They don't want me to try anymore.

You were quickly placed on the Empire's wanted list, but instead of fleeing, you voluntarily surrendered to the Public Security Bureau.

Chapter Ninety-One: Richard Catches the Cicada, the Princess Follows Him

At the same time that Richard surrendered himself.

His two letters also reached Luvia and Alice.

The letter was brief, essentially an explanation of his impulsive actions in the tone of a friend entrusting his final wishes. It highlighted the ferry incident, denounced the misdeeds of Standard Fruit and the Dulles family, and stated that he had now received what he desired and did not need their concern. He only asked that they help take care of his fellow villagers in the future, and so on...

Richard wrote the letter not to say anything pointless, but to convey a message.

After all, the ferry tragedy would happen in three days in reality, and it would be difficult for him to stop it. He was also unwilling to comply with old Dulles, so the only way was to let his confidantes take action.

In addition, the New Age newspaper that day also published a full-page report on Richard's article.

In the article, he used detailed evidence to list the crimes of Standard Fruit Company and the despicable act of the Dulles family plotting the ferry massacre to threaten him in Dablis. He concluded with a confession expressing his determination to resist.

This article didn't resonate with the Empire as much as the previous simulated Highland Legion case, but after the assassination was exposed, its nature as a criminal premonition still sparked a global discussion, causing Standard Fruit's stock to plummet.

Incidentally, this also allowed a vampire on the other side of the ocean to learn about the tragedy, just like Ailu.

That concludes Richard's arrangements and the results.

However, none of this affects him personally.

Regardless of the reason or the protection one might have, assassinating a duke is unforgivable in the Empire.

Although Richard was temporarily spared the death penalty due to the intense public opinion and his special status, he was still sentenced to Central Prison—those in the know understand that he would surely die when his time came.

Richard's attitude toward this was...

It doesn't matter.

Going to prison feels like going home to me.

You heard that mysterious voice again.

When you return to your cell and are all alone, you speak up: "What's the fun in talking to yourself? Why don't you come and chat with me?"

The aged voice paused for a moment, then slowly replied, "You can hear me? You know I exist?"

"Of course, I am the Dragon King's messenger."

Richard was talking nonsense.

However, relying solely on the identity of an ordinary prisoner is definitely not enough to extract information.

Coincidentally, he remembered that during the last simulation, this mysterious being seemed to mistakenly believe that it had the blood of an ancient dragon because of the [Dragon Knight] trait, so he simply made up a name for it.

If the other party asks for details, he will evade the question and pretend to be a riddle teller...

"Dragon King... that's the aura of the Wings of Calamity! You are Isabella's messenger! Yes, after all these years, she may have found a way to escape..."

Hey?

You were fooled by me so easily? Didn't you even ask any questions?

Isabella? Who is that?

"Ahem, that's right."

Although he was also confused, Richard immediately decided to play along.

"My master discovered that the Empire is imprisoning a secret being here, so he sent me to infiltrate and investigate. Tell me, who are you? Only then can I help you."

"Ah, a name, I'd almost forgotten that word... My name is..."

Imcasta, humans once called me the God of Ice and Snow.

God of Ice and Snow?

That's explosive!

Richard appeared calm, but was inwardly astonished.

Besides, this Ice God isn't one of the Seven Gods!

In my memory, I've only ever seen this title in fairy tales.

"However, I am not complete; at most, I am only one-tenth of the original. Heh, I can hardly be called a god now; I am merely an experiment of order..." The mysterious voice sounded weary and dejected.

"If...if Isabella can help, I'm willing to offer my loyalty! Even if it means becoming a sacrifice on the final day, I don't care if you can get me out of here!"

"Please convey these words to your master!"

You replied, "I will, but I need to gather more information."

You asked, "What does the experiment on order mean?"

"That's because He's trying to divide Himself without causing too much damage; after all, dividing isn't the same as creating a clone... Your master understands this."

You then asked, "What does 'the final day' mean?"

The being who called herself the Ice God fell silent for a long while before asking in a deep voice, "...You are her servant, yet you do not know what the final day refers to?"

You calmly say, "I have received a revelation, but I am only responsible for relaying the message and asking questions. If you have any doubts about this, I cannot help you."

The mysterious being took a long time to slowly reply: "We have said enough. You can go back and deliver the message. I await your master's reply."

Then, when Richard asked any more questions, the other person remained silent.

Do they doubt me? Or do they simply think I'm just a nobody who doesn't even know when my day will come and isn't worth saying much about?

Tsk, I messed up the question.

What a stingy Ice God! No wonder he got chopped into eight pieces!

However, since you are unkind, I cannot be unjust! I will definitely keep my promise to pass on the message to you last time!

...Although it's also in a simulation!

Since he couldn't get any information out of her, Richard decided to break out of prison and see how the goddess of the night in the North would react.

Because it happened a few years earlier, he definitely won't be able to wait for the prisoners to be transferred this time.

On the other hand, based on his previous experience, he also knew his fellow inmates in the prison very well.

Thieves, assassins, succubi, and mad sorcerers, hmm...

Are you all here?

How come I always see you guys every time I come here?

It seems everyone here is a regular customer!

[By leveraging your understanding of your fellow inmates' personalities, abilities, and weaknesses, and through a combination of friendship, enticement, threats, and more threats, you successfully assembled a friendly prison break team.]

With everyone's combined wisdom, you came up with a rough plan. Learning from the last lesson, this time you especially emphasized stealth, aiming to escape without being discovered by the guards for at least a whole day.

[You will begin your work on the rest day two weeks later.]

[First, you got the thief to remove your shackles, then you used tools smuggled in through connections by a mafia boss to break the magical seals and marks on your bodies. Next, with the help of your two specialties—the Fate Writer and the Masked Man—you "luckily" stole the key to the passage and the guard's clothes...]

Disguised as guards, you walked out openly. When questioned along the way, you managed to evade them by using your persona as the "Prime Minister in Black" and the "Newspaper Tycoon"—even the real guards mistook you for their leader and respectfully offered you cigarettes.

You have successfully escaped from prison.

What? My escape skills are pretty good, huh?

Five hours later, the magic monitoring system within the prison detected your disappearance, and the Empire dispatched a pursuit team.

...Well, you're getting ahead of yourself.

Fortunately, five hours was enough time for the group to run a long distance and reunite with their backup.

Richard successfully obtained the teleportation scroll he had ordered to the North from his contact—however, this time the contact was not Veronica. The main reason was that he was even faster this time than last time; only half a month had passed, and the captain probably hadn't had time to arrive yet.

But what puzzled him was that the contact's figure still looked somewhat familiar...

Time was of the essence, and Richard didn't have time to think too much, so he used the scroll directly.

With a snap, he quickly teleported himself thousands of kilometers away!

If another legend comes after him this time, he'll accept it!

[Open your eyes, and you find yourself on a snow-covered plain. The snow-capped peaks of the towering mountains in the distance remind you that this is the far north of the continent.]

You came across a village, and after using magic to help kill a demonic bear, you received a warm welcome from the villagers.

You slept soundly through the night, undisturbed by the massive fireball that fell from the sky.

call……

Richard breathed a sigh of relief.

I finally passed the test.

So why didn't the fireball come this time? Was it too far away? Or was it because the commotion was too small to trigger Luvia's betrayal, so the other side didn't move?

In any case, the plan proceeded smoothly.

After inquiring with the villagers, you learned that there was a small chapel dedicated to the Goddess of Night behind the mountain, so you immediately set off.

During your journey over the mountains, you encountered a group of snow elf bandits, which delayed you considerably.

The next day, you finally found the church. It was small and dilapidated, with no priest on duty, but the statue of God was real.