Chapter 80: To My Companion, Are You on Time?

Time passed, and night soon fell in the real world.

“But after this, should I appropriately slow down the time flow between the real world and the Simulated Reincarnation?” she murmured.

After all, she had already done everything she could in the Simulated Reincarnation. However, when facing Solaris, who wielded the Severing Sword, and the Demon King, she still didn’t have full confidence.

‘I should head back and continue the story.’

Lu Mo lay on the bed, awakening the system and opening the light screen.

‘I need more time to think about what to do next in the real world.’

“Link Start!”

She whispered the phrase and clicked **[Continue]** on the light screen.

In the next moment, the space around her shattered, and her consciousness suddenly twisted.

When she opened her eyes again, she had returned to the second Simulated Reincarnation.

***

It was a beautiful day.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, falling onto the desk, the notebook filled with dense writing, and the sword leaning by the bed.

The room was warm and quiet, and the dust motes in the air were clearly visible.

*Knock, knock—*

Before long, a gentle knocking sounded at the door.

“Miss Lu Mo, are you awake?”

The young girl spoke cautiously, as if she both hoped Lu Mo was awake and feared disturbing her rest.

Hearing the familiar voice, Lu Mo immediately broke into a smile. She stood up, walked to the door, and gently pulled it open.

The blonde girl outside was startled for a moment, then she offered a beautiful but somewhat childish smile.

“Morning, Cecilia,” Lu Mo said with a laugh.

“Good morning, Miss Lu Mo!”

***

Today was their last day in the Holy City.

After everything had been arranged, The Holy Sanctuary had given them one day off.

Although Solaris had invited them to explore the city together, both of them had declined on the grounds of having other matters to attend to.

Thus, they changed into everyday dresses and wandered through the Holy City.

As the supreme city of The Holy Sanctuary, the Holy City was both prosperous and sacred.

The streets were wide and clean, lined with shops filled with a dazzling array of luxury goods. Some brands they recognized, while others were completely foreign.

They visited many places and tried quite a few new desserts.

Unknowingly, more than half the day had passed.

Were they happy?

They likely were.

Both of them had smiles on their faces.

But for some reason, Lu Mo felt that something was missing.

‘Is it because we’re leaving the Holy City tomorrow for the front lines against the demons? Is my heart uneasy?’

‘Or does this city itself simply lack certain things?’

“Is Miss Lu Mo having fun today?” Cecilia asked.

“Mhm.” Lu Mo nodded. “How about you?”

“I’m very happy,” Cecilia replied.

“But… I always feel like we were happier back when we used to go to the market together.”

She continued, “The Holy City is prosperous, but for me, it’s a bit too sacred.”

“It lacks the spark of life, the empty stairs, the lazy cat, and the wind blowing through the corridors… and the free, ethereal songs from back then.”

Lu Mo suddenly understood.

She realized what the Holy City was missing.

This city was too perfect, too divine.

It was as if everything existed within an absolute order.

It was completely different from the towns they had secretly visited before.

When she was a child, she had questioned the holy power and those so-called “natural” rules.

She had once taken Cecilia’s hand and climbed over high walls.

Escaping the restrictions, escaping the strict families.

Escaping the majestic holiness, and escaping an invisible fate.

But now, they were standing right in the middle of that holiness.

The spreading holy power seemed to have turned into a giant, heavy wall, enveloping the entire Holy City.

Everything operated under this holiness.

And Cecilia had still failed to escape her preordained fate.

Lu Mo fell silent.

Cecilia looked at the time and showed a hint of regret.

“But even so, I don’t want today to end just like this.”

“After all, we’re going to the Holy-Demonic Wall tomorrow.”

The demons had descended from the Void Rifts, bringing destruction and erosion.

To counter them, the living beings of this world had collectively built a barrier spanning many vast domains.

It was known as “The Great Barrier.”

One of the locations they were headed to was called the “Holy-Demonic Wall.”

***

“Cecilia.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Mo suddenly spoke.

“Mhm?”

“About ultimately becoming the Saintess… what do you think about it?”

She still remembered how Cecilia had cried uncontrollably over it back then.

Yet, after this reunion, Cecilia had never once brought it up of her own accord.

Now that their departure was imminent, Lu Mo finally asked the question.

“This arrangement… are you willing to accept it?”

Cecilia did not answer immediately.

After a brief silence, she showed that familiar, slightly silly smile.

“Actually, I’m not really sure if I’m willing to accept it either…”

“Is that so?”

“But the fact is that I will become the strongest Saintess of this generation,” she said softly.

“When I first entered the academy, I wasn’t willing to accept it. I cried for a long time and threw many tantrums.”

“But after the crying and the tantrums, life still had to go on.”

“I would also secretly do bad things to rebel against the academy’s rules… though it was just small-scale mischief.”

“As for the matter of ‘becoming the Saintess’ itself, I couldn’t do anything about it.”

She paused.

“Until one day, the teacher talked about the demons.”

They were a group of beings who seemed to exist solely for destruction.

There were illustrations in the class — shattered earth, collapsed houses, and empty markets where only bloodstains remained.

“The teacher said that the meaning of The Holy Sanctuary’s existence is to kill the Demon King, drive out the demons, and protect the order of the world.”

“In that moment, I suddenly thought — “

“Although I can’t refuse becoming the Saintess, can my future self perhaps change the fate of some people?”

She smiled.

“So, I’ve temporarily stopped thinking about ‘becoming the Saintess,’ that headache-inducing and sad thing.”

She swung their joined hands.

“Let’s leave the things of the future to the future.”

“And — “

She looked at Lu Mo, her eyes filled with trust.

“Didn’t you say you would protect me and not let me be taken away?”

Lu Mo was silent for a while.

Looking at that bright and slightly silly smile, she finally laughed too.

“True.”

“After all, you’re a dummy.”

“If you really got kidnapped one day, it would be a huge pain.”

“I’m not a dummy!” Cecilia puffed out her cheeks. “I’m very smart now!”

“Besides, I graduated from a prestigious academy!”

Lu Mo extended her hand with a serious expression.

“Graduated from a prestigious academy, huh? Let me check the academic registry.”

“Huh?”

“Let me verify your credentials too.”

“???”

“See? You really are a dummy.”

Lu Mo shook her head with a “you’re hopeless” expression and turned to walk forward.

“I’m not… wait for me — Miss Lu Mo!”

Cecilia looked frustrated and hurriedly chased after her.

On the busy street, she reached out to grab that figure from behind.

‘I still became the Saintess, after all…’

The question surfaced in her heart again.

She remembered many things.

The Severing Sword in Solaris’s hand.

The stories of the Hero and the Saintess she had heard in her childhood.

The painting titled *The Sacrifice of the Saintess*.

What would happen to her in the future?

Would she offer everything to the gods and the Hero?

Would she head toward the ending that all Saintesses faced?

But at the same time, she also remembered everything she had experienced with Lu Mo.

Those outrageous and absurd stories.

Those scripts that had been rewritten beyond recognition.

And the times Lu Mo had held her hand, climbing over one wall after another.

Until now —

The moment Lu Mo stood in front of Solaris and shielded her.

‘Becoming the Saintess… I’m actually still quite resistant to it…’

She gradually caught up to Lu Mo.

‘But the current me isn’t afraid at all.’

She suddenly sped up and grabbed the corner of Lu Mo’s clothes.

“Caught you, Miss Lu Mo!” she said with a laugh.

Because —

You are here.

***

On that afternoon in Astral Year 821.

They ran through the streets of the Holy City.

Their hair fluttered in the wind, and their skirts swayed gently.

The sunlight was bright, and they were as youthful as blooming flowers.

Many years later, that time still remained deep in their memories.

Those were the most beautiful years of their lives.

And such a scene —

After that, it never appeared again.