The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch - Chapter 80

In Uris’s eyes, Avena was an unprincipled, faithless young lady from a noble family, operating with a merchant’s mindset, trading mysterious information obtained from unknown sources for items, then immediately selling those items for profit.

Uris could overlook the matter of her giving the potion to Ciel, but only on the condition that Ciel returned to the Holy See with her.

Whether Ciel’s actions were permissible wasn’t for Uris to decide.

Once the Holy See determined Ciel was at constant risk of losing control, Uris would baptize her. This would allow Ciel to live longer under the Goddess’s protection, preventing her from being driven mad by the whispers.

“It wouldn’t hurt to hear this news first, High Priest.” Avena ignored Uris’s blatant accusation. “I trust you will make the right judgment.”

Then, Avena relayed the information Ciel had just provided about the arrival time of the Divine Advent Church’s “Radiance Bishop.”

As expected, upon hearing this information, Uris, who had maintained a cool demeanor, frowned slightly.

“‘Radiance Bishop’?” Adele, standing nearby holding the potion for Ciel, subconsciously started counting on her fingers in shock upon hearing this.

‘Ascetic’… ‘Missionary’… ‘Radiance Bishop’?!!

At this point, Adele finally connected the dots between this news and Ciel’s earlier conversation.

Third-tier transcendent?! Divine Advent Church?! Arriving the day after tomorrow?!

Compared to the panicked Adele, Uris appeared much calmer.

After all, the Church of the Savior Goddess faced threats from the Divine Advent Church almost constantly.

“You need not worry about this, Miss Roswell.” Uris faced Avena, her voice grave.

“The reinforcements from the Church of the Savior Goddess will arrive faster than the Divine Advent Church’s inspection personnel. Once I report the situation to the supporting Bishop, I will take Miss Ciel to the Holy See for treatment. Miss Ciel will face no safety issues.”

“The Bishop remaining here will also handle this matter.”

“However, the Church has limited manpower. Your own safety, you may have to ensure yourself.”

Hearing Uris’s reply, Ciel felt a little helpless.

Alright, the first method to survive the crisis was found: follow the Church route.

But obviously, Ciel wouldn’t take the Church route unless absolutely necessary.

Unlocking the free Past Simulation required saving files for all paths.

But if she joined the Church and drank the “Ascetic” or “Avenger” potion in reality, she would lose the pure No.0 mode.

No.0 would then become a normal simulation entry point, starting as either “Ascetic” or “Avenger.”

This meant Ciel could no longer use the pure mode to enter simulations, drink other potions, and save them.

Without transcendent abilities, she couldn’t save files, nor could she save an ordinary person file to drink potions.

At least until she figured out what the Old Days and self-created paths were, Ciel wouldn’t rashly drink any potion in reality.

Ciel could die recklessly in simulations, but one wrong step in reality meant the end.

Ciel sank into deep thought.

Avena, sensing some crisis, bid farewell to Ciel and Adele and left hurriedly, seemingly off to find a solution.

Uris remained in the room, helping Adele care for Ciel. As if premeditated, Uris produced a set of black robes and helped Ciel change out of her bloodstained and dirty maid dress.

Ciel remained passive, focusing on recovery, obeying all of Adele’s arrangements, solely aiming to reduce the side effects when using this save file later.

Another reason Ciel stayed put was to see when the Church of the Savior Goddess reinforcements would arrive, and whether Hugh would be among them. If so, Ciel might be able to use Hugh’s own keepsake to gain her trust and extract more information for reference.

Time passed minute by minute. Under Adele’s diligent care, Ciel’s visible wounds mostly healed, and the symptoms of blood loss disappeared.

While the “Physician’s” healing ability wasn’t as exaggerated as imagined, the body’s recovery speed under a “Physician’s” aid was extraordinarily fast.

She just didn’t know what Adele’s transcendent ability was, or if it was purely due to superior potion formulas and materials. It seemed she needed to chat with Adele when she prepared to take the “Physician” path herself.

Ciel waited until late into the night, around 3:50 AM, but the Bishop from the Church of the Savior Goddess never arrived.

Approaching the final time limit, Ciel, using the excuse of “seeing if it looks good,” successfully coaxed Adele into putting all her valuable potions into her injection kit and hanging it on Ciel’s waist.

Ciel wanted to test if she could retain all these items on the “Judicator” save file this way.

Ciel stood before the mirror, examining her reflection in the dim light of the oil lamp.

The familiar robes of a High Priest of the Church of the Savior Goddess, the bullet-belt-like injection kit hanging at her waist, brimming with various precious potions—all painstakingly crafted by Adele.

And Adele?

Exhausted from the late hour, after being woken by Ciel to hand over the items, she had groggily fallen back asleep, seemingly without a single thought that Ciel might run off with everything.

This child, sooner or later, she’ll be scammed out of her underwear.

Ciel stood still, silently counting down the last moments.

Why…

4…

3… 2… 1…

A white light enveloped Ciel. Her consciousness entered a strange space. Before her stood the “Judicator” version of herself, like looking in a mirror.

Within this space, the smoldering fire in Ciel’s heart, the extreme thoughts in her mind, and the gradually intensifying chaotic whispers all vanished instantly.

Freed from the potion’s influence, her thoughts returned to normal.

That was dangerous…

Without much hesitation, Ciel overwrote the No.2 slot with the “Judicator” save, replacing the previous “Avenger” Ciel.

Only after the system prompted a successful save did Ciel let out a long sigh of relief.

Second-tier “Judicator”…

Finally reaching the second tier gave Ciel more confidence to face future events.

When both sides were prepared and there was no element of surprise, the gap between second and first tier was immense, almost insurmountable.