The Witch is Depressed

Nothing happened for the next week.

Ansu had been waiting for Celia to take the initiative to contact him, but the Communication Amulet had never lit up. The witch had been out of contact for over a week.

Although Ansu felt quite uneasy, she probably hadn't gone off to kidnap Freya...

The Holy Maiden had sent him a letter shortly after arriving at the Royal Capital to let him know she was safe.

"So what exactly has she been doing... does checking records really take this long?"

Ansu huddled on the sofa, fiddling with the amulet in his hand from time to time, muttering to himself.

Vera, who was reviewing her lessons nearby, stole glances at her brother every now and then. She felt like he looked exactly like someone missing a loved one while staring at their belongings...

Hmph! Was it really necessary?

They hadn't seen each other for only a week, and he was already starting to ramble about her!

"Brother... isn't it a good thing that your boss isn't looking for you?" Vera closed her book and curled her lip in annoyance.

"I never noticed before that you loved working so much..."

"It is not that I love working, it is..." Ansu realized he could not explain it to his sister and gave a helpless smile.

"Forget it. It is almost noon. Are you hungry? I will go make something for you to eat."

Vera nodded. Although her brother did not have many opportunities to cook, she quite liked the dishes he made for her.

Time passed unconsciously until noon, and the aroma of food spread from the kitchen. Vera looked expectantly at Ansu, who had been busy for her.

The two siblings chatted idly.

"Brother, that teacher Sister Freya mentioned she would find for me..."

Vera watched Ansu working in the kitchen, her mind no longer on her studies.

"She told me before she left that she had already found one. It is just that getting this master to come out of seclusion is quite difficult. We might have to make a special trip to visit them in person..."

"Coming out of seclusion?" Ansu pondered the description, wondering what kind of extraordinary person Freya had found. The word 'master' was not usually applied to ordinary transcendents.

However, since Freya had gone out of her way to find them, they should be quite reliable.

Ansu looked back at his sister. "Then we should buy some gifts before we go. It is not good to show up empty-handed."

"Mm-hmm!" Vera nodded happily.

Her heart was now full of visions of herself becoming a powerful transcendent. She was already looking forward to the scene of meeting this master.

A little later, Ansu, wearing an apron, brought freshly stir-fried beef and oil-braised prawns to the dining table.

"Lunch is served!"

Vera's nimble little nose twitched as she curiously gathered around.

Using the wooden stick utensils her brother had specially made, she awkwardly picked up a piece of beef. Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Brother! It is delicious!"

"If it is delicious, then eat more." Ansu smiled gently and sat down beside Vera.

"When did you learn this skill, Brother? It is amazing!" Vera blinked curiously. "And these dishes you make are really special. What kind of cuisine is this? I have never seen it before."

"This is called Chinese cuisine." Ansu thought to himself that as for how he learned it... that was thanks to 'awakening memories of a past life'.

Speaking of which, he did have some unique insights into cooking. If he hadn't been dragged into all this mess, opening a Chinese restaurant in another world and spending the rest of his life in peace seemed quite nice...

Unfortunately, there were no 'ifs'.

Ansu thought about the chaotic world that would arrive in three years. It was almost impossible to stay out of the vortex alone. Being pushed by fate seemed to be his future norm.

As he was thinking, the Communication Amulet flickered slightly.

Ansu quickly checked the amulet.

【Lawrence Manor, come quickly!】

Celia was finally back. Ansu didn't even care about finishing his meal as he rushed toward the front door.

"Vera, eat by yourself! I have to go out for a moment!"

Vera watched Ansu as he reached the door and changed into his coat, her small face suddenly falling.

"Is it that urgent... you won't even let someone finish lunch!"

"It is an emergency." Ansu gave Vera an apologetic look. "I might be back late, so eat dinner by yourself too."

After saying that, he opened the door and hurriedly left the house.

Vera grew even more resentful.

She stared expressionlessly at the table full of good food and the empty seats around the dining table...

She suddenly felt that if this continued, her brother was really going to be snatched away...

Vera narrowed her eyes gloomily.

...

Arriving at Lawrence Manor, Ansu was led to Celia's bedroom door by the head maid.

When the door opened, the witch's state made Ansu's eyes widen in shock.

"Ansu... you are here."

Celia's expression was very listless. Her eyes were dark-rimmed and bloodshot. When she looked at him, her gaze was filled with a deep sense of fatigue.

"Your Excellency, what have you been doing these past few days..." Ansu approached her. She gave a soft yawn, as if she hadn't slept for several days.

"These past few days, I went to the Great Library of the cult. I have been researching the myths and legends concerning the Chosen One..."

Celia gently patted the empty space beside her. "Unfortunately, aside from relearning the Demon Calamity War from scratch, I did not gain much valuable information."

Ansu sat down beside her. Celia gazed deeply at him and finally let out a sigh.

"I wanted to prove that you are not the Chosen One, but the more I looked into it, the more unsettled I became..."

She began to recount it quietly for Ansu.

According to ancient legends, whenever the world fell into crisis, the gods would hand down a divine decree. A Chosen One representing the will of the righteous gods would appear to save and change the world. This had already happened twice.

The end of the Second Era came when the 'holy revelator' within the Church found the Chosen One amidst a chaotic world. The appearance of the Chosen One gave the retreating allied forces immense confidence. The second-generation hero party killed the demon king, led the allied forces to victory, and finally ended the dark and cruel Demon Calamity War.

"The holy revelator... and a chaotic world." Celia said softly, "It is almost identical to the current situation. Since this has happened twice, it will surely happen a third time..."

Ansu smiled and comforted her. "The holy revelator is indeed Freya, but I see that this Novalon Empire is clearly doing fine. Where is the chaotic world?"

Celia gave him a disapproving look.

Anyone with even a bit of foresight knew that the old and decaying building that was the Empire was already full of holes. Perhaps only a single nudge was needed to kick this building down.

The prosperous Benalu City and the Royal Capital certainly didn't show it, but on her way south to the cult's Great Library, she had already seen abandoned farmland and refugees everywhere. Moreover, those large and small lords who were beyond control were already in a state of de facto secession...

Ansu naturally knew that chaos was coming; he was merely comforting Celia.

To be honest, there were indeed omens of the Empire's decline, but people at this time would never imagine how chaotic the situation would be in three years. After all, the prosperous magitech industrial system had clearly given the dying Empire a second life. It seemed like everything was vibrant and full of life...

Even if there were many military factions outside and deep-seated problems inside, it shouldn't just collapse in three years.

He always felt that there was a major problem with the arrival of this divine decree.

Ansu had a feeling that the entire world was being manipulated. Even though 《Sword of Evernight》 did not mention much information about the higher gods, he could sense that something was wrong with the gods.

"Eh?" Ansu looked at the worried Celia and suddenly made a joke. "Since both the holy revelation and a chaotic world are indispensable, why don't we just stop the chaotic world from happening? That way, it won't matter if there is a Chosen One or not."

Celia was momentarily stunned. She had never thought about it from that perspective.

"Why don't you turn over a new leaf instead, Your Excellency?" Ansu said with a smile. "That way, you won't have to worry about this anymore!"

Celia burst into a laugh. "You want a core member of the Echoes of Truth, the Ash Witch who makes everyone in the Church tremble with fear, to turn over a new leaf? Ansu, stop joking..."

Even though she knew it was impossible and that Ansu was just joking, her mood improved a little.

"Why not..." Ansu muttered, because he really did think that way.

Celia shook her head. "I am just worried now..."

Worried that everyone would discover his identity as the Chosen One and then snatch him away from her side...

Her deep purple eyes gazed intently at Ansu.

She also brought up an idea of her own. "Otherwise, Ansu, do not leave my sight from now on. You should stay here forever..."