The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 4

The fine rain pelted the cobblestone streets, collecting in small muddy puddles on the damaged portions of the road.

Though narrow, this was still a main road wide enough for carriages to pass through. The gas lamps lining the street had already been lit, casting a soft glow on the gloomy rainy night.

The street was muddy, but it didn’t carry the stench of the Clock Tower District where she currently lived.

A carriage approached from the opposite direction, and Ciel stepped aside, holding her black umbrella to give way.

The movement caused the cheap black canvas handbag in her hand to sway slightly, drawing her gaze down to the bag she was carrying.

It wasn’t her usual school bag… Was it a new one?

Ciel opened the canvas bag.

Inside were a few sharpened pencils and a familiar notebook. She immediately took out the notebook and flipped it open, finding the message she had just written on the first page.

She took a deep breath and turned to the first page. Only after seeing the fresh, elegant handwriting in Chinese did she slowly exhale.

It seemed this method worked.

She had begun deliberately using the notebook to record decisions that could influence her simulated self in the Future simulation, and also had her simulated self document the events as they occurred.

This way, Ciel could learn what had happened during the periods of missing memory in the simulation.

Ciel opened the notebook and began skimming through it.

【Saint Year 741, June 18, 3:00 AM】

【Nothing unusual happened last night. After my sister finished her shift at 2:30 AM, I spoke to her about the idea of moving out of the Clock Tower District.】

【Her intention was already to take me out of the district, so she had no objections to my suggestion to move early.】

【As for the matter of not going to university, I haven’t discussed it with her yet. This isn’t the right time for that conversation. She’s worked so hard all these years to send me to school, so I can already imagine how devastated she would be if I gave up on university. A cold war isn’t conducive to facing the challenges ahead together.】

Ciel turned the page calmly.

The thoughts conveyed in the Chinese characters recorded here matched her own perfectly. Simply reading the words made her feel as though she had personally experienced these events, leaving no sense of disconnection.

【Saint Year 741, June 18, 12:00 PM】

【I took the day off and didn’t go to the academy. According to the original plan, I visited the Cam Street District, where I’d scouted out a potential place to live. The landlady was very surprised to learn I was a student at Berren Private Academy. Not only did she reserve a large room that could accommodate two people, but she also gave me a discount on the rent. It wasn’t much more expensive than the rooms in the Clock Tower District.】

【Saint Year 741, June 18, 2:30 PM】

【Ever since experiencing the Future simulation, I’ve been on edge, observing my surroundings more carefully. Perhaps due to the enhanced perception from “Dexterity Lv.1,” I’ve felt like someone has been watching me all day.】

【On my way back to the Clock Tower District, I ducked into an alley and quickly climbed onto a rooftop, only to discover that someone was indeed tailing me.】

【I’ve been followed this whole time. Be careful. I have a feeling this surveillance didn’t start today.】

【I’m heading down now, pretending I haven’t noticed the follower, so as not to alert them.】

“A stalker?”

Ciel’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Someone was following her? Was it Eddie and his gang of thugs? Or someone from the Blackwater Gang? Why were they tailing her?

If someone had been following her all along, then moving to a new home would be pointless. Those lurking in the shadows would immediately know her new address, leaving her unsafe no matter where she went.

Faced with such a situation… What would I do?

I would find a place where I could lose the stalker without arousing suspicion—and also take the opportunity to gauge the extent of their influence…

As Ciel thought this, she turned to the next page, finding that the recorded actions aligned perfectly with her own thoughts.

【Saint Year 741, June 18, 7:30 PM】

【The invitation I hadn’t discarded proved useful. At 4:30 PM, I attended Miss Amy’s tea party in full view of the stalker. Upon entering her estate, the surveillance ceased. Standing by the window, I could see the follower below—a well-dressed figure wearing a newsboy cap.】

【Clearly, the stalker couldn’t infiltrate a noble’s residence. I’m 90% certain the follower is linked to the Blackwater Gang. Eddie’s gang wouldn’t care so much about appearances. What is their purpose in following me? Is it related to the ritual the old man mentioned?】

【The tea party was as dull as I expected. My mind was preoccupied with thoughts about the stalker, and I didn’t even notice how out of place my school uniform looked amid the lavish attire. Amy pulled me aside to her room, offering to gift me two dresses.】

【Taking advantage of this opportunity, I tentatively asked Amy if she had ever heard of any secrets related to rituals and mentioned the name Blackwater Gang. However, from Amy’s confused gaze, it was clear that she had no knowledge of these matters.】

【Perhaps wanting to answer my questions, Amy left the room to consult her father and never returned. Before the tea party ended, I was asked to leave by the butler, who informed me that Amy had been placed under house arrest.】

【It seems Amy’s father, the baron, is deeply wary of the questions she raised. But was he more concerned about the Blackwater Gang or the “ritual”?】

So even the nobles were unwilling to get involved in this?

Ciel frowned slightly as she read her own words.

She had known the matter would be complicated, but she hadn’t expected the hidden layers to be this intricate.

Was the lead cut off here?

Amy’s father clearly knew something, but Ciel’s social standing made it impossible for her to approach the baron.

During her time at the academy, Ciel had always adhered to a policy of keeping a low profile. She avoided offending anyone and refrained from forming deep personal connections. Among the aristocrats, officials, and wealthy merchants, their children engaged in both open conflicts and hidden schemes. Siding with the wrong faction could result in her demise as easily as stepping on an ant.

As for motives? A mere dislike of her could be considered reason enough.

Perhaps because of the simulation, her future self had felt emboldened to discuss the Blackwater Gang with Amy. Unfortunately, it had yielded little.

Ciel shook her head lightly.

Still, the actions of her simulated self served as a reminder to her present self: within the simulations, she could afford to act more boldly.

As long as the outcome was favorable, she could repeat simulations endlessly to find the optimal solution.

Turning to the next page, Ciel was momentarily stunned by what she read.

【Saint Year 741, June 18, 11:00 PM】

【A nervous maid knocked on my door, handing me a letter. The envelope bore no signature, but the family crest on the carriage the maid arrived in confirmed it was from Amy.】

【It seems Amy had someone investigate my address—or perhaps she already knew it. Being confined to her house, she could only send a message through her maid.】

【She had learned a lot from her father, and she detailed everything in the letter.】

【The Blackwater Gang is the largest criminal organization in the Clock Tower District. They primarily deal in illegal alcohol production and distribution, controlling all the district’s bars. Their leader, Braid Solari, has connections with several nobles.】

【Recently, her baron father learned that the Blackwater Gang’s leader had spent an enormous sum of money to forge ties with a certain church member, obtaining something from them. He warned Amy not to involve herself with the gang and specifically forbade her from meeting me or inquiring about their leader.】

【Amy ended her letter by asking if I was facing any difficulties. She offered to let me stay at her house for a few days—but that was out of the question. Given her father’s cautious nature, he’d hand me over to the Blackwater Gang the moment he saw me, just to wash his hands of the matter. He wouldn’t risk involving himself in these troubles for the sake of a commoner.】

【Saint Year 741, June 19, 6:29 PM】

【Eddie is dead. But this time, I was the one who killed him.】

【I still have too little information. The most critical issue is that I lack the strength to protect myself. Many investigations are out of reach for me, and acting blindly would be like a lamb entering a tiger’s den. It’s crucial to acquire stronger weapons.】

【For now, I’m sticking to the plan and doing my best not to reveal any weaknesses. Using my birthday as an excuse, I asked my sister to wait for me at a café in the city center while I stayed behind, lingering near the location of the new house I planned to rent.】

【This split action served as a control experiment to figure out whether the target of the “ritual” was me or my sister. It was obvious—the test worked. They changed their plan. The stalker provided information, leading the thug Eddie straight to me. They are coming for me.】

【I prepared a knife in advance. This time, Eddie came alone, without his gang of thugs. His strength was inexplicably weak, almost as if he had been sent to die. I stabbed him once, ensuring he wouldn’t survive. The bloodied knife is still in the inner pocket of the canvas bag.】

【Be careful.】

The last entry… was just moments ago!

“Dong—”

As the clock struck 6:30, the bell towers rang out across the city, their tolls heavy and oppressive in the rain-soaked night.

Damn it! Why is time so tight this time?

Ciel quickly reached into her canvas bag, her fingers closing around a sticky, bloodied wooden knife handle. Her gaze instinctively darted to her right, where several shadowy figures emerged through the rain, walking toward her.

Among them was a thin figure wearing a newsboy cap. It was unmistakably the stalker described in her notebook.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ciel flung aside her umbrella, gripped the knife, and sprinted toward the road on her left. But she had only taken a few steps before spotting several figures waiting for her at the end of the street.

She stopped abruptly, standing her ground, her fists clenched tightly.

“6:31… Why was there a deviation in the ritual?”

The phrase she had heard before echoed once again. Familiar elderly footsteps approached her from behind, growing closer and closer. When the footsteps stopped, the all-too-familiar sound of a gun hammer being cocked reached her ears.

【It’s best to acquire stronger weapons.】

The words from her notebook flashed through Ciel’s mind.

“Braid Solari!” Ciel shouted loudly.

“Hmm?” The shout caused the old man holding the gun to falter slightly. He seemed puzzled as to how the sacrifice before him knew his name.

In that fleeting moment, Ciel turned around, knife in hand.

Less than two meters! So close! Just three steps away!

She lunged toward Braid, her bloody knife slicing toward his head.

Beyond three steps, the gun is faster.

Within three steps, the gun is both faster and deadlier.

“Bang—!”

A bullet howled as it tore into Ciel’s skull, shattering her cheekbone and lodging itself in her skull.

The searing pain nearly caused her to lose consciousness instantly. Yet her left hand had already gripped the warm barrel of the revolver.

The sudden turn of events startled Braid. Instinctively fearing that his gun would be taken, he moved to pull it away. But the girl before him moved even faster, pressing her forehead against the gun’s muzzle.

What’s happening? Is she insane?

Braid’s gaze locked onto the red-haired girl, half of her face covered in blood. In her bloodied, eerily calm eyes, he saw no fear, no panic—only a serenity that didn’t belong to someone on the brink of death.

The girl’s left hand gripped the barrel tightly, while her right hand released the knife and darted forward, pinning the trigger before Braid could withdraw.

“I won’t… let your ritual… succeed…”

“Bang—!”

The girl collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Rainwater washed over the blood pooling beneath her, while Braid, his face splattered with blood, stood frozen. His heart pounded wildly as he stared at the girl’s corpse, struggling to process what had just happened.

He hadn’t pulled the trigger—she had.

What was going on? How did she know his name, even about the ritual?

She even said she wouldn’t let the ritual succeed. But… she’s already dead!

And that calm gaze of hers…

“‘Vengeance’ has been completed. What are you waiting for?”

A black-robed figure emerged from the alley, snapping Braid out of his daze. He wiped the blood off his face with a handkerchief and took a deep breath, though he felt no sense of triumph or relief after this so-called “vengeance.”

“Bang! Bang! Bang—!”

Raising his revolver, he fired several more times into the girl’s lifeless body. Only when the cylinder spun empty did he lower the smoking barrel.

Just now, he had felt something he hadn’t experienced in a long time—a primal fear of the unknown. It was the same fear he had felt the first time he’d encountered the black-robed figure.