Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Dalton's voice echoed through the hall, as if he had already declared victory. The eyes of the surrounding believers and monks were now all focused on the anti-magic stone.

The murmurs began again.

"It's lit up...it's really lit up..."

"So, those two little girls really are witches?"

"Good heavens... His Excellency the Bishop actually conspired with the witch..."

"Bishop Wayne is completely finished now."

Dalton listened to the surrounding chatter, his smile widening. He turned to Freddy, his voice brimming with barely suppressed smugness: "My lord! The evidence is irrefutable! Please order Wayne's immediate arrest! And those two witches must be executed on the spot!"

Wayne smiled.

He looked at Dalton with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

"Oh? Really? I'm so scared."

Dalton frowned; he instinctively sensed something was amiss. Wayne's reaction was too calm, too composed for someone about to be convicted.

Just then, one of his attendants cautiously tugged at his sleeve, his voice tinged with unease: "My lord... look... that's orange..."

"orange color?"

Dalton paused for a moment, then abruptly turned his head, his gaze falling on the anti-magic stone. Beneath the two pairs of hands pressed against the stone slab, the light was not crimson, not deep purple, not pure black.

It's orange, a warm orange.

Dalton's smile froze on his face instantly.

"How is that possible..."

He took two steps forward, almost lunging at the anti-magic stone, bent down, and stared wide-eyed at the orange light. He even reached out and vigorously rubbed the stone surface twice, as if trying to wipe away the color.

The color remained unchanged.

Dalton's expression changed instantly.

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible! I clearly found their wanted lists! The ice and fire magic fluctuations are exactly the same as described on the wanted posters! It's impossible!"

"How could this happen!"

Wayne stood to the side, hands tucked into his robes, and looked at Dalton with a mocking tone.

"Oh dear, what's going on? My two little girls, how could they be witches? They're sorceresses!"

Dalton whirled around, staring intently at Wayne, his lips trembling. "You...you tampered with it! You must have done something!"

Wayne spread his hands: "What can I do? The anti-magic stone was moved here by your people, and the testing was overseen by your people. I didn't even touch that stone from beginning to end."

"You...you..."

Wayne ignored him.

He turned to Freddy, his tone returning to formality: "Bishop Freddy, the result is clear. The anti-magic stone is orange, proving that my two daughters are merely elite members of the kingdom with magical talent, not witches at all. May I ask, can this farce end now?"

Freddy's gaze lingered on the anti-magic stone for two seconds, then he looked at Dalton, who was slumped next to it.

He paused for a moment, then made his decision.

"certainly."

His tone softened again.

"Since the results of the anti-magic stone test prove that these two ladies are not witches, then all the accusations against you are naturally unfounded."

Dalton sprang to his feet. "Sir! This is impossible! There's no way that wanted poster could be wrong! Wayne must have used some means to interfere with the magic-suppressing stone's judgment! I request a retest! A new magic-suppressing stone! A bigger one!"

Freddy's attitude, however, remained firm.

"Enough, Dalton. The anti-magic stone is the standard by which the Holy See determines a witch's identity. The result is right in front of you. How long are you going to keep arguing?"

Dalton scrambled to his feet, then, as if suddenly remembering something, quickly crawled to Freddy's side: "Sir! Even if the anti-magic stone didn't detect it, he has other crimes!"

He turned around, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement: "He—Wayne! During his tenure in Audrian, he deceived innocent female believers under the guise of 'water magic healing,' engaging in illicit relationships with multiple women! This is blasphemy! This is immoral conduct within the Church! And—he arbitrarily executed eight missionaries from St. Hilde! He burned eight people alive! This caused relations between our Wiggins Church and the St. Hilde Church to plummet to a freezing point! This is a grave sin that damages relations between our two churches! These two points can't be false, can they?"

After Dalton finished speaking, he was panting heavily, his eyes fixed on Wayne, as if trying to find a trace of panic on Wayne's face.

Wayne didn't look at him.

He turned to Freddy, his tone calm: "Mr. Freddy, regarding my handling of the St. Hilde missionaries, I recall the Pope and the College of Cardinals already reached a conclusion! Those eight individuals illegally arrested people within the territory of Frosttown, using enchanting potions to create artificial witches and harm innocent civilians. A total of forty-eight people were involved, the youngest being only six years old. With both witnesses and physical evidence, the College of Cardinals, after deliberation, ultimately ruled that my handling was 'appropriate and no further action will be taken.'"

He paused, his gaze falling on Dalton's face.

"Is Auxiliary Bishop Dalton bringing this up again to overturn the College of Cardinals' decision?"

Dalton's throat was completely blocked.

To overturn the College of Cardinals' ruling? That's a huge accusation. If he dares to nod in public, he'll be invited for tea by the Papacy in the capital tomorrow.

Wayne gave him no chance to catch his breath. He took a step forward, turned around, and faced the believers and monks who were watching from a distance in the hall. His voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a question for you."

All eyes were on him.

"If you were me, the bishop of Frostham, would you allow the people of St. Hilde to come to your territory, arrest innocent people, poison them with magic potions to frame them as witches, and then burn them at the stake? Those framed people might be your wives, your daughters, or even your mothers. Tell me, would you allow them to do that?"

The crowd fell silent.

Wayne raised his voice, his tone becoming impassioned.

"Tell me, can you do that?!"

Then, a voice rang out from the crowd, not loud, but clear: "No."

Immediately following, a second voice exclaimed, "No!"

The third one: "No!"

More and more voices merged together, like a powder keg that had been ignited, instantly engulfing the entire hall.

"No! No! No!"

Dalton stood in the center of the hall, his face ashen. He listened to the sounds surging in from all directions, his body trembling slightly; the sounds were so loud that they drowned him out.

As the noise from the crowd gradually subsided, Wayne stood in the center of the hall, his gaze sweeping over every face, and continued to testify.

"As for the claim that I have been promiscuous with the Vatican and had improper relationships with multiple women, that is utter nonsense."

The onlookers pricked up their ears.

"If I truly did commit adultery under the guise of 'magic healing' during my tenure in Adrian, as he claims, why didn't Bishop Charman of Adrian report me? Why didn't the believers of Frosttown report me? I've been in Adrian for years and in Frosttown for months. If I were truly guilty, I should have been exposed long ago. Why wait until today, for an assistant bishop who has never lived a single day in my diocese, to expose me?"

The crowd began to whisper among themselves.

"Yes... if it's really as Lord Dalton says, and Bishop Wayne started in Aldrian, how could Bishop Charman not know?"

"I've heard that Charman is known for his integrity and uprightness among the bishops. If he knew about this, he definitely wouldn't cover it up..."

"So, what Assistant Bishop Dalton said...could it really have been made up?"

"I think it's probably true. Otherwise, why would the magic-suppressing stone test result in orange? That's a magician's color, it has absolutely nothing to do with witches."

"And what about the judgment order?"

"Who knows...maybe it's a fake."