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

A light breeze blew, quickly "erasing" their figures, and then, according to the coordinates previously recorded, another light breeze rose in the city of Diesel.

The witch and the hero appeared in the breeze and landed at the end of an alley in Diesel.

This tiny country remained as peaceful and happy as when they left yesterday.

Rachel noticed that most of the pedestrians on the street were smiling. To be honest, she didn't know whether people who often smiled were happy, but she knew that people who always had a bitter face were probably not living a happy life. So the people of Diesel were living a good life? They could be said to be living and working in peace and contentment?

In this case, in a sense, in today's unpredictable and volatile Pangaea, Diesel can be regarded as a paradise.

But speaking of it, Lacie was a little confused.

She lowered her voice and said to Charles who was pushing the wheelchair behind her:

"Diesel is different from Lentiheim. Lentiheim's situation is special, so he is isolated from the world, but Diesel should..."

The witch paused before continuing:

"Diesel should have maintained contact with the outside world. No matter how self-sufficient it is, it has never actively rejected visits from the outside world. Whether it was us or the two investigators before, we all successfully entered Diesel in the end, right?"

Charles quickly realized what she was talking about, so he nodded and said in a deep voice:

"Well, and the enthusiastic tour guide last time... wasn't surprised by our arrival. Does this mean that outsiders often visit Diesel?"

"There should be some," Rachel was very satisfied that Ciel and she had a good understanding of each other, "but if there have been outsiders visiting Diesel all the time, then why didn't they find anything unusual about the wishing well?"

This doesn't make sense at all.

But just after she said this, she suddenly remembered that Charles might not know about the abnormality of the wishing well - after all, in Charles' eyes, the short-term resurrection of the pastor lady was all her credit.

In fact, she was able to briefly revive the priest thanks to this dark... ah, it was the wishing well.

So I have to change my words and make up a credible story to fool Charles!

Rachel was brainstorming when she heard Charles say to her:

"Well, so, Diesel's abnormality is actually very obvious. It is right in front of us, but we ignored its existence..."

At this point, Charles seemed to remember something and sighed in a low voice:

“It’s almost like… it’s like the elephant in the room.”

This description was apt, but it was not Charles's original idea. Both Rachel and Charles understood that this was what the pastor lady had said.

For a moment, Lacie felt that she was a sinful woman.

It only took her three years to leave an unforgettable mark on Charles. Now she was by his side under a different identity, and she could often sense the changes she had brought to him in what he said and did.

It might even be an exaggeration to say that, before he knew it, Charles had completely transformed into her shape.

But if no one reminded him, it would be difficult for Charles to realize this.

Thinking of this, Lacie couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.

Then, she asked deliberately:

"The elephant in the room? What does that mean?"

After a moment's silence, Ciel replied in a low voice:

"Rachel told me that this is a proverb from where she came from, referring to things that are so obvious that they are often overlooked."

"Oh..." Lacie used her superb acting skills to pretend to be enlightened, "So that's what you mean."

Then she pretended to sigh:

"So, Diesel's wishing well is indeed like the elephant in the room... Although it is so obvious, it is always ignored..."

"If an outsider really knew of its existence, then soon the news that the tiny country of Diesel has a wishing machine would spread throughout the human countries. Then, in order to compete for this wishing machine, this small country that can be called a paradise might be reduced to purgatory."

Although Lacie could guess without thinking that Diesel's wishing well was most likely just a so-called "limited wishing machine."

Since ancient times, whether it was the White Tower Alliance, which represented a more advanced direction and future, or the remnants from the old times, the wizards who turned the Mage Tower upside down and built it deep underground, they all had quite in-depth research on the so-called Holy Grail, or "wishing machine."

After all, the very existence of that thing is a miracle of some magnitude.

It violates the most basic truth of equivalent exchange, and can use a tiny force to pry the entire world and turn fantasy into reality.

There was a time when the so-called "Infinite Wishing Machine" became the object of pursuit of almost all scholars, just like a moth instinctively flies towards a flame. There was even a super-level wizard who made a bold statement, claiming that the "Infinite Wishing Machine" would become the ultimate subject of the entire world, and that the next thousand years, the tenth Pan-era, would become the era of the wishing machine.

But later, as the research gradually deepened, all the mages realized how ridiculous this sentence was.

——Just like what Rachel had heard in her previous life, "The 21st century is the century of biology" is ridiculous.

The only truth of equal exchange cannot be crossed. Any gift that the wishing machine gives to its owner is secretly marked with a price.

The dream of the "infinite wishing machine" was shattered. The scholar who claimed that the "infinite wishing machine" would become the ultimate issue for the entire world could not bear the heavy blow and committed suicide. The legacy he left behind was the theory called the "finite wishing machine".

The simplest way to distinguish between a limited wishing machine and an unlimited wishing machine is to see whether the wisher needs to bear the cost of the wish.

The infinite wishing machine can fulfill any wish of the wisher, and the wisher does not need to pay any price; the finite wishing machine still follows the principle of equivalent exchange. It can indeed fulfill the wish of the wisher, but correspondingly, the wisher needs to pay a price for their wishes.

If you want to get something, you must pay a sacrifice of equal value...

Thinking of this, Lacie suddenly shuddered.

"If the priest's body in the sea of ​​forests is the product of Ciel's wish, then..."

"So what will the price be?"

[To be continued]

-

1/3

16. True or False Wishes

If the wishing well in Diesel is really a limited wishing machine, then just as the witch described, in order to fight for this limited wishing machine, Diesel may fall from paradise to hell on earth.

Even though there are costs to using the Limited Wishing Machine, they are negligible compared to the benefits it brings.

After all, since the scholar who created the finite wishing machine committed suicide, scholars no longer obsessed with the so-called infinite wishing machine, because under the interference of the first truth, that is, "equivalent exchange", the existence of the infinite wishing machine is destined to be just a castle in the air.

So, scholars began to study how to use the limited wishing machine.

They soon discovered that the cost of using a limited wishing machine was actually controllable. Although it was difficult to accurately specify it as a specific condition, this cost could be passed on to others.

Ciel and his team once solved the chaos caused by the limited wishing machine.

Therefore, he definitely knew better than most people on the Pangaea how terrible the harm that the limited wishing machine could bring was - although Charles clearly remembered that the scholar who created the limited wishing machine originally intended to use them to create a peaceful and happy world.

But after his death, the wishing machine he left behind was transformed into an important strategic weapon for human countries.

During the war years, thousands or even tens of thousands of lives were lost every day by the Limited Wishing Machines. Even though there were only five known Limited Wishing Machines in the entire Pan-Continent so far, the deaths they caused were difficult to measure.

However, the limited wishing machine that now appeared in Diesel did not belong to the known limited wishing machine sequence. In other words, it might be an absolute unstable factor.

Charles thought silently, lowered his head, and looked at the witch lady who was now sitting in a wheelchair in front of him.

She didn't know yet that he had seen through her identity.

The witch could use the master-servant contract to force him to call her master, so it was only natural that he could also use the master-servant contract to confirm the witch's identity in return.

Only when facing the witch lady would he involuntarily call her master, but after trying, he found that when facing the resurrected Lacier, he would also be driven by the master-servant contract and call Lacier master.

This shows that the essence hidden in the priest's body... or soul, is still the witch lady with whom he signed a master-servant contract.

After realizing the truth, Charles did not directly expose the witch's disguise. On the contrary, he did not say the word "master" out loud, but silently concealed it with the help of moving his lips.

Since Laciel could pretend not to know him, he could also pretend not to see the truth -

That's fair enough.

Charles didn't know why Lacie joined his team, nor did he know why Lacie turned back into a witch and turned against him after helping him block the sword.

But he wasn't angry at all.

He knew nothing, and had no idea why Rachel's revenge inexplicably turned into a repayment of favor - those things didn't matter, for Charles, the most important thing now was that he had found Rachel.

As long as she was by his side, everything was fine.

Even if she didn't want to reveal her identity to him, it didn't matter if she recognized him. They had quarreled and had conflicts like this before, but they always made up in the end.

It will be fine.

The most difficult period has passed, and everything will gradually get better...

Charles thought, trying his best to suppress the surging emotions and control the strong urge to bend down, hug Lacie tightly in the wheelchair, bury his face in the girl's neck, and tell her that he has always loved her deeply.

After she blocked the sword for him and fell into a state of suspended animation, he blamed himself countless times and hated his cowardice.

If he had been braver, he would have told Laciel about his feelings for her earlier; if he had reacted faster, he would have pulled Laciel into his arms, or he would have taken the sword himself; if...

But there are not so many ifs in this world.

Charles subconsciously reached out his hand and gently touched the hilt of the holy sword at his waist, and a hint of bitterness immediately flowed in his iron-gray eyes.

But after his attention returned to Rachel, the bitterness in his eyes disappeared, replaced by tenderness and determination.

He had already decided that he and Laciel would be lifelong companions, and from now on, Laciel would never be able to get rid of him no matter what.

This was the first oath he made as a Ciel, not a hero.

……

But Lacele had never been happy with Charles as her companion.

After all, she didn't want mugwort.

But now the situation is stronger than people, and she will definitely not be able to investigate the abnormalities in Diesel by herself.

After all, she was still limping.

Although she had already cast healing spells on herself, she was not Ciel after all, and did not have such a strong physique. Even with the help of the improved healing spell, she estimated that it would take her two or three days to fully recover.

Besides, it’s so comfortable to be pushed by someone. You don’t even have to walk. There are almost no disadvantages except the risk of being sent away by pleasure.

Even though she was able to walk, based on the principle of "If you don't take advantage of an opportunity, you're a bastard; if you don't use your slaves, you're a moron", Lacie decided to pretend to be a wounded person for a while.

Anyway, Charles has no objection.

So, Lacier, who was sitting in a wheelchair, continued to analyze seriously:

"If the wishing well is really a limited wishing machine, there is no reason why people who come to Diesel would not notice it. But so far, we have not heard of any news that Diesel has a limited wishing machine. What does this mean?"

She asked Ciel.

Charles thought for a moment, then answered:

"It means... the message has been blocked."

"Yes!" Lacier nodded and shook her head, "...not right either."

Then she added:

"That depends on which part of the news has been blocked."

"Did the news just reach the outside world and the neighboring country of Victoria, and then it was blocked by someone who coveted the limited wishing machine - or was it that the news was never passed on to the outside world from the beginning?"

Lacele twisted her waist, stared into Charles' iron-gray eyes, stretched out two fingers, made a pair of scissors, and snapped her fingers together.

"The message is cut off," she said solemnly, "either in Victoria or in Diesel."

But whether it is Victoria or Diesel, this inference is not good news for them.

Hearing this, Charles nodded slightly to show that he understood.

He then put forward his thoughts:

"Could it be possible... that there is such a possibility? For example, other outsiders who came to Diesel have never seen the wishing well, let alone use it to make a wish... So, the outside world doesn't know that Diesel has a limited wishing machine hidden?"

After hearing this, Lacier shook her head without even thinking:

"How is that possible? The people of Diesel didn't hide the wishing well. They even turned it into a tourist attraction! Although it's true that there won't necessarily be people who have nothing to do like us and make a wish, as long as one person makes a wish and his wish comes true, the news that there is a limited wishing machine hidden in Diesel will spread."

Her logic was very rigorous, and Charles could not find any flaws, so he nodded and agreed with her.