"Now? Brother, if you are too anxious, girls will get tired of you." Parker flew to Shen He and saw his purpose at a glance.

"That's why you have to ask Parker to go with you." Shen He smiled, "If Parker is there, Beatrice will become very easy to talk to."

Jeanne reminded Shen He yesterday.

If you don't know Beatrice's wish, then go find her.

As a master, contracting a servant is the same as chasing a girl. How can you be trusted if you are not thick-skinned? You need to learn from Natsuki Subaru in this regard.

"No problem, because Emilia was saved by you again yesterday, so no matter what the request is, it's okay." Parker agreed very easily.

In his heart, Emilia is always the first.

What's more, Shen He is not a good destination for Beatrice.

"But--" Parker sat on Shen He's shoulder, and after Emilia left, he changed his tone and started with a transition word, saying, "It's not that easy to take Beatrice away--in a sense, it doesn't even have anything to do with Beatrice's will?"

"What do you mean... a contract?"

Shen He reacted after being stunned for a moment.

For elves, if there is any behavior that has nothing to do with their own will, it can only be a contract.

They value contracts more than life.

"That's right, the reason why Beatrice stayed in the mansion and guarded the forbidden library is because she had reached such a contract with someone." Parker seemed a little reluctant to talk about this topic.

"It won't be Roswaal." Shen He had guessed from Parker's attitude, "The Witch of Jealousy?"

The only person that the great elf Parker was unwilling to talk about was probably the Witch of Jealousy.

"Hahaha, no."

Unexpectedly, Parker rejected Shen He's guess.

Fortunately, he didn't continue to keep it a secret.

"It's the Greedy Witch. She is also the creator of Beatrice. In fact, unlike me, Beatrice is an 'artificial elf', and the defect of not being able to gather magic power on her own comes from this." "The

Greedy Witch..." Shen He stopped, "Isn't she dead?"

It is well known that the Witch of Jealousy killed the other six witches hundreds of years ago.

If Beatrice is restricted by the dead Greedy Witch, then it will be a bit troublesome. Even if you are strong, you can't find a dead person to ask for a solution to the contract.

"It's right to say that she is dead..." Parker's voice was silent for a while, and suddenly sighed, "Because my memory has become incomplete, I don't know a lot of things. However, if you want to take Beatrice away, you should meet some requirements. Whether you can let Beatrice say the requirements depends on you."

"...I understand." Shen He continued to walk.

He rarely does things that he is not sure of. It can even be said that everything he has done since crossing has more than 80% chance of success.

It feels like everything is under control.

However, this does not mean that Shen He will not do things that he is not sure of.

Lift your spirits, pay attention to observation, pay attention to thinking...

Shen He put his hand on the door handle and opened it.

"Brother, are you here to play with Betty again?"

A super annoying voice came from the front. Beatrice had a super cute smile on her face, but it was not for Shen He.

Bang!

The moment Parker entered the door, the door was slammed shut.

Is it an illusion?

Shen He, who was locked outside the door, felt a little weird, and always felt that Beatrice's attitude towards him seemed to be worse.

Put your hand on the door handle again.

If Beatrice directly transferred the "any door" to other rooms, it meant that there must be some reason driving her to do so, otherwise, Shen He couldn't think of any reason for him to be avoided.

Unexpectedly again, the door opened.

Beatrice just sat on the small bench not far from the door, as if she had always been sitting there.

"Come in." Although Beatrice was holding Parker, her expression was indescribably frustrated. "Because your brother pleaded for you, Betty will be merciful and explain it to you."

"..."

Shen He walked in silently, and then gave Parker a thankful expression.

"Ah, how on earth should Betty explain this!"

Beatrice suddenly swung her fluffy spiral ponytails, and rubbed Parker's body against her face helplessly.

Shen He couldn't help but suspect that she just wanted to pet the cat.

"Start with the reason why you stayed here." Shen He was also amused by this scene.

"Huff." Beatrice puffed up her cheeks and blew air, and finally calmed down. "Betty made a contract with someone to guard the forbidden library... It's been four hundred years, so she can't go with you. Just like that, you can go back."

"Four hundred years? That's really a long time." Shen He naturally couldn't leave easily. Instead, he walked to Beatrice on his own. "No matter what, there must be a deadline. If the deadline is permanent, no one will be willing to endure this endless confinement - this is more painful than death."

Just think about being in prison in ordinary society, and you will understand.

After all, the meaning of life lies in experience.

Being permanently restricted to a place and never being able to leave is really unbearable, because such a hopeless life is just a simple punishment.

"The contract... Of course it can end." Beatrice couldn't help but tightly grasp the books placed on her knees, "Betty is waiting for someone."

"Oh?" Shen He raised his eyebrows, "So you are sure that I am not that person?"

If so, everything seems to make sense.

Why did Beatrice avoid him.

And why was she so deliberately bad.

"......"

However, this time, Beatrice seemed to fall into a long silence.

Even Shen He could see the stiffness on her cheeks.

He couldn't help but look at Parker.

Parker was obviously touched by Shen He's pleading eyes, and then rubbed Beatrice's palm with his face and said, "If you have any reasons, just tell me directly. As a brother, I actually think Shen He is very suitable."

"......Even your brother thinks so."

After sighing, Beatrice's stiff cheeks suddenly relaxed, as if she had taken off a long mask, and even revealed a stable smile and a look of relief.

I don't know why, seeing such eyes, Shen He felt bad.

"In fact, although there is no reason to think that you are the person Betty is waiting for, but-" When it came to the key point, Beatrice suddenly paused, and then squinted her eyes mischievously, "The possibility that you are 'that person' is quite high."

"......What, what?"

Shen He came back to his senses after a long time.

He is the person Beatrice is waiting for?

No, only this is impossible, because he does not belong to this world. No matter what rules, fate, and evolution this world has, it is impossible to guess his arrival.

Moreover, no matter how you look at it, the person Beatrice is waiting for should be Natsuki Subaru, who has a deep connection with the witch and this world.

"Wait, Betty, I don't understand." Parker couldn't help but interrupt, "Since Shen He is likely to be the one you are waiting for, shouldn't you accept it happily? After all, the long contract is finally coming to an end." Parker

didn't know much about Beatrice.

But there was one thing he knew clearly.

That is, Beatrice could no longer bear such loneliness, which is why Beatrice regarded it as her brother and was so close to it.

——As a great elf, it also has a long lifespan.

"Happy... maybe I should be happy." Beatrice held Parker in one hand, and held the book on her knees with the other hand and put it on her chest.

It was not until now that Shen He really noticed the book.

The cover was dark black, without any words on it. The most important thing was that Shen He sensed a hint of hidden fluctuations from the book.

"What is this book?" Shen He couldn't help asking.

"Huh? Did you sense it?" Beatrice held up the book and shook it. "This is a super powerful book. It can record the future of the holder and guide the holder to a better future through language. In the past, Betty has always acted according to the contents recorded in this book."

"..." Shen He's eyebrows were tightly wrinkled.

He was stung by the smile on Beatrice's face at this time.

Being guided by a book to a better future?

Although Joan of Arc was guided by God, she chose the road herself, while Beatrice not only gave the future, but also the road to the book to decide, just believing in the three words "better".

If it was really better, she would not have spent these four hundred years here so lonely.

"So, does this book tell you how to choose now?" Shen He suppressed the emotion of questioning and asked calmly.

He knew that it was not so easy to abandon the persistence of hundreds of years.

There was not much meaning in talking to Beatrice about the so-called fate now.

"...There should be."

The smile on Beatrice's face gradually faded, and the obvious frustration and panic filled her big watery eyes.

Then her fingers trembled slightly and touched the book, as if she was about to face judgment and desperately turned it.

Her eyes scanned the pages for redemption.

Wait -

Shen He's eyes became sharp, because he glimpsed the content of the book from Beatrice's page-turning action.

No, there is nothing, just a blank.

Only by holding it can you see it, or... there is no content at all?

"Betty... There is nothing in this book." Parker couldn't help asking.

"——"

Beatrice didn't answer, but she was obviously panicking when turning the pages.

Shen He already understood.

He reached out and snatched the book directly from Beatrice's hand.

"No matter how hard you look, there will be no content in this book."

"..."

Beatrice hugged her knees, Parker hugged her tightly in his arms, and curled up on this small bench.

It was obvious that she was rejecting others out of fear.

But Shen He had plenty of patience.

He simply sat down on the floor in front of Beatrice, his line of sight just parallel to Beatrice's, and looked directly into her eyes, clearly showing his determination.

He had to get the answer today no matter what.

"--It's been decades." Beatrice finally moved her eyes away, buried her head in Parker's soft body, and began to explain intermittently, "The book no longer shows Betty's future... In the past four hundred years, many people have come to this library, and many people want to take Betty away, but... Betty followed the contents of the book... and refused, because they were not 'the person' Betty was waiting for."

Decades...

Shen He recalled what happened in this world decades ago, and it seemed that nothing had anything to do with Beatrice.

It can't be said that it was the birth of Natsuki Subaru.

However, Beatrice's story continued.

"After discovering that there was nothing on the pages... Betty was really anxious for a long time... Then she suddenly realized that the Book of Wisdom did not show the future of its holder, so there was only one possibility..." "

Hey! Wait, Betty." Parker suddenly realized something.

"It's okay, brother." But Beatrice shook her head and even gave Parker a faint smile, "It doesn't matter if the end of this long wait is death. As long as the contract can be ended and this endless wait can be ended, Betty, Betty can accept it happily..."

"..." Parker was silent for a long time, then sighed.

Beatrice unfolded her curled body, carefully placed Parker on the bench, and then stood in front of Shen He.

"——There are many people who come here, but you are the strongest in these hundreds of years." Beatrice's previous confidence and arrogance were completely gone, and instead she pleaded, "So, whether you are the 'one' that Betty is waiting for or not, it doesn't matter, because if it is you, you can definitely do it easily and take Betty's life."

At this point, Shen He already understood.

Why did Beatrice hide from him at the beginning?

The long loneliness made Beatrice unbearable, and the book of wisdom that suddenly became blank drove Beatrice's thoughts to an extreme.

The book recording the future was blank, which meant that she had no future.

The "person" she was waiting for might not take her away, but bring her death.

"Huh..."

Shen He let out a long breath, squinted his eyes, and flipped the blank book in his hand.

"Maybe, Betty, you made a mistake."

"What?"

Beatrice asked subconsciously.

She was really ready to die. It could even be said that she was now eager to end this endless wait.

"Although I don't understand the principles of this book, from my experience, the effects of things like destiny and prophecy are all limited by the world." Shen He slammed the book shut. "The content becoming blank does not necessarily mean death. It may also mean leaving this world and making destiny unobservable. So, let me introduce myself again. I am Shen He, a pan-dimensional traveler from another world."