"Not absolutely safe. The abilities and side effects of these kinds of items can be extraordinarily diverse. But indirect contact is certainly safer than direct." Cormac Terrence said.
A woman's dress pocket is so small and so well-hidden. If my inspiration hadn't been triggered, I might have missed it entirely without a thorough search… Ais was in the middle of carefully tipping the pocket's contents out when Terrence's comment prompted a follow-up question:
"Mr. Terrence — why do these kinds of items all have side effects, large or small? Why is even direct contact something to be cautious about? Extraordinaries aren't that dangerous to handle."
Watching Ais's almost comically careful movements, Terrence found himself increasingly puzzled: how had she been able to disregard that Sequence 6 Witch's charm and walk straight to a church to file a report?
His curiosity didn't stop him from looking at the rust-spotted silver ring that had rolled out onto the floor and answering:
"Because an object has no will of its own to resist the mental corruption a potion brings."
Ais fished a few small, opaque packets from another concealed pocket. She glanced at the luminescent powder inside and held them out to Terrence while explaining:
"This is 'light-drawing dust' — the casting material Witches use for their invisibility spell."
Then she asked: "So an object with severe side effects is essentially a lost-control Beyonder?"
Terrence nodded as he took the packets from her and checked them. Confirming they were only casting materials, he asked with some puzzlement:
"The casting material for the invisibility spell is light-drawing dust?"
Ais spread her hands and shook her head:
"That's what the potion said. As for why, I have no idea. I haven't even had a chance to gather materials and try the invisibility spell yet."
She only brought materials for the invisibility spell… After a thorough search, Ais was slightly surprised by this. But then, remembering the thoroughly one-sided fight that had just concluded, it made sense — she hadn't come here to cause trouble, so bringing materials for the darker arts would've been pointless.
From inside the right sleeve she removed an intricately patterned bracelet, set it aside, and then stood to face Terrence:
"That should be everything."
Terrence looked directly into Ais's crystalline blue eyes and articulated his earlier question:
"Miss Ais — you may not be aware, but the Sequence 6 name in the Witch pathway is 'Pleasure.' What we know with certainty is that a Witch at this stage is skilled in enchantment and possesses a supernatural level of charm — one that neither men nor women can simply ignore, with men being especially susceptible. That's precisely why that Witch never even considered the possibility that you'd voluntarily go to the church to report her. So…"
He paused, then continued:
"Why were you able to resist her charm?"
Is this not a little ungrateful, sir?… Noticing that Terrence had pulled her back into the half-dreaming state in the instant he paused, Ais found herself thinking about the question involuntarily.
In her semi-directed state, the dreaming version of Ais answered somewhat blankly:
"Her charm was that strong? I did feel some reluctance — but none of that could outweigh how furious I was at being forced into advancing to Witch."
Watching Terrence deploy his ability specifically to ask this question, Ais understood she had probably been underestimating the Witch's charm. Had that woman's final "let's talk about something enjoyable" actually been an attempt to enchant her — to make her stop resisting joining the cult? And beyond the already difficult choice — was this how the Witch cult prevented new members from being disloyal?
But I genuinely didn't feel it much. She was very attractive, I admit — but I didn't feel any desire to be her devoted follower. The most she ever achieved was becoming a recurring presence in my dreams for a few days after each meeting.
But if the Witch's charm only produced that kind of effect, it really wouldn't justify her never considering the possibility that I'd go to the church…
The more she thought about it, the more puzzled she became: why had the charm she experienced been so much weaker than what this Watcher seemed to expect from a Witch?
Terrence, getting nothing unusual from the dreaming Ais's behavior, released the ability. Then he moved to the body and began producing an array of small bottles and containers.
The just-resurfaced Ais, looking slightly dazed but inwardly alert, couldn't help wondering:
"Is this another one of my peculiarities? Or is the ability that lets me maintain partial awareness while dreaming manifesting this way when it comes to being enchanted?"
Is that a little too convenient? And those two anomalies could be loosely interpreted as different expressions of the same force — but then what about the gray mist that concealed the fact that I'm a transmigrator? Is there more than one powerful entity involved in my transmigration?… The more Ais's speculation expanded, the more unsettled she felt.
As improbable as it sounded, she instinctively felt that the force behind the gray mist and the force that maintained her partial wakefulness were not from the same source.
Whatever. Everything's already like this — dwelling on things this far out of reach is pointless. I'll lie flat for a while and worry about it later.
Still not fully accustomed to everything about her current situation, Ais felt no urgency to stress over problems this distant.
But once she recognized that Terrence was pulling out necromancy ritual supplies, she decided she could still do something about nearer threats.
Being discovered by the Witch cult at some point is a real risk. Even if dying right now wouldn't technically be a loss, not dying is still preferable to dying. A small flicker of self-preservation reasserted itself. Ais walked over to Terrence:
"Sir — a Witch has a spell for communing with the dead that doesn't require a ritual. Would my help be useful?"
Terrence was a little surprised by the initiative, but didn't refuse — only stipulating:
"Fine — but the questions must be ones I specify."
Ais had no objection. Her primary reason for volunteering was that she'd just confirmed the Witch's spell for cultivating vengeful spirits could meaningfully slow the dissipation of a deceased's residual spiritual energy. She'd verified this with the second Assassin's remains before going to the church.
This wouldn't let her ask an extra question — but that Assassin had only been Sequence 9. This Witch was Sequence 6. The residual spiritual energy after her death would certainly be much greater. Combined with the Witch's method to slow dissipation, there was a real chance she could extract the next Sequence's potion formula.
And Ais was confident that whether or not Terrence knew a Witch could do this, he wouldn't refuse her help — because her earlier dream-state answers had clearly failed to fully dispel his suspicions. He hadn't pressed further only because the answers had shown nothing overtly wrong.
A Watcher who could make people confess in their sleep would not refuse a cooperative offer from someone he viewed as anomalous — because it gave him further opportunity to observe this Witch's behavior and motivations.
Perhaps it was the Instigator potion's enhancement of her ability to read people's psychology; perhaps it was a sharper emotional perception that came with her changed body — either way, Ais had quickly grasped Terrence's intent without relying on any supernatural ability.
Don't get excited yet. This is one data point and a tentative guess. She cautioned herself against premature satisfaction.
Terrence, watching Ais rapidly produce a finished magic mirror for necromancy, confirmed with her — his own inspiration high:
"The symbols on this mirror are creating an environment similar to that of a necromancy ritual?"
Ais nodded and added proactively:
"Actually, this kind of mirror can also be used to cultivate vengeful spirits or ghosts — and then have a Witch direct them. I don't quite understand the use, honestly. Something you can take out that easily doesn't seem like much of a threat."
Author's Note (this chapter): "Actually, this kind of mirror can also be used to cultivate vengeful spirits or ghosts — and then have a Witch direct them. I don't quite understand the use, honestly. Something you can take out that easily doesn't seem like much of a threat."
寒枫落雪 For sending messages and communication, probably.