Unlucky Sante

Before Su Ran could even ask, the aunty opened her floodgates and began chattering endlessly.

Su Ran’s attention was no longer on the aunty.

A murder case with a familiar M.O….

Su Ran had heard of such a case before, from that security officer, Li Shanhai.

And the victim of that case was connected to the slip of paper she had found near the sports field.

Besides the girl named Dai, Su Ran’s name was also on it, which meant…

If Li Ming had encountered a defenseless Su Ran, then she would have been…

But these were two completely different worlds. Besides their supernatural powers, there was no fundamental connection.

Could such a similar modus operandi be a coincidence?

“Your Highness? Your Highness?”

Isa packed all the paid-for vegetables into her ring and, seeing Su Ran in a daze, couldn’t help but shake her arm.

“What’s wrong?”

“The aunty has packed up and left.”

The stall in front of them was now empty.

Looking in the direction Isa was pointing…

“We still haven’t found any news about Uncle Sant.”

Tears of despair welled up in the eyes of Canlisa, who was being held in Su Ran’s arms.

Even though she had just heard something that piqued her interest from the vegetable-selling aunty…

Finding the out-of-contact Sant and then quickly leaving the Theocracy’s border…

“Canlisa, do you not even know who that acquaintance in Hermel is?”

Although she had already confirmed with Canlisa once, Isa still hoped she could remember some useful clues.

After all, trying to find Sant in Hermel was like finding a needle in a haystack.

If they could find out who the Lord of Blackstone City’s acquaintance was, it would surely be more efficient than asking around for news here.

“I’m sorry. My father knew many people in the past, and most of their correspondence was through letters, so I don’t know who Uncle Sant went to find.”

Canlisa frowned and thought for a moment, then shook her small head apologetically.

“Then let’s continue asking around the marketplace for a bit, and restock our supplies while we’re at it. I heard from Philly that there won’t be many cities like this to resupply after we leave Hermel.”

The three of them decided to continue inquiring about recent events in Hermel within the marketplace.

However, after making a round, they discovered that the most talked-about event in Hermel was the murderer who had been caught red-handed by the knights yesterday.

Yesterday, the knights were on a routine patrol of the streets when they passed the house of a merchant named Lu Wen and smelled a strong scent of blood coming from inside.

The knights immediately broke into the house and saw a panicked middle-aged man standing inside.

Since there was no reaction from magic essence at the scene, and a check with a specially made Holy Stone revealed no presence of a witch’s aura…

The only suspect left was the man in the room, even though he repeatedly insisted he was innocent.

However, Lu Wen’s servant pointed out that this man had come to speak with Lu Wen privately, and Lu Wen had dismissed all the servants.

With the servant’s testimony, the Church’s knights had reason to imprison the man who was left at the scene.

“I have a feeling… the person who was locked up couldn’t be Sant, could it?”

After eliminating all impossibilities, whatever remained, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

But for Sant to be branded a murderer after just one day in the city…

Regarding this, Su Ran could only say that Sant was truly unlucky.

“Lady Su Ran is right. We asked the clerks in the shops near Lu Wen’s place. According to their descriptions, the man captured by the knights does indeed resemble Sant.”

Philly and Maimai walked into Su Ran’s room, sitting down as they spoke.

Everyone was now gathered.

Because Su Ran was here, Isa and the others had changed their original plan.

They chose to stay directly in a hotel in Hermel to avoid attracting unnecessary attention by entering and exiting the city repeatedly.

“This is troublesome.”

The prison where Sant was being held was located inside Hermel’s church.

Unlike the prison where Philly had once been held, the security for holding serious criminals was weaker than that for holding witches, but it still wasn’t a place one could easily break someone out of.

Moreover, Sant’s identity had surely been discovered by the Church by now, so they couldn’t use their witch abilities to stage a jailbreak.

If they acted rashly, it would very likely cause trouble for the Lord of Blackstone City.

“Is the only path left now to clear Sant’s name?”

[Reshape the Witches’ Faith (Part 2)]

[Clear Sant’s name and find the truth hidden behind the scenes.]

[Mission Reward: Basic Knowledge of Magic Formations *1]

Just as this thought crossed Su Ran’s mind, a pop-up from the Witch Game appeared before her eyes in a timely fashion.

When this mission appeared, Su Ran could basically confirm that Sant had been framed.

But as for finding evidence…

This suddenly appearing mission was part of a series.

Even without a reward, for Isa’s sake, Su Ran had to complete it.

Not to mention the reward this time was knowledge of magic formations.

Su Ran had been quite envious of the magic essence concentration-boosting formation she had set up for Isa after topping up her account.

If she could set up magic formations herself, her own meditation progress would also improve.

‘But where to start?’

Su Ran had already decided to clear Sant’s name, but she was currently at a loss as to how to proceed.

The victim Lu Wen’s house had been locked up, awaiting purification by the Church.

Rushing in would easily alert the true culprit.

Su Ran looked up and scanned the room, her gaze landing on Philly.

“What is it, Lady Su Ran?”

Philly’s expression was full of confusion.

Why was Lady Su Ran looking at her?

“Philly, I remember your ability allows you to communicate with plants, correct?”

“Yes, but it’s limited to simple questions. Plants have very simple minds and can’t understand difficult concepts. When they relay messages, they just pass on the words without understanding the meaning.”

Su Ran now understood the general scope of Philly’s ability.

For her purposes, this was enough.

She just needed to know who had entered and exited Lu Wen’s house, and she could roughly pinpoint the suspect’s identity.

“Help!”

A sky-piercing scream came from outside the window, loud enough for nearly everyone nearby to hear.

Su Ran and the others exchanged a glance, deciding to head towards the source of the sound to see what was happening.