Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 827: Failed New Member Recruitment

The long period of silence in his mind made Leonard a little anxious. He had a feeling of being recruited as a "minor arcana" within the Goddess Church, but was also worried about being reported to the archbishop.

He stood up from the sofa, poured out the coffee that was greasy and could no longer be drunk, and boiled a new pot of water. Only then did he hear the voice of Pales:

"Can you first tell me in detail what the situation is? Is it the Fool's request, or is it your idea?"

He didn't just refuse?
It sounds like if Mr. Fool asked for it personally, the old man would agree?

Leonard was surprised and delighted. He returned to the sofa and told Pales in detail about the suggestions made by "Queen" Angel and the opinions expressed by everyone, including the position of "World" Klein who clearly stood on Angel's side, and how the "Hanged Man" seemed to have realized something and quickly changed his attitude.

"You mean, although The Fool has not expressed his opinion directly, he may have his own inclinations?"

Pales asked back.

"I think so. His final summary clearly agrees with our resolution. Although some restrictions have been made, corresponding permissions have also been given, especially allowing the Minor Arcana to recite His name when necessary. This is equivalent to a promise to provide certain help. For example, the Angel's Embrace last time came from one of His angels."

Leonard recalled the "Punishment" operation he participated in last week and was deeply impressed by the figure of an angel with twelve pairs of wings that resisted the temptation of a certain vampire demigod.

“Remember, believe in the power of the gods, not their mercy,” the old voice in his head said with emotion, “The Fool must have his own considerations when making such a decision. Perhaps soon, we will truly see the Church of Fool appear before the world... But before that, don’t get too involved in this matter.”

"What?" Leonard asked in confusion.

"I'm saying that you should not think about developing your own Minor Arcana recklessly! This includes not only me, but also the other candidates you have in mind, such as your dear captain, and that extremely talented female psychic who may become a demigod..." Pales scolded unhappily, "You can join the Tarot Club and become a follower of The Fool. This is already the limit that the church and that being can tolerate. If you have other ideas, I can't guarantee that there won't be a Red Glove knocking on your door in the middle of the night."

"That"...who is the old man referring to?
Leonard's mind flashed through that long string of honorific names. His heart tightened, and he subconsciously reached out and tapped four times, drawing the outline of the Crimson Moon.

"But what about Klein and Angel?"

He suddenly thought of his two former colleagues. They were believers of both the Goddess and the "Fool", and seemed to have a close relationship with this mysterious god.

This discussion on "small cards" happened to be initiated and supported by the two of them.

"Can you compare with them? I guess they have become followers of the Night, and joining the Tarot Club and becoming followers of The Fool may mean some kind of tacit understanding, some kind of deal... In this way, I can understand why your colleague 'resurrected from the dead'..."

Pales murmured, his voice becoming increasingly quiet.

"Resurrection, isn't that the ability of the 'immortal' witch?"

Leonard couldn't help but ask.

"Alas, I was talking about another one. And your female colleague was definitely not the 'immortal' witch when she was in Tingen City."

The old voice in his head sighed, then ignored his calls and did not respond.

Seeing that the old man refused the offer of a "Minor Arcana", Leonard curled his lips, made a new cup of coffee, went to the study, looked at a blackboard with a map of the East District and several case reports fixed with thumbtacks, and his eyes moved between the various words and symbols.

That was the time, place and characteristics of the five previous murders.

Next to the map, there was a portrait with only the lower half of the face. It was drawn by Leonard based on the appearance of the murderer he saw in his dream. As a wanted poster, it was naturally useless, but for an extraordinary person with spiritual alertness, he would be able to recognize the murderer if he saw him again.

"There have been no new cases in almost two weeks. Did the murderer achieve his goal, or did he find out that the authorities are paying attention to this matter..."

He muttered to himself, his eyes fixed on key words such as "witch" and "feedback from acting" on the blackboard, as if he was thinking about something.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He quickly walked to the bookshelf, pulled out another dusty file, opened it, turned a page, and returned to the blackboard where the clues were posted.

That page of documents recorded the Capin case that happened in Backlund last October. In the case where the wealthy man suspected of human trafficking died, the "Black Emperor" left behind a series of tarot cards and made a gorgeous farewell in front of the onlookers, which made the headlines of almost all newspapers.

"This incident has been confirmed to be related to Angel and Erin Watson. If she is not the 'ageless' witch as the old man said, then she should have been acting as a 'witch' at the time... Murder, misleading, and some kind of religious performance are all symbols of a 'witch'?"

Leonard murmured, and an idea came to his mind. After the authorities deliberately reduced related reports in order to avoid panic, would this "witch" in the East District plan a large case like Angel, complete her performance in front of the public, and digest the last potion?

----

On the route between Bayam and the Middle Range Island in the Rorsted Archipelago, the "Mirai" was sailing slowly.

Admiral of the Stars Cattleya was still wearing the classical robe painted with various symbols and magic signs, with a pair of heavy glasses on her nose. She followed the hidden passage to the damp and dark lower cabin.

As she approached a door that was covered with mycelium and seemed to be slowly changing shape and color in the candlelight, a calm but slightly excited voice reached the ears of the pirate general:

"With your help, this experiment has made new progress. You see, this mushroom has a strong tendency to reproduce, which will give rise to a certain autonomous foraging instinct, allowing it to exhibit certain carnivorous behavior habits, such as hunting, such as digesting protein by chewing instead of secreting mucus to obtain nutrition!
"Don't worry. Whether it's roasted or cooked, the high temperature will completely inactivate it and it won't continue to reproduce in the stomach... Of course, if someone swallows it raw, the risk will become uncontrollable... Well, how do you think it tastes? Don't you eat them every day? Some are as crispy and salty as Dexie grilled fish, and some are as juicy as steak. Yesterday I found a variety that stores milk inside, with a milk content of over 70%!
"Last time we bred it, we solved the problem of it accumulating toxins after devouring the flesh of other creatures. As long as it is exposed to the moon, its vitality will become extremely strong and it can purify itself of toxins... Next, I have to solve the problem of its decreased activity in pure darkness. Sharf, this will be hard work for you again."

Hearing this, Cattleya pushed open the wooden door and walked into a slightly stuffy cabin with no portholes or vents.

In front of her, a mushroom almost as tall as her stood firmly in the center of the room. The surface of its huge cap was as white as snow, dotted with a few bright red spots like human facial features. Spores of different sizes grew on the fungus body, from which extended mycelium of varying thickness, like tentacles, floating in the air.

In addition to this big mushroom, there are various small mushrooms distributed on the walls, floor and ceiling in the room. Their shapes are similar to their "mother", white with red and with mycelium, but they are of different sizes and are carefully hung with labels saying "beef", "grilled fish" and "wheat".

The cup of hot milk I drank in the morning, could it be from here... Cattleya's deep purple eyes behind her glasses were dazed for a moment, and then she looked at a figure kneeling next to the mushrooms.

That was the "craftsman" Sharf she had received from Bayam last month on the commission of the "Mysterious Queen". Because this descendant of Emperor Roselle who had accidentally become a believer of the "Original Moon" could not be exposed to moonlight for a long time, Cattleya entrusted him to her first mate, and Frank Lee served as an assistant, asking him to stay in the cabin as much as possible where the moonlight could not reach.

But at this time, Sharf's cheeks were thin, his eye sockets were sunken, and his eyes were dull, as if he had been tired for a long time and lacked basic sleep and nutrition, which made Cattleya a little worried about his health.

"Frank, what's going on?"

She asked, looking at the other man who was wearing overalls and his shirt sleeves pulled up to his elbows.

"Captain, my recent experiments are a bit tight, and Sharf is also very enthusiastic, which has caused him to be a bit sleep deprived, but I have a solution," Frank said, pulling down a mushroom with a "Nutritious" sign from the wall. "Through this nutritious mushroom, I can help him quickly restore his energy and strength, which will not only make him healthier, but also help the success rate of the next experiment."

"I don't want to eat... the mushrooms grown by this guy... Ugh..."

Hearing his words, the kneeling Sharf suddenly trembled, muttered under his breath, and vomited before he finished speaking.

"It's okay. There are many creatures in nature that eat their own offspring. It's not a taboo."

Frank smiled and comforted him, handing the mushroom in his hand to Charles.

"Okay, Frank, let's talk about this later," Cattleya interrupted her first mate's actions with some reluctance. "I came to you to ask you one thing: if there is a chance, are you willing to accept the gift of a mysterious being and become His believer? I can't guarantee that He is absolutely safe and harmless, but I will bear any risks together."

"Will this gift be helpful to my experiment? If so, I promise."

Frank answered without hesitation, which stunned Cattleya, who had prepared many arguments to deal with various questions from the other party.

"Wait, what kind of gift is that? Is it the same as the 'Original Moon'? He's already like this, and you still want him to believe in some mysterious existence? You're crazy...you're all crazy!"

Sharf, who had vomited a handful of sour water, jumped up from the ground, stared at Cattleya with wide eyes, muttering to himself, as if he was looking at a follower of an evil god who was preaching, completely forgetting that he had also believed in the "Original Moon" and was one of them.

Suddenly, he pushed Frank and Cattleya aside and rushed towards the still open door, but the huge mushroom, which had been quiet like a normal mushroom, stretched out its thick mycelium, wrapped around him and pulled him back.

"Let me go! I'm going to get my magical item. I'm going to blow up this ship and die with them... wuwu... um..."

Sharf screamed frantically as he was pulled under the mushroom body in front of the two men. With the help of the hyphae, he was tightly attached to it and couldn't even speak.

This... I really need to consider the necessity of giving Frank the Minor Arcana cards and making him believe in The Fool... If Mr. Fool is interested in his research and gives him more power, my Future will probably be uninhabitable.

Watching all this, Cattleya pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose, regretting her decision a little.

(End of this chapter)