"That's all I can do for now. Come back in a week!"
Despite her voluntary overtime, Medea had only managed to enchant a dozen pairs of high heels. Though she often stayed up late crafting Heroic Spirit models, making those models was her passion, while enchanting high heels was pure torture. Worse still, Jiang You kept showing up unannounced, making appointments useless.
"If you do this again, I'm charging you!"
"Isn't one Soul Crystal enough payment? Medea, you're so greedy."
Taking advantage of Medea's high affection for him, Jiang You tried to freeload.
"Have you even looked at what you're asking me to do?! Enchanting weapons is one thing, but high heels?!"
Medea pointed at the mountain of women's high heels piled on the floor. "One hundred and fourteen pairs! How many women have you been seeing behind my back, you bastard?! If you don't give me an explanation right now, I'm going straight to Illya!"
"These are weapons!" Jiang You protested. "Why else would I ask you to enchant them with Durability II and Sharpness III?"
"Who do you think you're fooling?! And stop using those cringey abbreviations for my Reinforcement Magic! It's so cheap!"
Medea slammed her hand on the table in frustration. Even Jason wouldn't dare tell such a flimsy lie.
But Fairy Tristan genuinely used high heels as weapons, so Jiang You wasn't lying.
"Simplicity is key, alright?"
Jiang You shoved the dozen enchanted pairs into his Item Slot. "See you next week, then."
"Off to another world again, huh?"
Medea watched Jiang You vanish into thin air. Her little shop suddenly felt eerily quiet, as if something were missing. "Come to think of it, Jason's been disappearing a lot lately too. Give him a little kindness, and he gets cocky. Time for some 'discipline' then."
When Jiang You found Fairy Tristan again, she was humming a tune while reading a book, clearly in high spirits.
"You're actually pretty useful, you know," Fairy Tristan remarked.
Fairy Tristan's Affection level suddenly increased by one stage. Jiang You received an email notification that he had obtained a Card of Fairy Tristan herself, likely due to the Soul Crystal's effects.
"Mother hasn't praised me in ages," Fairy Tristan said, giggling. "She said that thing was a great help to her... Heh heh... In that case, I suppose I'll acknowledge you, just a little."
Before Jiang You could respond, Fairy Tristan stood up, grabbed his hand, and tried to drag him outside, completely disregarding that it was already night.
"I've decided! I'm going to collect tons of Soul Crystals. My Slaughter Theater even has some 'actors' ready—we can use them as materials. Jiang You, capture them in your Noble Phantasms too!"
The thought of hearing the wails of despair again and receiving praise from Morgan made Fairy Tristan want to hum with delight.
"Settle down!" Jiang You snapped. "From now on, your Slaughter Theater can't hold a single performance! We need to start building your Savior persona. You can still be willful, but causing the deaths of humans or fairies is no longer allowed!"
What kind of Savior kills everyone they meet? Jiang You thought, quickly trying to stop her.
"Why not? If I can't even do what I enjoy, that's just too boring!" Fairy Tristan complained petulantly.
"Why do you keep doing these things? Is it because you genuinely enjoy it, or because Morgan praises you?"
Having never been loved by anyone, and with her mother Morgan only praising her when she bullied the weak, Fairy Tristan learned that this was the path to happiness. Jiang You felt it was necessary to gently correct her personality; if Morgan hadn't been so powerful, her subordinates would have rebelled long ago. This was also one of the reasons Morgan ultimately died before the throne.
"Of course, I want to do it myself! This is who I truly am—a blood-sucking fairy who steals blood from humans, a demonic Baobhan Sith!"
Fairy Tristan herself didn't know why she acted this way. But since her mother wished it, she believed it must be her true nature. That's why she repeatedly emphasized her identity.
"So, you don't plan to help Morgan consolidate her power, nor do you want her praise anymore?"
If she couldn't understand it logically, Jiang You suggested comparing the two options on a scale. Fairy Tristan's body would automatically reveal her true inclination.
"No way!"
As expected, instinct far outpaced thought. Fairy Tristan hastily rejected the idea. Ultimately, she agreed to Jiang You's request because he had previously helped her earn Morgan's praise.
"Alright, I'll listen to you. But if this doesn't work, you're performing the grand reopening show at the theater!"
"Fine, fine, fine."
Fairy Tristan's threat held little weight for Jiang You, even though the boy was perfectly capable of carrying it out.
"First, we've confirmed that Shadow Duels can dispel the Mors Curse. Once we demonstrate this to the other fairies, they'll willingly deify you. If it weren't for that prophecy, we wouldn't need any preparation—just show the results, and the title of 'Savior' would automatically fall into your lap."
"But the problem is, that prophecy exists, and it's been circulating for a millennium. If someone else rings the Pilgrimage Bell first, they'll question your legitimacy." Besides, Fairy Tristan needed a plausible explanation for suddenly acquiring this extraordinary ability. After all, he couldn't just publicly claim he'd learned it out of the blue, could he? "So, we need to seize this identity before anyone else does. We must ring the Pilgrimage Bell before the true Child of Prophecy appears."
"I love this plan!"
Fairy Tristan's excitement surged. A fraudulent Savior, a Savior who deceives the world with stolen glory—it perfectly suited the persona of a villain. To deceive all of Britain with a false title? How utterly delightful!
"But that thing can only be rung by the Child of Prophecy, right?"
"We don't need to actually ring it; we just need others to think you did."
Jiang You had already devised a plan. Once Fairy Tristan began demonstrating her ability to avert the Mors Disaster, no one would doubt whether she had truly rung the Pilgrimage Bell. "Given your eccentric personality, suddenly deciding to ring the bell on a whim would seem perfectly reasonable, right? We don't need an audience; we just need someone to hear the bell's toll."
"Mm-hmm, you're way more useful than Beryl!" Fairy Tristan agreed.
She felt this was exactly something she would do. She didn't just want to ring the bell; she wanted to smash it, so Morgan wouldn't have to worry about the Child of Prophecy anymore.
"But there's still one problem," she said. "If I ring the bell, what will happen to Mother?"
"That's simple too," Jiang You replied. "You only need to ring it once. As the Princess and Morgan's heir, you are naturally the future 'True King.'" He produced a crystal tiara that matched her crystal shoes, similarly enchanted with defensive spells by Medea—both beautiful and practical.
With mock solemnity, Jiang You placed the tiara on Fairy Tristan's head. "Thus, the Pilgrimage Bell takes on a new meaning. It's not just the Savior's pilgrimage; it's also the proclamation of your ascension as queen."