Sefina shrugged lightly and nudged Versie’s head, which was resting against her shoulder. “Get up. There’s one more thing I need your help with.”
Her tone had returned to its usual cool detachment, carrying a seriousness that left no room for doubt.
Versie sat up straight as instructed, the laziness and lingering hurt quickly fading from her face. She turned to Sefina, her expression growing serious. “About…?”
“About the Church,” Sefina said bluntly.
Versie’s gaze sharpened, and the flippant, lighthearted shell completely fell away.
She knew all too well what the Church meant.
It wasn’t merely the root cause of the kingdom-wide wanted order on her teacher’s “Holmes” identity; it might also be hiding horrors that could plunge all of Sarkax Royal Capital, or even the entire western continent, into unknown danger.
The air itself seemed to grow heavier at the mention of the topic.
The two sat down facing each other on the sofa. Versie leaned forward slightly and asked, “What does Teacher need me to do?”
Sefina said concisely, “I need a new identity — one to disguise another of my forms.”
“Another?” Versie raised an eyebrow, a flicker of curiosity passing through her ice-blue eyes. She knew her teacher had the “Holmes” transformation form. Could there be others?
Sefina didn’t offer much in the way of explanation. She raised her left hand, and on her index finger was a silver mana ring similar in style to the “Holmes” mana ring, one that had appeared there without notice.
She closed her eyes, focused her mind, and slowly channeled a thread of mana into it.
The change came silently. Sefina’s waist-length azure hair began to fade and transform from the roots, shifting into a soft light green like tender new sprouts in early spring, flowing down gently.
Her signature wine-red eyes shifted in hue, settling into a deep, mysterious violet, calm and serene.
Her figure changed as well, rising considerably from her petite 1.5-meter frame to just over 1.6 meters.
Though not as tall and mature as the “Holmes” form, it appeared more slender and well-proportioned, with an aura between a maiden’s freshness and a scholar’s intellect.
“Teacher, this is…” Versie couldn’t help asking, her ice-blue eyes fixed unblinkingly on this unfamiliar yet familiar “new” teacher.
Sefina — at this moment, perhaps she should be called “Einstein” — explained in a voice tinged with a scholarly air.
“This is another form I used while on the East continent to make it easier to get around. The transformation mana ring was given to me by my teacher after I returned to the East continent.”
She paused, then added, “I haven’t used this form in a very long time.”
“While on the East continent, I went by the name ‘Einstein.’ With that identity, I researched and invented some small things, earning some money in the process.”
“It wasn’t any great fortune, but it was enough to cover the daily expenses and activities of my companions and me over there.”
Versie’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued. She stood up, leaned close to Sefina, and carefully studied the delicate face framed by light green hair with her ice-blue eyes.
The contours of her brows and eyes were still just as beautiful, but the violet eyes and the understated hair color gave an entirely different impression.
Versie couldn’t resist reaching out and gently pinching Sefina’s cheek. The skin remained soft and smooth, with a faint coolness.
Sefina frowned slightly, a clear look of disgust flashing in her violet eyes, and unceremoniously swatted away Versie’s mischievous hand.
Versie withdrew her hand with a grin, but her mind couldn’t help wandering.
‘Teacher’s original form was cute and petite, the “Holmes” form was cool and handsome, and now this “Einstein” form was full of intellectual, mysterious charm…’
‘Every single one is so captivating~~’
‘Hmm, I’ve already tasted the first two “flavors.” I wonder what this new form’s “flavor” is like…’
‘So looking forward to it~~’
But Versie also knew this wasn’t the time to keep “playing around.” She quickly suppressed those wicked thoughts and said seriously, “So, what does Teacher need me to do for the ‘Einstein’ identity?”
Still in her “Einstein” form, Sefina continued, “I need you to secure an identity for ‘Einstein’ that can operate within the Sarkax Royal Capital — preferably one that can get close to case investigations.”
“Just like ‘Holmes’ before, if I can get into the Royal Capital Defense Bureau’s sights, or even receive an invitation for consultation or assistance from them, then we’ll have the chance to investigate deeply and expose the truth the Church is hiding.”
Hearing this, Versie unconsciously propped her chin on her left hand, furrowed her brow slightly, and fell into thought.
She murmured softly, “Fabricating a clean set of identity documents for Teacher, vouched for by my family’s name, isn’t difficult… But to directly gain the Security Bureau’s trust, or even get them to proactively seek our help…”
Versie looked up at Sefina. “That may require a certain opportunity. I’ll do my best to make it work, but it might take some time.”
Sefina nodded, clear trust showing in her violet eyes. “Mm, I understand. I’ll leave it to you.”
With a subtle shift of thought, she dispelled the transformation. The light green hair quickly receded into azure, her height dropped back down, her violet eyes reverted to deep wine-red, and the petite, familiar Sefina teacher reappeared.
Sefina sat back down on the sofa, rubbing her temples, which were slightly uncomfortable from the brief transformation, then looked at Versie and asked another critical question.
“In the two years I’ve been away, have the missing persons cases in the capital still been occurring frequently?”
Versie’s expression turned serious once more, and she nodded. “Yes. In fact, ever since Teacher left the western continent, the missing persons cases in the capital and surrounding areas have never truly ceased.”
“The scale fluctuates—sometimes several cases would occur in succession, causing a panic; other times, they’d go quiet for months, as if vanishing into thin air. But after a while, new cases would always surface.”
“The Security Bureau… hasn’t made any progress. They can’t get a hold of key leads, and there’s no convincing evidence.”
Versie’s voice dropped low at this point. “Those missing people simply vanished into thin air. No trace of them alive, no corpse to be found.”
Sefina was silent for a moment, a cold chill surging from the depths of her wine-red eyes. She let out a soft sigh, her voice carrying a heavy certainty.
“The bodies… were probably all eaten by those ‘things’ hidden inside the Church.”
Sefina looked at Versie and emphasized each word.
“When I say ‘cannibalism’ here, I mean ‘feeding’ in the most literal, primal sense.”
“And ‘they’ are not a metaphor either.”
“According to the ancient records my teacher gave me, and what I witnessed with my own eyes before, what lurks deep within the Church is most likely demons from the Otherworld.”