Go back? There's no going back.

"…Go back to the training camp closest to here."

Arriving outside the store, Elsie walked to the side of the road and got on an animal cart that looked like it was waiting for customers.

Although there are many shops around the training camp, the shop selling bedding is quite far away.

"Ok."

The driver spoke in a hoarse voice, raised the whip like a rusty machine, and the animal cart moved slowly.

Sitting in the carriage, Elsie, who had been busy all day investigating corruption and rushing to the training camp to confront the witch who was harming the country, closed her eyes slightly.

She had intended to take a short break.

But soon, as the animal cart that was originally moving on the road suddenly turned into an alley, she immediately noticed something strange and opened her eyes again.

"Guest, I don't think the place you are going back to now is a training camp."

It was at this moment that the hoarse voice of the coachman in front of her rang in Elsie's ears again: "There is only one place you should go back to, and that is our sect..."

"Are you right, Saint?"

As he finished speaking, the driver in front slowly turned his head and looked at Elsie with his lifeless, pale face.

"..."

After "making eye contact" with the controlled corpse in front of her, the expression on the girl's face paused briefly, and then became calm again.

“…Is it happening again?”

After a moment, Elsie slowly moved her lips, and her eyes gradually became colder as she looked at the corpse in front of her.

"Long time no see, Saint Lady."

The driver did not move his lower body, but turned his neck 180 degrees and shook his head. His tone gradually deepened, "Do you know that the Son of God, who was deceived by you and helped you leave the sect at the risk of apostasy, will soon become the new master?"

"The Holy Son asked me to tell you that as long as you are willing to go back now, he will forgive you for what happened."

After saying this, the driver's eyes, which had no white in them, stared at the girl in the carriage.

"What a pity, I never had this intention...even joining you in the beginning was not my intention."

However, the next second, under his gaze, the girl in the carriage still had no expression on her face, but the disgust in her eyes became more and more obvious: "By the way, I have already informed the royal family of your infiltration last time."

“…Oh, is that so.”

As if he had anticipated Elsie's response, the driver's pale face with stiff features did not show any new expression. He just said in a grim tone: "In short, I have said what I want to say. I really hope you can think about it carefully."

"If we wait until the Holy Son personally comes to this royal city, it will be too late."

As he finished speaking, the driver's head slowly tilted, and finally... like a body without a soul, he slowly lowered his head.

"..."

Seeing this scene, Elsie was silent for a moment, sighed slowly, walked out of the car and began to examine the body.

But before she could get closer, the body that lost balance and fell to the ground outside the car began to swell up little by little.

Seeing this, Elsie immediately distanced herself again.

The next second, accompanied by a dull sound, the middle-aged driver's body suddenly exploded.

Along with the frightened neighing of the two bulls, countless dark red blood clots that had already solidified splashed in the air, dyeing the alley a new color.

"So... we still have to walk back?"

Elsie was silent for a long time, quietly watching the scene in front of her, and the animal cart that had been completely dirty.

Finally, she took a deep breath, rubbed her forehead, took out the cat-head communicator from the pocket of her skirt, and slowly walked out of the alley.

***

At the same time, training camp, luxurious dormitory.

[The universal affinity body has been detected and is being further improved (false). Please maintain physical contact with the host and do not disconnect...]

【Ding! 】

【This upgrade is over. 】

In the bright bedroom, as the prompts in his field of vision changed, Su Wei, who had been staring at the prompt bar in a daze, suddenly came back to his senses.

He subconsciously turned his head and looked at the wall clock that had been wiped clean not long ago.

'This ascension took about thirty-five minutes?'

Looking at the time on the wall clock, Su Wei withdrew his gaze, thoughtful.

The prompt says 'This upgrade is over'.

What if I proceed to the next one right away?

With this thought in his mind, Su Wei subconsciously looked towards the princess beside him.

At this moment, the princess was tilting her head slightly, her slightly out-of-focus eyes staring at the ceiling motionlessly.

Well...if Su Wei remembers correctly, it seems that this gentleman has become like this not long after the resonance began.

After hesitating for a moment, Su Wei gently released the hand that had been tightly holding the other person.

Then, after confirming that the physical contact between the two parties was completely over, Su Wei reached forward again and grasped the princess' hand again.

【…】

However, this time, after Su Wei waited patiently for a moment, no new prompts popped up in his field of vision.

Ok.

It seems that there is no BUG.

Seeing this, Su Wei blinked, but was not too disappointed.

No, it would be better to say that the resonance he had just gained had already made him quite satisfied.

Subconsciously, Su Wei closed his eyes slightly and began to try to sense the free elements in the surrounding air.

However, after a few seconds, Su Wei opened his eyes again and frowned slightly: "Is it my illusion? Why does it feel no different from before the resonance?"

After a moment's silence, Su Wei thought of something and looked at the princess beside him again.

"Um, Princess."

After organizing his words a little, he opened his mouth and said, "Can you help me check if there are any changes in my elemental affinity?"

"……Eh?"

Suddenly, the voice of a stupid child came from her blank and chaotic brain. Celsia trembled all over, and a hint of clarity gradually reappeared in her misty eyes.

She withdrew her gaze from the ceiling with a dazed look in her eyes. She subconsciously turned her head and looked at Su Wei beside her: "Sorry...what did you say just now?"

"Uh, I mean, I'd like you to check my current elemental affinity."

After meeting his gaze, Su Wei's expression looked a little subtle: "I think there should be changes, but I don't know why, my physical sensation doesn't change at all..."

"… Really? Let me take a look."

The confused thoughts in her mind gradually came back to normal. Upon hearing the voice, Celsia subconsciously reached out her hand to Su Wei.

But soon, when she reached out her still-moving left hand to Su Wei's hand, she found that he was already clasping her right hand tightly. She was stunned for a moment and retracted her left hand again.

The next second, avoiding Su Wei's strange gaze, Celsia pursed her lips, and magical light spots emerged around her body, surrounding Su Wei little by little.

"...Well, it seems that nothing has changed."

Later, after a brief silence, Su Wei heard Lord Wang's answer.

"Yeah, I know..."

Could it be that after this resonance, the changes in physical condition will be delayed?

After confirming the last words "This upgrade is over" prompted by the system in his field of vision, Su Wei calmed down again, only feeling a slight pain in his head.

Originally, if Su Wei failed to resonate, then forget it. After the last hundred draws, he already had a clearer understanding of his luck in this life, so he wouldn't feel too strange.

But what about this situation where the prompts don’t match the reality?

Play, baby.

Su Wei sighed softly, and his heart, which had been beating faster due to this unexpected gain, calmed down at this moment.

"…Don't be so depressed."

But at this moment, the princess' voice suddenly came from Su Wei's ears again.

"Ah?"

Su Wei subconsciously looked at the other party.

But the princess, who had come to her senses, was now looking at him with worried eyes.

"Originally, the probability of resonance occurring is very low. This is just the first attempt. It doesn't matter if it fails. This is actually normal..."

As if she regarded Su Wei's helpless reaction after being pulled by her own system as a loss, the princess who had wasted half an hour took the initiative to comfort him: "Just try it more in the future. This is a practice that needs to be accumulated little by little..."

However, at the end, the princess suddenly became hesitant for some reason.

"……thank you."

Only when the princess calmed down again did Su Wei open his mouth and take over the conversation.

However, just when Su Wei was thinking about whether he should change the topic slightly to ease the current somewhat awkward atmosphere, his eyes suddenly fixed and he was stunned.

"Host: Su Wei"

"Age: 16"

"Currently gained favorability:?/? (Records are being updated, please be patient)"

"Currently, the number of 1 consecutive draws has been: "

"Source of favorability: 3 people"

「Source 1: Celsia Tirantia」

「Source 2: Elsie」

"Source 3: Jenny White (?)"

Because at this moment, in his field of vision, the system prompts had faded away, and the personal panel that he had called many times in the past, only popped up again at this moment, as if it had stopped being stuck.

Among them, when the few lines of characters below the source of favorability appeared in front of Su Wei again, he suddenly felt particularly dazzling.

Almost instinctively, Su Wei once again recalled the first time he had drawn a hundred times. Each one was warmer and brighter than the last one, especially the last one that almost made his eyes blink...

Now, with the panel on the left side of his field of vision corresponding to the princess who was comforting him on the right side of his field of vision, a thought that Su Wei had subconsciously ignored before once again came to his mind.

So...who is the source of the last favorability star?

At first, Su Wei firmly believed that it came from his mother.

However, later, after returning from the Rosseau Mountains, his judgment of himself...had actually begun to waver a little.

But he was still very cowardly at the time, and didn't even have the courage to face the facts and the truth. In addition, the subsequent system crash and no response, this question was suppressed in his subconscious.

But now, as the system responded again, Su Wei suddenly realized that he might... need to face this problem.

After all, after the second meeting, he now truly believed that the star with the highest favorability did not come from his mother.

——It’s okay to deceive yourself at other times, but if you are so focused on escaping reality that you ignore the people who really care about you, wouldn’t that be a bit too much?

At this moment, Su Wei remained silent.

He knew that if it were himself not long ago, even if the system recovered and he had even realized this possibility in his mind, he would probably choose to cover up his mistake in the end.

After all, at that time, he probably couldn't accept the fact that his mother didn't love him the most.

But why did I change without realizing it?

——Can you love yourself a little more?

——Don't let me down too much.

At this moment, Su Wei's mind suddenly reappeared the words that the princess had said to him in the carriage.

He was stunned.

Gradually, some understanding flashed in his eyes.

If walking away from false fantasies and regaining the courage to face reality can be considered a form of self-love...