Dolores was going to look for someone—the destined Saintess, who at this time was still just a nun: Saintess Hilberu.
After being reminded, Dolores finally realized that the prophetic knowledge she possessed was almost all centered around the game’s plot, and the game’s plot revolved around Green and the other “capture targets.”
These were her greatest assets.
Of all the locals capable of crushing Green with one hand, she only knew one—her own father, Felts IV. But once Green handed over the branch, even her subtle hints wouldn’t be enough to deal with him.
Even if he was her father.
If she had anyone she could use who might actually affect Green, it would have to be those other capture targets. Unlike herself, a “beginner tutorial” character with no resistance, the other capture targets had their own means of fighting back.
Dolores didn’t have the ability to trigger a Game Over, but the other characters did. For example, if you tried to forcibly change favorability through the system with Saintess Hilberu without breaking down her mental defenses in advance, she would sense something was wrong and pull you into a dream, resulting in Player Death and a bad ending.
This was a Mechanism Kill she could use. Up till now, Dolores had only been thinking in terms of her own character, subconsciously overlooking this point.
But right now, Hilberu was still very weak. She hadn’t yet received any miracles or protection from the Holy Church. She was only in the royal capital because her personal story hadn’t officially begun.
Would Green, knowing the plot, decide to eliminate the threat of Hilberu in the cradle?
Dolores suddenly thought of this, but quickly shook her head. No matter what, she had to go see for herself first.
At this point in time, Hilberu should still be at the church, at least somewhere in the vicinity of the capital.
When the maid asked where to go, Dolores replied, “To the Holy Church’s church.”
The maid was taken aback for a moment and said, “The Holy Church doesn’t have a church in Urgresh, only a monastery from two and a half centuries ago in the suburbs.”
“Then to the monastery,” Dolores said.
She vaguely recalled that the lack of a church in the capital was related to a particular plot point, but if there was no church, then by her identity and timing, Hilberu could only be at the monastery.
Monasteries in this other world didn’t have such harsh requirements, thanks to the real existence of gods and the church’s mastery of magical knowledge. So, becoming a nun required meeting some rather strict conditions.
Becoming a nun was no longer the go-to escape for most women from secular troubles, because the threshold had been raised.
Though there were still some tough rules, the monastery was much freer than Dolores’s stereotypical impression of the church.
Inside the carriage, Dolores lifted the curtain. They were traveling through the streets and had just arrived at a square of some significance.
A statue stood at the center of the square, about five meters tall, built from gray stone, with a string of names engraved on the base:
“Greatest Hero of the Land People”
“Suroho 3021–3051”
The statue’s hand was held open, with half an iron hammer swallowed by the base, and a half-meter-long one-handed golden sword embedded in a slightly smaller stone pedestal half a meter in front of the statue.
Golden runes were carved on the blade.
“Whosoever draws this sword from this stone shall inherit my legacy.”
As Dolores glanced at the sword in the stone, there were still people trying to pull the sword out of the pedestal, all to no avail.
Anything with such obvious references to her previous life was a foreshadowing or special quest item in the game, mostly designed by Xiaohuayu, with a few that Dolores herself helped create.
If the inscription on the sword in the stone had been, “Whosoever can draw this sword from the stone shall be the rightful King of all Sulande,”
Dolores might have taken a second look, because in her original world, the sword in the stone and the Arthurian Legend were creations of later generations.
The gold standard of medieval fan fiction—
Dolores remembered clearly that Xiaohuayu told her the sword in the stone in the game was just a decorative prop and couldn’t be pulled out.
After leaving the “Golden Square” built around the statue and the sword in the stone, the carriage returned to the main road.
Not far behind, a nun in a white robe, veil, and shawl appeared after Dolores’s carriage had passed. A few golden strands poked out from under the white headband, and blue eyes curiously observed her surroundings.
In front of the nun, on the crowded square, a man over two meters tall walked in the direction Dolores’s carriage had gone.
Such an obvious figure, yet no one around seemed to notice. Just as the nun passed a shop and was about to be seen by the man, a hand suddenly yanked her into an alley.
The man glanced at the spot where the nun had just been, but saw nothing unusual. He quickened his pace after a few steps and soon disappeared into the crowd.
Only after he left did the commotion in the alley settle down.
Now, in the alley, there were two little girls of similar height, both with long golden hair. The blue-eyed nun had her mouth covered by the green-eyed Student.
The green-eyed girl was none other than Albecco, who had just met with Dolores in the library. Once she was sure the man had gone, Albecco let go of her hand.
Albecco recognized the man who had just left—it was Green. He looked like he was following Dolores.
Albecco hadn’t planned to follow Dolores. She had only wanted to come take a look at the Golden Square, but unexpectedly, after all that detouring, she ended up running into Dolores here.
When she turned her head, she saw this nun—an old acquaintance. Another glance, and she spotted Green, who had cast a spell to lower his presence.
Albecco absolutely couldn’t let these two living legends meet right now. Enemies meeting would only lead to trouble. If Green decided to stab the nun ahead of time, that wouldn’t be fun at all.
“Ahem! What are you doing!” The nun, now alert, was about to call for help. One more turn and the alley would open onto the street.
Albecco quickly said, “Are you the novice nun Hilberu from Ulin Monastery?”
“You know me?” Hilberu was taken aback. She’d been in the monastery for six years and never expected to hear someone call her by name outside.
“Don’t you dislike the church’s dogma? Can’t recite the Fifth Bible? Always slacking off during class and chores, and dreaming of leaving the monastery?”
Albecco rattled off her list, making Hilberu’s eyes go wide as she stamped her foot in protest:
“I’m a nun of the monastery—how could I have such blasphemous thoughts and do such blasphemous things! What exactly are you trying to say!”
She hit the mark; Albecco hadn’t gotten the wrong person. Still, she really didn’t have a particular reason to find Hilberu, just didn’t want her bumping into Green too soon.
But—
Albecco rummaged in her ring and tossed a copy of the Fifth Bible into Hilberu’s arms, saying,
“Take a look at this book today. Don’t keep skipping class—it’s for your own good.”
“What are you even talking about…!” Hilberu, her sore spot hit, took a few steps toward Albecco, but the other girl just turned and vanished.
“Eh? Sister, why are you in the alley?”
A passerby noticed Hilberu in the alley. She instinctively put on a smile, hugging the Fifth Bible to her chest, and answered in a soft voice,
“I saw a cat and went in to bandage it up.”
“Oh, I see. Sister, you’re so kind.”
“Sister, you really are a devout follower of the gods!”
Hilberu forced a smile, replying to the enthusiastic believers, while Albecco had already disappeared into the crowd.
Albecco was a bit curious—where would Her Highness the Princess go next? Could she possibly know anyone besides herself?
Lost in thought, Albecco stopped before the sword in the stone.
“The sword in the stone… If only there were an Arthurian Legend here—that’d make things interesting.”