Chapter 117
After hearing Adele's question, Shaer sensed her emotional downturn. After a moment of silence, she spoke up, "No, it was the Holy Order that contacted him on his own."
Shaer never believed that lying about such matters would bring comfort to anyone.
She didn’t subscribe to the notion of "the dead are above all," where good is good and bad is bad. Shaer wouldn’t whitewash a butcher who wanted to kill thousands just to spare Adele’s feelings.
What surprised Shaer was that after hearing the truth, Adele didn’t seem to become more sorrowful; instead, the sadness on her face appeared to ease.
It seemed she wasn’t more heartbroken over her teacher’s betrayal.
"Aren't you sad?" Shaer asked.
Adele shook her head and replied softly, "I was already sad about this before."
"If my teacher... Xie Lun did these things because he was brainwashed, he would still be the teacher I respect."
"But if not, as I said before, I’ve already mourned."
Shaer nodded slightly.
Adele was a child whose thoughts were always unconventional yet entirely reasonable.
Previously, she had confided in Aivina about her distress over her teacher going astray. For Adele, the betrayal of her teacher was already a thing of the past.
In the absence of any twists, this matter wouldn’t affect Adele again.
Rather than being heartless, it was more about her open-mindedness; she had a certain wisdom about her, and it wouldn’t be surprising if she were to utter some profound saying in the next moment.
At that moment, Adele felt a strange sensation within her.
Initially, she thought she was called over for something particularly important and had been quite tense on the way.
However, that tension had dissipated after standing outside for over an hour, and she began to wonder what the reason was.
Aivina and Shaer were new friends, and Adele didn’t know them very well yet.
But she never expected that Shaer and Aivina had called her over simply out of concern for her safety, to bring her here for her protection.
This touched Adele deeply.
Shaer and Aivina had already developed a relationship where they could sleep together, and she didn’t want to feel out of place.
Her gaze flitted back and forth between Shaer and Aivina, who was also looking at her, waiting for her to speak.
At that moment, Adele finally spoke up.
"Can you take me with you the next time you sleep together?"
Shaer: "?"
Aivina: "???"
Aivina, who had been lost in thought while looking at Shaer, was jolted awake by Adele's words.
Seeing their shocked expressions, Adele tilted her head slightly to the right and asked in confusion, "Aren't you having a sleepover?"
Shaer: "… No."
After explaining to Adele that she was with Aivina for safety reasons due to Nia's protection, Adele finally understood that Shaer and Aivina weren’t having a party; Shaer was simply tired and had gone to bed early.
It was already late at night, well past Adele's usual bedtime, and after waiting downstairs for so long, she was utterly exhausted.
After confirming with Aivina that she would be sleeping in her bed that night, Adele had no reservations and headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower, leaving Aivina and Shaer alone in the living room.
Aivina looked at Shaer, noticing she seemed deep in thought. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "What are you thinking about, Shaer?"
Perhaps, like her, Shaer was also considering how to redefine their relationship after sharing a bed.
Upon hearing Aivina's question, Shaer lifted her gaze to meet hers and shook her head, saying, "I’m thinking about what comes next."
"What comes next?"
Seeing Shaer’s serious expression, Aivina reined in her thoughts a bit, though she still felt a twinge of disappointment.
After weighing her words, Shaer continued, "I have a mission assigned to me, so I need to complete it."
"Thank you for letting me stay for a few days, but I have to leave now."
No matter how many times she succeeded in simulations, the real action still depended on her. Today was already the early hours of the 21st, and Shaer needed to act quickly.
"Wait, Shaer."
Aivina stood up, placing her hand on Shaer’s shoulder, and asked seriously, "I have one last question, Shaer."
"What question?"
Shaer looked into Aivina's eyes.
"Shaer, although it might just be my overthinking... I really feel that the organization behind you isn’t a good one."
After a moment of hesitation, Aivina continued, "The killing of Xie Lun was also a task they arranged for you, right?"
"And going to the Dedun Manor with us was also something they required you to investigate, wasn’t it?"
"They assign you these difficult tasks, ones that even extraordinary individuals might struggle to complete, yet the safety of your sister is something I have to ensure... They provide you with intel to complete your mission, but you have to secure the funding for it yourself."
"Do you have some kind of 'leverage' they hold over you? If this is something you can’t talk about, just blink three times to let me know."
Aivina’s mind was sharp, her curiosity insatiable, and she had a remarkable talent for "detective" work.
The series of unfortunate events had already led Aivina to pick up on some clues.
That organization clearly hadn’t provided Shaer with any substantial help beyond information; the only thing they might have given her was that gun that resembled a sealed artifact.
Regardless, this was not a valid reason for a powerful secret organization to put an ordinary person in danger repeatedly. In Aivina’s eyes, Shaer was being thoroughly exploited.
If Shaer was willing to share the truth behind this situation with her, she would do her best to help Shaer break free from that organization’s control.
At that moment, Shaer looked at Aivina, her expression calm and unruffled.
She had long known that Aivina would be curious and suspicious about the organization behind her, as that was simply Aivina’s nature, so Shaer felt no surprise.
It had to be said that Aivina’s "Listener" potion had been digested very well. After Aivina finished speaking, Shaer felt an urge to confide in her, but fortunately, Aivina hadn’t actively used her ability, so the effect wasn’t too strong.
As for her response, she had already thought it through.
"You misunderstood, Aivina."
Shaer raised her hand, gently removing Aivina’s hand from her shoulder, and said, "I’m just using a special replication ritual with the organization’s help to digest a unique potion."
Unique... potion?
Hearing this, Aivina was taken aback.
Centuries ago, some major churches had already gathered all first-tier information, and for nearly a hundred years, many paths had ceased to be secrets for slightly higher-level organizations and churches.
The Russell family had basically collected all first-tier potion and replication ritual data, only missing two paths.
So, just how unique could the "unique" that Shaer mentioned be?
Shaer turned and walked toward the door, picking up her canvas bag and hat hanging by the entrance. She turned to Aivina and said, "Don’t worry about me, Aivina."
"I might be a bit stronger than you think."
With that, Shaer left the room, leaving Aivina standing there, watching Shaer, who seemed unfazed by the second-tier cultists, lost in thought.
She had initially thought her exchanges with Shaer were deep enough, but the more she learned, the more she realized Shaer’s mystery... it seemed she would never fully understand her.
At that moment, Shaer walked down the corridor, contemplating her inner plans.
She was thinking about whether there was a way to set up the blood array needed for the spiritual summoning in advance at the Dedun Manor.
As for the cultists inside, they were no longer a significant threat in Shaer’s eyes.
This wasn’t arrogance or overconfidence on Shaer’s part.
As long as she could transform into the "Judicator," she could practically walk through the entire Dedun Manor. Before the arrival of that cult bishop on the 23rd, no cultist in Berun City could claim they could defeat Shaer in combat.
This confidence stemmed from her repeated slaughters of the cult circle at Dedun Manor.
Moreover, she had a heavyweight item she could exchange to ensure her absolute safety—though this item couldn’t be seen by Aivina and Adele, especially Nia, or it might lead to misunderstandings.
That item was the **Sadhana Emblem**, which prevented cultists marked with the "Sadhana Mark" from attacking her, a badge that originally belonged to the bishop of the Holy Order.
She had obtained it in the last simulation.
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