Olivia quickly learned the methods for creating five types of talismans from the magic mirror. The production of these talismans could be considered the simplest kind; one only needed to use their own magic to carve specific Sylvan Runes onto an item possessing spirituality to complete the talisman.
However, not just anything could serve as a spiritual item.
Generally speaking, transcendent items were spiritual items. But beyond those, there were also things that possessed a certain degree of spirituality that could be used to craft talismans.
The most common of these was the spiritual paper specially made by the Radiant Light Church. Important books of the Church, such as The Goddess's Revelations and the Secret Manual of the God-Chosen, were printed on spiritual paper to show respect for the Radiant Goddess.
Olivia's gaze couldn't help but fall upon the copy of The Goddess's Revelations in her hands.
If she tore up this book to make talismans, the Goddess wouldn't blame her, right?
Before she could let her thoughts wander further on that question, she suddenly felt the surrounding air become viscous. Immediately after, her mind naturally went blank, and she felt as if the entire world had begun to freeze, turning into monochrome patches.
This was...
Olivia forced her mind to focus, her gaze sweeping across the room. She saw the five children and Georgina, their eyes becoming dull and vacant.
Though Georgina's expression had also gone hollow, within that emptiness, there seemed to be a trace of surprise.
...
In a daze, Olivia shook her head. She felt the sun overhead was so intense that even her nun's cowl couldn't block it; she just wanted to reach the shade as quickly as possible.
She rubbed her brow, and as the thoughts in her mind settled like a receding tide, she remembered the current situation.
She and four other nuns, including Bethany, had crossed several streets in the South District and had just arrived at their destination: Bates Orphanage.
At the entrance of the orphanage, the headmistress, Georgina Bates, was already waiting for them. Seeing them now, her face beamed with a warm and kind smile.
"Welcome. When I learned you were coming yesterday, I was so happy. It is an honor for these children to learn from the Church."
Hearing Georgina's words, Olivia frowned slightly, feeling a powerful sense of déjà vu.
Wait, why did she know the woman's name was Georgina?
Olivia suddenly realized the problem, and the moment she did, it felt as if a bubble in her brain burst with a 'pop'.
Immediately after, countless images emerged frame by frame like flickering scenes from a film, mixing in her mind and quickly connecting to form vivid pictures, becoming a sequence of memories.
She remembered!
She remembered that not long ago, she was thinking about making talismans and even wondering whether to tear up The Goddess's Revelations to use its spiritual paper for the runes.
She even recalled a memory from even further back—Rose telling her, with a strange look and tone, that one person was missing.
This was now her third time standing at the entrance of Bates Orphanage, and her third time hearing Georgina welcome them!
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, the Oblivion Pocket Watch has triggered again. I don't know how it happened, but miraculously, I remember what happened before. Even the memories I lost the first time have reappeared in my mind.'
【My beautiful Master, this is because your excellent mental strength is taking effect. Just as a spring compressed to its limit gains greater elasticity, your memories being repeatedly suppressed caused your body to develop a resistance. This resulted in a perfect rebound, allowing you to reclaim all your lost memories.】
Based on the vast amount of information within the monastery, the magic mirror was able to judge the current situation.
Olivia took a soft breath, knowing that a turning point had arrived. With all her memories returned, she could better contemplate the changes within the orphanage.
Her gaze first fell upon Georgina, and doubt began to grow in her heart.
The first time, while she was teaching the children, she didn't know what Georgina had done. But the second time was clearly different; Georgina had actually followed her the entire time. This stark difference was enough to make her suspect Georgina was a problem.
Furthermore, the first time her memory was lost was during lunch. She remembered that she had just made a request to Georgina, wanting to see the adoption registry.
The woman had agreed and left to get the registry, but shortly after she left, the memory loss occurred.
So, was Georgina behind all of this?
But... something was still off.
Setting aside Georgina's motive for a moment, when the second memory loss occurred, Georgina was right beside her. At that time, Georgina hadn't done anything, yet everything still reset to the starting point.
However, Georgina was still suspicious.
Olivia had no intention of lessening her suspicion toward Georgina.
'Georgina probably isn't the one holding the Oblivion Pocket Watch, but she definitely knows of its existence. It's just... what exactly are she and the person in the shadows trying to do? Or rather, what are they trying to prevent?'
Unfortunately, the magic mirror's omniscience range was limited to the monastery. Otherwise, a single question would have been enough to find the answer.
No, even without the magic mirror's help, this matter could be analyzed.
Olivia tapped her head lightly, her thoughts racing like a rushing river as she quickly identified several key points.
The first time the Oblivion Pocket Watch activated was after she asked Georgina for the adoption registry. Was there a connection?
And Rose's strange behavior—Olivia hadn't ignored that either.
In fact, the two could be linked. In other words, the claim that Leila had been adopted might not be true; there might be something fishy going on.
And because Georgina didn't want the Church to find out, she couldn't let Olivia see the adoption registry. So, she had the transcendent who possessed the Oblivion Pocket Watch take away everyone's memories?
Then what about the second time—the activation that just happened? Why was that?
Olivia was lost in thought, her path forward becoming much clearer.
She showed no outward sign of anything being amiss. After greeting Georgina along with the other nuns, she entered the orphanage with everyone else.
Just like in her previous two memories, Georgina called all the children out.
What followed was the familiar arrangement process.
Everything was exactly the same as before.
Olivia was assigned five children again, and she led them toward the room that had been prepared for her.
The children entered the room one by one, but this time, Georgina did not follow Olivia.
Olivia paused at the doorway and glanced back, seeing no one.
'Georgina definitely has a problem. She clearly retained her memories. The first time, likely because of me, she had someone activate the Oblivion Pocket Watch. The second time, she watched me directly, probably hoping to prevent any accidents. But... an accident happened anyway.'
Olivia still didn't understand what Georgina was hiding.
However...
She reached out and caught the last child about to enter the room—Rose. This action caused Rose to look up with her small face, staring back in confusion.
Olivia smiled and said, "Rose, you seem to have something on your mind. No matter what it is, you can tell me. I think I can help you solve the problem."
Rose blinked. "Can I really tell you? Even if it's something very dangerous?"
Olivia said firmly, "Of course. No matter what it is."
She made her tone exceptionally resolute, determined to get something out of Rose.
Before the first memory loss, Rose had started to answer her questions, but later, no matter how much Olivia asked, Rose stopped responding. Olivia felt it might have been because she had lost the girl's trust.
Because she hadn't appeared firm enough before, Rose felt she wasn't someone to lean on, so she stopped speaking. Of course, this was also related to Rose's peculiar personality; she was a severely withdrawn child who didn't easily trust others.
Therefore, Olivia's attitude had to be firm; she had to make herself seem reliable!
Rose looked up at Olivia and spoke softly, "Do you know, Sister? There are actually sixty-six orphans here. But today, one is missing. Someone is gone!"
Olivia made her expression look incredibly serious as she whispered, "That's terrible. There must be an unspeakable secret behind this. Rose, tell me what's going on. I must find the missing person!"
Hearing this, a glimmer of light flickered in Rose's eyes, and she slowly began to speak.
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