Chapter 73 Chapter 74 A Dream of Beauty
The lie that “Jima is a kind succubus” successfully deceived the Holy Church’s faction detection system.
However, now this once vibrant rumor has turned into a yellow fog, like a carrot stick dried under the big sun.
Jima extended her hand, infusing it with the power of lies.
The originally faint yellow fog, which was about to dissipate, was pulled back, its color becoming slightly denser. But as more power of lies was infused, the changes became smaller and reached a critical point, finally turning into “a wilted carrot stick.”
Jima reluctantly lowered her hand; she had used half of her lying power, and the effect was minimal.
A rumor no one believes is like a cabbage cut from its roots—no amount of water can delay its wilting.
“No wonder those bishops chose to deal with it coolly. All means of deception cannot last long.” Jima muttered to herself, “What to do? According to the church regulations, after completing a mission and returning to the church, one must undergo mental, faction, and other tests, even interrogations.”
Even George is not an exception. As for herself, she would definitely be scrutinized. If her evil faction identity was exposed, especially in such a glaring manner, it would cause a great uproar.
The bishops of the Holy Church are not fools. They would definitely seize this opportunity to thoroughly investigate what methods she used to deceive the church’s faction detection system.
Jima did not believe that she could withstand the Holy Church’s interrogation; even if the church didn’t push for an interrogation, they would have many ways to dig for the truth.
By then, once everything was completely exposed, George would surely be very disappointed and furious, feeling like he had been played.
That arsonist old fox would definitely fly high with glee…
The image of Gregory’s old face and the sparkle of firelight in his eyes appeared in Jima’s mind. She seemed to see Gregory looking at her, an ecstatic smile spreading across his wrinkled face, saying, “You finally came; I’ve been waiting for you for so long.”
After saying this, he turned to reveal a fire rack designed by professionals, brimming with modernist style.
Jima shook her head to rid herself of these frightening thoughts, but soon fell into another kind of wild imagination.
‘How about we make a run for it together?’ Jima’s little legs proposed, ‘Just keep running, eventually we’ll shake him off.’
This suggestion was truly tempting.
Jima opened her personal system and, in just three seconds, found “Escape Plan B” and began reading the steps within.
“1. Leave no bodily organs behind, especially hair.”
“2. Prepare gold coins, but if discovered, immediately abandon the coins.”
“3. Use dream jumping to leap into the pre-prepared tool person No. 34’s dream (Note: she’s an ordinary peasant woman found randomly by the roadside; never entered her dream, so no extraordinary traces will be left).”
“4. Remember to take a compass and don’t forget the crown fragment.”
……
Beneath the brief steps was a lengthy discourse.
Just by looking at the text, Jima could imagine an epic escape filled with love and hate, sword light and shadow. It made her so excited that she almost wanted to flap her wings and take off immediately.
As she spread her wings and was about to flap them vigorously, she felt reluctant.
She had already been living a good life, had an obedient tool person, a big-breasted blonde woman, and tasks that allowed for idling, as well as a bright future—clearly, once the money arrived, she could buy potion materials and leap into a noble golden powerhouse.
No! I even gave my virginity to George; I can’t just wash my hands off him without making a profit!
No! When rationally contemplating, one should not consider sunk costs.
Can I deceive the Holy Church’s faction detection system again? Can I make use of lying power to temporarily turn lies into truth?
What a stupid idea! The duration isn’t enough; the church can test several times; unless I dare to use the lying ability to their face, that would be like treating the church as blind.
Then let’s withdraw, make a getaway, run far, far away…
Jima’s tail swayed left and right in response to the intense psychological struggle.
At that moment, the yellow fog of the “Queen Elf’s Misfortune” rumor beneath her feet began to swell again, the mist thickening and rolling. It had clearly just provided Jima with a massive amount of lying power.
Indeed, engaging in yellow humor is a fundamental human desire… No, the direct reason for this sudden growth is that a large number of extraordinary knights believed the rumor.
A good idea suddenly bounced out from Jima’s mind.
George is so strong, his will so firm… as long as George believes she has become kind, the lie of “Jima is a kind succubus” will surely grow again, helping her survive the Holy Church’s inspections after completing the mission.
Just like burning firewood, George would definitely make good fuel; throwing him in should keep the flames going indefinitely.
Jima clapped her hands in delight, talking to herself:
“Great! I will definitely succeed. Before taking a nap, to gain affection, I pretended to be good, already laying the groundwork for my transformation.”
With that, Jima raised her head and said in a mocking tone:
“A wicked succubus, after witnessing the brave paladin heroically saving the village and being revered by the villagers, secretly planted a seed of goodness. During her journeys, she witnesses the dangers of dark powers and the suffering of innocents, the seed of goodness sprouts, and ultimately, she ‘sacrifices’ herself for the laboring masses. Hehe, George will definitely love this cliché script.”
Jima lifted her head, filled with a desire to perform. She couldn’t wait to return to her dream, and with a snap of her fingers, the envisioned scene was projected into the dream.
The hero and the succubus appeared before her; the hero was cradling the injured succubus in his arms, his face filled with sorrow. The succubus, on the verge of death, bled from her mouth and said, “I had no choice before; I just wanted to be a good person. Am I doing well?”
The hero’s eyes watered, his face filled with tears as he murmured, “Good, very good.”
“Can I get a good rating?”
“I am very happy; back in Linshui City, you suffered greatly for me. And now, you can bear it once more for the vast multitude…” The hero choked up, unable to continue. He raised his face to the sky, a beam of light falling upon him, “Fighting alongside you is my honor.”
“Hehehehahaha!”
Jima could no longer hold back her laughter, falling to the ground, clutching her stomach in fits of giggles.
It was both awkward and funny.
George would surely be so moved that he would be a blubbering mess, and his expression would be particularly amusing.
Jima laughed on the ground for a full two minutes before finally stopping.
In her ear, a vague voice sounded.
“Jima, Jima, wake up, it’s time to get up.”
Jima blinked her eyes, her eyelashes parted, revealing her sparkling golden eyes that reflected George’s face. Her golden eyes curved, her lips slightly upturned, exuding smiles.
George was already fully armed, clad in silver armor with a sky-blue cloak adorned with a golden sun, not wearing a helmet, standing beside Jima’s dark hair laid on the grass, looking down at her.
Jima looked at his face, appearing like firewood; recalling the scenes from her dream, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing again, then she outright laughed loudly.
“Jima? Why are you so happy?”
George said, reaching up with his funnel-gloved hand to feel his face, checking if anything had stuck to it.
Jima restrained her smile, her hand covering her mouth, and looked up at him, saying, “I had a wonderful dream.”
“What kind of dream is so funny?”
“I dreamed you became the King of Firewood, burning yourself in the bonfire, lighting up the sun.” Of course, that was for the sake of her lie.
“King of Firewood?” George pondered over the term created by Jima, which was a combination of “firewood” and “king,” “I instinctively feel it’s not a good title; what does it signify?”
“You are wronged, great hero.” Jima effortlessly shifted the topic from the dream’s content to explaining the King of Firewood, “The King of Firewood is a very noble person. It means, in dark times, burning oneself to become the sun, bringing light to humanity.”
George thought for a moment, then said, “Is this some kind of allusion? I don’t recall any similar heroic allusion, such a kind and noble figure must have a legacy.”
“Just a storyline from a game; it’s quite fun,” Jima said as a casual gamer, “Anyway, that’s how it is.”
George accepted Jima’s words. Although still a bit dazed, his azure eyes continued to shine with the lingering joy from Jima’s laughter.
“If one day I become the King of Firewood, you must celebrate for me just like today, laughing joyfully.”
Jima’s lips couldn’t help but curve up again, “I definitely will.”
Poor tool person, soon to be spun around by my deception, burning for my rumor while looking proud—though George wouldn’t actually be burned to death.
Jima lowered her head, tidying up her things while her tail proudly swayed up; she rather enjoyed playing with George, experiencing a sense of “so what if he is a genius? He still looks like a fool, played by me” superior IQ feeling.
As they mounted to set off, the smile on Jima’s face hadn’t faded.
George said, “Speaking of which, St. John’s village has a nice environment; what do you think?”
“Mmhm, beautiful scenery, simple villagers,” Jima replied, “It’s a great place to hide away.”
“Yes, after Bishop Gregory retires, I’ll recommend he comes here; he would definitely enjoy it.”
That guy should retire soon.
“By the way,” George suddenly said, “if that’s the case, after we finish the mission, how about we stay in St. John’s village for ten days to half a month?”
“Huh? Why?”
“To listen to the teachings of St. John,” George said, “the results after just one day have been so good.”
“What?” Jima’s smile froze, “You want to stay in a remote, poor, and sparsely populated countryside for half a month? Kill me, please.”
“You said it had beautiful scenery, didn’t you?”
“I won’t be living there; of course, it would be beautiful.”
George said, “I saw you so happy, so I suggested this decision. I thought you would gladly accept.”
“What kind of reasoning is that?” Jima had a bitter face, “You must be jealous of my happiness and are retaliating against me.”
“Oh, then I won’t mention it next time you’re smiling.”
Jima’s face became even more bitter, murmuring, “Then, given my mood is so low, can we skip it?”
George shook his head.
Let’s make a getaway instead, at least I won’t have to live in the countryside for half a month.
Jima’s whole person wilted like a dried-up vegetable leaf, hanging her head in dejection.
