Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1241 Travel Notes (Two in One)

What Angel was referring to was naturally the most important and complicated dispute over the "Old Days" outside the seal of the Western Continent, and the disagreement over the five paths of the "Omniscient and Almighty" belonging to the "Chaos Sea".

Unlike the Goddess of Night who has already mastered all adjacent paths, the God of Steam who is the only one that activates adjacent paths, and the Mother Goddess of Earth who has concealed her identity for thousands of years and actually occupies adjacent paths, the biggest problem faced by the God of Storm, the God of Sun, and the God of Wisdom is that the positions adjacent to the paths they are in are all occupied by gods!

It is obvious that no one is willing to sacrifice himself to help other gods. Adam and the "true creator" are fighting each other. Although the other three gods are watching the show, their positions during the previous world war also make everything clear.

This means that the five gods will eventually compete for the only ticket to the "Old Days", and judging from the ending of the God of War, the loser's fate will not be much better.

This kind of question shouldn't be asked by me, but after the two "Secret Covenant Ceremonies" in the Western Continent and helping the Goddess of Night connect with the "Underworld Man", I always feel like I've become an "ambassador" for communication between the two sides inside and outside the seal... Is this an illusion... Angel held his breath, waiting for the answer from the incarnation of the god in front of him.

Hearing her question, Archbishop Heraberg fell silent, his eyes swept across the tall bookshelves and the piles of books beside the two of them, and after a moment he sighed and said:
"If there was any other choice, I certainly wouldn't want it. But life is like this, sometimes you can only choose between the worst and the relatively not-so-bad, and there is no better option.

“Faced with this situation, some people would rather maintain the last bit of dignity than give up, while others feel that they have done nothing wrong and want to fight for a better outcome… But I am greedy. I want to continue living and exploring the boundless ocean of knowledge. I don’t want to die just like that.

"So, when there are only a few options in front of me, I will choose the one that allows me to keep the hope of being alive."

To live... just to live, not to fight for the status of the "old days"?

Angel nodded somewhat unexpectedly and said sincerely:

"There is no shame in wanting to live."

She just didn't know how this god was going to survive after giving up all the Sequence 1 characteristics and uniqueness of the "Reader" or the "White Tower" pathway. Was he going to rely on the clone in front of him named Heraberg?

Of course, Angel could hear the message from Heraberg, the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom": He was willing to give up the throne and leave the opportunity to other gods, so that an Old One who would rule the "Sea of ​​Chaos" would appear as soon as possible before the end of the world, and His request was only to survive.

It's a pity that no one knows what the other four gods think. Judging from their strength, the one most likely to win should be the "real creator" who got the first blasphemous stone tablet, but his identity may cause Storm and Fiery Sun to unite against him... Could it be that the two people who are unwilling to give up and "fight for it" mentioned by Heraberg are these two? Angel's mind is full of thoughts, but she also knows that this kind of thing is not something she can decide or even interfere with.

"Thank you for your help, Your Excellency the Archbishop."

That was all she could say, and she immediately came to a window, ready to leave with the help of the mirror world.

But as they got closer, Angel remembered something and turned around to say to Heraberg, who was standing there, thinking about something:

"In the God-forsaken Land, when we entered the Giant King's Court and faced the 'Dark Angel', He mentioned one thing."

The archbishop's amber eyes, which were not at all cloudy, looked over.

"At the 'Betrayal Banquet', the first to take action was... the 'Pure White Angel'. The other two just followed suit and had no choice but to do so."

Sasriel's roar, the name of God "Osirkus" once again echoed in Angel's ears.

There is such a factor. Even if the God of Wisdom and the God of Storms are willing to surrender, will the "Sun" be willing to humble himself and compromise?
----

"I took the small steam train with only four carriages including the locomotive and came to this small city, Yharnam, hidden at the other end of the island, near the primeval forest.

"Just like what I saw in Ms. Fors Wall's latest novel, this is a vibrant town that combines the vigorous vitality of the southern continent with the relatively conservative atmosphere of Loen.

"It is not like the more famous 'Dream City' Patis on the island, which is so serious that it makes people feel like they are in invisible shackles. It is also not like the 'New Silver City' which is full of crooked but huge buildings, like entering the kingdom of giants. Instead, it makes people feel at home, and they can put down their guard and fatigue at any time, blend into the crowd and enjoy every minute and every second...

"By the way, I have never known where the 'Old Silver City' is. Those half-giants who are most likely refugees from Feysac avoided talking about it. When they occasionally talked about it, they said it was a city in the dark and their nightmare... Could it have been destroyed by the war that ended only half a year ago?
"If any of my readers know about this, please write and let me know.

"Back to the topic, I have lived in this small town for five days. What I am most curious about is the stable climate. The sun is not too strong, and the sea breeze blows gently, making people feel comfortable but not cold. This is different from the cities on other islands in the Rorsted Archipelago and the depths of the Sea of ​​Fury. The climate there is often changeable. The sun is shining brightly in the morning, and it will rain heavily in the afternoon. At night, there will be terrible storms that catch people off guard... Not only in Yharnam, but also in the 'New Silver City' and the City of Patis.

“I doubt the residents’ claims that a guardian angel named Angelica protects the island cities from hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes.

"Besides, this name is the same as Fors Wall's masterpiece, The Great Pirate Angelica series. Are they kidding?
"In addition to the stable climate, I was also surprised by the food in Yharnam. The few restaurants in this small city with only 5,000 people are of very high quality. The chefs are on par with the luxury restaurants in Trier, Backlund, and Saint Miron that I've been to. However, the prices are so cheap that many travelers who have just arrived here feel like they've fallen into some kind of scam - including me.

“Of course, after trying all the restaurants and not actually experiencing the scam I imagined, I was left with nothing but gratitude for the prices here.

"Can you imagine? A grilled steak with cream soup, mashed taro toast and fruit salad only costs 1 soli and 10 pence in the restaurant attached to the Iris Hotel where I live. This is the price right after the war. In Backlund, this steak alone costs this much, and the portion is one-third less!

“It’s not just steak and its side dishes. The most basic fried pork chops, pan-fried fish, charcoal-grilled chicken skewers, the slightly more complex butter mashed potatoes, pea stewed lamb soup, the complex baked lobster, and red wine braised beef are all at a master’s level.

"As for staple foods that are difficult to make in different ways, these chefs have come up with mashed potato toast, fruit toast, noodle toast, and other novel and irresistible varieties, with each day being different.

“If I hadn’t done proper post-meal exercise, I would have gained a lot of fat in the past five days and would have been overweight.

“Speaking of exercise, my favorite thing to do these days is to wander around after dinner, looking for all kinds of new things in the streets and alleys of this small city, and it usually doesn’t disappoint.

"On the evening of the first day, I came to an uninhabited building. It is said that this place is often haunted. There are always travelers who lose consciousness inexplicably when passing by. When they wake up, they will find themselves lying in a room in the building. They are exhausted, as if they were possessed by a ghost and did exercises all night...

"Unfortunately, I didn't meet a ghost, but the couple who bought the house. My God, when I first met them, I even thought they were a father and daughter. The middle-aged gentleman should be about 40 years old, but his fiancée seemed to have just come of age. It was hard to imagine that they would spend the rest of their lives together.

"Of course, after listening to their love story, I took back my previous opinion." True love can transcend age!

"If readers are interested, I will consider retelling this love story in a subsequent series, but I will hide some details to avoid causing trouble to the couple.

"Let me return to my adventures... At noon on the second day after discussing the true meaning of love with that couple, I witnessed a pirate with a bounty of 2000 pounds being captured on the street next to the Iris Hotel. The one who captured him was the famous adventurer German Sparrow!
"That's right. The crazy and cold-blooded adventurer in the "Great Adventurer" series was not invented by Ms. Wall, but a real person! As described in the book, he has short hair, wears a half-high hat, likes to wear a thin black windbreaker, and holds a huge revolver. When he threw the pirate into the police station in Yharnam City, he did not forget to put on his hat and whispered the classic line: This is politeness.

“Oh my God, I suspect that Ms. Fors Wall has really interviewed this adventurer and even lived with him for a period of time. Otherwise, why would the adventurer Gehrman in the book be exactly the same as the real one? It’s as if I’m in the world of the book and have become a travel writer who is cautiously approaching Gehrman Sparrow.

"Of course, my interview request was rejected. Fortunately, he was not angry. He just registered with the police station and left with the pirates. But his cold eyes made me feel cold from head to toe, which was the same as what was recorded in "The Great Adventurer".
“I wonder if only the legendary pirate Angelica Thatch can open the heart of this adventurer and make him smile…

"One day after the thrilling pirate capture operation, I went for a walk in the town square after enjoying the Black Forest cake and the special bubble ice tea in the hotel restaurant. When I passed the 'Fool' Church, I was attracted by the unusual noise coming from inside and witnessed a strange case.

"By the way, belief in the Fool is also one of the characteristics of this city and the other two cities on the island. They do not believe in the Goddess of Night, the Lord of Storms, or the Eternal Sun. There is only one church belonging to the Fool in the entire town. This is impossible to happen anywhere in the North Continent, the South Continent, and the Archipelago...

“I will describe everything about this deity and the deeds of the six angels under His seat in detail in another travelogue. Please stay tuned.

"Back to that strange case, early that morning, when the followers of The Fool entered the prayer hall, they were surprised to find that a mural depicting the Angel of Disaster had been stolen.

“Yes, the mural was stolen!

"The exquisitely painted designs on the wall closest to the altar and holy emblem of the Fool disappeared overnight, leaving only blank gold frames. This was not erased with paint, nor were there any traces of scratches on the original paint. After checking, Anderson, the painter who painted all the murals, believed that all the paint on the murals disappeared from the base material, and the rest of the murals remained in their original appearance and were not damaged.

"This incredible incident attracted the attention of the only private detective agency in Yanan City. The detective, who deliberately grew a beard to look old but was probably less than 30 years old, checked around and concluded that this was not man-made.

"It wasn't man-made, could it be that 'Fool'?
"Of course, I didn't get to hear the great detective's detailed analysis, as his lovely freckled assistant drove all the strangers out of the church.

"But judging by the church's subsequent handling of the incident, such as hiring security personnel from an antiquities protection company to guard the church, the detective's conclusion was not accepted. The church decided to conduct a week-long alert to prevent more murals praising the 'Fool' and his angels from being stolen.

“From my unprofessional perspective, the security company is not strong enough to protect a church, especially since the two young people who looked like a couple acted very amateurishly, as if they had just joined the industry.

"Besides, why would there be an antique preservation company in a small city of a few thousand people? They should go to the nearby 'Dream City' Patis to find work. There are antiques and paintings from the Fourth Epoch there, and even many buildings that have gone through thousands of years, which are more worthy of their protection!

"I originally thought that this strange case would be left unsolved, but on the following day, which was the afternoon of my fourth day in Yharnam, a wandering magician I met easily solved the problem in a way that I could never have imagined.

"It was a cool afternoon. When I passed by the candy factory in this city, I noticed a tall but thin magician performing magic for a group of children. He kept taking white pigeons out of his hat and releasing them, as if the hat was connected to the town square and was attracting the pigeons foraging there. Then he covered his beautiful assistant with a red cloth, making him disappear on the spot, and all the children ran away in fear.

"Seeing that I was interested in his magic, the wandering magician who called himself Merlin Hermes asked me if I wanted a free magic mirror quiz or if he could grant me a wish for a fee.

“My past experience taught me that free things are the most expensive, so I paid a penny and made my wish.

"Yes, I hope that the stolen murals from the Fool's Church can be returned to their original places, that the inexplicable martial law can be ended, and that the city can return to its former tranquility.

"Merlin the Magician snapped his fingers and without doing anything else, told me that the wish had come true.

“After reading this, perhaps many readers will think that the magician is a liar, just like I did at the time. But when I returned to the Town Hall Square in the evening, I found that except for the white pigeons that had almost all disappeared, there were many residents who stopped to watch, just like the day the mural was stolen.

"I pushed through the crowd and rushed into the church. I looked at the wall that belonged to the Angel of Disaster. In the gold-framed picture, the angel with golden hair, purple eyes, wings on his back, holding a sword in one hand and a flag in the other, returned to his original position.

“My wish really came true!

“At that moment, I sat in the prayer hall bench in remorse until the suspicious police, detectives and security company staff came and went, and until the archbishop came to comfort me after the mass, I stood up and left.

"I should have wished that my extra fat would disappear like the mural.

"Fortunately, the delicious food and cheerful people of Yharnam City diluted my depression. The cream pudding and bubble ice tea also contributed greatly. In addition, I also received a message that today, the day I finished writing this travel note, a group wedding will be held in Yharnam City.

"This is not common in conservative Loen, but it has been practiced in Feynaport in Disi Bay. I didn't expect that this small city deep in the violent sea also has such a custom. Perhaps this is also a reflection of the frugality advocated by the Church of the Fool?
"Due to space limitations, I will describe the details of this wedding in next week's travel notes. Please look forward to it. Love you, Charlotte."

Putting down the pen, Monica, a travel writer known by the pen name Charlotte, carefully checked the manuscript twice, and after revising some details, stuffed the thick manuscript paper into an envelope, affixed a stamp, left the "Iris" Hotel, and went to the only post office in Yharnam City to mail the letter, which would travel by sea and would not be published until about twenty days later.

Her travel columns in the Tussock Daily and the Backlund Daily are her main source of income and her hobby.

Compared to the life she had a few years ago when she was sitting in a rented house in the Backlund Bridge District, biting the tip of a pen while writing those third-rate love stories, this experience of traveling around the world, satisfying her hobby of traveling while making a living was undoubtedly more satisfying to her.

This change in mentality also gives her writing a unique charm, allowing readers to feel as if they are there, following her emotions of happiness, excitement and frustration, making her a well-known travel writer.

After leaving the post office, Monica carried her handbag, gathered her wavy black hair, straightened her Desire Bay-style dress, and came to the busiest town square in the city, heading towards the Church of the Fool.

As she said in her travel notes, a group wedding was about to be held here. As a writer who was very interested in local customs and festivals, she couldn't miss this special wedding!
PS: Two-in-one, no more today...

(End of this chapter)