"You know of Chaldea?!"
Sanson could no longer maintain that stoic, deadpan face. He looked at Suke in shock, then glanced at Elysia, who was watching with keen interest nearby.
"Could you and this young lady... be reinforcements newly dispatched by Chaldea? No, I do not recall Chaldea having such Heroic Spirits..."
"That's not important. What is important is that you first tell me where your Master is, and where your other Servant companions are."
Suke knocked on the counter. If Fujimaru Ritsuka and the others were also in this Singularity, that would be best; it might save him some trouble in dealing with that Demon God Pillar.
"Answer my question."
Hearing Suke's pressing inquiry, the shock on Sanson's face gradually faded, replaced by a bitter expression.
"I... do not know where Master is."
"Huh?"
"From what I know, aren't you that Master's guard from Chaldea? You don't know where your own Master is?"
Sanson shook his head, his tone revealing a sense of powerlessness.
"The Rayshift encountered a serious problem."
"According to the plan, I should have arrived at this Singularity together with Master and the others, but during the transfer process, the coordinates experienced violent tremors."
"When I opened my eyes, I was already in this forest on the edge of Salem. It was a few members of the Town Guard who found me."
He scanned the gloomy woods around them, his voice dropping lower.
"Not only that, although the magical energy contract between Master and me hasn't broken, it feels very distant. So distant that I can barely sense it."
"It is as if... although we are in the same spatial coordinates, we are not on the same 'time' plane."
"Time dislocation?" Suke raised an eyebrow.
In the original plot, this kind of thing seemed to have only happened to Tituba, who acted as the Queen of Sheba. He hadn't expected that this time, Sanson would be added to the list.
"Yes, perhaps."
Sanson grabbed his hair painfully.
"I have been secretly searching the town for several days. I even infiltrated the home of the most powerful judge in the area to investigate, but I haven't found a single trace of Master."
'She', is it?
Listening to Sanson's account, Suke silently noted the key details. It seemed the Chaldea of this timeline belonged to that red-haired female protagonist known as 'Chaotic Evil'.
"Moreover, this town possesses a bizarre power."
"It is constantly eroding my memories, suppressing my Spirit Origin."
"At first, I still remembered that I came to repair the Human Order, but as time passed, that thought became increasingly blurry."
Sanson took a deep breath.
"I started to feel as if I were originally a member of this town, a Town Guard maintaining the peace here."
"If I hadn't eaten the cake you made just now, Sir, perhaps in a few more days, I would have completely forgotten the word 'Chaldea' and fully merged into this place, becoming one of these numb, ignorant townspeople."
Suke understood in his heart.
The mechanism of this Salem Singularity was to "script" outsiders, turning them into actors in the play.
The Demon God Pillar wanted to turn everyone into actors in its stage play of the "Salem Witch Trials," thereby making this place a stage sufficient to attract the gaze of the Outer God, and consequently causing Abigail to awaken.
But on the other hand, Suke felt that the situation wouldn't be that simple.
The plot had already deviated from the original work.
Whether it was the currently missing Chaldea Master or Abigail, who had abruptly claimed earlier that she entered his Stardew Valley only after death, everything seemed to be obscurely reminding him of something.
However, Suke gave up on thinking.
Holy crap, I'm just a stinking farmer!
You throw me into a puzzle-solving dungeon like Salem and expect me to investigate the truth? Isn't this making things too hard for me?
Worst case scenario, I'll find a chance to lure Abigail out, then bury a thousand bombs under the Carter residence and blast that Demon God Pillar straight into the sky!
"Since you've regained your memory now and your Master isn't here, what do you plan to do next?" Suke asked.
"I..."
Just as Sanson was about to speak, a sharp and guarded female voice suddenly interrupted them.
"Miss Abigail! How did you run off to such an unclean place!"
Suke looked up.
He saw a woman with coffee-colored skin and a plump figure, dressed in a maid's outfit, walking quickly toward them.
She scanned the group vigilantly, her gaze immediately locking onto Abigail.
Tituba.
The black maid of the Abigail household, and also one of the key figures in the historical Salem Witch Trials.
But in this Singularity, her role was being "played" by the Servant Queen of Sheba, who also hailed from Chaldea.
She rushed in front of Abigail, pulling the blonde loli—who was still savoring the aftertaste of the cake—behind her.
Then, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, she stared warily at Suke and Elysia, her gaze finally landing on Sanson.
"Mr. Sanson, Master Carter is looking for you regarding the town's security... Please do not entangle yourself with these outsiders of unknown origin here."
Sanson stiffened all over.
The moment he heard the words "Master Carter," that invisible "lock" seemed about to surface in his mind again, and the shred of clarity he had just regained seemed to waver.
But very quickly, Suke stuffed a handful of candy into his hand. Sanson turned his head rapidly and swallowed it whole, and the chaos in the depths of his eyes gradually dissipated.
"...I understand."
Sanson lowered his head. In order not to expose the fact that he had broken free from the Singularity's control, he needed to continue playing the role of the obedient subordinate.
"Apologies, I believe I should go."
"Although I do not know your origins, thank you very much for your help. If there is anything you need my help with, you can find me at the Town Guard house next to the Meeting House in town."
Sanson turned hurriedly and walked away, hidden by the dappled light between the tree leaves.
Tituba, on the other hand, grabbed Abigail's wrist with such force that the little girl cried out in pain.
"Come back with me quickly, Master Carter is very angry! To think you ate such pitch-black, filthy things... You must rinse your mouth a hundred times when we get back!"
"Wait a moment, Lavinia..." Abigail still wanted to pull her friend along.
But Tituba gave her no chance, forcibly dragging her toward the town. Before leaving, she shot Suke and Elysia a deep glare, the kind reserved for heathens.
In the blink of an eye, in front of the lively dessert house, only Suke, Elysia, and the white-haired girl Lavinia—who stood lonely on the spot, unaccepted by the Salem townspeople—remained.
"Elysia, say, should I just find a chance to forcibly take Abigail away? We have the Dimensional Gate anyway."
"That might not work, you know? Darling, do you remember you said that living things of this world cannot cross that door to our farm?"
"Little Abi's current condition feels completely different from when she took the bus with us before. Miss Pink Elf's intuition has never been wrong, you know~?"
"Besides..."
Her gaze fell upon Lavinia, and Elysia blinked. Her meaning was self-evident.
Suke: "..."
Right, he had almost forgotten about that hitch.
Even if Abigail could safely pass through that door, what about Lavinia, her best friend who would be left behind in this world?
At that time, it would likely be a situation where Abigail was unwilling and Elysia didn't agree, which would also run counter to his original intentions.
Suke turned around and looked at the white-haired girl in front of him, who appeared helpless because her friend had been taken away.
The only remaining breakthrough point now seemed to be this one.
"Alright, Miss Lavinia."
Suke revealed a gentle smile, taking out even more delicious food from the counter as if performing a magic trick.
Cranberry Candy, Tortillas, Plum Pudding...
"Although your friend went back first, our tasting event isn't over yet."
"Are you interested in adding a little spice to this dull Salem?"
___
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