Release that Witch

...

Three days had passed. Tilly was walking around anxiously until she saw the four witches when her mind was finally put at ease. Judging from their dirty faces and forced smiles, she could easily tell that their trip must have been filled with accidents and risks. Fortunately, they were safe and lucky enough to escape from the demon army after being discovered by them.

Tilly was about to say some words of comfort, but after seeing Ashes’ unapologetic face, she became upset and began to reprimand the Extraordinary, albeit slyly.

”I’ve never expected that a person who boasted of experiencing hundreds of battles in the wilderness would get lost,” Princess Tilly satirized. ”Tell me how you managed to get from Hermes to kings city and not just wander into the Southernmost Region? This is unlike what you’ve shown me.”

”Uhh... well there were so many church people chasing me at that time. Everytime I was lost, I would catch one of them and have him tell me where the correct direction was,” Ashes shrugged. ”And we didn’t deviate too far away from the planned route this time. At least, we could still see the Taquila ruins. If the demon army hadn’t gone into action, I would have been able to see...”

”Without adequate Red Mist, they’ll never send out all their troops. We sent you to gather information about the enemy since we need to guard against the Devilbeasts’ surprise attacks. But when you crushed the Magic Stone, we could only see the demon army from behind and at a very bad angle!”

”Everyone is back safe and sound. It’s the ideal outcome. Besides, the angle isn’t that bad,” Pasha interjected. ”His Majesty Roland has sent back the first batch of witches from the north and Sylvie was among them. With her, our scouting ability will be greatly improved. And we’ve seen the enemy’s rear, which will help us to judge the scale of the enemy’s main force and reinforcements. You can go back and have had a good rest first.”

”Oh? We got messages from the Northern Region?” Ashes raised her eyebrows and asked.

”Yeah, lucky for you, if these messages didn’t come you wouldn’t have easily gotten away with this.” Tilly snorted. ”Well... Excuse me, I have to go now!”

”Wait.” Ashes looked at Pasha with a vague smile and then hurriedly caught up with Tilly.

”Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

”No, nothing, let’s just head back.” Ashes twitched her mouth and said.

After they returned to the Witch Building, Ashes wrapped her arms around Tilly from behind when the princess closed the door.

”I’m so sorry, I worried you and-”

”Did Pasha tell you to do this?” Tilly asked without turning around.

”Uhh, how’d you know?” Ashes was slightly startled.

”I clearly see it on your face.” She broke away from Ashes’ arms. ”I’m guessing that Pasha told you that I didn’t have any good rest these past few days and that I’ve stayed around the magic core most of the time. She must have told you to forgive my bad mood and to try your best to comfort me since I’m exhausted.”

”Amazing... to think you could guess all of that,” Ashes stood astonished.

”So, could you apologize to me first?” Tilly turned around.

”What? No.” The Extraordinary shook her head.

”No?” Tilly glared. ”So, you think it’s right to worry me?”

”There should be no problem, you’re not in any danger. And that’s all I need for a decision.”

”Ashes, you don’t understand.” Tilly was furious. ”Any risk can be calculated, measured and evaded. The person who performs the task is also included in the calculation. If the person isn’t good at the task, even a perfect plan will be ruined. Do you understand? If it was me, the situation would never become so dangerous!”

”Calculate, measure, evade... You sound more and more like Roland Wimbledon now.” Ash shrugged and said.

”Don’t divert the topic.” Princess Tilly remained unmoved. ”Isn’t it true?”

”But there’s always risk. And I want to be the one to take it, even if accidents are likely to happen. After all, I’ve already had countless accidents in my life.” Ashes, who was much taller than the princess, bent forward and put her hands on Tilly’s shoulders so that their eyes were level. ”Listen, I have a very good reason to not apologize to you. Now that we’ve decided to stay here to fight demons, I’ll have to take more chances to risk my life and go to dangerous places. One day, I may be unable come back and I don’t want to owe you lots of apologies.”

”Hey, don’t pull this on me!”

”Listen to me please, Tilly,” Ashes said seriously. ”I’m not as talented as your brother and it’s too difficult for me to think about things like the future of witches. so taking risks is the only thing I’m good at. If you’re determined to return to the Sleeping Island now, I’ll immediately promise you that I’ll never let you worry about me, but I can’t guarantee that here. I would never ask you to apologize to me if you make me worried.”

Tilly was speechless. She looked into Ashes’ golden eyes and felt that this black-haired witch in front of her seemed to be more reliable than ever before.

No, Ashes is talking nonsense. Tilly denied it in her heart.

”Ahem,” she turned her head aside and said. ”I guess I can forget about this incident for now, but you have to tell me about the whole thing later. Now go take a shower. You stink.”

”Alright.” Ashes breathed a sigh of relief. ”Do you want to take a bath together with me?”

”No, not now!” Tilly grumbled.

Tilly watched the Extraordinary leave and then lifted her right hand to check a tiny wound.

On her right palm, there was a spot which was pricked by a ring. It was already healed, but the pain was still fresh in her memory.

Fortunately, the worst didn’t happen.

Perhaps, I’m thinking too much.

...

When Lorgar woke up from her long slumber, she felt an incredibly comfortable sensation in her body. It felt as if she was soaking herself in a warm spring and was completely free of dizziness and pain.

Yes, I remember now. It was Nana Pine. The Wolf Girl vaguely recalled something had happened before her sleep. Nana had run into her bedroom while panting. The lovely, little girl had probably got back in a hurry without any rest. The first sentence she heard from Nana was ”Have a good sleep now. You’ll be alright when you wake up.” She also remembered that she had seen her friends from the exploration group, who had uttered many words besides her bed. However her mind went blank when she tried to remember what they said back then.

The feeling of Nana’s magic power flowing through her body was so wonderful that she had forgotten almost everything.

”So I’m fully recovered now? I should express my thanks to Nana,” Lorgar thought.

Unexpectedly, after she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was a gray-haired man.

She was stunned. ”Great... chief?”

”It’s me.” Roland nodded. ”How do you feel now?”

”I... don’t know how to describe it.” She tried to move her finger. It was still clumsy, but she managed. ”I think I’m fine. How long have I slept? Where’s Nana? And...what are you doing with your hand...”

”Oh, this? I just thought that they looked interesting, I hope you don’t mind.” Roland stopped touching Lorgar’s wolf ears and took his hand back. ”I’ve been curious about how they feel like. Do you feel... well, ticklish when I touched them.”

”No, they’re just ears,” Lorgar was surprised and said. ”You can touch them if you want. I’m fine with it if you don’t mind them.”

With these words, the Wolf Girl wiggled her long ears.

”I’m done with it for now.” He coughed twice and continued. ”You’ve slept for about three days. This is a normal duration since you were severely wounded. Of course, you would still recover if you didn’t take this long sleep. But in that case, you would feel extremely tired and uncomfortable during the recovery process.”

Lorgar was slightly surprised. ”Do you mean I’ve slept for three days in a row?”

”Yes. If Nightfall didn’t stop the Symbiosis, you would’ve slept for longer.” Roland smiled. ”Your body woke you up. After you get up, you’ll feel hungry soon.”

”Oh, yes, Miss Nightfall. I have to go to thank her and the other witches.” The Wolf Girl wanted to get up, but Roland gently pressed her down in her bed.

”Don’t rush. Take your time to deal with these things,” Roland said with a smile. ”But before that, on behalf of the City of Neverwinter, I have to thank you. You did a good job, Lorgar Burnflame. Neverwinter will reward you.”