Millennium Witch.

Chapter 14 - The Test
As evening fell, a disheveled Yvette returned to the manor with Rosalyn in her arms.

Today's adventure was far from smooth. Yvette never expected that a giant mechanical mutant was lurking in the seemingly peaceful factory area, ready to launch a sneak attack.

As she and Rosalyn passed over the ruins of a factory on the edge of the city, a huge mechanical gull covered in red flesh suddenly burst out of the ruins, kicking up a hundred-meter-high cloud of dust that nearly swallowed the two of them whole.

Fortunately, Yvette's skateboarding skills were excellent. With a perfect drift, she grazed the edge of the turtle's mouth and escaped, using Wind Rider to accelerate away. Otherwise, she would probably have been reincarnated by now, looking at a new ceiling.

Afterwards, Rosalyn was sent to the bathroom to take a shower. Yvette used a simple water spell to clean her face, silently recalling the appearance of the mechanical giant tortoise, and gradually formed a certain guess.

It was probably a mechanical beast from a circus or theater troupe from hundreds of years ago. During festivals and celebrations, it would pull a stage and parade through the streets. When it wasn't needed, it would be stored away in a warehouse in the suburbs. But when the apocalypse came, it suddenly became a regional boss...

What bad luck! Not only were there close calls, but she also lost face in front of the little golden retriever, losing her air of superiority... Sigh, it must be because she was too eager to show off in front of the child, and with her life being relatively peaceful lately, she lost her former caution... She can't do that again. I'm far from being strong; I need to have a sense of awe for the world...

After reflecting deeply on her actions, Yvette waited until Rosalyn finished showering before soaking herself in the hot bath. Only when her fair skin flushed a rosy hue did she change into a comfortable white robe and emerge.

Then, as soon as she opened the door, she saw Rosalin standing at the top of the stairs, her face tense and her eyes looking at her with utmost seriousness.

"Witch sister!" she said earnestly.

"W-What's wrong..." Yvette subconsciously connected the dots to what had happened today, and then felt a little guilty, suspecting that the little girl had come to advise her not to be so reckless in the future.

However, it turned out she was overthinking things. Rosalyn took a deep breath and said the words she had been holding back for a long time: "Can I... learn magic from you?"

"You want to learn magic?" Yvette asked, not surprised.

She had a premonition about this request, since Rosalyn would often watch intently as she cleaned up the aberrant creatures, showing her deep fascination with magic.

But since the girl never brought it up, Yvette pretended not to know.

“Yes, I want to learn… but I can’t offer anything in return. Can you teach me?” Rosalyn lowered her head shyly, looking at her slippers.

Yvette didn't speak, just looked at her quietly, neither agreeing nor refusing immediately.

She had thought about this matter before, and a key point was why she wanted to take on apprentices and what benefits that would bring her.

In terms of being kind and benevolent, she took in the little golden retriever, fed her, and protected her from the threat of the mutants. In the end, she only received some ordinary common sense about the other world, which already demonstrates her kindness and compassion.

But taking on disciples is another matter entirely. It involves the vast knowledge legacy from the Origin Civilization in her mind. Can this priceless treasure be given to just any person from another world?

The close, father-son-like master-disciple relationship of ancient people was often an investment in their own old age, but Yvette doesn't need anyone to support her in her old age. Furthermore, if the aurora reappears, this little golden retriever will go home, all her investments will go down the drain, and it might even benefit others in the other world… And for safety reasons, Yvette has no plans to travel to another world for at least several hundred years…

Therefore, it seems that she cannot find a reason to give away all the rune knowledge she possesses for free.

Just like she never intended to teach Rosalyn Black Tide.

In the long silence, Rosalyn, with her head down, felt her heart sink to the bottom of the water.

As a well-educated noblewoman, she deeply understood one thing: you have to pay the price to get something; there is no such thing as a free lunch.

The kingdom's court mages occasionally take on disciples from among the noble children, but they usually charge exorbitant tuition fees. The church offers free opportunities, but the price is lifelong membership and unwavering loyalty until the end. So what makes her, a penniless little girl, capable of winning the heart of a powerful witch who has lived for countless ages?

How presumptuous of you, Rosalyn! What are you saying? You should be grateful for the witch's protection, how can you be so shameless as to make further requests... Gradually, regret began to rise in her heart.

But just as she was about to withdraw her request, Yvette suddenly said, "...It's not impossible."

It doesn't mean it's not allowed? So it means it's allowed?
Rosalyn looked up in surprise, then heard Yvette continue, "...but I need to give you a little test."

"test?"

“Yes, a little test,” Yvette said. “Do you know about meditation?”

“I don’t know…” Rosalyn shook her head. As a daughter of an earl, she once had the opportunity to study under a magician in the kingdom, but unfortunately there was only one spot available. After thinking it over, her father gave the opportunity to her eldest brother.

She had no complaints about this, after all, she wasn't going to the battlefield, while her older brother was really going to fight the demons to the death.

“Meditation is the foundation of magical training and the main way to acquire magic power,” Yvette said. “You will first undergo three years of meditation training with me. If, after three years, your total amount of magic power satisfies me, I will formally accept you as my apprentice.”

As someone with mediocre talent, when Yvette first started meditating, her growth was only about 2 points per year, an extremely slow pace.

If Rosalyn were a prodigy with extraordinary talent, she could grow up quickly and become Yvette's right-hand woman in this dangerous world, increasing her resilience against survival risks.

This is the reason she found for taking on apprentices.

Of course, the student's character is also important... but the little girl is behaving well so far, obedient, sensible, and well-mannered. She's only just turned 10, and her values ​​aren't yet fully formed. If she goes astray in the future, the one who should be held accountable is her teacher...

Three years? Rosalyn's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't hesitate at all: "Okay, witch sister!" She nodded vigorously, her eyes firm.

……

After receiving instruction in meditation techniques, Rosalyn's enthusiasm for "adventure" visibly cooled down over the next few days. She spent most of her time quietly in her second-floor bedroom, diligently meditating.

Yvette's life thus gained more peace.

In the morning, she was finally able to finish studying "Fundamentals of Magical Mechanical Technology" in peace. In the afternoon, she leisurely did some gardening in the manor, pruning the flowers and plants. Before evening, she strolled to another city park a few kilometers away to cultivate some land, considering sowing some wheat seeds there when spring arrived next year.

Then the next morning, looking at the flowerbed that had been trimmed yesterday but was now a mess, Yvette's face darkened. She thought that in farming, the threat posed by wild animals seemed to be much greater than that of the mutants.

How about unlocking the "electric grid" technology first? It would protect the fruits of our labor and significantly increase the security of the manor.

However, unlocking the power grid required unlocking more powerful energy storage devices, which led Yvette to frequently go out, digging through ruins and searching for professional books on energy storage...

And so, in this tranquil wasteland reclamation, a year passed by unnoticed.

(End of this chapter)