Witch Training Manual: My Water Magic Is Wrong

Wayne followed Bill out of the registration office.

"This underground city is actually only the first level. There's something beneath our feet; further down lies an underground labyrinth, and no one knows exactly how deep it is."

Bill lowered his voice.

"Everyone says it connects to the abyss and the tomb of the gods, but I've never seen anyone dare to go too far down there."

Wayne asked:

"What about the monsters down there? Won't they climb up?"

"No," Bill shook his head. "Things in the maze never come up. If they do, they become lost. It's like they're born afraid to walk that path."

The lost.

When Wayne heard this word, Celia's face immediately flashed through his mind—the self-proclaimed sixteen-year-old devilish young lady who had completely forgotten who she was and genuinely believed herself to be a temperamental noblewoman.

Isn't she just a lost soul?

Things that climb out of the abyss forget where they came from, and start living in this city, considering themselves human.

Bill stopped in his tracks ahead.

"Big brother, we've arrived."

Wayne looked up ahead. A few steps away stood a gray stone monument in the square, the names and numbers on it clearly visible in the dim light.

"The monument is right here. Your points will automatically sync; every monster you kill will add to your ranking. Rankings are updated daily and settled at the end of the month."

Bill stood with his hands on his hips.

"If you really want to climb the rankings, I suggest you start from the basement level. Don't go straight in. Those who have been on the rankings for half a year know the maze better than their own home. As a newbie, you're more likely to die down there if you rush in."

Wayne smiled at Bill and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you so much, little sister."

Bilton immediately panicked.

"...What did you call me?"

"Little sister."

"What...what are you yelling about! I'm a man! Look at my hairstyle, my clothes, I don't look like a woman at all!"

As she spoke, she deliberately puffed out her chest—indeed, the oversized coat concealed everything. But her acting might fool others, not Wayne's eyes.

Wayne didn't argue with her, he just smiled.

You're right, I was wrong.

Bill, however, was clearly still reeling from being called "little sister." She stood there looking at Wayne with scrutiny and wariness in her eyes, as if reassessing whether this newcomer was trustworthy.

Wayne didn't continue the topic.

He said to Bill with a smile.

"Would you like to come upstairs with me?"

"Go up there? What for?"

Wayne smiled but didn't say anything.

Bill took a step back.

"You...you're not thinking of selling me out, are you?"

Looking at her posture, ready to run away at any moment, Wayne smiled helplessly and said, "Why would I sell you? You're not worth much."

Bill's lips twitched. Although those words were harsh, they did make her relax a little.

"Then why are you asking me to go up there? It's full of sleepers and lost souls, and it's a hunting ground at night. Besides, you can't get down without silver magic coins."

I need someone who knows the way. I'm new to this city and don't know the terrain yet. Since you're a know-it-all, you should know about things up here too, right?

Bill frowned but didn't reply.

She certainly knew.

She lived there for several years and knew exactly which alley was safe to hide in, which dry well was safe to take cover in, and which sections of road were relatively safe at which times of day, even with her eyes closed.

But she still won't go.

"I'm not going." She turned around and said firmly, "Without silver magic coins, I can't get down there. I have an older brother who went out before and never came back."

Wayne glanced at Bill but didn't try to persuade him further.

He couldn't force someone who didn't want to go up. Bill had her own survival logic; she had survived for thirteen years in this cannibalistic city, relying on caution.

He didn't intend to break her rules.

"Alright, I'll go upstairs first," Wayne said, pulling up the hood of his cloak. "I should be back before dark. If I'm late, tell Sister Mary to keep my room for me."

Bill nodded and didn't say anything more.

He let out a soft breath as he watched Wayne's figure disappear at the end of the steps leading to the ground.

"Little sister... how did he know...?"

She looked down at her chest, completely baffled as to where she had given herself away.

Back on the ground, Wayne took a deep breath.

He walked back along the road in the old town.

The roads are much easier to walk on during the day than at night. There are no lurking eyes in the shadows, and nothing that might suddenly pounce out from around the corner. Occasionally, a passerby brushes past, but they just keep their heads down and hurry on their way, without giving him a second glance.

He returned safely to the city lord's mansion.

When he entered through the side door, the guards merely glanced at him without asking a single question, clearly accustomed to this "unimportant eighth young master" coming and going.

Wayne crossed the courtyard and had just reached the corner of the backyard corridor when he heard a series of hurried footsteps.

Reika ran over from the other end of the corridor. Her hair was a little messy, her apron was covered in flour, and she was clutching a rag in her hand, clearly having received the news while working.

The moment I saw Wayne.

Her eyes reddened again.

Wayne received another loving embrace.

He almost couldn't breathe.

"Reika... can't breathe..."

Reika then seemed to snap out of her daze, loosened her grip, and took a half step back. Tears still clung to her face as she looked at Wayne's flushed face, and couldn't help but burst into laughter through her tears.

"Young Master, you didn't come home all night. I... I thought something had happened to you..."

"I'm fine, I'm perfectly alright."

At that moment, a panel quietly appeared above Reka's head.

[Reka's Current Psychological State]

She couldn't explain why, but she hadn't slept well all night. She tossed and turned, her mind filled with images of the young master. She attributed it to worry, although she knew that ordinary worry wouldn't make her heart race that fast.

[Note: She thinks her young master is becoming more and more handsome and she likes him more and more. Before, she just felt that she had to protect this child because she had raised him; now, the way he speaks and the way he walks makes her inexplicably uneasy.]

[Note 2: In her memory, she has controlled your sleep several times, keeping you awake all night. However, those are merely memories imposed upon her by the rules, not actual events. She is unaware of this, and therefore she is currently reflecting seriously on those things that never happened.]

[Note 3: Although the behavior she remembered was common in aristocratic circles, she ultimately came to a conclusion that made her blush—was it because she had been too promiscuous in the past that you were unwilling to stay overnight at the manor?]

[P.S.: She decided to tone it down starting today and stop being as shameless as she "used to be." At least until the young master showed any resistance, she had to restrain herself.]