“What else could there be?”
Shad asked curiously as the three of them came to a halt on the lakeshore. The calm artificial lake had frozen over by now, and the shore was lined with a small path paved with pebbles and crushed stone; the scenery here was indeed quite pleasant.
“Driving away the flies on the opposite bank.”
Before Shad could gaze into the darkness of the far shore, Miss Karina had already completed her spell. She did not reveal her Life Ring, nor did she use any casting materials; she simply flicked her right index finger toward the opposite side of the lake. Shad heard a faint sound, like a bubble being popped.
However, his keen perception allowed him to notice a searing, terrifying jet of air shooting across to the other side, leaving a distorted optical phenomenon in the night air.
Silent and unseen, it seemed as if nothing had happened, but Miss Karina frowned
“They actually dare to fight back?”
*Snap~*
Miss Sylvia’s finger, coated in red nail polish, gave a crisp snap. A sudden gust of warm wind rose from the ground, seemingly brushing away something malicious.
Shad didn't know what countermeasure the Ring-wielder on the opposite shore had used, but a man's short, shrill scream echoed under the night sky.
Subsequently, the bushes on the far bank shook, and three pitch-black figures fled into the distance as if running for their lives.
“Don’t worry, I’ve controlled the sound in the vicinity,” Miss Karina added. The two witches had no intention of pursuing the enemy; they didn't care in the slightest who the other party was.
Having cleared the flies, the two witches began the ritual to summon the "Secret Keeper."
Miss Sylvia took out a red lacquered wooden box containing a harmonica, while Miss Karina instructed Shad to open the canvas bag.
Inside were many miscellaneous items, and at the very bottom, surprisingly, was a small amount of rice.
Following Miss Karina's request, Shad used a bowl from the bag to scoop out a bowl of rice and approached the lakeshore while Miss Sylvia played the harmonica.
“Moonlight Sonata,” the Duchess named the piece.
“Offer the grain,” Miss Karina said, and Shad poured the bowl of rice into the lake. The grains created only tiny ripples upon entering the water, while a few bubbles floated to the surface.
“Offer the flesh,” Miss Karina said again. Shad took out a salt-cured braised duck leg from his pocket, sniffed it, and tossed it into the lake. The heavy duck leg sank, leaving a sheen of oil on the water; the *plop* sound was barely audible over the harmonica.
“Offer the gold and silver,” Miss Karina said once more. Shad fished out a handful of rusted silver-plated ornaments from his pocket and threw them into the lake as well.
He was actually quite worried that these ritual offerings were a bit too offensive.
“Offer the soul,” Miss Karina said for the fourth time. Shad rummaged through his pocket and found a piece of parchment covered in the word "Soul" written over and over. The ink was blue-black, and the parchment looked to be about a week old. The object possessed no supernatural power; it was simply a dense transcription of a single word.
Shad did not act immediately, but instead looked at the two witches with a troubled expression. Miss Sylvia continued to play the harmonica by the lake with a smile, the night wind fluttering her long dress; she seemed to be enjoying the moment. The Duchess looked down at Shad slightly, as if wondering why he had stopped.
*The offerings are getting more ridiculous by the second,* Shad thought to himself as he tossed the fourth offering—the parchment written with "Soul"—into the lake.
“Offer the wisdom,” Miss Karina said finally. This ritual only required five offerings.
By now, the canvas bag was nearly empty. Shad reached inside and grabbed something fuzzy with a terrible texture. Pulling such a thing out in the dead of night was hair-raising, and in reality, it was exactly that: it was a pile of hair.
It was all long human hair, in various colors—black, red, brown, yellow. Some were naturally curly, while others were standard straight hair.
The hair hadn't been combed and tied with string, but was instead clumped together in a ball. Shad threw the hair into the lake, but a gust of wind blew it right back.
Miss Karina flicked her finger, and a stone from the ground floated over to Shad. He used the hair to bind the stone and then threw the stone far into the lake.
“Why can hair represent wisdom?” he finally asked.
“Isn't that easy to understand? Overusing the brain leads to hair loss,” the Duchess replied.
“Then...”
Shad found himself unable to refute her: “Where did you pick up all that hair just now?”
“I didn't pick it up. Sylvia and I only received notice from the Council this evening. Because time was tight, I had the servants in the manor collect some. You know, in places where girls live, hair is never in short supply. Moreover, a witch's hair is itself an extremely excellent ritual material.”
Shad could practically imagine the scene of Tifa leading the manor's maids to search every corner for hair. He didn't believe for a second that those beautiful witch-followers would simply pluck their own hair out.
With the five offerings presented, Miss Sylvia continued to play the harmonica in the night, but no traces of "elements" appeared in the surroundings. Miss Karina had clearly not expected this, so she signaled Miss Sylvia to stop and said to Shad
“The records say that for the Sage-level relic [Prankster Boy] to appear, five offerings must be presented, and then the atmosphere must be made more cheerful. Could my understanding be wrong?”
Humanoid relics were harder to contain than other types, so information on them was relatively scarce. The data provided by the [Witches' Council] to the two witches was evidently incomplete.
Shad believed the "five offerings" were certainly enough, but a "cheerful atmosphere" probably couldn't be achieved just by playing the harmonica.
“Since it's the Prankster Boy, Miss Karina, why don't you arrange for people to perform a farce in Regent's Park tomorrow, or bring in a circus, under the guise of enriching the citizens' spiritual and entertainment lives?” he suggested.
“Others have already found this place; we cannot waste time.”
Although Shad's suggestion was good, Miss Karina shook her head in refusal.
She thought for a moment, suddenly smiled, and said to Miss Sylvia
“Emma, answer a question for me.
If, on a certain night, our young detective went out to look for his cat named 'Mia,' and happened to encounter three beautiful blonde beauties at St. Delan Square. If he could give up searching for the cat, he could spend a pleasant and absurd night with the three blondes. What do you guess he would do?”
Before Miss Sylvia could speak, the Duchess said with a smile
“I think Shad would definitely insist on looking for the cat.”
“That joke is very immoral.”
Despite pointing this out, Miss Sylvia, with her black shoulder-length bob, covered her mouth and chuckled. When she lowered her hand, her red lips—coated in an unknown shade of lipstick—curved into an alluring arc on her fair cheeks, her eyes brimming with amusement.
But still, nothing happened. Only Shad felt a bit unhappy because he had been "satirized."
“Then let's try another one.”
Miss Karina seemed to have been piqued by interest and said to Shad with a smile
“There is now a relic that can discern lies, the [Liar Detector]. If people lie in front of it, it emits light of varying intensity.
So, I asked little Angelina: Have you ever looked at color magazines that a lady shouldn't see?
She said no, and the relic emitted the light of a gas lamp.
Then, I asked Tifa: Have you ever done bad things with Shad behind my back?
She said no, and the relic emitted the dim yellow sunlight of a winter noon.
Then, I asked Emma...”
She glanced smilingly at Miss Sylvia, who immediately realized she was the "protagonist" of this story
“When you were little, did you secretly use your teacher's lipstick to draw ridiculous makeup on your face? Emma immediately denied it and argued: 'This is just like how I would never covet someone else's lover.' Then the relic flashed slightly, and then it exploded.”
The smile on Miss Karina's face was completely unrestrained. Although Shad felt she was hinting at something, he also felt like laughing, though he managed to control himself. As for the young Great Witch, her mood suddenly soured, much like Shad's had during the "cat and girls" joke.
Miss Emma Sylvia was not a witch who would take a loss without retaliation. Seeing that there was still no movement around them, she revealed an equally brilliant smile
“Then it's my turn to tell a joke.
One day, the court painter of Delarion painted a beautiful large oil painting for Duchess Karina Cavendish, and titled it *The Duchess of Saradil Inspecting Tobesk*. The painting was hung in the manor, and a curious maid saw it and asked an older maid: 'Who is the handsome gentleman in the painting?' The older maid replied: 'That is Mr. Shad Soren Hamilton.' The young maid asked again: 'Then who is the lady embracing him and kissing him on the bed in the Duchess's bedroom?' The older maid replied: 'That is, of course, our head maid, Miss Tifa Servet.'”
Miss Sylvia looked smilingly at Miss Karina
“The young maid finally asked: 'Then where is our Duchess?' The older maid pointed to the plaque of the oil painting: '*The Duchess of Saradil Inspecting Tobesk*.'”
Miss Karina pursed her lips and looked at her with a cold face, and Miss Sylvia, refusing to be outdone, stared back.
Shad stood to the side stifling his laughter. Although this joke also involved him, it was indeed very funny. The two witches "teasing" each other, however, were not in as good a mood as he was. Miss Karina, having been satirized, didn't realize at all that she had started it; she sneered and was about to speak again, and Miss Sylvia was already conceptualizing another joke, but Shad stopped them
“It's here!”