A blue net.
In this world, there was only one existence that fit such a grand description of "connecting everything in the world."
That was the source of all arcane power hidden within the arcane dimension—the Origin Web!
To gaze directly upon the Origin Web...
That was an unspeakable thing that could only be glimpsed during an Audience with a high-ranking deity!
Yet Charlotte, the ordinary girl before her, had actually observed the Origin Web during such a brief sleep, simply because she had been forcibly hypnotized by some spell?!
“Such talent...”
Cecil sucked in a breath of cold air.
If she could be brought into the supernatural world, if she could join the Seventh Agency... with this terrifying, almost monstrous spiritual intuition and arcane affinity!
Then the Seventh Agency—no, the entire Kingdom of Velen—would surely witness the birth of a true Chosen of the Goddess!
The position of the Great Goddess of Magic's Chosen had been vacant for a very, very long time.
In the current Seventh Agency, even the powerful Director-General fell far short of the rigorous requirements to become a Chosen.
To become a Chosen, one needed talent, divine favor, and a devout faith in the deity. These three were all indispensable!
Cecil's thoughts began to spiral uncontrollably.
A Chosen! This meant that one day in the distant future, this red-haired girl might even be qualified to directly inherit the Goddess's authority in the mortal realm!
What shocking potential!
However, this feverish thought swirled in Cecil's mind for only a few seconds before being suppressed by her reason.
“No...”
Cecil looked at Charlotte's innocent face and shook her head painfully in her heart.
Reason told her that the lovely girl before her was still just an innocent child.
What was the supernatural world like? It was bloody, insane, filled with mutations that could occur at any moment, and riddled with omnipresent conspiracies and betrayals!
She shouldn't—and absolutely must not—selfishly drag such a clean soul into this terrifying vortex of despair and bizarreness for the sake of the Seventh Agency's interests.
“Though giving up such a peerless genius might not be a good thing for the Goddess's glory,” Cecil sighed inwardly.
“But in this matter... I'm sorry, Great Goddess. As her temporary teacher, I selfishly hope this child can live a safe and smooth life like an ordinary person.”
Cecil took a deep breath, perfectly concealing the shock and complex emotions in her eyes.
“A net?”
She set down her teacup and tilted her head slightly, speaking in a thoughtful, philosophical tone.
“Oh, Charlotte. It's actually a very beautiful metaphor. It means your keen subconscious is telling you... that everything in this world, no matter how unrelated they seem, is actually connected by countless hidden threads in the dark.”
Cecil smiled as she gazed at the girl. “My dear Miss Rockland.”
She paused, her tone becoming even gentler and more encouraging. “This also shows that your boundless curiosity is the most precious gift heaven has given you. One day, you will discover and understand the wonderful connections between all things in this world.”
“Wow...”
Charlotte's beautiful amber eyes widened as she stared intently at Cecil. In that moment, her gaze shimmered with undisguised admiration!
“...”
Being watched with such pure admiration made Cecil's back feel a bit warm, and she felt a rare sense of embarrassment. She smiled wryly to herself. She had only made up those encouraging words to change the subject. There was absolutely no need for this silly girl to look at her like she was a saint!
Still, supernatural talent aside, Charlotte's pure curiosity was indeed worthy of any teacher's affirmation.
“Oh! Right!”
Charlotte seemed to draw comfort from Cecil's words. She suddenly remembered and continued her story of the afternoon.
“And then... after that strange dream ended, I suddenly woke up.”
A trace of lingering fear returned to the girl's eyes. “But when I opened them, I saw... I saw my brother, Elias, lying stiffly on the floor! I was so scared!”
Charlotte gripped her teacup tightly. “He wasn't moving, and his face was as pale as paper. I thought he was...” The girl swallowed hard, not daring to say the word 'dead.'
“Luckily, just as I ran over to call him, he woke up... otherwise, I really wouldn't have known what to do.”
Hmm?
Hearing this description, Cecil's brow, which had just relaxed, furrowed tightly once more. Elias was also on the floor?
Cecil's mind began to race. Was he faking it? Did he pretend to faint to cover up the fact that he had hypnotized Charlotte? Or was it... because he had experienced a fierce supernatural battle in the room across the way, leading to spiritual exhaustion, and had collapsed from depletion upon his return?!
The more Cecil thought about it, the more her head ached. From Charlotte's descriptions and the spiritual residue she had investigated at the crime scene earlier, it seemed Elias had gone to great lengths—even using a spell on his own sister to make her sleep. His goal was clear: to take advantage of the time Charlotte was unconscious to sneak out and do something secretive!
But the question was... why would Elias, a low-level transcendent, go after Meister?! It didn't make any sense! What was the motive? And the most critical doubt: how could that young man have fought a high-Scale infernal demon in that cramped room?!
Or... did he actually know that infernal demon?! Damn it... that made even less sense! There were too many doubts, like a tangled knot!
Let's make the boldest assumption: suppose Elias was that Scale One transcendent across the way. He used some supernatural material in this room to make Charlotte fall asleep. But what about the infernal demon in the other room? When did it arrive? Could Elias and that demon have arranged to meet in the treatment room beforehand?
“This is just ridiculous!” Cecil shook her head frantically in her heart. A Scale One novice knowing a high-Scale infernal demon?! Who would believe that?! It was like trying to figure out how an ant could establish an equal social relationship with an elephant.
If she followed the current logic... Elias knew the infernal demon? That was absolutely impossible in the supernatural world. And if he didn't know it? That made even less sense! If they didn't know each other, why would a brutal infernal demon let Elias leave that room alive after a fight?!
According to the way demons operated, shouldn't it have drafted a contract and found a way to harvest his soul as a coin? Either by trickery or a sneak attack. And given the gap between the two, it wouldn't even have to go through all that trouble.
Cecil didn't believe for a second that a greedy infernal demon would be moved by some empty promise from a mere Scale One ant and show mercy.
Cecil rubbed her temples. The absurdity of this matter almost made her want to give up on reasoning altogether! When all the clues, people, and motives were linked, the conclusion was bizarre to the extreme—a complete breakdown of logic that made no sense at all!
Just as Cecil was feeling a severe headache and was about to temporarily give up thinking and find a way to soothe the startled Charlotte with gentle words...
“Meow—”
The black cat familiar, which had been lazily lying on the rug by the fireplace, suddenly stood up. It padded silently to the sofa and stared intently at the hem of Charlotte's skirt.
Charlotte's attention was immediately drawn to the cat. “Oh, what's wrong, kitty?” Temporarily forgetting her worries, the girl leaned down and reached out to gently stroke the black cat's furry head, asking softly.
Sitting nearby, Cecil immediately and keenly understood the signal her familiar was sending! She quickly activated her internal Rational Circuit. Scale One 【Arcane Detection】 was silently released from her eyes in an instant.
Cecil saw it clearly!
Deep within the folds of Charlotte's heavy skirt, a trace of arcane aura with a hidden marking quality was emitting a faint glow!
What on earth was that?! She hadn't even observed this when she used Spirit Vision earlier!
Cecil took a deep breath, her face immediately returning to its kind, elder-like smile. She naturally reached out and subtly probed toward Charlotte's skirt.
“Oh, dear. You sat down a bit too quickly, and your skirt is a little wrinkled here. Let me straighten it for you.”
As Cecil spoke, her fingers accurately pinched the hard object emitting the spiritual light inside the hem.
“Huh?!” Cecil looked surprised, her brow furrowing slightly. “What is this?”
“Hmm?” Charlotte was taken aback. Confused, she followed Cecil's fingers and pulled the hard object from the deep folds of her skirt's lining.
It was a small silver amulet carved with intricate patterns.
“This isn't mine!” Charlotte looked at the amulet in her hand, completely bewildered. “I don't even know when it was pinned here...”
Cecil didn't speak. With a grave expression, she took the silver amulet from Charlotte.
Almost the instant she touched it, a Scale Three identification spell—【Identify】—took effect in her mind!
The feedback from the spell flowed into her brain like water: This was a link charm inscribed with the authority of the Moon Lord's passage.
Primary effect: It allowed the charm's owner to precisely sense the physical location of the charm from a great distance.
Secondary effect: Within a short range, it could even eavesdrop on sounds and conversations near the charm through spiritual resonance!
Eavesdropping! Tracking!
Cecil gripped the link charm tightly, her face turning ashen in an instant. Charlotte's brother was monitoring her movements?
And throughout the entire day, who else besides Elias had the opportunity, the motive, and the ability to secretly slip this charm deep into the folds of Charlotte's skirt?!
Cecil closed her eyes and took a deep breath of cold air. All the mysteries, the nonsensical logic, the strange motives... in this moment, they were all shattered by this single charm.
The reasoning process was no longer important.
Elias Rockland was a transcendent! And he was closely connected to everything happening in Hope County!
Rate on N.U.
