Volume 7, Chapter 13 – The Method of Exploring the Soul

“So, you’re saying the current Anastasia isn’t the real Anastasia, and no one knows where the original Anastasia has gone. They share the same memories but possess different souls—is that right?”

Inside the vast wooden warehouse, Laplace confirmed the situation with Fia in a mechanical, gender-neutral voice. Every time it paused, the light emanating from its crystal dimmed for an instant, giving Laplace a more human feel.

Standing beside Laplace, the Knowledge-Seeking Demon General—who possessed a burly beastman’s body and a thick book for a head—stroked his chin, or rather, the area beneath the book.

“For her younger half-sister to encounter such a change, it’s only natural for her to be anxious according to elf perspectives. But is there really such a thing as another ‘me’ in a different world? Just like those ‘components’ Laplace talks about, I don’t understand it at all. Hmm… how about this beautiful elf lady letting me see her mana surge? I’m merely maintaining a quest for knowledge. You know, a demon like me has no worldly desires.”

“You scoundrel!”

Before the Knowledge-Seeking Demon General could even finish his sentence, Anastasia drew the mithril sword at her waist with a shink . If Fia hadn’t intervened, Anastasia’s blade would have already carved into his neck.

“I knew nothing good ever came out of the Darkborn’s mouths! Princess, do not stop me!”

“Wait, wait! The Knowledge-Seeking Demon General is a Book Demon; his method of inheritance is different from ours. Anastasia, calm down.”

Just as Fia said, the Book Demon race did not reproduce through the union of male and female like humans or beastmen. Their method of inheritance involved the birth of a new Book Demon upon the death of an old one. Their knowledge reserves determined the number of offspring they could produce; the more knowledge they had, the more descendants they could birth. Therefore, they did not possess things like sexual desire. If anything, it was more accurate to understand their thirst for new knowledge as the sexual drive of a Book Demon. His words just now carried no intent of sexual harassment.

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It took a considerable amount of effort, including Fia urging the Knowledge-Seeking Demon General to leave (in truth, he left and then used [Pitch-Black Eye] to turn invisible and sneak back in), before Anastasia finally regained her composure.

Laplace simply feigned ignorance of the awkward scene and continued where it left off.

“If it weren’t for Lady Fia’s guarantee, I would certainly think this was someone from my world spinning a tale. The same person from two parallel space-times swapping souls sounds like an utter fantasy.”

“It might not necessarily be a soul swap. Anastasia could still be in this world. Does Laplace have a way to verify that?”

Laplace, hovering in mid-air, thought for a moment.

“Hmm… there is a way. For example, extracting Anastasia’s soul from her body and placing it into another vessel. If the current body can wake up, it means the soul of this current Anastasia is suppressing the original one. If it doesn’t wake up, but the body retains the ability to breathe on its own, it means the original soul is too weak and has been overshadowed by the current one.”

Laplace’s tone was grim, indicating that matters were not so simple.

Fia asked in a low voice.

“And the consequences?”

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“The consequences? If the original Anastasia is not in this body but elsewhere, the moment the soul is extracted, the physical body will completely die due to the lack of a soul’s support. It wouldn’t be a gradual death, but an instantaneous transition from life to death. There would no longer be a foundation to house a soul. Healing magic for the body cannot act upon the soul, so even your healing magic, Lady Fia, would be unable to reverse the situation.”

“Of course, if we had the resurrection magic of the Holy Kingdom, I could try to put the extracted soul back in. But resurrection magic isn’t always successful. Furthermore, elves have the mana surge organ; once an elf dies, the mana surge turns to ash. Should the resurrection magic fail, Anastasia will lose all possibility of recovery. Even if it succeeds, she would likely never be able to use magic again. You must be prepared for that.”

“No.”

Fia refused without a second thought.

The complete death of the physical body meant Anastasia would lose her chance to return. Although there was a possibility of success, she couldn’t take that gamble. The risk was too high.

“Is there another way?”

“There are two.”

“Speak.”

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Abruptly, Laplace fell silent for a moment. Laplace had no eyes, but Anastasia clearly felt its gaze shifting toward her, as if it felt she were redundant. Realizing the issue, she proactively bowed to Fia.

“Princess, I will wait for you outside.”

“No, stay here. Laplace, speak plainly. Even if the current Anastasia isn’t my Anastasia, I won’t treat her as an outsider.”

“Since Lady Fia says so… very well. The first method is to hand Anastasia over to me for research. The research process will inevitably involve pain, but Lady Fia need not worry; I can put the current Anastasia into a deep sleep so she feels nothing.”

“As for the process, I would delve my consciousness deep into her soul to check for traces of a second person. Or, I could strip away the current soul and pour a sufficiently weak soul into the body. That way, even if the original Anastasia is sleeping due to weakness, she would surely be stronger than a soul on the verge of dissipating. Thus, the original Anastasia could manifest. Simultaneously, even if she doesn’t manifest, the body won’t die from losing its soul.”

“But I must say this beforehand: the price of doing this is the sacrifice of two people. First is the current Anastasia. My research on powerful souls is not thorough enough to create a vessel capable of housing a Fifth Rank soul; extracting it means death. The second is the soul on the verge of dissipating—I don’t mean a withered old person, as their souls are no longer fit for a physical body. I am referring to an infant. I have no human sense of morality and am not bound by such constraints, but I believe you, Lady Fia, will not accept sacrificing a newborn baby.”

Fia was momentarily speechless. Laplace was right; neither option was a result she could accept. Although the current Anastasia wasn’t her Anastasia, she was still an Anastasia. She couldn’t trade her life for a mere possibility.

She furrowed her brow and pressed further.

“What about the second method? If there really is no way to confirm where Anastasia is, it’s fine to first research that ‘connection’ she felt.”

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“As for the second method, Lady Fia, do you remember the Key of the World Tree you possess? It expels unstable souls from the physical body. You previously gave me a portion of it for research, and I have made some progress. It’s different from the soul extraction I mentioned earlier; a soul forced out of the body by the Key of the World Tree leaves a small fragment behind. This gives the expelled soul a chance to return, and the body won’t die instantly.”

“However, this is unstable, and it’s difficult to deduce whether the original Anastasia is still within the body based on this alone. A powerful soul will overshadow a weak one; no one can be certain that the small fragment left in the body won’t be stronger than the sleeping Anastasia.”

“As a researcher of the soul, I really do not recommend this plan. A soul leaving the body is inherently dangerous. Losing memories is a small matter; more irreversible, major problems always appear in unexpected ways. If you insist on trying regardless, this is currently the method with the least harm. I still have the portion of the Key of the World Tree you gave me. If you wish to try, please do so in front of me so I can do my utmost to observe the soul’s movement.”

Saying this, Laplace used [Telekinesis] to push a yellowish-green short dagger toward Fia and Anastasia.

Anastasia, who had maintained a conflicted expression, stared intently at the dagger. Then, with the maximum speed of her current body, she snatched the Key of the World Tree, turned the tip toward herself, and lunged it straight at her arm.

But Fia caught Anastasia’s wrist before it could land. She snatched the dagger away, her ruby eyes glaring at Anastasia’s stunned face.

“Are you insane! Put it down! No matter which Anastasia you are, I will not allow you to harm yourself for my sake—not to mention this is my Anastasia’s body!”