Daybreak.
Since Alexia had not yet woken up, Simon had no choice but to head to the Imperial City alone.
Before leaving, he specifically instructed Belinda that she should stay in the study for most of the day until it was confirmed that Alexia had left.
Upon arriving at the Imperial City, Simon immediately sought out September Nine.
Even though he knew the background of that witch, procedures still had to be followed, and September Nine held secrets he did not know.
To be honest, every time he entered September Nine’s Underground Research Facility, Simon felt particularly awed.
For the sake of September Nine, Alexia had nearly hollowed out the entire underground space of the Imperial City, handing it over completely as a site for Magical Golem research.
And September Nine had made full use of this space, transforming it with an air of futuristic technology.
Hmm…Simon wasn’t sure how to describe the feeling.
It was both absurd and somehow reasonable—perhaps this was the true nature of a magical world.
Where drought kills with thirst, and floods drown with abundance.
People on the surface still lived in a medieval-like environment, but underground, September Nine had already realized automated production lines.
The facility was filled with numerous projection instructions, and even face and fingerprint unlocking systems.
The only human here was September Nine herself; the rest of the operations were maintained by various Magical Golems with distinct forms and specialized functions.
The only thing to note was that none of this ran on electricity, but used magical elements as a power source.
Now, all the equipment used by the Scarlet Knights was produced by September Nine—magical devices completely different from traditional armor and weaponry.
Naturally, their combat power far exceeded that of imperial soldiers.
But this was not the main focus of September Nine’s research, nor the primary reason for the existence of this facility.
“Simon!”
September Nine waved to greet him.
“Do you have results?”
Simon asked knowingly.
September Nine nodded.
“She is Erma, an Apocalypse Witch, and a candidate for the Witch Council.”
“If I’m not mistaken, she came to seize the last vacant seat in the Witch Council.”
“If she could successfully control Her Majesty the Empress and bring the entire empire under the Witch Council, such an achievement would be enough to let her ascend to the thirteenth seat of the council.”
The Witch Council was an organization composed entirely of witches, with thirteen seats in total.
The closer the seat was to the front, the stronger the holder’s power.
The first three seats were vastly more powerful than the remaining ten.
At first, the Witch Council was indeed founded to help witches survive in this world and fight for more resources.
But with changes in membership and shifting beliefs, the council gradually deviated from its original purpose.
Now, the council’s ideology had shifted toward establishing a nation where witches could survive.
To do that, they first needed a country’s ruler.
It was only natural that Alexia, as the Empress, had become their target.
“Is that all the information?”
Simon pressed.
“There’s more, of course!”
September Nine waved and summoned a panel, quickly inputting a string of magical runes Simon couldn’t decipher.
The moment the panel disappeared, more information surged forth.
“From Erma’s corpse, I sensed she might have been in contact with a certain evil god.”
September Nine’s words immediately reminded Simon of what Erma had said to Alexia in the great hall.
“You mean she’s been corrupted?”
September Nine nodded.
“It’s not impossible. I once stayed in the Witch Council. Though our philosophies differed, I know how much the upper seats value the council’s purity.”
“The pride of witches keeps them from colluding with evil gods, for that would defile their identity as witches.”
“Everyone also knows what it means to conspire with an evil god. Although the Witch Council is hated by many and seen as a scourge, at least they do not become enemies of the entire world.”
As September Nine spoke, her expression dimmed.
“Witches simply cannot bear another Witch Hunt.”
Aside from the powerful witches in the council, the plight of other witches was far from optimistic.
Especially those who had just been discovered—often, even surviving to adulthood was a luxury.
Without Alexia’s protection, September Nine too would have been left wandering, without a safe place to research magical devices.
Simon looked up at her and gently rubbed her head.
“Just report all this truthfully to Her Majesty later. Until the evidence is conclusive, I will not comment on the Witch Council.”
“I know, you don’t need to remind me.”
September Nine buried her head in her collar, trying to hide the blush caused by Simon’s head rub.
“How could I dare to deceive Her Majesty? Her Lie Detection is beyond imagination.”
“You don’t need to investigate further on this matter. To be safe, Erma’s corpse must be incinerated and purified at once. I’ll have other professionals handle it.”
—
Cathedral of the Imperial Capital.
“You suspect the Witch Council is in league with an evil god?”
Gerard pondered, questioning Simon from across the table.
“Yes.”
Simon nodded.
“If possible, I’d like you to take charge of this matter.”
The people least likely to be corrupted by evil gods were undoubtedly members of the Church of Light.
Moreover, they specialized in handling such matters.
For them, it was a perfect match.
Gerard looked troubled.
“This isn’t something easy to investigate. If it was within the Empire, I could agree at once, but the Witch Council’s activity range isn’t limited to the Empire.”
“The Eastern United Kingdoms, for example, are beyond my jurisdiction. And in some regions, the local cathedrals are actually hostile to the Cathedral of the Imperial Capital.”
Cross-border enforcement was also a challenge for the Church of Light.
Though all cathedrals belonged to the Church, relations were not always harmonious.
Some cathedrals were even outright enemies.
Even the Central Holy See faced the same issues.
If a cathedral below was dissatisfied with the See, it could choose to ignore its commands, as long as it could bear the resulting pressure.
“Besides, as you know, just as I maintain a certain tacit understanding with those heretics, the See must also have some kind of agreement with the Witch Council. Neither side would act rashly.”
The Witch Council was not like those heretical cultists kept in captivity—easy to exterminate.
If the council sensed the Church of Light was moving against them, direct conflict was almost certain.
And when that happened, how many more innocent lives would be caught in the crossfire?
“I can’t just say I want to investigate the Witch Council and then do so thoroughly.”
Simon continued.
“I know how difficult this is for you, so I don’t expect you to dig deeply. Just keep following the clues Erma left behind.”
“How far you can go and what you find depends on how many traces Erma left within the Empire.”