The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 56

Ciel was a little confused. During her simulation, when she spoke with Avena, the latter had only mentioned that Deton Manor was a place where potions could be sold or exchanged for transcendent items. Ciel had assumed it was just a gathering or market for transcendents.

Was it because their shared hardship had deepened their bond, unlocking information Avena hadn’t shared before?

Just how much had Avena withheld from her back then?

As she observed Ciel’s puzzled expression, a similar question mark appeared in Avena’s mind.

Deton Manor was an enormous organization, with branches in nearly every major city. How could Ciel not know about it?

What about her supposed intelligence network?

Despite her doubts, Avena unconsciously rationalized the inconsistency herself.

Maybe she had just recently joined the organization. Last night, when Avena had curiously checked, she found no traces of potion influence in Ciel’s body. That gun-shaped sealed artifact was likely something given to her for self-defense by her group… At least, that’s what Avena convinced herself.

“Deton Manor is a large transcendent organization. Its core members primarily follow the ‘Gambler’ and ‘Adventurer’ paths.”

Avena took a moment to organize her thoughts before continuing. “The organization was founded not only to recruit core members but also as a means to digest potions.”

“Every Deton Manor functions as a massive casino, beyond the jurisdiction of mundane laws. If you want to buy anything there, you must first exchange your su pounds for casino chips.”

“The exchange rate varies by location, but in every case, the chips will be worth less than the original amount of pounds.”

“For example, if you exchange 100 su pounds, you might receive chips worth only 75 or 80 pounds. You then use those chips to purchase items, issue bounties, or…”

Avena paused briefly before continuing.

“Or you can gamble at Deton Manor to increase the value of your chips. That way, you could spend 100 pounds and acquire materials worth more—potentially even double.”

“But usually, I just exchange for chips and use them immediately. The deducted amount is just a service fee.”

A transcendent casino?

And its core members belonged to the “Gambler” and “Adventurer” paths?

If the “Gamblers” needed to digest their potions, they would most likely convert all their materials into chips, either losing everything or walking away with massive winnings.

The materials lost by the “Gamblers” would then be resold to other transcendents who had entered with sponsorship, while the currency exchange discrepancy became Deton Manor’s profit.

With this system, they could use those earnings to acquire even more transcendent materials, attracting more people in the process.

This transcendent market… was completely different from what Ciel had imagined.

Still, she had no intention of gambling. Like Avena, she viewed exchanging pounds for chips as nothing more than paying a 20% service fee.

“I can sponsor you for membership, and Nia can as well. You just need one more sponsor to enter Deton Manor.” Avena added a warning. “Once inside, just buy what you need—don’t get involved in their games.”

“The gambling halls there are extremely dangerous. Some high-stakes transcendent games can even cost you your life. There are no restrictions on cheating, either. As long as the referee doesn’t catch you, anything goes. You won’t stand a chance against them.”

No restrictions on cheating? As long as it wasn’t caught?

Ciel hadn’t been interested before, but now, Avena’s words piqued her curiosity.

Her 【Precognitive Sight Lv.1】 allowed her to see one second into the future. No one would ever expect her to have a precognitive ability.

If the opportunity arose, she might actually try her luck at Deton Manor. But first, she needed to find a third sponsor.

High Priestess Uris?

Ciel wasn’t eager to get entangled with the church just yet.

After some thought, only one candidate remained—someone who might be easy to convince.

Uris’s sister, Adele.

Technically, she had saved Adele’s life. It would just be a matter of properly setting up the encounter.

Maybe she could trick Adele into signing a one-month sponsor contract… but that would mean another monthly “friendship fee,” which Ciel might not be able to afford.

As she considered this, Ciel became curious about the status of the dehydration syndrome case. She turned to Avena. “What’s the plan for dealing with the dehydration syndrome?”

“I went out last night and handed the body and notes over to the Redemption Society and the church. They’ll take over from here, working on a cure as quickly as possible. With the research notes, they should have results within three to five days.”

“Sherlon hadn’t spent much time studying infectious pathogens, and the bacteria has a low fatality rate. Even if we hadn’t intervened, he would have failed his ascension in a month.”

Perhaps to reassure Ciel, Avena added, “Don’t worry, I didn’t reveal your identity. Officially, I handled everything alone.”

“That’s fine.” Ciel shrugged.

She didn’t care about taking credit. Knowing that the cure was being developed was enough to set her mind at ease.

Three to five days—she could survive that long.

But…

Avena’s mention of the low fatality rate reminded Ciel of a ticking time bomb.

That bomb was already activated, hanging silently in the church’s underground sewers.

Should she simulate an attempt to remove it?

The thought had barely surfaced before she dismissed it.

Not reliable.

She lacked the knowledge to contain a sealed artifact. Who knew how many simulations it would take to figure it out? And even if she did obtain it, that artifact wasn’t particularly useful to her.

It was nothing more than a pathogen detonator, not something she needed at the moment.

What she needed most was the next-tier potion for “Avenger” along with its Reconstitution Ritual, or other suitable first-tier potions and rituals.

She had to grow stronger to gain the upper hand in future dangers.

She decided to sell this information to Avena, letting her either secure the artifact herself or trade the intel to the church for an enormous favor. It might even be an opportunity to negotiate for the next-tier “Avenger” potion and ritual.

“Avena, I have another piece of information…”

“Cough…”

Before Ciel could finish, Avena nearly choked on her coffee, struggling to catch her breath.

Holding up a hand to stop Ciel, Avena asked, “Wait. Let me guess. Is this another second-tier or third-tier Reconstitution Ritual? Or something that’ll kill tens of thousands of people?”

It seemed that Ciel’s endless stream of shocking intelligence had finally exhausted Avena’s tolerance. Now that she no longer needed to digest the “Listener” potion, she had no interest in getting further involved.

But… curiosity was hard to resist. Just what was Ciel going to say?

Maybe this was the curse of the “Listener” path—they would rather risk their lives than miss out on critical information.

“It’s related to the Sherlon case,” Ciel said after a brief pause. “If it isn’t handled properly, a lot of people could still die.”

“Ugh…” Avena let out a long sigh, seemingly resigning herself. “Fine. Go ahead.”

If it was a follow-up to the Sherlon case, Avena could accept the intelligence. After all, her next Reconstitution Ritual would likely require the Redemption Society’s assistance.