Release That Witch

Even though there were only about 2,000 people gathered in the public square, yet the noise they were making could be comparable with those big gatherings of more than tens of thousands of people. Roland silently sighed, Echo's ability was really handy in this case.     

By choosing these three people, he intended to set an example for the civilians–none of these three belonged to the nobility. Iron Axe came from Sand Nation of the Southern Territory; Kyle was a chief alchemist, but his family background was not prominent and he reached his position step by step starting as an apprentice; as for Nana, she was a witch.     

A foreigner, a civilian, and a witch; as the later generations would say, this was an unmistakably wise political choice.     

Roland hoped to use this ceremony to instill his ideas into his subjects—The only thing that mattered in Border Town was your accomplishments, not where you came from.     

The first one to receive the medal was Iron Axe. Roland personally handed him the gold tooth-edged medal, which had the emblem of the Kingdom of Graycastle carved on it. At that moment, the soldiers of the First Army in the audience raised their hands to applaud while others started to whistle.     

"You must all know his name already, Commander of the First Army's Flintlock Squad, Iron Axe!" Roland turned towards everyone. "Before the Months of Demons, he was just a common hunter of the town. But in each of the battles of Border Town afterward, Iron Axe had never been absent, and just a month ago, he led the First Army soldiers to the king's city, saving those Eastern Region refugees who were affected by the demonic plague! More than 6,000 people who temporarily stay outside of the city wall right now were all brought back by him!"     

Most people in the square were either Border Town's natives or First Army soldiers, while there were only hundreds of serfs and refugees, but under Echo's encouragement, the atmosphere in the square was far from cold. The moment Roland stopped, the refugees immediately started cheering, and their passion did not seem to be less than that of the First Army.     

Iron Axe was clearly moved, he probably had never expected that even though he was a member of the Mojin Clan, he would still be able to win the prince's appreciation. He first saluted Roland in a military manner and then kneeled down on one knee, making the kingdom's salute for knights. If Roland had not stopped him, he might have continued with a salute of Sand Nation by throwing himself on the ground.     

"Stand up, as a soldier, the military salute is enough." Roland laughed.     

"Thank you… Your Highness." His voice slightly trembled, as if it was extremely hard to control his emotions.     

The prince patted Iron Axe's comforting him, placed 100 gold royals into his hand, and then let Kyle Sichi come up.     

"This one, you might be seeing him for the first time, from the central area of the kingdom, the Chief Alchemist of Redwater City's Alchemical Workshop, Mr. Kyle Sichi!     

Hearing these words, all the civilians exclaimed with wonder.     

"A chief alchemist? Isn't he a sage that even the king himself has to treat with respect and courtesy?"     

"You mean like a royal astrologer?"     

"No, the position of an alchemist is even higher than that of an astrologer. After all, there's no certainty in the predictions of the latter, whereas the work of an alchemist is definitely real."     

"Not to mention that he comes from the Alchemical Workshop of Redwater City. I heard that only the Alchemical Workshop in the king's city is on par with it!"     

"..."     

In the four kingdoms, alchemists and astrologers possessed an extraordinary status, and for the civilians, those alchemists who were considered as sages, had even more credibility than the lords and the great nobles. Roland was very pleased with the reaction of the crowd, he raised his hands and continued, "Even though Mr. Sichi didn't personally participate in a battle, his chemical work is firmly connected with the continuous improvement of the firearms, from single shots to continuous burst shots, and it was an important reason in guaranteeing the First Army's victories. Without these alchemical—chemical products, peace and safety would not be feasible in Border Town." The prince paused for a moment. "As a matter of fact, the chemical laboratory is currently recruiting trainee alchemists. Any civilian who's completed the town's elementary education and passed the examination can enroll. The successful candidates won't only receive a generous salary but also gain the opportunity to become an outstanding alchemist just like Mr. Sichi himself!"     

The cheering from the crowd started once again, but yet Kyle himself had an impatient expression. He received the medal and said in a bad manner, "You called me over just for this? What a waste of time, I could have used this time to perform a few more experiments instead."     

"This is a great opportunity for advertisement, didn't you complain that you were short-handed?" Roland shrugged. "Once the scale of the alchemical laboratory has doubled, I intend to write the 'Intermediate Chemistry' and pass it on you."     

"Intermediate... Chemistry?" Kyle immediately bowed. "Thank you, Your Highness!"     

Although passion was important, training a successor was equally important. The better the foundation of the people the easier to accomplish a project. This was also applied to scientific research. Roland never intended to put all of his eggs in one basket, so he would definitely not pass on such an advertisement opportunity.     

The last one was Nana.     

Looking at the nervous little girl coming over to him, Roland could not help but lament.     

In contrast to the days before the Months of Demons, he finally intended to let everyone know of the existence of witches—after nearly six months of preparation, the town was finally ready. Furthermore, choosing Nana as their representative was a decision he had considered carefully. She was being called as an angel by the First Army and her reputation was even higher than that of Iron Axe, second only to his own. There were also many civilians who had received her treatment, including mining or mechanical accidents. Everyone had developed the habit of visiting the little angel whenever they needed treatment.     

After watching the play "The Story of a Witch" repeatedly, the attitude of the serfs towards the witches had improved. The braveness of the troubled girl in the play and her will to resist giving a good impression to the people and won their sympathy.     

The refugees also owed their survival to Lily's ability, and even if some of them disliked witches previously, they would never badmouth them after that. Not to mention that they were no longer the weak individuals that the church hunted—at least in Border Town, these women with their extraordinary abilities were under the protection of the lord.     

And the most important thing was that even if some believer of the church wanted to expose them, it would be totally useless in the Western Region. The town was completely under his control, the church in Longsong Stronghold had been completely destroyed by Timothy, and thus the church had lost the ability to monitor Western Region. Unless they went further to places like Fallen Dragon Ridge or Redwater City, they would not even be able to find an appointed priest.     

"This is.." Before Roland could speak, the whole square burst into cheers.     

"Miss Nana! Miss Nana is here!"     

"Miss Angel, thank you for treating my husband!"     

"Little girl, if you have time to come to eat at my place, I have two chicken, no matter if it's eggs or meat you can have whatever you want!"     

"Nana looked at me!"     

No, she looked at me!"     

Nana covered her mouth and her eyes became wet. Roland believed that the rest of the witches would be feeling the same as her—they were finally free from the evil identity the church had forced upon them. From now on, they would be like normal people. Roland stroked her head smilingly. "Don't be afraid, just reply with a few words to everyone's enthusiasm. Don't forget, you are now representing the whole Witch Union.     

"Yes…" She sniffed, wiped her tears and bowed. "Thank you, thank you all!"