusion, fiddling with her hands. As I handed her the sandwich, she brought it straight to my mouth.

Nom, nom…

After taking a bite, I continued.

“I feel like the professors are overly conscious of me lately. Isn’t there something we can do about that? It’s not like the class content is lacking or anything. It’s just that I know a slightly better way.”

“Just now! That sounded a bit arrogant!”

“……”

Honestly, I thought the same thing after I said it.

Iona laughed for a while, patting my shoulder, before nodding.

“Alright, alright. I’ll talk to the other professors. I can’t guarantee anything, though!”

“As long as they know I’m not intentionally disregarding the other professors, that’s enough for me.”

I let out a deep sigh and snagged the last piece of the sandwich from Iona’s hand with my mouth.

For some reason, Iona stared blankly at her fingers and mine, but I ignored it and licked the remaining sauce clean from my lips.

As I reached out for another sandwich I had prepared in advance…

Pat, pat.

“Huh?”

The sandwich was nowhere to be found. When I looked over, I saw Carla and Elisha had split the remaining sandwich in half and were standing in line.

“…Do you want more?”

“No! We want to feed you, too, Master!”

“Hmph! You’re not planning to leave me out, are you?”

Is that what it’s about?

I chuckled and opened my mouth, and Carla, with a delighted expression, fed me the sandwich.

Alternating between Carla and Elisha feeding me bites of the sandwich, I took out the crystal connected to Helena.

As I infused it with magic, the crystal vibrated lightly and began to glow. But no matter how much time passed, she didn’t answer.

Is she busy right now? It is lunchtime, after all. I’ll try contacting her again after sunset.

I put the crystal away, thinking nothing of it.

…But I shouldn’t have done that.

Three days after losing contact with Helena.

News arrived that Solaris, the main base of the Church of Righteous Radiance, was surrounded by a horde of monsters.