Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 257: A Private Date (?) Between the Observer and the Witch

“Swordswoman’s Leave Request”

“‘I have an important match tonight, so I need to take a leave. I hope you won’t be unreasonable.’”

“Effect Paid Leave (1/15) (Bond Level 1): 30% of the arcane energy you obtain during Exploration in Virtual Realm will be shared with the team member on leave.”

“Effect Bonus Sharing (1/10) (Bond Level 2): 30% of the Faction Realm you achieve during Exploration in Virtual Realm will be shared with the team member on leave.”

“Effect Common Prosperity (1/5) (Bond Level 3): There’s a chance that special mechanisms encountered during Exploration in Virtual Realm will be shared with the team member on leave.”

Can Operators even take leave?!

Daring to take leave now, what will they dare to do next? It’s unimaginable!

Taking leave and still sharing my commission?! Sharing my project experience?!

Is this really a game produced by my company? Shouldn’t it be more like annual leave being virtually nonexistent, sick leave counted as absence, and personal time off deducting from bonuses? And what does this (1/15) mean? Does it imply that the Swordswoman can take 15 days of paid leave?

…Wait, is this quota refreshed annually or monthly?

Ashe dared not continue this train of thought, or he would be dragged back into the mire of memories from his years of working life, falling into a state of inescapable depression, just like a reformed young man who can’t reminisce about his cringeworthy past days.

However, Ashe wasn’t surprised by the Swordswoman triggering her personal story arc. He had heard her mention something about an Intercollegiate League at school. Clearly, this was the path of glory set out for the Swordswoman, a chosen storyline, likely starting with her dominating the Intercollegiate League, followed by classic fantasy plot elements like trials in the Abyss, Noble intrigues, eventually rising to become a legendary Sorcerer.

Thinking about it, the Swordswoman’s story arc is much more fantastical than Ashe’s. Starting off at an academy, then competing in tournaments, and if she gets involved in some sort of national conspiracy, eventually becoming a member of a team that saves the world, that would indeed be a complete, traditional fantasy narrative. Unlike Ashe, whose story began with the drama of Prison, a rather uncommon type in crime films.

I really want to see the Swordswoman in her element…

Speaking of which, while the Swordswoman always talks about her daily trivialities, Ashe actually lacks a real sense of her life, knowing it only through the pale stories conveyed in words.

When the Death Maniac Swordswoman suddenly submitted a Leave Request to participate in a match, Ashe realized that she indeed had a life outside their virtual encounters—a reality that belonged solely to her, complete with family, friends, mentors, distant dreams, and small joys close at hand.

But Ashe was not a part of that world.

The relationship between the Apocalypse Observer and the Death Maniac Swordswoman was confined to the Virtual Realm, just as the Swordswoman was unable to touch his life, he could not witness her match.

Thinking about this, Ashe felt a twinge of loneliness. It was like those moments in the game where you perfectly coordinate with an online friend, only to hear they can’t join because they have plans with their girlfriend tonight—it felt almost like a betrayal.

However, he quickly composed himself and silently cheered for the Swordswoman.

If she won, she would gain more resources and opportunities, which could further advance her personal storyline…

…But if she lost, would that mean she wouldn’t proceed with her storyline and have more time to spend Exploring the Virtual Realm with him?

Pfft~

Ashe submerged himself in the bathtub, holding his breath for nearly a minute before surfacing to clear the silly thoughts from his mind. He brushed his teeth, changed into his pajamas, and prepared for tonight’s Exploration in Virtual Realm.

Since the Swordswoman couldn’t join, it would be just Ashe and the Witch tonight.

In the “Exploration in Virtual Realm” – “Team Composition” section, Ashe added himself and the Witch.

“White Queen, help me wash my hair!”

White Queen: “No, it’s been three days. You need to learn to bathe yourself. You can’t rely on us for things you don’t like!”

“Ow… the soap got in my eyes! It hurts!”

Lise reached to turn off the shower, but her foot slipped. Just as she was about to fall disastrously, she swiftly placed a hand on the ground, flipped herself over, and landed steadily on the wet wooden floor.

Her white hair turned half red, and with a notably colder expression, she continued washing her hair while seated on a small stool.

In the mirror, the White Queen spoke irritably, “Little Red, you’re just spoiling her! What child doesn’t know how to wash their own hair—and look, she even bought herself new shampoo.”

Black Butler responded, “Knowing how to wash hair isn’t that big of a deal. If she doesn’t know, she doesn’t know. We didn’t know how to wash ours in the past either.”

“You know that was in the past,” the White Queen retorted. “All this is to foster her independence. She can’t always run to us with every problem she faces. How is she any different from Deya if she does? She needs to handle small matters like this on her own.”

Deya interjected, “What does this have to do with me?”

Meanwhile, the Red Death Eater had efficiently finished washing her hair and returned control over the body to Lise. Aware that her sisters were upset, Lise obediently completed the remaining steps of her bath, dried herself thoroughly with a towel, dressed in her pajamas, and even brushed her teeth ahead of time, which finally eased the White Queen’s expression.

Back in her bedroom, as Lise sat at the vanity drying her hair, she noticed her reflection licking a finger and writing on the mirror:

“Tonight you open the Gate of Truth.”

Lise paused, “A message from the Observer?”

“Hmm?” Her sisters looked puzzled. “What happened?”

Lise shared the incident with them. The White Queen pondered, “I almost forgot that entering the Virtual Realm requires transmigration through the Gate of Truth. I thought the Observer had other means… So, was it them who opened the Gate the last two nights?”

Black Butler asked, “Why do they want us to open it tonight? Could it be a trap?”

Deya suggested, “Maybe it’s taking turns. Tonight us, tomorrow the Swordswoman, the day after the Observer…”

After some discussion that led to no definite conclusion, Lise, having finished drying her hair, couldn’t help but yawn. Then Deya took over, summoned the Mask spirit, captured the Gate of Truth, sank into consciousness, and connected to the Virtual Realm.

When Deya opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in the front seat of a sports car. The vehicle, which last night seemed ready to be junked and transformed into a Restroom, was now completely restored to its original state.

In the car restored to its pristine condition, Deya was actually the most concerned about whether it could be fully repaired. After all, the other two had never endured the hardships of trekking through the Virtual Realm on foot, unlike her, who had once trekked across it for over a month. She knew firsthand that driving across the Time Continent was akin to receiving royal treatment.

Comfortably stretching in the seat, she bent her head back in an angle that could cure neck pain. “Swordswoman, I—”

Suddenly, Deya cut herself off, standing up on the seat and looking around. “Where’s the Swordswoman? Where did she go? Did she get lost in the Reverse Golden Rain?”

“She’s got a match tonight and took the day off,” Ashe replied. “It’s just the two of us Exploring the Virtual Realm tonight.”

“What kind of match?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s probably a Sorcerer battle.”

“Oh, I’d love to see that!”

“Me too.”

After their brief exchange, Deya sat back down properly, gazing at her knees and fiddling with her fingers. Ashe opened the Virtual Realm Map, shaking his head. “Bad luck. We haven’t landed in an area marked on the map, like Star Hall. We’ll have to keep exploring unknown areas.”

“Right!”

The sports car plunged into the Reverse Golden Rain, trampling over grass and crashing through trees in a wild sprint. Inside, it was quiet, with both occupants acting like a driver and passenger adhering to traffic laws—no chatting from the passenger to the driver, and the driver not engaging the passenger in conversation.

Somehow, they both felt a bit awkward.

Though they had previously spent time alone with the Observer and the Witch, those encounters were always straightforward—discuss business and leave without dragging things out. But now, during the downtime of their exploration, they had no serious topics to discuss and needed trivial banter to fill the silence.

However, Ashe and Deya rarely engaged in such trivial banter.

Previously, it was either Ashe chatting with Sonya or Deya playfully clinging to Sonya. As the most emotionally intelligent member of their trio, Sonya subtly acted as the team’s core. She would encourage Deya to speak when chatting with Ashe, and when Deya clung to her, Sonya would pretend to be annoyed and start talking about Ashe, always ensuring everyone was included and no one felt left out.

This effortless charm in Sonya was not intentional; instead, it was the result of a year’s practice in social skills that had become second nature to her. Every glance, every word was a natural Miracle, making her a true master of social interactions.

However, the moment Sonya was absent, the lack of emotional intelligence in the other two became glaringly obvious. Deya aside, Ashe’s emotional intelligence was somewhat limited to interactions with men. With men, he could easily blend in and make friends quickly, but with women… he often didn’t know what topics to bring up.

If Igor had been there, Ashe would have started with questions like, “Are you dating anyone? Planning to have kids in the future? If you could transform into a beautiful girl, would you prefer to be a voluptuous lady or a delicate and slender loli?” and so forth, engaging in trivial banter that could last until dawn.

Deya was in a similar situation. Having plenty of experience as a younger sister, she naturally sought Sonya’s affection. She had previously dared to cozy up to Ashe only because Sonya was present, much like a child who behaves more boldly when under parental supervision.

Darn it, she thought. If only they hadn’t revealed the truth about her sisters yesterday, then they could have brought in the White Queen today. But since the Observer now knew about her sisters, switching roles would seem impolite and only make things more awkward.

“There’s a Sorcerer Projection up ahead,” Ashe suddenly said.

“Oh, just run it over.”

“Okay.”

And so, a rather uneventful evening began.

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