Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

But for some reason, he still felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell exactly what the problem was.

Wishing wells, limited wishing machines, the tiny country of Diesel, blocked news and exceptionally enthusiastic locals...

Charles suddenly realized what was wrong.

Then he whispered:

"That local guy - I suspect there's something wrong with that local guy."

Then he quickly added:

"Compared to other Diesel people we've met, he was a little too enthusiastic. Besides, he was the one who led us to visit the wishing well. Could the problem be with him?"

Lacee was stunned for a moment, and stared at Charles with some surprise for a while, as if she felt he was a little strange.

A brave man is not scary, but a brave man who has learned to use his brain is scary.

She thought so, but shook her head and said to Charles:

"That's unlikely. He's just an enthusiastic local. Even if he has a problem, how big of a problem can it be?"

"Anyway, whether we go or not, the wishing well is there."

At this point, Lacie suddenly thought of a word, "leaving one's hometown" - she thought, no matter how wrong the local was, it was impossible for him to run around Diesel with a wishing well on his back, right?

The verification method is also very simple.

"Diesel isn't the only local here," Rachel pointed at the people passing by on the street, "Why don't we just ask someone else?"

Charles thought what Rachel said made sense, so he pushed her to the street and politely stopped an elderly woman.

After a brief exchange, the old woman barely understood their purpose, but she showed a puzzled expression:

"Wishing well? Sir, are you talking about the famous wishing well that never grants the wishes of the wisher?"

At this point, the old woman seemed to have amused herself, and she chuckled and said:

"That wishing well is very famous. Every one of us in Diesel knows that no matter how pious you are, or how disrespectful you are... that wishing well has always treated everyone equally. Even our Emperor couldn't get any benefit from it."

"..."

The witch and the hero looked at each other in tacit understanding.

They saw deep doubt in each other's eyes.

The enthusiastic local had told them that the wishing well could fulfill all the wishes of the wisher, and in fact it was true. After Charles made a wish to the wishing well, the pastor lady was "resurrected".

It is for this reason that the two of them suspected that the wishing well was a so-called limited wishing machine.

But why...

Why did the old woman in front of them tell them that the wishing well could not actually fulfill any wishes?

[To be continued]

-

2/3

17. Short-lived and long-lived

The old woman's statement was almost the exact opposite of what the enthusiastic man had said earlier.

The old woman said that the wishing well in Diesel had never fulfilled anyone's wish. Even if someone found that their small wish had been fulfilled, it would often be quickly confirmed to be a coincidence afterwards.

This is exactly the same as the wishing well that Lacie knew.

Originally, the wishing well was something like this—

It’s not that you can’t afford the limited wishing machine, but that the wishing well is more cost-effective.

It only costs one dollar, if you believe it a little.

The price is both affordable and close to the people. Obviously, people who come to the wishing well to make a wish probably understand that this wishing well is unlikely to fulfill their wishes. They throw coins into the well probably just to ask for good luck.

After that, they continue with their lives, and maybe after a while, they will suddenly be surprised to find that the wish they once made has been fulfilled. Then they may remember that they once made a wish to a wishing well a long time ago.

——Although it is most likely that it was not the wishing well that fulfilled their wishes, but themselves.

The old woman in front of the witch and the hero was very sober. She looked quite kind and said to the witch and the hero cheerfully:

"Although every Diesel knows that the wishing well cannot fulfill any wishes, when we pass by it, we still throw a coin into it and close our eyes to make a wish."

"This has become a habit for every one of us in Diesel. Sometimes, outsiders like you will visit Diesel and make a wish in front of the wishing well just like us..."

When she said this, Lacie suddenly asked:

"Will their wishes come true?"

The old woman laughed when she heard this:

"How is that possible? I've told you before, the wishing well treats everyone equally. No matter if you are from Diesel or a foreigner, don't even think about having your wish come true through it."

Lacey thought, "Really? I don't believe it."

If the wishing well really cannot fulfill people's wishes, then what about the body of the pastor lady that inexplicably appeared in the coffin?

She couldn't think of any other explanation except that it had something to do with the wish Ciel made to the wishing well.

But it's so abominable.

She clearly knew what was going on, but she couldn't say it directly. She could only tell Charles almost unreasonably that there was definitely something abnormal in Diesel and that further investigation was needed.

Damn, I can’t stand it anymore!

Lacey gritted her teeth in displeasure.

How about just exploding with Charles?

Tell Charles that she was actually pretending to be the priest and that she was deceiving his feelings - then stand in front of Charles with a fearless attitude and say that you can kill her or chop her up as you like!

But this is what gives her the most headache.

Charles would not do anything to her, and she knew that better than anyone.

After learning the news that she was resurrected, Charles would not even settle accounts with her. Based on her understanding of Charles, Charles would probably just hug her tightly, cry and laugh, and say in that embarrassing tone:

"It doesn't matter, as long as you are alive, please don't leave me again..."

He would definitely say something like that.

But it would be better to settle accounts with her.

This is what Lacie can't stand the most.

It's sticky and makes people feel extremely heavy, as if they were captured by a black hole and there is no way to escape.

"Does Ciel really understand what he's talking about?"

She couldn't help but think.

"Is it easy to say 'I want to be your lifelong companion'?"

Human life is too short and therefore extremely precious. That is why many humans are like fireworks, burning and blooming desperately while they are still alive in an attempt to leave their own traces in this world.

This is what it means to leave a name in history.

But this is not the case with the immortal species.

After becoming an immortal, Laceel began to hate separation and to hate to have contact with those weak, sensitive and neurotic short-lived species, because she knew that once she had contact with them, she would inevitably have to watch them slowly grow old, and eventually lie in a coffin and die suddenly.

During this time, she probably couldn't do anything.

And this is the sorrow of the immortal species.

That's why she chose to live in seclusion.

Although it is a bit lonely to be alone, but you don't have to experience separation again and again, and you can enjoy the life in another world without any worries every day...

As long as she doesn't make the acquaintance of any short-lived creatures, separation and sorrow will not catch up with her.

This was her solution to the sorrow of immortality.

In fact, after coming to the Pangaea, the only people who had a "deep" connection with her, besides Lao Deng, were Charles.

When she met Lao Deng, she had not yet recognized the true nature of her immortal species, so she made mistakes, but now she has matured, she is ripe! So in order to avoid separation and sadness, she must cut off from Charles!

This is her!

What does it mean to be a sober little witch in the world?

Besides...

"Some people say they like Lacie every day, but in fact, they probably can't even say which Lacie they like!"

The witch snorted coldly and thought:

"The priest is Laciel, and the witch is also Laciel, but these two Laciels are not actually the same person, so if you can't even figure out who you like, I suggest you stay away from them!"

After all, at least that's what she thought.

The priest Rachel was a "fake" she deliberately created to please Charles.

So the only thing she couldn't stand was Charles's affectionate look towards her.

Even though he didn't even know who he liked, he still wanted to kneel down on one knee in front of her, grab her hand, and beg her with a pitiful look:

"What do you want me to do to get you to come back? I'm willing to do anything I can!"

She just wanted to answer in a blunt tone:

"How confident are you that you said that? You are just a short-lived creature. Do you think you can bear the life of a witch?"

Then, she would give Ciel a head-on blow:

"——You are a person who only thinks about yourself."

Although the above scene only exists in Rachel's fantasy, it does not hinder her determination to cut ties with Charles.

However, in order to avoid being caught by Charles and having those weird things said to her, Lacie decided to wait until she had investigated Diesel's abnormality before confronting him.

"I just played with your feelings, so what? Who told you not to pay back the money you owed me?!"

Then, she would loudly rebuke Charles like this.

I'm sure that Charles would be so ashamed by her scolding that he would give up his fantasy and start fighting...ah, he would be forced to admit his mistakes, right?

After all, putting aside the fact that she deceived Charles' feelings, even if she was 99% wrong, didn't Charles have 1% problem?

She said that cheating on feelings and not paying back debts is the advantage for me!

But now is not the time to dwell on these unimportant issues. Let's just look at Diesel in the distance and that troublesome wishing well.

Lacier's thoughts, which had been scattered to who knows where, gathered again. Then, after a brief thought, she pretended to be cute and harmless, raised her little face and asked the old woman:

"Grandma, actually we came to Diesel this time to look for someone...Have you heard of the White Tower?"

The old woman was stunned for a moment, then nodded:

"White Tower? You mean, the Mage Alliance outside?"

“Yes,” Rachel answered. “We both come from the White Tower.”

"Some time ago, two investigators from our White Tower came to Diesel, but later, for some reason, they both sent messages to the White Tower at the same time, saying that they wanted to stay in Diesel. After that, we lost contact with them."

At this point, the witch revealed a sympathetic and sad expression:

"My teacher was worried that they might have met with an accident, so he sent us here to investigate. However, we have already walked almost all over Diesel in the past two days, and we haven't found any traces of them..."

Having said that, she lowered her head and secretly glanced at Charles out of the corner of her eye.

She saw that Charles' hand had silently rested on the hilt of the holy sword.

Obviously, he was ready for battle - if the old woman in front of them showed even the slightest abnormality, he would be able to draw out the holy sword in the first moment.

"You're quite smart..."

Rachel thought.

Even though she was now working with Charles as a witch instead of a priest, Charles could still read her mind without making any noise.

As soon as she began to test the old woman, Charles clenched the holy sword. This wonderful tacit understanding made her feel complicated and she didn't know what to say.