Stark caught up with the green-haired woman with low twin tails who had just stepped out of the cake shop and grabbed her wrist.
"Jemi!"
The woman named Jemi turned around in annoyance to see who had grabbed her and called her name. The moment she recognized Stark, her eyes widened.
"Stice!? You didn't come with us. Why are you here?!"
But Stark—whose real name was Stice—didn't answer the question. Instead, she glared at her old friend, furious that the people from her hometown had resorted to robbery.
"I should be asking you that! Why are you doing this?! Why are you robbing people? Have you all become so desperate that crime is your only option?! If things were going to end up like this, why did you ever leave Pintoshi?!"
"Preacher Fiktok told us that if we want to correct Asrangari's false religion, we have to go to the capital, overthrow the temple, teach the king the true doctrine, and then surrender to the Demon King so he'll protect us."
"What are you talking about?! Wake up! That's a heretical religion! We're humans! Why would we surrender to the Demon King? The Brave will defeat him!"
"That's impossible. The Brave is only sixteen. The Demon King has lived for over a hundred years. Tell me, how is a child supposed to defeat an adult? Stop putting your hopes in the Brave. The right choice is to cling to the Demon King's protection. Since we've met again, come spread the faith with us."
Stice didn't hesitate. She flung Jemi's hand away and angrily condemned her twisted beliefs.
"You're insane! You want me to lick the Demon King's boots, rob innocent people, and become just like you? I'd rather die!"
Jemi looked at the agitated Stice with a puzzled expression. It wasn't that she didn't understand what Stice was saying—she simply found it surprising.
"...So that's the kind of person you really are. Fine. Don't you understand the miracle of life? People are born to stay alive. As long as you're alive, whatever you do is justified."
Jemi had assumed Stice already understood the teachings of the Church of Cherishing Life, so she couldn't comprehend why her friend would say something that treated life so carelessly.
Unwilling to give up on her best friend, Stice grabbed Jemi's hand again, desperately trying to make her understand the consequences of robbery.
"That's nonsense! It's a crime! They'll chop your hands off!"
Jemi grasped Stice's hand in return and began pulling her briskly toward the city gate.
"Come with me. I'll introduce you to Preacher Fiktok. Once you meet him, you'll understand the miracle of life."
Every fiber of Stice's being rejected the idea of meeting the preacher who had led everyone down this path, but she couldn't break free from Jemi's grip. Moments later, Jemi called over one of the men traveling with them. He hoisted Stice over his shoulder and carried her back.
Deep inside the cave, the man set Stice down while blocking any route she might use to escape. Jemi formed a triangle with her hands, greeted Fiktok, who stood deeper inside the cave, and explained Stice's situation.
"Preacher Fiktok, we've brought someone with us. She's my best friend. She didn't join us when we left, and she's still a heretic who doesn't worship Lady Liv. Please help her abandon her stubborn beliefs."
"Well done. May Lady Liv bless you. You may step aside now. I'll do everything I can to guide her."
"Yes. Thank you very much. Go on."
Before stepping back, Jemi pulled Stice forward and gave her a push toward Fiktok. She shoved a little too hard, and Stice lost her balance, falling to her knees in front of him.
As the firelight illuminated her face, Fiktok froze in shock.
"Stice!"
He quickly helped her to her feet. Stice glared at him with burning fury, looking ready to punch him.
"You're the preacher who brainwashed Jemi and everyone else?!"
Instead of answering, Fiktok stared at her hair. He gently reached out and touched it, his face filled with confusion and regret.
"...Where's your long hair?"
"Don't touch me!"
Stice slapped his hand away and shoved him back, utterly disgusted by him. What was with that pitiful, lovesick expression?
Instead of feeling discouraged, Fiktok smiled with genuine delight. The woman he'd longed for all this time was Stice.
"It's been so long. Whether you're the you of today or the timid you from before, you're just as adorable. But why are you here? This journey is incredibly long, yet you look perfectly healthy... You seduced some man...!"
His expression suddenly darkened. He grabbed Stice by the chin, convinced that someone couldn't possibly travel this far alone and still look so well.
The only explanation he could think of was that she had traveled with another man. His obsession with her drove his imagination down that path.
Completely baffled, Stice punched him square in the face and shouted in rage.
"I did no such thing! Do I even know you?! Why are you acting like you know everything about me?!"
Rubbing his cheek, Fiktok curled one corner of his mouth into a strange smile.
"Of course I know you. You may have forgotten me, but I'll make you remember. From this moment on, you'll become my slave and obey every command."
"You bas—... Yes, Master."
Stice had been about to hurl another insult, but her eyes suddenly lost focus. Her consciousness seemed to shut down, and with a blank, expressionless face, she obediently answered him.
Fiktok gently caressed her face, now as lifeless as a doll's, leaned close to her ear, and whispered,
"Tell me. Which man did you seduce? What's his name? Where is he?"
"Reporting to Master. I did not seduce any man."
The answer wasn't what Fiktok wanted to hear. His face twisted with frustration, but he knew Stice couldn't lie in this state. So he changed his approach.
"Then which man helped you?"
"Reporting to Master. His name is Henry, an adventurer from Amebisalon. He saved me from five bandits and intended to leave afterward, but I stubbornly begged him to take me to the capital."
"You stubbornly begged him... And you still claim you didn't seduce him?!"
Fiktok's filthy imagination immediately pictured Stace stripping naked before the faceless Henry and using every possible means to climb into his bed.
"Reporting to Master. I did not seduce him."
(Shit. Stice is under my hypnosis—she can't lie! Damn it...!)
Even so, Fiktok refused to believe she hadn't seduced Henry. His irritation continued to grow until he suddenly seized her wrist roughly.
"Come with me."
"Yes, Master."
Fiktok led Stice into a secluded corner and spoke in a serious tone.
"Now I'm going to awaken your sleeping memories. From this moment on, you'll recover your true personality and remember everything that happened on January 8."