Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

It exhaled a breath of hot air, and many tiny feathers grew on its face. Its head was tilted to one side at an angle far beyond what a human neck joint could achieve.

The lamp even felt that it could be swallowed up at any moment.

The thoughts whispered in my ears could not be heard from the other party, neither affirmation nor denial.

At this moment, the Sphinx's mind was repeatedly filled with the questions, "Is she right?" and "Is she right or wrong?"

The lamp was terrified.

Just as the Sphinx's head was about to bite the lamp into its mouth.

Lena opened her eyes, and her claws suddenly appeared.

at the same time.

"Hmm~"

The Sphinx withdrew its head with satisfaction.

"correct answer."

It stuck out its frighteningly long tongue and licked its lips.

"Next question."

The Sphinx continued.

"The world is vast, filled with many people, and you are one of them. To me, people are like stones around me, yet you argue endlessly over the slightest difference on those stones."

brush--

Before the Sphinx appeared a blurry figure with white hair.

"Dante and Virgil, a pair of identical twin brothers."

it says.

“Go and bring me back ‘the person in the picture’.”

"what?!"

==========

"The Sphinx's riddle is quite difficult; it's said that many people have died trying to solve it." Tobacco sighed. "Answering 'four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, three legs in the evening' is just the first step; there are many more torturous questions to come."

"Does the Empire have a way to deal with it?" Xiangzi twitched the corner of his mouth.

“There should be. Although that monster is powerful, it is not invincible.” Tobacco nodded. “It’s just that the terrain of the Greedy World is difficult for troops to march in, so they probably won’t send their army there. Besides, the Empire now has its own primary objective.”

"where?"

"A world of desire," Tobacco said.

She pointed the pointer to the next spot.

"This is the territory of the kingdom, as everyone should know."

"The world of eroticism is dominated by ancient forest terrain, with trees everywhere, even within the kingdom. The people there live in the trees, and they possess their own fragments of the Holy Grail, located in the kingdom's holy city."

Tobacco then pointed to a point on the map with his pointer.

"Beneath the statue of the goddess in the Holy City Cathedral, this fragment is sealed; it has been with the kingdom since its founding."

"Holy City? Is the Kingdom a religious state?" Lixi asked.

"Yes, it is the theocratic state of the Goddess Cult."

"What about the Cult of Goddess within the Empire? The Kingdom and the Empire are enemies, aren't they?"

"Of course, each side promotes its own version as the orthodox one, and neither side recognizes the other's version."

"As expected."

"Well, it's a standard procedure after all."

Tobacco shrugged and said.

“Given the poor political relations between the Kingdom and the Empire, and…” she glanced at Xiangzi, “you kidnapped the Red Queen in the name of Saint Hughia, so the Empire probably has a reason to take action.”

Although Xiangzi didn't work for Saint-Shuari, they were indeed wearing that outfit when they kidnapped the Red Queen. Saint-Shuari's attitude towards them was completely irrelevant; the Empire only needed to know that it was people "wearing Saint-Shuari's clothes" who kidnapped the Red Queen.

Not to mention that Saint-Shuari must have also been thinking about war when she organized the suicide of the Red Queen.

"Both sides are prepared for war," Chu Hua said.

"This fragment is difficult to handle," Xiangzi said, rubbing his chin.

Their numbers can be counted on two hands. Even if each individual is highly capable, it's still too much of a stretch for them to get involved in a conflict between nations, unless...

That's something Xiangzi wouldn't even consider.

However, we can't just leave it unattended. Information from the battlefield is crucial; it would be very troublesome if we missed out on who got hold of the fragments.

Just as Xiangzi was thinking that, someone seemed to have seen through her thoughts.

"I'll go scout."

========

The world of desire, within the kingdom.

One cycle after the action begins.

A short figure wearing a cloak walked into the city, weaving through the crowd until he reached a quiet street corner where no one paid him any attention. He then removed his hood, revealing long, emerald-green hair.

Mu quietly watched the scene on the street.

After entering the city, apart from a very few people like Mu who looked travel-worn, almost everyone was dressed in simple religious attire.

Unlike the dazzling and bustling empires, the kingdom's capital is the "Holy City," a city steeped in religion. The city's appearance is defined by its pristine white Arabic-style architecture, while the uniform attire of the believers is its very essence.

Monks could be seen on the streets from time to time, spreading recruitment leaflets and giving speeches. The defensive fortifications on the city walls had also been completed.

This place looks like it's preparing for war.

Mu found a clothing store, bought a set of clothes that were not much different from those of city residents, changed into them, and made herself look less conspicuous before going out on the street again.

At the very center of the city is the palace, which is also the tallest building in the city. It is also an Arabic-style domed building, and you can see its iconic large dome pointing to the sky as soon as you enter.

Thump———— Liu Yiqiyi 2 Temple Master Dam

Perhaps it was the perfect timing, for the deep, resonant tolling of bells rang out from the great bell atop the palace, their sound carrying throughout the city almost instantly.

The believers on the street immediately stopped what they were doing, turned around and knelt down in the direction of the palace, whispering prayers.

Mu knelt down along with the believers.

when----!

Another resounding bell rang.

As the sound waves swept across the street, something strange happened.

Pfft!

Black blood splattered on the ground, and one monster after another emerged from the crowd.

Screams, cries for help, and roars filled the entire city.

Almost instantly, the sacred city was stained with dark blood.

Just as Mu was wondering why things had turned out this way, a dark shadow blocked out the sky above the royal city.

She raised her head.

It wasn't the clouds that blocked the light.

======

“You’re from the world of rage, am I right?” Tobacco said, hands on his hips. “After all, that’s the only place that’s a desert, and you were covered in sand when you came out of the door.”

“Yes, fragments of the Wrathful World. You don’t mean to say they’re related to the dwarves, do you?” Lixi raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right, it seems you know something about that place.” Tobacco suddenly lowered its voice mysteriously, “Guess how the dwarves disappeared?”

"Because the natural environment of the angry world has deteriorated?" Ai Yin said.

"Do not."

"Destroyed by the Empire?" Chu Hua said.

"Impossible, there was no empire back then."

"What's that?" Li Xi asked impatiently, crossing her arms.

“Listen carefully, I said ‘disappeared,’ not ‘extinct.’ Although human texts say ‘dwarves are extinct,’ I’ve never believed that.” Tobacco seemed to have finally found its footing with them, and said cheerfully, “They just ‘disappeared’ in some way.”

""""What's the meaning?""""

"Hey, use your imagination a little." Tobacco pushed up his glasses. "Steamcore, ever heard of it?"

"Yes, I know that thing can power dwarven technology and has almost unlimited energy."

"Yes, then recall what I just said: the 'City of Ecstasy' of the Arrogant City-State was built using special technology..."

"The City of Ecstasy uses a steam core, which is why it can remain underwater? Then...."

"Besides the seabed and the land, what other places have we missed?" Tobacco held up three fingers, then slowly retracted two, leaving only the index finger.

She practically made it clear.

"In the sky," Xiangzi revealed the answer.

"Bingo~" Tobacco gave her a thumbs up.

===============

--"rise......"

—"Countdown from the top, five..."

What does it feel like to soar into the sky?

This was the first time Xiangzi had experienced this.

Following the tobacco's clues, she returned to the world of rage and searched through the swirling dust of that world for an entire cycle of time.

Finally, they found a dilapidated lighthouse complex in the desert.

Xiangzi took out the small note that the tobacco company had given her and rang the bell on the lighthouse in the order recorded on the note.

Then, the roof at the very top of the lighthouse opened.

There is a mysterious chair on the roof.

After Xiangzi sat down, a thick steel plate rose from the ground and enveloped her, forming an almost completely enclosed cabin.

A mechanical female voice came from the lighthouse wall and began to broadcast.

--"Four......"

--"three......"

--"two......"

—"One, take off."

Inside the cockpit, feeling the gravitational acceleration brought by the rapid ascent, as the cockpit soared into the sky from the sandstorm-swept desert, Xiangzi gritted his teeth.

Amidst a rumbling sound, the noise of flying sand and stones hitting the cabin, and the announcements from a mechanical female voice.

— "Five hundred meters."

— "One kilometer".

—"Three thousand meters..."

The view in front of me suddenly opened up.

The sounds of impact and rumbling vibrations disappeared as the view opened up.

"Welcome to the Dwarven City, the culmination of the dwarven race's steam technology. The devout dwarves hope that one day they can fly through this city to the divine realm and reunite with the goddess."

As the mechanical female voice explained, Xiangzi looked out through the small window.

When he was a child, Xiangzi once fantasized about whether there was something above the clouds in the sky, like a city or something similar.

This should be the most perfect answer.