Chapter 313 Escape from Huyue Manor

When Aiwass woke up again, he felt weaker than ever before.

——It’s not an illusion.

Aiwass quickly determined that this condition was caused by severe anemia. However, he felt no wounds or pain, but instead a light and intoxicated feeling.

It’s like the euphoria and comfort you feel when you hug your lover and breathe in the fragrance of each other’s hair.

After calming himself down a bit, he opened his eyes and prepared to check his situation.

He...or rather she, noticed that she was now in a neat but small room.

Beneath her lay neatly sheets and a soft, thick quilt. The wooden room was devoid of decorations or entertainment. Besides the single bed, there was only a small desk.

There is a pot of green plants on the desk, three or four books fixed with bookends, and a cup of water.

But then the first bad thing happened.

She noticed that there were no extra clothes in the room.

Her feet were bare, and she was wearing only a thin white nightgown...After getting out of the quilt, she felt a distinct, chilling chill.

When he turned over and got up, Aiwass noticed that there was a heavy metal collar around his neck.

Because there was no mirror in the room, she couldn't confirm her appearance or the exact shape of the collar. She pulled a lock of her hair from behind her and held it in front of her to confirm that her hair was black.

Soon, the host's ethereal and pleasant voice, as gentle as a bedtime story, came softly from her ears:

"You wake up from the afterglow of sunset, feeling weaker than you were yesterday.

"You just had a dream, a dream about the good old days when you were the Viscount's daughter.

"Under the combined efforts of the Alchemy Guild and the Art Society, the Empire's demonologists began to suffer unprecedented persecution. Murders became rampant, almost impossible to handle. The struggles among the extraordinary became completely public, with numerous nobles forcibly stripped of their lands and titles, and their property, wives, and daughters plundered by the extraordinary.

"You were sold to the Son of the Moon by your father in exchange for the family's protection. Now you are a blood slave of the 'Crescent Moon Manor', numbered 14."

"After being 'fed' day after day, your body has grown weaker. If you only provide for one master, you might still be able to survive. But if you continue to work at the manor, you will soon die here.

"So, there are only two options before you—find a way to escape from the 'Crescent Moon Manor', or be purchased from the manor at an extremely high price by a master who loves you. The latter is almost impossible.

"But one person alone can't accomplish anything. So the nine of you gathered together and planned to escape from this place.

"--However, considering that they have no shoes, no food, and no survival tools, it is unlikely that they will escape from the dense forests and mountains. Even if they return to the empire, they may be killed or captured by others.

"So among the nine of you, there is at least one informant with ulterior motives.

"If someone tips off a Moon Child about the jailbreak and gains their trust, they might report it to the manor. If all escapees are successfully captured, the manor will give one or two of you as gifts. This is another way to escape from the Huyue Manor.

"—and you are one of the informants."

[Necessary Task——]

[Before the sun rises again, be out of Huyue Manor, in a safe location, and without pursuers (Points: None)]

【Additional Task——】

[Finding companions: First find all companions (points: 500)]

[Keep Hidden: No one will discover your true identity until the very end (Points: 500)]

[Useless Killing of the Informer: Kill other companions (Points: 200 per person)]

[False Disguise of an Informer: Successfully conceal your identity as an informer from your companions (Points: 500)]

[Successful Plan: Leaving Huyue Manor through the Secret Passage (Points: 1000)]

[Instinct of Betrayal: Sabotage the Prison Escape Plan (Points: 1000)]

[Charming Breath: Successfully adopted (Points: 1000)]

[Master-killing Talent: Kill your master (Points: 2000)]

As the task list popped up, Aiwass took a quick look at it.

The murderous intent was slightly less intense than that of the last New Moon Ritual, but the malice had not diminished.

It's just that murder has turned into deception and betrayal...

but……

Aiwass took another closer look at the task and confirmed the task requirements again and again.

——Neither "jailbreaking" nor "snitching" seems to appear clearly in the task list.

Even the "betrayal instinct" mission of the informant only requires disrupting the prison escape plan, but does not require informing.

In other words, their behavior was not constrained. Jailbreaking and informing were merely "suggested tasks."

...This also means that even the informer can choose not to tell anyone about anything, because his victory condition has nothing to do with his identity.

Similarly, other people can choose to inform...which will also interfere with other people's task of finding the informer.

As a symmetric mission to the "false disguise of an informer," there must be a "kill the informer" mission on the other side. As an informer, Aiwass can also instigate others to inform... If he is caught and killed, then his identity can be hidden.

but……

In this mission, everyone's gender is reversed.

However, it had a special victory condition: no one could discover their identity—not even their companions. This meant that those in the team, including Lily and I, could not confirm each other's identities.

——But just because you can’t confirm the identity doesn’t mean you can’t figure it out yourself.

In other words, they need a means of confirmation that they know it well.

Do Aiwass and Lily have such means?

It really does exist.

Their attire was reversed when they entered, but it seemed that no one except the lady from the Path of Love noticed this.

In other words, if others thought Aleister was a lady, then he would now be a man; similarly, if they thought Gray was a gentleman, then he would now be a lady.

Then Aiwass can completely switch identities with Lily——

Now he is "gray".

As long as he could see another man in the crowd who looked like "Alai," then that man was Lily. This way, they wouldn't need to confirm the identity and could be sure that the other person was their teammate.

I hope she can react.

Aiwass thought to himself.

She walked to the window and pushed it open with great effort - just such a simple thing made her breathless.

The window was filled with the golden and red glow of the setting sun. Looking out the window, one could see the lush green mountains and plains, which was refreshing.

But this made her heart sink.

Although I know I am in the deep mountains...but isn't this too deep?

She stretched out her hands and looked at them in the light.

But just doing this made her fingertips tremble uncontrollably. That was due to the weakness caused by anemia.

Judging by the slenderness of her fingers, she looked young, perhaps only fifteen or sixteen. Her skin was fair, with no calluses on her hands or wounds on her arms.

The nails on her hands were almost bloodless, having turned a pale blue and dull. Her palms were also bloodless, the fingertips were visibly shriveled, and her palms were covered in fine lines.

...How can I escape with such a weak body?

But at this moment, her door was suddenly opened.

He was a man in black wearing a rabbit mask and dressed as a waiter.

He put his hands behind his back and said calmly:

"It's dinner time, No. 14. The guests have been waiting for a long time. Follow me."

"……yes."

The thin girl instantly entered the acting state and nodded slightly with a timid look.

My fever was 37.6 last night and I woke up after sleeping for six hours. Now it's down to 36.8, but I still feel very weak. I took azithromycin and I feel a little better, but not completely, but at least I don't need to go to the hospital anymore.

There's still a second chapter. I'll take a break for lunch and then write it... I guess it'll be posted after 3 or 4 o'clock...

Brother Meng, if you want to fatten the cat, remember to set the automatic subscription, don’t kill the cat (tearful eyes)

(End of this chapter)