Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

That sounds nice.

Although she knew that Tia's flattery was not genuine, the old lady still couldn't suppress her smile.

There are plenty of people who praise her outstanding abilities, but very few who genuinely say her cookies are delicious.

"I baked these myself. Would you like to take some cookies home?"

"Hehe, then I'll accept it without hesitation."

Chapter 238: Shipped!

Tia brought a large bag of gingerbread cookies, probably weighing half a kilogram. She also rummaged through the old lady's kitchen, using her sweet talk to flatter Ms. Bernice, saying this was delicious and that was delicious, making her smile from ear to ear.

When Tia left the house, she had several large packages in her hands.

However, gaining an advantage was secondary; the main purpose was to scout and gather information. Tia walked around the kitchen and tasted all the snacks that Ms. Bernice had baked, thus understanding the lady's preferences.

She likes ginger candy, especially the kind with a strong ginger flavor and a hint of spiciness, not just pure sweetness. This is very characteristic of people from northern Ansu, where there is heavy snowfall and cold weather north of Blackwater Port, hence the fondness for ginger candy.

However, people in the Silver Castle area find the taste hard to accept. For example, Eleanor prefers syrup to ginger candy.

Ms. Bernice dislikes high sugar content; the cookies Tia eats are all just right, not too sweet—something that people from Guangdong would adore. She's also a cooking enthusiast, but her preference leans more towards desserts.

After conducting this investigation, Tia will know how to give gifts and build a closer relationship.

Not long after she returned to her hotel suite, Eleanor also came back from outside. When she entered the room, she saw a large pile of snacks on the table, reached out and picked up a gingerbread biscuit, took a bite, and immediately swallowed it with tears in her eyes.

Not sweet, spicy~

Eleanor wiped away her tears and ran to Tia, saying, "It's not good. Don't buy it next time."

Tia complained, "Don't just eat random things... That was a gift from Ms. Bernice."

"Oh. What did the lady say?"

"I didn't say anything. I wanted to get Scarlett, the policewoman who protected you—you remember her, right?"

Tia doubts Eleanor's memory.

Eleanor thought for a moment, then said solemnly, "I'm not a fool."

"Uh-huh."

She ruffled Eleanor's hair and explained, "In short, I'm transferring Scarlett from the Anti-Corruption Bureau to work at Iris. She might need to take charge of some of the police department's work, especially those related to the knights of Saint Engard."

“Oh, Inspector.”

"That's not quite right either."

Tia couldn't think of a suitable word—mainly because the Ansu police department didn't have a corresponding position, and the department to which Saint Engard belonged was closer to the "armed police force" or "riot police force".

Ansu does not have such a department; they usually entrust this kind of armed suppression work to the army's hussars and artillery units.

Eleanor thought for a moment, then clapped her hands and said, "It's the general!"

Tia didn't correct her, and went along with it, saying, "There's a slight difference, but it's not a big problem. As long as you understand."

Eleanor was satisfied and a little excited, mimicking an artilleryman loading ammunition, "I want to be a general too. Bang bang bang!"

This was purely a moment of impulse on the part of the princess.

Eleanor is like that; she just says what she wants to say directly, but dealing with people who try to fob her off is a lot more complicated.

"no!"

"Tia can let me disguise myself as an Iris Flower Person, like a doll of Tia!"

Eleanor's brilliant mind takes over the high ground.

Tia couldn't help but slap Eleanor on the head with a chop. "That won't do! Eleanor, are you stupid?! You're a princess, a princess! Don't even think about running off to another country to become an artillery marshal!"

"Bad. Don't you dare curse me."

"Alright then, I won't curse anymore..."

"Oh, then I'll stay at Iris and have sex with Tia."

"What are you talking about, Eleanor? Are you even conscious?"

I said I wanted to...

"Don't say it."

"I am a princess. You must give way to me."

Tia prepared a meditation ritual, already too lazy to pay attention to Eleanor's nonsense, and complained, "Even if you're my mother, it won't make a difference."

Eleanor stared intently at Tia, who was lying on the bed looking completely defeated, and said angrily, "Disobedience is punishable by being thrown into the dungeon."

................

................

Tia took the initiative to go down into the dungeon first.

However, this dungeon is in the deep sea—Tia's meticulously crafted upside-down sanctuary.

Tia hung upside down on the altar, and as her thoughts focused, a doll exactly like her appeared before the altar.

This is the wonderful use of the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is like a super cheat code with the Wind Spirit Moonshadow's "F1 Unlimited Ritual Materials" and "F2 Automatic Ritual Arrangement" enabled, which means you can use rituals at will.

Tia had previously mastered the craft of creating dolls, and now she can create a doll directly, but she cannot leave the sanctuary.

Leaving the sanctuary is equivalent to the avatar becoming ineffective.

No matter how powerful you are in the Sanctuary, it's all fake.

Tia first placed the Book of Red Roses on the shelf of forbidden books and secret texts, and slowly waited for the temple to rise.

A viscous buoyancy lifted the inverted temple up not far before Branna sank down from the laurel grove and became a relief on the stone pillar to the left of the altar.

“My Lord, Laurel Grove…” Branna bowed, about to speak, when she was suddenly astonished by the ascent of the Upside-Down Temple.

How many meters does that rise?

Branna couldn't estimate the depth, but it was already 40000 meters underwater. Among the many sanctuaries of the gods, this wasn't a very deep scale. On the contrary, if the sanctuary could be pulled to 40,000 meters, it could radiate into reality—something that some gods dreamed of.

If you want to continue to rise beyond this level, the resistance will be enormous, and you will have to arrange an extremely grand ceremony in reality.

For example, the great plague that swept through New York, London, and Hong Kong.

But Brenna never met any of Tia's followers!

This...it's practically a miracle bestowed by the ouroboros...

Brenna's eyes held a deep sense of awe.

Tia sensed the water depth, which was about 38km. She had risen 4km, probably because she hadn't fully mastered the Book of the Red Rose yet. Once she had, she could rise a little further.

She snapped out of her reverie, glanced at Brenna, and then went to the altar to examine the spirit of the sacrificial Cameron. As she examined him, she asked, "Brenna, what did you mean by laurel grove?"

"Ah! My Lord, it is a turbulent current that has risen in the deep sea and attacked the laurel grove."

"Is the problem serious?"

"No, there's nothing too serious. But there's something wrong with the deep-sea turbulence. Deep-sea turbulence is usually only caused by gods falling or rapidly rising, like..."

Branna looked out of the temple; the churning seawater made a grating, sizzling sound, like cat claws scratching cardboard.

This is also deep-sea turbulence, but it falls within the 42km-38km range.

Laurel Forest is at 35km, meaning it wasn't caused by the temple rising to the surface.

Tia pondered, "No gods should have fallen during this time. There are very few gods close to the material world, not to mention that most of them are quite famous and are under surveillance."

"So... that means a sanctuary with deities is rising?"

Before Tia could figure out what was going on, she was first drawn to the flickering flames of the sacred candles after the offerings were presented.

Two white lights, and another... golden light?

The last time Tia saw the golden light was when she encountered "light in blood".

"The shipment has been completed!"

Chapter 239 This is a Gift

It was indeed shipped... but the source was a bit puzzling for Tia.

This offering was only Sequence 6, but it yielded three extraordinary traits, one of which was Sequence 4.

This characteristic wasn't even from the sheathless blade that the assassin lady possessed, but from "alchemy," something she had never even considered!

These three characteristics are:

[Webweave (Trait/Sheathless Blade 6): Spider silk is spreading from the depths of your soul, weaving a nightmare 3000m deep in the ocean that is not entirely under your control. Your soul strength is permanently reduced by 30%.]

[I've been tricked (Trait/Sheathless Blade 8): When you are in the 24 hours of being tricked, your mind is clearer, your thinking is sharper, and you will be more adapted to the deep-sea environment.]

[Inorganic Conversion (Trait/Alchemy 4): The boundary between flesh and metal is not as clear as described in the scriptures of the Sons of the Forge. You have touched the secret of creation and immortality. Abandon your body to undergo inorganic conversion and use inorganic matter to continue to carry your soul and consciousness.]

Tia could barely discern the origin of the first two characteristics.

The spiderweb technique was likely the assassin's trump card. My being deceived, however, stemmed from a spiritual awakening at the moment of death—a transcendent power condensed from the sacred experience of dying.

Tia had previously exposed things like "iron neck," which is the same principle.

However, the transformation of inorganic matter is something that this assassin could not possibly possess; she is a pure, unsheathed blade! Tia couldn't even find any trace of alchemy or related artifacts on her.

Not to mention that this kind of Sequence 4 extraordinary skill is already a closely guarded secret among alchemists. Let alone Cameron, even she herself, with her self-taught skills, probably couldn't learn this skill.

Moreover, this thing is a prerequisite ritual for the core ritual of her Book of Transformation...

This is very interesting.

Tia absorbed the extraordinary knowledge of inorganic transformation and looked at Brenna, saying, "The deep-sea turbulence must be caused by a deity pulling the sanctuary up. The temple can't continue to rise now. Brenna, keep an eye on the area around Laurel Forest and watch out for any unusual activity."

Brenna lowered her head and said, "My lord! Should Freya and I ascend above the laurel forest to investigate the source of the turbulence?"

"No need. Just prioritize your own safety."

Tia shook her head in refusal.

This matter could be a big deal or a small one, mainly because they still don't know which deity it is. If it's Hagi snake again, that would definitely be a headache for her.

But if it was just a tribe from the southern continent or barbarians from the Great Icefield who pulled off a big stunt... then there's really no need to pay attention.

"Oh, right, Branna, stay behind for a moment."

Just as Branna was about to leave, Tia called her back, leaving her completely bewildered.

Tia thought for a moment and asked, "Are those bottles of Château de Blasio wine that Eleanor gave me at Silver Castle still around?"

"Oh? Are you calling for the shrike?"

“No, it would be a waste to give it to them. Iris, there’s a letter in my bedroom. Tomorrow, no, today, you take the letter and the wine to the banquet hall of the chapel at the St. Pantheon College.”

Tia remembered that with the time spent on her deep dive, it would be late at night in reality, so she added, "I'll give you the specific address and location when I get to reality, and I'll send it over this morning."

The elf lady lifted her skirt and touched her chest with one hand.

"As you wish."

The girl nodded slightly, and her figure gradually dissipated, returning to the upside-down figure with slightly closed eyes on the altar.

After the deep-diving ritual and meditation concluded, a buoyant force lifted the soul upwards.

When Tia opened her eyes again, she felt something heavy pressing on her chest.

When she got up, she saw Eleanor lying on the bed with her limbs outstretched, her sleeping posture in a very unsightly "big" shape.

Tia: "......"

How did Eleanor end up in my bed?!

Although Eleanor would disturb her sleep every now and then and would often climb into her bed to wake her up, she almost never actually slept with her all night. Usually, when she was almost asleep, Tia would forcibly push the drowsy princess into her own bedroom.

Ms. Bernice would knock on the door every few days to ask Eleanor to come downstairs.

Tia wanted to live a few more years...

broken--

I forgot to send Eleanor away and lock the door before diving...