"Excuse me, is Miss Sisyphus here?" Suddenly, without fully understanding the current situation, Turing was faced with a new development.
A girl with a mask resembling Raphael's Chained Fire Sword stood at the hotel entrance, partially obscuring the doorway.
【Are you looking for me?】
Turing approached the girl.
The girl took out a letter from her lining and pushed it into Turing's arms.
"Our master plans to hold a commemorative banquet next month and invites you to join as a musician," said the girl with the mask, her speech sounding programmed and mechanical.
"This is an invitation. The location and time of the event are written on it."
"Of course, if you insist on declining, it's fine. We have professional orchestras in town, not lacking a few musicians."
"After all, not everyone gets the chance to meet the Lord up close in their lifetime," the girl snorted lightly.
【Her disdain is probably because she saw me also wearing a mask for work.】
【Ah...】
【Should I go?】
【Or maybe I should pass, I don't really want to see Raphael.】
"Well, I have some specific matters to ask about. Please wait a moment, I need to attend to a small matter..." Turing said, turning back to look at the Tide Witch's table.
【Where is she?】
In the blink of an eye, the table was empty except for the glass of water Turing had poured for the witch.
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"Alright, chef, where should I put this particular spice? Sorry, I can't see the color very well," Merka said to a young man wearing a mask.
The young man had tattoos on his face, and he always wore a hat and mask, making it almost impossible to see what he really looked like.
"It goes in the same cabinet as the big pot, on your left," replied the man, his voice hoarse, giving him an air of mystery.
"Mmm... I'm done."
"Well, I'll go back to the dormitory then. Call me if you need anything." Merka walked to the kitchen door and turned back to the man.
The man may or may not have heard Merka's words, as he continued doing his own thing.
Merka sighed helplessly, took some bathing items from outside, and returned to his room.
"Although Mr. Wutong providing us with dormitories is a good thing, having a colleague who always stays silent is really headache-inducing."
"Does this kind of life give you a headache?"
Merka stood at his room doorway, a bath towel hanging from his neck, a basin and soap block on his arm, looking like he was about to take a bath.
The strong scent of tobacco produced by Merka sharply contrasted with the woman in his room.
What kind of saint was she? Barefoot, with a well-proportioned figure and a radiant expression, a smiling and silent woman sitting on the windowsill, with her feet off the ground and toes naturally pointing downward, as if a lotus just emerged from a bath.
A book was spread open on the woman's lap.
The woman turned a page with a rustling sound, not even looking up at Merka.
"Paradise Lost, huh? Merka really likes foreign books." The woman, as if all-knowing and all-powerful, was not hindered by the content written in Braille.
"Miss Maria, it's really impolite to enter the male dormitory in the middle of the night."
"If you have something to say, hurry up. I need to take a bath before Sisyphus returns," Merka took the book from Maria's hands naturally and casually.
Maria smiled and shook her head. "This is a letter from the Sisyphus family. I'm delivering it on behalf of their owl." She handed Merka a sealed letter.
"I'm giving you the letter, whether you want to give it to her or not is up to you," Maria said.
"What do you mean? Bishop, don't play dumb." Merka looked puzzled and did not take the letter. "You haven't read the letter, have you?""How is that possible? Look at how well this letter is sealed, even with the postmark still intact," Maria said with a light laugh.
"Just maybe, if you want to maintain the status quo, you could just continue living an ordinary life with Sisi," she continued.
"Don't let her contact her family. And don't go home either. Just stay with her, watch over her," Maria's smile darkened as it was reflected in the moonlight.
"If the two of you disappear without a trace, happiness might just last forever."
"How could that be? You know, it's impossible," Merka immediately responded. "There are still so many things to be done, so many experiences to be had. How can one suddenly stop here?"
Suddenly, a suppressed wave of magical power burst out.
Merka knew exactly when she had felt this kind of magic before.
"Tsk." Maria clicked her tongue. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, causing the curtains to fly up high. "Keffy? The stubborn kitty that won't let go..."
As the wind ceased, the curtains fell down, and Maria had already quietly left.
"Merka, what are you doing?" The door of the room creaked as Turing entered, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"Oh, Sisi, I have...uh..." Merka was usually not hesitant, but for some reason, when she saw Turing's face, the words she had wanted to say got stuck in her throat.
"I have your letter here, delivered by an owl. Do you want to read it now?"
【An owl? Was it sent by Sister Teresa?】
【Damn it, why are there so many things happening today?】
"Yeah, let's read it now, give it to me, Merka." Turing took the letter handed to her by Merka and scanned it quickly - it was sealed with Teresa's personal wax seal, not her mother's. Turing let out a sigh of relief.
Without hesitation, Turing opened the letter.
Child,
May God protect you;
Young Turing, it is hard for you to imagine how I struggled to write this letter and persuade you.
I fear that if I use my authority as an elder to pressure you, I would bend a tender bud of a flower branch.
I worry that if I force you with unkind words, I would kill the happiness of a young heart.
However, there are always things in the world that cannot be helped.
It is like you being the master and I the servant,
Or you being a boy and I a woman,
But just like Lady Oedipus is not an individual,
She is an impression of a group, a symbol of an era.
She is much greater than you can imagine,
Power and authority are distributed much wider.
In other words, you are still far from being able to touch the edge of Lady Oedipus's power.
You can either come back soon, Turing. Lady can find you anytime she wants, as long as she wishes.
If you sincerely apologize, Lady will be lenient.
Or you can run away farther, Turing. Don't ever come back, never;
Forget Lady, the servants and gardeners of Ellesburg, forget those fine tobacco and wine, including me, just like how you would forget the exhilarating sense of smoking.
Take responsibility for your own freedom and happiness.
But no matter what choice you make, I sincerely pray for your happiness.
I sincerely pray that you are free from nightmares every night.