Chapter 107 : She Just Wanted to Cuddle

Had she been forgotten?

She didn’t know the exact time, but usually, about half an hour after she woke up, someone would drag her out of the cell for the purification ritual, which was nothing more than torture.

But today, no one had come. Even the guard outside her cell had left his post.

It seemed like a good opportunity to escape. She could just bite her finger, draw the explosive magic circle, and blow the door open. The only problem was that the old fool was still in the Church. If he was here, she would be caught the moment she escaped.

She had to wait for a better opportunity, at least until she was sure he was gone.

Since they had forgotten to drag her out for purification today, it was a good thing for her.

No torture. She could study her useless appraisal skill. Hmm… knowing it was a useless skill, and with so little to see in here, was there any point?

It was a good support skill. Paired with her breathing technique to see weak points, she could provide a lot of information in a team fight. But she had no teammates. Only enemies. How could she fight?

The last thing she needed was a support skill. If only she could get a one-hit-kill cheat.

Of course, that was just a pipe dream.

She remained in the corner of the cage. Since the appraisal skill was useless, she could only hope to find something useful in the memory fragments from the question mark log.

She closed her eyes. Mundane, everyday scenes flashed in her mind. All sunny, positive, and heartwarming. It made her feel uneasy.

These beautiful fragments were like someone else’s memories. Occasionally, a scene she had never experienced would flash by. And her brain was like a filter, blocking out all the negative information, leaving only the beautiful and pleasant.

Was this a hallucination?

She remembered this. She had read about it somewhere.

This was the old fool’s favorite trick. He used it to control the captured espers, making them drown in beautiful memories while their bodies were being exploited. And she was just one of the many he had captured.

Milly wasn’t human. She was a captured test subject.

Her true identity was a test subject created by the old fool. So she had no such beautiful memories. The reason she was feeling them was because the old fool had captured her and was using her as a test subject. And her brain was rejecting it, treating the old fool’s memories as her own. And the reason her brain was rejecting it was because her esper ability was clashing with his.

Her esper ability was devouring.

She could devour anything. Memories, abilities, and life.

She had been locked up in the old fool’s lab. She had escaped by devouring a researcher’s memory.

Her purpose for escaping was to devour the old fool.

This was a mental attack.

Couldn’t it give her something useful? Like that magic circle that exploded without magic. But all it gave her were useless fragments.

After a whole day of watching, she had found nothing. The beautiful memories had taken a toll on her already fragile mind. She had to make the sigil on her hand fade.

She looked outside the cage. It must be time for the night shift. A new guard, in silver-white armor. She would check his information first.

[Name: Maurice Vandel]

[Position: Silver Knight]

[Status: Normal]

A Silver Knight. Xavier was a Platinum Knight. Was there a Gold Knight in between?

If she looked at Tifna, what would her rank be? If her powers were restored, she could easily defeat anyone below Tifna. As for those above… maybe it would be better to use the Pope as a benchmark?

If it weren’t for that old fool’s cheating, she wouldn’t be in this situation.

With the appraisal skill, she should be able to see what kind of cheat he was using. Maybe she could find a counter? If so, this skill wasn’t so useless after all.

But in reality, the Pope’s status would probably just show “abnormal,” with a question mark after his name.

Useless.

“Hey! What are you looking at?”

Maurice suddenly struck the cage with his spear, the tip pointed at Milly.

“I’m telling you, don’t even think about escaping. The Saintess didn’t hold the purification ritual today, but that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, whelp.”

The Saintess didn’t hold the purification ritual?

Wasn’t it always the old fool who did it?

The Saintess only ever poured a symbolic pitcher of holy water and then left. Now it was her turn?

Which meant that the old fool might not be in the Church.

A golden opportunity.

When the shifts changed, she would blow the door open. With him gone, no one could stop her.

She turned to face the wall. The Silver Knight’s insults were unbearable. When she got out, he would be the first to go.

She bared her sharp little fangs, a vicious look on her face. Just you wait. She would escape.

She closed her eyes. She had seen too many memories today. Her brain was overloaded. She quickly fell asleep.

After a while, the tired Maurice also sat down against the wall. He just wanted to get off shift and go to the bar for a drink. Guarding this whelp in a cage was a waste of his time.

He didn’t know how long it had been, but he heard light footsteps.

Was someone here to relieve him? He was about to get up when his vision went black and he passed out.

…

Mmm…

In her sleep, she heard the soft click of the cage door opening.

Someone was here?

Was it a dream?

She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were as heavy as lead.

In a daze, she felt herself being gently lifted, placed on something soft. Not just contact, but the softness of skin. It reminded her of something… unpleasant.

In her memory, someone had placed her on their soft lap and spanked her. It hadn’t hurt, but it had been incredibly shameful.

But this was different. Although it was the same part of the body, the position was different.

In her memory, she was face down. Now, her head was resting on a soft lap. She could smell a pleasant scent. It was just a dream. Milly unconsciously snuggled closer, wanting to reach out and squeeze.

Did she hear a soft gasp?

Whatever. It was just her dream.

In a daze, she was turned over, her hand held. Was someone trying to stop her? This was her dream. Couldn’t she have her way?

“Mmm…”

She mumbled in her sleep. Something cool gently lifted her head. What was happening?

Her lips touched something. She instinctively resisted, but the sweet taste made her start to drink.

The sweet taste bloomed on her tongue. She didn’t know what it was, but it was delicious.

She wanted to know what it was. She tried to lift her heavy eyelids. But if she woke up, the dream would shatter.

In her blurred vision, she saw a familiar face, a face that awakened her deepest fears.

“Stacy?”