Chapter 18: The Imprisonment and the Dream of the Saintess

“No! Wait, I haven’t seen anything important, I swear!” Song Ze blurted out.

Except for some trivial details about Idis having been tsundere since childhood, he hadn’t seen anything else—none of the important parts!

At that moment, Song Ze couldn’t help but regret not skipping directly to the later pages. He should have known this would happen! Now he’d been caught, and he hadn’t learned any crucial information besides the fact that Idis might have had a crush on him since they were kids.

“Then what did you see?” Idis walked slowly toward him, his expression as indifferent as ever, but the pressure radiating from him was terrifyingly intense.

Cold sweat dripped from Song Ze’s forehead. He instinctively stepped back, only to hit the desk behind him, stumbling and nearly falling. Idis caught him just in time to prevent a disaster. But because of that, the distance between them shrank to a point where Song Ze didn’t even dare to breathe.

His intuition screamed at him to flee, but reality left him no escape. He could only face what was coming.

“Brother Idis…” Song Ze lowered his head and apologized sincerely. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have rummaged through your things.”

He didn’t know what Idis would do, but apologizing now might at least ease his anger, right…

“It’s fine,” Idis said softly, placing a hand on Song Ze’s shoulder. Looking at Song Ze’s pale face and the wary blue eyes watching him, Idis’s tone carried a hint of gentleness. “If you want to see these, it’s no problem at all.”

But this rare display of tenderness from Idis only made Song Ze inexplicably more terrified. He trembled uncontrollably. This kind of warmth was far more frightening than his usual icy demeanor!

“Th-then can I leave first?”

Song Ze forced himself to ask.

“Of course,” Idis replied.

Before Song Ze could bolt, Idis’s voice rang out again.

“But what exactly is your relationship with that Aliel?”

Why was he suddenly asking a question completely unrelated to the current situation?

“W-we…” Song Ze certainly couldn’t tell the truth now. Besides, in his view, there was no truth to tell! Coming out at a time like this would be just like him!

“Aliel and I… we’re just ordinary friends.”

“That day, I saw everything,” Idis said coldly.

What day?! Aliel… hadn’t even been there long! And then they were in the room… Holy shit!

Song Ze was scared half to death. He looked up nervously at Idis. “What did you see?”

“What do you think I saw?”

Idis’s tone suddenly turned much gentler. He reached out to stroke Song Ze’s cheek, leaning in until his voice was almost in Song Ze’s ear.

“Of course, I saw the person I love most cheating with some other man. I’m really hurt, you know.”

Song Ze: “…”

Song Ze: “…………”

Song Ze: “…” No way!!

When did this turn into “the person I love most”? This wasn’t just a change of feelings—this had been gay from the very beginning!! And that tone of catching a cheater was just…!

This harem game wasn’t like those X-point stallion novels where anything goes, with sisters calling each other and the like. This was a terrifying love battlefield where one wrong move could mean death!

In the game, if you got caught cheating, the darkening value of both targets would instantly max out, and the protagonist would have no good end. Being caught in the crossfire and getting a bad ending was the best-case scenario. Worst case, you’d be locked up and forced into a tragedy.

When Song Ze played the game, he actually liked this mechanic. The thrill of possibly being caught and killed at any moment was something those X-point stallion novels couldn’t offer, and racking his brains to achieve a harem ending under such pressure gave a unique sense of accomplishment…

But now, this wasn’t a game where just picking an option would solve everything! Caught cheating, he’d be dead in a flash!

Even though he didn’t think he had any relationship with Idis, the situation had clearly escalated to a critical point. He had to figure something out!

“I can explain, this is…” Song Ze wanted to slap himself after saying that. At this point, he felt there was no way to explain. He reached out and took Idis’s hand. “Brother Idis, I…”

He was about to try flattering Idis to ease his mood, but was interrupted.

“No need to explain. I know everything.” Idis smiled, his violet eyes fixed on Song Ze, but his words were ice-cold. “It’s all that temple lackey’s fault. He’s just bewitched you. Once you forget him, everything can go back to how it was.”

Song Ze: “…?!” You really have a grudge against the temple!

“Right?” Idis’s gaze turned sharp. “Or do you not want to?”

“N-no!” Song Ze said quickly. “I’ll forget him right away! In my heart, only Brother Idis matters most!”

“Good.” Idis pulled Song Ze into an embrace, whispering, “I’ll trust you.”

Being held, Song Ze breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he might have made it through this crisis… Then a wave of dizziness hit him, and before he knew it, he fell into a daze and lost consciousness.

So much for trusting! Liar!!

That was clearly full-on darkening!!

———

Dazed and groggy, Song Ze could clearly feel himself in a dream.

Unlike ordinary dreams, he could vaguely control his actions.

“Where is this?” Song Ze looked around. Everywhere was thick fog, with only a single path guiding him forward.

He instinctively walked ahead, and soon buildings appeared before him. It was a magnificent temple, with ethereal hymns echoing around, as if cleansing his soul.

“Is it because of the divine inheritance that I’m having this dream? Could the dream hold clues to the inheritance?” With this doubt, Song Ze entered the temple. The moment he saw the scene, he froze.

In the sacred temple stood a person, praying before a statue.

Sunlight streamed down from above, casting a veil over the figure. Their already pale skin seemed almost translucent, and they radiated a sense of holiness that made one feel unworthy to approach.

From Song Ze’s angle, he couldn’t see their face clearly—perhaps because of the dream, even their silhouette seemed blurred.

Then, as if noticing his entrance, the person turned around. In an instant, a perfectly beautiful face appeared before Song Ze.

It was as if they had their own PS soft glow. Their silver hair was like the finest silk, and their flawless face bore a perfect, holy smile. Anyone gazed upon by those clear, light blue eyes would feel an inexplicable relief, as if their soul had been purified.

More importantly, without a doubt, what appeared before him was a stunningly beautiful woman. Even if he were half-blind, he couldn’t mistake that!

“Is it the Saintess?!”

Song Ze was utterly stunned.

Back when he played the game, the Saintess had been his favorite target. He even revered her as his goddess…!

It was definitely because of her personality!! Not because she had the highest appearance stat in the game, along with an ascetic, sacred aura and extreme gentleness! …Okay, maybe a little bit.

After the elven princess, demon princess, and Idis had all undergone gender-bending, Song Ze had pretty much lost hope. He didn’t dare imagine what would happen if his goddess turned into a man!

But now, judging by her appearance, there was still hope!

Having completely despaired of this world, Song Ze clung to this like a lifeline.

Even if everyone else had become men, it didn’t matter! As long as the Saintess was still a woman, he had a chance! If he could be with her, all the forced gayness he’d endured could be forgiven!

Song Ze was so moved he almost cried. He hurried forward, mouth open to speak, but didn’t know what to say.

Then the Saintess reached out, gently touched his cheek, and gave him a warm smile.

Song Ze’s face blazed red. He nearly evaporated on the spot. When he tried to touch her, he grasped nothing. In the next moment, the Saintess’s figure faded, dissolving into countless specks of light and disappearing.

“Saintess—”

Song Ze jolted awake.

Damn this dream! Cutting off at such a crucial moment! He hadn’t even had a chance to say more to her!

After stewing in frustration, Song Ze suddenly sensed something wrong with his surroundings.

This wasn’t his usual bedroom! The room was oppressively dark, lit only by a single oil lamp on the table… Seriously, with advanced magical lighting in this world, they were using ordinary oil lamps. Unbelievable.

No… It felt as if there wasn’t a trace of magical elements here. The entire space seemed sealed.

An uneasy feeling spread through Song Ze’s heart.

He fumbled to get up, but felt something tugging at his ankle. A clear clink of chains echoed in the silent space, jarringly loud.

Song Ze froze. Connecting this with the earlier incident of discovering Idis’s diary and being caught red-handed, he finally realized: this was the legendary imprisonment play.

Why was this happening?

All he did was read a diary! And then get exposed for having a somewhat gay relationship with Aliel! Was that worth going this far?

But it didn’t matter. After that dream, Song Ze was filled with renewed passion. He was determined to complete the main quest and successfully meet the Saintess.

As for the other three targets, they were no longer in his consideration.

“Let me investigate here. There has to be a way out!”

…………

…

The center of the temple, the Floating City.

This place was considered the closest to the divine in the entire continent.

In a grand temple within.

The silver-haired youth who had been praying slowly opened his eyes.

The clergy beside him immediately bowed and spoke respectfully, “Holy Son, have you found the Chosen One?”

“Very close.”

The youth known as the Holy Son spoke softly, a hint of regret in his voice. “But it seems my power hasn’t fully awakened yet. I can’t pinpoint the exact location… but soon…”

“The divine will bring him before me.”

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