Chapter 14: That’s Not Right, Because I’m Just a Little Loli

The dazzling light made it hard for Dounia to open her eyes.
She squinted them into a thin line, struggling to adjust to the brightness outside.

Adelle held a hand up to shield her eyes, looking even more unaccustomed to it than Dounia herself.

‘To think she doesn’t spend much time on the surface either?’

“What kind of fair maiden fears the sun, shielding it with one hand,” Dounia’s lips curved slightly as she muttered under her breath.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing,” Dounia quickly changed the subject.

The cold air brought her thoughts back to reality.
Dounia looked at the lawns on either side of the bunker exit; unsurprisingly, they were covered in a thick blanket of snow.

The Anomaly Bureau branch they were in was located near the northern city of Winter’s End.

Like its name suggested, it was winter here all year round, perpetually covered in ice and snow.

But it wasn’t just their location; the culprit behind all these weather changes was the influence of the Sixth Ice Age.

The great catastrophe had completely destroyed the original ecosystem, easily wiping out several civilizations and causing a massive regression and fragmentation in technology and various other fields.

“Hah…”

Dounia breathed on her hands, the white vapor quickly dissipating into the air.

According to the original description in the game, the current time was the “Little Ice Age” following the Sixth Ice Age.
Compared to that terrifying disaster, the current environment could barely be considered “livable.”

But even so, the daytime temperature here ranged from minus ten to twenty degrees Celsius, and it would drop even lower at night.

Dounia subconsciously shivered, but only felt a slight chill on her skin, like wearing a short-sleeved shirt in early autumn.

“…I don’t feel cold?”

Adelle glanced at her, her expression unchanged as she said, “That’s because your uniform has been treated with ‘Enkindle’.”

“Ho ho?” Dounia nodded slightly.

No wonder the characters in the game didn’t feel cold and could still wear short skirts in this icy and snowy land.

“This is also a manifestation of an extraordinary ability, though it’s still at a relatively basic stage,” Adelle explained. “The Enkindle effect on your clothes will last for less than three days at most. After it expires, it will need to be ‘Enkindled’ again.”

“So that’s how it is. This is the Anomaly Bureau’s method,” Dounia said, suddenly enlightened.

Ordinary people needed sealed buildings, fires, and thick clothing to keep warm, which made it almost impossible for them to travel too far from their homes.

And ‘Executors’ like them, who were not trusted, wore light and portable clothing that offered no protection from the cold on its own.

On one hand, this made their movements much more convenient, but on the other hand, it also became a means for the Anomaly Bureau to control them.
If an ‘Executor’ tried to escape, they would eventually have to reveal their location due to the cold.

“You are indeed quite sharp,” Adelle said, as if she had already guessed Dounia’s understanding of the Bureau’s intentions. “So don’t try to run.”

“I won’t~”

“Aiya, everyone here is so talented, and they speak so nicely. I super love the Anomaly Bureau,” Dounia said with exaggerated flair.

[Adelle Favorability -1, Current Value -20.3%]

“I hope you can channel your sarcastic energy into completing the mission,” Adelle said, giving her a cold look.

Dounia shrugged.

She couldn’t do anything right now anyway, so being able to annoy this little maid who had been so harsh to her from the start was a form of entertainment.

As for her favorability… it felt like it wouldn’t reach Violet’s level anytime soon.

It would be more convenient to just make her submit.

‘Wait… how have I already started thinking like a Follower of Pleasure,’ Dounia muttered to herself. ‘Lilith is a truly bad influence.’

The two walked side by side, with Dounia lagging a few steps behind Adelle.

“Tsk.”

Adelle didn’t seem to care about a potential sneak attack or resistance from Dounia, looking down on her abilities to some extent.

The two crossed a small stone bridge and followed a path through the coniferous forest.

The outskirts of the city were surrounded by towering snow-capped mountains, a natural windbreak that effectively reduced heat loss.
Winter’s End was situated in the basin ahead.

The buildings on either side of the road gradually became more numerous, and houses of various shapes appeared before Dounia’s eyes.

There were simple wooden huts and domed tents, with thick furs hanging from their tops to ward off the severe cold.

“Winter’s End is just ahead,” Adelle said.

The path came to an end, and a stone-paved road appeared under their feet.
The buildings on both sides of the street gradually became stone houses and even concrete structures.

The streets were also covered in snow.
Snow shovelers in furry hats had their faces tightly wrapped in scarves, shoveling the snow away one scoop at a time.

Crunch, crunch—

Children played and laughed in the snowdrifts around the square, their cheerful voices bringing a bit of life and hope to the city.

Watching them carefully place a short carrot for the nose of a comical and crude snowman, Adelle’s expression softened a little.

‘Her attitude towards children is a bit different… a compensatory mechanism? Did she not have a good childhood?’

Dounia keenly noticed the change in Adelle’s expression and quietly made a mental note of it.

But she also clearly remembered that at the end of the first volume of the game’s original story, Winter’s End was completely overrun.

A large number of monsters spawned in the city, and heretics hiding within blew up the energy furnace in the Anomaly Bureau, causing the heating energy tower to collapse and be destroyed…

Violet died from her illness, Fia fought several powerful enemies alone with her fate unknown, and the protagonist became completely corrupted.
Filled with vengeance, she went undercover in an evil organization, plotting her counterattack at the cost of being eroded by evil energy…

But that was the problem.

This was a classic dark galge, and its plot was strongly related to the protagonist’s corruption level.

As everyone knew, only by achieving a no-damage run (no defeat CGs) and not sliding into that abyss of corruption could one reach the HAPPY END.

And a BAD END usually meant the completely fallen protagonist became the world’s greatest evil god, and the entire world was plunged into despair.

“Damn it… why is everything a ticking time bomb, and the worst part is, I have to be the bomb disposal expert!” Dounia frowned, muttering to herself.

Adelle led Dounia along the edge of the square and into a small alley.

“Our mission this time is to visit all the places Miss Violet has been to in the past month, find any possible sources of contamination, and eliminate them in a timely manner.”

Dounia’s steps faltered.

She pointed a finger at herself.

“Me?”

Her only extraordinary ability was currently being used on Violet to maintain her stable condition.

And as for her actual combat ability…

If a large goose came at her, there was a very high probability she wouldn’t win!

Dounia looked horrified and waved her hands repeatedly.

“That’s not right, because I’m just a little loli.”