Chapter 10: A Shared Task and a Glimpse of the Past

As if by a strange compulsion, Alice spontaneously lunged forward and embraced Eve.

She nestled her head into Eve’s shoulder, saying nothing, merely holding the girl in her arms tightly.

“A-Alice?!”

Caught off guard by Alice’s sudden embrace, Eve felt a surge of bewilderment.

To her embarrassment, in two lifetimes, she had never been this physically close to another girl. Especially not one as stunning and ‘well-endowed’ as Alice, who was now clinging to her.

For a moment, she didn’t know where to put her hands.

Originally, her intention had simply been to play on emotions to distract Alice, since the girl seemed to know her original body. This would allow her to execute her plan of crawling back into the coffin to ‘lie flat’.

Now, however, it seemed she was inadvertently speeding up her transformation into a plush toy, squeezed tight in Alice’s arms.

As various thoughts blossomed in Eve’s mind, she felt a girl’s whisper brush her ear.

“Don’t make that face again… please don’t…”

Eve remembered that just a short while ago, Alice had been the holy, revered Saintess.

But now…

Her delicate body trembled slightly. Her low, helpless murmurs were startlingly clear.

It was as if, in an instant, Alice had fallen from the pedestal of ‘Saintess,’ transforming into a pitiful girl on the verge of losing everything.

Eve did not know what the original body had experienced in life. Nor did she know the nature of its connection to this Saintess.

She only knew that she had now made a girl cry.

By invoking her painful past memories…

Eve lifted her head, closing her eyes. She silently cursed herself in her heart: ‘I’m truly despicable!’

In that moment, all extraneous thoughts vanished from her mind. Eve calmly wrapped her arms around Alice, who was still clinging to her, and gently patted her back.

“I’m sorry…”

“Alice, I promise you, I won’t make that face again.”

Alice’s delicate body suddenly stiffened.

Then, as if suddenly realizing what she had done, she frantically broke free from Eve’s embrace. Her face flushed crimson as she took two steps back, then quickly turned her back and stammered: “W-What’s there to apologize for? It’s your freedom, Lady Eve, whether you want to cry, laugh, or sleep. How could I possibly control you…”

“Alright, I still need to purify all the remaining undead in the graveyard. I-I’ll go get busy now…”

“Lady?”

Perhaps it was because she had transformed into a girl, but Eve’s intuition in certain areas had become exceptionally sharp. She immediately grasped the key element in Alice’s words.

Alice, who had always called her ‘Eve-chan’ before, had uttered such a title for the first time. It surely had a connection to her former self.

After all, ‘Eve-chan’ and ‘Lady Eve’ were titles as different as night and day.

Recalling the inscription on her tombstone, ‘Daughter of Duke Wells,’ her noble status in life was undoubtedly confirmed. Did this mean she and Alice had once shared a master-servant relationship?

Silently noting this small detail, Eve’s courage grew a little. She tentatively asked: “Well~ now I don’t feel like sleeping anymore. I want to go with you, Alice, to clear out the undead. Would that also count as my freedom?”

Alice turned her head upon hearing this, and let out a small huff: “…I never had any objection. Whatever you wish to do, Eve-chan, is your freedom.”

Despite her words, Eve could clearly see a visible delight on her face.

Eve now understood. Alice held no ill will towards her, and even her current tsundere demeanor made Eve suspect that her earlier remark about dragging her to sleep might have just been a tease, a mere bluff.

With this realization, Eve, for the first time, offered Alice a genuine, heartfelt smile: “Then let’s go together.”

Neither of them noticed that at this moment, the dynamic between them had subtly shifted.

****

Although the wide-ranging rainbow light Alice had released earlier covered a vast area, it was not a saturated strike. Naturally, a few stragglers had slipped through.

Logically, this final clean-up work didn’t actually require Alice to continue acting. She could have simply instructed the Silverwing Knights to handle it.

Her earlier mention of it had merely been a pretext to alleviate awkwardness by cleaning up minor undead, serving as an excuse to escape.

But now that her Eve-chan had proactively offered to accompany her in the clean-up, Alice naturally wouldn’t miss such an opportunity for solitude with her.

Before they set off, Alice reminded her: “Eve-chan, when I release Holy Light, remember to stay far away from me.”

Eve nodded. “Understood.”

Seriously, she valued her life greatly. Even without Alice’s reminder, she wouldn’t foolishly run into someone’s sword.

While they claimed to be eradicating the undead, the two girls were actually more like they were taking an evening stroll, clearing any undead they encountered along the way while chatting leisurely.

“Speaking of which, Eve-chan, what were you doing collecting flags in the plaza earlier?”

Alice asked curiously.

Ever since earlier, she had seen Eve walking with flags clutched in her arms, as if guarding some precious treasure.

Just as Eve was about to answer, an undead creature, previously gnawing on grass, caught the scent of living beings. It abruptly raised its head, then quickly lunged forward with a roar, attacking Alice.

Alice, holding her holy scripture, casually pointed a finger: “Silence.”

The undead creature was obedient. It immediately stopped howling, and transformed into light.

Eve was already accustomed to such sights. Ignoring the brief interlude, she explained: “Oh, you mean that, Alice… Hmm, how should I put it? It was just that at the time, I suddenly had a premonition. If I collected specific items, I could acquire a profession, which I could then use to enhance my strength. So I went to collect the flags.”

Eve knew that some things could be said, and some could not.

She couldn’t reveal anything about the ‘System’ to Alice. She could only vaguely gloss over it with such a general explanation.

Alice, however, fell into brief contemplation. Then, she looked at Eve earnestly and said: “I think, Eve-chan, you’ve reached the [Advancement Phase]—the transition from unranked to Tier One.”

Seeing Eve’s bewildered expression, Alice knew she was completely ignorant of this. So, she thoughtfully continued to explain.

“The [Advancement Phase] is when a creature reaches the current limit of its strength. At this point, no matter how much they try to improve, they will ultimately be stuck at that limit, able only to seek specific methods or opportunities to reach the next tier. This period is called the [Advancement Phase].

On the continent, there’s a unified power classification for all creatures. Starting from Tier Zero, the unranked, all the way to Transcendent Tier, the Divine Rank, there are a total of twelve tiers.

However, only ten tiers are commonly used. Tier Zero, the unranked, and Transcendent Tier, the Divine Rank, aren’t actually considered formal stages.

This is because the Transcendent Tier already reaches the level of deities. Only gods can attain this tier.

Tier Zero, on the other hand, consists of ordinary people without any special abilities. Only upon reaching Tier One are they formally granted a [Profession] by the two great deities, beginning their transformation from ordinary humans to individuals with extraordinary abilities.

Eve-chan, you are currently in that initial stage.”

****

Publicly Available Information:

On the Continent of Evocation, only two deities are currently known and confirmed to be alive.

They are:

The Goddess of Light, who symbolizes life and order.

The Goddess of Finality, who symbolizes destruction and freedom.