How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 365: Light and suspicions

The soft rustling of petals filled the air as a gentle breeze swept through the empty park near the commercial district.

Flowers bloomed in every direction, adding bursts of color to the serene landscape.

Amidst this tranquility, two figures sat on a wooden bench beneath the shade of a large, blossoming tree.

Phew~

A sigh of relief escaped Emilia’s lips as she clutched the test papers in her hands, her blue eyes scanning over the final results.

”I—I passed!” she exclaimed, her voice laced with both excitement and disbelief.

Beside her, a soft chuckle followed.

”Congratulations, Enna,” said Vanessa, offering a gentle clap as she smiled beneath the hood of her blue cloak.

Emilia—Enna—beamed.

”Hehe~ I should really start trusting myself more,” she admitted, hugging the papers close to her chest. ”I still lack self-confidence when it comes to things like this!”

Vanessa shook her head slightly.

”I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” she reassured, her voice calm and steady. ”Besides, academy exams tend to be quite difficult, so I’m sure you weren’t the only one feeling nervous about the results…”

Emilia let out a small hum, tapping her fingers against the papers.

”If only that were the case,” she muttered. ”Some of my classmates were so excited and confident about their results, you know? Some were even betting their scores against one another—adjusting their glasses like some kind of scholars—” she sighed dramatically, ”maybe entering the General Department was a bad choice? I’m not really that smart, but if I also entered the Specialized Courses, then His Holiness wouldn’t let me be…”

Vanessa giggled softly at her words.

”Fufu~ I’m sure entering the General Department was the right choice for you,” she assured. ”Trust me, if you had joined the Specialized Courses, you’d only end up stressing yourself out even more.”

She leaned back slightly, looking at Emilia with an amused expression.

”And I don’t think you need any more stress than you already have.”

”I guess that’s true…” Emilia muttered, lightly tapping the edge of her test papers against the wooden bench. ”But dealing with academic staff isn’t really something I think I’ll ever get used to.”

Vanessa chuckled at her words, tilting her head slightly.

”Spoken like a truly pampered saintess,” she teased.

”I—I’m not that pampered!” Emilia protested, pouting slightly. ”Yes, maybe a little spoiled… but I study hard, you know!?”

Vanessa waved a hand dismissively, her amusement growing.

”I know, I know~ I’ve seen firsthand just how hard and serious you take things,” she said, leaning against the back of the bench. ”Honestly, it’s a bit of a problem in some cases…”

”Really?” Emilia blinked, tilting her head in confusion. ”Everyone from the church thinks my personality is good, though?”

Vanessa smirked.

”I never said it was bad, did I?” she replied playfully. ”But still… the exam results sure were released earlier than I expected. I thought they’d come out right before or after the seniors finish their practicals. There’s still a week and a few days left before their practical deadlines, right?”

Emilia nodded.

”Ah, from what I heard from some of our professors, most of our seniors have already completed their practicals. Some of the faculty are even considering shortening the exam period based on the sheer number of successful finishes.”

Vanessa sighed, shaking her head.

”The academy sure is practical…”

Emilia let out a deep sigh of her own, resting her cheek against her palm.

”Because of that, our mission is about to become even more troublesome…”

”I guess… there goes our free time, huh?” Emilia sighed, leaning back against the wooden bench.

Vanessa’s playful expression softened slightly, her demeanor turning more serious. She reached out and gently patted Emilia’s head, her touch both reassuring and thoughtful.

”Any new information so far?” she asked.

Emilia shook her head, her brows furrowing.

”No… I still couldn’t find the source of the light. Even when we visited the site a day ago, there weren’t any lingering traces left behind…” She trailed off before glancing at Vanessa. ”How about on your end?”

Vanessa let out a small sigh and shook her head as well.

”Nothing much…” she admitted. ”I did ask Uriel for some insights, but she’s just as lost as we are. However, I did manage to convince Stacia to keep an eye out for any suspiciously divine individuals in the area.”

Emilia’s eyes widened in surprise.

”You—Wait, you actually got Stacia to help?”

”Fufu~ relax,” Vanessa reassured her, waving a hand. ”I haven’t told Sacia anything significant. I still remember the promise we made.”

Considering that Stacia was a princess of an entire nation, casually mentioning things like demonic entities, divine powers strong enough to destroy buildings, and a saintess secretly investigating wouldn’t exactly be something Vanessa could just spill in casual conversation.

”Besides,” she added with a smirk, ”Sacia isn’t really the type to gossip. If anything, she tends to mind her own business so much that it sometimes makes her a little close-minded.”

”So far, the only lead we have is that clear explosion and the lingering divine energy from yesterday,” Emilia murmured, her fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on the test papers in her lap. ”I’ve already memorized the signature of that divine energy, so if I get close enough, I’m sure I’ll be able to instantly recognize the owner of such dense divine power…”

Vanessa tilted her head slightly, her expression thoughtful.

”Do you have anyone you’re suspicious of?” she asked.

”Well… at first, I thought it might have been Senior Riley…”

Vanessa blinked in surprise. ”Riley? Come to think of it, you did try to grab his hand the other day…”

Emilia’s cheeks reddened slightly at the memory, but she quickly waved her hands in denial.

”Ah, well… I’m not one hundred percent sure if it was really Senior Riley. It’s true that the divine energy signature he exuded was similar, but I’m fairly sure I was just mistaken,” she admitted, furrowing her brows. ”Although the quality of the energy was alike, the density and the sheer power behind it felt… lacking in comparison.”

Vanessa tapped her fingers on her knee, listening carefully.

”The Goddess’s blessing is usually consistent among her followers,” Emilia continued, deep in thought. ”But the energy from yesterday was different… purer, even—practically on the same level as mine…”

Vanessa’s ears twitched slightly beneath the hood of her cloak, catching the subtle shift in Emilia’s tone.

Emilia hesitated for a moment before leaning in closer, bringing her lips near Vanessa’s ear. Her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper.

”…Although this is a bit of a secret,” she murmured, her breath warm against Vanessa’s skin, ”I once cured Senior Riley from a curse of darkness…”

Vanessa’s eyes widened slightly, but she remained silent, absorbing the implications of what Emilia had just confessed.

”So, you think the lingering divine energy you gave him is what confused your perception?” Vanessa asked, her brows furrowed.

”In a way, yes… b-but that isn’t the only reason I dismissed Senior Riley’s involvement.” Emilia bit her lip, clearly trying to gather her thoughts. ”I spent a lot of time thinking about it—analyzing what I saw inside him that day. The light within him is still the same, though… it does seem a bit purer than usual.” She hesitated. ”Maybe it’s due to the lingering effects of the ritual I performed on him…”

”I see… that does make sense.” Vanessa leaned back slightly; her arms crossed. ”But even so, maybe we should still keep a close eye on Senior Riley. I don’t really like suspecting a friend’s brother, but whether it’s good or bad, the entire academy is at risk. With demons and cultists lurking around, we need all the help we can get if we want this ordeal to end quietly…”

She paused before adding, ”Besides, Uriel also mentioned that she felt something strange when she faced Senior Riley during their practical exam. So maybe your suspicions weren’t entirely wrong?”

Emilia’s eyes widened in surprise.

”Uriel did?”

Vanessa nodded.

”What exactly did she say?”

Vanessa’s expression turned slightly awkward as she recalled Uriel’s words.

”She said that… her heart pounded weirdly whenever she looked at him,” Vanessa admitted hesitantly. ”And that… she felt this strange urge to… submit to him.”

Emilia blinked.

”…Submit?”

Vanessa nodded, looking increasingly uncomfortable.

”She told me that when he hurt her during the exam, she knew he didn’t mean it… and yet, for some weird reason, she kind of… liked it.”

A silence hung between them.

Emilia’s mouth opened slightly, as if to say something, but no words came out.

Vanessa, finally realizing the weirdness of what she had just said, stopped mid-thought and covered her face with her hand.

”…..Uhm…” Emilia hesitated, her fingers lightly tapping against her palm. ”I-I’m not really that well-versed in things like that… and stuff… but doesn’t that just mean Uriel is fascinated by Senior Riley…?”

She glanced at Vanessa, unsure.

Emotions like love, admiration, and fascination were concepts she could understand in theory, but actually grasping them was another matter entirely.

Relationships, beyond the structured devotion of the Church, were complicated.