Release that Witch

”Wow! I didn’t know that Maggie had such great power!” Amy exclaimed.

”Coo, coo!”

”She does?” Lightning expressed some unsatisfaction. ”She’s just older than us. When I reach adulthood, I’ll surely develop even stronger, new abilities!”

”Oh... then, can you tell me what new ability Miss. Maggie gained once she reached adulthood?”

”She transformed into a flying monster for the first time. In that form she’s massive and fierce looking, her body even shadows the sun when she soars through the sky. That form isn’t lovely at all.”

”Coo...” Lightning dropped her head in despondency.

”A flying monster... I’d love to see that!”

”Me too!”

The group of witches surrounded Maggie and Lightening. No. 76 felt anxious and thought to herself, ”These imbeciles are all amateurs. They don’t seem to understand at all. Who cares about a Senior Witch looking cute or dreadful? Isn’t the point supposed to be about the relationship between your evolution of power and the Magic Cyclone, as well as about how to become a Senior Witch?” No. 76 struggled to maintain her smile and she felt her mouth as it started to twitch.

Sensing that the subject of the conservation had been diverted from the point, No. 76 had no choice but to speak, ”Maggie appears to be exactly like any normal pigeon... how do we know that her power already went through an evolution?”

There was a possibility this question could expose her identity, but No. 76 didn’t care much about that at this point.

No. 76 decided to take the chance regardless. ” Perhaps they knew a way to discern the difference between the Day of Awakening and the solidification of adulthood. Even so, they may have confused a derivative skill as a High Awakening, sometimes a lucky person received multiple derivative skills. ”

”We differentiate it by the magic power,” Wendy answered No. 76’s question, ”if we say that a normal witch’s magic power is like a cyclone or a thin mist, the magic power will cohere and become a bright new form, after the evolution. For instance, Maggie’s magic power now takes the form of stretched white wings, very different from the foggy mist in her past.”

”Her description of the reconstruction of the magic’s cohesion is exactly the same as the definition presented by the Union.”

Wendy’s words eradicated the last of No. 76 doubts. If Wendy wasn’t lying, then Maggie was indeed a Senior Witch.

Although No.76 didn’t have the ability to observe magic power directly, Wendy’s confidence in her words, and the accuracy of her theory, showed that she had a comprehensive knowledge regarding the magic evolution.

”I see how it is,” No. 76 tried to conceal her inner excitement as she pretended not to understand the issue, ”Your power... is like that too then?”

”I haven’t cohered my magic power.” Wendy said frankly, ”Compared to Anna, I still have a lot to learn.”

”So, she became the manager of the whole union as an ’Original Witch’ and even befriended the higher ascendants?” Observing the intimate and amiable look of the pigeon, No.76 suddenly had a thought, she had indeed slept for too long. This world was drastically different from the Taquila era that she had known.

The witches of the Kingdom of Wolfheart didn’t sense No. 76’s complex emotions, except for Annie. The three witches were playing with Maggie and laughing.

As the group climbed the mountain, No. 76 deliberately slowed down and dropped to the back of the group.

She moved her hand, which bore a ring of Five-Colors Stone, up to her eyes and pretended to rub her eyes so she could observe Lightning and Maggie through the gleaming Magic Stone.

Since Lightning and Maggie were using their powers, two conspicuous orange lights appeared before No.76’s eyes.

The beams of light above Lightning’s head were similar to that of Annie’s. They were about a finger width wide. Maggie’s beams of light were thicker and about the width of an arm. This aligned with the theory that the Key to gaining a Senior Witch staus was more complex.

When compared to the beams of the light from last night’s infiltrator, their beams of light were much thinner, not to mention the gigantic, wall-like beam of light that had been in the Castle District.

”None of them are the Chosen One.”

No. 76 felt an uneasiness in her heart as she remembered the name of the two.

...

After they had entered the North Slope Mine, the noise surrounding them became louder and louder. The witches were surprised to see that the mine was still in full operation, despite the snow and frigid winds. The busy miners could be seen everywhere on the street.

To their surprise, none of the miners wore ragged prisoner’s cloth. Instead, the miners were all wearing thick leather coats with different colored cloth belts wrapped around their heads. The cloth seemed to represent different work. The ground near the entrance of the mine was covered with iron bars of the same width. Four-wheel carriages moved on the iron bars, but there were no drivers or horses.

Colorful banners were hanging down from the orbit. There were big letters on the banners—labor is the most glorious act, use your own hands to win the future, ten years of working and a hundred years of housing...The scarlet banners, white snow, and black railway composed the main colors of the mine.

”Before His Majesty became Lord of Border Town, the seasonal ore from Border Town would only exchange for a few hundred gold royals. During the winter, workers were unable to produce any ore due to the Months of Demons. Locals couldn’t even feed themselves with the money they could get.” Wendy slowed her pace and turned around, ”After His Majesty arrived in the Western Region, and saved a witch named Anna, the door to cooperation between witches and humans was thus opened.”

”Do you see those black steel machines? They are hand-made by Anna. They can dig tubs, drain water without the drive of magic power, and can be operated by anyone. With this equipment, the production of the mine increased more than ten times. People’s salary now, not only filled their stomachs but also allowed them to buy new cloth or homes. The obvious profits allowed the town’s people to accept the existence of witches.”

”You guys asked recently what the witches job is. The answer is to create a better life.” Wendy stroked the red hair on her forehead and said proudly, ”If you guys joined the Witch Union, we could build this city together and fight for this big family. The citizens will firmly remember your names in the future.”

They could tell that even Annie, who was usually very composed, had been shaken by Wendy’s words. Her hands that held the wheelchair flexed and fully showed her emotions. The rest of the people seemed dazed after they heard the words ’family of witches.’ To refugees like them, there was nothing more enchanting than a cozy place to live.

Only No. 76’s heart was filled with doubts. ”The key point of the change in Wendy’s story was not the witches, but the black machinery. A local citizen would be a lowerclassman, even among the common people. How had they known how to build those machines? An awakening would only bring a boost to the person’s magic power and physical strength, however, it would not bring them unseen knowledge.”

...

Wendy’s next sentence almost caused No. 76 to have a heart attack.

”Since we have reached the North Slope Mountain, let’s go see Miss Anna.” Wendy smiled softly, ”She is not only the busiest witch in the union but also the only genius that has gone through two evolutions.”