The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 206: The End of Life in the Woods, (3)

Vol 2 Chapter 206: The End of Life in the Woods, Part 3

Upon arriving back in Scorchstone City, Mick looked around curiously. Although the buildings hadn't changed much overall, he had a feeling something was different about the place.

Sitting in a tavern, he ordered some food and ate with the goblin, occasionally listening to the conversations around them about recent events.

"Queen Mursa has issued a new decree. They say she's splitting the City Lord's power into three parts: one managing finances, one managing the military, and the last one handling administrative affairs."

"Sounds a bit complicated. Hard to say if it's good or bad, but these past few years, Regas has indeed improved quite a bit."

"The Anty people are in trouble now. Heard they're almost wiped out by the Frostwinter."

"Hahaha, serves them right! Hearing this news, I'm definitely having a good drink today."

Queen Mursa? Did Princess Mursa inherit the throne of Regas? But weren't there several older brothers and younger brothers ahead of her? Regas was a kingdom founded on martial prowess; there was no reason for a princess to inherit the throne.

Mick had been wandering abroad these past few years, rarely paying attention to Regas's situation. Most of his journey back had been by ship or traveling in the wilderness. It wasn't until today, returning to Scorchstone City, that he realized some drastic change seemed to have occurred in Regas over these five years.

After asking the bartender for a while, he learned that Regas had actually been defeated by Anty once. The current Regas could be considered a completely new country; the old nobility was gone."Her Majesty the Queen now rules Regas, guarded by the loyal and powerful Griffon-Lion Knight Order," the bartender briefly explained the current state of the nation.

Although various reforms had caused dissatisfaction among some conservative factions, Mursa now directly controlled nearly seventy percent of Regas's knights and Transcendents. Other minor factions couldn't make a ripple, so implementation was quite smooth. It just depended on whether the policies could be sustained.

After gaining a preliminary understanding of the situation, Mick couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration. This Princess Mursa was truly formidable, far exceeding his imagination.

"The Queen is still a very young princess who succeeded. Mick, why don't you try pursuing her? I think your looks are quite good, with a wild charm. Maybe the Queen likes your type," the goblin, emboldened by alcohol, started teasing after hearing this.

Fortunately, Mick cut him off in time. Several people in the bar were already giving the vulgar goblin dirty looks. Queen Mursa currently enjoyed extremely high prestige among the common people.

"Just shut up," Mick said, picking up a chicken leg to stuff into the other's mouth. He then packed up the remaining food to take back to his room to enjoy.

Whew, tonight was really tiring. Time to sleep first. Tomorrow, he'd go inquire further, ask Scholar Hyde if the others had returned yet.

The night passed peacefully. The next day, Mick got up and went to Scholar Hyde's former residence, but unfortunately, it had been vacant for a long time.

"Looking for Scholar Hyde? He moved away years ago, back when the Anty people invaded," a passerby on the street told Mick the current situation.

With no other choice, Mick went to look around elsewhere. His first choice, naturally, was his good friend, Ray.

This time, he didn't completely strike out, but Ray wasn't home either.

"Ray is currently at the blacksmith shop at 25 Copper Horn Street in the east city. He's the new blacksmith there," a kind person told him.

So, Mick took the goblin to find that blacksmith shop.

"A blacksmith, that's good. You can ask him to custom-make a suit of armor. As for the money, just put it on credit, pay it back later."

"Don't be shy. That's what friends are for. If you're too polite, don't bother having friends at all," the goblin continued chattering.

"Earning a suit of armor, this trip back wouldn't be a loss."

The two arrived at the blacksmith shop. After some inquiries, they were led into the backyard, where Mick finally saw Ray, whom he hadn't seen for several years.

Seeing each other, without a word, they smiled, walked over, bumped fists, then vigorously shook hands, testing each other's strength, before finally sitting down with a hearty laugh.

"You're back, Mick."

"Yeah, I'm back. But just for a while," Mick said, taking the cup of water Ray offered and drinking it down in big gulps.

"How's the outside world?"

"The outside world is amazing, but also full of risks," Mick sighed with mixed feelings.

"Ray, what about you? How have these years been?"

"I learned blacksmithing, hehe," Ray said, going into the back room and carrying out the prepared Hundred-Forged Black Steel Greatsword, placing it on the stone table.

"This is for you. Try it."

"For me?" Mick was somewhat surprised, but the goblin beside him couldn't hold back.

"This sword... looks like it's made of black steel," he said, seeing the exposed corner from under the oilcloth wrapping.

Finished speaking, he curiously flipped open the oilcloth, but because the black steel was exceptionally heavy, he struggled mightily just to lift the hilt.

"This sword is definitely forged from black steel. Mick, your brother here is good!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Mick came over then, took the greatsword, unwrapped the oilcloth, revealing the fine-patterned black steel greatsword within. He gripped it in his palm, tried swinging it a couple of times. The air whistled with the sound of it cutting through.

"Good, a good sword! Ray, you've truly mastered blacksmithing. This sword is at least Second Tier, and the quality is excellent," Mick shouted excitedly.

"Hehe," Ray rubbed his head.

The two excitedly chatted and caught up in the small courtyard, not wanting to stop even after dark.

"You're saying Ya, she's now a big shot in Regas, and the Queen's close friend?" Mick's eyes widened, somewhat disbelieving.

"Yes. Ya, very smart, very strong," Ray answered in his deep voice.

"I know, she was always different. Just didn't expect the difference to be this big," Mick felt a faint sense of regret and loss rise in his heart.

Perhaps she had long forgotten, but that beautiful silhouette he saw that afternoon when he fainted in the mountains had always been the object of his vague admiration deep in his heart.

He thought the gap between them was like 10 points and 20 points, but it turned out to be 10 points and 100 points.

Sigh, forget it. Luckily, it was always just a hidden, faint emotion, not that obsessive madness. From now on, he should just focus on his own path. Mick also tried to let go of some past feelings.

"Karen became a general too? That's really impressive," he felt a bit envious, but thinking of the various adventures he'd experienced these past few years, he didn't feel he'd wasted his time either.

"Seems I'll have to speed up and catch up from now on."

Returning to the inn to rest, the next day, the five of them reunited once again at Lady Franne's mansion.

Gathered around the tea table in the living room, they drank the cool flower tea brewed by Sylutia, curiously sizing each other up, and began recounting the changes over these years.

"Ti Ya, Ya, look, is this dress pretty?" Komea, wearing a blue and white dress, twirled in the hall, the light gauze of her skirt fluttering like a blooming morning glory.

Karen sat to one side, asking Mick which countries he'd been to. Ray curiously observed the tea leaves floating in his cup, taking small sips constantly, afraid to finish the tea all at once.

On the other side, Ya was pulled over by the excited Komea to help evaluate the dress, then listened as Komea recounted her years of study.

"The organization I went to is called 'Slumbering Winter Cottage'. Most are Witches, mainly practicing 'Slumbering Winter' and 'Mist Shadow'. Several Witch sisters were very approachable and took good care of me~"

"The organization is small, only about thirty people total, with eighteen of them being new apprentices. Two years ago, with Sister Meisha's help, I advanced to Second Tier Mist Shadow," Komea said, talking about her life these past few years.

Compared to Sylutia's eventful changes, Komea's life trajectory was exceptionally steady. It was basically studying with girls her own age, then going on weekend outings led by senior Witches, learning about mountain herbs and simple rituals.

The entire teaching process had little pressure, probably because the organization was newly established and still retained much human warmth. A small portion of resources from the official Witches could easily help First Tier apprentices step into Second Tier.

"The place we lived was near a snowy mountain. The 'Ice Spike Fruit' produced there is considered a local specialty," Komea said, pressing her fingers lightly against her cheek as she recalled.

"I brought some for everyone this time," she said, running to the suitcase on one side of the living room and opening it. The sealed, ice-blue berries were revealed before everyone's eyes.

[Ice Spike Fruit] (First Tier · Slumbering Winter)

Said to grow in snow-covered caves on high-altitude snowy mountains. The fruit is clear and translucent, turning slightly blue when ripe, like glass.

If these fruits are used well, they could probably make two bottles of 'Frostdew Wine' for practicing the 'Slumbering Winter' Aspect.

However, for Sylutia, the most important thing was obtaining the Ice Spike Fruit seeds, giving her the opportunity to cultivate them herself in the future.

The others finished recounting their experiences one by one, and finally, everyone's gaze converged on Sylutia. After all, compared to them, this young woman's experiences were far too legendary, almost unbelievable.

"Well..." Sylutia, sitting slightly sideways on the cloth sofa, had no choice but to recount her experiences these past years as plainly as possible, especially regarding the establishment of new Regas. She skipped over many overly shocking scenes, making it seem like there was a lot of luck involved in her being able to help Queen Mursa.

"...That's roughly how things were," she finished, her light blue eyes blinking once, as if using that as a conclusion to bring everyone back from their immersed state.

However, even though she deliberately toned down certain descriptions, her near-legendary encounters still left the few people present deeply shocked for a long time.

"Sylutia, Sylutia..." Komea murmured.

"No, I almost fell for you completely," she said, covering her eyes.

"No wonder Queen Mursa trusts you so much. If it were me, I'd marry you," she joked with a laugh.

"It still feels like a dream," she said, standing up and circling around the young woman bit by bit, as if wanting to memorize her completely.

"When I return to Slumbering Winter Cottage this time, I'll probably have endless topics to talk about."

"From now on, everyone will have to call me 'Sylutia's close friend' or 'fellow townsman of the Azure Star'~ But, would that embarrass Ti Ya? After all, compared to Ya, I, Komea, am too weak," she said, hugging Sylutia's arm, gently shaking it, acting coquettishly with a shake of her head.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to help Ti Ya much in the future, but I'll write letters to tell Ya about all the delicious food and fun things I see later."

"Decided! This is how I, Komea, will maintain our friendship. Hehe."

As she spoke, everyone in the living room laughed again.

Although five years had passed, the five of them still had endless things to talk about. Sylutia also learned about various corners of the world from her few friends: the sights from travels in foreign lands, the interesting experiences of living in snowy mountains, the many changes in Regas, and so on.

Afterwards, the five of them went on outings in the mountains near Scorchstone City for several more days, visiting local towns and villages, until ten days later, they finally waved goodbye to each other.

Before parting, Sylutia gave each of them a gift, telling them to open it only after she had left.

Then, she boarded the carriage, waved goodbye to this familiar city, the slightly sorrowful parting words scattering in the dappled sunlight filtering through the forest shade.