Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Inside the Basilica of Our Lady, Vera sat quietly in the confessional, repenting and praying, reflecting on the great and small evils she had committed throughout her life.

As I was reflecting on this, I smelled the aroma of freshly baked bread.

Vera, who hadn't eaten much all day, suddenly felt her stomach growling. Superhumans can go two or three days without eating for a while without much trouble, and they might even develop gastrointestinal problems from hunger, as long as they keep drinking water. They'll still get hungry, though.

When I'm hungry, I want to eat.

Vera turned her head and saw Tia outside the door holding a free slice of toast she had received from the church, spread with jam, but not eating it; she was just making people drool.

She thought for a moment, then hesitated and stared longingly at the bread in Tia's hand.

Tia walked into the confessional, waved the glass in front of her nose, and said, "Want some?"

"think."

"Vera, what if you committed a serious crime, but no one knows about it, and Aunt Isabella asks you to find the culprit? What would you do then?"

Vera replied without hesitation, "It's a frame-up!"

Tia was taken aback, realizing that her moral standards were still too high, not as flexible as the nuns'. She stuffed the bread into Vera's mouth, gave her a thumbs up, and said, "You're this one!"

The girl suddenly realized what was happening, and after feeding the animals, she turned and left.

Vera happily ate her bread, so moved she was almost crying; she hadn't eaten since morning!

Before the bread was even finished, one hand tore it off.

Vera shivered, slowly raised her head, and let out a loud "Wah!"—she was about to burst into tears.

Isabella, who had brought Tia to find Vera, saw that Tia hadn't gone far. Maintaining her last bit of kindness, she clutched the bread in her hand and said, "Vera, is this how you come to repent?"

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Two more chapters tonight

Chapter 312 The Giant Prophet Amir

August 11th corresponds to the full moon in the lunar calendar, which is also the time when prophetic rituals are most effective.

On this day, wealthy people in major cities of Arabia would typically invite renowned prophets to arrange rituals for them to foresee the future and pray for good fortune.

As for the Solomon Empire in the western part of the continent, it did not originally have this custom, but as the cooperation between the empire and Tianfang gradually became closer, divination also became popular in important cities such as Solomon City, Port-au-Prince, and Coldwater Port.

"Ms. Claire, is this the Wisdom Palace's outpost in Coldwater Harbor?"

Two blue-robed prophets followed closely behind Claire, looking up at the astrology shop across the street.

This is the Solon district of Coldwater Harbor, the area with the highest concentration of gray industries operating on the fringes of the law. Accompanied by a large number of smuggling transactions and a large influx of outsiders, it is a truly dangerous area.

The stronghold of the Wisdom Palace, "Swamp Astrology Shop," is just ahead, and next to it is "Old Man's Antique Shop," belonging to the Twin Serpents Cult, a cult from the south.

From the outside, they look like two low brick buildings, only three or four stories high, with layers of ivy and moss growing on the backlit walls.

When Claire stepped through the curtains of the astrology shop, she saw a world inside that was completely different from the dilapidated exterior. Three young prophets were busily carrying materials for divination, while two prophets who had reached Sequence 5 were muttering to themselves, their fingers carefully stroking a star chart.

Standing behind the counter is the middle-aged, nearly three-meter-tall giant shopkeeper with a strong, muscular physique and a silent, statue-like face—the prophet Amir, ranked fourth in the Wisdom Palace and known as the "Golem."

Sensing Claire's arrival, Amir's deep, heavy voice fell to the ground, "Claire Moretti, you failed to set up the jump ritual node for the star map. Instead of returning to the Wisdom Palace, what are you doing here looking for me?"

—The star chart of destiny, which is why Claire specifically went to arrange the ceremony.

Although we don't know what the great prophets of the Wisdom Palace were thinking, they certainly had the wild idea of ​​projecting the still incomplete, unified destiny star map that could predict the entire future into the deep sea.

And it's not just a few thousand meters, it's a full two million nine hundred thousand meters!

The prophets of the Wisdom Palace habitually refer to the depths above approximately 33 km as the critical layer, because there is no theoretical upper limit to the diving speed in the critical layer. However, once the critical layer is exceeded, the diving speed will not increase or decrease unless actively assisted, but will remain fixed, achieving true uniform motion.

Therefore, the ritual nodes above 33km are the most important. If you want to project the star map of destiny into the sea, you need to reach the maximum speed at the critical layer.

The bad thing is that Claire messed it all up!

All three ritual nodes were destroyed, and she was punished by the Wisdom Palace almost that same day. The task of repairing the nodes was also assigned to Amir.

Amir glanced at the female prophet with pity, waved his hand to have one of his disciples prepare a strong cup of coffee, hooked the cup handle with his little finger, and presented it to Claire.

Claire took a sip and said directly:

“Big guy, I don’t recommend continuing to set up nodes around the Moen royal family’s nightmare. Last time, Poring… that’s where I failed. The Moen royal family has probably already discovered us!”

“That’s not important, Claire. The important thing is that I have to complete the work the Great Prophet gave me. And it’s a great work. Claire, it’s about our future,”

"Are you really crazy or just pretending? Do you really believe in the so-called plan of the great prophets that spans over 7,600 years?!"

Claire found it hard to believe. In her mind, the giant prophet Amir was an absolute pragmatist, yet he also believed in this grand plan.

But Amir shook his head and said, "It's sixteen hundred years."

"Impossible! Even if you set up several slingshots to accelerate the process at the critical layer, and then continued setting up slingshots from the critical layer to the 100,000 meters that the Great Prophet could reach, and to the 500,000 meters that the spirits could reach, it would still take at least 7,000 years to sink into the unfathomable depths of the 2.9 million-meter deep sea! Where did this 1,600-year figure come from?!"

"Because you forgot about another very important variable, Claire."

The burly, tall giant raised his finger and chuckled, “It’s the Sanctuary. As long as we destroy the thrust used by the Sanctuary to create the ritual, we can accelerate further. There is a Great Prophet’s Sanctuary eight kilometers away, where the Great Prophet will be martyred to increase the speed.”

"At over 10,000 meters, a sanctuary will rise in no time. And at 28,000 meters, there is a half-finished sanctuary that the Moen royal family obtained through a contract with Silver Door."

Even Claire, a Sequence 4, couldn't help but exclaim in horror upon hearing this plan: "Are you all insane? You mean the Palace of Wisdom is going to destroy the Moen royal family's sanctuary? To kill the Ansu royal family?!"

She initially thought it was just about using the safety and convenience of that sanctuary, but you're saying the real purpose was to blow it up and kill people?

The giant said honestly, "No, no. The Great Prophet was removing the curse that had been affecting the Moen family for generations. Isn't it because of that sanctuary that the souls of people have been drawn into it and suffered the curse for generations?"

“We helped them destroy the sanctuary, and in turn, they helped our plans. It was a win-win situation.”

"But people will die!"

"How can there be anything in this world without a price? Claire, have you forgotten the principles of alchemy? And don't worry, we're already pinpointing the culprit who influenced your ritual setup."

Amir slowly stood up, his bald head rubbing against the light bulb above him, making it gleam. If one ignored the mystical symbols that permeated the astrology shop, the giant's憨厚 (honest and simple) appearance under the light even possessed a touch of the sacred.

But Claire only felt disgusted and cursed, "Even the Great Prophet has gone mad, and you, who digs pits and pickles rotten fish on the Great Ice Plains, have gone mad too?! For over seven thousand years—"

More than a thousand years.

"No matter how many thousands of years have passed, are you really going to risk the entire Tianfang and Wisdom Palace becoming enemies with Ansu for something so vague and unrealistic? Have you even thought about what will happen to all the young people in Tianfang?! Could you be any more selfish? You disgusting Icefield Smash, who grew up eating your parents' bones!"

The towering giant said with difficulty, "Claire, how much longer are you going to wallow in this ridiculous illusion? I don't want to talk to you anymore. You prophets all have a certain odor; I can't get along with you prophets."

Disappointed, Amir flicked his finger, and everything around him seemed to be put on replay, quickly retreating.

Coffee spilled from Claire's mouth and fell into the porcelain cup; tap tap tap, the young prophets around her all retreated, backing upstairs; even the sound was stuffed back into Claire's mouth, her steps involuntarily taking a step backward.

The door slammed shut with a loud bang.

All that remained was Claire's furious cry of "Go to hell, you unreasonable riddle people!" echoing in the air.

The astrology shop returned to silence.

Giant Amir scratched his bald head, which had hardly any hair left, and then heard footsteps falling frequently upstairs.

A young prophet rushed in, carrying a stack of sketches depicting ravens taking flight from the shadows. The young man bowed his head and said:

“Teacher Amir, we have identified the culprit who disrupted the ritual. Please take a look.”

Chapter 313 Vera is not confused about important matters

After receiving the true wisdom from Vera, Tia deeply felt that Roman had made a truly wise decision.

This isn't some investigation into the Upside-Down Witch; it's practically giving her a mobile nuclear bomb... She can take a trip into the deep sea, and no demons or monsters will be able to get close. It even works in the material world; as long as Avalon covers Anzu, she can launch a signal flare from Anzu and the Knights will arrive to support her.

Indeed, it is necessary to let heroes investigate heroes and good men investigate good men.

The only downside is that the signal flare is a bit useless. In the deep sea, she was directly killed by the Temple bumper cars, and in Anzu, she has Avalon in front and Peter behind, so she doesn't seem to have anything to worry about.

Moreover, she hasn't found anyone to stage an accident for her.

Tia rested in Newport for three days but couldn't find anyone to stage an accident for. She visited the prison at the church twice, and finally decided to go see Eleanor, who was receiving treatment in the distance, that evening.

Just then, Vera finished her reflections in front of the sacred candle, so Tia took her along. The red-haired girl ended up tearfully asking Tia to take her to a fish and chips stand in the Great Harbor area to binge on carbohydrates and protein.

Isabella usually wouldn't let Vera eat at these stalls, for reasons similar to those of parents in later generations—after all, Vera was a nun in the church, and they felt it wasn't very hygienic.

Vera didn't come very often, not because she was obedient, but mainly because the port was quite far from the Notre Dame Cathedral and very crowded. Vera was also a homebody and socially awkward; if Tia hadn't brought her, she would have come only a few times a year.

At the harbor, under a parasol, facing the sea view, Tia ate some fries and then lay down to enjoy the sea breeze, letting the cool wind blow through her hair.

She first tried to figure out who to blame by staging the accident, but after thinking it over and over, she still couldn't come up with a solution.

The Twin Serpent Cult could certainly be used to frame him, but his brother-in-law had already fled to the Empire. Putting aside the question of whether or not to persecute him, Tia didn't even know where he was.

Using the "Hand of Conversion" technique is also an option, but after Santis was blown up by her last time and fled in a sorry state, we don't know where he is. We'll have to go to Mistmoon City to find out more about him in a while.

The prophet of the Palace of Wisdom? That won't do. Why would the Palace of Wisdom invade Laurel Forest for no reason? They're so far away. If she travels thousands of miles to smear them with a big label, the Church probably won't be able to handle it.

She can't exactly try to extort Brigitte, can she?

Vera slurped up two oysters, quite enjoying the taste. Chewing them, she exclaimed, "These oysters even have filling! The texture is so rich and fresh!"

Tia snapped out of her daze, looked at the parasol, and remarked, "That's Shi, isn't it?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa—"

"It's okay, you can eat it."

"Ugh, ugh, ugh—"

Vera felt extremely disgusted.

I went to the juice stand and ordered a small glass of sweetened water with some kind of additive—a very bright blue color, seriously. Tia used her "Beyond Opposition" ability to spot it and discovered it contained sweeteners and copper sulfate pentahydrate...

But Vera drank it anyway, just for the sweetness, leaving the rest to the alchemist's iron stomach.

After clearing her mouth, Vera picked up the empty oyster shell and exclaimed in surprise, "Tia Tia, there's a pearl inside the oyster shell!"

As he spoke, he picked it up, squeezed it, and examined it closely in front of his eyes!

What amazing pearls! They're red with stripes and so soft and bouncy!

Vera isn't good at biology, otherwise she wouldn't have been an academic locust at the biology lecture in Mistmoon City. But looking closely, her intuition tells her that the material doesn't seem right.

Tia was taken aback; she never expected such a windfall to fall on Hakira's head.

When she heard the bouncy texture, Tia realized something was wrong. "These are the tapioca pearls from bubble tea, why are they bouncy?"

Upon closer inspection, Tia recognized it and exclaimed, "Isn't this a leech?"

Vera: "......"

Whoosh!

A flame suddenly ignited at his fingertips, burning the poor leech to ashes.

As expected, Aunt Isabella was right.

These roadside stalls are definitely unhygienic...

.................

.................

Vera was filled with dread and probably would never want to come to a roadside stall again in her life.

Tia didn't know how to comfort her, so she laughed all the way and pulled her to the Mercury manor.

She sent a letter in the morning, and Lady Edwina knew that Tia and Vera were coming. She had the maids prepare two guest rooms on the east side of the garden for the two of them to stay in.

After all, we had already made plans to come and stay for a few days. We've all been busy lately, so this is just a vacation for us.

Eleanor arrived even earlier and stayed in the bedroom next to Anne's, looking quite energetic. Anne, with Vera on one arm and Eleanor on the other, invited Tia to the garden for afternoon tea.

Anne was unaware that Tia had taken on a mission from the Anti-Corruption Bureau during this time, but Eleanor and Vera did.

It wasn't that Tia intentionally kept it from her, but rather that Annie didn't know Tia's true identity. It would be better to tell her the truth, but if she were told directly that Tia was investigating the Sleeping Witch, it would only cause Annie distress.

Eleanor already knew, but as for why she told Vera...

One can only say that great wisdom appears as foolishness, and great foolishness appears as wisdom.

Vera is a combination of seemingly foolish yet wise.

After drinking some tea, Annie snuggled up to Tia and asked, "Tia, will you be in New York City these next few days?"

"Of course, there's still work..."

Eleanor perked up and came over to rub against Tia, rubbing her face against hers, and said meaningfully, "Oh! We need to investigate the flower thief!"