Chương 72: Chapter 71

Nina walked out of the Saintess's hall and down the corridor, deep in thought. The meeting had been surprisingly easy. She could not understand how she had lost seven lives if Seraphina, at this moment in time, had been so approachable. While she was thinking, a new system notification appeared. Major changes to Will to Live attributes have been made to the base attribute line by the System. True Will to Live Value: +51 Current True Will to Live Value: -49 Nina and the other personas were dumbfounded.

What could this possibly mean? Looking at their displayed Will to Live value, it was still 30. So what was happening? Just as they were trying to understand the notification, another one appeared. Monetary value gained directed toward the debt: 178, 500, 000 silver pieces. Due to the monetary value transcending beyond the timelines, the value has been reduced by half. Monetary value applied toward the debt: 89, 250, 000 silver pieces. Current debt payment: 9, 257, 000 silver pieces.

Total amount paid toward the debt: 98, 507, 000 / 700, 000, 000 silver pieces. Nina stared at the wall of text, absolutely mortified. She did not even know where to begin. First, the System refused to tell her what had caused her to lose seven lives. Now it was telling her that her base Will to Live had changed... And then it suddenly credited nearly one hundred million silver pieces toward her debt. What was happening? Everything felt overwhelming.

"System," Nina called out. Just as she was about to ask a question, one of the attendants stepped forward. It was a little girl around Jake's age. She looked at Nina curiously before asking,"Are you the Foreign Star that I'm supposed to escort?" Seeing the little girl, Nina temporarily forgot about the System. Unfortunately, the System seized that opportunity and quietly departed before even the personas could stop it. System Status: Offline. Nina felt completely baffled. The little girl looked at Nina nervously.

"Are you okay?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no," Nina replied gently.

"It's nothing."

"May I ask what you needed?" The little girl fidgeted.

"I... I was told to escort you to the room you'll be staying in today." She was so nervous that she began stuttering over her own words. Nina knelt until they were at eye level.

"I'm not sure yet, but I might need to do something first." The little girl's eyes immediately began filling with tears.

"B-but if you don't stay today..."

"I'm going to get in trouble."

"Is it because I didn't ask properly?"

"I'm sorry."

"Please..."

"Please don't go."

"At least come see the room."

"Please." Damien felt his heart ache. Just as he was about to speak, Lily suddenly burst out,"I can't."

"The System is one thing..."

"But this child is just too adorable."

"We can stay for one night, right?"

"No," Elias replied immediately.

"We need to head back and deal with the mess waiting for us."

"But she's going to get in trouble if we leave," Lily argued.

"I'm with Elias," Lucian said quietly.

"I don't know..."

"Everything about this feels wrong."

"Something is off." Lily looked toward Damien.

"Come on..."

"Damien, please." Damien looked at Lily before turning toward the little girl. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Then he finally spoke.

"Abelina and Jake are with Mr. Hemmensway." Everyone looked at him.

"While Nina was speaking with the Saintess, I asked the automatic System whether there was a way to ensure their safety."

"It informed me that the System had already taken care of it."

"It had already asked Mr. Hemmensway to protect the mother and child."

"And even if that weren't the case..."

"We've likely made an enemy of that priest."

"Returning now probably isn't the best decision."

"It could place the mother and son in even greater danger." Lucian lowered his eyes.

"... Fine." Then he looked toward the conscious space where Nina currently stood.

"But we should let Nina decide."

"I don't care anymore," Elias muttered before disappearing into the subconscious state with an irritated huff. Nina looked at the little girl.

"... Okay."

"But only for one night." The little girl's face immediately lit up.

"Yay!"

"Thank you!" She happily turned around and started walking. However, because she was so excited, she suddenly tripped and scraped her knee against the floor. She held back her tears as she quickly cast healing magic on herself. Within moments, the scrape completely disappeared. However, Nina remembered something. Even if healing magic restored the wound, there was usually still lingering pain. It would fade eventually, but it did not disappear immediately.

As the little girl tried to stand back up, Nina quietly held out her hand. The little girl looked at her in confusion. Nina smiled gently.

"It's just that..."

"I think you're a little too fast for me."

"If I'm not careful, I might lose you."

"So..."

"I need your help."

"Would you hold my hand so I don't get lost?" It was a small white lie, meant to keep the little girl from feeling embarrassed. The little girl's eyes brightened.

"Okay!" She happily grabbed Nina's hand. Then, while chatting excitedly about all sorts of things, she carefully guided Nina toward the room where she would be staying. … Rosa's carriage came to a halt. She had finally arrived at"Can't Make It, But I Can." Looking at the building, she smiled happily. Nina's efforts renovating the place had surely paid off. As Rosa began picking up her things, the carriage driver moved to help her.

She shook her head, only asking him to open the door since both of her hands would be full carrying the large teddy bear and the stack of pastries. After the driver opened the door for her, Rosa stepped inside with a bright smile on her face.

"Nina!"

"Miss Abelina!"

"Jakey!"

"Big Sis Rosa is here!" With the pastries covering nearly half of her face, she failed to notice the puddle of blood on the floor. The moment she stepped into it, she slipped and crashed to the ground. The teddy bear and pastries scattered across the floor. Looking around, Rosa pouted.

"Oh no... the pastries are ruined." As she prepared to gather everything back together, she suddenly noticed that her hand was covered in blood.

"Did I hurt myself?" she wondered aloud before letting out a sheepish laugh.

"Hopefully no one saw that..." She looked up. The smile disappeared from her face. The room was a mess. No... Her heart sank.

"Nina!" She scrambled to her feet, leaving the teddy bear and ruined pastries behind. She did not care anymore. She needed to believe that the blood she had just seen was not what she thought it was.

"Nina!"

"Abelina!"

"Jake!" She searched every room on the first floor. Then the second. Then she rushed all the way up to the third.

"Nina!"

"Jakey!"

"Abelina!"

"You guys are just playing hide-and-seek... right?"

"Right?" Slowly, Rosa made her way back downstairs. She was so distraught that she barely noticed where she was stepping. The world around her seemed to distort.

"No..."

"No..."

"No..."

"It can't be..."

"There is no way."

"Nina is strong."

"She..."

"She defeated the Calamity..." With every step she took, the world behind her became increasingly distorted. Only a few stairs remained. From this height, she could clearly see the damage. The blood. The destroyed furniture. The place where she had slipped. Even the ruined pastries had somehow been pushed neatly off to the side.

"I..."

"I just wish I knew what happened."

"This..."

"This isn't funny..." Her eyes began to water.

"I..."

"I don't want this."

"I don't want this!"

"Why can't I just have something nice for once?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. The world around her shattered. She found herself standing within an endless white space. Floating before her was a single shard. Inside that shard was the same room. Except... Everything was clean. Abelina was gently petting Jake's head. Nina quietly watched the two of them with a gentle smile. Rosa stared in disbelief.

"This can't be..."

"This has to be some kind of dream!" The shard cracked. Then the crack spread farther. Before Rosa could react, she was pulled inside. The entire scene unfolded before her as though she were watching a play. She watched the messengers arrive. She watched the arrogant man threaten Abelina and Jake. She watched Nina quietly respond. Then... A memory surfaced.

"The person inside the carriage this morning..."

"... That was Nina." Rosa felt sick. She had always known the Holy Temple was corrupt. She had simply never imagined that corruption would reach the people she cared about. Her anger grew. The surrounding world became increasingly unstable. Then she saw it. A fireball flew toward Nina.

"No!" Rosa screamed. Everything shattered once again. She found herself back inside the damaged store. Present time. The blood remained. The destruction remained.

"This..." She stared blankly.

"The blood..."

"Nina's..."

"I don't know..."

"I don't know..."

"And that man..."

"He dared send people after Abelina and Jake."

"How dare he."

"They all went in different directions."

"I'm only one person."

"How am I supposed to handle this?"

"How?"

"If only I could split myself."

"If only I could be in multiple places at once."

"If only..."

"I..."

"I can't."

"I can't do this alone." Rosa broke. The strange distortion that had surrounded the world suddenly rushed toward her all at once. It collided directly with her body. Her strength vanished. She collapsed. She was still standing on the staircase. This was going to be one painful fall. Just before she struck the ground... Someone caught her. Rosa looked up.

"... Myself?" The copy gently lowered her onto the ground. Unable to understand what had happened, Rosa reached out and touched it. The instant their fingers met, knowledge flooded into her mind. Instinctively... She understood. Rosa Roosevelt had been born before Mr. Roosevelt accumulated his wealth. She had always been known as one of the rare people born without magical ability.

However, in this world, when someone with little or no magical talent belonged to a family destined to rise in prestige, there was still a small possibility that an ability would eventually awaken. There had never been a recorded case of someone born completely without magical ability awakening one later in life. Meaning... Rosa Roosevelt was the first. She was experiencing something no one had ever documented before.

Because everyone had believed she would never awaken an ability, she had never received any training for such a situation. As Rosa continued touching the copy, more and more knowledge entered her mind. After a while, she slowly opened her eyes. She looked at herself. And the other Rosa looked back. It would take some time to grow accustomed to this. Still... There was no time. They needed to find everyone. Now that she had another self, she finally had a chance.

She could not divide her attention properly, so she sent the copy away to search for the others. She still did not fully understand what had caused her awakening. However, her instincts told her that if she restricted her own conscious attention, the duplicate would continue acting automatically without requiring constant input. So she did exactly that. The duplicate immediately departed to locate Abelina and Jake and ensure they were safe. After the copy left, Rosa lowered her head.

There was still much she did not understand about her new abilities. The darkness surrounding them was difficult to control. But none of that mattered right now. She needed to move. Fast. Following the knowledge filling her mind, Rosa opened a portal leading toward the Holy Temple. Stepping through it, she arrived before the entrance. She questioned the guards about the messenger and where they had taken him. When they refused to answer, Rosa no longer cared.

She activated her ability to witness what had happened at the gate. As she watched the memories unfold, she felt her mind begin to corrode the moment Nina passed through the barrier. Seeing that, Rosa's rage exploded. She no longer cared. Whether it was the Saintess or anyone else... She would see them. And after that... She would pay another visit to that messenger. Consumed by hatred, Rosa Roosevelt failed to notice the darkness slowly consuming her in return. She stepped through another portal.

Moments later, she entered the Saintess's hall. There... She saw him. Without a single conscious thought, her hands transformed into blades. She thrust one hand into his chest. Wrapped her fingers around his heart. And crushed it. In a single motion. Rosa watched the light slowly fade from his eyes. Only then did she realize what she had done.

"We need to talk.." A cold commanding voice echoed out not caring about Rosa's current state.