Chapter 109: [Future Days] Are Approaching You

[Future Days] Are Approaching You

[Translator’s Note: I add days behind the past and future simulations, as they should, because the day count has become significant now.]

Ciel didn’t know much about Nia.

From her initial impression, Ciel thought Nia was just a dutiful, serious, and loyal guard.

During that “Instigator” simulation, Ciel had a conversation with Nia that exceeded two sentences, but that contact only reinforced Ciel’s stereotype.

It was only later, when Nia showed extremely low resistance to mental and spiritual damage like Other Side influence and instigation, that she left a deeper impression on Ciel.

Now it seemed Nia’s background was indeed not simple.

Perhaps it was the experience as a “Candidate Saintess” from who knows how many years ago that caused Nia’s spirit and soul to become extremely fragile.

If that’s the case, things make sense.

At the same time, Ciel was somewhat curious about the experience of being a “Candidate Saintess.”

Because she had once considered that if a crisis became severe enough to be unsolvable, she could simply run to the Church of the Savior Goddess and become a Saintess to resolve it.

Perhaps because it touched upon painful memories, Nia didn’t continue speaking but excused herself and left the study, destination unknown.

After Nia left, Avena slowly spoke, revealing what she knew about Nia’s current situation.

“Parts of Nia’s past memories have been temporarily ‘forgotten’ using my ability,” Avena explained Nia’s departure. “But after so many years, encountering the aura of the Other Side or discussing related matters still gradually brings back her past pain.”

“What exactly happened back then?” Ciel voiced the doubts she had earlier. “What is a Candidate Saintess? And what are the duties of a Saintess?”

Avena also shook her head helplessly and said, “I’m not entirely sure either. I can’t probe memories that deep, only ‘forget’ and seal away most past recollections.”

“I only heard from family elders that the past Nia was also a genius monk in the Church of the God of Order. It’s unknown what her spirit encountered in the Other Side, causing her potion to backlash, nearly losing her sanity.”

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“Over a decade later, her spirit gradually stabilized, but her heart no longer held any faith in the Eye of Order. She was like a walking corpse.”

“Later on, she was taken in by the Roswell family. After brief training, she became my guard. I was practically protected by her growing up.”

Ciel listened and nodded slightly.

Church of the God of Order... Eye of Order...

It sounded like the Roswell family had very deep ties with the Church of the God of Order.

No wonder Avena could skillfully use the Eye of Order Contract and even knew countermeasures against it.

Adele, who had been listening quietly, also asked with concern, “Is there any way to treat her condition?”

It was clear Adele really wanted to cure her.

But if she could be cured, it wouldn’t have dragged on until now. Presumably, both the Church of the God of Order and the Roswell family were helpless.

“Eroded by the potion to this extent, she can no longer recover, and has lost the possibility of consuming the next tier potion.” Avena shook her head. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“Maintaining her sanity and living until now is already a miracle.”

Being sent to contact the Other Side, touch items within, or simply bring them back...

Ciel thought about the churches’ main objective—using the Saintess as a bridge to communicate with their church’s god or divine servant from the Other Side...

Although Ciel had never truly been to the Other Side, she had obtained several memory fragments related to it through deep simulations of herself.

Just watching a few fragments nearly overwhelmed Ciel’s spirit. It was only later, after “Radiance Bishop” Hugh arrived, that he helped stabilize her spirit.

If even she was like this, it was hard to imagine how those Saintesses or Candidate Saintesses contacted the Other Side...

Could they really be using people as consumables?

Why didn’t those high-ranking individuals explore the Other Side themselves?

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

What method did they use to open the Other Side?

More questions flooded Ciel’s mind, but she quickly pushed them aside.

Because for Ciel, these were questions without definite answers. Even if she managed to piece together a “result,” it would only be a “possibility.”

Now, she was more accustomed to exploring the “truth” within her simulations.

The only certainty at this point was that becoming a Saintess didn’t seem like a good idea.

“So cruel, those chur...” Adele pouted, but suddenly remembered her own sister was also part of a church, and shut her mouth gloomily.

“If the matter is true, from our perspective, it might seem very cruel,” Avena said calmly. “But for the believers of those churches, being chosen is actually an honor.”

“Avena, there’s something I’m curious about.” Ciel looked at the slightly downcast Avena and asked, “What exactly is the relationship between the Roswell family and the Church of the God of Order?”

This question didn’t seem worth hiding for Avena. She directly said, “It’s a cooperative relationship like the Church of the Savior Goddess and the Redemption Society—though the connection is much closer.”

“Currently, almost half the family members are believers of the God of Order. Of the remaining non-believers, most hold important positions in various local governments or serve as council members in the Ansu Upper House, representing the interests of the Church of the God of Order.”

“Caught between the government and the church, I suppose.”

Although Avena didn’t explicitly express dissatisfaction, her description of the relationship between the church and the family suggested she wasn’t fond of the current situation.

Just hearing about this relationship made it clear that if any conflict arose between the government and the church, the Roswell family would be the first to be purged.

After some brief further conversation, all three expressed opposition to Amy joining any church. However, the issue of Amy’s future remained unresolved for the time being.

Amy had done nothing wrong, but possessing a “treasure” was itself a sin, something destined from birth that no one could change.

However, this conversation gave both Avena and Adele a sense of crisis, stemming from their own lack of strength.

Avena and Adele agreed to go to the hospital tomorrow to digest potions. Ciel, however, requested a day off for tomorrow.

With the matter finally concluded, Ciel finally gained “freedom” to arrange her vacation plans and prepare for attending school in Ansu.

The first priority, naturally, was to find a new house in the Gem District with her sister. She couldn’t keep imposing on Avena.

Besides, her sister had been living alone for several days. She had no friends in the Gem District. Without Ciel around, she wouldn’t even have anyone to talk to, and might struggle even with cooking.

Hearing Ciel wanted to rent a house, Adele became enthusiastic, saying she could help ask her landlord.

Although Avena also offered to rent one of her properties to Ciel, Ciel declined.

Because Avena’s properties were mostly shops. Even the residential ones, despite Avena’s discount, were far beyond Ciel and Lichie’s financial means.

Currently, Ciel had almost no cash left, only a large bag of potions.

She needed to find an opportunity to digest one or two bottles in a simulation, then have Avena sell the potions for her in reality.

A lower price didn’t matter; it was best to sell them quickly so Ciel could obtain some disposable funds.

As for the potions the divine servant gave Amy, they were currently in Ciel’s somewhat faded canvas bag. Ciel didn’t intend for Amy to use these potions.

The materials and formula within the potions were unclear regarding their correctness. Moreover, the materials used were definitely the flesh and blood of transcendents, inherently containing large amounts of negative spiritual emotions.

Even if Amy was talented enough to resist these reasonably well, why drink these when better potions were available?

After Ciel voiced her idea of letting Amy choose a different potion, Avena and Adele unanimously agreed. They decided that after having dinner with Amy tonight, they would help her tailor-find a suitable potion.

There was still some time before dinner. The estate’s butler had returned to Avena’s manor. She needed to give the butler some instructions and arrange for manor repairs.

Adele, meanwhile, prepared to return to her rented house, hire some people to move her equipment to Avena’s clinic. After getting a spare key to Avena’s clinic, she took her leave.

-

Seeing there was still some free time, Ciel requested a 2-pound advance on her weekly salary from Avena—thanks to Adele, her salary had also increased—and prepared to go look at houses near Gem Avenue.

Adele received a salary of 15 pounds per week, almost the top rate for a private doctor. Ciel, as Avena’s assistant, received 2 pounds per week. Both salaries were unattainable for ordinary people.

However, neither Adele nor Avena seemed concerned about the amount. After all, in their view, transcendents had plenty of ways to earn money; this salary was merely a formality.

As for the potions, Ciel left them all at Avena’s manor, which was as safe as putting them in a vault.

Ciel walked along the afternoon street, clutching the two one-pound gold coins and several half-crown silver coins in her pocket, feeling slightly conflicted.

Based on total assets, including the potions the divine servant gave Amy that she was temporarily holding, she already had a net worth of over ten thousand pounds.

Why was she still so poor?

Simply because the potions she possessed were from unsaved simulations and couldn’t be sold yet.

“Sigh...” Ciel sighed.

After renting the house, she had to quickly find an opportunity in a simulation to digest the potions she had on hand.

A newspaper boy ran past Ciel, interrupting her thoughts.

She stopped the boy, spent 2 pence on the latest local newspaper, skipped the popular fiction, horror stories, and crime reports, and looked at the rental information on the side.

If she didn’t want to run around everywhere, the most suitable way was through the small ads in the local newspaper, checking if any landlords were currently renting out properties.

Finding a real estate agent would definitely not be as affordable.

Landlords in Clock Tower Alley mostly relied on writing flyers or word-of-mouth to rent out houses, as few workers could read the newspaper.

Therefore, housing information published in the newspaper was likely mostly in the Gem District or nearby areas. Occasionally, one or two listings for the Sir’s Bridge District could be seen, but those prices were enough to make Ciel flinch.

After roughly scanning all the rental information in the newspaper, Ciel found one that caught her eye.

【For Rent: A two-bedroom row house on Gem Avenue, Gem District, Berren City. House well-maintained, spacious living room. Rent: 1 su pound per month. Suitable for small families or professional couples. Inquire with Mrs. Jameson at 23 High Street, Gem District】

Roughly equivalent to 5 shillings per week... and this was just for a very small unit.

Is this the cost of living near the city center?

It’s hard to imagine how expensive renting in Ansu would be.

Ciel noted down the landlord’s address. Upon arrival, she met the landlord, a very humorous old lady. The property was an inheritance from her deceased husband; managing it alone was difficult, so she decided to rent it out.

She seemed very interested in Ciel, the prospective tenant. After learning Ciel was a doctor’s assistant, she eagerly consulted Ciel about her own health problems.

Unfortunately, Ciel had zero medical knowledge and could only feign social anxiety to evade the conversation.

After viewing the house, Ciel was quite satisfied. The rent was affordable, and although the house wasn’t large, it was fully equipped. With some furniture changes, it would be sufficient for her and her sister.

Most importantly, it was very close to Avena’s clinic and her sister’s workplace at the jewelry store. The location couldn’t be more suitable. The landlord was also easy to talk to. Ciel decided on the spot to rent the house.

Rental contracts were rarely used here; agreements were usually verbal. Ciel directly paid one gold pound and immediately received the key to the second floor of the house.

For the next month, this house would be Ciel’s new home.

Ciel checked the system time. It was almost time for Amy to head to Avena’s house. She also started heading towards Avena’s place.

She didn’t go find her sister directly, planning instead to surprise her sister at night after handling matters at Avena’s.

Walking back, Ciel idly scrolled through the system functions out of boredom. Without a computer or phone, browsing the system served as entertainment.

Ciel also mentally asked and reconfirmed something with the system.

“System, if I switch from second-tier ‘Judicator’ to second-tier ‘Missionary’ and save it in another slot, does that count as collecting first-tier ‘Ascetic’?”

【Of course. Possessing a higher-tier save file naturally counts as completing the collection of all lower tiers preceding it... Haven’t you asked this before? ^^】

Ciel certainly knew she had asked; she was just confirming again.

But calculating this way, she didn’t need to collect the “Ascetic” potion. Simply converting the “Judicator” save file to “Missionary” would naturally count as collecting first-tier “Ascetic.”

This meant that for each pair of adjacent paths, she actually only needed to complete one Reconstitution Ritual, whichever was easier.

Switching paths within the same tier was much simpler than completing a ritual, just requiring enduring double the whispers, unlike Sherlon who had to switch paths while simultaneously completing a higher-tier Reconstitution Ritual.

Ciel wasn’t worried about double whispers at all; those whispers wouldn’t carry over into reality.

Instantly, Ciel felt the pressure regarding potions lessen considerably.

Arriving at Avena’s gate, Ciel saw armed guards already standing there. After a few minutes of troublesome reporting, Ciel was finally allowed into Avena’s estate.

Ciel was about to close the system interface, but before doing so, she subconsciously clicked on the simulation interface she hadn’t opened earlier and glanced at the simulation time.

【Future Days: 96 Days (Saint Year 741, September 27, 7:00) (Cost: 100 Fate Points)】

【Past Days: 7 Days (Saint Year 741, June 16, 7:00) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)】

【Old Days: ***, ***Day (???) (Cost: 10000 Fate Points)】

【Dice Quantity: 1】

Hmm... Past Days simulation changed from five days ago to seven days ago. After all, the last time she checked was the 21st, and today was already the 23rd.

Ciel casually closed the simulation interface, but the next second, a thought struck her. The system panel reappeared before her and quickly opened to the simulation interface.

Ciel’s expression changed slightly, looking at the number of days for the Future Days simulation with uncertainty and doubt...

Past Days simulation increased by two days, Future Days simulation... decreased by four days?

If she remembered correctly, the last simulatable date was September 29th...

【Future Days】 were closing in on her...