After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

How about waiting until the magic academy is established and then going to audit it?

Villian would definitely be happy to do so, but Aize probably doesn't have the time.

Moreover--

"...To affect such a large area, relying on a single spell is impossible. Even if such a spell existed, the magic power wouldn't be enough. So what's left... faith, faith... wait, a network of faith!?"

A line that sounded incomprehensible yet powerful came out of her mouth. Villian suddenly opened her eyes and slammed her palms hard, as if she had come up with the answer.

"Faith...network?"

"Well, this was a hypothesis proposed by someone in the Witch Society a few years ago when I first became the Great Witch. Because it was so long ago and there were no decent results afterwards, I've forgotten it. Sorry, sorry."

Miss Witch raised her hand and began to explain to Aize.

"You know, in this world, magic is an extension of the will of intelligent creatures. The unfolding of any technique must contain a strong will, such as this—"

As she spoke, a black, misty light appeared in her palm.

The instant death curse is considered Villian's signature combat skill.

But compared with the usual pure and deep darkness, this ball at this moment appears to be very light and erratic, as if it will disappear at any time.

"For this instant death curse to work, I must have a strong desire to kill the target. Right now, I don't have anyone I want to kill, so it's unstable like this."

"In short, the activation of magic is inseparable from will. And vice versa is also true. A strong will, otherwise, contains the flow of magical power. You should have seen it."

"Yeah, I've seen it."

Aize nodded.

When Villian was angry before, her magic power was almost out of control, crackling like electric sparks, and even shattering the surrounding windows.

This is the case.

The explanation continues.

"Faith, on the other hand, is also a form of will. Not only is it strong, but it also has a clear object, making it stronger than ordinary will or emotion.

"So some witches believe that faith creates a spider-web-like structure between believers and between believers and the objects of their faith. This is the so-called magic network."

For Aize, who has some knowledge of the Internet, it is not difficult to understand.

After quickly digesting these contents, he nodded lightly and asked again:

"Is there any way to track or interfere with this so-called faith network?"

"Sorry, I can't help it."

Miss Witch shook her head decisively.

"This is just a hypothesis, and it has never been proven. In fact, there are many opponents who believe that the magic power associated with faith is too random and uncontrollable, and it is impossible to form a strict network structure."

Villian glanced out the window.

The sun was setting slowly. The head maid, who was the owner of this room, would probably be back in a while, so the place had to be cleaned up before then.

But the missing maid would arouse suspicion, so he began to repair the maid puppet lying on the bed.

While busy, he continued with a wry smile:

"In short, the research on this topic ultimately yielded no decent results and was simply cast aside to gather dust. If it weren't for this incident, I would have almost forgotten about the theory."

The witch's thirst for knowledge is natural, and all kinds of strange guesses and hypotheses are put forward every day.

It was already remarkable that Villian could still remember this, and we couldn't ask for more.

But if that's really all there is to it, wouldn't this clue be broken again?

This is unacceptable to Aize.

While Villian was gritting her teeth and thinking about how to proceed next, she was also busy with her own things.

She pulled out a finger-sized, crystal-like object from her pocket and placed it on the puppet's forehead.

After gathering magic power and chanting some spells, accompanied by a series of light pollution operations that Aize could not understand at all, Villian nodded.

"Good, got it. Aize, go on."

"Hmm? What are you answering? Hello, hello——"

Aize, who was still thinking about the problem, reacted a little slowly. The moment he reacted, he saw a glowing object flying in front of him.

He quickly jumped up, and after a flurry of activity, he finally managed to grab it in mid-air, holding it in his palm and looking at it.

It’s the small crystal just now.

The difference is that it was transparent before, but now it has been dyed light red.

Within its flawless crystals, there are tiny specks of light floating, gathering and dispersing like liquid from time to time, which is quite beautiful.

"This is?"

"I extracted and preserved the corrupted personality formula within the puppet's brain."

Villian lowered her head and continued to work, explaining as she went.

"Just leave it there for now. I'll try to study it later. Maybe I can find something."

"...You've taken on too much work, haven't you? Take a break."

There has been no progress in the matter of the Faceless Man, and it looks like something even more troublesome is coming.

Aize was really afraid that Villian would tire herself out.

The witch stopped what she was doing, turned around and smiled lightly:

"When will it be your turn to accuse me of not taking a break, brave Lord Aize?"

"Tsk, don't call me by that name."

"Okay, don't shout. Don't worry, I'll make arrangements myself. But you, it's better to leave here quickly before the servants come back. Otherwise, what will they think?"

Villian's mouth corners gradually rose, full of sarcasm:

"The famous hero Ai Ze actually took advantage of the incident at his wife's home to go to a deserted place to have a tryst with his head maid. Tsk tsk, I'm afraid this reputation won't be very good. Hurry and go back."

Chapter 48 will come later

Villian pushed Aize out of the room without saying a word, slammed the door, and went back to her work.

Aize had no choice but to return to the castle first and think of ways to reduce her burden.

Entrust the research to other organizations, such as the Royal Capital Magicians Association?

Given the current alliance between Heidi and Aize, this is just a matter of a word and is not a big deal.

However, it is doubtful whether the magicians have the ability to complete such a complicated task.

The rest... through Charlotte, the True Ancestor of the Blood Clan, I'll issue a commission to the Witch Society to have them research this so-called faith network?

With the previous research foundation, progress should be smoother.

But no.

Because the Faceless King seemed to have grasped Rosaline's situation, if Charlotte was asked to help him send the commission at this time, it would likely be discovered by the Demon King himself, thus exposing her undercover identity.

After all, what did the Faceless King perceive in Rosaline?

If the faith network really exists, it is also a huge and uncontrollable threat to the demons. The Faceless King should eliminate her as soon as possible according to the original plan.

The current behavior clearly shows that there are other intentions.

The plan is not small.

This made Aize's head hurt.

"One is spiritually ineffable, the other physically indescribable. These two just happened to come together. It's just bloody bad luck."

While talking to himself, Aize had already returned to the study.

He jumped as if to vent his dissatisfaction and slammed heavily onto the armchair behind the desk, causing the exquisite furniture to creak.

The problem doesn't end there.

"That prince, I don't know where he's been since last night. He can't be thinking about the expedition even now, right? He's really a worry-free person!"

"As for the second-in-command, he left halfway through the banquet last night. It seemed like he had something urgent to do."

"Urgent, huh, his urgent matter can... eh?"

There was supposed to be no one behind him, but suddenly a voice was heard.

Aize turned his head in a daze, and the figure of his apprentice who was close at hand came into his sight.

"...Chris?"

"Um?"

"when did you come?"

"Just now, Master, when you first walked into the castle, I followed you."

The blue-haired girl didn't look very good, probably due to lack of rest.

But she was still there as usual, with a dazzling, fanatical and somewhat twisted smile:

"I called out to you twice, but you didn't even hear me. You're truly a master, and your concentration is truly extraordinary! I didn't want to disturb you, so I followed you all the way here."

Aize's senses are not very sensitive.

But that is only relative to the top combat power of other heroes or demon leaders.

Even though he was distracted and focused on thinking, he didn't notice any presence at all... This kid might have the potential to be a stalker.

No, she was lying on a tree on the street and spying on me, so it was already like that.

That's fine.

"Next time, if I don't hear you, just call me a few more times until I hear you. Got it?"

Aize held his forehead with a growing headache, because he knew that what he said would most likely be regarded as nonsense.

"So, what do you want from me?"

The blue-haired girl blinked and clapped her hands suddenly:

"Oh, about this. Mother just woke up and said she wanted to see you. Is it convenient for you to come over now?"

"...Let's go, what are you waiting for!?"

When you are in a desperate situation, holding back your thoughts and having wild thoughts will often lead to no good results. It would be best to listen to the victim's account.

There is definitely no reason to refuse.

The "couple" then stood up, walked through the dim and narrow corridor again, and returned to the previous bedroom.

The Marchioness had woken up just as Chris had said. She was leaning against the head of the bed, holding a bowl of porridge and slowly putting the contents into her mouth.

Seeing Aize coming, she quickly put down the bowl and bowed her head deeply in front of him:

"Lord Aize, thank you very much for your selfless assistance, and I apologize for my misconduct."

His face was very pale, his hands were still shaking slightly, and he even gasped when he spoke.

Aize is not a doctor, but he can see that she is far from fully recovered.

"It's nothing. This is my job. And since this involves the most mysterious demon leader, everyone will encounter such things. Please don't mind. Also, I am a junior after all, so please don't mind it, sir. It sounds strange."

The Marquis himself was not in the room. After Aize pushed Chris into the chair beside the bed, he stood aside holding the backrest and asked cautiously:

"Ma'am, how are you feeling now? Is there anything unusual?"

"Yeah... I'm still a little dizzy, and I'm too tired to move. But otherwise... everything's fine, nothing's wrong."

"In terms of thinking, is there anything the same as before?"

"Thinking? What do you mean?"

"For example... a faith that was weak before suddenly becomes incredibly strong, or a strong... uh, tendency to fanatically worship a particular person, or something like that?"

Compared to the Faceless King, Aize was more worried about the potential impact Rosaline might have on her.

After all, there are so many examples before. The go-out-of-control puppet this morning also shows that this so-called belief network has the ability to expand, and no one can guarantee that nothing will happen.

What if the Marquise in front of him also turned into a fanatic or something, then Aize would have to be more careful with his words.