Oops, I became the witch's substitute

"What languages ​​of which churches did you use?" Carol came closer curiously and saw Arabelle holding a handful of amulets in her hand, which could be said to cover all the church series in the surrounding countries.

All of them were donated by high-ranking businessmen. The gods may not be willing to bless the demons, but they will at least bless responsible wealthy people.

Arabelle counted the amulets in her hand and said a lot of things like naming a dish. When she mentioned the last amulet, Carol and Fili were both stunned.

Carol pointed at the last iron-like amulet, which looked like a rolled-up whip. "The miscellaneous religions in the beginning are fine, but the prayer you said at the end was clearly the language of slaves. Although it is relatively ancient... But you must have been fooled, right?"

Arabelle was surprised. "What? These are all donations! That damn old man actually lied to me? I even renovated the church for them."

Fili waved her hand: "Okay, stop making trouble, let's see what others say. So are you really still alive?"

The ghost girl hid behind a piano not far away: "It's true, I am still alive, living in the neighboring country of Bereda, and I am the child of an alchemist. I just like this piano very much, so I became like this. Oh, and if you want to know why, it may be because I came into contact with the philosopher's stone."

Carol's ears twitched: "Bereda, the country of the alchemy city?"

The ghost girl nodded in acknowledgment. This Bereda Kingdom did have a somewhat remarkable background. Probably just like the witches gathered in Miriam, a large number of alchemists gathered in Bereda for many years, and finally united and declared independence sixty years ago. At that time, they defeated the kingdom's army that came to quell the rebellion several times, and actively established diplomatic relations with neighboring countries such as Miriam and Arius, sharing many alchemical technologies and achievements, and becoming an independent entity in the name of a city kingdom.

In fact, this place is a paradise for alchemists. However, according to what Fili understood, due to the saturation of domestic workshops, there is little space left for factories. Bereda now has limited resources, is too competitive internally, and has deep-rooted academic factions. As a result, it has not achieved its original goal. After a brief period of brilliant growth of more than a decade, there has been no outstanding performance.

As for the philosopher's stone mentioned by the ghost girl, it is a material that reproduces the power of the philosopher's stone. It is said that it can transform any metal into gold and can also be used to make the elixir of life. However, the existing philosopher's stones have not reached such a height, and the functions of the many philosopher's stones are different.

For example, some philosopher's stones will indiscriminately turn any substance they come into contact with into metal, and the indiscriminate conversion is quite violent. Some can only turn fixed metals into gold. As for the research on immortality, it is even more bizarre, but generally unsuccessful.

Fili concluded: "So, your current state is also a kind of research on immortality?"

The ghost girl nodded: "I don't know either. I just sneaked into my father's basement and touched the family heirloom. Since then, whenever I want, I can appear near things related to my family. Hey, do I look like a banshee in everyone's eyes now?"

Fili sighed, "Okay, what's your name? I'm Fili, this is the alchemist Carol, and this is the succubus Arabelle."

"It's just a succubus, not a succubus paladin?" The ghost's eyes widened and he coughed hastily, "My name is Anila, and I didn't mean to scare you. I really didn't know I would turn into an undead creature and even attack others to absorb their life."

Carol touched Anila's current body and said, "I understand. The reason why it absorbs essence is to supplement the ability of the philosopher's stone. Alchemy emphasizes an equivalent exchange, and this is even more true for incomplete philosopher's stones. Due to the lack of talent, these philosopher's stones need to absorb more energy to replenish themselves after completing the transformation. So when you become like this, you will unconsciously absorb the essence of the living. To put it more concretely, when your ancestors created this philosopher's stone, they were considering turning into an undead creature to achieve longevity, or even immortality, but obviously they failed."

Anila asked curiously, "Why do you say it failed?"

Carol sensed it carefully and said, "I can feel that this transformation is incomplete. Your soul has not left your body, but has been projected by the Philosopher's Stone onto an object with a causal relationship. Since the projection distance is too far, it will forcibly consume too much power. If you don't replenish it from the outside world, your own power will be consumed, which will be dangerous. I suggest that you stop fooling around when you go back."

Anila nodded after a moment of silence, then closed her eyes, seemingly trying to contact her body. Suddenly, her face froze: "Ah! I suddenly can't sense my body!"

Okay, this time I might really die.

Chapter 206 The Dangers of the Philosopher's Stone

Alchemy is attractive in many aspects, such as turning stone into gold and brewing the elixir of immortality. Normal research would have been fine, but a large number of alchemists appeared, disrupting the market and causing tragedies. The situation was very helpless.

Now that Anila cannot return to her body, Carol draws a magic circle to reversely analyze the fluctuations of magic power in her body and comes to a simple conclusion.

Most of the situations in which the Philosopher's Stone is refined are not good. Anila can activate the special ability of the Philosopher's Stone and turn into a ghost. It is obvious that her ancestors have noticed her good physical talent. People who have reached this level will not care about the gender of the body and will just use it. Hmm, I suddenly feel that there are often undecent people in the world of alchemists.

Although Anila could not immediately realize the seriousness of the matter, being a ghost was not a good experience, especially after being exorcised by Arabel dozens of times before: "What!!! How could this happen!!! The ancestors would not do this to me, wuwuwu!!!"

"It's not a very innovative technology. The purpose of this philosopher's stone is to select children with excellent talents from the next generation, and then take away their young and fresh bodies." Carol spread her hands. "To be honest, the alchemist who came up with this technology must be of low level. I use my own flesh and blood to create a new body. In comparison, my technology is less burdensome to the soul, while the technology of taking away the body will cause schizophrenia at most after three or four generations."

Anila shivered, "Am I really going to become a ghost?"

No, you are going to die.

A soul without a body will soon dissipate.

Fili and the other two nodded, and Anila's face gradually became filled with black lines.

Becoming a ghost girl does not restrict freedom. Anila can travel thousands of miles to a foreign country to play. There is no sense of tension. Now is the first hour that she cannot return home. In addition, with three reliable big sisters in front of her, she feels too safe.

She was a little silly, but Fili and the others knew that the matter was serious.

People who often possess other people know that occupying another person's body is equivalent to taking away their life. Old Biden loves young bodies the most, and this poor little girl in front of him will have nothing.

Since she had met him, Fili was confident that she had some ability, so it wouldn't hurt to help a little. By following the clues, she could even legally plunder a philosopher's stone, which wasn't a bad thing.

"Don't worry, tell me your home address and we will start investigating now." Fili first used magic to strengthen Anila's spirit.

Anila previously used the piano to perform heavy metal rock, largely because pure spiritual bodies would lead to extreme thinking, just like most evil spirits, gradually being controlled by instinct and becoming invisible beasts.

"Oh, what a shame. Then you guys go, I'll cheer you on from behind." Seeing this, Arabelle realized that it would not be over in a short time. After all, it was a human life, she could not just throw it aside.

Fili stroked Arabelle's fur again: "Don't be disappointed. When I come back, I can write a few songs for you."

Arabelle smiled again. “It’s a deal.”

Since Anila is now unable to contact her body on her own, Fili and Carol carefully protect her and set off immediately.

At the same time as setting off, Fili controlled Fellin's identity to gather information first, learn about the latest situation of the alchemy city Bereda, and then discovered some unusual signs.

The most direct point is that Bereda can be called a foggy city. It has a small area but many factories. The highly industrialized alchemy has caused serious pollution near the city. The first alchemist family to rise has the first-mover advantage and monopolizes the superstructure and resources. The crowded city has extremely high alchemy technology, but most residents below the middle class live a low-quality life.

Filin kept looking through the intelligence sent by his men, smelling danger: "Abils actually funded Beredari's workshop. This small city-state began to purchase a large amount of materials for making philosopher stones before the Kalan War. It was also during that period that philosopher stones of various qualities began to be mass-produced. Many high-quality products were exported and sold to raise funds to further purchase materials. These exported philosopher stones were spread all over the world, including Miriam."

No way? They are not casting a wide net, are they? Fili looked at Anila again. Her experience began to become strange. The Philosopher's Stone was a precious heirloom. If there was a family of alchemists, it would be the foundation of the family's fortune. How could it be easily touched by Anila, and the elders would not notice it after it was touched.

Anila's discovery of the Philosopher's Stone at home may have been induced. Some people were deliberately looking for a target with the goal of discovering a young talent who could activate the Philosopher's Stone.

Feilin instructed the girls in the intelligence base: "You guys, write a letter of commission in Feili's name, the content of which is to expand the scope of the investigation and find information about customers who have purchased the Philosopher's Stone. It would be best if you could know the current situation of these people and whether anything has happened at home."

These elite intelligence officers worked hard: “Got it.”

This kind of thing is usually hard to notice, but Fili always considers the worst case scenario for everything. The more she thinks about it, the more she feels that Alchemy City is playing big.

Half a day after Fili's commission was issued, relevant personnel began to come one after another. Some people who specialized in intelligence work were well-informed and had also analyzed the anomalies in the Alchemy City during this period.

The intelligence dealer lowered his hood. "The information here is very important. I hope to interview the Witch of Falsehood."

Feilin refused: "Miss Feili is on her way to Bereda. I am in charge of everything here. What you said to me is the same as looking for Feili."

The intelligence merchant was a little confused: "Who are you?"

Feilin made up an identity at random: "Me? I am the Blade of the Witch of Falsehood, her agent."

It sounds mysterious, even a little bit childish, but it perfectly fits the style of a witch. The intelligence businessman thought for a moment and took out a bag.

"This matter is related to my friend. Someone related to him bought the Philosopher's Stone and planned to conduct some magical research. However, he said recently that his friend's personality has suddenly changed a lot, and even some of his subtle habits have changed. It feels very wrong, but after probing, we can't find any evidence. You know, people in our line of work are naturally sensitive. Since we can't find out the reason, we have to ask Miss Witch for help."

The intelligence dealer was right. The only person you can trust in the Witch Kingdom is the Great Witch.

Feilin took the information. If it weren't for what happened to Anila, he would have regarded it as a temporary bad temper at most. But Anila's tragedy had happened before, and she couldn't return to her own body now. Feili guessed whether the friend of the intelligence dealer's friend had his body taken over successfully. After all, even a false immortality that was a compromise was still immortality.

Chapter 207: Heroic Thief

Filin is very reliable. He summarized the investigation information and wrote a report quickly. Following the principle of strength in numbers, after Filin completed the basic investigation of the Alchemy Kingdom, he handed the information to the witch.

There is a particularly reliable good person among the witches Miriam, the Sword Witch Surad. I have greeted her several times before. To put it simply, she is honest and serious. She takes the initiative to serve as the sheriff, inspector, and discipline committee member among the witches, and truly and effectively maintains Miriam's style. She is on the road investigating the black witch all day long.

Led by Surad, there is a group of diligent witches who are not too homebound or lazy. Their main responsibility is to investigate and expel any creatures that cause trouble in Miriam and to maintain a high degree of cooperation with the royal security agencies.

"So you suspect that these philosopher stones will cause harm to other countries? For example, the philosopher stones that flowed into Miriam have begun to take over the bodies of innocent people." Surad finished reading Filin's report, which had various intuitive analysis diagrams that even a gorilla could understand. "This alchemy of occupying other people's bodies should not be very perfect. I'm afraid it requires other costs. The philosopher stones are the carriers of absorbing these costs. Hmm... It is necessary to go to Bereda for investigation."

Filin said that professionals are on their way: "Fili and Carol will arrive at Bereda soon. They will conduct an in-depth investigation of Bereda itself. Our focus should be on those who have purchased the Philosopher's Stone in the country. We should monitor their movements and seal those who have already occupied the body as much as possible, and guard against those who may be occupied at any time."

Surad touched his chin, his expression serious: "What should we do? Should we just tell them the truth? We might alert them."

If things are difficult to do, then don't do them.

Feilin believes that the other world has its own national conditions. In an era where the strong can do whatever they want, they can be more willful for the sake of safety.

"My personal opinion is to just steal and cheat. Don't deal with the parties involved in such matters. Let's just do our own thing." Feilin didn't even want to use the witches to bully others.

People who buy the philosopher's stone have some ulterior motives. They also want to possess powerful strength, unlimited wealth or find the way to immortality. Just like the telecommunications fraud in the previous life, in the end the victims angrily accused the police of blocking their way to wealth. Philin didn't want to argue with these people, and there was no need to argue.

Flin analyzed these people's ideas to Surad, and Surad basically agreed: "Indeed, let alone the philosopher's stone, even if we spent money to buy a cursed statue, we can't get it back before a disaster happens. Now it's a special case and needs special treatment. If there is a problem with these philosopher's stones, it's fine. If there is no problem, we can return them in a year or two. So what is Lady Fili's attitude?"

"That's what Fili thought."

"…Can you speak for Fili?"

"Ahem~ Look at this badge, it was given to me by Fili. It fully represents the authority of the Witch of Falsehood. She gave me detailed instructions before she left, so I know exactly what to do."

The witches are not poor. They have the attribute of immortality and look down on the philosopher's stone. Naturally, they will return what they borrow.

Surad will take charge of this matter. After discussing it with the trustworthy witches, everyone will go out together.

After Surad assigned the work, he looked at Filin's departing back, crossed his arms and thought: "I really don't understand. Why did they choose a human to do something that a familiar can do?"

Let me tell you a sad story. The lifespan of witches' familiars is on average longer than that of humans, which means they can be palus longer than humans, so it is more cost-effective to raise a familiar than a human.

On the other side, Fili told Carol about the progress here. Miriam would launch an internal investigation, and they had to arrive at Bereda as soon as possible to start work and rescue.

Carol was now wearing an alchemist's robe, looking much more old-fashioned. "Come to think of it, it's fine for me to be alone, but it would be too conspicuous for you to go to Bereda like this. You have obvious witch features and impressive magic power. Even with disguise, it would be strange."

Fili looked down at herself and said, "My disguise can eliminate my magic and presence, and turn me into an ordinary person. No one below the godhood can notice me, and I can barely win a one-on-one match with those above the godhood. Is this conspicuous?"

Carol hesitated to speak: "You have been pretending for so long, don't you know..."

Fili said hurriedly: "Of course I know that everything is excessive, so after the disguise, I just emit ordinary magic fluctuations and pretend to be an ordinary magical girl."

Carol pointed at Fili's face and said, "I know Bereda. You either wear my clothes or get dirty. It will look weird if you run around in Bereda like a lady. Do you understand?"

Fili doesn't understand the real Bereda. She is very confident in her deception and she has to prove herself after being rejected by Carol.

At this time, Anila, who was floating beside Fili, came out to smooth things over: "Sister Carol is right. There are countless surveillance eyes in the cities of our country. There are countless residential areas surrounding the cities. No one knows how many black markets and private workshops there are. In many places, thieves and hooligans are everywhere. Miss Fili's noble appearance is completely conspicuous."

Fili compromised and picked out an alchemy apprentice robe from Carol's luggage, then ruffled her hair and put on a pair of glasses with thick lenses, looking like a country girl before her transformation.

"I'll play the role of Carol's apprentice and assistant."

"Well, that's all. After we get into the city, let's go to Anila's house to see the details."

The two people and the ghost quickly assigned roles. Anila hid in Fili's magic shadow throughout the whole process, and everyone quickly entered the city.

After entering the city, Carol muttered something about the expansion, and then got lost. She was not familiar with Bereda, but fortunately there was a local named Anila, so she didn't get lost.

Just when Carol was walking on the street, she was bumped by a naughty kid. Fili found it very strange at the time. Although the street was crowded, the kid's route was obviously well prepared and he would have bumped into Carol no matter what.

"Did you encounter a thief?"

"How is that possible? I am also a martial arts expert, I..."

Carol’s martial arts skills were indeed formidable, and her bare-handed combat skills were not necessarily inferior to Fili’s, but her confidence collapsed in a matter of seconds, and the smile on her face soon faded.

Because Carol touched her pocket and found that her wallet was really missing.

"No way? How could this be stolen?!"

Fili lowered her head and sighed softly, leaving a series of snapping sounds in the air, and then she disappeared.

A few minutes later, she chased into a small alley, and the situation there made Fili really happy.

The one who stole Carol's wallet was a cat-eared girl with green hair. She was young but agile, and most importantly, she possessed considerable talent and strength. She was about the same age as Enil, but was already at the level of a hero.

The power of this kind of genius is usually hard to explain. Fili couldn't analyze the other party's path in a short period of time. It seemed that he had not systematically studied magic and martial arts, and it was as if he had become a hero by instinct.

"Hmm? It's so easy to get what you want. You stinky alchemist from out of town is begging for food in Bereda. Let me see how much rice you have in your wallet...eh?"

The cat-eared girl was about to search Carol's wallet when she found someone grabbing her from the other side. She looked up and saw Fili grabbing Carol's wallet with an expressionless face, examining her as a thief.

"This scent, you are from the person just now..."

"I say, if you have such strength, why do you want to be a thief?"

"Humph, how can you people who have no worries about food and clothing understand?"

The cat-eared girl decisively gave up her wallet, kept a distance, and pulled out a dagger from her waist in a self-defense posture.

"How can a young lady like you who is so delicate and well-fed and well-clothed understand why I became a thief?"

"Then you can tell me about it."

"In Bereda, the more a person works, the less he earns. The owners of the liquor and pleasure streets are pocketing their own money, while the geniuses are dying in the streets due to poverty. The cooks who bake bread work all day long but cannot earn enough to make a living. The shoemakers who make thousands of pairs of shoes have their toes exposed. The diligent weavers have nothing to wear. The architects who built this alchemical city are doing nothing in their dirty huts. Those who produce everything have nothing, and those who produce nothing have everything. I am just stealing some things from you guys who don't produce and giving them to those who really need it."

Upon hearing this, Fili suddenly understood how this cat girl became a hero. Perhaps this kind of thinking was her path.

It's really unbelievable.

Chapter 208 The thief also has ideals

Fili and Carol looked at each other for a moment, and both saw helplessness in each other's eyes. Regarding the matter of this cat girl, their only feeling was that God stuffed food into her mouth, and she didn't realize it at all. She must be a fool.

Tao is a kind of idealistic force. People who firmly believe in certain things are often more likely to reap the benefits of the version. Obviously, this cat girl is such a fool. Yes, being powerful and foolish is sometimes a talent.

"What you described are the rich and unkind people in your country. Why do you steal from us outsiders?" Fili felt offended. Do she and Carol look like good people?

The cat girl finally felt guilty, and her voice became lower and lower: "I see you are quite rich..."

Fili asked again: "We are rich and kind, so you steal from us?"