Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 476 A New Adventure (First Update)

Salomon gifted the witches custom-made Blancpain ladies' watches. Bayonetta's watch featured a rose theme, while Joan of Arc's featured an iris theme. Each watch corresponded to a different magical theme of the two witches and incorporated elements of the moon and the Wikka religion. As a brand that had previously commissioned ladies' watches for Queen Marie Antoinette, Salomon believed these two watches were worthy of the witches.

After the guests left, Bayonetta transformed into a giant black panther, pounced on Salomon, and licked him hard on the face. This was probably Bayonetta's most passionate expression of emotion; it would be better to expect her to fire a gun than to utter a straightforward thank you.

The Cheshire Cat was deeply shocked.

Even though it was much smarter than the average cat, it couldn't understand why its owner had turned into a big cat and taken its job. The silly cat kept whimpering as it jumped onto the sofa, rubbing its head against Salomon's neck, trying to reclaim its status as a pet.

"Idiot!" Bayonetta slapped the Cheshire Cat's butt in annoyance.

"Get down here! Don't you know how heavy you are?" The witch ignored the short-haired cat's struggles and dragged the 30-pound feline off Salomon's chest. The stupid cat had jumped directly onto the wizard's chest with a force no less than a direct mortar shell blast. "Not to mention you ate a whole bowl of freeze-dried tuna for Christmas today! You're just a gluttonous cat poop-producing machine! Abyss below, just how heavy are you?!"

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"Our eleventh Countess has announced her ambitious plans in the newspaper!" That morning, after breakfast, Salomon, as usual, opened the newspaper handed to him by his maid, trying to find interesting news in the mundane human world. Whether it was the absurd actions of politicians or the Sun Girls, they were all within Salomon's reading scope; Laura Crawford had simply stumbled upon the newspaper page.

After Laura announced her adventures in Yamatai, she once again declared that she was about to embark on her next adventure.

Because her previous adventure resulted in the death of explorer Conrad Ross, and the so-called Dragon's Triangle remains shrouded in sea fog, Laura was labeled a fraud by several small media outlets, leading to a proliferation of conspiracy theories. London's social circles held various speculations about Laura Crawford. As a noblewoman who still held a title, her every move was closely watched, and both the public and other nobles were happy to project their malicious speculations onto this beautiful and wealthy countess.

"Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Bayonetta picked up a piece of snack and put it in her mouth. Drinking in the morning wasn't a big deal for a witch, since this little bit of alcohol wouldn't make her drunk.

"Because..." Salomon pushed the newspaper toward Bayonetta, "because the Countess came to me for advice. Apparently, the Countess is as obsessed with the mystery of immortality as her father. Many nobles believe that the previous Count Crawford was not quite right in the head, so it's not surprising that Laura did the same thing as her father. 'Another mad Crawford!' That's the headline."

"I don't recall ever subscribing to a gossip magazine in our family," Bayonetta said, taking the newspaper and glancing at it.

"We have all kinds of newspapers at home. Dinah subscribed for me, and then they're delivered by owls," Salomon said, shaking his head proudly. "That's the idea I came up with. The androids keep a flock of owls as pets on the rooftop."

The witch scoffed. A spellcaster like him, yet he was chasing after magic from children's books—she had no idea what was going on in Salomon's head. "So what exactly did Laura ask?" she inquired. "Or was she just inviting you on a date? Do you like petite women?"

"That's an insult to me, Bayonetta." Salomon opened his phone. "Lola asked me if there's a way to achieve immortality. She mentioned a Syrian prophet and thought I was an expert on the subject. I figured the Crawford daughter wouldn't pass up the possibility of getting an answer from me, so I gave her a definite answer."

"She wants to go to Syria?"

"This is only a preliminary assessment, but she thinks it's highly likely. She also asked me not to reveal her whereabouts, but I must say, the Crawford daughter is indeed very persistent." Salomon tapped his long, slender fingers on the bronze-embossed tabletop, indicating that he seemed to have made a decision. To further emphasize this decision, he opened a portion of the information Laura had sent him as evidence.

"Joan of Arc, the national heroine of France. Not you, Joan of Arc, it's still breakfast time." Salomon snapped his fingers, and a heavy book fell onto the table. "Joan of Arc also had early legends of immortality," he said. "She was shot in the shoulder and neck with an arrow, bleeding profusely, yet returned to the battlefield without a trace of injury. The second time was in Rouen, France, where she jumped from what is now called the Joan of Arc Tower and emerged unscathed."

"Compared to the other figures Laura listed for me, such as Gregory Rasputin, King Arthur's Holy Grail, and the Fountain of Youth, they are much more plausible. Of course, the most important one is the Syrian prophet," Salomon said. "The former can be completely explained by science. According to His Holiness, the Holy Grail is not what it seems at all. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the previous Earl Crawford's research on immortality. I feel that the prophet Laura Crawford is now pursuing may be related to me. This is a revelation from fate, although it is still somewhat vague, but the Vishanti lineage of occultists, who specialize in truth and prophecy, have a full understanding of their own destiny."

"Are you sure this isn't some excuse?" Joan of Arc rolled her eyes.

“I promise I’m not.” Salomon picked up his phone and transferred money to Laura Crawford’s bank account. “Of course, that’s not all,” he said. “I’ve invested in her business; she desperately needs an investor. Her medical bills last time were huge, plus the maintenance costs of the estate, Laura’s basically broke now. So I’m lending a hand, and when she gets back, our house will have a whole bunch of antiques!”

Although he brushed it off with a joke, Salomon wasn't lying; he had indeed felt the strings of fate tremble in this matter. This afternoon, after returning to Kamar-Taj, he would request to use the Cosmic Cauldron to investigate the causal links of this event, hoping to deduce its connection to him and the true nature of the immortal prophet.

“Of course, I don’t think Laura should be looking into those immortal legends,” Salomon said with a laugh. “She should be wondering what happened to her. She said she was stabbed in the abdomen at Yamatai, but she didn’t die. I don’t think a normal person could survive such an injury; that’s much more impressive than Gregory Rasputin or Joan of Arc.”

"You mean, Laura Crawford isn't a normal person?" Bayonetta's interest was immediately piqued.

"Perhaps," Salomon said with satisfaction. "A remarkable human being with a resilient will and a calm mind. Perhaps Laura represents humanity's courage and spirit of exploration. We know nothing now, but perhaps when I meet the prophet, he will tell us the whole truth."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)