Release That Witch

Roland had been excited since the five witches from Sleeping Island arrived in Border Town. He drank half a glass of white liquor to force his body into the sleeping state as he found himself lying on the bed wide awake after dinner.     

He was already awake when the cicadas in the courtyard started to chirr on the next day. He energetically climbed out of the bed and simply washed up before walking into the office. The sky was just about to turn bright and the first ray of the dawn was evenly streaming into the room from the French window.     

Roland looked around and did not see Nightingale who was usually lazily lying on the chair when he entered the room. He could not help smiling and took out a notebook from the drawer to start planning for the next witch training program after sitting down by the table.     

Wendy and Scroll would be responsible to help the newcomers to familiarize the environment and integrate into the group while he would have to start the sugarcoated-bullet offensive in order to make sure the visiting witches enjoy the unique and comfortable life. It would be a good publicity for his domain even if they decided to leave as they might not necessarily stay in Border Town.     

When the sun completely rose, Nightingale finally appeared in the office. "Oh? You woke up so early today. Are you really tempted by the new witches like Lily mentioned?"     

"Nonsense." Roland smiled and put a bag of "dried fish" on the table. "How did you get along with your new sisters last night?"     

"Sisters?" she curled her lips and said, "I suggest you not to believe them too much."     

"What's the matter?"     

Nightingale stretched her arm out and lifted up the bag before she turned around to lie down on the couch and said, "Half of the words of the witch named Sylvie are lies. She must be hiding something from us even though there's nothing malicious about it."     

"Oh... it's understandable," Roland did not care much about it and said, "She's probably trying to figure out if I'm really Roland Wimbledon."     

"What?" Nightingale was stunned.     

"If one of your family members changes drastically, won't you wonder if he has been replaced or controlled ?" he smiled and said, "I suppose this is how Tilly sees me as I was notorious for being loaf, ignorant and bully and how can it be possible for me to stand up to protect the witches?"     

In fact, any bad comments of Prince Roland were not excessive as he also found a past incident when he went through his memories that Prince Roland had broken a few crystal-glass bottles while playing in the palace and pushed all the responsibilities to Tilly Wimbledon. He even forged the scene by throwing the six or seven years old sister into the broken glasses in order to prevent being punished. It was not surprising that the others were not impressed with such a dark history. It was normal for Tilly to wonder if her elder brother who had changed so much now was still the same person. In fact, anyone else would be wondering the same.     

"Hearing this, I also wonder," Nightingale curiously asked, "Are you the real Roland Wimbledon?"     

"I'm, yet I'm not," Roland opened up his arms and said.     

She was shocked and said, "How come my ability is telling me that this statement is true?"     

"Because it's fact." Nightingale's ability could only distinguish the deliberate lies and Roland did not think that he was lying.     

"..." She frowned for a long time but finally decided to give up and said while holding her forehead, "Okay, I'll directly ask Anna later. Anyway, it'll be fine as long as you're the Roland I know."     

"Of course, I've always been myself since I knew you." Roland smiled.     

After breakfast, Wendy brought the five witches from Sleeping Island into the office.     

"Good morning, Your Highness," five of them bowed and said.     

"Relax, I'm not very particular about the etiquette. You may address me the same way you address Tilly," Roland waved his hand and said, "I won't arrange any task for you in the first week. You mainly need to familiarize yourselves with the environment and lifestyle of the town. You're free to visit Border Town as no one will be rude to you or attempt to arrest you for money reward because you're a witch. The church forces have been eradicated from the Western Region, so it's a place of freedom here, just like Sleeping Island."     

"I think you all should know the reason of the magic power bites, so the necessary practice can't be left behind. There're no restrictions during the day, as long as you don't forget to come back for lunch. After dinner, you can also go to attend the elementary education classes which included reading and writing, as well as simple mathematics and natural knowledge. Tilly may have mentioned to you that the witches' abilities can be further strengthened other than the Day of Adulthood, so it's necessary to master this knowledge. You may come to join the witches of the town in the class if you're interested.     

"Besides, you'll be paid a gold royal every month and you're also entitled to weekends and paid holidays. You can ask Wendy if you don't understand. In short, your usual life will be the same as your life in the Witch Union. Border Town is the witches' home, just like Sleeping Island." Roland paused. "Let's test your ability next as Tilly didn't clearly describe it in the letter and I'll like to see it myself. Let's go to a spacious place as it's not convenient to cast your magic power here."     

"Please wait a moment, Your Highness. I've something to pass to you," Sylvie said.     

"What's it?"     

She opened the parcel in her hands and placed a few yellow parchments and a letter on the table. "Tilly found these documents in the Fjords' remains and she had written down her questions in this letter."     

Roland questioningly opened the letter and soon finished reading it as the letter was not long, but the content of the letter had made him felt unsettled.     

A man-made stone island that was sleeping on in the bottom of the ocean with unpredictable ebb and flow, a telescope that was still working after hundreds of years and the stone gates that were built on top of the cliff... It's incredible to find such bizarre remains in the Fjords, and Tilly's question at the end of the letter made him feel numb on his back, as he found that the words were indeed looking familiar to him after he took a few glances at the parchment.     

"Ask Scroll to come here quickly," Roland ordered Nightingale.     

Scroll quickly returned to the castle from the City Hall to summon the Book of Magic. Prince Roland frowned.     

The characters used in the documents found from the Fjords' remains was the same as the one used in the "Holy Book" that Cara brought from the remains in the forest of the Eastern Region! It proved that Tilly's speculation in the letter was true as both the ancient relics came from the same group of people.     

Why did the church abandon all these that they built? Furthermore, the records of 450 years ago were entirely erased other than abandoning these magnificent buildings. What exactly were they trying to hide?     

Even the summer sun could not warm Roland up as he could only feel a faint chill that was rising from the soles of his feet, making him feel dark and cold.     

Was the hidden stone tower Lightning found in Misty Forest related to this as well? What about the demonic beasts, demons and Holy City of Taquila... What actually happened 450 years ago? Roland could feel a strong anxiety from the bottom of his heart.