The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 73

After Ciel finished speaking, she watched Uris silently examine the “Radiance Bishop” insignia, a hint of disappointment creeping into her heart.

So… it really is too difficult to make someone unconditionally trust a “stranger” based on just a single sentence?

“Do you have any other doubts?” Ciel asked, seeing High Priest Uris remain silent.

She braced herself for another round of explanations.

“I…” Uris hesitated, then asked, “Could you let me change my clothes first?”

“Fine.” Ciel turned away, facing the desk, and averted her gaze from Uris. “I’m not looking. Go ahead and change.”

The rustling sound of clothes being removed came from behind. Perhaps because she couldn’t see, Uris changed very slowly.

Maybe out of boredom, Ciel looked at the candle on the desk and asked curiously, “High Priest, aren’t you blind? Why light a candle?”

“Because my eyes can’t see, my other senses have been greatly enhanced by the potion,” Uris’s ethereal voice came from the direction of the bed. “Having a heat source makes it easier for me to perceive space and distance.”

Ciel nodded slightly, then belatedly remembered Uris couldn’t see her nod, so she replied verbally, “Oh.”

“I’ve finished changing, Your Excellency.” Uris slowly approached Ciel. “May I ask your name?”

“Ciel.” Ciel turned, walked towards High Priest Uris, took her hand, and placed it on her own cheek. “High Priest, you can remember my name and appearance.”

This was also Ciel’s way of making a stronger impression on Uris, to avoid friendly fire in the upcoming battle. It also served to build a little more trust.

Uris carefully touched Ciel’s face, then showed a slight expression of surprise.

“Your Excellency Ciel… I didn’t expect you to be…” Uris struggled for the right words before settling on, “so young and accomplished.”

Before Uris could finish, Ciel had already taken a small step back, moving away from Uris’s hand.

“Your Excellency, I haven’t finished memorizing,” Uris stated seriously.

“High Priest, I’ve dreamed of you more than once,” Ciel said expressionlessly. “The first time, you pinched my face for over ten minutes. The second time we met, you told me you didn’t need to touch to sense emotions.”

Hearing Ciel’s words, Uris’s hand paused.

If she had doubted Ciel’s talk of dreams before, now, with Ciel revealing so much specific information, she almost completely believed her.

Because the things Ciel described sounded exactly like something she would do.

“Your Excellency, please just call me Uris.” Uris’s expression turned serious. She faced Ciel and asked earnestly, “Are you from the Inquisition?”

“No,” Ciel denied.

“Then… your potion…” Uris suddenly recalled something. “Was it you who provided the information about the sealed artifact?”

Uris remembered the young lady from the Roswell family coming to her a few days ago with crucial intelligence.

At the time, Uris was already preparing to write a letter requesting a third-tier “Soul Walker” potion and ritual from the Church of the Savior Goddess as a reward. But the Roswell lady had unexpectedly requested a second-tier “Judicator” potion instead.

Since the young lady had a good reputation and the request was within her authority, after briefly assessing the value of the intelligence, Uris had given her the potion and ritual.

But now it seemed the Roswell lady might have violated the Eye of Order contract they signed…

Otherwise, it was too coincidental that shortly after she received the potion, someone outside the Church of the Savior Goddess appeared with it, preparing for the Reconstitution Ritual.

But Uris decided not to pursue the matter.

If Ciel’s intelligence was accurate, then helping the Church of the Savior Goddess uncover a hidden Divine Advent Church stronghold in Berren City would be a great service.

If Ciel drank the potion under her supervision, she could ensure Ciel wouldn’t be consumed by the potion and go down an extremist path.

And… Ciel’s “dreams” might not be dreams at all.

They could be divine oracles from the Goddess.

Perhaps the oracle guided her to find Uris, a fellow member of the Church of the Savior Goddess, to resolve this incident.

How else could Ciel dream of her repeatedly when they had clearly never met or had any contact?

Could she be the Saintess of the “Avenger” path?

Maybe she could try to guide her into joining the Church of the Savior Goddess… perform her baptism.

If she could baptize a potential Saintess, perhaps the remaining bit of her own potion would be fully digested, and she could apply to the church for the next tier’s “Radiance Bishop” potion…

“Your Excellency Ciel, do you have a plan?” Uris asked. “Do you need me to request reinforcements from the Church?”

“No need, we’ll act ourselves. If we wait for the Church, there won’t be enough time.” Ciel shook her head, rejecting Uris’s suggestion. She continued, “Currently, the Divine Advent Church has no information on us, you can rest assured on that point.”

“Then our plan is…” Uris took a deep breath, ready to memorize the plan.

“Kill our way through.” Ciel laid out the plan plainly.

Uris: “…”

Is that… considered a plan?

Just moments ago, Uris thought Ciel seemed reliable, methodical, and composed. Now, she was starting to feel uncertain again.

But Ciel wasn’t lying. Charging in directly was the simplest, most brutal, and likely most successful plan.

Previously, even when ambushed by Kitty, Uris had fought her to a standstill, leaving Kitty half-dead upon her return.

Now, if the situation was reversed, with Uris having the element of surprise and Ciel providing support, Kitty stood no chance.

As for the other first-tier transcendents in the casino, Ciel didn’t even factor them into her calculations.

As long as “Avenger” Ciel wore the specially crafted mask stitched with the Other Side Page, the “Gamblers” couldn’t confront her directly.

Not to mention, the moment the first “Gambler” died, Ciel could attempt to summon an Other Side entity.

“Are you serious?” Uris asked.

“Very serious.” Ciel’s tone was calm.

Ciel then spent some time detailing the situation at Deton Manor for Uris.

She described Administrator Kitty, the strength and paths of the other first-tier transcendents, including the total number of cultists.

She even listed the specific names and characteristics of each transcendent, providing extremely detailed intelligence.

By the end, even Uris couldn’t help but be astonished… the information was excessively detailed.

It was as if Ciel had been undercover right under their noses for years.

“You’ve basically mapped out their entire stronghold.” After hearing all the intel, Uris couldn’t resist asking, “Do you have an informant there? Or perhaps… your organization?”

This amount of information couldn’t possibly have been gathered by Ciel alone. Uris’s main concern now was that Ciel belonged to an organization.

If she did, Uris’s plan to recruit her into the Church of the Savior Goddess would likely fail.

But considering Ciel might be the Saintess, even if it meant tricking or outright kidnapping her, she had to bring her back to the Holy See to verify her identity.

“Yes, we had a Bishop undercover there, but she has already left,” Ciel stated calmly.

There was indeed a Bishop undercover there, just that it was me, and I was pretending.

Speaking of which, most of her knowledge about the Divine Advent Church came from Uris herself.

Hearing Ciel’s words, Uris began mentally weighing the pros and cons of kidnapping Ciel.

A Bishop-level undercover agent within the Divine Advent Church… just how vast was Ciel’s organization?

When did such a powerful organization emerge in Berren City? Or had they been hiding, only recently starting to operate?

Even the Church of the Savior Goddess couldn’t place an undercover agent that high up.

“Alright, I’ll go with you,” Uris nodded.

This matter involved the Divine Advent Church; Uris couldn’t ignore it. As long as she confirmed the presence of cultists there, even if Ciel hadn’t asked, Uris wouldn’t let them go.

“Your Excellency Ciel, please wait a moment. I must leave a letter informing the Holy See about this matter.” Uris walked past Ciel to the desk and began searching for stationery.

“Alright.” Ciel stepped aside, waiting for her to write the letter.

It didn’t matter whether Uris sent the letter or not. By the time it reached the Holy See, Ciel would have long since left the simulation.

Soon, Uris finished sealing the letter. At the same time, Ciel retrieved the Other Side Page from her inventory.

Due to previous heavy use and being taped, the page was now somewhat wrinkled and fragile, likely only usable two more times before disintegrating.

Uris, having sealed the letter, turned back towards Ciel.

Her brow furrowed slightly. “What are you… doing?”

Uris felt an instinctive threat emanating from deep within her soul. A faint buzzing in her mind warned her that Ciel’s direction was extremely dangerous.

Ciel was using two pins to attach the page to the front of her clothes.

She was currently thinking it was a shame that redeeming Other Side Pages was too expensive; otherwise, she would cover her entire body with them.

If she were covered head to toe in Other Side Pages, she too would become an existence that could not be looked upon directly.

Maybe she should have her simulated self enter a deep simulation before the real Ciel arrived each time, just to write more pages?

After all, it was only the simulated self dying.

Uris’s words interrupted Ciel’s thoughts. She looked at Uris and said, “It’s nothing, just some text from the Other Side. It won’t affect you.”

Text from the Other Side?!

Uris’s eyebrows shot up slightly.

Using text from the Other Side so casually?

If Uris had merely suspected Ciel was the Saintess before, now she was 99% certain.

Only a Saintess could comprehend divine oracles from the Other Side without suffering permanent mental and spiritual damage afterward.

No wonder Her Excellency Ciel, clearly only a first-tier “Avenger,” dared to suggest charging straight into a cult stronghold with her. She certainly had the confidence to back it up.

After completing their preparations, the fully equipped Uris followed Ciel towards Deton Manor outside the city.