If Jasmine had previously enjoyed the various glances from men, now she was filled with worry and fear.
She quickened her pace again, as if she were being chased by the Feysac.
Finally, Jasmine rushed into the apartment and shook off the men before they could get close.
Whew... The girl patted her chest, secretly resolving to avoid going out at night in the future.
She then realized that unimaginable beauty also had its downsides.
After calming herself down, Jasmine climbed the dimly lit stairs to the third floor, returned to her apartment, and used the key she always carried with her to open the door.
She cautiously approached her parents' bedside and once again scrutinized their faces by the Moonlight.
Compared to when she left home not long ago, her father and mother's faces had become much rosier, their gray hair and wrinkles had decreased significantly, and they were almost snoring.
They really did recover... Jasmine couldn't help but smile, and she visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Sensing the movement, her mother's eyelids twitched, and she slowly opened them.
Jasmine held her breath, suppressed her smile, and prepared to give her mother a surprise.
Her mother sat up slightly, looked over, and her expression suddenly turned extremely terrified.
"Who are you?" the woman asked in a shrill voice, forcefully shoving her husband beside her.
"Who am I?" Jasmine was a little stunned by the question and didn't know how to answer it for a moment.
At this moment, her father also woke up, looking at the beautiful young girl in front of him with a mixture of doubt and wariness.
"Get out! Or I'll call the police!" Jasmine's mother got out of bed, grabbed a candlestick from beside her, and used it as a weapon.
"We don't welcome thieves," Jasmine's father said, issuing the eviction order in a relatively polite manner.
He knew that when dealing with thieves, one should avoid being too forceful, otherwise it could easily lead them to choose extreme measures.
If he didn't have a wife and children, he wouldn't be too afraid to fight thieves, but now, he carries the weight of an entire family on his shoulders.
Jasmine finally came to her senses and quickly said:
"Dad, Mom, I am..."
Before she could finish speaking, her mother shoved her across the face, and her father grabbed her shoulders and dragged her out of the room.
As for what she said, no one cared in that situation.
Clang!
The door to her own house was closing in front of her, leaving Jasmine feeling lost and helpless.
She tried to knock on the door, wanting to prove her identity with the key she carried, but just then, she heard her mother from the opposite window speaking to the police patrolling below:
"There's a thief here! There's a thief!"
Thief... Dad and Mom don't recognize me... Will they think I murdered myself... Will the police believe the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine "... Jasmine's heart tightened, and she subconsciously decided to leave the apartment first, avoid the police, and wait until dawn to explain to her father and mother one by one, using their shared memories to gain their trust.
With her head down, she hurried down the stairs and out of the apartment building, surrounded by neighbors who came out after hearing the noise.
She ran all the way to a nearby alley, avoiding the police coming from the main street. Jasmine stopped, panting, and tears involuntarily slid down her face and fell to the ground.
Suddenly, a hand reached out, covered her mouth, and dragged her to a secluded spot in the alley.
"How much? I'll pay whatever it takes..." A drunken, slurred voice reached Jasmine's ears, as if he mistook her for a streetwalker and couldn't resist her allure.
Jasmine struggled desperately, filled with shock, fear, and despair.
Just when she felt she was about to collapse, the drunkard loosened his grip.
"Miss, are you alright?" A rough, hoarse male voice rang out.
Jasmine quickly left the area where the drunk man was before turning around and seeing a policeman in a black and white checkered uniform.
"He, he wanted to..." Jasmine started crying as she spoke.
The policeman looked at her with pity and said:
"We'll take him to magistrates' court, but, miss, you'll need to come with me to the police station to give a statement."
Jasmine was in a state of extreme fear and helplessness, and subconsciously nodded.
Not long after, she sat down in the interrogation room of a nearby police station, opposite the policeman from before and his colleague.
"So, he never asked you if you were a streetwalker, and you never made Psychological Suggestion about soliciting customers?" the policeman said carefully.
He worried that being too blunt would hurt the beautiful young woman in front of him.
Jasmine held her coffee cup, lowered her head, took a sip, and said:
"Yes, I just got to that alley."
"Okay, that's enough for now. Miss Jasmine, could you tell us where you live? We'll send someone to take you home," another policeman asked ingratiatingly.
Thinking of her parents' reaction, and those disgusting looks, Jasmine couldn't help but shudder, and said as if she was about to cry:
"I had a fight with my parents and can't go home for the time being. Perhaps you could take me to the nearest hotel..."
At this point, she realized that she only had a few pennies left, which was not enough to stay in a nice hotel, and that cheap hotel was practically dangerous for her.
The first policeman paused for a moment and said:
"Good."
On the Jasmine to the nearest hotel, the policeman hesitated several times before finally speaking:
"If, and I mean if, you're planning to become a streetwalker, you can just come find me. No need, no need for all that trouble..."
Upon hearing this, Jasmine felt like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, a feeling quite different from when she first saw that face after being burned.
This made her feel extremely insecure, and she remained silent without answering.
Fortunately, the policeman did not force her and escorted her to the nearest hotel.
"No need, I'll go in myself." Jasmine declined the offer to escort her to her room.
After the policeman left, she quickly walked out of the hotel without actually checking in.
She wanted to go to the city square, to the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine," and cancel her previous Wishes.
Such beauty is absolutely terrifying!
After walking a few steps, Jasmine took off the scarf draped over her shoulders and wrapped it around her face, just like when she first went out that evening.
At that time, her face still bore the marks of flames, and her missing nose and severely damaged lips made her look like Devil.
After arriving at the town square by trolleyless public carriage, she entered the street again and saw the brass-colored " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine ".
Jasmine felt a little more at ease and quickened her pace to the Robot.
Then, she was at a loss, not knowing how to remove the previous Wishes.
"Your first Wishes was for a free trial, so it doesn't count as one of the three Wishes. Therefore, you have one Wishes." At that moment, Jasmine heard the voice of Mr. Merlin Hermes.
She turned her head and saw, across the street, by the gas lamp, the Magician wearing a top hat calmly looking at her in the Yellow Light.
"Okay, okay." Jasmine hurriedly took out a copper penny and put it into the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine."
"I hope my last Wishes can be canceled," she murmured with her eyes closed, gripping the wrench and turning it.
"Du".
She heard that slightly muffled knocking sound again.
After opening her eyes, Jasmine rushed to the shop next door, stood in front of the glass window, and took off the scarf wrapped around her face one by one.
She saw herself again, that not-so-pretty girl.
Jasmine immediately relaxed and instinctively looked back at the " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine," only to find that it and Mr. Merlin Hermes had vanished.
"Praise be to the goddess, and thanks be to Mr. Hermes." Jasmine sincerely tapped her chest four times clockwise.
She then took the last penny and boarded the trolleyless public carriage to go home.
No one offered her a seat along the way.
As her figure disappeared down the street, Klein reappeared on the streetside, holding an ancient silver mirror in his hand.
"Great master, why didn't you end with 'Excessive Greed only turns good things into bad things' or ' Wishes always comes at a price'? That would have made the whole thing more philosophical, elevating it to the level of a parable." Silver words leaped out from the mirror's surface.
Klein smiled and said:
"The biggest problem is that I can't fulfill her Wishes to become extremely beautiful through normal means; ' Lies ' can only be adjusted to a certain extent."
"Therefore, I had to ' Grafting ' one of the effects of a Sealed Artifact from Witch onto her, which gave her stunning beauty as well as a terrifying allure that made the men around her unable to resist her."
That Sealed Artifact belongs to " Judgement " Hugh, and is a relic of the Witch Shermane.
--Due to a mistake by Hugh during its preservation, Shermane's Beyonder Characteristic merged with the box containing it, creating a Sealed Artifact with a surprisingly negative effect. This caused Hugh's brother to look at the box with a strange expression.
To solve this problem, Hugh made a wish to Mr. The Fool, asking him to seal the item away.
After saying that offhand, Klein glanced at the " Magic Mirror ":
" Arrodes, are you trying to comfort me?"
"No, the main problem is that she's too Greed. If she only wanted to be beautiful and didn't attach so many 'very's, the result would be quite good." Silver words quickly appeared on the mirror's surface.
"That's true, that falls within the scope of what ' Lies ' can adjust." Klein nodded and said to Arrodes, "' Lies ' can indeed permanently solidify the changes to one's appearance, but there will always be some difference between that and the original muscle, skin, and bone structure. After a decade or so, as she gradually shows signs of aging, the difference between the adjusted and unadjusted parts will slowly intensify, and her face will appear quite strange and stiff, unless she truly becomes a ' Faceless ' who can correct the problem at any time."
At this point, Klein smiled and shook his head:
Lies is still Lies.
Then, as he walked to the other end of the street, he continued:
"Moreover, even if she does become beautiful, it is uncertain whether she will live a better life in the future. Admittedly, beauty can bring her a lot of resources and allow her to marry a 'prince,' but her own upbringing, personality, and level of knowledge are unlikely to be able to sustain such a life for long."
"Well, it's possible that she's good at learning and can enrich herself through various experiences, eventually taking control of a wonderful life, but that's another story."
"Heh, miracles can only happen temporarily, but Fate is always a long journey."
During his conversation with " Magic Mirror " Arrodes, Klein's figure gradually disappeared at the end of the street.
His understanding of " Miracle Invoker " deepened once again.
After returning to her apartment building, Jasmine didn't try to Door Opening; it took a lot of courage for her to reach out and knock.
With a creak, the door opened, and her mother appeared before her.
"Oh, you're finally back." Her mother breathed a sigh of relief, then asked in utter terror, "You, your face?"
Jasmine forced a smile and said:
"He was cured; a gentleman skilled at creating miracles."
Mr. " Fully Automatic Wishing Machine "
Just as her mother and father suspected that their daughter had been influenced by the Demon, several police officers in black and white checkered uniforms came up the stairs and approached.
The leader was a woman with light blue eyes and a calming smile.
"Miss Jasmine, we have some questions for you," the woman said politely.