The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch
Chapter 162 - The Mother Goddess’s Scent, I Know (3/3)

After handing the notepad to Tara, Ciel sat directly on the sofa in the living room, leaning back on the sofa, narrowing her eyes, seemingly starting to rest immediately.

And Tara, at this moment, stood beside Ciel, holding the spiritual note that was still somewhat warm in her hands. Her hands even felt a little shaky.

This notepad... Did Lord Mother Goddess take it from there?

It even had Lord Mother Goddess’s body temperature on it...

After swallowing with difficulty, Tara slightly nodded and said:

“...Okay.”

“The spiritual imprint on it has not yet dissipated. Please wait a moment, Lord Ciel.”

Tara held the notepad with both hands, as if holding some sacred object, slowly raising it. While it was still warm, she pressed the notepad against her forehead.

Holy white light shone from the point of contact between Tara’s forehead and the Keyman’s spiritual note. Several white shadows drilled out from Tara’s shadow, stretched out their hands, and reached into the shadow of the notepad.

Ciel quietly glanced at Tara’s side, nodded slightly, and remembered the key points.

Press it against the forehead, breathe deeply, use ability... Perhaps she could break spiritual notes herself in the future and save some Fate Points.

Ciel continued observing Tara’s performance. Her narrowed eyelids gradually became heavy.

A large amount of blood loss had begun to make Ciel feel dizzy. At this moment, under relaxation, her eyes slowly closed.

After she didn’t know how long, upon hearing Tara’s soft footsteps, Ciel suddenly opened her eyes and looked towards the direction of the sound.

At this moment, Tara was tiptoeing to place the completely cool notepad on the table. Seeing Ciel startled awake by her, she quickly picked up the notepad with both hands, held it to her chest, and said haltingly:

“Lord Ciel... I’ve finished breaking it. I was about to put it away. Sorry... I disturbed your rest.”

“It’s alright...”

Ciel shook her head, glanced at the system time. She had only been dizzy for about an hour. This amount of time was completely within Ciel’s tolerance.

“Quite fast.”

Ciel nodded, praising her.

But Ciel’s words, falling on Tara’s ears, were like a thunderclap. She lowered her head somewhat flusteredly and explained:

“Sorry, Lord Ciel. It’s been a long time since I broke a spiritual note. My speed was a bit slow. I am willing to accept any punishment from you.”

Can it be faster?

Ciel looked at Tara with some surprise and asked, “What is your fastest time to break it?”

“‘Missionaries’ have some advantage in breaking spiritual notes. This is just a simple seal. If the note’s owner releases it, it might not even take a second. And after releasing it, others can also read it.”

“If you forcibly break it when the note’s owner is not present, the note’s owner will be aware of it. An ordinary transcendent below Tier 3 might take a whole day to break it, but ‘Missionaries,’ ‘Psychiatrists,’ and other mental-based paths might only take 30 minutes.”

Tara seemed to still think Ciel was blaming her for being too slow, explaining in a flustered manner.

After all, she had truly made a mistake in front of the Mother Goddess just now. She had delayed Lord Mother Goddess’s precious time due to her own selfish desire.

“Mm.”

Ciel nodded, reached out to Tara, took the spiritual note from her hand, and began flipping through it herself.

She quickly skimmed through the mundane entries in the beginning. Only when she reached entries related to this incident did Ciel slow down her reading speed slightly, adding thought.

So the Keyman was already marginalized within the Society of Merriment? After their guide died, they couldn’t even find someone to help them read their spiritual note.

The Keyman’s eagerness to make a big splash this time, besides resisting the potion’s erosion, was also in part to regain the Society of Merriment’s recognition.

But from the chaotic handwriting and the Society of Merriment’s attitude towards them... Ciel, instead, felt that the Society of Merriment was treating the Keyman, who was eager to prove themselves, as entertainment, watching them jump up and down with a monkey-show mentality, completely ignoring them...

And the Keyman, as the party involved, seemed completely unaware of this.

Because they couldn’t even think from the perspective of a true “Instigator.” Their heart had deviated. Their potion could never be successfully digested, no matter what.

And, Ciel also caught a piece of important information.

Berren City was not the Society of Merriment’s true target. This was just one of the missions assigned to the Keyman...

Their true purpose seemed to be simply to distract the Church of the Savior Goddess, preventing them from attending to matters elsewhere.

And the matter elsewhere was the great famine in North Ansu.

The great famine incident. The Society of Merriment also intervened?

The main parishes of the Church of the Savior Goddess were basically in poor and underdeveloped areas, especially North Ansu, which was considered the Church of the Savior Goddess’s rear base.

When the great famine occurred, the Church of the Savior Goddess had also been seeking aid from Ansu’s higher-ups, and repeatedly violating the Queen’s prohibition, continuously transporting supplies to North Ansu.

It was precisely because these supplies were believed to be used by the Orlando Republican Army that several relief homes in North Ansu were ordered demolished by the great nobles, and even the soup kitchens were closed.

Combined with the situation described in the letter from Adele, who was in North Ansu during the previous simulation...

The number of people who would die in North Ansu would likely be several times, perhaps even ten times the population of Berren City.

Was this a Reconstitution Ritual for a high-ranking member of the Society of Merriment?

Or, were they helping some powerful individual from another path perform a Reconstitution Ritual?

Regardless, the Society of Merriment was definitely connected to the great famine.

Ciel looked at the notepad in her hand, her expression gradually becoming serious.

She had originally thought that by eliminating the Keyman and then moving to Ansu, she would be safer.

Now it seemed, whether Ansu, the capital, was truly safe was questionable.

But no matter what, the Keyman had to die.

Not just because of the evil they had committed and intended to commit.

But also because Avena’s name appeared in their plan.

Avena, at the top of their assassination list.

This was something Ciel absolutely could not allow to happen.

Moreover, in the front of the spiritual note, the Keyman had written their itinerary. Among the entries was a section of their journey where Ciel could definitely encounter them—and also, Ciel knew the Keyman’s disguised identity and real name from the spiritual note.

Lydia Ashcroft.

Counting back a month from now, she would only appear in Berren City under this identity once. Ciel had to seize that opportunity...

Kill her, directly.