The Sorcerer's Handbook

Ashe’s eyes widened. ”Why?! Lys is one thing, but this is finally a chance for some perks. No, wait! This mission is far too important. I should advance and retreat alongside my companions! How can I sit back and reap the rewards while they fight alone?”

Annan spread her hands. ”Because you’re too famous. You’re already the top piece on the Art Ranking. Now that the Gospel Kingdom has issued a warrant for you, countless Red Hats are just waiting to take your head for a promotion and a pay raise. If you show up on the second ranking as well, I can’t even imagine the chaos it would trigger.”

Iger interjected, ”Speaking of Red Hats, I’ve been wondering... are we really safe here? The Good Moonlight Agency and the Azura Red Hats both know we’re in Vanmura. Can the Senheisers truly hold them off? And what about the other five Great Families?”

Annan responded, ”So far, Ashe is the only one they truly want. As long as the Senheisers insist they know nothing about him, no other faction can openly invade. As for those hiding in the shadows... unfortunately for them, Vanmura’s bloated family structure has squeezed out all underground elements. The sewers here only contain Mermaid Weed, not Sea Witch organizations handling crime. Ironically, Senheiser itself has more sea-demon clansmen.”

Iger pressed her sharply. ”And if Quinna hands us over? Do you think a contract alone can restrain her?”

Seeing Iger about to spiral into more questions, Annan cut him off. ”I don’t think she will, and you’d better hope I’m right. I’m just a very beautiful agency head. Don’t assume I can cover every contingency. If everything I did had a hundred-percent success rate, I wouldn’t need you as cannon fodder. Now, hold out your hands.”

Once they complied, Annan took out a seal and stamped the back of each person’s hand. The imprint had a dark green base, depicting a female elf cradling a sapling.

”This is the Senheiser family crest. When it grows warm, it means the Family Reincarnation Dream has opened. Press it firmly, and you will enter. The dream usually begins around eight every night.”

She glanced at Ashe and Lys. ”I don’t have performance requirements for you two, but you still have to enter. Otherwise, the toxins accumulated from the Beauty Mist will erode your emotional thresholds. Since Lys is underage, she’ll be confined to a solo dream. Ashe, I won’t interfere with what you do in there, but you don’t exactly strike me as a romantic lead. If you somehow bumble your way onto the ranking by fooling around, I’ll take it.”

”I have another question,” Ashe said. ”Why would dating your mother, Quinna, guarantee a victory?”

Annan shot him a look. ”It’s simple math. If you date anyone else, you’re just seen as having the potential to start a family. But if you win Quinna’s favor, the Gospel will judge you as someone with the capacity to lead millions. Think of it like a game. Ordinary people are just mobs, while Quinna is Vanmura’s ultimate boss. Defeating mobs makes you an average adventurer. Defeating the boss makes you the savior.”

Lys asked, ”In that case... If we don’t act, will Quinna end up in the second ranking herself?”

”She was supposed to,” Annan replied.

”Supposed to?” Iger echoed.

Annan sneered, ”After seeing the chaos brought by the Art Ranking, do you really think Vanmura will remain untouched? Soon enough, it’s uncertain if Senheiser will even continue to exist. Don’t be fooled by Quinna’s domineering front. In reality, she’s more anxious than anyone. Chaos is the natural enemy of family, and war is poison to inheritance. She has to find a way for Senheiser to survive these turbulent times. Right now, Dolan is the only lifeline she can reach.”

”If you establish a connection and help ensure her family’s survival, she might even thank you... or be willing to turn a pretense into reality.”

Ashe followed her reasoning, but something still felt fundamentally wrong. If anyone else had proposed it, that would be one thing, but Quinna was Annan’s biological mother, and Annan treated her with the cold rationality of a mission objective.

He glanced around, only to realize he was the only one bothered by it.

Iger and Harvey came from the Blood Moon, where concepts like blood relations and ethics were practically non-existent. As for Lys... Ashe hadn’t asked, but if she had parents, she likely wouldn’t have ended up crossing borders alone[1]. When no one else cared, the one who did became the odd man out.

Ashe quickly accepted the premise, but then a thought struck him. ”Then... can’t we just tell Quinna the plan?”

He spoke with growing excitement as the others turned to look at him. ”We tell her something like, ’The Senheiser is probably doomed, but if you agree to date me, the Gospel might spare your family because of my status. If I obtain the Divine Wish, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of...’”

Before he knew it, his voice trailed off under their collective gaze.

Iger clapped. ”Brilliant. Just what I’d expect from the criminal savior who led our prison break. You came up with such a despicable plan so quickly. Using the family’s survival to force the beautiful elven matriarch into submission... I’m truly inspired.”

Harvey stubbed out his cigarette and sighed. ”Sorry, Ashe. I used to wonder if you were just pretending to be innocent. Now I realize... I was the naive one.”

Seeing the disdain in Annan and Pankey’s eyes, Ashe scrambled to explain himself. ”That’s not what I meant—”

”I believe in you, Daddy! That’s definitely not what he meant!”

Moved, Ashe took Lys’s small hand in his. ”In a crisis, a good daughter really is the most considerate!”

Lys continued with total confidence, ”Based on my experience playing games with him, he always backs out after taking the lead. So after he’s done using Big Sister Quinna, he’ll definitely dump her. He’d never actually let her become my stepmother!”

Ashe’s face darkened instantly. ”You’re dead. I’m going to find you a stepmother who’s petty, jealous, and spends every day bullying you.”

Annan interjected leisurely, ”I don’t mind if you tell Quinna the plan, but I value my life, so I won’t be joining you. You’re on your own.”

Ashe turned to Iger. ”You’re good-looking. Quinna wouldn’t have the heart to hit that face.”

Iger didn’t miss a beat and glanced at Harvey. ”Harvey, since you love sleeping in coffins so much, here’s your chance to lie in one for real.”

Harvey shook his head slowly. ”She’s too old. I’m not interested.”

The room fell silent as everyone blinked in unison. Ashe stared at him, bewildered. ”Harvey, isn’t your ’hunting range’ usually anywhere from eight to eighty?”

Harvey nodded. ”Yes. But I can tell just by the scent that Quinna is well beyond that range.”

Ashe frowned. ”But she’s an elf! She looks like she’s in her twenties or thirties. She’s young, mature, and charming!”

Harvey said calmly, ”I don’t judge by appearance. After death, everyone turns into the same lump of rotting flesh. For daily interaction, I prefer younger souls.”

Annan patted Iger on the shoulder, letting out a sigh. ”Regardless, we only have you to rely on for the second ranking.”

Between Lys being protected as a minor, Ashe being too high-profile to risk, and Harvey being... Harvey, Annan realized with a jolt that she only had one functional subordinate left.

Iger, however, looked far from pleased. ”But I...”

”What now? Don’t tell me you have some condition where you’ll drop dead if you fall in love?”

Iger hesitated, then shook his head. ”I’m just worried the Family Reincarnation Dream won’t have my type.”

Annan countered, ”That’s impossible! There are tens of thousands of people across every race and archetype. Unless there’s already someone in your heart who can never be replaced, you’ll find someone you like. That’s the only way you’d struggle to feel desire... wait. You don’t actually have someone, do you?”

Ashe chimed in, ”Don’t worry, Miss. He’s a silver-tongued devil. People adore him, cars would queue to pick him up, even coffins would pop their lids for him. Beneath that pursuit of power is a man who views all living beings with arrogance. Toying with emotions is as natural to him as breathing. How could he possibly have someone he truly likes? By the 20th, he might have so many girlfriends they’ll need to be categorized into rankings.”

Annan agreed. After spending time together, she had come to see Iger as a cold, heartless manipulator. Reassured, she called for the maids to serve the meal.

Seizing the moment, Iger excused himself to the restroom. Once inside a stall, he flipped open the Book of Gospel.

[Can falling in love with someone I neither desire nor like be recognized as ’love’ by the Gospel?]

Cost: 5 Gospel Points

Response: No.

Iger stared at the page, his heart sinking. Oh no. We’re finished. Annan really did pick up four useless people this time.

1. As of now, Lys’ identity remained that of an orphan girl from another kingdom. ☜