The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 246

“So, our first task is to directly control Mond, right?”

Avena asked.

“Yes, and then use her to get close to Lafayette.”

Ciel thought for a moment and added:

“However, Forte has a secret room in Lafayette’s underground hiding place from which he can peek. You must ensure that Forte is making a public appearance outside before you can go to Lafayette. This is the safest way to avoid encountering Forte.”

Can she even investigate the hidden room in his hiding place…? It sounded as if she had already turned over all of Forte’s information, and Forte seemed completely unaware.

Avena, in the darkness, nodded. She asked, “Then… how do you plan to approach Mond?”

“If, as you say, she doesn’t have a fixed residence and often goes to the Stuart Art Exchange Center to find Pickman, then do we just have to stake out the Stuart Art Center?”

Avena continued:

“Sending ordinary people to stake her out definitely won’t work. People from the Society of Merriment have strong anti-surveillance skills.”

“And I don’t seem to have any particularly good reason to go to the Stuart Art Center… I usually don’t visit these art exhibitions. If I were to suddenly show up now, suspicious people would know I have ulterior motives.”

Ciel shook her head: “No, there is a reason.”

Avena: “What reason?”

“Isabella.”

Ciel said, “She is also in Ansu City, and it’s even possible she has come to find you… You can ask the butler to see if Isabella has been here.”

Isabella was also one of the people who wanted to build a network with Avena. With so many people queuing up to see Avena outside, Isabella might be one of them, but she might have been gently turned away by Avena.

“Okay, I will ask.”

Avena asked, “Do you need me to do it as soon as possible?”

Ciel thought for a moment. Among all the plans, controlling Mond was the simplest step, and it had been proven in multiple simulations that Mond, whose movements were being tracked, was very easy to control.

Because a Tier 3 “Source of Cholera,” whose identity was already known, simply could not deal with a Tier 3 “Subverter” who was operating in the shadows.

Moreover, the current Ciel also had a “Source of Cholera” save file. Most of the other party’s poisons had no effect on her—Mond’s various abilities were completely countered by Ciel, and there would be no accidents.

In this situation, the sooner Mond was controlled, the better. Because Mond was still preparing for a “small plague,” it might even kill tens of thousands of people, and the resulting butterfly effect could have an unpredictable impact on Ciel’s subsequent plans.

“All right, then let’s act now.”

Avena nodded. She directly reached out and opened the door of the hidden room, letting the light from outside in.

Even though her eyes were adapted to the darkness, they were still irritated by the soft light and could barely open. She pulled Ciel out of the hidden room, came to the doorway of the study, and directly opened the door.

“Nia, ask the butler for a list of people who have come to see me.”

Avena instructed Nia at the door.

“Yes, Young Mistress.”

Nia slightly lowered her head and left to carry out the order.

Avena glanced at Tara standing at the door and nodded slightly to Tara in acknowledgment, then prepared to close the door.

“Wait… Tara, get that business card.”

Ciel remembered something and said to Tara at the door.

“Yes, Lord Ciel.”

After taking out the business card, Tara handed it to Ciel, then helped Avena and Ciel close the study door.

While waiting, she could also chat with Avena about business matters. Ciel didn’t understand these things very well and could only leave it to Avena to judge.

“What is this?”

After sitting on the sofa, Avena looked at the card in Ciel’s hand and asked.

“A door-to-door salesman.”

Ciel handed the business card to Avena and then briefly explained the new technology the salesman had described.

However, Avena, holding the business card, frowned more and more as she listened to Ciel’s description.

“What’s wrong?”

Ciel noticed the subtle change in Avena’s expression, stopped telling the story, and asked, “Is it a trick?”

“No… Did he leave a sample?”

Avena put down the business card and looked at Ciel, asking.

“No, he just showed it to me… The steel looks light blue, clean like a mirror.”

Ciel described the circular artifact she had seen.

“He took out the Canal Daily and said the cost of replacing steel wheels was twice the cost of repairing the Parliament Building’s stone?”

Avena confirmed again.

“Yes.”

Ciel was still somewhat confident in her memory.

Hearing this, Avena nodded slightly, then looked at Ciel and said, “You’ve seen railway carriages in Berren City… but have you seen them in Ansu City?”

Avena’s single sentence made Ciel realize the problem.

The current Ciel wasn’t very familiar with Ansu City. She had only visited less than 10% of the vast Ansu City. She hadn’t been here long enough.

But in her impression, she had indeed never seen railway carriages.

“Railway carriages are only trial-operated in some industrial areas, and they are generally used for freight. It’s not strange to have them in industrial cities like Berren City.”

Avena pointed to the business card and said, “He is lying.”

Lying…

Ciel looked at the business card, her eyes slightly narrowed. She looked at the Holy Year 770 on the business card and suddenly asked, “Later, is it possible that railway carriages will be laid in Ansu City? I mean decades from now…”

“It’s almost certain. After all, it speeds up freight transportation and capacity, and steel rails and wheels last longer than wooden wheels.”

Avena made her judgment.

Ciel reached out and picked up the business card.

Originally, she had just considered the person on this business card to be a speculator full of lies. But now, everything seemed very suspicious… The ahead-of-time words and the ahead-of-time date on the business card caused the time-sensitive Ciel to have a bad premonition.

She hoped it was just her overthinking…

Ciel put away the business card, her expression slightly serious.

“What’s wrong, Ciel?”

Avena noticed the subtle change in Ciel’s expression and asked.

“Perhaps I’m just overthinking.”

Ciel shook her head. Now, her focus should not be distracted by other matters—she didn’t have any more energy to investigate this matter.

“If you have any doubts about him, I can try to contact him…”

Knock knock knock——

At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Avena, who had been interrupted, looked at the door and said.

Tara opened the door. Nia walked into the study, came to Avena’s side, and lowered her head, saying, “Miss Avena, Miss Isabella is at the mansion entrance… It seems she just arrived.”

What a coincidence?

Avena and Ciel exchanged glances. After seeing Ciel’s expression, Avena looked up at Nia and said, “Have the butler bring her in.”