Chapter 93: Three in a Bed

Three in a Bed

“Please come in.”

Ciel spoke.

Ciel had an idea now, one that needed to be implemented in reality, and the sooner, the better.

The bronze doorknob turned, and Avena stood at the entrance, saying with slight apology, “Sorry, I’m bothering you again.”

From Avena’s perspective, she did seem a bit hasty, returning to disturb Ciel so soon after leaving.

However, Ciel was still sitting on the sofa, in the same spot, seemingly relaxed and having made no move.

“Have you thought of a solution?” Ciel looked towards Avena and asked.

“A solution... not exactly,” Avena shook her head. “I just thought, if those cultists from Deton Manor have planted too many spies in the city, information about an extra person staying with me could spread quickly.”

“And then?” Ciel tilted her head slightly, asking knowingly.

This wasn’t out of any malicious intent from Ciel, but simply to keep the conversation flowing smoothly.

“So I just realized, it might not be safe for you to sleep here after all.” Avena’s expression returned to its usual impassivity. She continued, “It’s too far from both me and Nia.”

“Then... should I leave?” Ciel blinked.

Ciel’s counter-question made Avena pause slightly, the words she intended to say caught in her throat.

She hadn’t considered how to answer that.

“Well... you could,” Avena racked her brain, not noticing her own quickened speech, “but it’s hard to find good housing right now, hotels are crowded and potentially more dangerous, and if you go to your sister’s place, you might draw the cultists’ attention to her...”

Not a single sentence explicitly asked Ciel to stay, yet every word discouraged her from leaving.

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She just appeared unconcerned about Ciel’s departure, merely helping her brainstorm options.

Looking at the girl before her, who was inept at expressing her inner thoughts, Ciel couldn’t help but reveal a faint smile.

Although Avena didn’t know, Ciel knew what Avena had done in the simulation.

Even knowing they were heading into a cultist stronghold, even hearing that Ciel had lost control due to the potion, Avena had still been willing to follow Uris and Adele to Deton Manor to save her.

True friends are revealed in times of adversity. The Eye of Order contract only ensured Avena didn’t dislike her; it couldn’t compel her to risk her life for her.

This meant that deep down, Avena already considered her a friend.

Though they hadn’t known each other long, they had faced hardship together, forging a life-and-death bond.

Avena had been alone in Berren for so long, never attending the academy, either self-studying or solving cases at the police department. Judging by her demeanor, she likely didn’t have many friends at the department either.

So she must cherish this hard-won friendship, right?

Based on the simulation’s progression, Avena would invite her to spend the night in her room. So, Ciel decided to stop beating around the bush and asked Avena directly: Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“Then... can I stay in your room? I can sleep on the floor.”

Ciel’s expression seemed hesitant, as if she were genuinely considering the matter. Even Adele could have seen Ciel’s slight embarrassment.

Avena, surprised that the conversation had circled back, paused for a moment. But seeing the look on Ciel’s face, as if she might give up on the idea at any second, Avena quickly replied:

“I don’t mind. If you really have nowhere else to go, you can sleep in my room for these few days... My bed is quite large, you don’t need to sleep on the floor.”

Hearing this, Ciel showed an expression of relief and smiled at Avena, “Thank you, Avena.”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t inconvenience me at all, just a small favor.” Avena shook her head expressionlessly, stepping back from Ciel’s room and placing her hand on the doorknob. “You can move your things to my room later.”

“Wait a moment, Avena.” Ciel spoke, stopping Avena.

Avena paused at the door.

She pushed the door open slightly again, looking at Ciel. “What is it?”

“Are you planning to call Adele over tonight to discuss things?” Ciel asked.

In the first notebook entry, Avena had called Adele over to her house in the early morning of the 21st, and the three of them discussed matters in the room.

The result of their discussion was that on the noon of the 21st, the two went to the church to report that Deton Manor harbored cultists.

With Adele taking the lead, Avena could quickly find High Priest Uris.

However, in the first simulation, Ciel’s simulated self had the important task of activating “Gambler,” possibly preventing her from recording the information about Avena inviting her to sleep over due to the timing.

But in the second simulation, without the task of activating “Gambler,” the simulated Ciel, aiming to prank her real self, directly accepted Avena’s request, preventing Avena from inviting Adele over. This left the entirely unaware real Ciel waking up to find herself in Avena’s bed.

Today was the 20th... After midnight, it would be the 21st.

Time was actually quite pressing for Ciel.

In fact, during this period, Kitty had already begun investigating Adele. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Adele would still be captured and taken to Deton Manor for brainwashing on the 22nd.

Ciel just didn’t know if, without her influence, Kitty would kill High Priest Uris on the same day, the 22nd.

But even if Kitty didn’t kill Uris on the 22nd, once the “Radiance Bishop” arrived at Deton Manor on the 23rd, Kitty, to save her own skin, would execute the plan to show loyalty and redeem her mistakes.

At this moment.

Hearing Ciel’s words, Avena looked at Ciel with some surprise.

She... did indeed have this idea. She was planning to call Adele over tonight.

However, after Ciel agreed to sleep in her room earlier, Avena had changed her mind, planning instead to visit Adele with Ciel early the next morning.

As expected, Ciel was always on the same wavelength.

“I did have that thought.” Avena nodded, but immediately regretted saying it.

If she really called Adele over tonight, asking her to leave again would be awkward, given the real danger.

It was a rare chance for just the two of them...

Fine, let her come. Adele could sleep on the floor.

Although Adele had done nothing wrong, Avena felt her fondness for Adele decrease slightly.

-

“Are you planning to report the matter to the Church of the Savior Goddess?” Ciel continued asking.

“I... was planning to.” Avena nodded.

“When the time comes, you can have Adele report the matter to High Priest Uris alone,” Ciel thought for a moment, then said, “Actually, there’s another way to muddy these waters even further.”

“Muddy them?” The phrase clicked instantly for Avena. She asked, “The Deton Group?”

“Correct.” Ciel nodded. “You can try reporting this matter a second time to the Deton Group. If possible, it would be best to drag the Redemption Society into it as well. After all, Sherlon was practically a budding cultist, and this whole crisis started because of him.”

Hearing this, Avena couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed.

While she could have eventually thought of this herself, events had unfolded too quickly, and she hadn’t received the intelligence long ago. Her mind hadn’t quite caught up yet.

She had even been thinking about strange things... In contrast, the calm Ciel had immediately grasped the crux of the problem and offered a good solution.

Truly Ciel.

It was this calm rationality that had always attracted Avena.

“I will do my best to contact them.” Avena nodded.

Fortunately, she didn’t praise Ciel out loud, otherwise it would have been Ciel’s turn to struggle to maintain her composure.

Because this solution was originally Avena’s idea. The only thing Ciel could think of was killing everyone first.

After getting the system, Ciel’s “strategic thinking” seemed to have gradually diminished. Faced with danger, she always thought of trying it out in the simulation rather than avoiding it.

After all, planning and strategizing always had potential oversights. Encountering some extreme situation could shatter the plan.

But personally experiencing the “facts” and testing all extreme scenarios was ultimately the most reliable approach.

The more extreme Ciel acted in the simulation, the more prudent she actually appeared.

Avena left Ciel’s guest room.

Only after Avena was long gone did Ciel slowly let out a breath.

The consecutive simulations, coupled with constantly summoning those spiritual beings in the previous simulation, had left Ciel mentally somewhat fatigued.

However, compared to the initial Ciel, her mental strength seemed to have increased considerably, possibly due to advancing to the second tier in the save file.

Now, Ciel faced two choices.

One was to start a new pure simulation, immediately drink the “Instigator” potion, save the “Instigator” file, then restart with the “Instigator” file to execute the previous sacrifice plan.

The second was to directly use the “Judicator” save file, go in, start killing, and sacrifice.

But there was a problem.

Although “Judicator” was more offensive and better suited for dealing with the transcendents at Deton Manor—as long as Kitty was ambushed and killed, the others posed no threat to Ciel—lacking the “Instigator’s” abilities, relying solely on 【Art of Conversation Lv.2】 and the interference of spiritual beings, Ciel wasn’t confident she could intimidate a third-tier “Radiance Bishop.”

Against a third-tier, going in as “Judicator” meant death, and going in as “Instigator” also meant death. There wasn’t much difference between the two.

The only difference might be that killing Kitty would be easier as “Judicator.”

Ciel decided to let the randomness of the system determine her course.

If the timing happened to fall just before the Divine Advent Church’s “Radiance Bishop” arrived, allowing her to meet him directly, Ciel would choose the “Judicator” file and kill everyone first.

If none of the simulation times allowed her to encounter the “Radiance Bishop,” she would start a pure mode simulation, drink the “Instigator” potion, and save the file first.

Overwriting the No.1 save file, which was the initial “Avenger,” wouldn’t increase the number of first-tier save slots.

Currently, her saves were: No.0 was her real self, No.1 was the initial “Avenger” save, No.2 was “Judicator,” and No.3 was “Gambler.”

If affected by the new artifact’s side effect 【Temporal Disorder】, the chance of randomly switching to “Judicator” was one in four.

If “Instigator” occupied a new save slot, the chance of switching to “Judicator” would drop to one in five.

Overwriting the “Avenger” save ensured that the side effect 【Temporal Disorder】 from 【Echo of the Silver-White Timebinder】 was more likely to jump to a second-tier save rather than a first-tier one, preventing an indirect weakening of her combat capability.

Having decided on the plan, Ciel summoned the system and tapped the “Simulate” interface.

【Future: 8h (Saint Year 741, June 21, 00:10) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)】

【Past: 10 days (Saint Year 741, June 10, 11:55 AM) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)】

【Old Days: ***, ***Day (???) (Cost: 10000 Fate Points)】

Seeing the times, Ciel sighed softly.

None of them extended to 1 PM on the 23rd.

Even simulating a later date, letting the simulated self handle everything and just observing the consequences, would have been fine.

After some thought, Ciel still decided to choose the Future simulation.

Future simulations dealt with events yet to happen. Experiencing them once more would be beneficial.

Choosing the Past simulation wouldn’t make a difference either; she could still massacre everyone at Deton Manor, just using the “Judicator” save file.

After all, High Priest Uris hadn’t arrived in Berren City at that time.

Ciel was about to start the simulation directly, but then paused, found a notebook, and solemnly wrote on the first page in Chinese:

【Help me prepare the “Instigator” potion】

After thinking for a moment, Ciel added another line.

【Don’t cause trouble】

Putting down the pen, Ciel looked back at the simulation interface.

Among the five first-tier potions and rituals she had obtained earlier, “Instigator” was not included.

The original “Instigator” spiritual materials, extracted from Thomas’s body—Ciel wouldn’t use a second-hand potion—had already been given to Avena long ago.

Having her simulated self acquire an “Instigator” potion would save her real time and effort.

As for how her simulated self would obtain the potion without money, that wasn’t Ciel’s concern.

She believed in herself.

Ciel took off her shoes and socks, lay sideways on the sofa, adjusted into a comfortable position, and selected the Future simulation.

“Future, No.0.”

Silver light flashed in Ciel’s eyes, completely covering her vision until she gradually lost sensation of her body.

-

【Future】

【Saint Year 741, June 21, 00:10】

【Countdown – 23:59:59】

The vast expanse of silver-white light before her gradually dissipated.

Ciel slowly regained sensation and control over her body.

But even before the white light faded completely, Ciel felt a stuffy heat.

It felt like something was binding her, making it somewhat difficult to move even before she fully regained bodily control.

Once Ciel fully regained control, she moved her hands slightly.

What is this...

Ciel felt warm, soft, unidentified objects pressed against both her sides.

Ciel took a deep breath. Her nose filled with the light fragrance of a young woman’s body and the scent of flower petals.

Heh.

On the left, could it be Adele?

Ciel slowly turned her head to the left and saw a large face extremely close to hers, eyes shut tight, breathing evenly.

Soft, silver-white hair cascaded down her neck, covering her chest. Her arms were stretched forward, hugging Ciel as if she were a pillow. Her head rested entirely on Ciel’s pillow, and one leg was even draped over Ciel’s lower abdomen.

The soft sensation against Ciel’s left arm came from Adele’s front.

Compared to Avena and Ciel, Adele was somewhat more endowed and taller, though she usually wore loose robes or a doctor’s white coat, making it less obvious.

Sigh... it really is Adele.

Why is there an extra person? Wasn’t it just Avena in the bed before?

Ciel slowly turned her head back, looking to the right. Aided by a sliver of candlelight, she saw Avena lying on her side, facing her, hands resting on Ciel’s arm, her face completely flushed crimson.

Avena was slightly more reserved. She was still on her own pillow, merely facing Ciel with her hands placed over.

But even so, Avena’s face was thoroughly red.

Adele was genuinely sound asleep, but Ciel could guarantee Avena was definitely not asleep yet.

Because her arms were somewhat stiff, her elbows not even resting on the mattress.

It seemed like she had just placed her hands over when Ciel woke up, leaving her awkwardly frozen.

Has she been awake the whole time, saw Adele doing it, and wanted to try too?

Having somewhat anticipated this situation, Ciel felt no panic. Her goal for this simulation was simply to drink the “Instigator” potion and survive for 24 hours.

Even if she stayed in Avena’s room the entire time, the mission could still be completed.

Ciel never doubted her ability to instantly digest the “Instigator” potion.

If she couldn’t achieve instant digestion with the “Instigator” potion, others would likely have exploded long ago.

But for now, setting these matters aside and resting for a while wasn’t a bad idea.

Looking at Avena on her right, pretending to sleep yet hesitant to get closer, Ciel slowly lifted her right hand, smoothly pulling her arm free from Avena’s grasp.

This action made the pretending-to-sleep Avena purse her lips slightly. Her hands, suspended mid-air, momentarily forgot to lower, seemingly struck by some blow.

Lying next to Ciel, Avena’s heart had been pounding the entire time. She hadn’t been able to sleep at all, not even daring to open her eyes.

Accustomed to sleeping without lights, she had lit two candles tonight.

Just moments ago, Avena had cautiously opened her eyes, using the candlelight to peek at Ciel, only to see Adele practically half sprawled on top of Ciel, sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to Ciel’s feelings.

And Ciel remained with her eyes closed, seemingly unbothered by Adele’s terrible sleeping posture half-lying on her.

At that moment, an idea began to brew in Avena’s mind.

If Ciel doesn’t mind even Adele acting like this...

Then... could I possibly adopt such a posture too?

When Ciel wakes up later, I’ll just say my sleeping habits are a bit poor... apologize to her. The gentle Ciel should accept it; she isn’t unreasonable...

With this thought, Avena had, bit by bit, shifted closer to Ciel, finally carefully placing her hands on Ciel’s arm.

What on earth am I doing...

Having made the move, Avena felt as though she had exhausted all her courage and strength. She closed her eyes, not daring to even look at Ciel’s profile anymore.

What exactly was this feeling?

Back at their first encounter at the police department, when she saw the beautiful red-haired girl sitting in the waiting area, the moment their eyes met, she felt her heart skip a beat.

At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it, simply nodding in acknowledgment before heading upstairs.

But as their fates became increasingly intertwined, after interacting and experiencing things together, even Avena herself became confused about her current feelings.

Avena slightly opened her eyes into a thin slit. Her dark purple pupils shifted slightly, studying Ciel’s profile in the candlelight.

What exactly is this feeling?

Suddenly, she saw Ciel’s eyelashes flutter slightly. Ciel took a deep breath and turned her head towards Adele on the left.

Ciel waking up abruptly startled Avena. Her hands instinctively started to pull back, but she realized doing so might look even stranger.

Her usual rational thinking and knowledge seemed completely forgotten at this moment. Avena remained frozen, eyes closed, hearing only the thunderous pounding in her ears.

It wasn’t the potion’s whispers, but her own heartbeat.

She seemed to hear Ciel turn her head again. She prayed Ciel wouldn’t notice her small movements and would fall back asleep soon.

Once Ciel was asleep for another hour, confirming she was deeply asleep, Avena would retract her hands.

Every second seemed to stretch on interminably. Avena felt her palms growing slightly sweaty, her heartbeat sounding louder with each beat.

Suddenly.

Ciel moved.

She slowly shifted her right hand, pulling it out from under Avena’s hands.

Eh?

In that instant, Avena felt the drumming in her heart abruptly cease. The stopped drumstick felt lodged in her chest, causing a sense of blockage.

Why... is Adele allowed, but not me?

But quickly, she felt the mattress dip slightly. A somewhat cool hand slipped through the gap at her waist.

Before Avena could react, that hand gave her a gentle push forward. Avena’s entire body was pulled by that strong hand, bringing her directly against a soft, fragrant body.

Her nose could even feel the tickle of hair strands and their scent. The hand that had pulled her over slowly withdrew, then gently rested on her hair.

Time seemed to stand still. Avena wasn’t even sure if she was still breathing.

At this moment, Avena seemed to understand, just a little, what that flutter in her heart was when she first met the red-haired girl.