Don’t Look for the Resurrected Villainess - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 2

“Well, I suppose. She’s probably not really a saint or savior anyway, right?”

“How would I know? The Temple announced it, so I guess that’s what it is.”

The Temple hadn’t yet announced that I had disappeared. They were probably worried that if my absence became known to the outside world, the ‘resurrected one’ would be stolen away by the Imperial House, nobles, or foreign countries.

The evidence was that despite claiming there were so many requests for audiences with me, they hadn’t accepted a single one, using my wishes as an excuse.

Moreover, it had only been three days since I escaped from the Temple, so they probably believed they could find me quickly. Their thinking was predictable.

But they couldn’t hide it for long, so eventually wanted posters would be put up on the streets, and soon an official search party would be organized. I planned to leave this city, and if possible, this country before that happened.

Thanks to the countless gold and silver treasures the priests had brought to win my heart, I had sufficient funds for escape. Also, the ‘unofficial’ knowledge I had learned to enter the Imperial House remained intact in my head.

“Customer, I heard you were looking for a cargo wagon.”

Just then, the person I had been waiting for quietly approached. It was a broker operating in the underworld.

In every city, there are wagons that will take you without checking your name or identity as long as you pay. When necessary, they also make fake identification papers and help you avoid the eyes of city guards.

To survive in the Imperial Palace where schemes and conspiracies ran rampant, my parents had taught me early on how to utilize such worlds. They said that those who command others must know everything from the highest position so they can give orders without having to step forward themselves.

It was fortunate. My lifetime of learning hadn’t become completely useless.

“I’m sorry. Security has tightened, so it seems difficult.”

“What do you mean?”

“They say Knights are guarding the city gates day and night. Everyone is being cautious.”

I nodded to indicate I understood. The broker who had approached me hidden among the crowd disappeared in an instant, just as when he had arrived.

Perhaps because I hadn’t had high expectations from the start, I felt no disappointment. Anyone would seal off the city first in this situation. This city where the Grand Temple was located had thousands of pilgrims and tourists coming and going every day.

Since it would take time to quietly search the city, it was proper to control the entrances and exits first, even if they had to make up some excuse. I had expected this, but I had inquired just in case there might be an easy way out.

I should return to my lodging for now. I turned around, pulling down the dark gray hood that was the same as what other pilgrims wore.

Since it was a city with many tourists, finding lodging wasn’t difficult. However, just in case, I had been changing locations every day.

Today’s lodging was located relatively on the outskirts of the lodging district. It was a place that many pilgrims frequented because the accommodation fees weren’t expensive.

The reason I knew this fact was thanks to reading the tourist brochures that were available throughout the Temple.

By the way, since creating fake identification papers takes time, I had tried to escape the city first. Since I’m stuck here, should I go ahead and make the identification papers? Would I be able to hide well without getting caught until then?

Lost in thought, my walking pace slowed down. Then suddenly I noticed the surroundings were noisy. I quickly looked ahead and saw Knights moving around here and there on the streets.

I almost stopped walking for a moment, but I soon calmly looked straight ahead and stepped forward. The clothes I wore were the typical attire that any pilgrim would wear.

My face? They wouldn’t recognize me. I was currently in a changed appearance using an appearance-altering magic artifact.

This necklace-shaped artifact had limitations on usage count and duration so I couldn’t use it continuously, but it was one of the Temple’s treasures. I did well to steal it.

“Believer.”

The moment I passed them and was getting farther away, I heard a quiet call from behind. I calmly turned around and made eye contact with a Knight who was separated from the group. His jet-black hair stood out in stark contrast to his white armor.

A black-haired Knight?

“Me?”

“Yes, believer. I’m sorry, but may I ask you something?”

“Please go ahead, Sir Knight.”

“By any chance, is the lodging you’re staying at that pink building over there?”

“Why do you ask?”

“We received a report that a criminal is hiding in that building. If you return now, you might get caught up in troublesome circumstances, so would you please wait over here for a moment?”

Where he pointed, pilgrims with anxious expressions were gathered. I glanced over there, then turned my eyes back to the Knight.

“Will it be resolved today?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll go take care of other business and come back.”

“During the suppression process, we might need to ask for cooperation from the lodgers. It would be troublesome, but I ask for your understanding.”

It was only a request in words, but in reality, it meant I was being forced to wait. I hesitated for a moment, then soon smiled brightly and nodded.

“It seems like I’ll have to wait a long time, so may I go take care of a physiological need first? I think I can ask for help at that shop over there.”

Where I pointed, there was a small sundry shop that catered to lodgers. The Knight who confirmed the location narrowed his eyes.

“…Yes, please do so.”

While I suppressed my urgency and calmly stepped forward, the gaze from behind didn’t leave me. I bit my lips tightly and frowned. The appearance-altering magic was working well, and I had just moved to this lodging this morning. There was nothing in the room that could prove my identity.

…Where did they catch my trail?

When I flung open the sundry shop door, the smell of old dust wafted out. I strode purposefully toward the back.

The owner of this sundry shop was an old man who couldn’t hear well and had dim eyesight. Rather than a place opened for business, it was a place that operated relying on the shop’s history.

As I passed old display items and aged portraits, I could see the owner sitting next to the cash register.

“Hello, sorry but I’m going out through the back door.”

The old man nodded even though he couldn’t properly understand what I was saying. Near the back door, there was a small room where a respected high priest of the past had once visited and had tea.

It was a famous spot that pilgrims always visited, so the old man naturally seemed to think I was going to look at that room. I handed him a coin as a token of gratitude.

Next to the small room, there was a back door that led to the back of the building, to a narrow alley. It was an escape route I had noted just in case after securing lodging, and a meeting point we had arranged to use if problems arose.

“Good day, shopkeeper.”

The moment I grabbed the back door handle, I heard the Knight’s voice from the shop side. I didn’t hesitate and opened the door. A path barely wide enough for one person to pass through appeared.

As soon as I entered, something jumped out from the darkness.

[You’re late!]

Ah, thank goodness. You came here with quick wit.

“I’m in a hurry, save the complaints for later.”

[This way!]

The fist-sized creature took the lead. I pulled my cloak close and quickly followed behind. The inside of the shop seemed noisy, but I wasn’t interested. They wouldn’t be able to catch me anyway.

Because I have an amazing collaborator.

Looking at the plump squirrel tail fluttering as it ran hard in front of me, I grinned.

* * *

After coming out of the path, I changed my appearance once more. I regretted using up another count, but it would be better to be careful.

After going straight to the lodging farthest from that place and securing a room, I finally caught my breath. I didn’t even know where my trail had been discovered, and there were limits to running around in circles like this within the city. I would need to find another way.

[Ugh, my fur got dirty…]

The squirrel’s fur was all mottled from running around the city’s back alleys instead of me. I gently stroked the squirrel’s head with my index finger.

“I’ll wash you soon. More importantly, did you find out?”

[There was a hole where stray dogs went in and out, but it was recently discovered by humans and blocked.]

“Oh dear. Humans are a problem everywhere.”

[Where are my acorns?]

“Here.”

When I held out the bundle of acorns I had bought while visiting the central bulletin board earlier, the squirrel’s eyes sparkled as it twitched its nose.

[Good acorns!]

The squirrel that jumped into the pile of acorns bounced around as if swimming. Watching the squirrel like that reminded me of when I first met it. That squirrel had lived in the large central garden within the Grand Temple.

And it was just a squirrel. An animal. A beast. A four-legged mammal, that is.

This squirrel was the first being that made me realize that the resurrected me could communicate with non-human creatures.

So that was when it hadn’t been long since I had awakened as the resurrected one.

The frenzied praise I encountered immediately upon opening my eyes filled me with fear and disgust. To me, the condemnation and contempt from before my death felt like just yesterday, yet everyone prostrating themselves saying that was just the past seemed ridiculous and detestable.

So the first thing I wanted to do upon awakening was to die again. Both attempts were discovered by the priests and failed. After that, all dangerous objects around me disappeared.

Later I shut myself in my room of my own accord, but at first it was virtually no different from being imprisoned.

Perhaps to find a way to persuade me, they left me alone for several days without stimulating me as much as possible, receiving only minimal care. I got a chance to think.

Around that time, I regained my reason. I acknowledged the hideous scar remaining on my neck and accepted that I was breathing. I understood the oracle and gauged the influence that the ‘resurrected one’ would have.

‘Anelli Roam’ who had stood on the execution platform was a villainess that everyone wanted to kill, but the resurrected ‘Anelli Roam’ was an apostle who had opened her eyes through God’s grace. The scar on my neck was the most certain and clear evidence proving God’s grace.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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