As the morning sun bathed every corner of the Havoc Empire’s Capital City in dazzling golden light, the [First Day Celebration] of the [Victory Anniversary] began.
The wide palace road leading to the royal palace was temporarily opened to the public, and in a short time, it was already packed with a sea of people.
Small newsboys darted agilely through the crowd, hawking newspapers, while young shop girls carried boxes filled with hot dogs, sausages, and fried bananas around their necks to sell.
Flowers were scattered, and whistles blew. Cheering and discussions filled the air.
These activities gradually quieted down as the official ceremony began.
The initial arrangement featured members of the Imperial family giving speeches about “defeating the Demon Clan” — it was all very formulaic and bureaucratic.
Everyone was quiet — mostly because they were bored. They started reading newspapers, cracking sunflower seeds, and eating bananas.
Finally, there was the ritualistic applause. Fast forward, fast forward.
Then, the main event arrived!
The Saintess of the [Hidden Sea Church] gave a speech on behalf of the Alliance [Subjugation Team]!
The Saintess was truly an angel. Then, as her speech reached a turning point, she announced some “good news”!
The audience along the palace road lost their composure.
Because the area near the palace castle was mostly filled with students from the [Clock Tower] and members of the [Subjugation Team], the moment everyone saw the Hero’s mother — Professor Valo — appear, they went completely wild!
The Saintess walked into view, holding hands with Professor Valo, who was wearing a matching Saintess uniform!
Then, Valo tested the microphone on the [Magic Megaphone].
“Ahem… testing, testing?”
Clock Tower students and [Subjugation Team] members: (Crying and screaming with excitement) “If you come in the depths of winter to trade for a city of white, I want to eat Cantonese food — “
“At the invitation of the [Hidden Sea Church] and the [Clock Tower], I have decided to become the [Demon Race Peace Ambassador]. I will dedicate myself to postwar reconstruction, improving relations with the Demon Clan, and fostering a harmonious and friendly coexistence…”
Everyone: “The splendor gently swaying at the edge of the sky, turning into tears as I wake up crying — “
A Clock Tower student near the front nudged his companion’s waist and whispered, “Why did Mom become a Peace Ambassador? I thought she’d be a Saintess Candidate.”
The companion immediately curled his lip impatiently.
“What’s the difference? Just tell me, did Mom show up or not? Stop interfering with my note-taking. Professor Gaji is definitely going to make us write a reflection essay after Mom’s speech is over!”
Soon, the speech ended.
“…So, thank you all for your support. Please enjoy the rest of the celebration.”
Valo waved amidst cheers of “Mom, I love you!” and “Mom looked over here!” then turned to leave.
As she stepped out of the public eye, she immediately let out a long sigh of relief.
She had delivered the speech entirely without a script, mostly just rambling, but no one under the castle was actually listening — they were too busy cheering.
Thus, her plan to change her identity from “Saintess Candidate” to [Demon Race Peace Ambassador]… had at least landed smoothly.
Even if she couldn’t trigger the [Virtuous Corruption Ending], it didn’t matter.
Since she refused to give up, Valo planned to use her influence over her daughters and this special [Victory Day Celebration] event to continue gilding her status.
She was aiming for one of the more regal endings among [Valorant]’s many possible conclusions — the [Prestige Ending].
The [Prestige Ending] was jokingly called the [Lady Magnet Ending] by players.
Literally, in this ending, the protagonist relies on the help of her daughters along with her own power, prestige, and strength to eventually become the “invisible hand” that controls the world from the shadows.
The land and its beauties would all belong to her.
However, the requirements for the [Magneto Ending] were also very high.
Not only did the protagonist need high [Favorability] and support from most important NPCs, but they also needed to attain positions of significant weight and prestige across various civilizations.
The [Demon Race Peace Ambassador] title was one of those identity requirements.
On the way to the celebration, Valo had proposed this change of status to her three daughters for this very reason — now, she had made the first step toward the [Magneto Ending] by turning a mistake into an advantage.
It was a long road ahead, but for Valo, who had already cleared the [Magneto Ending] in her previous life, it was nothing more than showing off some pro-gamer moves in actual combat.
‘So, should I try to secure [Favorability] with the master of the [Clock Tower], the Great Sage, next? Or should I grab a position in the [Hidden Sea Church] that isn’t inferior to a Saintess Candidate? Or perhaps I should just start with Val Junior Ain and blitz the Imperial family? The girls of the royal family are like flowers in a greenhouse; wouldn’t they be easy pickings for a heart-thief like Valo Lant?’
A moment later, as Valo was lost in thought, she ran right into Saintess Anqi, who was waiting specifically for her.
The Saintess no longer looked as dejected as she had this morning. Had she recovered somewhat?
Even though there was no one else in the castle corridor, Anqi maintained a Saintess’s trademark smile toward Valo, as if their relationship was back to normal and no longer distorted.
“Lady Valo, congratulations on successfully becoming the [Demon Race Peace Ambassador]… Although you came up with it on the fly, I also believe it is a reasonable and appropriate status,” Anqi said. After a pause, the girl’s gaze flickered slightly, as if she didn’t dare make eye contact with Valo. “So, after this… how do you plan to arrange your daily schedule?”
Valo waved her hand and said casually, “First, I’ll move back to the [Dormitory] at the [Clock Tower]. After all, I’m not a Saintess Candidate anymore~”
But before she could finish, she realized an unignorable problem in Anqi’s words! She hurriedly shouted for a stop. “Wait, Anqi, what did you just call me? Shouldn’t it be ‘Mom’?”
This hit the girl’s sore spot! Anqi’s body trembled, and she lowered her head, struggling to explain.
“I… I thought that after this morning’s events, what you gave up wasn’t just the status of Saintess Candidate, but also the role of being my mother…”
Valo’s lips twitched. Kaika hadn’t said anything, Finney hadn’t said anything, and most importantly, she herself as the mother hadn’t said anything.
Why was this Saintess daughter of hers overthinking things and panicking?
Admittedly, the mother-daughter relationship between her and Anqi was agreed upon as temporary.
Cutting ties with her role as the daughters’ mother could help her avoid many [Bad Endings], and Valo would have to do it sooner or later.
But cutting ties wasn’t a clean break; it was a gradual, slow, and planned process.
For example, right now, Valo was aiming for the [Magneto Ending].
In this ending, Anqi, as the Saintess of the [Hidden Sea Church], was an incredibly important NPC.
She needed to accumulate [Favorability] and prestige with Anqi.
Since she had painstakingly obtained the status of “Anqi’s mother” and even made Anqi owe her a favor, why would she agree with Anqi and cut the mother-daughter tie now?
‘Hmph, Anqi, you think you can escape?’
Thinking of this, Valo immediately straightened her expression and followed the girl’s gaze.
“Anqi, I’ve said it before. To me, you didn’t do anything unforgivable this time,” she said seriously. “So, of course, I won’t just give up my status as your mother. Tolerating a daughter’s mistakes is one of a mother’s responsibilities, after all.”
As she spoke, Valo wore what she thought was a very gentle smile. At this moment, she felt like she could be the gentlest mother in the whole world.
“!”
Immediately following her words was the sound of the girl sharply inhaling, and then she turned around, flapping her wings and fleeing in a panic.
But this was also within Valo’s expectations. Even if Anqi, who had been lectured for doing something bad this morning, looked calm now, it was definitely all an act.
Those nonsensical words about “not recognizing her as a mother” were the best proof.
As long as she gave Anqi some time to calm down, she could firmly maintain her image in Anqi’s heart. Sincerity for sincerity.
Anyway, on the [Nurturing Panel] in her field of vision, Anqi’s panel as a daughter was still there.
This meant Anqi was still her daughter, no problem at all!
Valo had thought so just a second ago.
However, in the next second, when she saw Anqi’s [Justice Value] drop again as the girl fled, reaching 90%… a bad feeling gradually crawled up Valo’s back.
It happened this morning, and it was happening now…
In Anqi’s starting route in the game, as long as Anqi had the Saintess status and her [Justice Value] was full, there usually wouldn’t be any drastic changes.
How could the Saintess’s faith be shaken so easily?
If a continuous drop occurred, there was only one possibility: Anqi had the thought of “not wanting to be the Saintess”!
Valo immediately panicked. ‘No, don’t do that! How can Anqi have such a thought!?’
In the [Magneto Ending], Anqi had to be the Saintess of the [Hidden Sea Church] to give the protagonist support!