Chapter 147: Do You Still Want to Eat Covered Rice?
Loria received brief information from the guildmaster.
The guildmaster only mentioned that there was a junior sister in the Necromancy Society who insisted on studying gods, resulting in an accident and her sudden death during a calamity.
At that time, she felt that the guildmaster had probably witnessed the death of that junior sister with her own eyes, resulting in a mental shock and a complete change in personality.
But after reading what the countess said in the simulator, she realized that she had oversimplified the problem.
When she first entered the officer academy, the guildmaster worked hard and was cheerful as before, so she was very popular at school.
In her third year of school, she joined the Necromancy Society because of a classmate's remark, "Why don't you go and take a look at the Necromancy Society?", planning to study the development of swordsmanship while practicing sword skills.
Since the guildmaster sent letters home every now and then, the countess was quite informed about the guildmaster's situation at school.
Shortly after joining the Necromancy Society, that junior sister also came in.
The younger sister, who was born into a family of archaeologists, has been studying the religious history of the Ozel continent since she was young.
However, because she was too focused on this subject, she entered the officer school for two years and still hadn't made any friends.
In the letter, the guildmaster said that the younger sister is a very shy person, who is even afraid to make eye contact with strangers. It took the guildmaster a lot of time to become familiar with her.
During this process, she learned that the younger sister has always been troubled in her heart.
Life is a journey where we constantly have to make choices.
At that time, the younger sister was facing an important choice —
Should she continue to pursue archaeology or should she go to school and serve in the imperial army after graduation?
Her greatest interest is archaeology, but this profession is difficult to make a lot of money in and often involves various dangers. Her family, who have experienced it themselves, don't support her. Instead, they hope she can find a career with great potential and sent her to officer school for this purpose.
The future of excellent graduates from officer school is definitely bright.
And it is easy to meet all kinds of upper-class people in this school, such as Count Lidilia's eldest daughter, the future Lidilia Countess Adeline.
These connections are valuable and can save one from many unnecessary struggles, even if money is involved.
The young student, Lefty, was unsure of which choice to make.
In this confusing time, the guildmaster stepped forward to help her out.
"You still have two years until graduation, so there's no need to rush in giving an answer."
"But that doesn't mean we should don'thing, right?"
"Haven't you already followed your heart and joined the Necromancy Society?"
"Huh, my heart?"
"If you choose the second path, then joining an academic organization like the Necromancy Society is unnecessary. Since you're here now, it means you want to do something. In that case, go ahead and confidently pursue it. If you fail, you can always turn back to the second path."
The guildmaster didn't realize that failure meant there was no turning back.
With her encouragement, the younger student started actively participating in various activities of the Dark Arts Society and discussing with like-minded peers.
Those imaginative ideas and the books in the society allowed her to make significant progress in her studies of religion and deities.
During this process, her academic performance was greatly affected and the school teachers spoke to her several times.
She once considered giving up, but the guildmaster stepped forward and offered to provide private tutoring for her, so the teachers stopped intervening.
Half a year passed in a flash.
The younger student's research finally reached a challenging stage. She successfully reconstructed a ritual described in a book and planned to have a conversation with the Goddess of Dawn, Wind, and Sky.
The ritual took place in a nearby forest near the school, which was a place for students' outdoor trials.
There were a total of five people participating in the ritual that day, including the younger student and the guildmaster, as well as three other like-minded individuals from the Dark Arts Society.
Everyone arrived at the scene on time and waited for the ceremony to begin.
Everything was normal before the ceremony started.
Unexpected things happened after the ceremony started.
First, the sky suddenly changed color, thick dark clouds covered the sunlight completely. The wind howled through the trees, it seemed like a heavy rainstorm was about to come.
This kind of strange change didn't frighten the people participating in the ceremony.
Everyone believed that this was a sign of the ceremony's success, and they would soon be able to directly communicate with the Goddess of Dawn, Wind, and Sky.
This was a huge progress.
However, the Goddess of Dawn, Wind, and Sky didn't appear.
[Countess tells you that she also doesn't know what the guildmaster saw, except for the deceased student. The four people present refused to disclose the situation to the outside world.]
Anyway, after the disaster struck, everyone quickly escaped, except for the younger student who got trapped.
Many people heard the news and rushed over.
The guildmaster begged the people who came to rescue the younger student, but no one was willing to go.
These mysterious things were feared by everyone.
In the end, she had no choice but to run back alone, ignoring the warnings.
Nobody knew what she did after she returned, but when she was found, she was lying by the roadside, and the younger student had died.
Afterwards, Count Lidilia was called to the school to assist the church in the investigation.
The guildmaster was monitored for a month, and after confirming there were no issues, the church people left.
Since then, the guildmaster's personality changed.
She directly refused all the arrangements made by her family and also turned down the offers from outside. After graduating, she even went to Creek Town without going back home and started working as a branch manager at the Adventurers Management Guild.
[Countess tells you that because of this incident, Count Lidilia fell ill directly and had to lie in bed for more than ten days before recovering. After getting better, he no longer took the initiative to contact the guildmaster, and the father and daughter started to argue.]
[Countess also tells you that she had a great time during this period because this way the guildmaster would never be able to inherit the position of count, and the position would eventually fall to her daughter Tracy.]
However, although the countess was happy, she was not completely happy.
From the conversation, Loria learned that the countess became stricter and more irritable for two reasons. On the one hand, her daughter, whom she had high expectations for, was no match for the guildmaster, and as a result, she herself was often criticized by others. On the other hand, her life was not very well coordinated.
Count Lidilia gave her a high position in the family, but in her personal life, he barely paid attention to her after she gave birth to Tracy.
Unfortunately, the countess was also a woman with strong desires, so what could she do?
She didn't dare to go out and cause trouble, so she could only solve the problems on her own.
However, she had limited physical strength, and it was difficult for her to solve the problems perfectly all by herself.
Over time, her character became extremely irritable.
While still at Count Sainsbury's house, even though she was just a little girl, she was spoiled to the heavens.
As a result, she was married off to a man who had been married before for the sake of the family's interests. She accepted it, but when she tried to cause trouble, Count Lidilia declined for various reasons.
Can she endure this?
Especially when she saw the young and beautiful maids at her home, the countess had an even worse temper.
She once suspected that Count Lidilia and these maids were having secret affairs, but later she realized that the situation was different from what she had imagined. Count Lidilia was actually up to no good.
When he was alone in the study, he often read strange books and occasionally performed peculiar rituals.
Because those rituals didn't have any negative effects, the countess didn't mention them to outsiders.
"Strange rituals?"
Loria frowned, Count Lidilia is not simple at all. Her impression of Count Lidilia before was based on simulations, but now it seems a bit too one-sided.
She continued to look at the simulator.
After saying these words, countess didn't want to continue discussing the matter.
[She grabbed your hand and gently traced circles on her body with your delicate fingers.]
[As your fingers drew circles, she slightly opened her mouth, releasing a sweet fragrance and whispered with a trembling voice that she was annoyed when the guildmaster suddenly came back, but because of you, she decided not to stoop to the guildmaster's level anymore, and as long as you were there for her, she wouldn't punish the maids anymore.]
"？"
Oh, this woman is so crafty!
If Loria remembered correctly, she was wearing a very thin veil, barely visible. And now she was doing such actions, it was really mean.
If only the guildmaster could be this mean too.
By the way.
Loria's eyes suddenly brightened.
Wasn't she investigating who did something bad to her all night?
If she uses what she learned from the countess on those three people, she should be able to find the answer quickly.
"Take notes, take notes!"
The results of this simulation were impressive.
After the initial shock, Loria's mindset has completely changed.
Isn't it just the guildmaster's stepmother, it's not a big problem.
Actually, even if it was the guildmaster's biological mother, it wouldn't be a big problem. After all, nothing happened between them in the simulation, and they didn't have a confirmed romantic relationship. So it can't be said that she "greened" the guildmaster, because she was interested in the guildmaster's father.
Oh.
The female knight sighed.
It's not her fault, who could have expected the guildmaster's stepmother to be so fierce?
"In a way, I have suddenly become the guildmaster's elder, right?"
It's quite exciting to think about.
Loria, who was soaking in the bathtub, couldn't help but rub her belly.
Stay calm.
I can't entertain any more thoughts, if I do, I'll be punished!
Mother-daughter mixed rice sounds good, but if they really do it, the consequences will be very serious.
The content of the simulation in the following days was relatively calm.
During the day, Loria would practice swordplay with the guildmaster. At night, if Count Lidilia was present, she would stay in her own room. If Count Lidilia was not around, she would stay with the countess.
Hmm, occasionally during the day, she would also stay with the countess.
During this time, something interesting happened. Tracy didn't like Loria, so she intentionally caused trouble for her.
Before Loria had a chance to retaliate, the countess walked out.
Tracy thought her real mother had come to help her, but she was harshly scolded instead.
[Why are you talking to your Aunt Loria like that?]
Aunt?
Both Loria and Tracy were confused inside and outside of the simulator.
How did it become Auntie? Tracy is actually older than me.
That's too much!
[Tracy got scolded by Countess and her eyes turned red. She was about to cry, but Countess didn't console her. Instead, she told Tracy to reflect on her actions.]
"emmm..."
[On the 9th day, under the guildmaster's guidance, your sword skills improved greatly. After a day of hard training, you went to the bathroom. Just as you had taken off half of your clothes, a pair of hands suddenly reached out from under your armpits and grabbed you. When you turned around, you saw it was Countess.]
[Countess said she was bored today and had been in your room for a while. You said you wanted to take a bath, but Countess said she liked the way you looked all sweaty under the dim yellow light. There was a strange charm about you.]
[Just as you were starting to do bad things under Countess's influence, a person suddenly appeared outside the frosted glass of the bathroom. You and Countess were scared half to death. At that moment, Tracy's voice came from outside the door.]
[You tried to disguise it, but Tracy said she had been squatting outside the door the whole time and knew there were two people in the room.]
[Under her insistence, Countess had to open the door. Tracy was very angry and said no wonder she had been scolded. Countess showed no shame at all and scolded Tracy again, saying that children shouldn't meddle in grown-ups' affairs. She also asked Tracy to consider what would happen to her if this matter got out.]
[Tracy sadly walked away, you asked the countess not to be angry with Tracy. The countess assured you not to worry, and said she would involve Tracy so that Tracy wouldn't speak out of turn again.]
"Hey, hey, hey, that's your daughter!"
Loria widened her eyes, wondering how someone could be a mother like this.
Although this situation sounds serious, it's also quite serious indeed.
In the end, the development of the simulated plot was also quite remarkable.
The countess found Tracy, preparing something quite extraordinary. But to everyone's surprise, Tracy hesitantly agreed and then immediately went to find the guildmaster.
That's right, she didn't tell Count Lidilia about this, but she told the guildmaster instead.
Just as the countess said, if the matter was revealed to Count Lidilia, the countess would lose favor and her daughter would probably suffer as well.
But if the matter was revealed to the guildmaster, it would be different.
The more Tracy disliked the guildmaster, the more she realized the guildmaster was a calm and sensible person who would never talk aimlessly about others.
As expected.
The next day, when countess and Loria were fooling around and waiting for Tracy to come over, Tracy brought the guildmaster with her and stormed in.
You will be arrested on the spot, let's see how you can defend yourselves?
Loria was so scared that she made a terrible face at the guildmaster, and then without even apologizing, she ran away.
If you walk by the river often, you're bound to get your shoes wet.
There's no time to explain to the guildmaster now, let's escape first and talk later.
Luckily, the guildmaster was covered in dirt, so she had to clean up her appearance and outfit. Taking advantage of this opportunity, she successfully escaped to the Dream Demon's territory. After some hard work, she overthrew the Dream Demon Empress and became the leader herself.
[End of simulation]
[Achievement Unlocked: Dream Demon Empress]
[Congratulations, player. You have achieved the 'Stepmother of the guildmaster' achievement and received an extra reward of +2 Stamina.]
[Congratulations, player. You have achieved the 'Favorite of the Aristocrats' achievement and received an extra reward of +1 Charm.]
[Congratulations, player. You have achieved the 'Escaped Again' achievement and received an extra reward of +2 Agility.]
[Congratulations, player. You have achieved the 'Conqueror of Dream Demons' achievement and received an extra reward of +3 Stamina.]
[Congratulations, player. You have obtained a C-grade evaluation. Generated reward: Skill Advancement Card x3.]
[Congratulations, player. You triggered a special event called 'The Lost Ritual' and received an additional 5 free attribute points.]
"Ah, why did my Charm increase again?"
Loria was a little confused. Her Charm had already risen to 14 points, much higher than the average person's 5 points. She started to worry that without doing anything in reality, she was already attracting the countess.
If that kind of thing really happened, would she refuse or still refuse?
In any case, it is impossible to accept.
Once she accepts, she will have no chance with the guildmaster.
The virtual the guildmaster is not completely against her having a harem, but will definitely not allow her stepmother to be the extra person.
Let's first look at the rewards in the simulation.
Loria put all her 5 attribute points in endurance, so her base endurance is now 131 points. Then, without hesitation, she took out three Skill Advancement Cards.
Including the two Skill Advancement Cards she saved up during the journey in the simulation, she can now level up.
She decisively used three advanced cards on the Healing Through Breathing skill.
The effect of the Healing Through Breathing skill, now at level 2, has significantly improved. It used to take effect outside of combat after one minute, but now it takes effect after 45 seconds. The healing effect has also doubled, increasing to recovering 2% of the character's health every 5 seconds.
"Wow, that's great!"
Loria was filled with joy. The next time she levels up, the time will shorten to 30 seconds.
Then she used the remaining two advanced cards on Kitty's Pace, upgrading it to Level 3. The dash distance increased from 20 meters to 30 meters, and the cooldown time decreased from 2 seconds to 1 second.
Loria looked at her ID card.
Not long ago, she acquired a new ability that transformed Battlefield Bond into Multi-person Team. It allowed her to bind with two people at the same time and share 10% of their strength and agility. However, since she couldn't find suitable binding partners, she never used it.
Now it seems that in a short time she won't be able to find a suitable partner to tie up with, so she simply chose Miss Plump Sheep.
Although she would only gain 2 points in strength and 2 points in agility, even a small mosquito is still meat, which is better than nothing.
"The newly triggered special event must be related to the guildmaster's past experiences, right? I can't delay this question, I'm going to confront the guildmaster right away!"
