She is not an investigator.

She gave up the idea of ​​continuing to struggle and simply looked at the still-falling rain and the direction in which Igris disappeared into the rain.

"Gah!"

"Don't make a sound... I'll take you back."

For Igris's sake.

The Gods' Fool - Torrential Rain: I'm here for a fling!

This gray land was once again draped in a golden cloak.

A girl stands in the rice paddy

The gun in his hand finally became useless again.

The sky is endlessly blue.

The wind blew the girl's long hair.

The girl brushed the hair away from her eyes

She saw that it was just like usual.

太阳照常升起

(This is unrelated to the main text or the book's content; it's just that I didn't know what else to write. If you like Arknights, you can check it out.)

The Gods' Fool - The Rain: Chapter 40, Returning to the Past

thump—

The long chimes of the bells slowly drew Igris's gaze back from the rain.

Before her lay a street that was somewhat muddy and dilapidated, yet strangely familiar.

There were no stone slabs underfoot, but rather rough mud. The rainwater from earlier had vanished, and the surroundings were pitch black, with not a single streetlamp in sight.

Surprisingly, even though Igris's body was almost completely soaked by the rain, she still didn't feel any coldness.

Similarly, Igris noticed that in the darkness on both sides of the street in front of her, there were many ragged people lying down.

They didn't notice Igris suddenly appearing in the darkness; she was just lying there, either alone or huddled together for warmth.

If they weren't still moving, Igris would have thought they were corpses.

And on their exposed skin, they all developed varying degrees of ulceration.

"I advise you to stay away from them."

An unfamiliar voice came from behind Igris, and at the same time, a flash of fire illuminated her body, causing her to turn around and look at the newcomer.

It was a strange-looking person, about the same height as Igris, and judging from the voice, she was female, but she was wearing a very conspicuous bird-beak mask on her head.

Upon seeing her arrival, the people around her huddled together in fear, trying to avoid her gaze.

This attire reminded Igris of the plague doctors, also known as beaked doctors, who appeared hundreds of years ago. People at the time believed that this rudimentary form of protection could minimize the risk of contracting the plague, but in reality, it was not very effective.

“I know you have a lot of questions, but this isn’t the place to talk. Come with me.”

She left on her own, the torch in her hand standing out conspicuously in the darkness, completely oblivious to whether Igris had followed.

Igris looked around and finally decided to follow. After all, she still didn't understand what was going on, and the guy who seemed relatively friendly and willing to talk to her was probably the best way for her to understand her situation.

Following the firelight in the darkness, Igris and the bird-beaked doctor finally stopped in front of a wooden house.

A strange piece of cloth hung in front of the wooden house, with something else on it. Igris couldn't remember what it meant, but it looked strangely familiar.

Seemingly noticing Igris's observing expression, the doctor offered an explanation.

"Don't worry, there's no plague here. I just hung it up to avoid trouble."

plague.

Igris had almost forgotten how long it had been since she had heard that word, and looking at the bird-beaked doctor in front of her and the extremely old-fashioned style of the house, she roughly understood what was going on.

The torrential rain connects the past and the future, and Igris is probably being affected by it at this moment.

In other words, if Igris hadn't tried to stop Isabella, then she would most likely be the one here.

"Come in and let's talk."

Seeing that Igris was still standing in front of the door and refused to come in, she simply took off her mask to show that there was really no problem in the room.

Igris reluctantly went inside and watched as she half-closed the door.

The reason for not locking the door was probably because they were afraid Igris might have some concerns, and also because there was really no need to lock it on a night like this.

She had beautiful long green hair and looked very young, but Igris couldn't be sure of her age, since she seemed quite mature.

Before Igris could ask anything, she lit the candles in the room and gestured for Igris to sit down.

"You should be glad it's nighttime and no one saw you, otherwise they would have arrested you and burned you at the stake the next day."

The stake—a humiliating history that every witch learns about and remembers forever.

But Igris was not a witch, nor should she be burned at the stake.

"I don't understand you."

"Please don't use your witchcraft in the street, okay, Miss Witch?"

She looked very serious, and what she said was equally serious, even with a slightly accusatory tone.

She seemed to have mistaken Igris for a witch, perhaps because she suddenly appeared on the street? Or perhaps because of her stunning beauty? But whatever the case, she couldn't be a witch.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but can you tell me exactly where this place is?"

Igris tried her best to appear more polite, and sure enough, she softened her tone considerably, abandoning her earlier harshness.

"This is Morkens. Did you just arrive here recently, or is it that your witchcraft can transport you directly from somewhere else? That would be amazing."

"No... I am not a witch."

"Don't lie, I won't report you. I'm a witch too."

She waved to Igris and snapped her fingers, and a daisy appeared on her fingertip, looking exceptionally beautiful.

Although it looks more like magic.

"May I introduce myself? My name is Nolan, it's nice to meet you."

"...Nolan?"

Looking at the green-haired witch in front of her, Igris suddenly felt that she might have heard the name somewhere before.

But after thinking for a while, she still couldn't remember anything, so she could only give the same polite reply.

“My name is Igris… I’m really not a witch, I’m just an ordinary person from the future.”

"So your witchcraft can travel through time? My God..."

"..."

Igris seemed unable to explain herself clearly, but at least the other party seemed willing to believe her because they were both witches, thus avoiding a lot of trouble.

Given the current historical context, while Morkens isn't particularly focused on witches, he will still investigate anyone who might be a witch.

"Anyway... this is just a reminder, but you'd better not use witchcraft casually anymore, or you'll get arrested..."

Igris nodded, her gaze falling on the bird-beak mask she had placed to the side.

She noticed Igris's gaze and explained in a low voice.

“There are quite a few people infected with the plague in this city... At least everyone is afraid of the plague doctors, afraid that they will be the next corpses to be dragged away by them... So I got this. It can help me hide my identity well and avoid some unnecessary trouble.”

She picked up the mask, put it on, and muttered to herself.

"Although... it's quite inconvenient, it's definitely safe enough."

The Gods' Fool - The Rainstorm: Chapter 41, Unfamiliar Kindness

"If you have nowhere to go, you can stay here for now. I usually live alone, if you don't mind."

Nolan was very enthusiastic and warm towards Igris, most likely because in this historical context, every witch was going through a very difficult time, so she wanted to help Igris, this newcomer "witch," in her own way as much as possible.

But more than figuring out how to survive here longer and more safely, Igris needs to think about how to get back, what she should do here, and what she can do.

Because Isabella hadn't explained to her what she was going to do, and because the process was so abrupt, Igris couldn't figure out what had happened.

She didn't come here for a simple vacation; there must be something she needs to do, such as, at the very least, repairing the ever-widening rift in time.

Or, find a watchmaker.

Since Igris is here, then perhaps the watchmaker has also entered this history.

Seeing Igris lost in thought and not answering him, Nolan became somewhat at a loss.

Even in the context of witch hunts, most witches are willing to help each other, but they are ultimately not completely united and without any resentment.

At least in such times, there will still be some relatively extreme witches who harbor deep malice towards most other people.

This is one of the main reasons why witch hunts have become increasingly accepted, because the witches have actually begun to resist with force.

Based on current observations, Igris is most likely a witch, and unlike those who can only conjure flowers and plants, she appears to be terrifyingly powerful.

So it's obvious that if such a witch harbored any ill will towards her, she would have no way of resisting.

Even if she should have thought these things through before meeting Igris.

Fortunately, although Igris is indeed aggressive, she does not easily show this aggression to people who are kind to her.

She tugged at her slightly damp clothes and nodded gently.

"Thank you, you have indeed helped me a lot. I hope my arrival will not cause you any trouble."

"Of course not... It's getting late, let's rest first? I have some things to do tomorrow."

She took off her mask, placed it in the corner, and a hint of joy unconsciously appeared on her face.

She didn't live in the city for very long, but she still found a relatively good job that she could make a living. However, as a witch, every action she took was fraught with the risk of exposure, so much so that there were almost no people she could really talk to.

The city was not without other witches, but those outside witches were equally adept at concealing themselves, to the point that Nolan had no way of knowing who the real witch was.

When she finally discovered their identities, she was no longer able to say anything to them.

Because those witches had turned into burning corpses.

Hanging on the stake.