Unlimited Ambition

I nodded, which was an indication that I agreed with this statement.

Meiling continued, "Isn't there a Chinese saying, 'Even the wisest person can make a mistake'? No matter how capable someone is, they will always make a mistake one day. It's not wise to sigh and complain at that time."

"Then what should I do?" I asked, becoming a little more serious.

“Of course, let’s enjoy the night first. We can deal with anything else tomorrow—” Meiling laughed happily, seemingly excited to have tricked me.

Looking at her, I unconsciously forgot my troubles and a smile appeared on my lips.

That's wonderful. Such a mature woman can offer comfort and wisdom when you're troubled. I usually take care of the children in my family…

I'm not saying taking care of them is bad. In fact, teaching Kanzaki and feeding Index are both very fulfilling. But, and I mean but, I sometimes feel down, irritable, sad, in pain, and anxious. And who comforts me then?

I looked at Meiling in front of me and sighed softly. Then I smiled.

That's right, let's forget about our troubles for today. Let's spend some time having fun with them.

"Wright, what are you doing?! Come on, let's go to the night market!" Mikoto's energetic shout came from not far away. It seemed she was tired of the fireworks and was preparing to leave. I think I heard her call me just now, but I didn't notice.

"Okay, I'll be right there!" I replied, then ran over and grabbed Mikoto's hand.

"What's going on? Why are you dawdling?" Mikoto looked happy, but she pretended to be unhappy.

"Sorry, sorry." I smiled, not taking offense. But my gaze went past Mikoto and landed on Mirei.

She looked at me and Mikoto with encouraging eyes, just like a normal elder.

They're elders...

I felt a little disappointed, but I quickly cheered myself up.

"Wright, look—there's a goldfish scooping stall over there!"

"Over there, over there, I want that candied apple!"

"Wright, open your mouth, is this takoyaki delicious?"

And so, I spent a nice night with Misaka and her mother. At dawn, Mikoto, exhausted from playing, prepared to go back to her dorm.

Then a question suddenly occurred to me: "Speaking of which, doesn't Academy City lack hotels or similar accommodations? Where should outsiders rest? Of course, if you don't mind—"

I was just about to introduce Meiling to my little villa when she asked curiously, "Huh? No hotel? Then what's that?"

I looked in the direction Meiling was pointing. I saw a dormitory building that used to have few occupants now brazenly displaying a three-star hotel sign. What's going on? Apparently, they've temporarily converted an existing dormitory building into a hotel. Aleister's business acumen is quite impressive.

Nevertheless, I still wanted to invite Meiling to my house—and unsurprisingly, I was refused. Meiling even jokingly questioned me about my motives for inviting her over. I was at a loss for words.

"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've met Wright. It's uncomfortable to receive favors from someone for no reason," Meiling said finally. What could I say? With a hint of regret, I hailed a taxi and went home.

"Why are you so late?! Did you have sex with one of your girlfriends again?" I heard Kihara Ayaki's annoyed voice as soon as I pushed open the door. I rolled my eyes. I almost forgot about her. Luckily, Meiling didn't accept my invitation. Otherwise, it would have been a huge problem.

I gave her the middle finger. Then, without saying another word, I went upstairs to my room to catch up on some sleep.

"Go take a shower first! I made breakfast, do you want some?" Seeing that I ignored her and went straight upstairs, Kihara Aki came running out of the kitchen. She asked this.

"I'm not interested, you can eat by yourself. I need to catch up on some sleep. Don't bother me." I yawned, opened my bedroom door, and then slammed it shut.

What's wrong with that guy? Does he think he's the lady of the house? There's a limit to joking around.

As I thought this, I drifted off to sleep.

※※※

At this moment, Lidovia felt utterly dejected. The Apostle Cross Project had completely failed. As the planner and executor of the project, Lidovia couldn't even imagine what her own fate would be.

Especially at the last minute, he disobeyed the Crown Prince's orders. Instead of retreating, he continued to push the plan forward to prove himself right.

—As the fireworks of Academy City blanketed the night sky, she felt like the biggest fool in the world. No wonder the Crown Prince was so furious and unrestrained when issuing orders. This failure was truly utterly foolish. It was as foolish as a rocket that had been launched and landed right at her feet.

Even after she boarded the plane to Jerusalem, she was still feeling very confused.

What kind of punishment would she face upon returning? Perhaps she would never have the chance to preach again in her lifetime. Thinking of this, Lidovia felt a deep sadness in her heart.

However, this guy is neurotic—the kind of neurotic who, when faced with a difficulty, thinks, "Overcoming this will be fun."

"No! This plan was already perfect. It only needed a slight improvement—no, this plan is no longer usable. It must be scrapped and a new plan must be developed."

Haha… First, we need to appease the Crown Prince's accusations, then secure control of the next operation. Then we can breach the walls of Academy City. Such a high barrier, and how sweet it is.”

She knew the pilot in the cockpit was startled by her strange mutterings. But even that skepticism was transformed into a fighting spirit by Lidovia.

Just at this time.

"Hello, hello. Passengers, please be aware?"

A woman's voice suddenly rang out.

Lidovia's shoulders twitched. There were no flight attendants on this private jet. Flustered sounds could be heard from the open cockpit, indicating the pilot was unaware of the situation.

But Lidovia knew.

The woman's voice was—

"I am Laura Stewart, the High Priestess of England. Don't think you wouldn't recognize me without an introduction, Miss Lidovya."

The sound was pleasant.

A woman with a title even more significant than "Confession Tuesday." An absolutely indispensable figure when discussing contemporary church history. Rumor has it that this monster possesses authority equal to or exceeding that of the Queen of England. She also has a slight connection to her own heir apparent… though that can be disregarded.

"Why would the plane of the State Church of Jerusalem..." Lydia was slightly surprised.

"Heh. You seem to have changed your name, not flying from Jerusalem, but landing from Russia. But do you think such a small trick can fool me? I've ordered my subordinates at Haneda Airport to put a gift on the wall of your plane where it's parked."

Lidovia quickly noticed that something seemed to be stuck to the machine's surface. The sound was coming from there. However, it couldn't be removed from the inside of the machine.

"...They will be found, which means there is some kind of connection between the British Puritan Church and Academy City..." Lidovia quickly analyzed.

The fact that the aircraft was labeled with a communication device means its location has been leaked to the UK. Even if the landing airport changes, the other party can easily meet Lydia there.

Even so.

"Oh."

"...You're really strange. Can't you change your habit of laughing the loudest when you're pushed to the brink?"

"It's like long-distance swimming or diving. The farther the distance, the greater the pain, but the joy of achieving the goal is even greater."

"You're such a masochist who derives pleasure from suffering. No, it's more sadistic to succumb to difficulties and derive pleasure from them. To obtain that sweet pleasure, you'd probably say you want to attack Academy City again, wouldn't you?"

"..."

Lidovia fell silent in response to Laura's exasperated voice.

"Such an insult will be returned by Academy City." A smile appeared on her face. A smile filled with darkness, fanaticism, and a beast-like fighting spirit—not at all like the smile of a nun.

"I will never forgive them. If Academy City hadn't resisted like that, everyone would be happy by now. Those magicians, and the boy who helped them. If it weren't for them, I should be on this plane with Oriana!" Her voice grew increasingly frenzied and hysterical. As she shouted that she would never forgive them, her expression was filled with an even greater fighting spirit.

"So I won't forgive them. But I'm glad to encounter new 'obstacles'! The greater the difficulty, the greater the joy of overcoming it! Overcoming means trampling on such obstacles!!"

"You idiot." Just as the nun was yelling about exceeding limits, a familiar voice suddenly came to her ears.

"Such a huge gap in strength cannot be offset by a few grand words."

Chapter Ten: Rage and Curse

"Huh?!" Laura seemed surprised to see me here. Her voice sounded somewhat panicked.

"What's wrong? Have you already forgotten me after not seeing me for several months?" I complained loudly. "Women really have no conscience. Come to think of it, I'm thinking about you every single moment, Laura."

"What are you doing here?!" Laura asked curiously.

At this moment, Lidovia also snapped out of her shock. She turned around and bowed to me, who had appeared out of nowhere, saying, "Your Highness, Crown Prince." She was also somewhat surprised as she spoke.

The person who appeared in the cabin was not dressed in their usual black suit. Instead, they were radiating golden light, and their body appeared almost transparent.

A pure energy body. Or, in Eastern terms: the soul.

Just after I fell asleep, I suddenly sensed the danger posed by Lidovia. That's why I released a mental projection and rushed here.

I nodded to her: "Sister Lidovia, you may leave now."

Lidovia was taken aback by what she heard. The plane wasn't that big of a place. Retreat? Where could they retreat to?

I rolled my eyes, then walked over to the plane's fuselage and tore a large hole in the aluminum alloy body with my bare hands: "Get off."

A strong gust of wind rushed in, but my mental projection remained completely unaffected.

Seeing that I wasn't joking, Lidovia gritted her teeth and jumped. I'm sure with her skills, she won't lose her life—probably.

"Eh~ I really didn't expect you to actually come." Laura was still talking to me through the spirit dress attached to the plane. Since she hadn't seen it in person, she didn't know that the person who actually came wasn't me.

"Is that so?" I continued my leisurely conversation with her. At that moment, the pilot in the cockpit realized something was wrong—the plane was falling! Startled, he quickly strapped on his parachute and jumped out.

Now, only Laura and I were left on the plane—even though neither of us had arrived.

"Didn't that guy ruin your plans? Why are you coming over to defend her?" Laura's voice was slightly dissatisfied.

“Indeed, the mistake this woman made was quite serious. You've heard about it, haven't you? To be honest, I'm tempted to kill her right now—no, letting her die so easily would be too lenient. Even if I had her executed by slow slicing, it wouldn't be enough to quell my hatred.”

"Then what are you doing here?" Laura asked.

“Because she is my subordinate,” I replied. “Even if she is guilty, she is still my subordinate. Whether it is a crime or an execution, it is up to me to decide. And besides, after you arrest her, will you really kill her without asking any questions? Speaking of which, Lidovia knows quite a few secrets.”

"The last one is the most important, isn't it?" Laura said listlessly.

"Who knows?" I shrugged.

By then, the plane had already disintegrated in mid-air. Watching the massive machine billowing smoke and plummeting rapidly, I figured I'd done my job and it was time to go back. I told Laura, "I'll contact you later," and prepared to leave.

"Forget it, since you're here, you're not going back." Something unexpected happened. Laura's figure suddenly appeared from the void. Then, with a "whoosh"—

"Damn it!" I jolted awake, then felt a sweet taste in my throat and coughed up blood. The mental projection had already been destroyed by Laura. That's why it affected my physical body.

That woman really went all out; I'll definitely spank her next time I see her.

I made a silent vow to myself. At the same time, I rubbed my head and walked out.

Jie Biao was lying on the sofa downstairs watching TV. When he saw me come out, he snorted and then ignored me.

Whatever. I yawned and went to the bathroom. The 24-hour hot water supply quickly filled the tub. I lay down and felt alive again. The minor injuries I had just sustained healed rapidly.

I came out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe, drying my hair with a towel as I walked to the refrigerator, opened it, took out a can of coffee milk, and gulped it down. I let out a soft "Ah!" Only then did I realize I was a little hungry.

Hmm, I don't want to move. I'll order takeout. I thought to myself as I walked towards the phone.

"The food has been reheated." At that moment, Jiebiao, wearing an apron, came out of the kitchen.