Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 439: The Future Me Cheated

“How pitiful…”

After Deya performed the dialogue, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the ‘silly woman’. “Such a devoted woman, why did she have to meet a man who doesn’t love her and only wants to use her?”

“It’s really sad.” Sonya also had sympathy but felt more anger at the woman’s fate and her inability to stand up for herself. “She could fight alongside you, Witch, which means she’s not weak. Why does she have to tie herself to someone? Can’t she live without depending on something? Without liking something, does she have no hope? Why degrade herself to the dust like this?!”

“Sword Princess,” Ashe signaled for Sonya to control her emotions, “not everyone is as strong as you. You are too powerful.”

“I’m not strong. I’m just a fragile girl dominated by you,” Sonya said, still rubbing his shin with her stockinged foot. “And what are two-wing spellcasters if not strong—”

“When I say strong, I don’t mean in terms of power,” Ashe explained. “Not just you, Sword Princess, but also you, Witch. You both are ‘strong’ in the sense of your life’s purpose—you can savor every dish that fate serves you.”

“Maybe you don’t think it’s worth being proud of, but life is like a buffet. Not everyone can keep eating.”

“I know two people: one of them ate something so terrible that ever since, he adds sugar and spice to everything, giving up on tasting the food, numbing his taste buds with the intensity and waiting for the day it kills him; the other person never ate crap, but he found the canteen environment to be a toilet, so he stopped enjoying the food and instead focused on adding crap to everyone else’s dishes, as only then could he find joy in life.”

“Then, there are many who give up on themselves, living aimlessly, or even ending their lives early—because they consecutively ate several dishes as bad as crap at the buffet and don’t want to eat anymore. If you tell them to live seriously, their response would be, ‘What, you want me to keep eating crap?’”

“This ‘she’ in the conversation might be in such a situation. ‘She’ may have already decided to leave the buffet, maybe because the food is terrible, or maybe because the environment is unpleasant… Just when ‘she’ was about to leave, someone pulled ‘her’ back, and ‘she’ found that as long as ‘she’ stayed with this person, any food would taste delicious, and any environment would seem comfortable.”

“‘She’ may not be as brave as you, but this situation that frustrates you might already be the best circumstance ‘she’ can achieve.”

“Of course,” Ashe paused, “the person who is using ‘her’ is indeed irredeemable scum.”

“Absolutely!”

“Agreed!”

Although they had different views about the ‘silly woman’, there was unanimous consensus among the three of them regarding the ‘master’: a scumbag who exploits a girl’s infatuation deserves to be chopped up and fed to Lala Fatty!

Deya had already made up her mind that if she ever met the ‘silly woman’ from the conversation, she would do everything in her power to help her break free from the scumbag’s domination.

Though both Witch sisters weren’t very good at advising people, if mental control was involved, they could ask Aunt Bukin for help. If it was purely because of deep infatuation, then it would be time for Ashe to step in-Deya didn’t know how Ashe would handle it, but she believed he would be just as indignant and would figure out a way to save the ‘silly woman.’

“So if it’s not the ‘world’, then her master is a Divine Sovereign?” Sonya speculated. “Or is it that my and the Witch’s issues are unrelated? The one we’re seeking revenge on isn’t the ‘silly woman’s’ master?”

“There’s too little to go on, we can only speculate,” Ashe said. “But it wouldn’t be surprising if it were a Divine Sovereign. Perhaps the Divine Sovereign sent an avatar down to deceive people, or maybe the Divine Sovereign fell for some reason and is slowly regaining power, using their charm along the way to turn various people into loyal followers…”

As Ashe spoke, he noticed that the Sword Princess and the Witch were looking at him with a subtle gaze. He cleared his throat. “Let’s not discuss whether I am a Divine Sovereign, but the real question is, are you loyal?”

Deya looked at Sonya, who stuck out her pink tongue playfully. “I’m not unreasonable. I admit there’s a reason for everything. So I’ll return just as much as I receive. If you want my full-hearted loyalty, you have to give me everything first.”

“See,” Ashe shrugged, “my charisma is so poor that I can’t even attract that loyal of a follower. Also, in reality, I’m just… well, let’s get back to the topic.”

Ashe was about to share something about his real life, but Annan’s information restriction Pact immediately silenced him. He couldn’t even complain about his status as a worker.

Deya nodded and asked, “So, which of these four answers should I choose?”

“It definitely can’t be ‘①Violent abduction of a witch,’” Sonya analyzed. “It’s clear that ‘she’ had a good relationship with the Witch and that the ‘master’ had promised not to harm the Witch. So, ‘she’ couldn’t have resorted to violence.”

“‘②Persuading a witch’ is also unlikely,” Ashe added. “From the tone, you can tell the Witch holds deep grudges against them and wouldn’t be swayed by mere sweet-talk. ‘③Setting a trap to confine a witch’ doesn’t fit either. If there had been a trap, the Witch would’ve been caught by now.”

“So, it must be ‘④Visiting a witch,’” Sonya concluded confidently. “‘She’ didn’t really want to capture the Witch; she just used it as an excuse to meet the Witch and apologize. Completing the mission would be a bonus, but even if she failed, her primary goal would have been achieved.”

Their analysis matched exactly with the sisters’, so Deya put on her headphones and chose the answer. The Virtual Realm immediately checked her test:

“You got it wrong. The Fate Questioning ends here.. You may start asking questions.”

“What?!” Everyone was shocked. How could that be wrong?

“Let me go over this,” Sonya said, furrowing her brows. She retracted her foot from Ashe and began to unconsciously curl her toes. “② is absolutely impossible. ‘Persuading’ implies offering something of benefit, right? But ‘she’ merely emphasized not harming the Witch and forming an alliance. That hardly makes her a convincing interlocutor.”

“Could it be ① then? It’s possible. ‘She’ did mention the original plan was for ‘her’ and the ‘master’ to capture the Witch together, so violence could have been part of the plan.”

“I think it should be ③,” Ashe suddenly said.

“A trap?” Deya was taken aback. “But if it’s a trap—”

“Do you remember the last part of the conversation?” Ashe said. “‘She’ wanted to braid the Witch’s hair.”

“If ‘she’ is very familiar with me, that’s a normal behavior,” Deya said. “I’m not good at fixing my hair, so I often have others braid it for me.”

“But when ‘she’ is braiding your hair, you’re completely off guard,” Sonya murmured. “Your nape is exposed to ‘her’ touch. The cervical spine at the nape affects the central nervous system. If ‘she’ has a way to restrain you, then you’ve completely fallen into the trap.”

“But, but…” Deya stuttered, desperately trying to find an excuse. “Isn’t that too much of a coincidence? If ‘she’ and I are originally enemies, and ‘she’ gets close enough to touch my nape, trap or not, I would already be captured!”

Ashe replied, “‘She’ probably can’t capture you by force, so ‘she’ has to earn your trust, making you drop your guard and even willingly expose your nape.”

“But I wouldn’t drop my guard that easily!” Deya protested. “From the conversation, we know that I became close to her because she saved me once while I was being pursued. But how could she possibly calculate that pursuit into her plan—”

“Really impossible?” Sonya asked suddenly. “Escaping a chase unharmed, and even finding a safe hiding place—do you think maybe your luck was a bit too good?”

Deya froze, unable to refute anymore.

But she was still unwilling to believe this possibility. The Sword Princess and the Observer had only heard her recounting, but Deya had listened to ‘her’ voice directly, ‘her’ tone of care and affection. She was well aware of ‘her’ genuine love and knew that the future Witch was truly fond of and reliant on ‘her.’

If all of this was fake and calculated, it would be unbearably sad.

“Maybe ‘she’ really doesn’t know,” Ashe suddenly said. “Although ‘she’ hasn’t appeared yet, let’s not forget the existence of the ‘master.’ In the original plan, the ‘master’ was supposed to show up and capture the Witch long ago. However, despite being severely injured during the chase, they still haven’t appeared.”

Sonya snorted, “Because the pursuit team was too strong, and that cowardly ‘master,’ who only knows how to manipulate women, didn’t dare to come out.”

“But what if it was all schemed by the ‘master’?” Ashe suggested. “The Witch isn’t weak; killing her and capturing her are two entirely different concepts. To ensure her capture, the ‘master’ might have lured the pursuers and secretly adjusted the intensity of the chase, creating a high-pressure environment where the bonds between them rapidly intensified.”

“Braiding her hair might have been a scenario meticulously planned by the ‘master.’ Once they were safe, the ‘silly woman’ would definitely help braid the Witch’s hair. Maybe it was a ribbon imbued with a Miracle or some form of mental domination. In any case, the ‘silly woman’ would unknowingly capture the Witch.”

“This is the only way to explain why the Witch let her guard down. Even if she herself lowered her defenses, her sisters would definitely remain cautious. Only in a scenario where the ‘silly woman’ was completely unaware could the Witch’s sisters fall into the trap.”

Deya and Sonya nodded in agreement. This explanation accounted for many coincidences and the Witch’s trust. Moreover, the idea that ‘it’s all that scummy master’s fault’ resonated well with their emotional needs.

However…

“Observer, how did you come up with such a method so quickly?” Sonya asked curiously. “It sounds like a mental spellcaster’s scheme.”

“Could it be that you’ve seen a similar plot in fairy tales?” Deya speculated.

“Is it really that hard to figure out? Isn’t it just a common scheme?” Ashe responded, bewildered. “Maybe I have a vivid imagination. Besides, in the two conversations, the Witch seemed completely unafraid of being captured. So thinking from the opposite perspective, the ‘master’ couldn’t use conventional methods to capture her, and the ‘silly woman,’ who has a good relationship with the Witch, was clearly the best trap.”

Although it sounds logical, the fact that the Observer could reconstruct the thought process of such a villainous character felt a bit unsettling. However, Sonya quickly brushed it off and looked at Ashe with sparkling eyes. “So, what’s your question?”

Ashe’s expression turned odd at the mention of his question. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Let me tell you the question first.”

“Question: Among these three people, who is the Observer’s closest acquaintance?”

“①The first person; ②The second person; ③The third person; ④None”

Sonya’s eyes lit up, and Deya also showed a curious expression.

“What about the conversation?”

Ashe continued, “The answer is ③, the third person.”

“The conversation is the key! Information from the future is more valuable than any Fate Questioning rewards!” Sonya urged. “Come on, don’t be shy like a Little Trumpet.”

“I’m not shy,” Ashe said, spreading his hands in exasperation. “But the problem is—”

“There was no dialog, only the answer itself. My future self cheated.”