Witch Redemption

As in previous years, on the last day of each year, the leader of the adventure team, Larenas, would host a large banquet for his many subordinates at his own tavern.

"I won't bother with formalities. I just hope everyone has a good time tonight!"

Larenas, a radiant blond middle-aged man, has aged considerably this year, while his second-in-command, Rainer Little, standing beside him, has also gained a little weight. The two of them toasted all the members present, one after the other.

Their adventure group is no longer the worthless nobody they used to be; it's now a well-known large adventure organization in the border city of Mori, and they've even reached a certain level of cooperation with the Witch Cult. Naturally, the money and fame they've earned are far more than before.

With increased fame, the number of members naturally expands significantly, and the current combat strength of the entire adventure team is not to be underestimated.

In particular, the eleven girls who liked to sit in the corner, although they were registered as legendary adventurers on the surface, were actually demigods. Their true combat power surpassed that of all the adventurers present, and they could be said to be the strongest trump card in Larenas's hands.

After toasting most of their subordinates, Larenas and Rainer Little finally went to a corner.

"Miss Rem, I'll need your continued support next year!"

"You're too kind, Commander!" The slime raised its glass and nodded in acknowledgment.

In fact, a few years ago, Rem and the other Heart series ladies were only of average strength, and their progress was not exaggerated to an absurd degree.

However, things started to change after they began to cooperate with the Witch Cult of the British Empire.

For some unknown reason, the more underground monsters Larenas accompanied on missions and hunted down, the more exaggeratedly their strength improved.

His adventurer group formed a partnership with the Witch Cult in the middle of last year, and began acting as their bodyguards, escorting them to various underground temples for training. At that time, Rem and the others had only just reached the threshold of legendary adventurers, but unexpectedly, in just a year and a half, they awakened their true nature, broke through to the realm of demigods, and became unbelievably powerful.

If Larenas hadn't been the captain and hadn't witnessed their power firsthand, he wouldn't have known they were this strong.

"Yes, Commander Larenas, Vice Commander Reiner."

Just as the two leaders of the adventure team were about to leave, the slime called them back.

"Hmm? Miss Rem, you can speak freely. We're all on the same side." Larenas noticed that not only Miss Rem, but also the other Miss Heart seemed preoccupied and not very happy. Could it be that their period had started?

"Next year, we don't plan to interfere in the cooperation with the Witch Cult. This is also for the good of the leader."

Slime said that they had actually been struggling with this issue for the past six months.

As a servant of the creator Kallen Elf, the slime's understanding of witches far surpasses that of all the human adventurers present. She has always known that witches' natal grimoires have a concept of levels, and that they, as servants, also possess such a concept.

Since cooperating with the Imperial Witch Cult last year, Slime has discovered that the Empire sent many witches into the prehistoric temple ruins with the aim of "opening back doors" for them. As long as they hunt down the mutated monsters in those temple ruins, the witches can gain an abnormally large amount of magic book experience.

As Servants closely associated with witches, slimes and others naturally benefited from this "backdoor," and their strength increased rapidly during the hunt.

If they could continue to cooperate, the slimes even felt that if they were given another two years, they might actually be able to transcend the demigod realm and reach the true god level.

However, the slimes and the others would never be so arrogant as to lose their heads. They all inherited the caution from their creator, Karen Elf, and knew that their rapid increase in strength over the past year was extremely abnormal. If they continued to improve, the Empire would inevitably suspect that there was something fishy about their identities.

If they are found to have any connection with witches, what awaits them will be more than just a death sentence; their masters might also be at risk.

They had to stop immediately; this was the conclusion that the slime and the others had reached after so many days of discussion.

The people on the Empire's side are definitely not fools. After years of witch summoning, almost all the witches are now on the Empire's side, leaving little chance for them to defect.

For such a long time, although the slime and the ten constellation-series maids have been acting and constantly concealing their true strength during the missions, there is a saying that "if you walk by the river long enough, you are bound to get your shoes wet." They cannot be sure that every time will be foolproof. There will always be some unexpected situations that are difficult to handle, and there will always be times when they have to reveal their true strength.

More importantly, the stronger one is, the more unique one's aura becomes.

The border city we are in now does not have any invincible experts, so we are not sure about their strength. If an expert of equal or greater strength were to arrive, we would immediately notice their presence.

In other words, deceiving others is only temporary and cannot last.

Back on the night of the Crimson Torrent earlier this month, the slime had consulted its creator, and the order it received was that it must leave the British Empire immediately.

Unfortunately, the slime also has its own difficulties. It's not the right time for it to leave yet. If it leaves in secret, all its efforts will be in vain.

The slime knows exactly what her master wants, and she will definitely fulfill her master's wish.

Lalinus sensed that the slime wasn't lying, and his expression was very serious, so it seemed the situation was quite grave.

He raised his hand and used magic to create a soundproof barrier before whispering, "Could you tell me the real reason? So we can take precautions in advance?"

"Getting too close to a witch will not end well."

Slime said that she wouldn't think that way if it were in the time of the Creator, but things are different now.

"We're just acting as bodyguards, so there shouldn't be any risk..."

"What if it's the eleven of us who are at risk?"

“…” Larenas remained silent for a long time. These eleven were his trump cards. If his trump cards didn’t work, the adventure team would be in a very difficult situation.

“Captain Larenas, please give Rem and the others more time to consider this,” Reiner said, sensing the tense atmosphere. “Rem, please think it over. If there’s any real reason, explain it clearly, and we’ll help resolve it. We’re all in this together now, nothing is impossible…”

"The situation in the future may be more serious than we imagine. Next year, we will not only not participate in any missions related to witches, but we also believe that you need to sever ties with us. Use whatever reason you want, just sever ties directly. Especially you, Reiner, your brother Ryan died a violent death, and we do not want you to follow the same path as your brother."

For some reason, as the year draws to a close, not only the Starry Night series maids, but even the slime itself feels inexplicably anxious, as if something terrible is about to happen.

"What are you talking about? Following the same path as my brother? You're not witches..." Reiner recalled the past he dared not delve into.

“That’s true, but you should know better than I do that we have an unknown origin,” the slime said, believing that this could not be delayed any longer. “Let’s see how things go. If things change, I hope you will abandon us and sever all ties.”

...... ...... ......

The negotiations naturally ended unhappily, but fortunately neither side showed their emotions on their faces, so it looked like a business negotiation, and no one knew that some unpleasantness had occurred in this corner.

The adventurer's leader, Larenas, respected these eleven people. However, the cooperation with the Witch Cult was still ongoing. If these eleven strongest members did not participate, then they would have to send other people, and those other people might not be able to keep things under control.

Moreover, what if the Witch Cult specifically names the guards?

Some ships are not places you can just get on or off as you please.

Especially when it comes to the government, no one can escape unscathed. Even if someone wants to withdraw, they must have a certain amount of preparation time.

Actually, these eleven people had mentioned their desire to withdraw six months ago, but they couldn't. Larenas is now in a difficult situation.

"Please think about it again and give us an answer in a week. In the meantime, I will also consider how to get you to withdraw."

This was Larenas' final answer. He was in a dilemma, not because he didn't want to let go and become a dictator.

However, dealing with the government is difficult. Cooperation with private individuals is usually a matter of taking money to do things and settling the score afterward. But transactions involving the government are very troublesome.

When he first received a mission related to the Witch Cult two years ago, he planned to do one job and leave. However, starting with the second job, he was threatened to some extent. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been doing this job until today.

"Thank you."

It wasn't that the slime didn't want to explain, but these things concerned her creator behind the scenes, secrets that absolutely could not be revealed.

...... ...... ......

Before long, the banquet was over. After saying goodbye, the slime led the ten Antares back to their residence, only to encounter an unexpected person in front of their home.

No, to be precise, she was a witch, and someone we knew.

"Crossana?" Slime remembered that the witches were partying and reveling in the city, how could they possibly be here?

"Rem? You've finally arrived!"

The witch, dressed in a gorgeous black dress and gripping a Libra Cross greatsword, possessed non-human features such as round animal ears and a spiral horn. Upon seeing the slime's arrival, her crimson animal eyes suddenly lit up, and her pretty face instantly blossomed into an extremely charming smile.

"You're not..."

“Our banquet ended four hours ago, so I came to find you. Rem, would you mind having a private talk?” The witch, referred to as “Krossan,” kept her gaze fixed on the slime the entire time.

"Hmm," the slime gestured for the Star Maids to go inside first, then accompanied the witch for a while, walking towards a relatively secluded area under the dim light of the magic crystal streetlights. "Is Trish alright?"

The slime recalled events from over a year ago.

The witch now holds a very high position in the British Empire, and her treatment in all aspects far surpasses that of her master in his time. She can be said to be revered by thousands.

However, once humans have enough to eat, big problems often arise.

With more witches and a better life, the inherent flaws of humanity are more likely to be exposed, leading to power struggles, factionalism, and even mutual exclusion.

The slime now knows Crosanne and Trish, who were the two who suffered the most back then. If the slime hadn't intervened, their fate would probably have been quite dramatic.

Of the two witches, Slime couldn't quite figure out Croshan, only knowing that her choices were always ambiguous. The other witch, Trish, however, had already made up her mind and secretly reached a deal with Slime and the others.

Trish was the only strange witch who realized something was wrong more than a year ago and dared to pursue the truth. It's a mystery how she managed to find the slime's location by relying on clues from her many predecessor witches.

The reason the slime was reluctant to leave was either because of Crosanne or because of another witch, Trish.

The slime had promised Trish that it would find a way to help her escape from this cage, and it had been working hard to make that day come.

"Our lord is still searching for Lady Lana. It will take at least a year before he can find the time. So we can only act as inside agents here for the time being, and at the very least, we must protect Trish."

This was the slime's decision, and the real reason why she had never dared to speak to her master.

To allow Trish to leave safely, the magical means of the creator Karen Elf, the Book of Judgment, must be used.

Although it is said that all fate magic has become ineffective, the Witch Order's Codex of Causality is different; it is not fate magic, but something far more profound than fate magic.

Based on this, it was indeed the right thing for the slime not to risk taking Trish away directly; without a master's methods, the current predicament could not be resolved at all.

The two remained silent until they reached a pedestrian overpass. Yao gazed at the brightly lit street scene with light snow falling.

Although it was already 11 p.m., this brightly lit scene would probably continue for several days.

Looking at her dream lover's beautiful profile, Crosanne felt a sense of bewilderment and loss, because he had never looked at her directly.

"Rem..."

"Hmm?" Slime responded indifferently, sensing that Croshan seemed hesitant to speak today.

"Will you find me disgusting now? I was supposed to be a man, but my body now..."

"No, I've never cared about your status."

The slime remembered its master, Karen Elf, who was also a witch.

"So, Rem, do you have someone you like?"

Crosanne felt her heart pounding; she was filled with both anticipation and fear.

She hoped that the person her dream lover mentioned would be him, "Crossanne David," yet she also felt fear, afraid that she would hear a completely unfamiliar name, and afraid that she would develop an uncontrollable jealousy and murderous intent towards that stranger.

The slime remained unexpectedly silent for a long time, and Crosanne's face began to darken; the answer was already obvious.

"Yes, but he's gone..." the slime replied. Within the Empire, the seven witches who had fled were publicly declared dead. While it was unclear whether the Empire knew this internally, the slimes knew the truth, but they couldn't reveal it.

The shift from low spirits to high spirits was just a matter of a few words, and Crosanne's eyes once again shone with hope.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, Rem, I didn't know him..."

"It's nothing, Krossana. Is there something urgent?" The slime remained as indifferent as ever.

"..." He couldn't speak, he couldn't speak, he didn't know how to begin. He had come here to confess his feelings, but now...

"Rem..."