The Sorcerer's Handbook

Back at the inn, Annan rushed over the moment she saw Pankey. She hugged him, gently rubbing against the blue-haired butler. ”Pankey, I’m back.”

Pankey smiled as he stroked Annan’s hair. ”It has been seven hours for me, but for you, Miss, it should only have been a short while since you finished breakfast, right?”

Strictly speaking, Annan was actually slightly taller than him.

”Regardless, you’ve worked hard.”

”Mmhmm.”

Annan turned her head toward Ashe. Ashe blinked and quickly tried to escape, but in the next second, Annan had already pounced on him, tackling the cult leader into a hug. She giggled. ”Ashe, I’m so tired today. You have to comfort me properly!”

Watching the two of them playfully wrestle on the bed, Lys turned around expressionlessly and left. As she passed by Iger, she lowered her voice. ”Aunt Perskin, emergency meeting.”

”Mmhmm.”

Iger grabbed the necromancer, who was just about to leave, and the two dragged the confused Harvey into the fraudster’s room.

”Why did you call me here?”

Lys sat on the bed in a duck-sitting position, crossing her arms seriously. ”Because today, we’re discussing a very important issue. Annan is going to steal Daddy away!”

”...”

Harvey spread his hands. ”I don’t really pay attention to their relationship, but Alice told me a long time ago that it was only a matter of time before Annan and Ashe ended up together. After all, the Funeral Agency’s Desecrating the Gospel Plan was filled with danger, uncertainty, and gambling. Under those circumstances, it’s incredibly easy for people to develop strong feelings toward their companions due to the suspension bridge effect.”

”Among our group, Pankey and Lys are out of the question. Iger, you were already reserved by Anphel long ago. Besides, you and Annan are both the type of people who will do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. As companions, you two can barely manage to cooperate. Taking things any further is impossible. You could never truly open your hearts to each other, and you wouldn’t even be able to become friends. As for Annan and me, we’re even more inclined to keep our distance. Therefore, Annan liking Ashe is simply the most natural outcome.”

The fact that his own thoughts and behavior had been analyzed so bluntly by a necromancer made the corner of Iger’s mouth twitch. He replied irritably, ”Look at you. You make it sound like you’re capable of liking anyone.”

”I like Ashe,” Harvey calmly replied, ”and all of you.”

It was rare for Harvey to openly express his feelings, but neither Iger nor Lys felt particularly happy about it. They were uncertain how much of that ”liking” came from the detached perspective of a necromancer, so they both silently chose not to pursue the matter.

Lys’s eyes lit up. ”So Annan liking Ashe is just a choice she had no alternative to? A helpless, fake affection?”

Harvey shook his head. ”Of course not. Setting aside the fact that the so-called liking is merely the alchemical result of hormones like oxytocin and endorphins mixing, meaning there is no real distinction between genuine and fake, even Alice can tell that Annan truly likes Ashe.

”She might have thought Ashe was unimpressive when they first met, and even after spending a long time together, she still does, but it’s extremely difficult to hate him. He possesses a mysterious quality that makes him feel completely out of place compared to everyone around him. Sometimes, I even wonder whether he truly came from the Blood Moon... If you genuinely try to understand him, it becomes very difficult not to fall for him.”

The necromancer glanced at the others. ”You should understand that better than I do.”

”You’re getting off-topic,” Iger said. ”The current issue is how to deal with the matter between Annan and Ashe.”

Harvey took a Catnip cigarette from his box and placed it between his lips. ”Why do we need to deal with it? They’re a perfect match. A couple blessed by fate. Who are we to oppose them?”

Iger asked, ”Didn’t you say before that once you regained your freedom, you would take revenge on Annan? If Ashe and Annan get together, wouldn’t that cause trouble for you?”

”Oh, that,” Harvey thought for a moment. ”I forgot about that until you mentioned it. I give up.”

”Where is your dignity as a necromancer?!”

Harvey shrugged. ”The dignity of a necromancer lies in obtaining more perfect corpses. Obsessing over revenge would actually violate my principles. After they live happily together for their entire lives, I’ll collect their remains, pass through the veil of death, and turn the traces of their happiness into my power—”

Lys covered her ears. ”Stop, stop! I don’t want to hear this!”

”Besides... if you want to separate Annan and Ashe, have you considered Ashe’s feelings? I have Alice, so I’m satisfied. Iger, you only need yourself. But Ashe is still an ordinary person trapped in those low-level desires. Deep down, he must yearn for the warmth of the opposite sex. Right now, he’s probably quite happy with how things have turned out. You want to take away his lover, so you’ll have to compensate him with another one, right?”

As he spoke, the Necromancer glanced at the two of them, his expression clearly saying, How are you going to repay what you owe Ashe?

Iger lowered his gaze in silence.

Meanwhile, Lys’s eyes snapped wide with excitement. ”Is it just about giving Daddy another lover? Then that would be no problem! Not just one! Four would work too!”

Harvey asked, ”Did you meet some other children near the hotel? I’m talking about lovers who comfort each other emotionally, not daughters who need to be taken care of.”

Iger sighed. Rarely showing such gentleness, he reached out and patted Lys’s head. ”Lys, doing this would make Ashe commit a crime.”

He paused, a new thought striking him. ”Wait. If committing a crime means getting taken away by the Red Hats, that would technically separate the two of them physically.”

”Hey! That’s not what I meant at all!” Lys hesitated, her confidence wavering. ”I suppose I can’t exactly say that either. Anyway, I can definitely introduce Daddy to a beautiful big sister who is gentle, mature, cunning, and a little silly!”

Iger fell into thought. Knowing that Lys harbored hidden personas, he could roughly guess her train of thought. Still, a glaring flaw remained. ”If you plan to wait ten years, Annan and Ashe’s child will likely be as old as you are now. You will probably be used to calling Annan Mommy by then.”

”Hmph!” Lys raised her head proudly. ”Just you wait and see!”

Despite her defiance, they failed to establish any sort of Anti-Annan United Front. Harvey stood firmly on Annan’s side, while Iger remained on the fence, undecided. Only Lys remained a determined opponent of her future stepmother.

***

By dinner time, everyone’s attitude shifted completely.

Inside the hotel restaurant, Lys and the others watched Annan feed Ashe bite after bite, while Ashe fed her in return. ”Ah~ open wide!”

Noticing a grain of rice stuck near the corner of Ashe’s mouth, Annan reached out, wiped it away, and popped it into her own mouth. She then shot Lys and the others a provocative glare.

Lys and her sisters were furious. She has completely stopped pretending! This is an open declaration of ownership!

Because of their contract, Lys possessed a certain degree of ”territorial” authority over Ashe. ”Daddy, I want you to feed me that!”

As Ashe started to turn toward her, Annan immediately intervened. ”Children need to learn how to eat by themselves instead of relying on adults. Ashe, do not feed her.”

”Why do you still need someone to serve you when you are already so old? Feed me!”

”What we are doing is called romance, Lys. You will understand when you grow up. Ashe, do not feed her.”

”Feed me!”

”Don’t.”

”Feed me!”

”Don’t.”

Watching Ashe tremble under the strain, Iger felt the man was about to be driven into a logical error by the conflicting control of two distinct contracts.

Amid the chaos, the fraudster noticed something subtle.

When Ashe looked toward the fake starry sky outside the window, created by glowing plants disguised as constellations, a profound tenderness flowed through his eyes. His pupils reflected the shimmering light, sparkling in the dim room.

Iger recognized that look. People with such a gaze could find joy in the most tedious chores. They would believe a stray dog on the street was greeting them personally. To them, the wind felt uniquely gentle, the sunlight felt like a soft embrace, and everyone around them seemed far more lovable. Even the worst-tasting buffet food somehow became delicious, and their favorite drinks tasted sweeter. It was as if the entire world knew... Someone had fallen in love.

Iger closed his eyes. After a moment, the tension between his brows relaxed, and a faint smile touched his lips. He was just about to put an end to the ridiculous bickering when Harvey spoke first, ”Pankey, bring out the coffin.”

Pankey had been happily watching the chaos play out. He found it strange that Harvey requested a coffin during dinner, yet far too many strange things revolved around the necromancer for this to truly surprise him. He simply retrieved the coffin from his briefcase.

As Harvey activated his spirit, Alice pushed open the lid and climbed out. The puppet moved a chair over to sit beside Harvey, who promptly placed a spoon into Alice’s hand.

”Feed me,” Harvey commanded.

”...”

”Sorry, Harvey. I was wrong,” Annan muttered.

”...”

”Sorry, Uncle Harvey. I was too arrogant,” Lys grumbled.

Only after seeing Annan and Lys offer sincere apologies did Harvey wave his hand, allowing Alice to return to the coffin.

Ashe finally let out a sigh of relief, able to eat his dinner in peace at last.

Just then, as per usual, everyone’s Books of Gospel floated open simultaneously. The bookmarks inside began to glow with a brilliant light, sparking immediate discussions across the restaurant.

”Is the ranking updating again after only one day? Has it evolved into a daily update system?”

”The Gospel is working too hard. I almost want to tip it!”

”Such speed is terrifying.”

The squad remained calm. Every ranking proved essentially meaningless against Ashe. As long as the listed Echoers were strangers, they could safely ignore the updates.

When Annan opened her Book, her eyebrows instantly lifted. ”This ranking might be different this time.”

Harvey called Alice back to sit beside him as he looked down at his own pages. ”How could it be different? Aren’t all of them destined to be completely slaughtered by Ashe? Could it be that after everything, Ashe still can’t bring himself to act—”

The moment Harvey saw the title of the ranking, his doubtful voice stopped abruptly.

[Culprit Rankings]

”Ashe...” Iger frowned slightly, a trace of worry clouding his expression. ”You might finally be officially making it onto the rankings.”