Mystery: The Witch of Desire

"That's right, the three of us are friends, friends for life!"

Xiu turned her head, her tear-filled eyes filled with resentment and self-mockery:

"Fuck your friends! We're not friends anymore, we're not friends anymore!"

Livre gently patted her shoulder and smiled slightly:

"But did you originally have feelings for Fors as a friend?"

Xiu was slightly taken aback, speechless for a moment, and then turned his head away in a huff.

Livre knew she had touched a nerve with Hugh, and confidently entered the witch's domain, gently and softly persuading him:

“If you and Fors are just friends, then you should respect her choice of how to make her own feelings. Instead of being so heartbroken and feeling betrayed.”

"If you feel that your feelings for Fors go beyond friendship, then you should turn your attention to me, defeat me, and win Fors back. That's what a gentleman should do, isn't it?"

She deliberately emphasized the word 'gentleman' and looked at Hugh with a half-smile.

Hugh was taken aback, confusion appearing in his eyes. After a long pause, he hesitated before saying:

"I don't know what kind of feelings I have for Fors. Maybe it's friendship, maybe it's..."

Her cheeks flushed, and she didn't continue speaking.

Livre continued to ask softly:

"And what about me? Do you consider me your friend?"

After a moment's hesitation, Xiu nodded silently.

Livr smiled.

She skillfully created a spiritual wall inside the carriage, isolating herself from the sounds of the outside world.

Then, she pinched Hugh's cheek and laughed heartily:

"That settles it, doesn't it? The three of us are friends, best friends."

"We are all pitiful creatures in the shadows, pitiful creatures who do not know when they will meet a violent death. Moreover, we value each other and accompany each other. Isn't that enough? As for those worldly opinions, do they matter to us?"

"As you know, I'm a witch. Those things are as normal to me as eating and drinking. Besides, I'm still in the process of digesting the potion. As a friend, isn't it normal for Fors to help me digest the potion?"

Hugh listened in shock, her expression growing increasingly bewildered, yet deep down, she found that what Livre said seemed to make a lot of sense.

Fors, who was sitting opposite, also looked up, drawn in by Livre's words, and her eyes slowly welled up with tears again.

Livre smiled playfully, gently wrapped her arms around Hugh's neck, and whispered seductively in her ear:

"You really should learn from Fors. As my best friend, shouldn't you also help me digest the potion?"

As she spoke, she activated her sex addict's abilities, arousing Hugh's desire. In an instant, Hugh's cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment. She awkwardly pushed away Livre and hid to the side of her seat, breathing rapidly, still unable to control her pounding heart.

Livre smiled slightly, pressed the service bell, and instructed the flight attendant to bring a bottle of red wine and three wine glasses.

She filled the wine glasses, handed them to Hugh and Fors, and then picked one up for herself, smiling as she said:

"Come on, ladies, let's drink to our friendship!"

Upon hearing this, Fors picked up her wine glass, looking at Hugh with a mixture of guilt and hope in her eyes.

Hugh stared at the wine glass in front of her for a long time. Finally, she sighed, slowly raised the glass, and her eyes regained their usual sparkle.

"Hmph, you two slobs, better watch out, I won't catch you again!"

After saying that, she downed the wine in her glass in one gulp, then looked somewhat embarrassed and stammered:

"Can I join you?"

Livre smiled with satisfaction, a sly glint in her eyes:

"Alright, after all, Fors is too mischievous, and sometimes I really can't handle her by myself!"

Upon hearing this, Fors blushed and downed her drink in one gulp, then silently lowered her head.

The long steam train roared towards Backlund...

……

Inside the house rented by Livre and her two friends at 25 19th Street, East End, Backlund.

Fors and Hugh were still resting in bed, while Livre sat in front of the dressing table, fixing her clothes and makeup.

Just now, she had largely digested the potion of pleasure, and she had summarized two rules for playing the role:

First, novel experiences are important.

Second, there is strength in numbers.

Liviel straightened her clothes, looked at her reflection in the dressing mirror, hesitated for a long time, and then left a mark on the mirror. She had already tested it when she arrived in Backlund; the mark could be canceled remotely, so leaving a mark here wouldn't prevent her from using it later.

Then, she stood up, walked to the bedside, and said softly in a gentle tone:

"Ladies, the time of pleasure is always short, I must go now."

Both Fors and Hugh's eyes revealed a deep reluctance to part:

"Miss Marilyn Monroe, you must come back, we're waiting for you..."

……

Leaving the East End, Livre arrived at the Brave Ones bar in the Joewood district.

She had a lot of preparations to make before setting sail.

I sneaked up to the second floor and entered the room I hadn't visited in a long time.

Marich was playing cards with a bunch of zombies. There was an empty seat, and with her much stronger spirituality than before, Livre could sense that Miss Sharon was sitting there.

Livre smiled slightly and walked to the table amidst Marich's astonished gaze:

Good evening, madam and sir. It's been a long time. Have you missed me?

Marich remained silent for a long while before speaking emotionlessly:

"I thought you were dead."

"What a pleasant greeting."

Livre smiled faintly, walked to a seat vacated by a zombie, sat down, picked up the zombie's card, and looked at Sharon, who was still hidden:

"Miss Sharon, I have an item that I wonder if you could appraise?"

Sharon's figure slowly emerged from the air. She wore an elaborate black dress, and her doll-like, exquisite face was as cold as ice, devoid of any emotion.

"Take it out."

As Liviel retrieved Chik's skeletal statue, she instructed him:

"This item may be dangerous. Please fully assess the risks before it is appraised. I don't want you to get hurt."

Sharon paused slightly, then nodded and took out the Eye of Insight.

Before even receiving the bone statue, Sharon merely glanced at it with her Eye of Insight before quickly turning her head away, her brows furrowing:

"This item is beyond my capabilities."

Liviel thoughtfully put away the bone statue; she wasn't actually too surprised by the outcome.

Maric's malice intensified, and he said coldly:

"I thought you were here to sell Bloodthirsty Gloves."

Upon hearing this, Livre's smile brightened:

"No need, I get along with it very well."

Maric raised an eyebrow, clearly somewhat surprised:

"Then what are you here for? Just to show off your skeleton statue that could kill someone at any moment?"

Livre pushed some of her chips out and said leisurely:

"Don't be so heartless. We're all old friends. Can't you even come and visit us?"

Clearly, no one in the house, not even the undead, believed her. Livre herself didn't believe her. She cleared her throat and said, slightly more seriously:

"I need some information about the Southern Continent and the Five Great Seas. The more detailed the better."

Sharon, who had remained expressionless until now, twitched her eyebrows slightly and looked at Livre:

What do you need the information about the Southern Continent for?

Livre did not hide anything:

"I've been feeling a bit down lately, so I'm thinking of going to the Southern Continent to clear my head and see if those mummy powders really work as well as the legends say."

Marich blurted out:

"How can you, a woman, try it?"

He then realized what Livr meant, and a hint of shame and indignation flashed in his malicious eyes. He stopped talking to Livr.

Livre chuckled inwardly: she hadn't expected that this seemingly fierce Mr. Marich was actually quite innocent; compared to Miss Sharon, the two looked more like siblings.

Miss Sharon continued calmly:

"I can provide you with information about the Southern Continent, and also very, very detailed information about the Five Seas..."

She pondered for a moment, then continued to ask:

Do you have a messenger?

Livr had heard of such wondrous things, but having no knowledge of them herself, she answered honestly:

Not yet.

Sharon nodded slightly:

"I can provide you with the information you need for free and teach you how to obtain messengers. In return, I need you to do some things for me in the Southern Continent."

After she finished speaking, she added;

"No, it's too difficult."

"Oh?" Livre raised an eyebrow and replied with a smile, "It would seem a bit unreasonable of me to refuse such good offers."

Sharon continued calmly:

"Messengers are beings from the spirit world. Summoning a messenger requires a certain level of spirituality. I need to test your spirituality to see if it is sufficient."

Livre asked curiously:

How do we test it?

"Come with me."

Sharon stood up from the chair—no, she should have floated up, like a ghost—and moved leisurely toward the wall to one side, opening a dark room.

After a moment's thought, Livre followed her into the dark room.

This is a small room filled with various occult materials and exudes a strong aroma of incense.

Sharon floated quietly in the center of the room and reached out her hand to Livre.

A slender, fair hand, as white as jade.

Hold my hand.

She spoke each word without emotion.

"Wouldn't this be too ambiguous?"

Livre smiled and stepped forward, taking Sharon's hand, but her heart skipped a beat:

It's so cold, impolitely cold, like a dead person, completely devoid of warmth. But, the icy coolness is actually quite comfortable…

Livre held onto that hand with some reluctance, not letting go for a long time, while Sharon remained silent. The two women stood hand in hand in the fragrant, dimly lit room, creating a somewhat strange atmosphere.

Just as Livr was about to crack another joke to lighten the mood, Sharon spoke softly:

"Your spirituality is very powerful."

She released Livre's hand and said calmly:

"Now, listen to what I have to say."

……