Translation

Hearing Franca's answer, Jenna bit her lip and said, "Was that factor also involved in your choice just now?"

"Maybe," Franca said with a wry smile. "I feel that if we don't do this, and that resentment always lingers in our hearts, we'll definitely drift further and further apart. Once the mission is complete, once there's no external force keeping us together, maybe we'll just fall apart. But I don't want that..."

"I went out with Dagger just now because I really wanted to cut Lumian to vent my anger, but walking in the shadows on the street and being blown by the cold wind made me more sober. Then I thought, Love is such a pain. If it weren't for Love, the three of us could still be together happily like before."

"With this thought in mind, I suddenly realized that if we exclude Love, and exclude the possessiveness and jealousy that arise from Love, perhaps, maybe, it's possible..."

"The ' Judgement ' Lady kept telling us that the Apocalypse was near, that it would come in a few years or a decade or so, and that we had to be prepared, both mentally and physically. Although we couldn't see any signs of the Apocalypse yet, we inevitably forgot about it in our daily lives and tried to keep a good mindset so as not to go crazy from being too stressed. But in Trier alone, we personally experienced two major Calamity: the ' Shadow Tree ' and the Hostel Plan. No matter how much we tried to avoid them or refuse to face them, we couldn't ignore them."

"In this situation, some of us could leave, some would say goodbye, some would die at any time, so why care so much? That choice is strange, and I myself find it hard to accept, but why not give it a try?"

"After trying, our Future might be better, we might become closer, and we might value each other more, or it might be worse, we might drift further apart, become the most familiar strangers, or become objects of mutual hatred. But how will we know which outcome it will be if we don't try? It can't be too bad, can it?"

"Of course, human emotions are uncontrollable. Even if our Future is better, the hidden Love and the Love and jealousy that come with it cannot be completely eliminated. Pain and Pleasure will coexist for a long time, which may be the true nature of a ' Witch '."

But no matter what, I still really like that saying:

Life is too short to resist the urge to give it a try.

Jenna listened intently to Franca's account, then said gently, "That's why I felt such a strong sense of urgency, which led me to make some selfish choices."

She immediately chuckled:

"I heard Lumian tease you before with 'Life is short, why not give it a try'? Was it because you did something strange while reciting that phrase?"

Franca gave an awkward smile:

"I was quite hesitant and conflicted about whether or not to drink the ' Witch ' Potion, and then someone said this to me."

Jenna suddenly realized, and instead of laughing at Franca, she asked curiously, "Did you later get together with Gardner Martin because of that encouragement too?"

"Right... I didn't know you guys back then, and I didn't have anyone I particularly cared about." Franca was even more embarrassed.

Seeing this, Jenna chuckled softly, "Have you ever thought about giving Lumian a try before?"

"This..." Franca was so annoyed by the questions she was being asked she wanted to run away from home. "Oh dear, you innocent girl, don't talk about such inappropriate topics!"

Jenna deliberately swore:

"Damn! The vulgar jokes I heard and the obscene scenes I saw while singing in Bar Dance Hall were way more sensational than these topics. They included not only stories about men and women, but also stories about men with men."

Seeing that the somber and heavy atmosphere had eased considerably, Jenna stood up and said, "You look very tired. It's normal to feel this way after such a dramatic emotional rollercoaster. I'll head back now; you should get some rest."

"Hmm." Franca stood up as well.

She opened her mouth as if to ask something, but ultimately remained silent.

Jenna was quite perceptive about these details, and said with a smile, "Ask whatever you want. You've already made that decision, what's there to hide?"

Franca hesitated for a moment, then looked into Jenna's eyes and said, "If... if I had told you from the beginning that I used to be a man, and after spending some time together, if I had truly pursued you, would you have been able to fall for me?"

Jenna thought about it carefully and said, "I can't answer such a hypothetical question; I can only say maybe."

She looked back into Franca's eyes and said, "I told you before, during that time, you were a ray of light in my life. To me, you were both my best friend and my half- Older Sister who always protected me. After my mother passed away, I even projected some of my feelings for her onto you. Perhaps that's why I sometimes think that it's better to end things sooner rather than later, rather than giving you false hope."

At this point, Jenna smiled:

"If I had to rank the three people I value most right now, first would be Julian, second would be you, and third would be Lumian. Love may fade one day, but the feelings between us will not."

Franca seemed relieved and said with a smile, "Your delivery of lines is really good."

"Of course, I studied very hard back then!" Jenna walked step by step toward the door.

After taking a few steps, she turned around, looked at Franca, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I can't accept joining you yet, well, I only mean my part."

At this point, Jenna laughed:

But who knows what the future holds?

Franca smiled.

That's just one version of events.

Jenna turned around, walked to the door, and opened it.

She gripped the Brass-Colored Handle, paused again, turned to look at Franca standing in the center of the living room, and whispered, "If, if one day you find a way to go home with the book, and Lumian and I both want you to stay, will you stay?"

Franca stood with her back to the Crimson Moonlight, her face seemingly hidden in deep darkness.

She remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking:

"Have no idea..."

The voice sounded as if it were squeezed out from the heart, light and without any strength.

Two days later, in the Underground Trier, inside a Quarry Cavern.

Franca, Jenna, and Amandina, who had just arrived from the Southern Continent of Matani Province, all stood inside the "Spirit Wall," watching Lumian set up the Altar.

Meanwhile, Anthony, who had remained undetected by Amandina, was responsible for guarding the outer area.

Lumian calmly completed the preparations, lit the Candle, added essential oils, took two steps back, and stood next to Franca.

He wasn't worried about the lack of Half-God protection, firstly because Amandina was there, and secondly because he had mentioned it when he sent the bottle of "Samaritan Woman Spring" water to the "Magician" Lady.

Seeing the flickering candlelight, Franca suddenly tensed up, while Amandina looked completely bewildered, having no idea what help she could offer or how she could possibly help.

After Franca nodded to indicate that she was ready, Lumian chanted in Ancient Hermetic, "I!"

Then he switched to Hermetic:

I summon in my name:

"A spirit wandering in illusion, a composite of numerous Shadows, Lumian Lee's Contract Creature..."

This was a familiar part for Amandina, a process similar to summoning Messenger, so she didn't pay too much attention. While curious about the description of the Incantation, she observed the eye contact between Lady Franca, the Lady That One name she had just learned, and Lumian, trying to find any hint of ambiguity.

To her disappointment, Franca, Jenna, and Lumian were now focused on the Ritual.

Before long, the blurry, Shadows clad in fish-scale armor emerged from the candlelight. Its Pitch-Black scales were now tinged with pure Golden in many places, giving it a solemn and sacred appearance.

The transparent faces on the scales were much clearer than before, Distortion and grotesque, making them look even more like Evil Ghost.

They screamed silently, proclaiming hatred and malice.

Amandina was startled.

She wasn't frightened by the image of the Armored Wraith; that level of terror wouldn't frighten her, who had experienced the "Dream Festival," summoned Bainfel, and visited the Catacombs.

The reason she reacted so strongly was because the Armored Wraith, along with the Evil Ghost faces on the scales, were all staring at her at once!

This almost made her stop breathing; her body was completely enveloped in icy cold.

The Armored Wraith spoke, still using that strange language.

Only Franca could barely understand what the other person was saying:

"Disciple of Haoli..."

"So you really do recognize the Gift Power on Amandina..." Franca muttered, then noticed that the Armored Wraith's overt malice had subsided considerably, and they seemed to be able to communicate more peacefully.

Lumian noticed the Change and quickly had Franca place 100,000 Felkine on the Altar. He then Hermetic, "I offer this Sacrifice in exchange for a simple task and two questions."

The Armored Wraith conveyed the message "yes," and the transparent faces on its scales simultaneously gazed Greed at the gold.

Lumian then placed the documents Franca had handed him onto the Altar.

This is neither the one Mr. "Stars" gave to Franca, nor the original document. The former's order has been completely disrupted, making it difficult to interpret through similar questions and answers. The latter, on the other hand, could potentially Corruption the Armored Wraith, causing the Ritual to veer in an unpredictable and dangerous direction.

Therefore, after Franca revealed her intentions, Mr. "Stars" provided new information through Lady. "Judgement".

The new data extracted several complete sentences from the original data, and these sentences, containing hundreds of characters, were also frequently used in other parts of the data.

"The matter is that I need you to translate this document." Franca listened to Lumian's request with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

She wasn't sure if the Armored Wraith would agree to such a deal.

With a whooshing Wind Sound, the two pages of documents flew up and floated in front of the Armored Wraith.

A few seconds later, the Armored Wraith spoke again in a language that Lumian and the others couldn't understand.

Franca's ears perked up immediately:

"Isolated yin cannot grow, solitary yang cannot produce; yin contains yang, Yin Within Yang; when yin and yang combine, all things arise—this is the Heavenly Dao..."

Franca's lips twitched slightly. "That's it?"

Although she hasn't actually put it into practice yet, she has some suspicion that the Armored Wraith is a metaphor for herself, Jenna, and Lumian.