The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 48: The Helpless Little Beast

A month passed, and no more attacks occurred in the Asra District. During this time, the Mage Alliance conducted several thorough searches across the neighborhoods, not only verifying the identities of every tenant and resident, but also checking for any traces left by the Blood Clan and so on.

Although the official purpose was to find the attackers, the sweep unexpectedly exposed a lot of gray-market operations, which in turn disrupted the balance among some underground forces.

Among the four headmen, Vertical Eye was taken away for participating in smuggling and forging travel identities; his subordinates and lackeys were also arrested. Spider Woman was severely punished for hiding people and trafficking girls. Thanks to her long-standing network of connections, she was not immediately eliminated, but she was left badly weakened, shrinking into her mansion and too afraid to make any moves.

The remaining two, Fire Pig and Four Fingers, saw opportunity and began swallowing up the territories of Vertical Eye and Spider Woman. After the searches, both sides actually expanded their strength.

In the past, the four headmen were roughly balanced, keeping one another in check so that nobody would openly go all-out against the others. But this time was different. Fire Pig and Four Fingers both saw hope: whoever defeated the other could unify the Asra District's underground gangs and become the underground king.

Their swollen ambitions and desires had the two sides rubbing their hands and constantly looking for chances.

After several searches, the Mage Alliance officials gradually relaxed. Considering the students had already been staying at Thunder Tower for over a month and many were getting restless and irritable, they slowly lifted restrictions and allowed students to return to their respective schools.

The lower-ranked students left first, then the mid-tier students, and finally Sylutia, Xinke, and the others.

"These are the newly made protective orbs. Keep them on you," a mage from Thunder Tower said as they prepared to leave, handing the newly crafted silver orbs to the group.

[Silver Vine Protective Orb] (Fourth Tier·Perfect): Can rapidly deploy a powerful protective dome to block attacks. It contains a special time-slowing regulator that decelerates the flow of nearby things, achieving an effect similar to slowing time. The protective orb also includes a distress signal and a locating spell, which will trigger sensing from nearby towers when activated."These were just finished. Even a very powerful Blood Clan attacker won't be able to break them anytime soon," the mage explained, and the three received them carefully and curiously.

They hung the silver orbs and the pocket watches at their waists; the two objects occasionally collided and gave off a clear, pleasant tinkling, like tiny bells.

"Thank you."

Afterward, Sylutia and Xinke boarded a carriage and left Thunder Tower.

— Agate Street District —

Two officers in deep-blue uniforms came to find the beastgirl who was temporarily living here.

"Miss Anari, according to our inspection, your enrollment identity was forged. Although you have no bad records while at school, that still cannot justify your continued stay. Your student status is revoked. Please pack up and leave within a week, otherwise you will be wanted by the authorities."

The dark-purple-haired girl stood at the door with her head bowed, small and fragile, silently accepting the verdict.

After the two inspectors left, the aunt who ran the house stepped out and wrapped the girl in her arms, comforting her nonstop.

"It'll be alright, it'll be alright. Even if you can't become a mage or some big figure, you can still live well out there. Don't hate yourself."

After a long while, the girl in her arms made a faint sobbing sound.

But the sound didn't last long. She soon wiped her face, lifted her head, and offered the aunt a brave smile.

"I'm fine. Actually, I already knew this would happen."

Over the past half year, no matter how hard she studied, she had trouble keeping up with her classmates. She had to find work to afford both living and study expenses; such a life had long been walking a tightrope.

Seeing her both strong and fragile at once, the aunt sighed and held her tighter, leaning her head down.

"Although Vertical Eye wasn't a good person, in the past you could have had that headman get you an identity so you could keep studying. Now, that's probably impossible."

"In Agate Street District, many beastmen are like you—smuggled in to earn money, or their parents came in the same way. It's not rare."

"The mages want laborers, but the official quotas each year are few. We can't get in through regular channels, so we have to use methods like these."

"Besides, if an unregistered person dies, there's no need to report it. That spares the police a lot of trouble. If a registered resident dies, they have to investigate and open a case." The aunt explained the realities of the Asra District's underground world; more than half of the laborers were unregistered.

It's no wonder headmen guaranteed people: once an unregistered person ran off, the employer wouldn't know who to hold responsible or where to seek compensation.

Also, hiring unregistered workers costs far less than paying registered residents.

After that, Anari packed her things, then sat on the windowsill by the street, dazed, watching the bustling buildings and the streets outside.

She had come here originally to study so she could take revenge, but over time, this highly developed society and its prosperity slowly drew her in.

Here were foods she had never tasted as a child in the countryside, clothes that were beautiful and intricate—things she couldn't afford—and students her age, radiant and alive.

How she longed to be like them, to pursue studies purely, to happily travel with friends during breaks, to taste the sweetness of youth.

Watching the passing students, envy flashed in Anari's eyes.

Unfortunately, she did not belong here. She was only a small beast from the countryside, accidentally entering this place. She couldn't fit in with those glamorous figures, nor could she survive the myriad predatory beasts of the underground world. She could only slink away before the iron-faced inspectors arrived.

Thinking back over the past half year, Anari felt sadness and reluctance, but she could not change the outcome.

The door to the room opened slightly. Familiar footsteps and a voice woke her from her immersion in grief.

"Lady Hedra, Anari is here. Could you please do her a favor?" the restaurant aunt pleaded, trying to force a smile.

A girl with black hair, wearing a black classical dress, stepped into the sparse room. At her waist on one side hung a pocket watch and a small protective orb; on the other side she held a thick, leather-bound book with a fine copper chain.

Seeing this pretty young lady, Anari was both surprised and ashamed, bowing her head. She recognized the young noble who had been to Agate Street several times, but that person was out of her reach, so she had never approached or spoken.

As Hedra—Sylutia—came closer, her eyes blinked and she sized up the horned beastgirl. The girl looked thin, probably only about fifteen, maybe underdeveloped; her dark purple hair was messy and unremarkable.

However, when she lifted her head to speak, Hedra saw a pair of very beautiful blue eyes.