23. I confess, I’m not pretending anymore

My suspicions were confirmed, making me realize how naive and superficial my previous script-based guesses had been. I had thought that it would only be that yellow-haired villainous archbishop from the church wanting to use the saint one last time to rise to power , but I never expected there were dangerous elements colluding with him, also daring to lay hands on the saint.

Come to think of it, how could that yellow-haired villain who didn’t even have a name in the script possibly have the ability to threaten Ikusis’s safety on his own!? This saint, even if a bit foolish, was at least a BOSS-level character!

After finally finding Ikusis, I decided not to dwell on such metaphysical script interpretations, but instead to bring this foolish idiot, who had actually managed to escape, back to the Great Yīng Empire’s royal palace. After all… for me, and for the death script of Ikusis, the number of scenarios had only increased during the time she had been running away at full speed!

It was still that shocking content!

【Ikusis was attacked and injured by Oujilide!】

【Oujilide’s arrest warrant cannot be revoked due to this incident!】

【Oujilide was attacked and killed by a mysterious person!】

“Miss Ikusis, my matters are of no concern, I have already notified Kefi, who is also looking for you, to come back and assist us immediately. Before that, we must return to the Great Yīng Empire’s royal palace at once, otherwise I cannot guarantee that your limbs will remain intact.”

This time, Ikusis had quieted down. Not only was it as the script indicated, but I also realized that her previous foolish behavior had, to some extent, been somewhat “acted.” That said… her reaction still seemed rather silly.

“Are you an idiot? Splitting up to look for someone is the easiest way to get into trouble! What’s wrong with your brain, ah ah ah! Gah lah gah lah gah lah…”

Before she could finish her words, I had already landed a heavy punch on this idiot’s head! Listening to her making strange noises!

“Do you think we split up to look for you for no reason? Do you think I don’t know this logic!”

In any script, the protagonist group splitting up to search for someone is basically equivalent to handing them over for free; I understood this much better than this foolish saint! But in the script, the saint was running all over the place, and in order to find her quickly and prevent dangerous scenarios from occurring, I had no choice but to split up with Kefi to search for her as quickly as possible.

Of course, I was panicking, because even now, my death script was like a ghost, lurking everywhere, but I had no choice!

After I knocked Ikusis on the head, she finally quieted down, though the silly demeanor from before was replaced with a hint of fear in her questioning.

“W-why are you here? Do you know…”

【Ikusis suspects Oujilide also has prophetic abilities.】

Hmph, now you know who the boss is, huh?

I was about to scare Ikusis a bit, but… it was too late, after all, our current situation was not one to joke about!

Accompanied by a chilling script: 【’Oujilide’ appears!】, a figure emerged not far away, unnoticed by me!

Dressed in the long robe dyed pitch black, worn by ordinary church officials; the face seemed to be obscured by layers of black veils, hidden in a haze; the appearance and shape were completely consistent with the limited description of the notorious charlatan Oujilide on the current “wanted poster”!

At a glance, it was clearly a “counterfeit” who had appeared imitating Oujilide, attempting to impersonate me for some purpose! But… Ikusis definitely didn’t know this, which was the problem, and of course… this was also the opponent’s goal ! The content of that dangerous script had already appeared!

“Gah… O-Oujilide!”

The normally slow-witted Ikusis suddenly became quick-witted when it concerned her life safety. Before I could remind her, she had already taken the other party as Oujilide. This made the other party’s self-introduction sound less “intimidating”!

“Indeed, I am Oujilide.”

It was a male voice, but… the other party was fake, and at this point, everything heard and seen was untrustworthy!

“Saint Ikusis, I heard you obstructed the revocation of my arrest warrant? Today, I have come to ensure you will forever keep your mouth shut.”

Ikusis immediately began to wail, spilling all the secrets.

“Wah ah ah! It’s unfair! It wasn’t me! It was the archbishop who said it!”

If this idiot gets caught by the enemy, I fear they would betray us in less than a minute, right?

I can’t let Ikusis get the wrong idea first! Because her subsequent thoughts and perspectives will directly influence Oujilide, which is the key to whether I can “clear my name”!

“Ikusis!”

I immediately called out, “Don’t believe it! It’s not the real Oujilide at all; it’s just someone trying to frame him under his name!”

In the blink of an eye, aside from the deadly content, I discovered another part of the script.

[Ikusis is trying to play dumb to get by!]

Damn! What time is it now!?

“Stop playing dumb, idiot! Can’t you see that you’re being used by this and that!?”

“!”

Ikusis’s form wavered for a moment, and I wanted to continue explaining, but… the opponent didn’t seem like a villain who would “die from talking too much” or “die waiting for the protagonist’s big move.” They didn’ t give me any time to prepare or delay!

In the next instant, the death script appeared! The crisis was aimed straight at Ikusis! Just like the previous dangerous content!

[Oujilide killed Ikusis! Oujilide is infamous!]

As expected, it was a frame-up!

My own script was also filled with danger, but what could I do? As Oujilide, and as a man worthy of clinging to Bockfiel’s thigh, I had no choice at this moment!

Speaking of which, can’t this idiot saintess predict anything other than whether others are lying? Can’t she see such a huge future of death!?

“Idiot! Run away!”

I roughly pushed Ikusis aside; it seemed this idiot saintess had become the first target of “Oujilide”! However, because of this push, I inevitably put myself in danger as well!

An unseen force, like a monster’s hand, gripped my neck tightly! As it lifted me, it dragged me toward that “Oujilide”! A suffocating pain surged through me, making it hard to breathe, but at this moment, unless I was a fool, I wouldn’t show weakness in front of this imposter!

While desperately trying to pry open that force, I used what little strength I had to sneer.

“Playing Oujilide… not bad at all. You are definitely… not Oujilide!”

“Then who is?”

The impostor’s gloomy voice revealed satisfaction, “No one will care; all they need to know is that ‘Oujilide’ killed the saintess.”

In a daze, through the layers of fog, I vaguely saw the opponent’s appearance. The purpose of framing Oujilide was very strange, and their own script was also problematic.

“Of course, I don’t want to leave behind a threat like you.”

[Oujilide disobeyed orders and killed Oujilide!]

The death script rushed in! But I had no time to think about this strange script! If this continued, my life would surely end here, let alone saving the saintess!

First, I needed to find a way to escape, and also warn this impostor who wanted to frame me; don’t show off in front of the real Oujilide, it’s just… a display of incompetence!

“Very well, you finally said that. I’ve recorded it~”

My laughter was laced with the cough that came from suffocation, and then…

At the moment when the opponent’s smugness slowly turned into surprise…

Snowflakes drift down, the magic sword in hand, cold light sweeps across!