Sorcerer’s Handbook

They had not eliminated the incorrect options.

When the Swordswoman announced the answer was wrong, Ashe felt a collective sigh of relief from everyone.

Unlike the first question, which dealt with an middle-aged farmwoman and a little girl, marked by their ages, the second question involved three individuals around the same age with no resemblance to Sonya, clearly indicating no familial relation. Moreover, the question was about “the most disliked person,” suggesting these three were likely not even friends of Sonya, making it impossible to glean further information. Thus, Sonya had no choice but to choose the only person she recognized—the pure white Deya.

But if the answer truly was Deya, then the situation complicated: Why would Sonya come to the amnesia cabin with the person she disliked the most? Was she being set up? Should she take this opportunity to deal with her most disliked person?

Furthermore, if Sonya and Deya were enemies, what did that mean for Ashe and Danzel? Were they her enemies as well?

Digging even deeper—could it be that these four weren’t close companions bound by Life Link, but rather irreconcilable foes?

Ultimately, the harmonious facade that Ashe had constructed was exceedingly fragile, fragile enough that a single answer could shatter it completely. Therefore, any outcome where Deya was not the answer was a relief for everyone, Sonya included, who felt as though a great weight had been lifted off her chest.

“Answer incorrect,” the Swordswoman stated. “You have lost your treasure—the Mind Faction.”

The Swordswoman rubbed her fingertips together, creating a silver glow that dissipated into thin smoke, symbolizing Sonya’s complete loss of a Silver Rank spell from the Magical Factions.

Sonya didn’t feel much reality to it, but watching her own possessions and rewards vanish was heart-wrenching, as painful as watching ice cream fall to the ground.

Suddenly, she turned to Ashe and asked, “I’m still your Lover, aren’t I?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, you are. Why do you ask? We’re just temporary—”

“Then give me your hand.”

Sonya snatched Ashe’s hand and bit down hard, her eyes wide with force. Though there was no pain, the fierce bite made Ashe’s Soul shiver, even causing a phantom pain.

Ashe began to seriously consider whether there was a fundamental flaw in his assumption—how could this possibly be my Lover? Even if I was momentarily blinded by beauty, my body couldn’t withstand such abuse!

At least a sister might just be trying out my taste, but you, my Lover, seem like you want to bite off a huge chunk of me!

Ashe looked at Deya grabbing his left hand while Sonya was biting his right hand. He turned his head towards Danzel.

“I have no hands left for you, which part do you prefer?”

“…I probably don’t need to vent stress in that way.”

After venting, Sonya felt refreshed and released her mouth, but still held on to Ashe’s hand as if she were a protective little she-wolf saving it for the next meal.

“Rest over?” The Swordswoman showed no interest in their interaction, “Then let’s start with the third—”

“Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait~~”

The Witch suddenly darted into the center of the hall, striking a ‘magical girl shining entrance’ pose: “Let’s pause for a moment!”

“Swordswoman, I have a question similar to your third one, how about we ask them together? Otherwise, after she answers your question, my question will become simpler.”

“That’s fine.”

The Witch looked at Deya: “You have to answer a question too, are you ready?”

Deya instinctively bit down on Ashe’s finger, her body trembling as she shook her head.

Ashe immediately said: “We should answer separately! It’s still the Lover’s turn to answer first, then it should be my sister’s turn. There’s no need for us to answer together.”

If it’s the same question, it’s best to answer separately. If Sonya answers correctly, it means knowing the right answer; if wrong, it also helps eliminate the incorrect options. Only a fool would answer together.

“Hmm… Did I phrase that wrong?…”

The Witch scratched her head in annoyance, her eyes narrowing slightly, the corners of her mouth curving into a dangerous arc.

Suddenly, her voice burst forth with eighteen layers of Echo—

“Come answer the question.”

Deya shuddered violently.

It wasn’t just her; every voice in her mind quieted down as if they had encountered their natural predator.

For the first time, Deya and the voices in her mind agreed: it was time to be obedient.

Hiding behind Ashe like a chick pecking at grains, Deya nodded vigorously. The Witch instantly revealed a bright, innocent smile, as if her prior sinister charm had been everyone’s misperception. She spun on her toes in place, her black skirt blooming like a black rose: “Alright, now it’s time for the Witch and the Swordswoman to pose their question together—”

“Wait.”

A second interrupting voice echoed through the cabin, sharp like the tearing of paper.

This time, it wasn’t just her real self; even the three Phantoms showed their surprise.

The Empress lazily stood from her lounge chair, her loose robe unable to conceal her regal aura, slipping down her shoulders yet clutching the last vestige of modesty at her chest. She approached like the wind, embracing the Witch with one arm and the Swordswoman with the other, smiling, “It seems I also have a question, rather similar to the one you two are about to ask… why don’t we do it together?”

Despite the Empress’s straightforward display of affection, the Swordswoman’s expression seemed as though she had encountered harassment: “The questions may be similar, but the options might not be.”

“Exactly, exactly,” the Witch responded with a bright smile, “there’s really no room between the Swordswoman and me for anyone else, Empress. Perhaps you should seek the Observer’s company—”

“Isn’t it better to have different options? It could increase the difficulty of the question,” the Empress tilted her head slightly, “or are you ‘trying’ to reject me?”

The eerie iceberg revealed just a tip of itself, a massive whale lurking beneath the waves, intermittently visible. The amnesiacs sensed something was off in the atmosphere, but without any information, they couldn’t decipher the undercurrents swirling among the Phantoms.

The Observer, Swordswoman, Witch, and Empress exchanged looks for a moment, and then the Observer sighed, “It’s a pity my question seems different from yours; otherwise, I’d love to join this question-posing mingling session.”

The Observer’s comment seemed to press a release button, and the tense atmosphere in the cabin instantly relaxed. The Witch laughed, “How could we possibly refuse you, Empress? We’re more than happy to have more people—it’s more fun that way. Let’s all pose our question together, Swordswoman.”

“Right,” the Swordswoman said, expressionless.

At this point, Ashe whispered to everyone, “You see their interaction; it proves my judgment is correct. You are indeed my sisters, lover, and paramour.”

“How does that prove anything?” Sonya felt confused.

“First, the Witch consulted with the Swordswoman, and the Swordswoman readily agreed. This proves that the Witch and the Swordswoman are not enemies. That means you can’t all be my lovers, otherwise you would be rivals, and could not possibly get along so harmoniously. So, either you are all my sisters, or one is a lover and the other a sister. The current situation suggests the latter,” Ashe analyzed confidently. “But after the Empress asked to join in, the first reaction of both the Witch and the Swordswoman was to oppose—why oppose? Because in their eyes, the Empress is a homewrecker!”

“Later, the Observer’s statement was clearly siding with the Empress, even using the authority of a family head to force the Witch and Swordswoman to yield, suggesting they shouldn’t exclude the Empress. This shows that the Observer now prefers the Empress!”

“I’ve completely understood now,” Ashe said convincingly. “The sister is the one I’ve brought up since childhood, the lover is the one I’ve been in a relationship with for years but recently entered a lazy phase, and the paramour is the one I’ve recently met and am passionately in love with!”

The Observer seemed about to speak but stopped. The Witch’s mouth twitched as she struggled to control her facial nerves. The Swordswoman’s eyes narrowed slightly, whereas the Empress showed no reaction.

“Then aren’t you just a pure scumbag?” Sonya asked sincerely.

“Whether I’m a scumbag doesn’t matter; the point is, this can serve as a basis for our answer,” Ashe said. “Besides, knowing I’m a scumbag and still liking me, don’t you think that’s also a crucial piece of information? Imagine, what situation would you be in to choose only me, faithful unto death?”

“I…” Sonya frowned, “Only if it’s for a greater good.”

“Good, that means we have significant interests entangled,” Ashe turned to Danzel, “What about you? When do you think you would voluntarily become my paramour?”

Danzel was thoroughly confused—honestly, she hadn’t believed a word of Ashe’s logical deductions earlier, primarily because she is reserved and restrained, quietly observing how things unfolded.

However, the interactions among the Phantoms and Ashe’s speculations started to shake her belief—could she really be Ashe’s latest romantic interest?

She wanted to object, but lacked any other evidence.

And if there wasn’t this connection, why would she find herself in this amnesiac cabin?

“As long as I deeply love someone, whether they love me back or not, I will devote all of myself to them,” Danzel said. “For me, being a paramour doesn’t come with reservations.”

“Huh?” Ashe was shocked. “Am I really that admirable, to earn such affection? I’m a bit overwhelmed by the adoration—”

“Save your surprised act for another time and hide that smirk you can’t seem to suppress!” Sonya looked visibly annoyed, “Setting aside whether you might be wrong, even if you’re right, it only proves you’re morally bankrupt, less substantial than even the ingredients in our meals!”

Clang!

Suddenly, a sound of a sword being sheathed echoed. Everyone looked towards the Swordswoman, her expression unchanged as she sheathed her sword, “Are we done talking? If so, let’s get started.”

The Swordswoman, the Witch, and the Empress simultaneously pinched the top of the page in the album and turned to a new page together.

Perhaps the difficulty was heightened by the fact that all three of them were answering the question at the same time; five portrait paintings appeared before the examinee.

Then everyone was stunned.

The first painting depicted a girl living in a basement.

The second, a girl wearing a spiderweb mask.

The third, a woman seated on a throne.

The fourth, a girl with hair colored in black and white.

The fifth, a hooded man wearing a dark red trench coat.

But the problem was, except for the fifth painting, the women in the first four paintings all had the same face!

Everyone looked at Deya, and Deya, staring blankly at the four paintings, murmured, “So many of me…”

Ashe’s lips twitched, “Looking at it this way, the fifth painting of me seems a bit out of place…”

Despite the differences in age, clothing, and decorations, everyone immediately recognized that the women in the first four paintings bore an exact resemblance to Deya!

It was as if it were Deya in various poses, with different clothes, hair colors, and ages!

“This is the question that the three of you need to answer together.”

Unlike the calmness of the Swordswoman and the cheerfulness of the Witch, the voice of the Empress always carried a weight starkly different from her appearance:

“If you knew you were about to die, who would you want to die with you?”

“Remember, since this is a question to be answered jointly by the three of you, the rewards and penalties will also differ…” the Witch’s voice carried a hint of mockery: “Whether you answer correctly or not…”

“The answer to this question might very well become reality.”

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