Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 959: Approaching Malice

"Thank you, Sister Sherman."

In front of an apartment building on the edge of the North District, Daisy smiled sincerely as she watched two workers wearing uniforms with bear paws and the words "Black Bear Cannery" moving the last box into the new home. She thanked Sherman beside her.

"No need to thank me. This is all the money Liv saved from her hard work. I just helped her find a place with a good value for money... If you can study hard and get admitted to a grammar school in the North District, it will be the greatest thank you to her."

Sherman looked at Liv, who was busy in the apartment, taking cups and decorations out of boxes and placing them all over the new home. He said with emotion, raising one hand and subconsciously wanting to touch Daisy's head, but stopped himself at the last moment and secretly put his hand down.

That was Sherman's habitual action, not mine... She thought in a daze, and suddenly felt a rough but warm touch on her palm. She looked down and found that it was Daisy's hand that was grasped.

It was a hand that was repeatedly burned by steam but still insisted on helping her mother iron clothes. It was not until Liv entered the canning factory and got a job that could support the whole family that she could hold the pen and study with peace of mind.

"Sister...if you want to touch it, just touch it..."

After receiving Daisy's "invitation", Sherman hesitated for a moment, but still raised his hand and pressed it on the other person's head.

The familiar feeling made both of them stunned.

After a moment, Daisy asked cautiously:
"Sister Sherman, please tell me...when will Sherman be back?"

The pronunciations of these two names are extremely similar. Sherman was in a trance for a while before she remembered that this was also her name. She pursed her lips and replied in a tone that she herself did not quite believe:
"I don't know either. He left Backlund and went to Sivellas County. Maybe he will come back after the war is over."

After saying that, she patted Daisy's head comfortingly, went back into the room to say goodbye to Liv, put on her hood and left as if she was being chased by someone.

It was not until they left the street and returned to the east side where the surrounding houses were obviously more dilapidated that Sherman breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down his pace.

"Why should I run away? Daisy didn't recognize me. Besides, no one can think that Sherman has suddenly become a woman... Oh, I hope that after Liv's family moves to the North District, the two girls can go to school with peace of mind, so that their family can finally get out of poverty..."

She walked quickly through the narrow alleys, naturally avoiding the homeless people who passed by her but secretly reached out their hands under her cloak, muttering to herself.

Putting aside her own feelings, the improvement in Liv's family's life is a microcosm of most of the workers in the "Black Bear Cannery". This factory, which mainly produces canned fruits, meats and carbonated drinks, has been doing very good business recently. The new drinks are sold throughout the Kingdom of Loen and even to the distant Rorsted Islands. The canned goods are snapped up by the residents of Backlund who are affected by the war atmosphere. Even the military has placed a lot of orders for canned goods and "Black Bear Cola". Every worker walks lightly on the way to and from get off work, and the topic they talk about is not the shadow of war, but what they are going to do after getting their salary.

This was all thanks to Miss Angelica's subsequent investment and the strategy of converting profits into new production and rewards for workers... Thinking of this, a satisfied smile appeared on Sherman's face.

If she hadn't been worrying about the role of the "Joy" witch recently, she would even feel that the past month of war was the happiest time of her life.

Joy... When this word popped up in her mind, Sherman's smile froze on her face, and then a blush appeared on her face.

She had just hurriedly fled Liv's new home, not only because of Daisy's questions, but also because of the natural physiological reaction that occurred in her body when she came into contact with a young woman.

"Damn it, Sherman, no, Sherman, Daisy is only fifteen years old. Even if Miss Triss says that all this is a normal reaction, it's too much... No, that's not the point. I liked men before..."

Sherman, with his mind somewhat confused, emerged from the alley and suddenly found himself in the small square in front of the Church of Night without noticing.

There seemed to be a promotional event for a scholarship fund being held here. Most of the East District residents who passed by had no interest in even taking a look, but there were a few people whose children studied in church schools who came over to learn about the conditions for receiving the scholarships, making the originally deserted square quite lively.

Walking around the noisy crowd, Sherman saw the familiar figure at the church door.

----

Leonard Mitchell leaned against the arch of the church's prayer hall, watching the East End residents who gathered around him warily. He always had the illusion that these ragged people would swarm over him.

In the center of the crowd, a blonde girl was enthusiastically introducing the background and scope of the "Loen Charity Student Aid Fund." Her frail body was almost buried by the crowd. Next to her, a black-haired man with a receding hairline was trying to straighten his back to make himself look taller and maintain order.

I didn't expect to see Klein's brother here... Well, he looks taller and stronger than Miss Justice, but in fact, the weak girl he tried so hard to protect is actually a Sequence 5 Beyonder. She can knock him down with one punch, and her roar can shock everyone in the square...

Leonard realized that although the scene was a bit chaotic, it still maintained order under some kind of secret guidance. He muttered to himself and emptied his mind with peace of mind. His vision gradually lost focus and he recalled the conversation that "Queen" Angel and "World" Klein had when they left him alone after the Tarot meeting this week.

It was then that he learned that the two of them had actually found the legendary "Ghost Empire" last week and met Amon's clones there.

Surprisingly, one of the Amon clones that had been lurking in the "Dream City" for more than ten years actually merged with some of the memories and thoughts of the parasite, becoming a "good Amon" who was willing to sacrifice himself for the city. Angel and Klein found Leonard, with the purpose of asking him to ask Pallez Zoroast in his body: Is this situation real, or is it a disguise and trap of Amon's clone?
After leaving the gray fog and returning to reality, Leonard immediately told Pales about this matter. After analyzing it, the latter believed that the "Archon" Amon might indeed be affected by the host and show a personality and characteristics different from other clones.

"Normally, Amon's clones will obtain all the memories of the original body, inherit his thoughts and personality, and clearly know that they are clones and are subject to the original body, so the probability of "rebellion" is extremely low. But as your colleagues said, this clone took unconventional measures during the parasitic process in order to conceal the city's laws. It is very likely that some accidents occurred at the moment of successful parasitism, making him no longer a pure "Amon"...

"But this is only possible if there is no conflict of interest between them. If I appear before this clone and face the last piece of the puzzle for Amon's original body to become a god, He might reveal His true nature and try every means to pass this message to the original body... So if I were to 'verify' Amon's thoughts, the only thing I would do is absorb His Beyonder characteristics and make them disappear completely... Just tell your two colleagues this."

With Pales' serious voice echoing in his mind, Leonard sighed and refocused his eyes. Suddenly, he found a young woman in a hooded cloak standing in front of him.

It was that "joyful" witch Sherman... Leonard subconsciously straightened his body, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and said as if he didn't care:

"I thought you'd be late... Well, I mean, I wasn't waiting very long."

The sudden laughter of Pales in his mind made his expression a little stiff.

Fortunately, Sherman didn't care. Instead, he took out an envelope from under his cloak, stuffed it into Leonard's hand, and said:
"This is the recent movement of Mr. K of the Aurora Society, the details of the gatherings he held and the items he bought and sold... Compared to before, the biggest difference is that he stopped looking for followers of The Fool."

Stop looking for Mr. Fool's followers... Leonard's mind immediately returned to the right track. He took the envelope, thought for a moment, and asked:
"Are there any other suspicious people at the party?"

"Most of them are familiar members, but there is a new member who wears a hood and mask every day, never participates in transactions, and is always the last one to leave. I suspect he is also a member of the Aurora Society, but I didn't follow him because I was afraid of being discovered."

Sherman answered patiently.

"You did the right thing, observe first and don't act rashly."

Leonard nodded and replied.

The two men talked for a while. Sherman saw that the crowd in the square was gradually dispersing and the two people standing at the church door talking began to become conspicuous. He tightened his hood, said goodbye to Leonard, and hurried away.

Looking at her running back, Leonard opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end he just shook his head and stuffed the envelope containing the information into his pocket.

"Didn't you say you were going to invite her to the cafe under the pretext of work?"

In his mind, Pales' teasing voice suddenly appeared.

"That was my plan, but she suddenly ran away... um, why did I use this word?"

Leonard tilted his head and whispered.

"Ah."

He was answered by Pales' ambiguous laughter.

----

After distributing all the flyers, Audrey Hall heaved a sigh of satisfaction, used "psychological invisibility" to eliminate her presence, stretched rather inelegantly, and then reappeared in the sight of other staff members.

“I hope this publicity can enable more students who are unable to go to school for various reasons to return to school…”

She took the sweet iced tea handed to her by Mr. Benson, took a sip, and thought hopefully.

"At the Tarot Club, Mr. 'World' told everyone to pay attention to the war situation on the northern front. He said that if something happens to the eldest prince, Covington, it means that the next stage of the war is about to begin... This points to a conspiracy that even my father and the others did not expect... I hope this will not happen, otherwise Backlund's fragile peace may be broken by war again..."

Looking at the busy streets of the East District and the passers-by who were either full of hope or confused, Miss Justice prayed to the goddess in her heart.

Above her head, a crow flew in from a distance, passing through the haze that had gradually faded and become less dim this year, and landed on the highly recognizable spire of the Church of the Night, facing the direction of the square, with its head tilted, its eyes observing something unknown.

(End of this chapter)