Siman watched Hale walk away and remained silent for a long time.

Her thoughts lingered solely on his words: *I’m leaving Saint Louis.*

Before departing, Hale had actually said goodbye—“If you’re alright, I’ll slip off.”

Too stunned to reply, Siman could only watch him vanish.

How could anyone not understand those words?

To the Papal Dominion—and the entire Western Continent—Saint Louis was sacred ground.

Knowledge, wealth, faith, ideals… everything imaginable existed here.

As the frontier of the Western Continent, scholars, adventurers, and dreamers flocked to Saint Louis.

Over a thousand years of the Era of Holy Light since humanity defeated the Demon God, the city expanded dozens of times, evolving into twelve grand districts woven with countless streets.

Saint Louis: the largest, greatest city of the Western Continent.

A millennium ago, the Hero and Holy Maiden slew the Demon God here. Today, brilliant minds still shine within its walls.

Locals deepen their faith through scripture; outsiders labor tirelessly, hoping to earn Saint Louis citizenship.

Yet Hale… was leaving Saint Louis? This singular city in the world?

Why?

Had he truly been bewitched by a Xia Kingdom spy?

Was he heading to the capital of Great Xia?

Only that ancient Eastern metropolis—boasting millennia of history, treasures of the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, and legendary arts—could rival Saint Louis.

Easterners called it the Land of Dragon Ascension, where one might seize the chance to become a dragon. To them, it held meaning equal to Saint Louis for the West.

Still, Siman disliked Great Xia. Its power structure differed utterly from Western nations.

There, the emperor ruled like the Demon God once had—seated on a solitary throne, toying carelessly with life and death.

*No. I won’t let Hale go to Great Xia. I won’t let him leave Saint Louis.*

*As House Faxius’s sole male heir, straying from Saint Louis while Uncle nears retirement will marginalize our house…*

*He cannot shirk his duty.*

After a long inner struggle, Siman resolved:

She’d rein in her cousin one last time.

Absolutely.

…

Hale gave zero thought to Siman’s wild theories.

Go to the Xia Kingdom’s imperial capital?

Impossible. A place with danger levels rivaling Saint Louis? No thanks.

He knew the East well—he’d played the Princess of Xia Kingdom’s route before.

Her storyline started much later than Christine’s.

At the outset, the princess had just annulled her engagement: the Xia ruler intended to pawn her off to someone in Saint Louis.

Unhappy with her fiancé, she fled alone to escape marriage.

Since the tutorial began mid-escape, the game never revealed the fiancé’s identity.

Players theorized this forced marriage turned her lesbian, breeding deep hatred for men using her as a political tool. She trusted no man thereafter.

Worse, “replenishing” with her was perilous.

Near-zero interaction after meeting Hale.

Post-session warnings: *Heroine breaking down.*

Rare buffs: stats rose in solo combat but dropped in groups after leveling.

Critical rule: never replenish with Hale too early. Once chosen, you *had* to rapidly level the whole party.

Player data confirmed Hale’s death risk tied not to replenish count, but days spent with her.

So Hale would *never* involve himself with Xia Kingdom figures. Siman’s spy suspicion? Baseless.

Even if the Princess stripped naked to play spy—he’d keep his cool.

*Lust is a blade hanging over your head.*

Right now, his goal was simple: slip out of Saint Louis.

He walked toward the Black Knights Order—not home.

Formed within twenty years, the Order answered directly to the Curia, like the White Knights.

Lore stated its purpose: counter Eastern threats, assist the Inquisition Bureau in counter-espionage and assassinations.

*No wonder Arman suspected me of being a Western traitor yesterday…*

*If I leave via a mission to avoid the conflict… might still be tricky.*

The Order’s headquarters sat beside the Inquisition Bureau, in the central district beyond the twelve regular zones.

To commoners, the Black Knights Order didn’t exist.

Hale’s memory of first arriving here felt hazy.

Both headquarters lay underground—remnants of Demon God-era labyrinths once housing his followers.

After the Hero vanquished the Demon God and drove out the Eight Demon Kings, the Church claimed these depths for Papal Dominion institutions.

Dark, yes. In Christine’s route, they functioned as dungeons.

But the *true* key labyrinth lay beneath the Demon God’s Palace northeast of the City of Saint Louis: one hundred floors, accessible in every heroine route.

Floors 1–9: puzzle-only, no monsters. Floor 10: Level 10 boss. Each floor’s boss leveled up sequentially.

Zero players had cleared Floor 100—too time-consuming. Ignore the main plot? Straight to bad ending.

Hale once reached Floor 90. Brutal.

Some obsessed over the “If you’re a woman, descend one hundred floors” challenge—but without quest-locked gear or allies, clearing past Floor 75 was impossible.

*Maybe grab puzzle items from the labyrinth before leaving?*

Before he decided—

A noble girl in an elaborate rose-colored gown greeted him at the Black Knights Order entrance.

“Hale, long time no see.”

The young man blinked, surprise flickering across his face.

*How did I bump into another dangerous main heroine… again?*