The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 147

So that’s how it is… So that’s what Ciel wanted to investigate…

So… Ciel is a high-ranking member of the Divine Advent Church, possessing power capable of overturning the entire chessboard of Berren City…

Are these all transcendents…

At this moment, Isabella, the only ordinary person hanging there, finally understood why she was captured.

Because she was also present during the banquet attack, and the last person Avena saw before being attacked was her…

Most crucially, Isabella’s identity was a bit too sensitive…

And judging by the performance of the people before her, it seemed if she lied, the other party would notice.

Must find a way to prove her innocence… Isabella looked at the writhing dark green root system and branches on the ground, feeling a wave of goosebumps on the back of her hands.

Just as Isabella was considering how to defend herself, an anomaly occurred.

Snap—

The sound of a rope breaking rang out.

The pink-haired woman tied to her left fell directly to the ground, rolled over once, and pressed her back against the wall.

During the roll, she directly drew a sharp copper piece from her boot, looking like some kind of lock-picking tool. The pink-haired woman held the copper piece against her neck, watching the people before her with cold eyes.

Her body seemed unable to support her standing up; she could only lean against the wall. The roll just now seemed to have consumed too much of her physical strength. The pink-haired woman was slightly panting.

Although she didn’t have enough strength to escape, she had enough reaction time to cut her neck before the other party could brainwash her.

A trickle of blood already flowed down Goodwin’s neck. Judging by the force she pressed the copper piece against herself, she probably didn’t intend to leave alive.

This sudden change caught everyone present somewhat off guard, especially Tara, whose face turned ugly upon seeing this scene.

The struggling Goodwin just sat there doing nothing, as if mocking Tara’s lack of professionalism.

“(Orlando script) Freedom or death! Long live Orlando!”

Goodwin just shouted this sentence in a hoarse voice, then directly inserted the copper piece into her neck, piercing the blood vessels and throat. A mouthful of blood gushed from her mouth.

“Damn it!”

Two white shadows rapidly slid along the ground, lunged towards Goodwin, snatching the copper piece from her hand.

Simultaneously, two white shadows also supported Goodwin, charging directly towards the door. Upon opening the door, they left directly.

“Sorry, Lord Ciel, I will try my best to revive her.”

Tara knelt directly before Ciel, her forehead pressed against the ground, saying shamefully, “We pried out the poison from this ‘Adventurer’s’ tooth, but…”

Ciel raised her hand, interrupting Tara’s words, not letting her continue.

“Adventurer” and “Gambler” were both paths that repeatedly jumped between life and death. As long as they gambled correctly, all coincidences and luck would be on their side.

Even if they had taken the copper piece from that “Adventurer’s” boot beforehand, other coincidences would occur, allowing them to obtain a knife sufficient to achieve their goal.

“What did that woman say just now?” Ciel asked Tara.

“Uh…” Tara recalled slightly, saying somewhat uncertainly, “Judging by the accent, it seems to be Orlando script, Lord Ciel.”

“Mmph mmph…”

At this moment, Isabella swayed slightly, making a sound.

Tara looked up, confirmed she had permission from Ciel, controlled the white shadow, cut the rope behind Isabella, and removed the rag from her mouth.

“It was… ‘Freedom or death’ and ‘Long live Orlando’. These are two slogans dating back to the North Ansu Brotherhood period, Ciel…” Isabella, lying on the ground, explained with some difficulty.

“She is not lying, Lord Ciel,” Tara looked at Ciel, saying, “Her name is Isabella, from the Stuart Art Exchange. This is an organization that specializes in laundering assets for nobles and wealthy merchants, also dealing in intelligence sales.”

“Ciel, there must be some misunderstanding here! Ahem…” Hearing Tara’s words, Isabella’s emotions became somewhat agitated, “We would not help Orlando Republican Army members transfer assets, nor would we sell any intelligence to Orlando Republican Army members.”

Isabella desperately tried to distance herself from the Orlando Republican Army. Although her family dared to earn this money, they also knew where the red line was with the nobles and the royal family. They absolutely would not do anything that betrayed Ansu’s interests.

Now, all clues almost pointed to the Orlando Republican Army organization. But merely catching a few small fry was far from enough. She had to figure out who was leading the Orlando terrorists lurking in Ansu.

She had to nip this organization in the bud, make them direct their focus elsewhere, not Berren City and Avena.

“Then, do you have any intelligence about the Orlando Republican Army? Related to the attack incident.” Ciel looked at Isabella, who was struggling to sit up, and asked.

“Know, know!” Isabella nodded repeatedly, hastily saying, “Some time ago, just a few days before the attack, someone came to our gallery to consign several bizarre paintings.”

“Because they were marked as paintings with peculiar powers, we didn’t display them directly. We just wrapped them up, planning to hang them when hosting some special art exhibitions.”

“But not long after the attack, an anonymous buyer came, bought these few paintings that were put aside at a high price, didn’t even open them to look…”

“Now it seems, this might just have been a payment method. We were wrongly accused!”

“The money is still deposited with us and hasn’t been taken. If you are willing, I can have someone notify you when someone wants to take this money.”

Paintings…

Grain merchant Balfour deposited ten thousand pounds, bringing about a deadly disaster. Not long after, another large sum of money was used to purchase several paintings with “special powers”?

If there was a way to prove that the ten thousand pounds deposited by grain merchant Balfour and the money used to purchase the paintings were the same sum, perhaps the scope could be further narrowed.

Ciel nodded slightly. Tara understood perfectly, controlling the white shadow to untie the ropes on Isabella’s hands, helping her stand up.

“If you have intelligence, notify me immediately.” Ciel said, but this sentence was actually unnecessary.

Because once she walked out of this door, Isabella would be branded with the mark of the Divine Advent Church, becoming a member of the cult, and would naturally wholeheartedly help Ciel.

However, upon hearing Ciel’s words, Isabella directly raised her hand.

Hm?

Even Tara was stunned for a moment.

This young girl dares to refuse the Mother Goddess?

“No need for extra words, Ciel,” Isabella said, “I will keep absolutely silent. If I have news, I will notify you immediately… Trading with members of the Divine Advent Church is not considered a violation of industry rules.”

As long as the organization isn’t trying to overthrow Ansu, they can trade?

It seems the bottom line of this art exchange is much lower than she imagined.

Basic clues have been mostly collected.

If not relying on such violence, but investigating slowly on her own, it might take two to three simulation times. The intelligence she obtained this time was already sufficient.

As for the remaining twenty-odd hours… she would have to use greater violence to obtain more intelligence…

This time Ciel didn’t anticipate it. If she had known it would develop like this, she would definitely have chosen a save file to log in, so she would at least have some combat power.

However, her simulated self had prepared a bottle of potion for Ciel.

“Butcher”…