What's going on, why hasn't the blackbird returned yet?

From dawn until the sun was high in the sky, waiting for the blessing monks to bare half of their chests and complete seven rounds of blessing rituals, there was still no sign of the blackbird. In the crowd, the brows of the Narration of Nonexistence furrowed tighter involuntarily.

According to the "node" of the story I set, it should be time for the blackbird in the form of a white cat to go on stage, to grab the crown from the Great Witch King when he was about to hand it to the "fake princess," delaying the ritual until the white snake brings the glove.

But now, the Great Witch King was already rising from his couch, reciting the ritual prayer of the Witch King's ceremony. Next, he was about to hand over the crown containing the heart of the palace. If the blackbird still couldn't make it back, this story node would be missed.

The trouble is, the blackbird itself wasn't a "locked" target. It entered the story voluntarily by wearing a nightcap, providing "fuel" for [Bedtime Story], and apart from sensing that it's still alive, I didn't have strong control over it.

Unless I am willing to give up the power provided by the blackbird, converting it from "fuel" into a "target" like the Food God, it couldn't be forcibly walked through the plot, I could only wait for it to slowly come... Could it have run away at the last minute?

"Citizens of Secret Magic City, members of the major societies, people of the Mifalla Kingdom!"

Just as the Multi-level Marketing Witch, incarnated by the Narration of Nonexistence, was hesitating whether to slightly alter the story, to lower the bond strength at the cost of skipping the crown-grabbing plot node, the loud voice of the ceremony's main priest echoed from the temporary platform in the square's center.

"Please maintain silence."

The main priest, with brown oil paint smeared on his face, solemnly surveyed the surroundings and then gravely announced:

"Next, Princess Catherine will, under the witness of the guests, receive the crown from His Majesty Bekinsel, completing the most important part of the ritual..."

Is it about to start?

Following the voice, the Narration of Nonexistence looked over and saw the Great Witch King on stage had completed the procedure, smiling as he removed the crown from his head, placing it on a silver tray lined with luxurious silk, and was personally applying red and white face paint on Princess Catherine.

Having witnessed the witch king's ritual many times, the Narration of Nonexistence knew this was the last step before inheriting the position of the Great Witch King and the heart of the palace. Once the special face paint for [Witches] was applied, the ritual would be considered complete.

If, by then, the blackbird still hadn't made it back, not only would this story node be skipped, but even my set [Bedtime Story] would be on the verge of collapse due to the lack of necessary conditions!

Damn blackbird! I'll have to stall first!

After gently closing her eyes, the Multi-level Marketing Witch assessed the surrounding situation, leaned her body against the outer wall of an inn, then took out the storybook representing [Narration of Nonexistence], and slowly closed her eyes.

Subsequently, inky black smoke seeped quietly from the pages of the opened storybook, drifting towards the main platform along the street's dark corners and shadows, while everyone focused on the ceremony.

It's done! As long as the crown is obtained, there's still a chance to stall! Stall until the blackbird returns!

After forming a body below the main platform, the black raven flapped its wings and shot towards the tray holding the crown like an arrow, snatching the gold-painted wooden crown amid the crowd's cries and soaring into the sky!

Huh? Wooden?

"Bang!"

Taking a sniper rifle out of the mirror world, shooting and blowing up both the raven and the fake crown, Prince Lionheart casually wiped his beloved gun with a handkerchief while explaining to the bewildered main priest:

"Just a sideshow, don't mind it."

"But... the... the crown..."

"Here you go."

Nonchalantly producing the real crown, handing it to the dumbfounded main priest, Leon happily fibbed:

"His Majesty the Great Witch King is getting on in years, and her neck isn't in great shape. A solid gold crown weighs over ten pounds. I'm worried about her neck, so I made a replica for show. Just keep doing your job... Oh, by the way."

Looking up at the raven reforming in mid-air, Leon gently pushed the main priest off-center on the main stage, then gestured to the waiting guards on either side.

"Pause the ceremony... bring them all up here!"

"???"

With tens of thousands of spectators in the square watching in bewilderment, dozens of people with their hands bound and heads covered with black hoods were escorted onto the main stage by guards.

"Excuse me for the interruption."

Having removed the amplifying badge from the main priest's chest and pinning it to his own collar, the Evil Prince took his place at the front of the stage. Facing tens of thousands of perplexed gazes, he announced with a wicked expression designated by the [Bedtime Story] setting for him:

"Taking advantage of this intermission while Her Majesty the Great Witch King paints Princess Catherine's face, I want to take this opportunity to announce a judgment, dealing with some vile criminals attempting to defy me!"

Judgment? Criminals?

Faced with this sudden sentence, the citizens of Secret Magic City exchanged bewildered glances, utterly clueless about what was going on, while the raven reforming into a body above the main stage was taken aback, then looked with horror at the "criminals" struggling incessantly.

One, two, three... thirty-nine!

The criminals bound to stakes, their heads covered by black bags, with constant muffled sounds emerging, just happened to total thirty-nine. And this number... perfectly matched the number of True Gods I had called down!

Could it be?!

...

"Come, take off their hoods!"

Glancing at the raven circling overhead, Leon instructed the guards to remove the criminals' hoods while secretly signaling the nearby attendant to seal off the square, allowing no one in or out before dark.

Once the guards removed the hoods from the criminals, and the attendant in on the plan stepped off the stage among them, the Evil Prince leisurely walked to the first criminal, reaching out to pull the rag from its mouth.

"You damn lunatic!"

The first criminal, seemingly quite spirited, shouted madly the moment it regained speech.

"The True God is immortal! Even if you capture me, it's only..."

"Bang!"

Jamming the sniper rifle's barrel into his mouth, detonating half of the first criminal's skull with a shot, Leon unemotionally pronounced amidst a cacophony of screams:

"No need to read his original charges; the current charge is howling on the execution ground, publicly obstructing the course of justice... now for number two."

"You bastard! How dare you?!"

With the rag pulled from its mouth, and eyeing the wooden stake behind the first criminal with a gaping hole in his head, the second criminal cried out in shock:

"What are you doing? You lowly human! Vile short-lived creature! Pathetic..."

"Bang!"

"Charges are insulting the executioner, hmm... and using outdated translated phrasing."

After wiping the gun barrel on the second convict's clothes, Leon reached for the rag in the mouth of the third convict... or rather, the third True God, who was brimming with terror, and furrowed his brow as he said:

"Why don't you say something? If you don't say anything, how can I convict you?"