Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

"I can't remember, sigh... I'm getting old. You know, goblins, like dragons, like to collect treasures, maybe it was just something I picked up when I was young..."

"Picked it up?"

"fart!"

Chapter 19 The Witch's Hidden Secret

The old goblin jumped up and hit Charles's knee.

"Every piece in the old man's collection has a significant history."

Charles thought for a moment: "I don't believe you don't usually accept equipment from ordinary adventurers."

"...That's pocket money! Not my collection! My collection is all..." The shopkeeper, Bom, stopped mid-sentence when he saw the gleam in Ciel's eyes and asked suspiciously:

"What do you want to do?"

“It’s nothing. I suddenly felt that you look a lot like my maternal grandfather. I was thinking that I would come to visit more often during holidays and festivals.”

"Are you planning to visit relatives? You're just after my baby!"

Oh no, we've been exposed!

Charles suppressed the greed in his eyes.

Celestial spirits are the darlings of heaven and earth, like gods, so they naturally don't need to worry about being targeted. In addition, gnomes are best at burrowing and stealth, so no one would want to go through the trouble of targeting them.

It's not the theft itself that's scary, but the fact that the thief has his eye on it.

Bohm didn't want to live in fear during holidays, so he sternly shouted, "Get out! Take your things and get as far away as you can!"

Bom kicked his calf, and drops of blood seeped into the ground along the bandage.

"you……"

Bohm smelled the blood in the air and looked up with a complicated expression.

"You'll have to pay for the dirty floor..."

Only then did he notice the slender bones in Charles's arm and the lining wrapped in bandages.

This kid has it tough, this damned era.

"Does your maternal grandfather really look like me? Where is he now?" Pom asked, as if possessed.

"It's hanging on the wall."

"You boy!"

The well-informed goblin instantly understood Charles's unspoken meaning. He was about to jump up and teach this impolite brat a lesson, but Charles had already disappeared into the silent night.

He looked at the bag of fali left behind by Charles, counting it as he murmured, "That's the remains of a sage. This kid's not simple..."

As he was counting the money, he suddenly stopped: "Damn! There are only 499 Holy Gold Coins here! I'm still short 1 Fali!"

……

Under the silent moonlight,

Ciel donned the "Sage's Shell" he had taken from Shopkeeper Pom, his entire body shrouded in darkness, and wandered through the nearby streets.

"It should be... somewhere nearby."

The goblin shop owned by Pom is very close to the destination that Ciel is going to this time. Perhaps it is because he inherited the interests of magicians and sorcerers that the shop's location is very mysterious.

After wandering around for a full thirty minutes and descending countless steps, I finally saw a battered door deep in a deserted alley.

A rickety signboard hung on the door, with the words "The Witch's Secret" faintly visible.

"This is it!"

Charles composed himself, stretched his shoulders, and exposed his arm, which had lost its flesh and was full of bones.

Continue forward, moving towards the bottomless underground room.

When Charles pushed open the door, a sharp, aged voice rang in his ears.

"Oh my, a new face... You...you? Who are you?"

What comes into view is a simple counter, behind which sits an old woman with a hooked nose, dressed in a cloak and a pointed hat, just like the witch in the storybook.

"Are you the owner of Renault? An old friend asked me a question, and I think I'll find the answer here."

"Oh? Please speak." As if sensing something, Granny Renault straightened her back.

"Did Altina's cat ever dream of immortality?"

Ciel lowered his voice, making it impossible for the other person to discern his age, and uttered the 'code' that existed in his memory.

Sure enough, after hearing this, the witch with the strange atmosphere immediately widened her eyes and stared at Charles nervously.

When her gaze fell upon the skeletal hand that Charles was speculating about, she exclaimed:

"Are you... are you Lord Fels's envoy?"

Charles didn't know what the relationship was between the shopkeeper and Fels, but there was no need to explain at this moment; his body spoke for itself.

“I’ve run into some problems. Can I get the answers here?” Charles repeated his previous question.

Grandma Renault lowered her head: "I was being nosy. The truth is, you came with a message from that lord, that's all."

"Come with me. The answers you seek are all in there."

After the old woman finished speaking, she went into the shop. Charles forced himself to suppress his surging emotions and followed her.

The shop's shelves were filled with bottles containing specimens of snakes and scorpions, as well as eerie pots simmering in deep red liquid.

After passing through a tunnel with chains and sickles hanging from the ceiling, you arrive at a huge bookshelf.

The old woman stretched out her weathered hand and gently stroked the spine of a white-covered book. With a 'click,' a bookshelf moved forward and slid to the side, revealing a hidden storage room inside.

The warehouse was filled with a dazzling array of 'magical items'.

A pair of twin crystals, a holy grail made from a unicorn horn, a treasure chest filled with jewels, a music box made with fairy magic...

This is the 'Sage's' emergency storage, which contains all of Fels's works.

Grandma Renault sighed:

"That immortal being can only offer his light to those absurd gods; that being never cares about those who are fleeting. Our ancestors have guarded this place for generations, and in all these years, the only one who has visited here... the only one who has gained that being's trust, is you."

The shopkeeper, with his back to Ciel, spoke slowly. Occasionally, he would see Ciel raise his hand and stroke the magical items on the counter.

This person must be very important to Lord Fels, perhaps even the successor to achieve true immortality!

"Take whatever you like, but please be sure to help that gentleman!" The old woman said, expressing her respect and sorrow for the nobleman, before leaving Charles in the warehouse and departing alone.

When Charles was left alone in the room, he could no longer suppress his turbulent emotions. He covered his mouth, lowered his head, and trembled all over.

"Heh...hehe...ha."

Low laughter echoed in the empty, secluded room.

Magical items! A whole warehouse full of magical items, she said: Take them! Any! You! Need!

You can really take whatever you want!

For the first time, Ciel experienced the benefits of being familiar with the plot and understanding the secrets of the world!

This was originally the location that Fels revealed to Bell via a secret letter during the Heretic Incident. A fleeting scene in the anime, but the novel reveals a coded message!

Now, this opportunity has been snatched away by Charles seven years earlier than expected!

"I'll get my hands on this centuries-old woman sooner or later!"

Ignoring the dazzling array of magical items on the shelves, Ciel did not forget the purpose of his visit.

"A spellbook!"

Among the dazzling array of handicrafts, a pile of discarded books carelessly tossed in a corner caught Ciel's attention.

Blow away the dust from the cover and carefully turn the pages, which are covered with the marks of time.

A Simple Guide to Using Magic Even a Goblin Could Learn

"Ha, this is it!" Charles eagerly began to read it carefully.

But after he finished reading the entire magic book, he didn't feel sleepy at all.

"No... wait, is there something wrong with how I opened it?"

He quickly flipped through it again, and the book in his hands turned into dust and fell to the ground.

Charles was stunned: "Could it be...?"

Chapter 20 The Ring of Miracles

"Could it be... that magic books also expire?"

A bizarre thought popped into Charles's head, and he subconsciously checked the production date and expiration date. Only after the second book turned to dust and fell did he realize the seriousness of the problem.

This emergency warehouse has been sealed for hundreds of years, and even the guards have changed several times. Some ordinary books could not withstand the erosion of time and have turned into dust of history.

Holy crap! Am I hundreds of years too late?

The skeptical Charles quickly noticed something was wrong.

The magical items around are not all old antiques; there are also quite a few newly added items. This shows that Fels occasionally puts his unused items here, or even entrusts the shop owner to consign them!

This place is mentioned many times in the story: there is a magic book that is priceless and hard to find, but few people can afford it.

"Judging from Fels's audacity in feeding the lecherous fox 13 magic books worth 65 billion, he certainly doesn't lack resources in this area!"

Charles flipped through the books one by one, hoping that one of them would be a recent work that had not yet been eroded by time.

Commonly known as... simple!

As the number of books in the cardboard box gradually decreased, near the bottom, a book titled "A Guide to Magic Construction from Scratch" gave him a completely different feeling.

"Magic is divided into innate magic and acquired magic. Innate magic originates from one's race, while acquired magic comes from the grace of the gods..."

Turn the page...