"Are you leaving now, big brother and big sister? Can we still celebrate the Smoke Fairy Festival together?"

"We have something to do. Next time, next time, big brother and big sister will definitely play with you, okay?" Turing bent down and gently scratched the little girl's face.

Suddenly remembering that the little girl couldn't hear, Turing hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

—————————————————————

"Oh, Xixi, sorry to have made you laugh." Merka and Turing had already walked out of the place that was like their previous class and were strolling in the corridor.

"No, I think it's quite cute." Turing smiled faintly.

【Will praising Merka's words make him like me more?】

"Huh? Sorry, what did you say?" Merka felt like he had misheard and smiled awkwardly.

【Hmph, he hasn't even wiped away his tears properly.】

"It's nothing." Turing said casually.

"By the way, I know why there was a sound of metal collision at the station." Turing walked in front of Merka, playfully saying.

"It's because that woman's dagger hit your eye, right?" Turing stared at Merka's eyes tightly, trying to see if there was any damage. "Indeed... there seems to be some trace of damage."

"Can something like this still be used if it's damaged?" Turing asked as he walked backwards.

Being stared at like that, Merka couldn't help but blush. "It should be usable. Regardless of the extent of the damage, it seems that the relic itself has the power to bestow magic upon someone."

"But there is one essential condition for the Cursed Child to use magic."

"Every magician only has one thing unique to themselves, which can become a {Saint's Relic} and bestow magic upon a {Child Mage}." Merka said.

"Is that so." Turing nodded, seeming uninterested in this topic.

"Sigh... it seems that this trip ultimately didn't yield much." Turing sighed lightly. Merka, on the other hand, seemed unable to express his emotions and silently nodded.

"In that case, I have an idea."

"That man in black is not weak... but it is still strange for a mere man."

"If the Cursed Child has a connection with the {Saint's Relic}, then we can search the witch's shop later to see if anything is missing." Turing said meaningfully.

"What... do you mean?" Merka asked.

【Ah, I forgot, I told Merka the result of that night was that the witch escaped. He doesn't know that the witch is already dead.】

【Sigh... I can only continue spreading lies. If Merka finds out that I personally killed someone, I don't know what expression he will have.】

"Ah, nothing. I just mean that since the witch helped the culprit escape, she must be involved with the culprit." Turing quickly waved his hand to explain, "Since we found clues about the chef just now, we can go to the witch's shop again and see if there is any evidence that the chef is the culprit. She still has a pistol in her shop."

"That's true..." Merka stopped at the door of a room and paused for a moment to think.

"Oh my, I just said that I couldn't find the children. It turns out they're here being lovey-dovey." Florence walked out from the door of another room, followed by Ifrit. "So, is everything done?"

"Hmm... it's done, we confirmed some things, but the clues are still not enough," Merka answered on the side.

"Good, Miss Sophitia, is it? Our young lady wants you to go to her again." Ifrit held a cat owl in her arms. Shaved into the fur on the side of its head was the McNew Society's family emblem.

【Why is it me again?】 Turing felt a burst of annoyance. He had originally wanted to never get involved with nobles again.

"What should we do then, Merka?" Turing seemed a bit resentful as he looked towards Merka.

"Well... how about this, I'll go investigate the witch's store first. You wait until you finish your business, then come find me, okay?" Merka thought for a moment and said.

"Divide and conquer?" Turing asked.

"Yes, divide and conquer," Merka replied, "But promise me, this time you won't get involved in any strange things again, okay?"

"You may have some secrets that I shouldn't pry into. But that night was just too absurd..."

"Perhaps... you can do whatever you want, but I hope you can at least discuss it with me."

"For you, I shouldn't be considered a stranger, right?" Merka stood next to Turing. His soft, snowy white chin was almost touching Turing's forehead, and a gentle breath washed over Turing's face. Turing's cheeks blushed slightly.

"Alright... alright." Turing didn't know what to say for a moment and hastily agreed.

"Well then, Xixi Fu Si, come with me, I'll take you there." Ifrit turned around and headed towards the exit, saying calmly.

Merka walked up behind Ifrit and said, "I'll leave Xixi to you... I hope you take good care of her." Merka paused, "You also need to take care of yourself, okay?"

"I can't guarantee that..." Ifrit glanced back at Merka, snorted softly, and turned away.

After bidding farewell to the priest, Turing followed in the footsteps of Merka and Ifrit...

—————————————————————

"Damn it, damn it!" The sound of a blade piercing flesh kept echoing from the silent monastery. A medium-sized young man covered in blood knelt on top of another person's body.

"Why didn't you protect me... why?" The person under the man's body was obviously already dead. In the spacious prayer hall, there were more than a dozen bodies that had been cut and killed in such a gruesome manner.

"For you... I became a devil, for you... I descended into a sea of fire, for you... I did so many impossible things..." The man sat on the corpse and slowly got up.

"Why won't you look at me directly?! What did I do wrong?" Suddenly, the man erupted with rage. He stomped on the corpse with one foot, and with the other hand, he pulled the arm of the corpse. With a forceful tug, the man tore the arm off and threw it aside in a fit of anger.

The man stood up, massaging his forehead, and walked towards the statue of the fire god in front of the room.

Although logically speaking, fire gods do not have human forms, the statue here was sculpted artistically and presented the appearance of a goddess.

"I loved you so much, believed in you so much... didn't you say so?" The man approached the statue, resting his head on the statue's shoulder and gently caressing its neck with his hand.

Although the man's tone suddenly softened, the scene, accompanied by the room full of corpses, appeared particularly eerie and disgusting.

Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting the ground echoed. A monk who looked like a night watchman opened the door and saw the scene that resembled hell right in front of him, making him drop his lantern in fright.

"Seriously... why do I always have to deal with such troublesome situations?" The man muttered to himself, and a magnificent flame spewed out from behind him, matching the scene perfectly.

A pipe-shaped, three-chambered smoking pipe in the shape of a cross revealed its full form under the illumination of the fire.