"What about Turing?" Theresa anxiously looked around, feeling as if terrifying eyes and ears were growing everywhere in this dreadful Erisburg.

It was not safe to act openly, to speak loudly.

"If Turing is missing, I could brush it off... but how could my newspaper and coffee disappear as well?"

Theresa checked the restaurant table and found that the utensils and food she had placed there had all vanished.

"Could Oedipus have seen them?" Theresa's face turned pale, her breath becoming involuntary, a cold, tingling sensation rising from her lungs to her weakened throat.

Theresa forced herself to stop overthinking. Every time she did, she felt Oedipus growing stronger within her. This feeling was particularly clear to Theresa, who was trapped by Oedipus's side.

Struggling against an imaginary enemy was like being trapped in a watery prison, with endless pressure pressing on you, taking away your ability to breathe and confusing your thoughts, disrupting your sense of direction. By the time you managed to break free, you would be too weak to fight the enemy.

"Turing?... Turing?" Theresa called out helplessly, more like hoping to be found by Turing than actually searching for him.

"Turing?" Theresa's voice grew weaker. She walked into the restaurant's kitchen, attempting to make a final effort.

"Ah, Theresa, I was lost in thought just now, so I didn't hear you."

Merka held a cup of coffee and a newspaper in her other hand.

Theresa seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Miss, it's enough to leave things as they are. Let me take care of it."

"Mmm."

Merka couldn't help feeling embarrassed. In terms of anxiety, Merka might not be any less than Theresa.

"Um... Miss, didn't you find anything in the newspaper?"

Just as expected!

Merka didn't know what made her think like that, but she instinctively retreated into the kitchen, trying to gain some time for thinking.

But she was quickly discovered.

Should I hand it over?

But...

Merka reached into her pocket, where a black square was hidden.

I know nothing about this place.

If I only listen to Mammon and Samael, I can at most protect myself.

To rescue Turing from the curse of childhood pain...

My opponent is Oedipus.

Can I really protect Turing with such slow, hesitant actions?

I need the ability or information to decide the outcome of the battle.

Otherwise, whether controlled by Maria or Oedipus, I'll just be changing sides.

Merka could feel an invisible thread connecting them in this seemingly loose Erisburg.

After all, Oedipus's camp was not as cohesive or loyal as Maria's.

Whether it was Theresa, Mammon and Samael, or the military intelligence, they were all drawn together by Oedipus's mysterious power.

This thing is not something as illusory as people's fear of Oedipus's power. It is something more...more real.

"Miss?"

"This is really not something to mess around with. If you happen to see it, please give it to me!"

But I need evidence.

Merka's eyes narrowed.

"I don't remember seeing anything in the newspaper."

"My mother came to talk to me in the morning. She glanced at the newspaper then."

"Sorry, but it's possible that she took it."

As soon as Merka finished speaking, Theresa's breathing became rapid, as if her heart was about to stop, as if she was about to pass out.

Seeing Theresa's reaction, Merka immediately understood.

Bingo, jackpot. Merka felt relieved.

This is something that Oedipus the Great should not see.

"Oh, but I found a piece of stone under the newspaper. I took it out before my mother read it."

"This shouldn't be what you're looking for, right?"

Merka took out a small black piece from her pocket and showed it to Theresa.

"It's this!" Theresa took a deep breath and sighed with relief.

"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you finding it in time..."

"It's nothing."

Merka concealed a dignified smile in the corner of her mouth.

Theresa didn't notice; Merka simply made a gesture as if she was handing something over, but in fact, she gave her nothing.

Merka made a discreet dropback.

"Well then, Miss, I shall take my leave. I have some things to attend to."

"Um..." Merka calmly watched as Theresa put her hand, which was reaching for nothing, into her pocket.

Merka breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's fine, you go ahead and busy yourself."

Theresa nodded and performed a graceful noble salute, but before she finished, she hurriedly left.

Merka's expression changed, and she immediately went to the kitchen, picked up the cup of leftover coffee, diluted it with some water, and poured it on the floor in the corridor casually.

To keep this black stone with me, two conditions must be met.

Merka's heart surged.

First, I need to make Theresa believe that I have the stone.

Second, even if she later finds out that the black stone is missing, I need her to believe that it is not with me.

"Miss Maid!" Merka called out to a maid passing by not far away.

"? Miss, are you...calling me?" The maid looked around and came to Merka's side, somewhat confused by the unfamiliar way Miss called her.

"Yes." Merka's mouth curled slightly.

"Clean this area. It's dirty here." Merka pointed at the spot on the floor soaked with coffee.

"Alright." The maid gave a faint bow, turned around, and went to the kitchen to fetch a mop and broom.

Merka felt a rush of anxious tension, and she wasn't very confident in her own scheme.

"When Theresa came in, she was acting all secretive, and this black stone is probably not something ordinary."

Merka walked for a while, turned a corner, and arrived at the staircase, going up to the third floor.

"So she probably won't take the thing out of her pocket to inspect it again, it wouldn't be good if someone saw."

"She'll probably go back to a secluded place to examine it."

"And then she'll only find that there's nothing in her pocket."

"Of course, she might suspect that I played a trick on her."

"But she'd probably prefer to believe that she was just too anxious on the way and lost it herself."

"Because, right now, I am innocent and harmless in her eyes."

Merka leaned against the window on the third floor, looking down, and a breeze blew his bangs.

"So, there's a good chance she'll come back along the way to find the black stone."

"But she won't find anything on the way, so she'll just catch a maid and ask."

"The maid will tell her that she cleaned that area and flushed the trash down the sewer. After all, it was splashing water."

Now, Theresa has no place to verify.

"But, there may be more to come."

"The sewer system in Erisburg is connected to Lake Biyang."

"If that stone is really that important..."

Merka stood for a while, almost about to leave, and saw Theresa in a miserable state riding a tall horse running out of the castle gate downstairs.

The direction was towards Lake Crystal Sun.

Merka frowned tightly, took out the stone, carefully played with it, and felt a deep sense of frustration.

"For an ultimate magician, using magic to explore an entire lake is just a matter of time."

"If I want to know what this is, I need to act quickly."