The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 286

“I wonder how things went between Miss Ciel and the boss…”

In the top-floor luxury office of the Deton Group headquarters, Lucy leaned back in her chair, her feet crossed on the desk before her. She took a languid sniff of snuff between her fingers.

After gently wiping her fingers and the residual snuff from her nose with a handkerchief, she slowly closed her eyes, intending to take a short nap.

She didn’t plan to go home to rest today. If the deal went through, there would be many things for her, the Executive Director, to attend to.

“Under Miss Ciel’s leadership, the entire Ansu has begun to flourish…” A faint smile appeared on Lucy’s face.

If this matter succeeded, her current position would probably rise again… At that time, she might be allocated more shares, promoted to Managing Director, and sitting as an equal with those old-timers wouldn’t be impossible.

Choosing to follow Ciel was perhaps the most successful gamble of her life.

Knock knock knock——

Just as Lucy’s emotions slowly relaxed and she was about to enjoy her rest, a knock at the door interrupted her fantasies about the future.

“Who is it?”

Lucy’s brow slightly furrowed. She looked towards the door.

It’s so late. Couldn’t any issues wait until business hours tomorrow?

Click——

The office door opened. A secretary wearing a silver-white chip mask walked into the office and looked in Lucy’s direction.

“What is it?” Despite her extreme reluctance, Lucy lowered her feet from the desk and looked at her chief secretary by the door.

“Executive Director Lucy,” the chief secretary slightly bowed in front of Lucy’s conference table and said, “Archbishop Tara of the Church of the Savior Goddess brought you a letter.”

“A letter?” Lucy blinked. She instantly sat upright and said, “Alright, let me see.”

Archbishop Tara personally delivered it… It could only be related to Miss Ciel.

Then I must stand up to read it.

Lucy took the envelope. After opening it, she looked at the contents. It said nothing specific, only provided an address and the phrase “Lord Ciel is looking for you.”

The fewer the words, the bigger the matter.

It succeeded?!

Lucy quickly folded the letter, tucked it into her pocket, and smiled at her chief secretary, saying, “Prepare the carriage!”

Along the way, everyone who saw Lucy bowed respectfully to her. Her face was beaming with a triumphant smile.

…

Mayfair District, St. Itherine Garden No. 22, Ciel’s residence.

Lucy trembled uncontrollably. Large beads of cold sweat streamed down her cheeks, pooling at her chin, and dripping onto the floor.

“Were you in charge of investigating Braque’s matter?”

A clear, pleasant voice, like a thunderclap, exploded in Lucy’s mind, making her legs weak. She almost knelt directly.

“I… I…” Lucy’s lips were pale and chapped. The feeling of thirst made her swallow hard. Although she was responding, she had no idea what she heard, nor what she was saying.

She took deep, ragged breaths, her gaze darting left and right, as if searching for something to focus on. But her chaotic mind completely failed to control her gaze.

Finally, her eyes were completely drawn to the headless corpse on the floor… And the owner of that corpse, not long ago, was smiling at her, telling her to go back and wait for news…

It’s not a dream…

“Lord Ciel is asking you a question.”

A more frail and delicate voice sounded beside her, but the tone, full of authority and displeasure, completely mismatched the voice.

Lucy, her face covered in sweat, stared wide-eyed. She numbly turned her head towards the direction of the delicate voice. Upon seeing that dark green long hair, she finally took a deep breath and somewhat controlled her emotions.

“Braque… uh, yes… Braque, the Divine Advent Church’s evil… believer… I investigated him… I did… Berren City, yes, that’s right…”

Lucy was incoherent. She was completely panicked, her mind entirely consumed by one thought.

The boss… is dead!

Cora Blood-Chip! Dead! In Ciel’s residence! Without a sound! Decapitated instantly!

Everyone knows that she, Lucy Silva, was acting as the intermediary between Cora and Ciel. She was benefiting both sides! Cora was her direct superior. Once her death spread, Lucy would be doomed!

Transaction?! Managing Director?!

Could she even survive a day after the news broke?!

“Lucy? Lucy?”

Lucy’s mouth was still opening and closing, but she had no idea what she was saying. The intense ringing in her ears also made her completely unable to hear what others were saying.

Not until she saw a pair of dark purple pupils did Lucy slightly froze.

It was as if she had been injected with a large dose of tranquilizer. Her wildly fluctuating emotions instantly ceased, and at this moment, Lucy could finally think calmly.

Calm down… Lucy… Your superior just died…

Isn’t there a powerful figure here who just killed her superior in a second… Hold onto her tightly, Lucy!

“Yes!” As if to embolden herself, Lucy suddenly looked up at the red-haired young lady and said loudly, “I was the one who investigated Braque’s corpse and identified it! Seventy percent of the bodily remains left at the scene were confirmed!”

“Too loud…”

Ciel’s gaze retracted from the shattered crystal before her and fixed on Lucy. She then said, “How much do you know about the Deton Group’s purge of Divine Advent Church members?”

“I was still in Berren City during the internal cleansing operation…” Lucy said after taking a deep breath, “But after I returned, I read quite a bit of material. What aspect would you like to know about?”

“About Braque.” Ciel looked at Lucy and asked, “Bliss City was Braque’s main area of activity. Were there any other Divine Advent Church members who were originally active in Bliss and were captured by the Deton Group?”

Hearing Ciel’s question, Lucy thought carefully.

This was already several months ago for Lucy. It was normal for her not to recall it immediately.

But soon, as Lucy sorted through her memories, she looked at Ciel and nodded, saying, “I remember a Bliss regional manager being arrested… because at the time, I was focused on skipping the regional manager stage and becoming a general manager directly, so I paid a bit more attention…”

That makes sense then.

Cora’s time with this necklace wouldn’t have been long.

But indeed, in some sense, it was also caused by Ciel herself…

Ciel raised her hand and rubbed her forehead.

This was the most headache-inducing part for her…

No matter how hard she tried to conceal herself, some strange entity would always associate itself with her in corners she barely noticed…

This seemingly fated, inescapable encounter had plagued Ciel ever since she obtained the pocket watch.

Since the approximate date of Cora’s contact with the necklace was confirmed, she also needed to confirm Cora’s specific plans during that period…

This was related to “Sadhana’s” original plan.

At this moment, although Ciel’s face showed little emotion, her internal state was no better than Lucy’s.

Sadhana is an Other Side creature.

They are unaffected by the simulation.

The only advantage Ciel had was that Sadhana could not cross the Other Side gate into reality alone. Even appearing for a single instant required so much energy that it drained Cora into a desiccated corpse.

Ciel had completely lost the advantage brought by the simulation when facing Sadhana…

However, the other party also had the disadvantage of not being able to manifest physically…

Moreover, Sadhana harbored an unusual hostility towards Ciel.

The other party’s strength far surpassed her own, but this was not a completely unwinnable war.

“Avena, can you try?” Ciel looked at Avena beside her and asked.

“Mm, I’ll try.” Avena nodded.

Ciel’s gaze shifted to Cora on the floor.

Unexpectedly, the unspeakable gaze the system mentioned would fall upon her so early…