Chapter 2026

The customs issue could be resolved within a week, leaving only the Port Authority controlled by the Eddington family and the dock office controlled by the Hawthorne family... This also didn't seem difficult to resolve. Of course, the matter regarding that Great Witch of Fate still had to be dealt with.

"Come to think of it, I still don't know the name of that Belindell. Once I know the name, I will know the other party's true identity."

【Will you still not let her see you during the meeting this afternoon?】

"Of course, it's fine to turn into a cat. As long as I don't let her observe me at close range, she won't be able to tell if it's a male or female cat.

As long as she thinks of me as a female, I can continue to pose as a follower of the witch until another Great Witch comes to the area to explain this to me. It's not just about avoiding trouble, there's also..."

After leaving the bookstore, Xia De looked up at the thick black clouds shrouding the city of Moon Bay:

"I know myself that I am being a bit too greedy. Since I have become entangled with the fates of so many witches, I naturally have to restrain myself. I know how much I owe them."

【Yes, you have always known.】

Because he had wasted some time talking in the bookstore, Xia De did not go home for lunch. Instead, after a simple lunch at a nearby tavern, he took a walk around the city center near the Moon Bay City Council and the Belindell Big Ben. On one hand, he was observing the local terrain, and on the other, he was trying to determine if the witch from the Belindell family had arrived early.

While strolling during the lunch hour, Xia De passed by a man and a woman who looked unremarkable while walking along Council Street on the east side of the Zhong Ta Square. Despite the overcast weather, the man was wearing black sunglasses and carrying a violin case in his right hand. The woman was carrying a matching case and held a map, looking at it as she walked.

They did not know that the young man who had just passed them already knew they were Ringed Shushis, but since it had nothing to do with the detective from afar, Xia De ignored them.

The man and woman continued along Council Street into the Moon Bay City Council Square beneath the clock tower. After exchanging a few quiet words, marveling at the grandeur of the statue in the center of the square and the height of the tallest clock tower on the West Coast, they entered an alley to the side.

A corner of their Fate Ring emerged, and a miracle effect was activated. Then, with the help of the relic 【Lightless Light】, the two, along with everything they carried, merged into the dim daylight. Their figures vanished from the alley, and in the form of light, they flew directly toward the top of the Belindell Big Ben.

Even though this was the heart of the city, and even though the Council Square was bustling with people on a Sunday afternoon, no one noticed the two strange beams of light.

For the convenience of enjoying the view, the Belindell Big Ben had a dedicated open-air observation deck behind the clock face, with a mechanically controlled retractable roof. Since the roof was not deployed, the two beams of light descended directly onto the terrace.

Their bodies returned to normal from the light, but they remained in a state of invisibility. After steadying themselves and observing their surroundings to ensure that the observation deck only contained tables under umbrellas and potted plants at the edges, they opened their violin cases. After calibrating and determining their position with an astrolabe, they began to set up a ritual on the deck.

The two had clearly rehearsed in advance, and they drew the ritual quickly. However, their work did not proceed smoothly; before the ritual foundation on the ground was even fully outlined, footsteps came from the stairs.

Looking up, a middle-aged priest in white robes, wearing the Dawn Holy Emblem symbolizing the True God - 【Mr. Dawn】 on his chest, entered the terrace at the top of the clock tower, followed by two mid-level Ringed Shushis, a man and a woman:

"Good afternoon, sir and miss. I am curious, what exactly were you thinking?"

The Ninth-Ring Shushi asked curiously, his brown eyes seeing directly through their invisibility:

"In the heart of the Moon Bay diocese, in broad daylight, you use a relic and fly from the ground to the tower over the heads of thousands of people—what exactly were you thinking? The Five Gods Church's control over the diocese shouldn't be so lax that it would make you think we wouldn't even notice this, right?"

The man and woman who were setting up the ritual dropped what they were holding, though they did not summon their Fate Rings. The man looked at the afternoon tea round table under the umbrella on the terrace:

"My lady, you should come out too."

"Oh, you discovered me?"

A woman's soft, beautiful voice came, and after water-like ripples appeared in the air, the woman sitting at the table and the two maids behind her revealed themselves. However, all three of their faces were blurred and twisting like water, a bizarre appearance that made it hard not to think of something even more terrifying.

But the church's Ringed Shushis were not surprised. The young female Shushi standing behind the Ninth-Ring leader even recognized who this was:

"Are you 'Lady Amethyst'?"

The local black market's most famous diviner was naturally known to the church in the Moon Bay area. The witch Bella Belindell lived in Moon Bay and had naturally dealt with the church more than once; because they had cooperated several times, the relationship between the two sides was not bad.

"Hello, Ms. Marina."

The beautiful lady with a reddish birthmark between her eyebrows stood up. With her maids, she and the members of the Dawn Church looked at the man and woman standing together. Her disguised voice still carried a lazy tone:

"The Keeper-level relic 【Lightless Light】 allows one to merge into light and move within it, even penetrating water surfaces, glass, and transparent barriers. If I recall correctly, this relic fell into the hands of the 【Light-Worshippers' Seminar】 long ago. I did have some conflicts with you three years ago, but I don't know if your action this time is meant to provoke the church or to draw me out?"

She had originally been waiting here for the meeting time with "Vanessa's follower" and planned to have her maid call that mysterious lady up from the club below the tower when the time came, revealing her true identity to intimidate the "country girl" from the opera troupe. She had already confirmed with the witch of the earth that Xia De's identity was fine, but she was still puzzled as to why Vanessa Benanis had such a strange expression when introducing the "Seventh-Ring female Shushi."

"We are only carrying out the orders of Lord 'Light-Chaser' and will not ask for the reason."

The woman in the black dress, who appeared to be in her thirties, said cautiously, her fists clenched as if she were holding something. She was speaking to everyone present:

"Lord Light-Chaser hopes that we come to this tower to invite the church's Ringed Shushis and 'Lady Amethyst' to play a game. The game time is limited to before sunset today. I hope Mr. O'Connor of the Dawn Church and 'Lady Amethyst' can forgive us for not sending an invitation in advance."

"Not only do you know that this diviner lady would be here, but you even knew in advance that I would be patrolling nearby today?"

Ninth-Ring Shushi York O'Connor stepped forward without a word, his cane coated with a layer of faint light. He decided to arrest the other party first, but the woman's clenched fist opened, allowing everyone present to see the black metal ten-sided die lying in her palm.

"Stop her!"

Although he hadn't recognized what it was, Mr. O'Connor had already acted. The witch, who recognized what it was, stood there without moving:

"Why is it this thing? It's too late."

Clatter~

Even though the die was only spinning in the woman's palm, it still made the sound of jumping and spinning on a hard tabletop. The light spear flying from the Ninth-Ring Shushi's palm dissolved into the whisper elements of the Angel-level relic that suddenly dispersed in all directions.

An invisible barrier completely isolated the clock tower terrace from the normal world. The dim daylight became even darker and more oppressive in this instant. But the next second, a beam of white daylight, which could even be called dazzling, shone from higher up onto a huge square stone table that had appeared in the center of the terrace out of nowhere.

The steady light illuminating the stone table inexplicably reminded the witch of the scene in the council, and the chairs that appeared on the north, south, east, and west sides of the stone table confirmed her conjecture about this relic.

As the daylight illuminating the round table became brighter, the light in all other areas of the terrace disappeared bit by bit until it completely vanished into darkness. During this process, the silence in the sealed observation deck area was not because people were intentionally not speaking, but because they had temporarily lost the ability to make sound.

The woman in the black dress holding the die came under the beam of white daylight and sat on the east side of the table, while the man stood behind her.

She made an inviting gesture to the six people who were still standing in place:

"The game begins. Mr. O'Connor, Lady Amethyst, please take your seats."

With a smile on her face, the main body of the relic in her hand had already been placed on the table:

"Do you need me to introduce the rules? Angel-level relic..."

"... 【Dice Story Collection】."

The witch with the blurred face spoke the name of the relic, but no one could see her expression at this moment. While the faces of the Dawn Church members changed drastically, the witch took the lead and sat on the chair in the south, with her two maids standing behind her.

"You should know what this is."

She said to the church's Ringed Shushis, but she was actually looking at the young girl among them, the Sixth-Ring Ms. Marina:

"The Delarion-Tobesk city has already become a typical case study that every diocese needs to learn from. You cannot possibly not know about the Keeper game completed by the Chosen of Balance and the 【Truth Society】 and 【Doom Cult】 last year."

"Yes, Lady Amethyst. Once the relic is activated, no one can leave here until the story is told to its conclusion."

Mr. York O'Connor said, and then he sat on the last chair in the north. He had dealt with this mysterious "Lady Amethyst" before and knew that she was a very good partner.

"【Dice Story Collection】 generates the most realistic game based on the current scene, telling a magical adventure story. After the 【Truth Society】 and 【Doom Cult】 were defeated by the Chosen of Balance last year, this relic went missing. I didn't expect it to end up in your hands."

He said to the woman sitting on the east side, who said very calmly:

"This type of rule and fate-category relic will choose a suitable location to appear on its own, and we only obtained it by accident. The failure of the Truth Society was because the current president, that crazy Ms. Pawo, wanted to include the Chosen in her plans, but there is no Chosen present here today."