「Reality」

「Saint Year 741, June 18, 5:10 PM」

「Evaluation: Congratulations, host. You’ve unlocked another obscure way to die.」

「Although you managed to gather some information using the Art of Conversation... is that really enough? Believe in yourself—you can do better.」

「Take this as your deserved reward based on your performance.」

「Reward: Fate Points *3」

「Fate Points: 31」

Ciel woke up in her bed. The moment she opened her eyes, she immediately jumped out, grabbed her satchel, and bolted out of her room.

She opened the front door and stepped onto the street. The sun was already setting, casting long shadows across the bustling streets.

After leaving the Clock Tower District, Ciel boarded a public carriage. She handed over 4 pennies for the fare and received a ticket.

This was the fastest way she could think of to get to the central police station. Now, she could only hope that Avena was still there.

The two-horse carriage rattled down the cobblestone streets. Inside, there were two rows of wooden benches that could seat about twenty passengers. Even the roof of the rectangular carriage was equipped with seating.

Ciel took a random available seat and began organizing her thoughts about everything she had experienced in the simulation.

Here’s what she knew so far:

1. Tomorrow, June 19th, after four dehydration deaths occur at the church hospital in a single day, the church will report the matter. That will mark the rapid acceleration of dehydration syndrome’s spread.

2. It is highly likely that this is part of a Reconstitution Ritual for someone ascending from “Plaguebearer” to “Source of Cholera.”

3. The Church of the Savior Goddess is unable to manage this large-scale outbreak on its own. They sought help from the Redemption Society, forming a collaboration. Once the area was sealed off, the Redemption Society began investigating the cause of dehydration syndrome from the perimeter inward.

4. Sixteen days later, around noon on July 4th, the quarantine zone centered around the Clock Tower Church will experience an even more severe outbreak. Infected individuals will have their bodily fluids drained completely within less than thirty seconds...

Ciel now understood what the system meant when it said she could have done better. She was already beginning to regret not obtaining Adele’s contact information earlier.

If she had been able to contact Adele sooner, she could have used Adele to locate the elusive High Priestess Uris and delivered this critical information. Perhaps they could have mitigated the damage or developed a cure earlier.

Now, her only option was to find Avena and relay the information through her. Fortunately, with the Eye of Order contract in place, sharing the information with Avena was safer than reporting it herself. After all, Avena would never betray her.

Ciel’s immediate goal in acting in reality wasn’t just to get Avena to report the situation. She also wanted to arrange for Avena to help get her sister out of the Clock Tower District as soon as possible.

The sooner Lichie left the district, the less danger she would face. Until Ciel could ensure her sister’s safety, she wouldn’t have the peace of mind to attempt another simulation.

The public carriage stopped at a station not far from the police station. Ciel disembarked and headed straight to her destination.

The officer at the reception desk seemed to recognize her—Ciel’s striking red hair made her hard to forget—and didn’t stop her from heading upstairs.

She stood at the end of the third-floor hallway, in front of the Investigation Department’s door, and knocked.

It took a while, long enough for Ciel to begin wondering if no one was inside, before she finally heard Avena’s voice from within.

“Who is it?”

“Miss Avena, it’s me, Ciel,” Ciel replied from the doorway.

After another ten seconds or so, Avena’s voice called out again. “Come in.”

Ciel opened the door and immediately noticed something that made her brow furrow ever so slightly.

The office was devoid of anyone in police uniform. Instead, standing near Avena’s desk were two figures clad in black robes, each with a silver raven mask hanging around their necks.

One of them was a silver-haired girl—Adele.

Ciel maintained her composure, nodding politely toward the two robed figures. Adele and the taller, bespectacled man beside her returned her greeting with polite smiles.

“Is there something you need, Miss Ciel?” Avena looked into Ciel’s eyes and calmly asked. “There’s no work left for today.”

Why are members of the Redemption Society meeting with Avena at the police station?

Could it be that the Church of the Savior Goddess has already started collaborating with the Redemption Society?

No, that can’t be right. According to High Priestess Uris, the church hospital would report the four deaths tomorrow. That’s when the investigation would officially begin. The Redemption Society shouldn’t be working with the church yet.

This must be a private arrangement between Avena and the Redemption Society...

If Avena contacted them earlier than the church did, then why, during those sixteen days in the simulation, did Avena never show up or ask Ciel for updates? She didn’t seem like the type to shirk her duties.

“Miss Avena, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. Would it be possible to speak privately?” Ciel asked.

“It’s fine. Go ahead and talk. We were just about to leave.” Adele put on her mask and said to the person beside her, “Let’s go, Professor Sherr.”

The man, referred to as Professor Sherr, turned to Avena with a smile. “Thank you for the information, Miss Roswell. My student will handle the follow-up. I’ll take my leave now.”

With that, the man put on his mask as well. As he passed Ciel, he nodded politely before exiting the room with Adele.

Ciel chose not to engage directly with Adele because there was another suspected transcendent beside her.

Ciel’s identity was better kept known to as few people as possible.

Once they left, Ciel closed the door behind them and walked over to Avena.

“Is there something you need, Miss Ciel?” Avena sat in her seat, looking up at Ciel and asked.

“I want to make a deal with you.” Ciel directly reached out, took the Avenger potion from her canvas bag, and placed it on Avena’s desk before continuing. “A story, or the potion?”

For a moment, Avena’s mind seemed to short-circuit.

Earlier today, she had summoned an ordinary, beautiful girl. Just a few hours later, that same girl was placing a potion in front of her and proposing a deal.

How did this even make sense?

And she’s asking me to choose “a story or the potion”?

This seemingly ordinary girl named Ciel... even knew which path she was on?

Yet no matter how Avena looked at her, she appeared to be nothing more than a regular civilian.

Suppressing the surprise in her eyes, Avena shifted her gaze from the potion back to Ciel.

“May I ask what this is about? Why have you sought me out?” Avena asked.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com