Chapter 9: The Culprit

“There’s no need to be so surprised.”

Cana said this while beginning to sift through his memories, recalling the plot he had once read and understood, and reflecting on the past of this body.

He stood up, wiped the arm guard he had taken from the werewolf’s arm, and explained: “Do you understand the history of the country you reside in?

Do you understand the royal family you swore your allegiance to?”

Alirise pondered for a moment, only to realize that she truly didn’t know much about the country she lived in.

In the past, she had only known her village. After the village was destroyed, she was brought to the city, adopted, and began training to become a knight.

Once she became a knight, she swore an oath to become Cana’s guardian knight.

“Let’s go to the village to collect some supplies first; we can talk as we walk.”

With that, Cana picked up the arm guard and walked toward the village. Alirise drew her sword and hurriedly followed by his side.

As they walked, she listened to Cana say: “We are just a small trading nation. Relying on open and free policies, plus a few decent ports, we have managed to remain barely prosperous.

But this has also created extremely favorable conditions for evil to fester.”

Safro, a free nation founded in the name of the royal family.

Compared to other countries, to be honest, this nation could only be considered a small one, located at the northernmost tip of the southwestern continent.

Surrounded by the sea on three sides and mountains on one.

Aside from entering the country by sea, the only land routes were on either side of the southern mountain range.

Maritime trade, loose regulations, a small nation.

Combine these few factors, and you can imagine just how absurd the black market industry in this country was.

“Actually, the royal family did this intentionally. They needed to create favorable conditions for their research.

This country was established only a little over 100 years ago, and those who founded it were nothing more than a cult of evil mages.

And all the monsters appearing in this country now are actually the work of the royal family.”

Hearing this, Alirise was stunned, standing frozen in place, unable to believe it.

That would be the case, if not for the fact that the person speaking was Cana, a member of the royal family himself.

“Then, Your Highness, why did you…”

“You want to ask, since it’s our doing, why did I run away, right?” Cana turned his head and asked with a smile.

Alirise nodded.

“It’s simple. I am also one of the test subjects, and I don’t want to turn into those disgusting monsters.”

However, this was a lie. The truth was that Cana had been too stupid and had no idea about any of this.

Although there weren’t many members of the royal family, there weren’t exactly few, either. Some who lacked talent weren’t even worthy of joining the inner circle.

As it happened, the former Cana was exactly that kind of person.

And when the crisis broke out, Cana just happened to be out on a spring excursion outside the city. He didn’t understand the situation at all before he was escorted away by the soldiers and guards of the time, including Alirise.

On top of that, the monsters kept chasing them because they could smell Cana, which meant they were constantly in a state of desperate flight, with no time to calm down and think about the situation.

Moreover, the outbreak was nationwide, erupting from all major cities simultaneously, which made them feel that the country was doomed.

In the original plot, he would have been captured and brought back while in this village, along with his knight, Alirise.

As a member of the royal family, there was nothing left to hide once the plan began, so he was converted into a vampire.

It wasn’t until the mid-to-late stages of version 1.0, when the Court of Flesh and Blood grew weary and was counterattacked by the coalition forces, that he made his first appearance.

By the end of the version, the Court of Flesh and Blood was destroyed and the Blood Plague was suppressed. The original Cana had somehow escaped disaster simply because he hadn’t appeared on the front lines and was later converted into a pure-blooded vampire.

“Then what about Her Highness the Queen? Is she also a participant?”

Alirise’s voice was urgent.

Cana turned to look at her: “Who knows? I can only say, don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“No, that’s not possible. Her Highness the Queen would never do such a thing. She must have been deceived.”

Alirise was deceiving herself.

Deceived, my foot. According to the identity cross-reference in his memories, the mother of this body was a pure, core member of the organization.

The original owner of the body had thought his mother died during the fall of the city.

And this Queen was one of the researchers.

However, if he said it all at once, Alirise definitely wouldn’t be able to accept it; it would easily cause problems.

For now, he would leave it at that and influence her thoughts step by step later on.

“Alright, enough idle chatter. We don’t have much time. Pack up, see if there’s anything useful, grab it, and let’s go.”

They took advantage of the darkness to scavenge the village thoroughly.

……

The night had faded, and the morning sun shone upon the earth.

【Painful Werewolf Bracer】

【Category: Arm Guard—Wrist Guard—Relic】

【Attributes: Sturdy, Heavy】

【Special Effect: Sewing Pain】

【Sewing Pain: When the wearer feels pain—provides a strength bonus (Strength+)】

【Evaluation: Embedded with the pain of stitching; only anger and willpower can resist it!】

Cana, who had spent 5 points of mana to convert the loot stripped from the stitched werewolf into equipment, looked at these attributes.

How should he put it? At least it had a special effect.

It looked a bit lackluster, but in the reality of this world, Cana, who had fought, could clearly state

This effect was very easy to trigger.

Although his body had been digitized, he could still feel pain.

If worse came to worst, he could just cut himself; if he adjusted the method, he could absolutely trade a bit of blood for a boost in strength. It was worth it.

Thinking this, he put the arm guard on his arm.

“Your Highness, would you like to rest? You’ve been walking all night.” Alirise, knowing that Cana’s physical fitness couldn’t compare to her own, asked from the side.

Ever since they scavenged some supplies from the village last night, they had been carrying the simple supplies and walking until now.

They hadn’t stopped for a single moment on the road.

Alirise, of course, had no problem with it, but she couldn’t compare her own physical fitness to Cana’s.

Hearing this, Cana finally came back to his senses.

Without realizing it, they had been on the road for an entire night. If he calculated carefully, they had probably been walking for nearly eight or nine hours straight while carrying supplies.

But he didn’t actually feel tired?

To be honest, given the physical fitness of this body, he should have felt tired long ago.

It seems that the digitized body also brought a significant increase in stamina.

“Don’t underestimate me. Speed up!”

As he said this, Cana even started to jog.

Alirise had no choice but to keep up, though she asked: “But, but where are we heading now?”

She was a bit lost. Since she was adopted as a child, she had been raised to be a guardian knight for the royal family.

But now the whole country had fallen, and the culprits were the royal family themselves. For a moment, the path ahead seemed uncertain.

“No need to be lost. Follow me; we’re going to find Count Vanhia.”

“Count Vanhia?” Alirise had heard the name, but didn’t know much about him.

He was an important character in the early stages, one who could even be called a version-defining character for 1.0.

Throughout the entire 1.0 version, he was the one who guided the players, led them, and introduced the main storyline.

In terms of blood relations, this Count was actually a relative of this body.

As a member of the royal family, he seemed to know about some of the royal family’s dirty dealings and refused to associate with them, always remaining on the fringes.

After the Blood Plague broke out, he took some troops from his territory, along with some refugees, and left the country.

The starting village for players was a small territory that the neighboring country later granted him, where he built a settlement.

Cana had participated in the closed beta, and that beta took place just before the plot began, right after the Blood Plague had broken out, when the Count failed to defend his territory and was escorting refugees to safety.

(End of chapter)