The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch-Chapter 130 - Obtaining "Uniqueness" and Other Side Contamination (2/4)

“Young Mistress, do we need to go over this early?”

Nia, who had been following behind Avena, couldn’t help but ask, “Your appointment with Miss Ciel is at five, right? It’s only half past three now...”

“Punctuality is a noble virtue.”

Avena, walking ahead, didn’t turn back, just replied faintly, “I’m just coming early to look around.”

What’s there to look around in factories... Which factory are you planning to buy again?

Nia buried this sentence in her heart; she knew she couldn’t persuade this Young Mistress.

Ever since completing the Reconstitution Ritual, the Young Mistress had been unusually excited, seemingly eager to see Ciel quickly and show off.

Like a girl wanting to show off her new doll to her friend.

Although Avena appeared indifferent on her face, these psychological activities couldn’t deceive Nia, who watched her grow up.

For a moment, Nia felt somewhat emotional.

Miss Avena had no close friends since childhood, developing her current rather solitary and quiet personality. Now having friends to share with was quite good.

Just that Ciel... her background was somewhat mysterious, held many cards, and her attitude towards the Young Mistress was unknown. This worried Nia slightly.

Although she didn’t even have a partner, Avena was like half a granddaughter in her eyes. Nia naturally didn’t want Avena to suffer in interpersonal relationships.

“Right.”

Avena, walking ahead, remembered something, turned back to look at Nia, and said, “Nia, wait for me nearby. I’ll go alone—Ciel still has the curse on her. It’s better if you don’t get too close.”

“...Alright.”

Nia nodded.

Nia had already arranged for detectives to deploy defenses nearby, and this was the territory of the Church of the Savior Goddess; there shouldn’t be any major problems.

Most importantly, so many cultists had been slaughtered; cultists probably wouldn’t dare cause trouble for a short time, and that Ciel seemed quite capable of dealing with cultists. The Young Mistress’s safety shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

When the factory under construction came into view, Nia stopped, leaped onto the roof of another factory, leaned against the chimney, and watched the Young Mistress walking on the muddy ground.

But soon, her gaze shifted towards the factory, her brow slightly furrowed.

Just now, a subtle spiritual alarm sounded in her mind. It flashed rather quickly; if not for her exceptionally sensitive perception, she might have missed it.

There... what happened?

Clouds of doubt gathered in Nia’s heart. That trace of spiritual alarm always made her uneasy, but thinking of Avena who had already advanced, Nia suppressed her worries slightly.

The Young Mistress had successfully advanced to “Psychologist,” and the quality of the Reconstitution Ritual was high; her self-protection ability had significantly improved.

Mental attacks basically couldn’t harm the Young Mistress at all. Physical attacks couldn’t break the Young Mistress’s protective transcendent items in a short time either, at least enough to hold on until she arrived.

She couldn’t protect the Young Mistress forever.

Nia raised her hand, looking at the silver-glowing gauntlet on her hand, falling into silence.

Reflected in the armor, besides the gloomy weather, was also an overwhelming mist.

...

Avena walked briskly to the factory entrance.

She stopped at the entrance, looking into the pitch-black interior, somewhat curiously observing the surroundings.

The sky was gloomy, and there were no lighting fixtures inside the factory. Coupled with the roof’s cover, almost half of the factory interior was shrouded in shadow.

To be safe, Avena took out a thin glass tube from the handbag she carried. Inside the tube was a black solution.

She held the glass tube, slightly warming the solution inside with her palm’s heat, then gently shook it. Faint warm yellow fluorescence emitted from within, gradually becoming hot and bright.

Holding the thin wooden handle at the stopper, Avena walked into the factory carrying the tube lamp.

Why did Ciel want to meet here?

Makes it seem like some kind of... gang transaction point.

The light tube in Avena’s hand dispersed some of the darkness. As she continued deeper, a figure kneeling in the corner, head lowered, caught Avena’s attention.

This is...

Seeing the familiar hair color, Avena quickened her pace, almost running to the figure’s side by the end.

“Ciel?!”

The light tube was thrown aside by Avena. She knelt before Ciel, reached out with both hands, and directly cupped Ciel’s cheeks.

No external injuries, but...

So hot...

At this moment, Ciel’s eyes stared straight ahead—her gaze seemed to penetrate through herself, looking towards somewhere far away. And Ciel’s mouth was softly and rapidly muttering something.

Her forehead was already flushed red. Avena reached out to wipe it and could feel Ciel’s scorching skin, as if her brain was about to burn up.

“What are you saying?”

Avena wanted to lean closer to listen to Ciel’s words, but when her ear caught those chaotic and rapid words, a spiritual alarm abruptly sounded in her mind.

The piercing alarm, like a banshee’s shriek, seemed to be screaming, telling Avena to stay away, not to listen.

Startled by this shriek, Avena subconsciously stepped back, falling onto the ground. She looked at Ciel, who was like a soulless puppet at this moment, and quickly calmed down.

What is this situation?

Ciel’s current state, rather than being brainwashed, seemed more like being... contaminated?

In this situation, she couldn’t rashly help, but had to think of a way, couldn’t just do nothing...

Avena quickly picked up the lighting she dropped earlier and began rapidly observing Ciel’s surroundings.

Soon, she saw a corpse lying on the ground, dressed lavishly—the corpse was broken in half at the waist, corpse blood scattered everywhere, and the corpse itself was extremely dry, muscles showing a purplish-blue color, clearly dead for some time.

These clothes... weren’t they made by the tailor I recommended? She remembered a few days ago, Ciel did take her family crest to retrieve a female thief...

However, there was no longer any transcendent aura on the corpse.

Avena’s gaze continued searching; she didn’t miss any detail.

Soon, her gaze stopped on a notebook.