Cornflower Witch

Chapter 332 The End of Woodland Life

Upon arriving back in Scorched Stone City, Mick looked around with a hint of curiosity. Although the buildings hadn't changed much, he felt that something was different.

Sitting in the tavern, he ordered some food and ate with the goblins, occasionally listening to the other tavern patrons discussing recent events.

"Queen Musa has issued a new decree, which is said to divide the city lord's power into three parts: one for finance, one for military affairs, and the last for handling political affairs."

"It sounds a bit complicated, and I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but Regas' situation has indeed improved a lot in recent years."

"The Anti people are in dire straits now; it's said they're on the verge of being wiped out by the harsh winter."

"Hahaha, then he deserves it. I'll have to have a good drink today after hearing this news."

Queen Musa? Did Princess Musa inherit the throne of Regas? But she has several older brothers and younger brothers. Regas established its kingdom through military might, so there's no reason for a princess to inherit the throne.

For the past few years, Mick has been wandering abroad and has rarely paid attention to the situation in Regas. Most of his journey has been by boat or through the wilderness. It wasn't until he returned to Scorched Stone City today that he discovered that something dramatic seemed to have happened in Regas over the past five years.

After asking the bartender for a while, he learned that Regas had been defeated by Antiy once, and the current Regas could be considered a completely new country, with the former nobles no longer around.

"Her Majesty the Queen now rules Regas, and she is protected by the loyal and powerful Gryphon Knights," the bartender briefly explained the current state of the country.

Although the various reforms have caused dissatisfaction among some conservative forces, Musa now directly controls nearly 70% of the knights and superhumans in Regas, and other smaller forces cannot cause any trouble at all. Therefore, the implementation is quite easy, and it remains to be seen whether the policies can be sustained.

After getting a preliminary understanding of the situation, Mick was astonished. This Princess Musa was truly formidable, far exceeding his expectations.

"Queen, the princess is still very young when she ascends the throne. Mick, why don't you try pursuing her? I think you're quite good-looking, with a kind of wild charm. Maybe the queen likes your type." The goblin, fueled by alcohol, egged him on.

Fortunately, Mick interrupted him in time. Several people in the bar were already annoyed by the vulgar goblin. Queen Musha now enjoyed a very high reputation among the people.

"Shut up." Mick picked up a chicken leg, stuffed it into the other person's mouth, then packed up the rest of the food and took it back to his room to enjoy.

Whew, I'm really tired tonight. I'll get some sleep first and then ask around tomorrow, whether the others have returned.

The night passed peacefully. The next day, Mick got up and found the former residence of Maester Hyde, but unfortunately it was already empty.

“Are you looking for Maester Hyde? He moved away years ago, back when the Antiochians invaded,” a passerby told Mick.

Left with no other choice, Mick went to other places, and his first choice was naturally his close friend, Ray.

This time, they didn't come up empty-handed, but Lei was definitely not home.

"Lei is now at the blacksmith shop at No. 25 Copper Horn Street in the east of the city. He's the new blacksmith there," the kind person told him.

So Mick took the goblins to the blacksmith shop again.

"Blacksmith, that's a good idea. You can ask him to make a suit of armor for you. As for the money, you can pay on credit and pay later."

"Don't be shy, that's how you use the word 'friend.' If you're too polite, you won't make any friends at all," the goblin continued to mutter.

"Having earned a suit of armor, this trip back won't be a loss."

The two arrived at the blacksmith's shop, and after asking some questions, they were led to the backyard, where Mick finally met Ray, whom he hadn't seen for several years.

Upon seeing each other, the two walked over with smiles without saying a word, bumped fists together, and then shook hands tightly to test each other's strength before sitting down with hearty laughter.

“You’re back, Mick.”

"Yes, I'm back, but I'll only be staying for a while." Mick took the water Ray handed him and drank it down in large gulps.

How's it outside?

“It’s exciting outside, but there are also a lot of risks,” Mick said with deep emotion.

"Lei, how have you been these past few years?"

"I've learned blacksmithing, hehe." With that, Lei carried the prepared hundred-refined black steel greatsword out of the back room and placed it on the stone table.

"This is what I prepared for you, try it out."

"For me?" Mick was a little surprised, but the goblin beside him couldn't help but chime in.

“This sword… seems to be made of black steel.” He noticed the corner peeking out from under the oiled paper wrapping.

After saying that, he curiously unfolded the oil paper, but because the black steel was extremely heavy, he had to exert a lot of effort to lift the hilt of the sword.

"This sword is definitely made of black steel, Mick, you've got a great brother here!" he shouted excitedly.

Mick came over, took the greatsword, unwrapped the oiled paper to reveal the finely patterned black steel greatsword, held it in his hand, and tried to swing it a couple of times, the air whistling as it cut through the air.

"Good, good sword, Lei! You've mastered blacksmithing. This sword is at least second-tier, and of very high quality," Mick exclaimed excitedly.

"Hehe." Lei scratched his head.

The two chatted excitedly and reminisced in the courtyard until nightfall, still seemingly reluctant to part. "You mean Tia? She's a big shot in Regas now, and a close friend of Her Majesty the Queen?" Mick's eyes widened in disbelief.

“Yes, Tia, very smart and very strong,” Lei replied in a low voice.

“I know she’s always been different, but I didn’t expect the difference to be this big.” Mick felt a faint sense of regret and disappointment.

Perhaps the other person has long forgotten, but the beautiful figure he saw when he was unconscious in the mountains that afternoon has always been the object of his innocent admiration.

He thought the difference between him and his opponent was 10 points and 20 points, but he didn't expect it to be a difference of 10 points and 100 points.

Phew, whatever. Luckily, it's always been a hidden, faint emotion, not an obsession or madness. From now on, I should focus on my own path. Mick is also trying to let go of some of the past emotions.

"Karen became a general too? That's impressive." He was a little envious, but thinking about the various adventures he had experienced over the past few years, he didn't feel that he had wasted his time.

"It seems I need to speed things up to catch up."

After returning to the hotel to rest, the five of them reunited at Madame Franz's mansion the next day.

Sitting around the coffee table in the living room, the group drank the refreshing herbal tea brewed by Xilutiya, curiously looking at each other, and began to talk about the changes over the years.

"Tia, Tia, do you think this dress looks good on me?" Komia, wearing a blue and white dress, twirled around in the hall, the light gauze skirt fluttering like a blooming trumpet flower.

Karen sat to one side, asking Mick which countries he had visited. Ray curiously observed the tea leaves floating in his cup, taking small sips every now and then, as if afraid of finishing the tea all at once.

On the other side, Tia was pulled over by an excited Komia to help her evaluate the quality of the clothes, and then listened to Komia recount her academic journey over the past few years.

"The organization I joined was called 'Hibernation Hut,' and it was mostly filled with witches who specialized in 'Hibernation' and 'Mist Shadow.' The witch sisters were all very approachable and took good care of me."

"The organization is small, with only about 30 people in total, 18 of whom are new apprentices. Two years ago, with the help of Sister Meisha, I advanced to the second-tier Mist Shadow," Komia said, recounting her life over the past few years.

Compared to the many changes in Hilti's life, Komia's life trajectory was exceptionally stable. She mostly studied with girls her age and went on weekend outings led by senior witches to learn about mountain herbs and simple rituals.

The entire teaching process was very stressful, probably because the organization was still in its early stages and retained a lot of human touch. Formal witches could allocate a little resources to help first-level apprentices easily advance to the second level.

“We live near a snow-capped mountain, where the ‘ice fruit’ produced is a local specialty,” Komia recalled, gently pressing her cheek with her finger.

"I also brought some for everyone this time." As she spoke, she ran to the suitcase on the side of the living room, opened it, and the sealed ice-blue berries were presented to everyone.

【Ice Fruit】(Tier 1 - Hibernation)
"It is said to grow in snow-covered caves on high-altitude mountains; the fruit is translucent and, when ripe, takes on a slight bluish hue, like glass."

If these fruits are used properly, they can probably make two bottles of 'Ice Dew Wine' to practice the 'Hibernation' aspect.

However, for Hilti, the most important thing was obtaining the seeds of the 'Ice Fruit', so that she could have the opportunity to cultivate them herself in the future.

After the others finished sharing their experiences, everyone's attention finally turned to Hilti, because compared to them, this girl's experiences were far too legendary, almost unbelievable.

'Well…' Hilti sat on the sofa and tilted her head slightly. She could only try to recount her experiences over the years in a calm manner, especially regarding the establishment of New Regas. She glossed over many of the more astonishing scenes, making everyone think that her ability to help Queen Musa was actually due in large part to luck.

"...That's roughly how it is." After saying that, the girl blinked her light blue eyes once, as if to end the conversation and bring everyone back to their senses.

However, even though she deliberately downplayed some of the details, her almost legendary experiences still left the people present in awe for a long time.

"Tiya, Tiya..." Komia murmured.

"No, I'm almost completely captivated by you." She covered her eyes.

"No wonder Queen Musa trusts you so much; I would marry you if I were in her shoes," she joked with a smile.

"It still feels like a dream." She stood up and circled the girl little by little, as if trying to memorize her completely.

“When I go back to the ‘hibernation cabin’ this time, I’m sure I’ll have endless things to talk about.”

“From now on, everyone should call me ‘Sylvia’s best friend’ and ‘fellow countryman of the Azure Star’~ But, won’t that embarrass Tia? After all, compared to Tia, Komia is too weak.” She hugged Sylvia’s hand and shook it slightly, looking like she was shaking her head and acting coquettishly.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to help Tia much in the future, but I will write to Tia about the delicious food and fun things I see."

"It's decided, this is how I, Komia, maintain friendships, hehe."

As he spoke, everyone in the living room burst into laughter again.

Although five years have passed, the five still have endless things to talk about. From her friends, Hilti learned about various corners of the world, her experiences on her journeys in foreign lands, the fun of living in the snow-capped mountains, and the many changes in Regas.

Afterwards, the five of them spent several days hiking in the mountains near Jiaoshi City, visiting local towns and villages, until they finally said goodbye ten days later.

Before leaving, Hilti gave each of them a gift, telling them that they could only open it after she left.

Afterwards, she boarded the carriage, waved goodbye to the familiar city, and her slightly sad farewell words drifted in the dappled sunlight through the trees.

(End of this chapter)