Release That Witch

"I'd never thought that Sleeping Spell's first patron would be you." Tilly laughed as she served up a steaming bowl of fish soup. "Thanks for your help in finding the ruins in Shadow Islands."     

"You're welcome." Thunder received the soup. "I'll be willing to enter those mysterious waters a few more times even if I'm not rewarded. Honestly, without the witches traveling together, the area to the east of Shadows Island is absolutely dangerous and forbidden to an explorer." He took a sip of the soup and exhaled a mouthful of hot air. "Ah... blacktail fish soup is absolutely delicious."     

Neither black tea nor ale was popular in the Fjords. The people here were used to having a bowl of cold fish jelly during midsummer, and when temperatures were lower, they would have a bowl of boiled fish soup instead. When cooked, different kinds of fishes had very different tastes. This was a custom that Tilly learned about only after coming to Sleeping Island.     

"Is that why you couldn't wait to come and patronize Sleeping Spell?"     

"Correctly speaking, I was eager to begin my next adventure." Thunder laughed heartily. "The last time in the ruins, the scene I saw through my telescope was stunning. I wished so bad that I could fly over to see what there was on the land, and why a stone gate appeared on the cliffs."     

"Is that so..." Tilly poured a cup of fish soup for herself. "You should know that I intend to visit Border Town. This is because I wish to have a good talk with the leader of the Witch Cooperation Association and, at the same time, experience the Western Region's Months of Demons. You... won't be going with us to have a look?"     

Thunder remained silent for a moment before he put on a grin and replied, "I think not. She's probably living well over there, and it's fine this way... As an explorer, you never know when an accident will happen after all. I've already lost her mother, and I don't want to lose her too. When the time comes, I hope you'll..."     

"I will." Tilly nodded her head. "She's one of us after all." Laughing gently, she continued, "But remember, business is business. Though you've helped us a lot, the cost of hiring witches will be calculated according to the book."     

"Of course. Business is always business. This is the Fjords' tradition." Thunder drank up the remaining soup and laughed even louder.     

...     

"So, who did he hire?" After seeing Thunder depart from the palace, Ashes walked into the hall and sat cross-legged beside Tilly.     

"'Magic Servant' Molly, 'Door of Random' Orbit, and 'Puppet' Shadow." Tilly laid open the agreement. "The fees are set at more than 4,800 gold royals. It's generous, isn't it?"     

"4,000..." Ashes gaped in wonder. "Where did he get so much money?"     

"Don't forget that he's the most famous explorer in the Fjords." The princess smiled. "He can attain a huge fortune whenever he discovers a new navigation route or digs up a treasure. That explains why he has the financial ability to consistently hire a large number of experienced personnel to accompany him in exploring mysterious and dangerous regions. His risk is heavily reduced with the witches around. Using money to offset risk has been a worthy transaction since time ancient."     

"But, is this really good?" Ashes seemed unconvinced. "While the establishment of a bounty guild can bring huge fortune to Sleeping Island, the witches' abilities will be revealed as a result. If the church learns of them..."     

"Sleeping Spell" was a new guild established by Tilly. Here, explorers of the Fjord Islands could hire witches with suitable abilities to help them complete their adventures. Of course, aside from its primary business, there were also various convenience services on offer, such as reparation of damaged items, crafting of several exquisite artworks, fast house construction, as well as floriculture and fumigation. As long as the witches' abilities were not made use of for evil, "Sleeping Spell" could offer any service.     

However, the downside to all this was that their abilities were publicized.     

Tilly held Ashes' hand. "Haven't I already told you that I don't care about the gold royals, but rather, what I hope is to use the bounty guild to enable more people to understand Sleeping Island and build up friendly relations. Thunder said something which I agree very much with: fear comes from the unknown. It's the same with witches. The Fjord Islanders' and the kingdoms' citizens' fear of us simply arises from the church's slander and their own ignorance."     

"I have no means to force them to initiate contact with and understand us. All I can do is to publicize our identity positively and tell them that our power doesn't come from demons, as well as that our abilities aren't overly uncanny—witches are normal people before their awakenings, and therefore are essentially humans too. When there's greater mutual understanding, the fear will disappear." She took a breath and continued, "As for the church, they've never cared about what abilities we have. The Judgement Army has always been responsible for capturing witches, while at times the God's Punishment Army would be mobilized. There isn't much difference among our abilities in front of the God's Stone of Retaliation."     

"I hope that you're right," Ashes said softly, "I only know how to fight and kill. I won't be of much help in this regard."     

"You've already helped me plenty." Tilly laughed. "To develop and expand Sleeping Island, the most important thing to do is to build relations among the Fjord Islands. Fostering mutual understanding is a long process. I'm doing all this simply to speed up this process as much as possible." "There's also a further use for the bounty guild." She stuck out her tongue and revealed a sly grin. "And that's to find new uses for abilities which seem to be useless at the moment. This way, our non-combat witches won't feel depressed that their abilities aren't useful."     

Ashes seemed to be amused by her expression. "You always have so many reasons, one after the other, that it's difficult for anyone to refute you."     

"Because I'm always right." Tilly smirked. "Let's change the topic. Maggie has still not returned to Sleeping Island. Did something happen over there?"     

"Perhaps she's being delayed by something." Ashes pondered briefly. "Or perhaps..."     

"What?"     

"She doesn't want to come back." She answered while shrugging her shoulders. "Compared to the Fjords, living conditions over there are much better. I'd long advised you not to send witches there. What will we do if Lotus and Honey also refuse to come back?"     

"Then we shall go over," Tilly replied.     

"Alright, I'll go and make preparations... What?" Ashes seemed dazed for a moment before she regained her senses. "We... will go over?"     

Princess Tilly curled her lips. "Haven't we already agreed that we'll help him to fight the demonic beasts before we fetch the other witches back? Without Lotus, the immigrants from the Crescent Moon Bay will have no houses to live in next year."     

"There's still more than a month before winter. Do we really have to go so early?"     

"The journey will take considerable time. If Border Town has indeed run into some trouble, we may be able to assist the Witch Cooperation Association by reaching early. And..." She blinked several times. "I want to see how that obnoxious elder brother of mine has changed."