Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Noon arrived quickly.

Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of the church, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow on the floor.

Thomason stood at the entrance to the front hall, wearing a faded gray coat with the collar buttoned up tightly, his hair washed with water and lying flat against his scalp.

Leah followed behind him, wearing the floral dress, her hair tied back with a wooden hairpin, holding a bunch of wildflowers in her hands, the stems tied with straw rope, the petals still glistening with dew.

Wien stood behind the podium, with the scripture open in the middle.

"Come in."

Thomason took a step forward, his steps a little stiff, and stood in front of the podium. Leah stood beside him, half a head shorter than him, her gaze fixed on the scripture on the podium, her lips slightly pursed.

Wayne walked behind the lectern at the front of the hall, placed the scripture on the table, opened it, and pressed his fingers on the pages.

"Today, with the goddess as our witness, we offer our blessings to Thomason and Leah on their marriage."

Wayne glanced down at the scriptures, then looked up again.

"Thomassen."

"exist."

"Do you take Leah to be your wife, to love and cherish her, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, until death do you part?"

Thomason's throat moved.

"I do."

Wayne looked at Leah.

"Lia".

Leah looked up.

"Do you take Thomason to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, to love and to cherish him, till death do you part?"

Leah's lips moved slightly, her voice firm.

"I do."

Wayne nodded.

He walked out from behind the podium, stood in front of the two of them, placed his right hand on Thomason's shoulder, and his left hand on Leah's shoulder.

"The goddess has witnessed your vows. From this day forward, you are husband and wife."

The two wept with joy.

Wayne pulled his hand back and took out two small porcelain bottles from his sleeve.

The bottle is red.

"This is the potion you need, which I prepared this morning."

Thomason took the porcelain bottle, glanced at it, and then looked up.

"My lord, this is..."

"Each of you drink one bottle every day for seven days. After seven days, we'll see the results."

Thomason gripped the porcelain bottle tightly.

"Sir, do you mean we can just drink this?"

Wayne added another instruction.

"Remember, during medication, you should pay attention to your sexual activity. The more frequent the activity, the higher your chances of getting pregnant."

Thomason immediately became excited, his eyes filled with tears.

"Sir... thank you... thank you..."

Leah stood beside him, her eyes also red-rimmed, the tip of her nose slightly red: "Your Excellency, we...we don't know how to repay you..."

"No need to repay me, just be grateful to the goddess."

Her panel popped up at that moment.

[Lia - Current Status]

[Status: Relieved, grateful, with a glimmer of hope for the future. She believes what you say. Not because she understands potions, but because she feels that someone who can give potions for free to even the women of Greenbird Street wouldn't need to deceive a serf like her. She had thought her life would end like this, but Wayne's appearance gave her hope again.]

[Note: If there truly are representatives of deities in this world, they would likely look just like you.]

Wayne closed the book.

May the goddess protect you.

Thomason and Leah bowed together.

"Grateful to the goddess."

The couple straightened up together.

Wayne took out a money bag from his sleeve, untied the rope, and counted out five silver coins.

He handed over the silver coins.

Thomason was taken aback.

"My lord, this is..."

"I'll give you this month's salary in advance."

Thomason accepted the silver coin.

"My lord, it's not the end of the month yet..."

"I know." Wayne retied the purse and tucked it into his sleeve. "I'm giving you three days off. Take Leah back and get some rest. You don't need to worry about things at the church for now."

"Sir, isn't three days too long? The church here..."

"Vera and Mimi are here at the church, they can manage."

Thomason glanced at Vera, who was standing beside him and laughing, and then at Mimi, who was wiping chairs at the entrance of the lobby.

The two bowed to Wayne again, then turned and walked toward the front hall entrance. Thomason's steps were much lighter than when he came. When he reached the door, he stopped and glanced at Leah.

Leah didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

The two walked out of the church door side by side.

[Tomasson - Current Status]

[Status: Happy. Not the happiness of receiving his salary, but the happiness of being trusted. When he was a doorman for the previous bishops, his salary was always delayed until the end of the month, sometimes until the next month, sometimes until the month after. It wasn't that he didn't have the money, but that he wasn't in a hurry. Who cared if a few days early or late was a doorman's problem? Wayne cared. Wayne not only paid him his salary early but also gave him three days off. This was unprecedented in the history of Frosttown Church.]

[Note: He planned to use the money to buy Leah a new dress. Not the floral kind, but a solid light blue one, the one that hung in the tailor shop window, the one Leah would always glance at whenever she passed by. He had asked the price; four silver coins. He hadn't been willing to buy it then, but now he was.]

[Note 2: Leah was unaware of this. She was thinking of going back to repair the leaky woodshed, buying some chicks, and raising them to lay eggs. She could sell the eggs in town, save enough money, and buy Thomason a new cotton-padded coat for winter. His old coat had been worn for six years; the cuffs were worn through, the cotton padded underneath, and she had patched it several times, patch upon patch, until the original color was unrecognizable. The two had different ideas, but both were thinking of the other.]

Light streamed through the stained-glass windows of the foyer, falling on Vera's face, her smile still lingering.

Mimi tilted her head to look at her.

"Vera, do you have someone you like?"

Vera paused for a moment, the rag in her hand still. Her gaze swept across the foyer, from the benches to the lectern, from the lectern to the icon, finally landing on Wayne, lingering only for a second before looking away.

She lowered her head.

No, no.

The sound was soft, with a deliberate lightness.

Mimi didn't believe it.

"No? Then what were you looking at just now?"

Vera's ears turned red.

"Look, look at the icon. Goddess above, I am praying."

Mimi's lips curled up.

"What are you praying for?"

"I pray... I pray that the church will get better and better." Vera's voice grew softer and softer, as if she were talking to herself. "I pray that His Holiness the Bishop will be healthy and live a long life."

Mimi leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and glanced at Vera's face.

"That's all?"

That's all.

Mimi didn't ask any further questions.

Mimi watched her retreating figure and shook her head.

Someone she's interested in? Vera doesn't actually have someone she's interested in; she has someone she's too afraid to confess her feelings to.

Just then, Diaz ran in with a bruised and swollen face.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"