Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

But soon, she seemed to remember something and tugged at the corner of Charles' clothes again.

Charles subconsciously looked down at her:

"?"

Lacey suddenly felt helpless - did this guy forget what they had agreed on before they came?

So she asked unhappily:

"Do you want to stay here?"

Charles was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted.

Long before entering Diesel, he and Lacie had made an agreement - just in case, they would check on each other's status every once in a while.

The safe word to confirm the situation... or the sentence, is what Rachel asked him now:

"Do you want to stay here?"

If Diesel's abnormality would keep all outsiders here forever, then this sentence with mystical meaning would temporarily anchor the status of both of them. Unless both of them had their cognition rewritten unknowingly, as long as one of them showed abnormality, the other would be able to quickly notice it and take him/her away from Diesel in time.

Theoretically, no cognitive interference spells would work on Ciel, so Laciel was not worried that anything would happen to Ciel.

She is more worried that her cognition will be rewritten.

But fortunately, the fact that she asked this question proved that her cognition was not abnormal for the time being, and soon, Charles shook his head and gave a negative answer to prove that his cognition was also normal.

Since both of them are considered normal, doesn't that mean Diesel doesn't have the problem that Lao Deng mentioned?

Or, has Diesel really turned into Victoria? It seems peaceful, but there are actually undercurrents. Are the two investigators who disappeared in Diesel arrested as spies? Or have they been killed?

Lacey thought it was possible.

So she tugged at Charles's clothes for the third time and waved to him, asking him to lower his head and put his ear closer.

After a brief hesitation, Ciel did so.

This time, Lacele did not take the opportunity to tease Charles, but told him her guess very seriously.

Charles also felt that there was some truth in Rachel's guess.

The two discussed for a while at the corner of the street, and finally decided to try to contact the locals.

Although...if Diesel really showed some abnormality like Lentiheim, it would not be a wise move to take the initiative to contact the locals rashly, but it is not a solution to keep doing this.

Lacie prayed in her heart that nothing would happen while she stared at the wrists and ankles of passers-by.

Of course, she did not find any abnormal features such as scales or webbed feet, and the locals did not wrap their bodies in black robes and hide their faces in hoods as she had imagined, only casting damp, cold and sticky glances from the shadows. There was no strange, pungent fishy smell in the air.

Everything is normal, the locals are even welcoming.

Even after hearing that they were outsiders, a local volunteered to take them on a tour of Diesel.

It can be seen that he probably loves his country very much, so he spared no effort to tell Rachel and Charles the history of Diesel along the way.

But even in the history he told, this tiny country was unremarkable and there was nothing unusual about it.

In this way, he talked all the way, and Rachel and Charles listened all the way, and finally the three of them came to the center of Diesel——

There is an ancient well there, surrounded by many pious local people.

Then, facing the puzzled Rachel and Charles, the tour guide enthusiastically introduced:

"This is our Diesel's holy place, the wishing well that will fulfill all wishes. I wonder if you two are interested in making a wish and giving it a try?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Lacie and Charles looked at each other in tacit understanding.

Wishing...well?

[To be continued]

-

1/3

7. Open Casket

The familiar tour guide invites the witch and the hero to make a wish.

Both the witch and the hero noticed something was wrong.

On the legal side, in the field of mysticism, the word "wish" often does not refer to a good concept.

There is no way, because it violates the most basic truth of equal exchange.

Just like burning incense and worshiping Buddha, what you pay is just a tribute of low value, but what you seek is a hundred times, a thousand times or even ten thousand times the reward - but even so, sometimes the wish will still be fulfilled - in a distorted way, with a deformed appearance, overdrawing the possibilities of the future, but with a price secretly marked.

So, could it be that Diesel’s abnormality is related to this wishing well that claims to fulfill all wishes?

But even though this wishing well can fulfill people's wishes, the two investigators should not directly cut off contact with the White Tower. You know, the investigators of the White Tower have always been known for their well-trained personnel. They should not be bewitched by the so-called wishing well and forget their mission.

Without making a sound, Lacie poked Ciel with her wand.

Charles understood what she meant, so he stepped forward and said to the enthusiastic guide:

"I want to try it - how do I do it?"

The tour guide pointed a finger at him and replied with a slightly flattering smile:

"Just a coin, sir, just throw a coin into the wishing well and your wish will be granted."

Lacey couldn't help but raise her eyebrows when she heard that.

Well, she thought, what a bargain? Just one coin to make anything you want come true?

What about the price difference?

Who will make up the difference between wish and reality?

Wanting a steamed bun and praying for world peace are both wishes, but how can they have the same value?

Perhaps it is difficult to distinguish the high and low of wishes, but it is clear that they have very different "weights" for everyone, and pricing all wishes at the same coin is an act...

Miss Witch quietly limped over to Ciel's side, lowered her head, and tried to peek into the wishing well.

The wishing well was extremely deep. The walls of the well, which had not seen sunlight for many years, were covered with green moss. Cool and moist water vapor seeped out from it, but even when Lacie almost put her head in, she didn't see any water at all.

She could only see pure black, as if it had swallowed up all the light that shone into it, leaving nothing but a lonely hole. But what was this hole connected to? Or, in other words, what was hidden inside it?

Lacey suddenly had an impulse—she wanted to grab the edge of the well and shout into the well:

"Hey! Come out!"

But before she could shout out, Charles came to her side, stretched out his arm, gently grabbed the back of her collar, lifted her up from the wishing well, and put her back in the wheelchair.

"?" Lacie, who had landed again, typed a question mark.

The Witch of Twilight indicated that the enemy had disappeared.

Then she quickly realized what had happened.

Her expression quickly turned unfriendly, and she even planned to settle the score with Charles in a rage.

If Charles didn't give a reasonable explanation, she would step on Charles' toes and cause sparks to fly!

But Charles just reminded her calmly:

"Don't get too close to the wishing well, or you'll fall in... Also, please give me a coin for making a wish."

Perhaps it was because his tone was too calm and natural, Lacie didn't know what to say for a moment.

Finally, after grunting for a long time, she finally said "Oh", took out a coin from the storage space and handed it to Charles.

——She even forgot to mock the small-time hero for not being able to take out a coin.

At this time, the small fry hero was holding the coin she gave him tightly, walked past her and came to the wishing well.

But he did not make a wish immediately. Instead, he turned around and looked at the enthusiastic local who led them here.

"We are not from Diesel," he whispered, showing the silver coin in his hand to the man, "This is the only coin we have, is that ok?"

The tour guide was stunned, staring at the silver coin hesitantly for a while, scratching his head:

"This……"

He didn't seem to have encountered such a situation before, so after a long while, he smiled and replied:

"It should be... okay?"

Lacey was happy.

No matter what is hidden in the wishing well, it is indeed connected to the international community. It not only accepts the local currency of Diesel, but also foreign currencies. But this is normal. Except for Lentiheim, Lacier really can't think of any country that can be completely isolated from the world.

What's more, Diesel is still a tiny country.

Lacie guessed that it should more or less trade with the nearest human empire, Victoria, so it stands to reason that there would be outsiders like them guided here by the enthusiastic locals to throw coins and make wishes.

I just wonder how many coins have accumulated in this wishing well over time.

Lacee thought about it and pushed the wheelchair back to Charles' side. She watched him throw the coin into the wishing well, and then, following the advice of the enthusiastic tour guide, he closed his eyes and began to make a wish.

But what would Charles wish for?

Pray for world peace and happiness for all, or be selfish and want powerful military force and inexhaustible wealth? Or...

Lacie stared at the hero's face, then suddenly shook her head and made a clicking sound.

Ciel would surely wish for the priest to be resurrected.

She didn't have to think to guess.

But if you want the priest to be resurrected, instead of pinning your hopes on an unreliable wishing well, you might as well ask her—

If Charles was sincere enough, perhaps she would show mercy and allow the pastor to reappear in this world for a while.

Charles obviously couldn't guess what she was thinking, and of course, she wouldn't let Charles guess what she was thinking.

Hero of small fry, if you have the ability, just find out the truth yourself.

Since Charles had his eyes closed and couldn't see what she was doing, she took the opportunity and stuck out her tongue at him.

But at this moment, Charles suddenly opened his eyes.

Lacie quickly retracted her tongue and then pretended nothing had happened. She sat obediently in the wheelchair, as if she was looking at the edge of the wishing well that had been polished to an almost mirror-like finish.

Her acting was so good that Charles didn't notice anything unusual about her.

The man just turned his head and said to the enthusiastic tour guide behind him:

"I made a good wish - is that all that's left?"

The enthusiastic tour guide nodded hurriedly:

"Yes, yes, that's all that's needed."

"Then..." Charles glanced at Lacey who was still pretending to be stupid from the corner of his eye, "When will my wish come true?"

The enthusiastic tour guide laughed:

"Don't worry, sir. Your wish will come true sooner or later."

After hearing this, Charles didn't react much, but Laceli couldn't hold it anymore.

sooner or later?

How late can it be? How early can it be?

Listening to your words is better than listening to all your words - this is not a matter of sooner or later, this is clearly the Tathagata, it is the ultimate!

Having said that, it proves that the wishing well in front of them is most likely just a tourist attraction and does not have the function of fulfilling wishes - in this case, it is most likely not the anomaly they are looking for.

Of course, it is not ruled out that it can really fulfill people's wishes.

But given the current situation, Rachel still thinks that the wishing well is more likely to be an IQ detector.

Ciel seemed to feel the same way, but he did not show it. Instead, he nodded and said without comment:

"Is this so..."

Then he changed the subject and asked the enthusiastic tour guide if there were any other interesting places in Diesel, or in other words, any legends.