The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 3

Her ragged breaths could not calm the fear gripping her heart. The agony of having a bullet pierce through her skull lingered vividly, and Ciel remained trapped in the shock of the scene she had just witnessed, unable to regain her composure for a long time.

Instinctively, she wanted to get up and run out of the house, to head to the factory and check on her sister’s safety. But reason held her back, forcing her to remain seated as she slowly adjusted her breathing.

What had just happened wasn’t real—it was merely an illusion, one so realistic that it crossed the line into absurdity…

“The pocket watch…”

Ciel looked down at her hands. They were empty, save for the cut on her right thumb—a lingering reminder that the pocket watch had indeed been there.

「What is it? Thinking about me?」

A bright silver screen unfolded before her, floating in the air. It followed the movements of her head and remained fixed in her line of sight.

Ciel recalled that after the pocket watch had been activated by her blood, some sort of binding information had appeared.

Was the pocket watch now bound directly to her body?

“System?”

Ciel tried calling out.

The screen flickered and morphed, revealing several options.

「Simulation」

「Skills」

「Inventory」

「Point Store」

「Ps: Next time, just think it instead of saying it out loud :D」

It really was a system.

And a rather talkative one at that.

Ciel opened the 「Simulation」 interface directly. A familiar screen appeared before her.

「Future: 2 Days (Saint Year 741, June 19, 18:58) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)」

「Past: 1 Day (Saint Year 741, June 16, 11:55) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)」

「Old Days: ***, *** Days (???) (Cost: 10,000 Fate Points)」

「Ps: Your Future simulation is currently locked to June 19, 18:31. Make changes in the present to break the death ending and expand the number of future days available for simulation.」

Ciel noticed that aside from the simulation of Future, the dates for Past and Old Days had now been replaced with random ones.

「Until the host’s ‘death ending’ is resolved, the Future simulation will remain limited to the period before the moment of death.」

As if sensing her thoughts, the bright silver screen answered the question lingering in her mind.

In other words, unless she survives the death event two days from now, the simulated future will always remain limited to the period between now and 6:30 PM on the 19th?

「Correct.」

“System, if I go back to the past, can I alter the future?” Ciel instinctively asked.

This question was critical. Anything she did in the past could potentially create unpredictable butterfly effects.

「Both Future and Past simulations do not affect reality. As for Old Days, it only impacts ‘those’ who exist within the Old Days.」

So, it wasn’t possible to change the past…

She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad news. At the very least, her actions within the simulations wouldn’t cause any catastrophic disruptions in reality.

As for simulating the future, even without considering anything else, betting on horse races alone could make her filthy rich. As long as she kept a low profile, limited her wins, and frequented different racecourses, she wouldn’t even catch the attention of the gangs.

Ciel let out a slow exhale, exiting the simulation interface to process the information in her mind.

She didn’t want to dive into the future again just yet. Rushing two days ahead would accomplish nothing and only force her to witness her sister’s death again.

First, she needed to fully understand all of the system’s functions.

Ciel opened the second tab, 「Inventory.」 It displayed four small, empty slots—completely devoid of items.

This must be where items were stored.

Exiting the 「Inventory,」 Ciel accessed the 「Point Store.」

A large interface unfolded before her, filled with numerous categories and grids. However, only the foremost few grids were highlighted.

「【.450 (11.43mm) Black Powder Bullet (Slightly Deformed)】」

「Fate Points: 1」

「【Berren Private Academy Graduation Certificate (Ciel)】」

「Fate Points: 1」

「【Berren Private Academy Graduation Gown】」

「Fate Points: 1」

「…」

Scanning through the options, Ciel found herself momentarily lost for words.

She recognized these items—they were all things she had been carrying on her person during the simulation.

What she didn’t expect was that the bullet that had entered the back of her skull could also be purchased.

A bit of dark humor, perhaps.

Still…

Was it really possible to bring items back from the simulation? Wouldn’t that create some kind of time-space anomaly?

「All purchasable items are system replicas. Unless marked with the 【Unique】 attribute, everything else can be bought.」

The system’s timely response quelled her doubts.

Ciel’s final curiosity naturally centered on the skill she had gained at the end of her last simulation: 【Dexterity Lv.1】.

As she thought about it, a silver panel appeared before her.

「Dexterity Lv.1: Slightly enhances your agility, making your movements more refined and nimble.」

Ciel clenched her fist, but she didn’t feel any increase in strength.

She decided to test it out. Standing up, she performed a few warm-up exercises. After a series of attempts, she noticed a clear change in her body.

She could now jump much farther and higher than before. Previously, the rafters 2.5 meters above her head would’ve been out of reach, but now, she could touch them with just her fingertips, without even exerting her full strength. Considering her unimpressive physical condition, this was a significant improvement.

Given her height, this was something she couldn’t have achieved before.

Additionally, her sense of balance had improved. Even when landing, her body instinctively used techniques to reduce the impact.

Ciel was certain these movements were not ones she had previously known. In the past, her athletic skills could only be described as non-existent.

It seemed that the 【Dexterity Lv.1】 skill had comprehensively enhanced her physical agility, making her far more flexible than before.

And to think, this was merely a consolation prize for running a little in the future simulation.

What if she completed more challenging tasks or achieved higher system ratings? Would she gain even more powerful skills?

This ability… was incredible.

Ciel came to this conclusion almost instantly.

Suddenly, she thought of something. She quickly left the living room, ran upstairs to her small room, and retrieved a stitched notebook with a hard cardboard cover and a graphite pencil from her drawer.

Opening the notebook, the faint smell of alum emanated from its pale yellow pages. Ciel raised her pencil and wrote a line in Chinese on the first page.

【Saint Year 741, June 19, 6:31 PM (Time of Death)】

This, roughly, was the time when the incident would occur, leading to the deaths of both her sister and herself.

After some thought, Ciel continued writing:

“From now on, I will record every significant event that occurs within a day in this notebook, without overlooking any abnormalities or intuitive details…”

Her neat handwriting flowed smoothly across the page. What she was writing was less a diary and more a set of warnings for her future self.

As she wrote, she paused for a moment. The silver system interface appeared before her again. She reopened the simulation interface.

Right now, she had no need to simulate the past. As for simulating the future, she’d still end up at the point where everything became irreversible.

The room for maneuver was far too limited.

This was because her memory during the periods between simulations was incomplete.

For instance, if Ciel placed a cake beside her bed today, on the 17th, but upon jumping to the 19th through the system, the cake was gone, she wouldn’t know who had eaten it or why it had been removed.

However, if she kept a record in her notebook, she could learn what had happened to the cake by reading her entries.

She could even leave instructions in the notebook, guiding her future self on how to handle the cake based on its contents.

This approach, compared to diving directly into simulations, would allow Ciel to gather more information—details the simulations alone couldn’t provide.

She needed “herself” to help herself investigate.

Across the silver screen, Ciel wrote on the paper at her desk using Chinese characters.

【Eddie will have a conflict with my sister on June 19, leading to her death.】

【Do not attend the June 19 graduation ceremony. Try to convince my sister to move with me to a different district, far from the Clock Tower District, to avoid the conflict.】

【It seems the Blackwater Gang may be involved. If possible, gather information about them.】

The Blackwater Gang was a local criminal group in Berren, controlling all the taverns and underground distilleries in the Clock Tower District. Ciel had no idea why she or her sister would be entangled with such a dark organization.

After all, Ciel conducted herself with extreme caution, even keeping her distance from the aristocratic and wealthy classmates at school to avoid siding with the wrong faction and attracting hostility.

With such meticulous behavior, what could have caused the Blackwater Gang to take an interest in her?

With these thoughts in mind, Ciel set her pencil down and refocused on the silver screen before her.

During her last simulation of two days into the future, she had no memories of the two days leading up to that point. She could only rely on this method to explore alternate routes in each simulation, documenting everything for analysis afterward.

Ciel didn’t know if this method would work, but everything was worth a try.

There was, however, another thing that puzzled her deeply.

Eddie had harassed her countless times before, but he had never escalated to outright conflict. His usual approach was to pester and cling. Why had this incident suddenly turned violent and bloody?

Could it be that he said something that utterly enraged her sister?

“No…”

Ciel instinctively shook her head.

Her sister would have taken her warnings to heart. It must have been the other side that struck first.

Although the revelation of her sister’s death in the simulation had nearly overwhelmed her, Ciel could still clearly discern what had transpired.

The Blackwater Gang had cleared the area, and the old man’s voice behind her had muttered something.

Carefully recalling the elder’s words, Ciel remembered the exact line:

‘6:31… Why was there a deviation in the ritual?’

Deviation… ritual… what deviation? What ritual?

Could it be that this confrontation, her sister’s death, and even her own death, were all part of a deliberate plan?

Ciel didn’t know, but she understood that she needed to investigate.

With this thought in mind, she picked up her pencil and wrote another line in the notebook:

【If time permits, investigate the Blackwater Gang and the so-called ritual in detail.】

After completing the entry, Ciel set the pencil down and reopened the system interface.

「Consume 10 Fate Points to travel to the Future?」

Ciel double-checked her notes to ensure nothing was missing before closing the notebook and nodding to confirm.

“Yes.”

The silver hands of a clock spun rapidly before her, growing larger and larger until her vision was engulfed by endless silver. She lost all sensation of her body.

When she regained the ability to move her fingers, the silver light before her dissipated rapidly. The faint sound of rain reached her ears.

The silver screen before her displayed her current time.

「Future」

「Saint Year 741, June 19, 18:29」

「Countdown: 23:59:59」