Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 33 The Night Before
After preparing to go to the Twilight Kingdom the next day, Altaïr prepared to walk home. It was already late, and the weather would turn cold if it stayed a little later.

Altaïr turned up the lapels of his coat and walked quickly down the street. He walked very carefully, deliberately avoiding the streets where patrolmen often appeared. After all, the oil paper bag in his hand contained a high-pressure steam rifle, which was a controlled item. It would not be fun to be discovered. So he didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he reached the door of his home.

"Isn't this Mr. Altaïr?" A childish female voice sounded from behind Altaïr, startling him. He turned around and saw that it was Sophie next door. Seeing Altaïr's panic, she giggled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect your reaction to be so strong..."

Sophie wiped her eyes and apologized to Altaïr.

To be honest, if everyone who suddenly appeared behind me was as friendly as Sophie, my reaction would not be so strong... Altaïr sighed secretly and said to Sophie:
"It's okay... You just came back from the textile factory?"

Since Mr. Statham and Sophie both believe in the "Lord of Storms", whose teachings oppose girls going to school and only let them receive family education at home, Sophie entered the textile factory of the Garment Makers Association early on. The boss here was also a garment maker, which made the workers feel more intimate with him. In addition, this boss is also working hard to promote the treatment of air pollution and other livelihood issues, which is well received by the workers.

"Yes, the boss said a few days ago that if our production this month is higher than last month, we will get a raise."

Sophie's somewhat tired face was filled with a happy smile, and Altaïr couldn't help but sigh when he saw it.

"You are still growing up. Even if you have to work, don't work too hard." Altaïr reached out and ruffled Sophie's hair. She was only 60% of his height, so it was quite easy for him to ruffle her hair.

"It doesn't matter..." Sophie was about to say something, but Altaïr interrupted her. "If you get too tired from working now, you won't grow taller."

It turns out that the threat of "not growing tall" is extremely lethal to children, and Sophie was speechless after hearing it.

"Is Mr. Statham not back yet? Do you want to come to my house and sit for a while?"

Seeing that there was no light in the next room, Altaïr took the initiative to invite them in.

"No, I have to go back and cook for my dad first." Sophie politely shook her head and refused. "You know, Storm's followers have always had women do housework, and our family's situation is a bit special."

Altair opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of what to say, so he closed it again. Most of Mr. Statham's family members died in the bombing during the war, leaving only him and his youngest daughter Sophie to depend on each other. Perhaps because of this, Sophie's personality is very strong. Mr. Statham originally wanted her to stay at home, but after her strong request, Mr. Statham finally agreed to let her work in the factory.

Seeing Sophie about to enter the house, Altaïr suddenly changed his mind and said loudly in Sophie's direction: "When you are free, you can come to my house and let Venata give you a few lessons."

"really?"

Although they were far away, Altaïr felt Sophie's eyes suddenly widen and she ran towards him excitedly, her face a little red from the cold wind outside.

"Of course, she has nothing to do at home anyway." Altaïr sold Venata without hesitation. Venata spent most of the past two days lying on the sofa, and she was unwilling to do any housework when asked to do it. Altaïr simply found some work for her. "She is a college graduate, so you don't have to worry about this."

"Amazing!" There seemed to be stars twinkling in Sophie's eyes, making Altaïr feel inexplicably dazzling.

"Okay, okay, go home and cook for your dad. I'll go home today and tell Vinata..."

Altaïr smiled and waved to Sophie, watching her trot back to her room.

"Why did you decide for me again?"

Venata's somewhat unhappy voice came from behind Altaïr. Altaïr turned around and saw that she seemed to have just finished a shower, standing at the door with wet hair, wearing a cotton pajamas that Altaïr had bought from nowhere and had only worn a few times. White steam was emanating from her body, and Altaïr could even vaguely smell the scent of Toningsman shampoo coming from her.

"You have nothing to do at home every day, right?" Altaïr smiled and urged him to go in. "Don't stand at the door right after taking a shower. You have to help others tomorrow. You have to pretend to be sick to be happy, right?"

"You are the only one who talks a lot."

Venata rolled her eyes at Altaïr, then made way for him in the hallway with disdain, and placed the oil-paper package on the ground.

"This is..." Vinata squatted down and touched it with her hand, "The guy you ate with?"

"I guess so. I hope it can still be used."

Altaïr kicked the bundle inside with his foot and hung the clothes on the rack.

"By the way, I put the pendulum you found in the book a few days ago into your pocket."

Venata suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke to Altaïr.

"I was in a book? Which book?" Altaïr asked curiously.

“It’s the holy book of the Church of Fools.” Venata waved her hand. “Aren’t you a follower of the goddess? Why do you still keep this holy book of the evil god? When you are struck by lightning, remember to stay away from me. I don’t want to be implicated by you.”

"Tsk, if you want to live here, then live here. If you don't want to live here, then sleep on the street..." Altaïr retorted subconsciously, then suddenly realized that something was wrong and quickly asked Venata:

"Where's the book? Where did you put it?"

"Here, put it on your bookshelf."

Venata pointed, and Altaïr looked along her arm. The old holy book, written in two languages, Loen and Giant, was casually placed on the bookshelf.

Altaïr didn't care about anything else. He walked over quickly to pick up the holy book, walked up the stairs quickly, and left a word to the confused Venata.

"I suddenly remembered something. You can just heat up the leftovers from lunch and eat them."

Vinata's face seemed to lose its luster in an instant, and she lay back on the sofa.

Upstairs, Altaïr picked up the holy book and studied it carefully. If it was stuck in another book, it might be because he couldn't remember clearly, but he knew very well that he definitely had never stuck a pendulum in this holy book!
My memory only goes as far as the description of angels in the Bible... but somehow, I just can't remember the last part. Altaïr's expression gradually became serious. Although he had not received systematic mystical education, there were many similar stories in folklore.

And the subsequent experiences of the protagonists of these stories are definitely not pleasant!
Altaïr flipped through the holy text in a distracted state and saw the name of the Fool on the first page, the description of His powers, and the footprints of His angels on earth. All of this proved that this sect was not groundless, but a secret organization with at least one saint and one angel!

Why do I always encounter things like this... Altaïr let out a breath and covered his face with his hands.

After a while, he gritted his teeth and began to pray quietly to the mysterious existence!

Altair was also very nervous. After all, this was an unknown mysterious being, and praying to this kind of being was a taboo that Extraordinary people generally abided by. However, Miss Audrey seemed to have tied herself to that person's camp. He had vaguely seen the mysterious gray fog once, and it seemed that he could no longer escape.

In this case, it would be better to make the best of it and pray to that person occasionally. After all, Miss Audrey didn't seem to have any problems... Altaïr, with a bachelor's mentality of being a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water, recited the name of that person in ancient Hermetic language.

The illusory whispering voice appeared in his ears again, and the familiar crimson light and gray mist once again completely engulfed his spirit and landed in front of an ancient bronze table.

Before Altaïr could look around, he heard a chuckle. Although the other party had no ill intentions, the laughter made Altaïr feel a little scared. This was a suppression from the life level. Altaïr turned around quickly and saw a lady with her face covered by gray fog. Although he could not see her face clearly, Altaïr could vaguely see her body shape. She was about 1.5 meters tall, but she gave people an invisible majesty.

"I was wondering who was praying at this time... It seems that you are the newcomer mentioned by Justice. I have to say that you accepted this organization faster than I thought."

"Normally, these questions should be asked by Mr. Fool, or by Ms. Justice who recruited you to join the guild... However, this is a different time." The lady clapped her hands, and twelve tarot cards appeared out of thin air in front of the stunned Altaïr.

"Our organization is called 'Tarot Club', and we gather here every Monday afternoon in this format. Of course, you can also join, but only after you choose your code name. Currently, only these twelve code names are still available."

"You can call me Ms. Judgment, by the way."

This lady gave off a sense of majesty... a demigod of the Arbiter Path? Altaïr swallowed hard, suppressing his fear and focusing on the choice before him.

"I don't care about this code name... I'll leave it to fate."

Altaïr casually flicked the twelve tarot cards in the air, causing them to spin rapidly around him. Finally, a tarot card slowly stopped in front of him. It was a beautiful woman wearing a crown, holding a golden scepter in her hand, giving people a feeling of sacredness and temptation.

Tarot card, "The Queen"!
(End of this chapter)