Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

If we were in the same university, we could see each other every day!

Anne became happier and happier as she thought about it, and she couldn't help humming the tune of the opera. But as she was passing by the garden not far from the gate, she inadvertently heard the conversation beside the door.

One Anne knew well was her father, Count Peric Mercury.

Another conversation also revealed the identity of Liu Yi, Mr. Field, the police chief of the Greater Bay Area of ​​New York.

"Feld, you're in big trouble! Something that could have been dealt with earlier has now attracted Silver Castle."

"Sir, Silver Castle is short-staffed for the Queen's Celebration, so we can only transfer police officers and extraordinary people there. We originally thought that once the celebration was over, we would be able to wrap up those cases, but we never expected..."

"Okay, enough talking. Now that things have come to this, let's first pass on the secret message that was stolen from the cathedral and recover it. How's your search going?"

"I have absolutely no clue. Yesterday, the alchemist Canaan is dead. His head was pierced by an elephant hunting bullet, and there are traces of explosions around the place where he died. Our initial suspicion is that one of his sacrificial slaves robbed his fellow thieves, obtained smuggled guns, ammunition, and explosives, and deliberately killed his accomplices. Or perhaps a third party intervened."

"Damn it! I've always said that these guns and ammunition should have been strictly controlled! What about the secret manual? An ordinary person wouldn't be able to take away a secret manual written in a secret language, right?"

“…was also taken away.”

"Taken away?! Why would an ordinary person take this away?!"

"Sir, to be precise, he looted most of the things, and when we went to search the scene, we couldn't find any extraordinary items except a few bottles of alchemical potions. In other words..."

"So, does that mean there's someone behind him, or maybe he's actually a transcendent being?! And he's also very familiar with the Hand of Transformation?"

The voice paused, and Anne could hear Count Mercury's rapid breathing and heavy stomping of his feet. It must be his cigarette being stomped out. "He knows about secret teachings and the Hand of Transformation. Which sect is this high-level transcendent from?! Damn it! How can I encounter something like this just after arriving in Newlon Harbor!"

Anne listened carefully by the wall and felt that many things seemed familiar.

Although I didn’t understand what my father and the others were talking about.

But, the elephant hunting rifle, the large-caliber bullets, the explosives, and yesterday, and the time she asked me for a 'nobility certificate' to prove her legal possession of the explosives and the elephant hunting rifle, and Tia who hadn't been to school for the past two days...

this.....

——Could it be that Tia-san is the extraordinary person from that secret sect? !

Volume 7: Mio's Death Chapter 9: Letter from Silver Castle

Early morning, Beigang District Street Middle School.

In the classroom, the gray-haired teacher was holding a textbook in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other, drawing the structure of a steam engine on the blackboard and explaining it in detail.

If one understands the structure and maintenance of steam engines, one will have the hope of applying for a job as an engineer or maintenance worker in a factory. Therefore, most students listened very carefully - except Tia Sulph.

Tia directly and openly spread out a thick history monograph and carefully searched for words related to alchemy, mysticism, and supernatural beings.

But unfortunately, these things are either like myths and legends, saying things like "the white dragon defeated the red dragon", "the founding hero drank the fountain of youth", "King Charles shot down Iris's airship with a stone", or they are vague and unclear, and have almost no reference value.

The mystical content in it is not as high as the herbal mixture she made!

Tia rubbed her brows and began to think about the promotion ritual she had seized from the alchemist.

She had been studying the Ritual Scrolls and the Hearthfire Book since returning from St. Vincent's Church two days ago.

The Hearthfire Book contained a wealth of jargon and codewords. Just as Eastern mysticism often employed metaphors like "dragon and tiger," "lead and mercury," and "golden crow and toad," alchemy also had its own system of codewords, completely beyond the comprehension of an outsider like Tia.

The content of the promotion ritual is relatively simple and easy to understand. It uses pictures and text to introduce how to arrange the ritual, perform the ceremony, and the improvements in physical fitness, five senses acuity, mental activity and sleep quality after the promotion sequence.

The extent of the increase depends on the person presiding over the ceremony, ranging from 5% to 150%.

If you are weak and sickly, you can become a healthy ordinary person after a successful promotion; on the contrary, if you train to be like Baki or a Hong Kong comic style, the improvement will probably be only a little bit insignificant.

There are two versions of the promotion rituals, one is the Iris Kingdom Alchemy Society version, and the other is the Eastern Church version. Both the required materials and the arranged rituals are very different, and it even makes people feel that they are probably two different things.

No wonder Vera said that alchemy was divided into two branches.

Tia initially selected the Eastern Order's version of the "Great Philosopher." As for the Iris version, the required materials included the "iron nails of the cross that pierce the palms of innocent people"—something that would probably require killing someone to make themselves, as the production cost was too high.

Swish, swish, swish...

The teacher on the stage announced the end of get out of class. Tia was writing down the necessary materials with a pen. There was a mirror reflecting sunlight, a snake, a whetstone, and a pigeon struggling to take flight...

At this time, Mr. Daniel, an elderly teacher wearing a gray-white coat and holding a textbook under his arm, said to Tia politely and gently:

"Ms. Sulph, please come to my office later."

Tia paused, covered her writing with her hand, closed the notebook and threw it into her schoolbag, then followed Daniel.

The old man in front was leaning on a cane and wearing glasses. Judging from his skin and features, he must be in his sixties. His hair and beard were gray, and he was wearing a solemn gray coat, giving off the feeling of a very serious class teacher.

In the corridor, Daniel walked and asked with concern: "I saw that you didn't come to school for the past two days, what happened?"

"I went to Silver Castle to look for my sister. I remember I asked for leave."

"You only took one day off, but you were absent for two full days... The Queen's Celebration is about to begin, and Silver Castle is packed with Ansu people, Iris people, Imperials, city dwellers, country folk, stowaways, legal and illegal immigrants... You should be more careful next time. Especially the day before yesterday, I heard there was an explosion on the way to Silver Castle, right by the long-abandoned St. Vincent Church..."

Tia paused, followed Daniel into the office, and asked curiously, "Explosion?"

How did it get discovered so quickly?

The New York Police Department had been harassing people for two months, but how come they found the real culprit and solved the case in just three or four days?

"Yes." Daniel sat down at his desk, took out an envelope from the drawer, and muttered:

"Tia, you and your sister are both very promising children. If nothing goes wrong, I can guarantee that you will go to Saint Laurent University in Silver Castle next year. Professor Horner of the Steam and Power Department of Saint Laurent University is an old friend of mine..."

"Whether you continue your studies and teach at a university like your sister Ivina Sulph, or find a job in a church or a factory, it will be easy..."

"I understand, teacher." Tia nodded and asked calmly, "So what happened with the explosion? I didn't notice it along the way."

This is a lie.

"I hope you understand... 17(i)28388..."

Old man Daniel seemed very happy to be called "teacher" and said with relief: "I don't quite understand what's going on. But I heard that people from the Silver Castle Police Department rushed here specially, apparently chasing a wanted criminal. You should remember to go home early these days and don't go out after dark..."

The National Police Agency?

Tia didn't expect that this matter would attract the Silver Castle Police Department.

The Anzu police system is divided into two levels: the Royal Capital Police and the local police. In theory, they are independent of each other. However, the Royal Capital Silver Castle Grand Police Department has close ties to the royal family. Even the Grand Police Department's emblem features a shield crowned with a crown.

The arrival of the National Police Agency means that the royal family has set its sights on New York.

But logically speaking, the alchemist who was shot dead by her was not that awesome, right?

——It’s like sending out the special forces to catch the author of pornographic articles.

While Tia was thinking, Daniel handed her the envelope he had just taken out and said, "This was sent by your sister, Miss Avina, from Silver Castle yesterday. Put it inside your clothes and keep it safe. Don't let anyone see it on the road."

"You kid, you left so confused that you didn't even remember to bring this thing with you when you came back..."

Tia took the envelope, a thick letter, heavy, opened it and read:

First there was a piece of letter paper, and below that was a full forty pounds in banknotes.

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

"Whoo~"

Tia let out a long sigh and walked out of the school gate, not knowing what to say.

Although she and Avina were sisters who had depended on each other since childhood, they had hardly seen each other since Avina Sulph graduated from the neighborhood middle school and went to Silver Castle three years ago. They only received a letter every two or three months, which contained some gold pounds and a few words of advice such as asking her to take care of herself as the weather was getting cold and not to turn off the fireplace to save money.

The academic system of Ansu's university and Tia's university in her previous life is not much different, both are four-year programs.

If my sister Avina taught while she was still a student, she would usually be a professor's assistant, and her monthly salary would probably be only around 30 or 40 pounds - more than half of which would be spent on daily expenses such as food and housing.

It is not easy to live in the Silver Castle, and it is probably not an easy task for Avina to squeeze out these forty gold pounds.

"I'm gradually getting back on track, and I haven't spent all my gold pounds. After purchasing the materials for the ritual, I won't have any major expenses for the time being. If I can find a suitable reason, I can try to send some money to my sister."

Giving money directly is definitely not an option.

A young girl who wasn't even an adult and hadn't even graduated from school suddenly sent a large sum of money home. Tia guessed that her sister would immediately turn down her job and come back to ask her what was going on.

These things were put aside for the time being. On the way home, Tia went to the market on White Oak Street again and gathered the materials for the ceremony.

Looking at the promotion ceremony alone, becoming a transcendent does not seem to be a very troublesome thing. You just need to prepare the materials and then arrange the "deep diving ceremony" and "promotion ceremony" in turn.

The deep diving ceremony is a prerequisite for the promotion ceremony. It is mentioned in both ritual parchments. They are similar and have a simple arrangement.

The ritual materials needed for the promotion ceremony are: a mirror, a snake, a whetstone, a pigeon struggling to take off, a cat's eye-covered copper cane, a dried wolf's head, a rusty dagger, an hourglass, and a glass of twenty-year-old wine.

Finally, a full mammal heart and a silver-plated knife are used to set up the ritual formation.

Mirrors, snakes, whetstones, pigeons and the like are easy to find, but the harder things to buy are walking sticks, wolf heads and wine.

I'd probably have to look for a cat's eye-covered copper cane at an antique dealer, or make one myself. Wolf heads and twenty-year-old wines are too rare in slums like Beigang District, so I'd have to go to shopping malls or the black market in the Greater Harbor or Clock Tower districts.

He had just purchased a lot of things, including snakes and pigeons, and with such a pretty girl, he attracted attention along the way.

She was about to unload her things and move them upstairs, but as soon as she reached the bottom floor, she saw a familiar carriage with a noble family crest of two snakes entwined around a broken staff on the side.

"Annie?!"

Volume 1: Chapter 10 We Invite Ouroboros

"Good day! Tia-san!"

"Hold on."

Tia went upstairs first, put down the pile of things she bought, washed her hands briefly, and then went downstairs to see Annie.

The driver had just laid out the carpet. Anne carefully got off the car, holding the handrail. After stepping onto the ground, she started to trot, her skirt lifted. She walked over to hug Tia and said in a smart voice, "I heard that classmate Tia took a leave of absence to go to Silver Castle two days ago. Did you go to the Cathedral? And Isabella Amusement Park, the Oceanarium, the Saint Laurent Museum..."

As she spoke, Anne counted them on her fingers and told them to Tia one by one.

Tia nodded frequently and even joined in the conversation based on the knowledge from her previous life.

This was one of the reasons why Anne liked Tia. Unlike her classmates who came from aristocratic families, she was always arrogant when talking to her. It was more like an official exchange than a friend!

He is also not like many of my friends who come from ordinary families. They always speak to me in a strangely flattering or distant manner, as if we are not in the same world at all.

Halfway through her speech, Annie exclaimed in surprise, quickly took the written letter from the car, and said embarrassedly, "I'm here to deliver a letter to classmate Tia!"

"letter?"

"Yes! I heard that Tia-san has a hobby of writing letters with pen pals... so I wanted to try writing letters with Tia-san as well."

Pen pals are fake, customers are real.

She usually peddles a lot of illegal herbal concoctions, but few are legal. Customers who want to buy illegal pharmaceuticals have to write to a black market intermediary, who then passes it on to another intermediary, and finally to her. The middleman takes a 45% cut—a pure vampire.

She was willing to take Canaan's order because Canaan found her directly without going through any intermediaries. However, after finally finding one that could ship directly from the manufacturer, she failed to judge the person and ended up meeting a deadbeat.

Tia accepted the letter and smiled, jokingly saying, "If we were pen pals, you wouldn't deliver the letter in person, right?"

Annie exclaimed rashly, "Oh! So that's how it is? Then I'll ask the postman to help deliver it to Tia next time!"

Tia held the envelope, put it in the pocket of her windbreaker, and said:

"Okay. Annie, want to come up and sit down?"

"No, that's not necessary! Is Tia-san free now?"

“Old project or new project?”

Annie blushed immediately, and quickly whispered, “No, it’s not that. Sister Evelin is in the car this time, so let’s do it next time.”

"I actually wanted to ask if Tia has any plans for the future, like college... Tia has excellent academic performance, is very smart, and is very cute. She should have no problem getting into either Royal Capital National University or Saint Laurent University. I want to go to Saint Laurent University with Tia and be friends for life."

Royal Capital University and Saint Laurent University were both top institutions in the Silver Castle. The former was built with the full investment of the royal family, while the latter was a church-run school with over 600 years of history that became secularized over 80 years ago.

Tia's sister Avina is an assistant teacher at Royal Capital National University.

She smiled politely. "As for the future, let the future tell. But if possible, I would probably go to Yves Saint Laurent."

Teacher Daniel just said that he could write her a letter of recommendation.

Just after she finished speaking, Tia paused and asked, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Please go ahead!"

"I'm going to a banquet soon. I might need a bottle of wine that's preferably at least 20 years old, and a walking stick. Could you prepare them for me? I can pay for them."

"The cane is no problem at all, but the wine... I could try to steal a bottle from Dad's cellar."

Tia was about to offer some advice, but Anne's voice was so fast that she interrupted her unspoken syllables. "As for the cane, what type do you want? As for the material..."

"It doesn't have to be complicated. Just coat the bottom with copper and inlay a cat's eye on the top."

"Then I understand. Anything else?"