Chapter 790: Awakening (Thanks to Yi Zhi Qian for the Mystery Silver Alliance)

Seeing the "Magic Mirror Divination" end, Lu Mi turned his gaze toward Anthony.

"The 'Neuins' must have already sailed. Go out onto the streets and ask the pirates whether 'Great Shark' Jorg and other key figures from the 'Neuins' managed to board—if not, where are they now?"

"Understood." Anthony grasped Lu Mi's intent: to quickly locate the whereabouts of 'Great Shark' Jorg and others, to see if they could be used to re-visit the 'Neuins' and learn from Hal. Constantine about the current state of the elf race and which civilization the 'Lost Neuins' truly belonged to.

In this matter, Lu Mi could not appear in person—he was avoided by all pirates, and even if forced to speak, they'd alert 'Great Shark' Jorg and others still lingering in Bannamo Port, causing them to relocate and hide deeper. If he changed his appearance, the pirates still wouldn't treat him kindly or reveal much.

The same logic applied to Francia.

Only Anthony, who had become friends with many pirates, could naturally obtain the information they needed.

After watching Anthony leave the room, Francia sat down heavily in the chair before the desk and sighed deeply:

"How did the matter of crossing over get so complicated?"

"You just thought it was simpler than it was," Lu Mi scoffed.

Francia said nothing, sat in silence for a moment, then changed the subject:

"I've fully digested my 'Pleasure' Elixir. After a few days' rest, I can attempt the Ritual of the 'Pain Witch' to ascend."

"To be honest, it feels like a dream—just like that, it's digested?"

She still lacked a sense of reality.

Lu Mi smiled:

"What else did you expect?

"If the 'Deep Sea Admiral' knew our main goal was helping you digest the 'Pleasure' Elixir, he'd think the world had gone mad—why bother? With your 'Pleasure Witch' conditions, just show up at his door, present a notarized contract binding both sides to mutual non-harm, and he'd gladly help you."

"Mainly, I can't pass my own test…" Francia muttered softly, "And I know what you mean—in our world, plenty would say, 'Helping a Pleasure Witch digest her Elixir? That's too evil—count me in!' But that's surface-level pleasure, low-quality digestion, missing the core: pleasure in pain, sinking into pleasure. It requires massive quantity to compensate, whereas the unusual pleasure tied to Morlan. Avini and Hal. Constantine better reflects the Witch Path's essential nature."

Lu Mi had only been joking; he let the topic drop.

Francia fell silent again, glanced at Lu Mi, then carefully said:

"The plan you proposed—spreading plague among pirates in Bannamo Port—I think it's unacceptable. We can't consider it."

"Why?" Lu Mi raised an eyebrow, amused.

Francia straightened her back, met his gaze without flinching, and said firmly:

"I can't distinguish between damned pirates and innocent bystanders. The plague will inevitably reach the latter, leaving them to die in despair."

Lu Mi chuckled:

"I only proposed it as an idea, a direction. Whether it's viable is something to consider only when refining the details. If we can avoid the problem you mentioned, we proceed; if not, we abandon it. We can't restrict our thinking from the start—can't even think about it?"

"For example, by then, I might already be a demi-god and found the higher substitute for the 'Vessel of Fiction'—I could trap the entire Bannamo Port inside it, setting a condition that only pirates may enter or leave."

"No," Francia shook her head. "There are adventurers who work part-time as pirates—many of them haven't committed crimes worthy of death."

Lu Mi sighed with a smile:

"Then ally with the 'Aurora Society,' or seek a Class-5 'Broker' Path artifact that can distinguish targets by guilt."

Francia thought seriously:

"That won't work either—we have plenty of sins ourselves. Many adventurers have killed multiple pirates. Are they guilty?"

Lu Mi was momentarily speechless, then burst out laughing:

"You really are suited to become a 'Provocateur.'

"I was just giving an example to show that you can't dismiss an idea or plan outright—you must analyze feasibility and consider future possibilities."

"Mm." After voicing her opinion, Francia exhaled quietly.

She thought a moment, guided by the principle that good friends must warn each other, even if it meant risking error, and said bluntly to Lu Mi:

"I think since you discovered the Vortex Plan, your methods have grown more radical again—like when you first arrived in Triel—or is it the 'Demon's Whisper' from Siso making your malice constantly surge? Hmm, 'The Traveler's Satchel' only lessens its impact, not fully removes the negative effects."

Lu Mi gave a self-deprecating smile:

"A bit of both, I suppose."

He immediately dropped the smile, speaking with grave seriousness to Francia:

"But more importantly, I've come to understand certain things."

"What things?" Francia asked, puzzled.

Lu Mi nodded:

"Good. I was planning to warn you too—you've been a Witch for a long time. Haven't you noticed the essential nature of this Path?"

Francia fell silent.

Lu Mi continued in a low voice:

"Like the 'Hunter' Path, it's destined to bring disaster and calamity. We're destined to belong to darkness, to represent destruction.

"Think—how do adepts view the 'Hunter' and the 'Witch'? Dangerous. The 'Hunter' is bloody danger; the 'Witch' is evil danger. We can't expect to escape such impressions, nor can we escape them.

"Digesting subsequent Elixirs and performing Ascension Rituals will force us deeper into darkness. Unless you abandon power and remain forever at your current level, we'll both face questions that test our souls.

"You could consider switching Paths—though you can only switch to the 'Hunter' Path."

Seeing Francia's expression shift but still remain silent, Lu Mi suddenly laughed:

"What I want to tell you is: abandon your cleanliness obsession. Don't flee or give up whenever you hear of evil or darkness. We must face these things directly—only then can we find ways to avoid evil, find the faint light within darkness.

"We will all be stained black. All we can do is strive not to fall, not to betray our inner convictions."

Francia fell silent again, then sighed deeply:

"'Pain' and 'Despair' have given me bad premonitions… but walking in darkness, seeking light in darkness—won't we slowly be corrupted, eventually sinking completely?"

Lu Mi smiled:

"Do we have a choice? We can only keep fighting our own evil and darkness until death."

Francia murmured "Mm," reflecting:

"Actually, all adepts are like this—Divine Paths are inherently dangerous, inevitably mad. The 'Hunter' and 'Witch' Paths just show it more clearly, more directly."

She couldn't imagine what struggle and pain she'd have endured—and what kind of present she'd have—if she'd chosen the 'Demon' Path.

When the negative effect of the 'Decency' brooch on Jianna disappeared, Anthony returned to the inn and informed Lu Mi and the others of the current situation in Bannamo Port:

"The 'Neuins' has indeed fled, and 'Great Shark' Jorg and the others failed to board—it's unknown where they are now."

Over the next two days, Lu Mi and the others disguised themselves and searched Bannamo Port for the 'Neuins'' first mate, second mate, and boatswains—but neither social investigation nor mystical tracking yielded any substantial results. Instead, they discovered several individuals suspected of serving the 'Deep Sea Admiral' had also vanished.

This led Lu Mi to suspect that 'Great Shark' Jorg and others had left Bannamo Port via some secret channel—whether they returned to the 'Neuins' remains unknown.

…………

Triel, Memorial District, an apartment.

Angoulême de François completed the ritual and summoned the messenger of 'The Seven of Cups.'

He saw a rabbit-shaped spirit emerge from the flames, dressed in an odd manner:

A miniature silk top hat rested between its ears, tiny gold-rimmed spectacles perched on its nose, a black trench coat clearly unsuitable for a rabbit draped over its body, and in its paw, a black iron revolver with a thick barrel but scaled small enough for a large rabbit to wield…

The 'Dagger' messenger was rather… cute, uniquely styled… He hadn't expected it—she'd actually dressed her messenger like this… Angoulême picked up the pre-written letter and handed it to the rabbit messenger he found quite adorable.

The rabbit suddenly glanced at him, eyes cold and sharp.

Uh… Angoulême retracted his earlier assessment.

…………

Bannamo Port, one of the inn rooms rented by Lu Mi and the others.

Francia finished reading Angoulême's letter and said with difficulty:

"'007' has a lead on the 'Mirror Man' and wants us to investigate—but we haven't found 'Great Shark' Jorg and the others yet."

Compared to the 'Mirror Man,' she wanted to know the elf race's secrets more.

Lu Mi leaned back in his chair, relaxed:

"The worst case is that 'Great Shark' Jorg and the others have secretly returned to the 'Neuins.' If so, staying here any longer won't help.

"Then let's leave. See if, once the alert fades, they'll reappear. Also, set up a long-term contingency—station someone to watch Bannamo Port. Maybe, after some time, the 'Neuins' will return for supplies?"

"Fine." Francia accepted reality.

At that moment, Jianna noticed a problem:

Xia Zuo the rabbit was still in the room.

She hadn't given it its payment for delivering the letter.

ps: Thank you to Yi Zhi Qian for the Mystery Silver Alliance reward~

ps2: The gold louis in the last chapter was left by Jianna as a bribe—not Lu Mi

(End of Chapter)