Becoming a god by raising witches

[Chat with the witch Mora Macmillan, witch-friendly +1]

"??? She's a witch too?"

[Strike up a conversation with Julie Townsend, witch friendliness +1]

"Who is this?"

[Chat with the witch Bronya Peters, witch affinity +1]

"?"

[Chat with the witch Sharon Bergman, witch-friendly +1]

"?"

[Witch Affinity has reached 10 points, advancing to Witch Temptation]

[Witch's Temptation: You are like a ripe peach; any witch who sees you will want to take a bite.]

[Path to Advancement: Successfully escape from under the noses of 10 high-ranking witches to upgrade to Witch Overlord.]

[Witch Dominator: You will become the ruler of witches, and all witches will bow down to you. They will follow you unconditionally, even if you ultimately fail.]

"?"

Locke had a lot of question marks above his head and a bewildered expression on his face.

Wait, why did my witch affinity suddenly increase?

When did I come into contact with so many witches?

Her Majesty the Queen is a witch, and Her Majesty's head maid, Mora Macmillan, is also a maid.

What about the other three?

Locke tried to recall who he had just been in contact with.

They were three female knights from the royal guard; unexpectedly, they were also witches.

Perhaps because Locke has an innate witch-like affinity, they all took the initiative to say a few words to Locke, which was then automatically interpreted by the system as flirting.

Could this be a belated notification because the system crashed due to facing too many witches at once?

Locke used his inner turmoil to mask his nervousness.

Who would have thought that he would be surrounded by five witches in an instant? No, with Rhaenys included, there were six in total!

This was even with high-ranking members of both the Cult of Life and the Cult of Alchemy present.

Is there any hope for the Kingdom of Tumen?

Or are these witches all registered, and does the Kingdom of Tumen have a secret witch army?

Locke swallowed hard and subconsciously touched the devil's pipe.

Unfortunately, the demon Rebecca couldn't provide him with much security.

Locke noticed that the way Her Majesty the Queen, her head maid, and the black-haired director Rhinese looked at him had all changed subtly.

It felt like seeing a cream cake.

No way? System, are you kidding me?

Locke's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. He wanted to run away, but found that Rhaenys was already standing next to him.

"Locke, what are you going to do?"

"Chief, I need to go to the restroom."

"Hold it in."

Renis said with a cold face, "Like Eileen, I can easily spot lies."

Locke had no choice but to stand beside Renis, but his hand was already reaching for Sieg.

I hope Sieg can switch places with me.

Unaware of the situation, Sieg stood between him and Renis, giving Locke a little more sense of security.

By this time, the square in the West District was filled with workers, most of whom were unemployed due to the closure of the gold refinery. Some had found undesirable jobs, while others had become homeless, beggars, or criminals.

At this moment, they watched in silence as the incomparably noble Her Majesty the Queen walked up to the altar in the center of the square.

Every year on the Day of Life, a grand ceremony is held at the altar, which is kept spotless. Furthermore, the altar is the highest point in the square, so only from this location can everyone see it.

The members of the Church of Life lit the four firestone pillars on the altar, and green flames rose up, forming a 2-meter-high mirror of flames.

Locke was quite surprised to see Queen Katerina's image reflected in the mirror.

In this day and age, there are still projectors.

Even those at the edge of the square could see the Queen and hear her voice through these four fiery mirrors.

People are marveling at the miracles of the Church of Life.

The members of the Mechanicus Church looked down on such trivial tricks.

Out of respect for Her Majesty the Queen, the two churches are trying to coexist peacefully.

But only on such special occasions.

Katerina looked at the huge crowd, most of whom were dressed in gray clothes, like an endless gray ocean. Gray was the main color of the West End, and even with the arrival of Life Day, they did not have extra money to buy green clothes.

She took a deep breath; even the air in the West District was much more polluted than in the East District.

Katerina's gaze involuntarily fell on Locke, but she quickly looked away.

Although she didn't know why, the investigator named Locke Bemon was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye, but she had important things to do right now.

"Hello everyone, I am Queen Katerina."

Katerina waved to everyone.

The workers stared at her blankly, unlike the people of the East District and the residents of the Trey Bridge District who responded with great enthusiasm.

The reason is simple: those people were well-fed and clothed under the Queen's rule, and they were naturally grateful to the Queen, while the people here were either struggling to make ends meet or fighting against disease and death.

Locke was not surprised by their reaction; the fact that they didn't throw rotten eggs at the stage was a sign of respect for the royal family.

Of course, this may be related to the fact that they even consider rotten eggs a precious food.

Katerina bowed deeply to the crowd.

"I am very sorry that the new Alchemy Act has caused you to lose your jobs, but I will not amend the Alchemy Act, because it concerns your lives and the safety of the entire West End."

Various voices immediately erupted in the square.

If it weren't for the guards and sheriffs stopping them, some workers might have rushed forward in excitement.

"Your Majesty, do you not want us to live?"

"We resolutely oppose the Alchemy Act! We must survive! We must survive!"

"We want to work! We want to work!"

The workers, who were being blocked by the sheriff, shouted excitedly.

They weren't afraid of being beaten to death on the spot by sheriffs or guards, because having lost their jobs, they had already spent all their savings and were going to die sooner or later anyway.

Katerina was neither intimidated by the workers' imposing manner nor displayed any condescending arrogance or prejudice. Instead, she spoke calmly.

“I know that many of you have lost your jobs because of the closure of non-compliant alchemy plants, and many families are facing enormous challenges. I am standing here today to help you solve your problems, so please listen to me patiently.”

The crowd gradually quieted down. They looked at the beautiful Queen Katerina and suddenly felt that she possessed an aura of quiet authority.

“I know you feel that the East and West are two different worlds with a lot of injustice. Why can nobles and capitalists squander their wealth while you suffer from hunger and cold? Losing your job means falling into an abyss and becoming the most despicable vagrants or beggars?”

"Why can't you freely enter the East District, and why do you have to pay expensive tolls to cross the Trey Bridge?"

"Why are you born inferior? The members of parliament took your votes to come to power but began to alienate you, despise you, and enact various tax laws to exploit and oppress you."

"Why is it that the Kingdom of Tumen seems so wealthy, and you are born in the capital city that everyone envies, yet you live a life worse than that of dogs?"

Katerina successfully resonated with many West End residents and unemployed workers, whose eyes shifted from numbness to anger.

Someone in the crowd shouted,

"Yes! It's unfair! It's so unfair!"

Locke had a vague sense of unease as he watched more and more workers gather around, and as the number of people gathered in the West District Plaza grew from thousands to tens of thousands, and even the buildings in the entire area were filled with people. The density of the crowd shocked Locke.

This was the first time he had ever seen so many people. The gray shadows now had their own faces, expressions, and emotions.

If their anger could materialize, Locke believed Kosork would suffer a tsunami of incalculable damage.

"There are many injustices in this world. We cannot choose our birth, and many people cannot even choose their future. I stand here today to give you a chance to choose your future!"

Katerina realized that everyone's emotions had been heightened, so she shouted,

"To all unemployed workers, I am willing to take responsibility for your future. I am now giving you two options."

"First, you can choose to join the alchemy factory officially established by the Alchemy Church, but you will need to sign a lifetime employment contract, work 12 hours a day, and receive a monthly salary of 2000 Micks to contribute to the construction of the kingdom. You will become a cog in the machine of the kingdom."

"Secondly, join the army of Yorkshire and Coastalshire in the North and become a glorious soldier. Every recruit will receive a monthly salary of 4000 gold coins, and the family of a soldier who dies will receive 50 gold coins as compensation. Your relatives will receive free medical treatment in hospitals when they are sick. The kingdom will also reimburse the travel expenses to the North."

"I will promulgate the new military law today, allowing the armies of Yorkshire and Coastalshire in the North to recruit more men. The gates of the army will be open to you if you wish."

“I know that many people think that you have become a burden to the kingdom because you have lost your jobs and become homeless or refugees. But I want to tell these people that you are not a burden. You are the pillars of the kingdom. You are young and strong. You should contribute to the kingdom. The kingdom is willing to pay for your survival. You will become the glory of the kingdom and play your role in the North!”