The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 47

“You… technically speaking…”

Hugh’s fragmented voice echoed in Ciel’s mind, as though her question had completely stumped the Radiance Bishop.

Breaking her twice in less than an hour—this might affect her Reconstitution Ritual, though thankfully, this was only a simulation. The real Hugh wouldn’t be impacted.

After a brief pause, Hugh’s voice returned to Ciel’s mind.

“Technically, only those who die specifically from the infection are counted toward the Reconstitution Ritual. Cases like this, where the sealed artifact accelerates the lethality of the disease, also count as infection deaths. However, the key is that the virus must be self-created. People following this path have an unusual obsession with the viruses and toxins they create.”

“If you kill the infected before they succumb to the disease, their deaths won’t be counted toward the ritual.”

Hearing this, Ciel nodded slightly to herself.

If she could disrupt the ritual beforehand, the person conducting it would have no choice but to reveal themselves. If the ritual couldn’t proceed, they would inevitably die.

Whether by causing widespread panic and forcing people to flee the Clock Tower District, or by killing large numbers of infected individuals, such actions would undoubtedly draw out the “Plaguebearer” performing the Reconstitution Ritual.

The dehydration syndrome itself wasn’t highly lethal. It required the sealed artifact to cause mass casualties, and this depended on having a large congregation of infected people in one place.

Whoever was orchestrating the ritual had an intimate understanding of how the Church of the Savior Goddess handled epidemics. They knew the church wouldn’t abandon its congregation and that higher-tier members wouldn’t approach due to their sensitivity to suffering. That’s why they chose the Clock Tower Chapel as the site for triggering the virus.

Additionally, they were well aware of the Redemption Society’s investigation routes, which allowed them to delay the outbreak until July 4th in the previous simulation, using the artifact to unleash the full lethality when the infected were most densely gathered.

One plan after another surfaced and was discarded in Ciel’s mind. She had a general strategy in mind but was still missing some critical information.

For instance, how exactly did the sealed artifact operate? Was it activated to enter a defensive state, or was it perpetually in one?

Understanding this would significantly advance Ciel’s plans.

“Radiance Bishop Hugh, are you unable to discern the operating logic of the sealed artifact?” Ciel asked.

“Correct. Its origin is unclear. Unless extensive experimentation is conducted to document all its properties and side effects, its exact nature cannot be determined,” Hugh responded.

“What about major transcendent families? Could they possibly have information about the artifact? Do you know Avena Roswell?” Ciel inquired.

“Roswell,” Hugh pondered for a moment before replying. “During the time I was unable to enter the Clock Tower District, I visited others who had provided intelligence to the Holy See and the Redemption Society. One of them was Miss Roswell.”

“Major families might indeed have knowledge of certain sealed artifacts unknown to the church since they often possess and trade such items. But…”

Hugh’s voice paused momentarily before continuing.

“When I found Miss Roswell, she was already dead.”

“Dead?” Ciel’s eyes narrowed.

In the first simulation, Ciel hadn’t shared any information with Avena, and yet Avena had vanished without explanation back then.

Dehydration syndrome had a low mortality rate for ordinary people, only becoming more lethal over time. If a cure were developed before death, it should have been manageable.

For transcendents, the syndrome was even less likely to be fatal. It was hard to imagine Avena dying from the infection, especially with her family’s resources.

The other possibility was that she had been “eliminated.”

Avena had been aware of the dehydration syndrome before Ciel and had begun investigating it earlier. However, she likely didn’t realize whether it was a simple infectious disease or part of a Reconstitution Ritual.

It was possible she had uncovered something critical and had been killed because of it…

If that were the case, entrusting her to protect Ciel’s sister might have been a grave mistake.

And this decision had been made in reality—Ciel hadn’t known that someone as well-connected as Avena could meet such a grim fate in the future.

Had she inadvertently put her sister in danger? But given the current circumstances, nowhere seemed truly safe.

Ciel didn’t have the luxury of waiting another day for the church to investigate the artifact, nor could she afford to accompany Hugh to the Holy See.

She turned to Hugh and said, “Radiance Bishop Hugh, I have a request.”

“Speak.” Hugh remained motionless, seemingly indifferent to Ciel’s increasing demands. It appeared that as long as Ciel agreed to go to the Holy See, nothing else mattered.

“Your church insignia—if presented at other districts of the Church of the Savior Goddess, would it grant the bearer authority over the nuns and priests there?”

“Yes,” Hugh nodded. “Occasionally, when I have tasks to attend to, I’ll entrust the insignia to a subordinate to carry out orders on my behalf.”

That makes things easier…

“Could you write a letter for me? And may I borrow your insignia?” Ciel asked directly.

“No,” Hugh responded bluntly but added, “But you may tell me the contents of the letter.”

“‘A mysterious illness is spreading. Miss Ciel is entrusted with full authority to handle the matter. All personnel at the Clock Tower Chapel are to comply with her instructions.’” Ciel stated.

Hugh fell silent for a long moment before speaking, “This has already happened.”

“No, it hasn’t happened yet,” Ciel said firmly. “The Goddess wouldn’t let this happen. This is Her will.”

“I just need the letter and insignia for ten minutes. I’ll return them afterward.”

Hugh held Ciel’s gaze for nearly twenty seconds before doubt began to creep into her mind.

She… wasn’t insane. She genuinely believed everything she was saying to be true, without a hint of deception.

It made Hugh question whether her own ability to sense emotions was malfunctioning.

In the end, Hugh relented and said, “Ten minutes.”

A phantom retrieved paper, a pen, and an envelope from the desolate church. Hugh used the phantom’s back as a writing surface to draft a letter that was more formally worded than what Ciel had described. After sealing the letter in the envelope, she placed her insignia inside and handed it to Ciel.

It was only ten minutes. If nothing happened during that time, she could retrieve the letter and destroy it. There was no way Ciel could vanish under her watch.

Taking the envelope, Ciel looked toward the nearby pile of corpses and asked, “Radiance Bishop Hugh, may I ask you one last question?”

“Speak.”

“Where exactly is the sealed artifact?”

“There.” A phantom moved to an open area of the plaza and stood still. Hugh pointed toward the phantom.

“Not far…” Ciel nodded before turning back to Hugh. “Thank you.”

With that, Ciel stepped toward the sewer maintenance hatch.

“What are you planning to do?” Hugh asked, though her body remained still. She merely sent two phantoms to follow Ciel.

“To see the artifact.” Holding the envelope, Ciel jumped into the maintenance hatch and ran toward the artifact’s location.

The phantoms accompanying her gradually solidified, and Hugh’s mechanical voice echoed in her mind once more.

“You intend to end your life. Why?”

In the distance, the circular artifact had already turned, its suspended, grotesque pupil now fixed on Ciel. The eye began to contract violently.

She could feel her life force rapidly evaporating, her throat burning as if scorched.

Her shadow emerged behind her, raising its fist and slamming it into the back of her head.

A hole was punched clean through the back of her skull, but her body began regenerating rapidly, her movements fully restored.

Ciel clutched the letter in her left hand as she leapt high into the air. Her right hand reached out to grasp the monstrous eye lying in the sewer.

“I’m not trying to end my life… I’m just trying to end the suffering.”

Ciel closed her eyes and ended this life.