Miss Riddler just wants to level up in peace.

(P.S.: Chapter 74 has been censored and modified; it's posted in the group.)

Volume 1: Chapter 76 Yae Sakura

Man-eating demons have appeared near the town.

After devouring an unfortunate person, the demon will take their place, impersonate that person, and then secretly devour others without a sound.

It's not difficult to identify them; demons and ghosts have poor memories, and having eaten too many people, their memories are easily confused.

After years of severe drought, with the shrine festival approaching, the appearance of monsters has caused widespread panic in the town, with everyone seeing danger in every bush and tree.

If someone exhibits symptoms of memory confusion or amnesia, they will be suspected of being a demon or ghost.

The punishment ranged from caning to a physical examination.

In severe cases, they will be taken to a shrine, where they will not only suffer greatly but may also die.

"No wonder the gatekeeper was so arrogant; he was just a bully pretending to be powerful."

Theresa pondered, holding a glass of bitter melon juice in her hand.

"This town has no government, or rather, no power... It seems to be truly isolated from the world."

Most places are accessible, but you can't even get close to the shrine.

"I suspect that the culprit that dragged us into the dream space is in the shrine."

The slender, white fingers pointed to the distant mountains, where a rather large shrine stood.

The area was brightly lit, and guards were stationed at almost every important checkpoint.

Yae Shrine.

It wielded immense influence, dominating every aspect of the town, much like the Western church.

The routine worship involves burning incense and purifying the mind...

From rice planting in farmland to land reclamation, from funerals to weddings... shrines can be found in almost every place.

When we visited the shrine earlier, the guards at the gate arrogantly chased them away; it seems this isn't an isolated incident.

"Nightingale, how about I sneak up from the back of the mountain?"

"Too dangerous."

Ziyao rejected Theresa's idea.

After arriving in the dream world, their power is greatly reduced; Theresa is probably only slightly stronger than an adult male.

We don't yet know what the consequences of dying here will be, so we must be careful in everything we do.

"What should we do then? We can't even find a trace of them. Aren't we just like headless flies?"

Theresa always kept her goal in mind.

—Find Mei and the other two, and bring them back to reality.

Half a day has passed, and they are still wandering around the streets.

Therefore, Theresa was somewhat depressed.

It's all her fault for not properly checking for safety before bringing the Divine Key back to the dormitory, causing everyone to fall into a strange dream world.

"Headmaster, how about you make do with this..."

As the sun set, warm orange sunlight bathed the girl's cheeks.

"?"

Theresa tilted her head.

"Headmaster, how about we sell our bodies?"

"The true intentions are revealed at the last minute," Ziyao joked.

"What are you thinking? How could I do something like that... You're clearly more suited for it, aren't you?"

Theresa thought Ziyao was joking and was considerate of her feelings.

Honestly, this feels so awkward.

Wouldn't it be better to be more frank?

After spending some time with her, she realized that the girl had a sharp tongue but a kind heart.

"Also... just call me Theresa, don't be so formal."

Theresa considers you a reliable friend; your favorability rating is 57.

“…”

I casually made a teasing remark, and suddenly my favorability rating increased.

Back at the ticket office, it was getting dark.

The boss gave them a map and told them to follow the route to ensure safety and to clear out any wild animals or strange things along the way.

As night falls, every household keeps their doors and windows tightly shut, fearing that they will be the next person to be eaten by demons.

One by one, the kerosene lamps were blown out in the night wind, and a chill crept up.

"Whoa? Don't scare me!"

Theresa was patted on the back and almost got lifted up to pluck Judas.

Last week, I watched Midnight Bell with Qi Ya and the others, which left her with some psychological trauma.

"Relax, it's probably a Honkai Beast."

Ziyao was surprised that Theresa was afraid of something as unreal as ghosts, and couldn't help but laugh.

"We need to go further tonight, probably away from these mountains."

Ziyao has a habit when playing open-world games: she likes to deliberately explore the boundaries of the map.

I just received a map, I can't just leave it unchecked.

Otto wanted to revive Sirin, so he used the power of Jizo Mitama.

In other words, this entire dream world was part of his plan.

The Herrscher of the Void will awaken sooner or later; there's no need for her to stop it.

After the birth of the Herrscher, it will likely be another bloody storm.

In the visual novel, the appearance of Kuroki every week causes a huge disaster.

If we can gradually awaken it and then control it, perhaps we can avoid this outcome.

"Hitamaru..."

Gazing at the map, the girl murmured the name of the culprit.

It is the master of the dream world, controlling everything.

In order to avoid being put on the defensive, they must capture Himeko.

After leaving the ticket shop, the two of them carried their swords and left the town.

The road gradually changed from blue bricks to dirt road, mixed with many gravel.

Looking back, the town is surrounded by mountains, with only one river running through it, isolating it from the outside world, like a paradise.

There was nothing there, not even a wild animal.

From being extremely wary at the beginning, Theresa gradually became less nervous.

Apart from being pitch black and having poor visibility, this place was deserted and had nothing at all.

Following the route marked on the map, the two eventually arrived at the edge of a cliff, with hundreds of meters of air below.

The map, however, indicated that there was still a road ahead, leading to the outside world.

Merchants who travel to and from the town all pass through here, which is quite intriguing.

After a careful count, they found that they had reached the edge of the map in about half an hour.

On their way back, they encountered a strange figure.

His entire body was enveloped in a strange black aura; upon closer inspection, it was discovered that he was a suicide assassin.

Theresa first took half a step back, and after realizing it was a suicide soldier, she drew her longsword and cleaved it in two.

Even with her power diminished, Theresa can still easily deal with the assassins.

He clapped his hands nonchalantly, thinking, "So-called demons and ghosts are nothing more than this."

"Watch your surroundings, trouble is brewing."

There was more than one assassin; clumps of dark figures crowded together and surrounded the two.

Even Theresa was powerless against such a number of assassins.

Normally, she could wipe them out with a single, casual strike.

"nightingale....?"

Just as she was about to suggest running away, Ziyao grabbed her hand first.

The girl's palms were warm, and Theresa couldn't help but squeeze them tighter.

Without saying a word, the two immediately started working.

The slow-moving assassin was quickly shaken off, and the two ran to the edge of a forest.

Unexpectedly, after the rustling sound, the assassins surrounded them from several directions.

The only way is through the forest, but going in would be even more dangerous.

It was as if someone was driving assassins, pushing them towards a dangerous place.

Theresa had no choice but to fight back, knowing she couldn't run into the forest.

"---brush!"