Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1212 I will never dare to touch the edge again
As December approached, the weather in Backlund turned cold again, and the sky was mostly covered with haze that was not dirty but still enough to block out the sunlight.

Fortunately, compared to the same time last year, the city that had escaped the shadow of war had regained its life. Factories that obtained raw materials were operating at full capacity, and destroyed houses and abandoned buildings due to the overgrowth of strange plants also required a large amount of manpower to clean up. This was enough to make the residents of Backlund forget the cold winter and get busy preparing for a better future.

"Is this why you dragged me to this city?"

On Patis Island deep in the Raging Sea, in the central square of the city named after the island, Hugh Dilcha folded his arms across his chest, looking at his good friend Fors Wall, who was writing and drawing on a palm-sized notebook beside him, and complained unhappily.

For this trip, she wasted her precious two days of vacation!

Of course, compared to the steam trains or military airships she needed to travel when working at MI9, it was much more convenient to be taken out by Fors. An hour ago, she was still in Backlund's rainy home. After a simple "teleportation", she arrived on an island thousands of kilometers away. The sunlight was even a little too strong for her to adapt to.

Whether it is the convenience in daily life or the mobility in battle, the "apprentice" path has too much advantage. No wonder they rarely appear in public and most of them become sealed objects in the hands of others... Thinking of his immediate superior, the director of MI9, who always carries a ring with the "traveler" feature, Xio feels a little emotional.

She couldn't help but look up at Fors again.

"Escaping from Backlund's bad weather is just a trivial reason. I think you should come and see this law-abiding city. I think it is likely managed by the Arbitrator, a High-Sequence Beyonder."

Fors muttered as he wrote the last few words in his notebook. He glanced at his friend, who was wearing a gray shirt, a black vest, and dark trousers and looked like an underage apprentice knight, and asked curiously:

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Xio hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth:
"I'm worried that one day you'll become someone else's collection. According to the military's records, apart from the 'Secret Saint' who died in our hands, there haven't been any saints of the 'Apprentice' path for decades. Even the Sequence 5 'Traveler' only exists in the form of a Sealed Artifact."

Xio actually has such concerns... But even I feel that the abilities of "Recorder" and "Traveler" are too convenient. The reason for the decline of the Abraham family may not only be Mr. "Gate"'s curse... Fors thought and replied with a smile:

"Haven't I become your seal?
"Look, when you go to work, I'll be at home resting or working on my manuscripts. If you have any difficulties at work, I'll come forward to help you... Isn't it like a seal that can be taken out and used when needed?"

Xio stared in amazement at her friend, who was wearing a women's shirt and an orange long skirt, and seemed to be shining in the scorching sun, and then she laughed:

"I don't even need to seal you away. I just need a blanket so you can sleep until I get home."

Fors nodded heavily, but what he was thinking was:

This dialogue can be used in the next book "The Great Pirate Angelica"!

After some mutual banter, Fors, who had traveled to the "Dream City" Patis several times and was familiar with the place, took Xio to walk through the Quaternary-style city hall, visited the ancient sailing ship with a scale-shaped ornament hanging on the bow, which was stranded in the park pond for some reason, and enjoyed a dish of Desi pie made by a chef who looked like a half-giant Feysac but said he was from the nearby New Silver City. Finally, they arrived at the door of a church.

"The Church of St. Angelica... Is that Angelica?"

Looking up at the words engraved on the church's door lintel, Xio asked in confusion.

"That's the one you were thinking of," Fors nodded. "I'm going to hand in the manuscript. Please wait for me outside."

This was her main purpose for coming all the way to Patis Island. The sixth book in the "Great Pirate Angelica" series, "Solomon's Legacy", had been completed. Due to the needs of the Tarot Club and the requirements of the two angels, she had bought the copyright from the pen pal who wrote the first three books in the Great Pirate series, and began to take over herself, personally writing the biography and story for the "Queen" Miss Angelica Sage.

Of course, part of the content was expanded and adapted by Fors after the "Queen"'s narration, and some was written by her freely using her imagination.

For example, this book "Solomon's Legacy" describes Angelica's search for treasure on a hidden island deep in the foggy sea, and her cooperation with characters who are both enemies and friends from previous works in the series, such as the "Queen of Mystery" and "Vice Admiral of Disease", as well as the protagonist of "The Great Adventurer" German Sparrow, to prevent the revival of ancient monsters and gain the loyalty of an ancient ghost ship.

How is it possible that a ghost ship from two thousand years ago has been preserved to this day, with a petite and cute girl who is the incarnation of a battleship appearing inside it, saying to the Queen, "Please sign a contract with me and become my master?" This kind of thing is impossible, absolutely impossible... Fors recalled the part of the plot that she had "written" and sighed softly.

At this moment, the petite friend next to her asked with concern:
"Do you need me to go in with you?"

"It doesn't matter. The archbishop inside is an acquaintance of mine. Besides, this city does not allow anyone to be harmed by any means, even if a demigod comes."

Forsi said.

Seeing Xio nodded and walked aside, she stepped into the main entrance of the church, walked past the asymmetrical candlesticks hanging from the dome and came to the altar. She was surprised to find that the archbishop named Triss was gone!
Wearing the archbishop's robe of the same conservative design but that showed off her figure was another young woman. She looked as beautiful and holy as Triss, with a hint of androgynous beauty. Her black hair was tied up behind her head, and her blue eyes were as deep as the sea.

The Archbishop was replaced? Was Triss excommunicated because she always dozed off on the legs of the statue of Miss Angelica behind the altar, or was she captured by the Punishers and Purifiers for plagiarizing other Orthodox churches when compiling the Holy Scriptures?

Fors was thinking about a wonderful story when he suddenly realized that the newly appointed archbishop in front of him looked very familiar.

Wait, isn't she that "Admiral Disease" Tracy? In order to publish "The Great Adventurer Gehrman and Admiral Disease", I specially researched the deeds of that pirate general, and also saw the wanted poster. That Tracy looks exactly like her... Fors's expression was a little dull, and the spirituality of being a demigod instantly made her recall the contents of the wanted poster, confirming her guess.

Being stared at by her, Tracy, who was wearing a black archbishop's robe with gold trim, looked over. A flash of doubt flashed across her eyes, and then it was replaced by indifference. She walked slowly towards them holding the golden holy book in her hand and asked in a soft voice:
"Madam, do you need to confess or do you want to know about the deeds of Saint Angelica?"

I came here to submit a manuscript, but the contact person is missing... Fors's stiff expression slowly melted in Tracy's smile, which seemed to be very familiar to her, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.

At this moment, the small wooden door behind the altar was pushed open, and a tall figure with a touch of red walked out. Fors looked closely and found that the person who came was also a young woman. Her face was both soft and handsome. She had dazzling red hair draped behind her, and a bit of deep black could be seen at the roots of her hair. She was wearing a women's shirt and a knee-length skirt. Her boots with straps made crisp footsteps on the smooth floor, and she quickly came to the two of them.

"Ms. Fors Wall, welcome to St. Angelica Church," the red-haired woman bowed slightly and performed a gentleman's courtesy. "I am Elaine Soren. Triss went to Backlund three months ago. If you need to find her, I can convey the message to her."

Elaine... Elaine with red hair?

Fors, who needed to pay attention to maritime news for her job, immediately recognized the other party and was a little surprised:

I came all the way here to find Triss, but she had already gone to Backlund?
Wouldn't that be a wasted trip... Hugh can't know... She glanced at the main entrance of the church and found that her friend was hiding under the stone pillar beside the door and didn't notice the conversation here. She breathed a sigh of relief, took out the manuscript from her pocket and handed it to Elaine.

"This is the manuscript I wrote for Miss Angelica on behalf of the church."

Manuscript... Elaine frowned, took the thick manuscript paper and flipped through it casually, then exclaimed, and asked curiously:
"Are you the author who bought the copyright of William's "The Great Pirate" and "The Great Adventurer" series?"

"Are you the red-haired captain William mentioned in the letter?"

Fors asked back in surprise. The two looked at each other and both felt like they had met a familiar stranger.

“No wonder William is now preparing to start a new series featuring a mysterious witch and a talking mermaid…”

Elaine muttered silently and handed the manuscript to Tracy beside her. Tracy took it and instinctively revealed a hint of disgust in her eyes, but then she opened it curiously and saw her name at first glance.

……

Before the stern-looking German Sparrow could speak, Tracy revealed an extremely complicated expression.

"Kill me, but don't try to get Angelica's whereabouts from me."

Hermann sneered, held the revolver in one hand and lifted the edge of his hat, showing a mocking look, and put his other hand on Tracy's weak shoulder, pushing her against the wall.

"Miss Pirate, do you know that some experiences are more terrible than death?"

He leaned close to her ear and whispered softly.

……

what?
Tracy's expression became extremely complicated.

----

Xio leaned boredly against the thick black stone pillar at the entrance of the church, which was converted from a memorial hall. She swept her eyes across the busy street, examining every pedestrian who passed by her, and evaluating their behavior and threats from the professional perspective of a "Punishment Knight".

They are all ordinary civilians, but from the moment I set foot in this city, I felt a faint sense of threat, as if I was being watched by someone and constrained by some force... Could it be true, as Fors said, that this city has a High-Sequence Beyonder called an "Arbitrator" stationed there?
She looked towards the city hall in the city center, and intuitively felt that if such an extraordinary person really existed, he should be inside that building.

At this moment, Fors walked out of the church with a strange expression, came to Xio's side, and let out a long sigh, as if he had just escaped from a sea of ​​suffering.

"what happened?"

Xio asked with concern.

"I just met two more saints, and I wrote about them both in my book... I will never dare to write anything that touches the point again..."

Fors muttered, forced a smile and looked at his friend, then continued:
“Let’s go, our main goal has been accomplished, we can take a good rest and explore the city in the next two days.

"Also, I heard that two new cities have appeared on the same island in the past few months. One of them is Mr. Sun's new Silver City, and the other one... is called Yharnam."

(End of this chapter)