Chapter 143: I’m Tired, Want to Sleep

I’m Tired, Want to Sleep

【Future Days】

【Holy Year 741, July 1st, 20:00】

【Countdown – 23:59:59】

The silver-white light gradually dissipated before Ciel’s eyes. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the mirror and the exquisite porcelain washbasin before her. The edge of the washbasin was even wrapped in a silver coating, the outer rim inlaid with brilliant enamel.

Washroom? Avena’s house?

Judging by this level of exquisiteness, it should be the washroom on the third floor of Avena’s house, closer to Avena’s room.

Because Ciel had used it many times before, she still had some impression.

Didn’t die prematurely... Was the mission successful? So I’m appearing in Avena’s house now?

Ciel washed her hands briefly with tap water. After drying her hands with a white cloth, she saw the notebook beside her.

This thing was brought over too...

It seems her simulated self still had plenty of strength left. Probably saw the time was almost up, brought the items to the washroom in advance, waiting for her arrival.

Then it seems, most likely didn’t complete the task of entering the Other Side...

Leaning against the washroom’s wooden door, Ciel picked up the notebook and began flipping through it.

The preliminary preparations in the beginning didn’t have any details requiring special attention, but her simulated self did mark out time points for safe rest, which was very important to Ciel.

The next eight hours are all safe... Can use the tranquilizer directly upon returning.

Ciel nodded, continued flipping through. The further down she flipped, the graver Ciel’s expression became.

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Her simulated self... actually planned to complete all objectives at once?

Looking at the timeline she listed, it indeed seemed possible to complete...

Ciel flipped through the pages faster and faster. She could practically record the contents of each page in her mind with just a glance.

This was the “photographic memory” effect produced by the enhancement of 【Linguistics】.

Only when she flipped to the part about coming out of the Other Side did Ciel let out a long sigh of relief.

Impressive...

Even Ciel, at this moment, had to praise her simulated self for truly being a death-defying stress endurance king.

If she knew her simulated self was this fierce, she wouldn’t have needed to log in using “Coroner,” could have even used the pure body of No.0 to enter and drink another bottle of potion.

However, as Ciel continued flipping downwards, she was directly stunned.

This is... what? Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

Is Ciel in the simulation conveying information to herself using drawings?

So troublesome...

Why not just let Avena help write like the previous part... Anyway, this is just a simulation, probably won’t be any punishment, right?

Forcing down the impulse to give up trying to understand, Ciel, leaning against the wooden door, used her fingers to tuck the falling black long hair behind her ear and began interpreting seriously.

Honestly, Ciel really had no talent for drawing.

Even though 【Dexterity】 gave her strong body and muscle control, she couldn’t produce any beautiful paintings. The lines were stiff, and the strokes lacked distinction between light and heavy.

This resulted in the images on the page being not much different from doodles.

The first picture was a huge vortex smudged with pencil. Beside the vortex were abstract objects constructed from rectangles and triangles. Judging by the hand-like appearance, it should be Little Left.

If someone else looked at it, they really might not know what Ciel was drawing.

Can only say it’s fortunate she drew it herself; following the thought process slightly still allowed understanding of what was drawn.

Following these abstract drawings, Ciel gradually understood everything that happened in the Other Side.

Uniqueness... obtained?

Then countless system interfaces piled up before the eyes?

Finally, Little Left threw her out?

The “Uniqueness” item is a gear?

Where’s the gear? Where did it go?

Unlike the subsystem her simulated self possessed, which was fully functional except for the simulation feature, the system Ciel currently held was essentially a time-telling pendant, basically unable to answer Ciel’s questions.

However, looking at the description in the drawing, the gear should have been collected by the system.

But whether in the system inventory or on her person, Ciel couldn’t find the gear anywhere.

Inside the stopwatch?

Ciel took out the “Echo of the Silver-White Timebinder,” didn’t find any difference either, not even the patterns on the watch body changed.

Ciel decided to temporarily stop dwelling on the Uniqueness issue and continued looking at the end of the notebook.

At the end, her simulated self seemed to have recorded some physical changes and conditions.

In the final drawing, Ciel saw two almost identical figures, represented by squares.

Both figures had two squares above their heads, seemingly symbolizing names.

The two square-character figures were most likely herself.

If it were someone else, her simulated self would probably add more features.

Ciel saw that one of her own right hands was drawn full of cracks and tentacles... A vortex separated the two selves, with an arrow below the vortex.

Is it the impact after entering the Other Side?

Ciel looked at the drawing pointed to by the arrow. Her hand seemed to have undergone significant changes, and half her head was shaded black.

Looks like it’s still within tolerable limits.

More detailed matters might only be known by asking Avena, who was almost always with her simulated self.

As for the “Uniqueness” matter, she could only ask the system after returning to the system, as the system was also involved.

However... how should she explain the change in her hair color to Avena, and becoming a transcendent out of nowhere?

Ciel looked at herself in the mirror, only feeling mentally exhausted.

Why can’t the genuine system use transformation after entering simulation...

Maybe just press the stopwatch...

Press it, then don’t have to do it myself, everything becomes easy...

Ciel hesitated for a moment. Silver light flashed in her hand, the stopwatch still returned to the system inventory.

Ultimately, Ciel’s rationality won over the potion’s influence. Just as she turned around preparing to open the washroom’s wooden door, right after opening it, she saw a familiar maid standing at the door preparing to knock.

The maid seemed startled the moment the door opened, taking a small step back, but after seeing Ciel’s appearance clearly, she stumbled back several steps, falling onto the ground.

“Mi-Mi-Miss... Miss Ciel... La-La-Lady Avena said you were in the washroom for too long... asked me to check... check on you.”

The maid’s voice stuttered slightly. She scrambled up from the ground, retreated aside, and deeply bowed her head.

This should be the maid encountered when her simulated self was dismembering the body as “Coroner.” Can only say her luck wasn’t very good, encountering Ciel under the influence of the “Coroner” potion again.

-

“Oh...”

Ciel nodded lightly, walked past the maid directly forward. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, turned back towards the maid, and asked, “Where is Avena?”

“In... in the second-floor study waiting for you...”

The maid still didn’t dare raise her head, not even daring to breathe loudly.

“Okay.”

Ciel had no desire to say even one more word, walking straight towards the second-floor study.

After reaching the study door, the maid at the entrance was slightly stunned upon seeing Ciel, but still pulled open the study’s wooden door, watching Ciel enter.

When Ciel walked into the study, she saw Avena sitting on the sofa and Nia standing aside.

The wooden door closed behind Ciel. Nia turned her head, glanced towards Ciel, slightly stunned, but said nothing.

Only when Ciel walked to the sofa and collapsed directly onto it did Avena return from her book, looking up towards Ciel.

“Ciel?”

Avena looked at the young woman before her with black and blue long hair and dark purple pupils, asking somewhat uncertainly.

Why did she dye her hair and eyes similar to mine?

No... wait...

Transcendent?

This time, Avena clearly sensed the aura of a potion on Ciel.

Just went to the washroom, and Ciel drank a potion?

What potion? Why at this time?

Questions instantly filled Avena’s mind, but she believed Ciel wasn’t someone who would drink a potion on impulse. There must be a reason.

If Ciel wanted to become a transcendent, she probably would have chosen a potion and drunk it long ago; she had that ability.

“Sealed artifact’s side effect...” Ciel looked towards Avena, explaining listlessly, “Removed the Other Side contamination, the price is being eroded by a random potion for 24 hours.”

Replacing Other Side contamination with potion contamination?

Avena carefully sensed Ciel’s spirit; indeed, there wasn’t much Other Side aura left.

“This sealed artifact... can only be used by non-transcendents, right?” Avena asked.

Replacing contamination with potion sounds simple, but implementing it has very harsh conditions.

Potions aren’t sugar water, can’t just drink whenever one wants.

If an “Instigator” used this sealed artifact, and the eroding potion wasn’t the “Instigator” path, or was a second or third-tier potion, probably before the Other Side contamination, the “Instigator” themselves would have gone mad.

“Yes.” Ciel nodded, simultaneously sighing in relief internally.

Managed to bluff through.

Otherwise, if Nia asked to borrow the sealed artifact, that would be troublesome... She didn’t have such a sealed artifact.

“What potion effect is this?” Avena looked at Ciel now, asking somewhat curiously.

“‘Coroner’.” Ciel replied.

“Oh...” Avena nodded, didn’t continue asking.

She was very familiar with the “Coroner” potion, having contacted many “Coroners.” As long as Ciel didn’t use the ability within these 24 hours, there wasn’t really anything wrong.

Not because the “Coroner’s” ability side effects were huge, mainly because the “Coroner’s” abilities were too... anti-human.

No, can’t say anti-human, should say anti-living being. Any living being wouldn’t fail to feel disgust and fear towards the “Coroner” ability.

However...

The current Ciel looked quite different. If she wore glasses too, saying Ciel was her sister might even be believable.

Just don’t know why, the current Ciel looked somewhat decadent and world-weary.

Should be the potion’s influence.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Avena came back to her senses, stopped looking at Ciel’s face, and started talking business.

Already set the stage for me?

Great, don’t need to explain myself.

But talking is really tiring...

Ciel thanked her simulated self internally, while thinking about making a stitched doll to speak for her.

This way she could just lie on the sofa and do nothing.

“I wanted to ask, what exactly was my mental state before,” Ciel asked in a low voice, “If treatment is needed, roughly how long would the cycle be?”

Hearing Ciel’s words, Avena’s brow furrowed slightly. She seemed to realize something, didn’t answer Ciel’s question directly, but asked back, “Are you going to the Other Side again?”

Ciel clearly already cured her contamination using the sealed artifact, yet asked again about contamination matters... What else could it be but wanting to enter again?

“No, just want to plan the time.” Ciel shook her head and said, “After the 24-hour potion influence ends, the Other Side contamination will still return.”

“So I want to make a plan for myself while still clear-headed.” Ciel said a long sentence in one breath, then directly closed her mouth. She had already finished her speaking quota for the next two minutes. For the next two minutes, she would become a “corpse” that only nodded.

“I’m not too sure either... Probably not many people have experience treating Other Side contamination. Optimistically, one or two months. Pessimistically, possibly several years or even decades.” Avena shook her head and said, “Unless a better treatment method can be found.”

So long...

If there were no more crises later, let alone decades, even a treatment cycle of several decades, Ciel could accept.

Ciel lowered her head, seemingly thinking. After two minutes passed, she looked up at Avena and asked, “How were my physical and mental states before?”

“Looked fine, could speak normally, no external injuries,” Avena recalled carefully, then said, “Except couldn’t write and was a bit weak, everything else was quite normal.”

Need to add the whispers in the mind... Ciel thought.

Should she use this plan to seize Uniqueness? This already seemed like the plan with the highest success rate.

Mainly depends on whether the “Uniqueness” gear is worth doing this for.

She had to ask the system properly after returning to reality about what exactly happened to the missing gear.

These matters might also appear in the system’s evaluation after this simulation settled...

But now, there was one more very important thing.

“Avena, do you have any potion that can make people fall asleep quickly.” Ciel looked at Avena with hopeful eyes and said.

“I’m tired.”