The Sorcerer's Handbook

”The mother and daughter are both so lewd...”

Hearing Lys mutter that, Annan raised her eyebrows. ”You can say that about me if you want, but don’t lump me together with Quinna. I hate it the most when people say that she and I are mother and daughter.”

She snorted. ”For Ashe’s sake, I’ll forgive you this time. If you do it again, I’ll smack your butt.”

What do you mean ’for Ashe’s sake?’ You’re saying it like you two are really close or something!

Lys stubbornly lifted her head. When she saw the murderous look in Annan’s eyes, she instinctively covered her backside and hid behind Ashe, growling softly, ”Th-that doesn’t change that you’re lewd!”

Annan hugged Ashe’s arm affectionately. ”Mmhm, I never denied that. I’m attracted to Ashe.”

She soon noticed Harvey looking over, and she immediately sat upright with a serious expression.

Lys was furious. ”So what?”

She grabbed Ashe and shook him. ”Daddy, look at her! Look at her!”

”Ahem,” Ashe cleared his throat, the corners of his mouth curling into a delighted smile. ”Please don’t fight because of me—”

Annan stared him down. ”Don’t get full of yourself just yet. Before this, you could still claim that the Gospel was slandering you and randomly weaving your future. This ranking clearly states that Quinna became interested in you when we passed through Vanmura. During the few times you interacted with her, I never saw any particularly special exchanges between you two. And Quinna isn’t the type of person who hides her feelings. Once she likes something, she wants to show it off to the entire world.”

Everyone recalled how Annan had just wanted Ashe to feed her. They thought that if Harvey had not been there supervising them, the Purple Moth probably would have already sat on the cult leader’s lap. Annan really is Quinna’s biological daughter...

Annan narrowed her eyes and stared at Ashe. ”If she were interested in you, she definitely would have already had some intimate contact with you. So what happened between you and her?”

Ashe spoke sincerely, ”Miss, you know what I’m like. During that time, I was constantly playing games. Back then, I was too busy trying to beat the Extreme-difficulty Sovereign-Blade Carp. How could I possibly have had time to flirt with Quinna? She’s a Sacred Realm sorcerer. She could kill me with a single slap!”

Harvey backed up Ashe’s claim. ”I can testify to that. Ashe really was playing games all the time during that period. Back then, there were plenty of people from the Senheiser family who liked him. If he simply wanted to fool around, there was no reason for him to choose Quinna, who was far stronger than him.”

Annan stared at Ashe. ”There were plenty of people from the Senheiser family who liked you?” ℴℴ𝘮

Hiding behind Ashe, Lys said boldly, ”Anyone related to the Senheiser family is not a good person!”

The accusation was not completely cleared, but at least everyone’s attention had shifted. Ashe looked at Harvey emotionally. ”As expected of my good friend. When I die, I’ll leave my corpse to you to handle! Iger, learn from him. Friends are supposed to help each other.”

Harvey said leisurely, ”So, the key turning point where Ashe and Quinna got together was actually at the Belldet Estate.”

”Huh?”

”At that time, Alice personally witnessed it. When Ashe pushed Quinna into the water, he pretended to slip and fall in himself. The two of them hugged each other and lingered in the water for quite some time. After Quinna surfaced, she even licked Ashe’s face. Back then, Quinna had lost all her strength because Iger had controlled her. She was unable to resist, so it really was the perfect opportunity for Ashe to take advantage of the situation and reap all the benefits.”

Ashe gritted his teeth. ”I’ve decided that after I die, I’ll be cremated and have my ashes scattered into the ocean. I won’t leave a single speck of dust for you.”

He turned toward Lys and Annan to explain, ”Don’t believe these ridiculous things Harvey is saying!”

Harvey tilted his head. ”I’m just repeating what I heard...”

Annan asked expressionlessly, ”Did you fall into the water?”

”(′Д`) I mean...”

Lys asked, ”Did you hug Aunt Quinna in the water?”

”(′Д`) I...”

Annan went on, ”Did Quinna lick your face?”

”(′Д`)...”

Lys asked, ”Did you ever think about sleeping with Aunt Quinna—”

Desperate to change the subject, Ashe excitedly opened the Book of Gospel. ”Wow! The next person on the Culprit Ranking has been updated!”

Annan and Lys both snorted, neither continuing to press the matter.

Actually, neither of them believed that Ashe had intentionally tried to seduce Quinna. Setting aside whether Ashe even had the ability to do so, the main problem lay in Quinna’s personality. She was like a bad-tempered wild cat. The more actively you approached her, the more she disliked you. On the other hand, if a thing was forbidden, she would chase after it with even greater enthusiasm.

That was why the future ranking, which depicted Quinna completely at Ashe’s mercy, felt so contradictory. First of all, that future was fabricated by the Gospel. Secondly, even if there were some truth to it, a stubborn wild cat wouldn’t just willingly tame herself into a docile house cat. They highly suspected that the actual sequence of events involved Quinna trying to forcibly conquer Ashe, but for some unknown reason, Ashe ended up defeating her instead, which resulted in the future shown on the ranking.

On this matter, Lys and Annan reached a unanimous agreement. The one at fault is definitely Quinna. Ashe is innocent!

When Ashe saw the person who appeared on the ranking, he could not help but laugh. ”Eh? Iger, you really are guilty beyond redemption. You actually caused someone else to make the ranking.”

[Culprit Ranking No.7: The Canary]

Synopsis: Anphel Belldet failed to conquer Iger Perskin, missing the beautiful ending of The Rusty Crow and the Canary Living Together in Harmony. This failure allowed Iger to successfully seize control of Belldet’s central authority, enabling him to subjugate the joint pursuit force that invaded the Belldet Estate. As a result, Ashe and his companions, who were on the verge of capture, escaped once again.

Evaluation: A crime that reeks of evil.

Culprit: Anphel Belldet

[Anphel Belldet receives the reward, The Rusty Crow’s Golden Feather.]

━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Culprit Ranking No. 6: The Queen of the Caged Bird]

Synopsis: Evenlyn Belldet once attempted to lock Annan and Ashe in the basement and turn them into her personal playthings, but ultimately failed. She could only watch helplessly as they escaped from Montphera.

Evaluation: A crime unforgivable even by death.

Culprit: Evenlyn Belldet

[Evenlyn Belldet receives the reward, Ghost-Obscuring Veil.]

When they saw the previous names appearing on the ranking, Ashe and the others had already guessed that the two Belldet sisters would definitely make the list. They never expected their reasons for appearing to be this absurd, however. Anphel made the ranking because she failed to marry Iger, while Evenlyn actually made it because she failed to turn Ashe and Annan into slaves!

Anphel’s situation could still be understood, but Evenlyn’s desire for control was undoubtedly an evil act that trampled upon human rights. Evenlyn had controlled millions of people in Montphera, yet the Gospel never condemned her for that. Because she failed to control Ashe and Annan, the Gospel actually considered her failure a crime worthy of a punishment worse than death.

Ashe looked puzzled. ”The Rusty Crow’s Golden Feather... I never saw wings on Iger when we bathed together. Could it mean the feathers of his virtual wings?”

Iger answered calmly, ”It’s a Legendary Mind Class Miracle. It fuses the sorcery class rank with a virtual wing feather. As long as someone successfully absorbs this feather, they can directly obtain the corresponding sorcery class rank. It is a Miracle close to divine power, at the cost of causing enormous damage to the sorcerer themselves. Under normal circumstances, Mind Class sorcerers would never create such feathers.”

”Since it is called the Rusty Crow’s Golden Feather, that means in the timeline where you and Anphel lived happily together, the Gospel believes you would create such a feather, right?”

The fraudster fell silent for a moment. ”Anphel is the container for the mental power of millions of people in Montphera. Burdened by countless chaotic thoughts, she never had enough concentration to study any sorcery class. She was destined to never become a sorcerer.”

Ashe smiled. ”So the Rusty Crow separated one of its golden feathers and gave it to the Canary, helping Anphel become a sorcerer? The Rusty Crow carrying a golden feather to give to the Canary... Sometimes the Gospel isn’t completely bad news.”

The fraudster lowered his eyes. ”For me, it is bad news. I don’t want to become someone who treats others kindly.”

Ashe blinked. ”That’s because you haven’t met someone better yet. There will always be someone who makes you let go of all your hatred and reconcile with your past. Believe me, you’ll definitely meet someone like that.”

He paused. ”Or maybe you already have. When the Woven Festival ends, if you’re too embarrassed to go to the Belldet Estate, all of us can accompany you.”

Under the cult leader’s passionate gaze, the fraudster suddenly let out a soft chuckle. ”I’ll consider it.”

”Then it’s settled!” Ashe turned back to the Book of Gospel. ”So what about this Ghost-Obscuring Veil?”

Harvey explained, ”A Legendary Necromancy Class Miracle, and the most mysterious inheritance of Haagen Dazz. It is said that Ghost-Obscuring can cause all undead creatures to ignore its user. In certain Undead Abysses, Necromancers can move freely without fear because of this Miracle. This reward might allow Evenlyn to escape the family’s curse.”

Annan suddenly said, ”Now we all know that the reason Belldet family leaders most likely cannot live past forty is related to the necromancer ancestor they are trying to revive. With the Ghost-Obscuring Veil, the necromancer Angel will no longer be able to influence them through their bloodline.”

At this moment, Iger suddenly made a strange sound. ”Huh?”

After a moment, he spoke, ”Evenlyn just sent me the other knowledge regarding the Control Class.”

”The Queen of the Caged Bird isn’t someone who gives so generously,” Annan said indifferently. ”You’ll have to properly thank the Canary in the future.”

At that moment, the Culprit Ranking updated the fifth and fourth places. They were the Sacred Realm sorcerers from Mercury and Kessriel, respectively. Their crimes were naturally their failure to capture Ashe and the others. As for why their rankings were higher than Evenlyn’s, it was likely because their greater abilities meant they carried a heavier share of the blame.

When it reached third place, the group could not help holding their breath, even if the outcome was entirely expected.

[Culprit Ranking No. 3: Ghost King]

Synopsis: Archibald Harvey, a corpse lover from another world, participated in the plan to blaspheme the Gospel alongside Ashe and the others, becoming one of the roots of chaos.

Evaluation: A crime of cosmic proportions.

Culprit: Archibald Harvey

[Archibald Harvey receives the reward Cursed Ghost King’s Rainbow Tail Feather.]

━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Culprit Ranking No. 2: Rusty Crow]

Synopsis: Iger Perskin, a fraudster from another world, participated in the plan to blaspheme the Gospel alongside Ashe and the others, becoming one of the roots of chaos.

Evaluation: Deserving of death ten thousand times over.

Culprit: Iger Perskin]

[Iger Perskin receives the reward Cursed Rusty Crow’s Rainbow Tail Feather.]

They had made it onto the ranking. Iger and Harvey had appeared on yet another list.

Ashe could not help secretly glancing at Annan. Frankly, at this stage, Iger and Harvey no longer cared if they carried more stains on their names. Saying they were infamous for all eternity would almost be considered praise. The real problem lay in the fact that appearing on another ranking pushed their priority weight in the Divine Lord’s Wish sequence directly past Annan’s.

Currently, Iger was ranked first on the Schemer Ranking and second on the Culprit Ranking. Harvey was ranked first on the Family Ranking and third on the Culprit Ranking. Meanwhile, Annan only held first place on the Art Ranking and tenth place on the Schemer Ranking. The Purple Moth’s priority in obtaining the Divine Lord’s Wish had officially fallen below the two of them.

The Lady remained perfectly calm as she looked down at her Book. Noticing Ashe’s gaze, she smiled and gently held his hand. ”It’s almost your turn. Don’t be nervous.”

Hearing Annan say that only made Ashe more anxious. With a mix of dread and anticipation, he waited for his first appearance on a ranking. From the moment they saw the title of this ranking, nobody doubted who would take first place. Now that even Iger and Harvey had appeared, there was no way Ashe could possibly escape.

The result turned out to be completely unexpected.

[Culprit Ranking No. 1st Place: Purple Moth]

Synopsis: Annan Dolan, owner of the Funeral Agency, controlled Ashe and the others through contracts and carried out the plan to blaspheme the Gospel, becoming the source of all evil in the Gospel Kingdom.

Evaluation: Evil beyond redemption.

Culprit: Annan Dolan

[Annan Dolan receives the reward......]

Suddenly, the words on the page began to distort. The light flickered, and a crimson glow flashed across the paper.

Ashe’s pupils dilated. He had seen this phenomenon far too many times over the past few days. Whenever the Book of Gospel displayed such an anomaly, it meant...

Pfft!

With the wet sound of a blade tearing through flesh, blood spilled across the vision. In the image, Annan lay still in a pool of blood, her empty eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. The person standing over her, the one who had killed her, wore a familiar dark-red trench coat. When he turned toward the screen, the unfamiliar coldness in his eyes sent a bone-deep chill through everyone watching.

[Culprit Ranking No. 1: Purple Moth]

Synopsis: Annan Dolan, owner of the Funeral Agency, controlled Ashe and the others through contracts and carried out the plan to blaspheme the Gospel, becoming the source of all evil in the Gospel Kingdom. However, due to interference from Ashe Heath, this ranking has been invalidated.

Evaluation: Evil beyond redemption.

Culprit: Annan Dolan

Reward: Void

True Culprit: Ashe Heath

After a brief, stunned silence, cheers erupted from the crowd around them, nearly tearing the ceiling of the restaurant apart.

”Great! The Gospel’s source of all evil is going to die soon! Her ranking has been invalidated!”

”If the source of all evil dies, does that mean the future will all be rewritten?”

”Yeah! Then what about the Ghost King and the Rusty Crow? Why didn’t Ashe Heath kill them too?”

”Big Brother Ashe, do your best!”

Amidst the raucous cheers and celebrations, Annan looked up at Ashe and offered a soft smile. With trembling hands, she said, ”Looks like tonight really will be the night I sleep with you. You’ll have to protect me properly, okay?”