The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 469: He’s Seeing Someone Else

”Hm?” The Claw-Stretching Club President blinked. ”What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I’m asking what our Virtual World plan is for tonight.”

”Our Virtual World plan...” Ashe let out a quiet breath of relief. ”I’ll figure it out as we go.”

The sports car roared to life, chasing after the distant White Ox’s Hooves. Golden rain streamed past like flowing light, pouring into the Alchemical Throne and transforming into mana for the sorcerers.

Feeling her mana nearing saturation, Sonya estimated that within the next couple of days, she would fully condense her Gold Wing and officially become a Two-Winged sorcerer. Unlike in the Sea of Knowledge, she didn’t have a shortcut like the Whirlpool to rapidly absorb mana. Nevertheless, the combined enhancement of the sports car and the Alchemical Throne boosted their absorption speed to at least ten times that of anyone else. In just over a month on the Continent of Time, they had already walked a path that would normally take others a full year.

If the Sea of Knowledge required sailing ten thousand miles, then the Continent of Time demanded trekking that same distance. In the Sea of Knowledge, sorcerers had no choice. Spirits were scarce, and Miracles were few, so they could only swim obediently. But things on the Continent of Time were different. After a few days of walking, sorcerers would find traveling on foot unbearably inefficient, making mobility Miracles or transportation tools absolute necessities.

Up until now, Sonya still hadn’t obtained a decent mobility Miracle, largely because the Watcher chauffeured her around every single day. In a way, she had been spoiled. Without him, she would probably struggle just to move from place to place on the Continent of Time.

With that in mind, the village girl quickly settled on a conversation topic for tonight to discuss with the Witch, ”What if the Watcher abandons us?”

Not only could this lower the Witch’s favorability toward the Watcher, but it might also trigger a sense of crisis and push her to train harder in reality.

Of course, her wording had to be carefully considered. If the Witch misunderstood it as ”what if you get abandoned by the Watcher,” the plan would backfire completely, making it sound like she and the Watcher were exploiting or bullying the Witch.

So, Sonya needed to build up to it with genuine emotion. She had to sound like she was truly terrified of being abandoned so that the Witch could empathize.

If I were to be abandoned by the Watcher... what would the reason even be? Not being strong enough as an operator? No way. He only says that to scare me into training harder. I’ve already seen through that trick... Someone prettier than me show ups? Impossible. I’m already the prettiest... These reasons don’t even convince me, so how am I supposed to convince the Witch? I really can’t think of anything...

Just as Sonya was brewing a whole pot of scheming thoughts, she suddenly heard a strange murmuring from beside her.

”Poisoning? No, the success rate is too low.

”For now, we just have to occupy it and not let go. We can’t give her a single chance...

”Call her mother over? Little Red, did you forget? Her mother covets it too.

”It’s unlikely, but what if they reconcile and decide to develop it together and share it? Then how could we possibly compete? And her aunt is also an enemy. That makes three people already. They’re almost catching up to us!

”Damn it, damn it! Every single one of them is a bad person, all coveting my treasure!”

Listening to White Queen muttering under her breath, Sonya watched as her smooth white hair gradually tinted with vivid streaks of red and black, her gentle face turning dark and oppressive. She couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had happened to the Witch in reality. Her emotional turmoil was so intense that she couldn’t even suppress it in the Virtual World, causing her personalities to slip into complete disorder.

And from the sound of it, something incredibly important was about to be taken from her. Red Death Apostle seemed to think calling the other party’s mother could stop it, but White Queen believed the mother, and even the aunt, wanted it too... Could it be some kind of toy?

Sonya quickly hugged White Queen, softly trying to comfort her. The latter realized something was wrong and gently leaned against Sonya’s shoulder to rest.

”Are you okay? Maybe we should—”

”It’s fine. This time, we lost control,” White Queen said. ”Since we are in the Virtual World, we shouldn’t dwell on matters in reality, nor should we bring those emotions into our work.”

Sonya felt a pang of regret. With the Witch in such a terrible mood today, there was no way she could bring up the ”being abandoned by the Watcher” topic. It would only make things worse.

At that moment, the sports car came to a stop outside a Resource Point. White Queen peered into the depths of a dark mine. ”Hopefully, a fight will help me relax a little.”

”It definitely will. When you’re in a bad mood, killing a few Fish-Slaying Dragons feels incredibly satisfying,” Sonya said with a warm smile. ”I’ve even set a personal challenge for myself. My current record is killing five Fish-Slaying Dragons with a single strike. Why don’t you set one too? For example, how many pieces you can split a Fish-Slaying Dragon into with a single attack?”

***

After efficiently looting the area and wiping out the entire group of monsters, Sonya seized the moment when White Queen stepped away to gather essence materials. She pulled Ashe aside. ”What was wrong with you just now?”

”I—I... what do you mean?” Ashe stammered, looking nervous.

Sonya crossed her arms, glaring at him. ”Why did you cast Heal and Boost-Sword on me so many times? Those minor scratches could have been healed with soul energy alone. I didn’t need the healing swords at all. And the Boost-Sword lasts for over twenty seconds, yet you kept reapplying it every ten seconds. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?”

Sonya had always found the Watcher’s Boost-Sword a bit strange. Boosting her power was one thing, but for some reason, it also triggered an intense sensory stimulation. Every single time she was buffed, it felt as though she were being pulled into his embrace. It wasn’t that she disliked the feeling, but having it happen repeatedly during the heat of combat seriously disrupted her rhythm.

”Sorry!” Ashe immediately pressed his palms together, bowing in apology. ”I’ll give you all my essence materials tonight!”

Sonya frowned slightly. ”I’m not asking for compensation... Why are you acting so weird tonight?”

”I’m not! I’ve always been like this—”

”Then look at me. Don’t move.”

Under Sonya’s burning gaze, Ashe managed to hold out for only two to three seconds before instinctively looking away. He hastily opened the Virtual World Map to deflect. ”Swordswoman, I think we should head over to—”

Sonya suddenly stepped forward, pinning him against the wall, and grabbed his hand. ”Forget about those trivial matters.”

A faint red glow sparked at her fingertips, touching his. ”Look into my eyes.”

”Swordswoman, the Witch is about to come back—”

”Look. At. Me!”

Miracle, Treat Others with Sincerity!

This Miracle, which relied on the Sincerity spirit, had only been used once by Sonya before. Back in the Amnesia Cabin, she had shared her own emotions with the Witch and the Watcher to earn their trust. However, the Miracle could also be used in reverse. As long as the target did not actively resist, she could draw out their emotions instead.

At that exact moment, Ashe caught sight of the Witch about to emerge from the mine. Without a second thought, he triggered Bidirectional Rush, teleporting away in a flash. ”I’ll wait in the car while you finish looting!”

When White Queen stepped out of the mine and saw the Swordswoman standing alone at the entrance, casually feeding stones to her spirits, she walked over. ”Swordswoman, the Watcher—”

The moment the Swordswoman turned her head, every word died in the White Queen’s throat.

A chilling, oppressive wave of killing intent crashed into her mind, turning her thoughts completely blank. Shaken, she quickly adjusted her glasses, and her entire appearance, from her makeup and clothing down to her hair, instantly darkened as she shifted into the Black Butler persona.

Black Butler looked at the Swordswoman, the corners of her lips twitching slightly as she drew in a sharp breath. ”Swordswoman, you... No, I’m still too scared!”

She adjusted her glasses yet again, transforming into the cold, arrogant battle maniac, Red Death Apostle. Red Death Apostle took one glance at the Swordswoman, then shook her head. ”I’m not stupid.”

In the end, the personalities had no choice but to throw Secret Princess, Dia, into the driver’s seat to handle the situation. But even Dia didn’t dare meet the Swordswoman’s gaze. The crimson depths of Sonya’s eyes looked like a sea of blood condensed from pure, unadulterated fury. Dia quickly threw her arms around Sonya, burying her face against her chest, and said in a trembling voice, ”S-Swordswoman... what happened? You seem... really, really upset...”

”Nothing happened.”

The Swordswoman’s voice was as soft and pleasant as ever, like a feather brushing against the ear, stirring the heart. She gently patted the Witch’s head and smiled. ”I just had a strange thought just now and got a little carried away.”

”W-What thought?”

”A very boring one... I was just wondering. What if the Watcher abandoned me?”

The unease of avoiding eye contact. A lingering trace of secret delight. And an overwhelming sense of guilt.

It was her first time sensing such a volatile mix of emotions from him, but Sonya’s intuition, the trait the Watcher always called her Dark Insight, had already pieced everything together. He is seeing someone else.