Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 822 The Defective Witch
After saying goodbye to the cute little fortune teller and the hunter Dominic who he dared not provoke, Angel entered the mirror world again and came to the "Redhead Girl" near the dock.

This three-masted sailing ship, painted entirely in bright red, is undergoing final preparations before setting sail. The sailors are busy sorting out supplies on the deck, checking the rigging and masts, and carrying the fresh water and wine that have just been loaded into the warehouse.

Angel observed for a while, entered the captain's room, and appeared directly in front of Elaine.

The captain seemed to have taken off the "madness" ring because of its side effects. His long red hair had returned to normal, and his beauty was both soft and strong, as well as his skin, which was a little rough but healthy enough. At this moment, he was writing and drawing on the spread-out nautical chart, and he looked up when he heard the noise.

"Ms. Angelica," she greeted, standing up quickly. "Your 'redhead' is ready and at your disposal."

It sounds weird to me, letting me use it casually... Angel glanced at Elaine's red hair and the tight shirt that showed off her figure, muttered, and then asked:
"Where's your boatswain William? I didn't see him on board, and there are far fewer sailors than usual."

"Because this is a secret operation, I asked many sailors with official backgrounds to take leave and only brought those I could trust." Elaine also realized the ambiguity in her words, and her face flushed unnaturally. "William went to the commercial district. He said that the climate in the Misty Sea is different from here, and the crew is more likely to get sick. He plans to purchase some medicine before leaving."

Well, he's thoughtful and responsible, and he's been on Vice Admiral Iceberg's ship before. If I want to expand my fleet, I can consider letting him lead a ship... Angel nodded with satisfaction.

She told Elaine that the "Red-haired Lady" was going to take some fruits and meat to the Northern Continent, and then took out the tarot cards that Sherman had drawn the code from in the afternoon, handed them to her, and said:
"You also draw one from the list. This will be your code name from now on. Another colleague of yours, the 'Witch' in Backlund, has already drawn the 'Queen of Pentacles', so you can only choose from the other fifty-five."

"It turns out I have a colleague in Backlund."

Elaine smiled half embarrassed and half disappointed, took the stack of playing cards, and shuffled them skillfully in her hands.

It looked like she played cards with other sailors quite often...and what was that hurt expression on her face?

Angel watched intently as Elaine shuffled and cut the cards, then held the stack of Arcana cards in her hand, picked up the top card, unfolded the card and handed it over.

It was a picture of the "Queen of Scepters" sitting on a throne holding a scepter and golden sunflowers.

This card symbolizes a strong woman who is tolerant, cheerful, and enthusiastic. It actually fits Elaine's personality very well. It seems that I am indeed a master of divination... Angel muttered, and said with satisfaction:

"That's it."

After putting away the tarot cards, Angel stayed in the captain's room, chatting with Elaine, learning about her work situation during this period. After learning that his investment had made a lot of profits, he gradually immersed himself in the glory of the gold pound.

But until the sun, the same color as the gold pound, sank into the sea and the pier was shrouded in moonlight, William still did not return to the "Red-haired Girl".

"The commercial district is not far from the port. He should have returned long ago."

Elaine's face turned serious and she looked out the window, where the lights were gradually lighting up, showing the streets of the "City of Generosity" at night.

Angel also did a simple magic mirror divination and found that although William would return here, he would encounter many twists and turns along the way.

Of course, twists and turns mean possible accidents, so Angel immediately took Elaine with him and flew along the mirror passage towards the busy commercial district.

……

There weren't many tourists in Bayam in the summer, but the city still looked crowded and lively. On the crowded streets, two figures, a man and a woman, were walking back and forth, pushing aside pedestrians one after another and moving forward with difficulty.

The men were burly, wearing coats commonly seen at sea, and tricorn hats on their heads, with their faces hidden in the shadows of the hats. The women, in contrast, looked petite, walked briskly, and were agile in their movements.

When they came to a more crowded intersection, they looked around and immediately chose an alley with fewer pedestrians and went in without hesitation.

"Where is your safe house? We'll be there soon, change our clothes and leave. You should be able to do 'counter-divination', right? Remember to do it!"

The man in the tricorn hat spoke in a hoarse, rapid but clear voice.

The woman he dragged into the alley was wearing a skirt that was inconvenient for movement and a hooded cloak that covered her hair and half of her face. She nodded at first, then shook her head.
"I can do a counter-divination, but I don't have a safe house."

As if surprised by the other party's answer, the man was stunned for a moment before continuing:
"Then flee this area first, go to the chaotic port or the southern district, and leave this city before dawn..."

Before he finished speaking, the roar of horses, the sound of wheels rolling over stone slabs, and the exclamations of passers-by could be heard from the alley.

"It's the Mandated Punishers. I didn't expect them to deal with the people from the Spiritual Society so quickly..." The man complained in a low voice and made up his mind, "Come with me to the dock."

He held the woman's hand and strode forward. Fortunately, he encountered a right-angle turn and avoided the sight of the three "Manufactured Punishers" who rushed into the alley.

There was another alley ahead. Once he entered that alley… an accurate map of the city of Bayam appeared in his mind. When he passed a small puddle, he stepped heavily into it. However, he did not hear the sound of water splashing. Instead, he stepped on empty air, lost his balance, and fell forward.

A woman's short scream came from behind. It's over, it's a trap!

As the world spun, he twisted his body so that his shoulders instead of his face landed on the ground, then he jumped up and looked around.

In the small, gray space, there were only two women looking at him coldly. The surroundings were shrouded in mist, as if countless tiny lines connected different areas.

"Captain, and... Miss Angelica?"

William, who was wearing a black leather tricorn hat and had a weathered face, but was actually only in his twenties, glanced at the two of them and breathed a sigh of relief.

Bang! Behind him, the careless woman fell to the ground and also came to the "mirror world".

……

"Tell me what happened. Elaine asked you to buy medicine, but she didn't ask you to mess with the official Beyonders and bring back a 'witch'."

Sitting in the comfortable armchair belonging to Elaine in the captain's room, Angel asked with a cold expression. The original owner of the chair was on the deck directing the sailors to raise the anchor and set sail, preparing to leave the dock overnight to avoid subsequent searches.

Opposite her stood the red-haired boatswain, Lucky William, and the young woman he had helped escape from the Mandated Punisher. The latter had a face with a kind of refinement rarely seen at sea, with plump lips and a high nose. She was not very beautiful, but the combination of her organs was very pleasing to the eye. Her curvy figure was hidden in her cloak, and her slender white calves were revealed under her skirt.

Of course, with the magic mirrors hidden in the other party's cloak, Angel could easily guess the other party's identity: an extraordinary person who took the "witch" potion.

Seeing that her identity was easily exposed, the woman slowly took two steps forward, closer to Angel, and then took off her hood, revealing her face and slightly curly brown hair. She looked at Angel with her dark gray eyes, and was about to say something when she was suddenly stunned.

Okay, I know your gender before you drank the potion... Looking at the witch who was almost unable to move and in a state of obsession under the influence of his appearance and a trace of "charm" ability, Angel chuckled, restrained his seductive breath, and slightly turned his head to avoid the other's sight.

This made the witch get rid of the awkward situation with difficulty. She took a deep breath and continued:

"Good evening, respected 'Golden Queen'. It is indeed as you said. I am a 'witch'. In order to help me escape the pursuit of the 'Gnosis Society', Mr. Carl took the initiative to attract the attention of the 'Manufactured Punisher'. I escaped the battle between them by luck, and then... I fell into your mirror trap."

It can be seen that it is a mirror trap. It seems that this "witch" knows a lot of extraordinary abilities at a deeper level of this path... Angel thought about it, turned to William, who had a somewhat unnatural expression, and said:

"Karl is your pseudonym?"

This question made William, who was of a rather burly build, shrink back, as if he was as tall as Angel.

"Actually, William is my pseudonym. When I was serving on the Golden Dream, my name was Carl..." He answered hesitantly, "After I left there, I changed my name because I was worried that my former colleagues would know my whereabouts..."

I thought there was some important reason, but it turns out she was afraid of being laughed at by “Flame” Danitz and the others… Angel didn’t mind using pseudonyms. After all, she changed her name wherever she went. From Tingen to Backlund, she already had four identities.

Moreover, she recalled for a moment and did not remember that there was a pirate named "Carl" who was rewarded, or the reward amount was not very high, so it did not enter Angel's mind, so she just nodded, indicating that the matter was over, and looked at the witch, saying:
"Go on, what's your name? Why do you know me? And why is the Gnosis hunting you down?"

She already had a guess as to this, but decided to hear what the person involved had to say first.

"Respected 'Golden Queen', you can call me Tia, and your name has spread throughout the five seas, and everyone knows it..." The witch with brown hair and gray eyes lowered her head and answered, as if she didn't dare to look at her directly, but she would secretly glance at her from time to time, "You should understand the relationship between the 'Genius Society' and the 'Witch Cult'. In fact, it was the 'Witch Cult' that issued the order to hunt me down. I went from Lenburg to Feynaport, passed through the Disi Bay and came to the Rorsted Islands, but I still couldn't escape their pursuit."

As expected, the group that wanted to hunt down this witch was actually the "Witch Cult", and the Gnosis Society was just their thugs, which was consistent with the information inside the church... Angel nodded slightly as if to confirm, and asked:

"What's the reason for the witch cult to issue this order? You should be a 'male witch', so you won't be hostile to them, right?"

As she spoke, she looked at William beside Tia—Angel decided to continue calling him that—and found that the latter looked normal and was not surprised that Tia was once a man.

It seems that he already knows Tia’s previous identity, maybe her name is Diya?

Without noticing Angel's actions, Tia replied in a disappointed tone:

"I am indeed not a female witch who is hostile and oppressed. Although I often disobeyed orders and made many mistakes in the church, they hunted me not because of this, but because... I rebelled against the witch sect and joined the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.

"In addition, I also took away a lot of information, such as the size of the witch sect, some of their conspiracies, and... the true location of the 'Fountain of Youth' that they tried to cover up.

"I think this should be of some value to you, a witch who also does not belong to a sect."

(End of this chapter)