She Is Not a Witch

The morning sunlight shone through the window into the small cabin in the maple forest. Loranhil’s silver hair was scattered messily across her pillow and blanket.

She tugged at the blanket, twisting her body to create a small raised section to shield her eyes from the sunlight, then continued sleeping.

But as the sun gradually rose higher, the small bump in the blanket could no longer block out the light.

“Mmm, I want to keep sleeping,” she mumbled. In the increasingly cold season, the warm bed seemed to have gained an enormous magical power, sealing people inside, unwilling to let them out.

Dawdling until the sun was almost at its zenith, Loranhil finally crawled out from under the blanket. She sat on the edge of the bed, yawned, shook her head, and gradually became more alert.

After returning to the Tisilan Mountain Range, without having to deal with the busy affairs of the merchant association, she had become much more relaxed lately, but also much happier. It was like a nearly depleted phone battery being recharged, quickly recovering its power.

Although Lady Philia had given her a letter of recommendation for Emenas Academy, it wasn’t time for school to start yet.

Emenas started classes in spring and had a two-month long break in autumn. Students who were enrolled would return to school before winter arrived.

It might sound a bit strange, but this was actually a schedule carefully arranged by the sages of the academy in earlier years.

Starting school in early spring wasn’t unusual, as most schools did so, but requiring students to stay at school during summer and winter might seem odd.

To modern people, this might be confusing, as summer and winter are generally considered too hot or too cold for studying.

However, the world of Ival was not a highly developed modern society. In fact, many places were still plagued by famine, war, and magical beast attacks.

While the outside world might have unsuitable climates in winter and summer, the academy had many supernatural experts who could easily improve the living environment of classrooms and dormitories. Various alchemical creations and supernatural items could provide comfortable living and learning conditions for students, while also allowing them to train combat skills during special seasons.

But when students returned home, they wouldn’t have such good conditions. Not every student’s family could afford equipment to improve the environmental temperature.

Additionally, due to the scarcity of food in winter, some extremely poor places often experienced unpleasant incidents. To prevent these dark events from affecting students’ mental and physical well-being, the school intentionally kept them at school during winter. At least there, food wouldn’t be scarce, and they would have the company of other peers, preventing loneliness.

The autumn season, with its pleasant weather and beautiful scenery, was harvest time. Letting students go out to experience the magnificent landscapes was also a joyful thing. During this time, the school would have a long break, allowing students to return home and travel.

After staying at home for two days, Loranhil once again came to the city in the Tisilan Mountain Range. After years of development, the rabbit-eared tribe had established seven relatively large cities, with most people living in and around these urban areas.

Riding the evening breeze at dusk, Loranhil gracefully descended into this bustling city. The small mountain village where the giant snake was once slain had long since been surrounded by green stone bricks. Walls, houses, and towers built of green stone were scattered across the hillside, with yellow-green tree branches and leaves separating each house, giving a sense of beauty.

Although it was near dusk, Snake-Slaying City was still bustling with activity. The main streets of the city were brightly lit, with many rabbit-eared tribe members and a small number of outside tourists and merchants coming and going.

Since the rabbit-eared tribe had joined Cransia and provided abundant food, some people had become interested in this race. Some came to tour, while others came to do business. Fortunately, they hadn’t been famous for long, so there weren’t too many visitors yet.

These outside tourists and merchants walked curiously along the streets, observing this city in the forest. The lush trees combined with green stone bricks gave a unique exotic feeling.

But what surprised them even more were the supernatural fruits sold by the rabbit-eared tribe. Some human supernatural experts could clearly sense the magical power contained within them.

“Boss, how much is this tangerine?”

A wealthy merchant from the former Western Wind, now called Cransia, looked at the three green, crystal-clear fruits on top of the shelf. These green tangerines were cleaned and wrapped in white paper for decoration, with only one package opened to reveal the fruit inside.

“You have a good eye, customer. You’ve immediately spotted the best item in our shop. This is the rare silver-grade [Green Tangerine Fruit]. It can detoxify and purify the body, and even improve one’s constitution. Even those who can’t sense mana well can slowly begin cultivating supernatural sequences.”

“Is it really that miraculous?”

The wealthy merchant was somewhat incredulous. If what was said was true, this would be even rarer than some gold-grade items.

It was well known that even in the Mercury Dynasty, where supernatural sequence cultivation was widespread, most people couldn’t sense mana or begin cultivation. If this fruit could improve such a situation, it would be like opening a door to miracles.

“Of course. Do you see the symbol on our shop’s sign? There are three stars next to it, which means we’re a high-level shop jointly certified by Cransia and the Seven Cities of the Rabbit-Eared Tribe. Our credibility is guaranteed, and we wouldn’t lie about such an obvious matter.”

“Then how much does it cost?”

“Ten gold coins, but if you want to purchase it, you’ll need a Friendship Medal issued by the City Lord’s mansion.”

“Friendship Medal?” The wealthy merchant questioned. The price wasn’t an issue at all; he had spent much more than this on cultivation when he was young.

“Yes, because this is an especially precious item, we only sell it to good friends.”

The shop owner shook his head at this point, his gray rabbit ears swaying along, and a business-like smile appeared on his face.

“If you want to gain our friendship, you either need to have helped the rabbit-eared tribe in the past or be someone recognized by the Cransia government for making contributions.”

“This… this is too difficult. Although I have money, if I try to contact Cransia’s official institutions, they probably won’t pay attention to me. Those people are all incorruptible and only follow the rules.”

“I understand, I understand. So there’s a good opportunity now. Our rabbit-eared tribe is also seeking development recently. If you invest in construction in Snake-Slaying City and promise to abide by our laws, the City Lord will issue a Friendship Medal to you.”

“This is a win-win situation,” the shop owner introduced with a beaming smile.

“Invest…” The merchant hesitated a bit. After all, he had just arrived in this city today. Although the scenery was beautiful and public security was good, suddenly talking about investment still required some investigation.

“If you want to buy, you’d better hurry,” seeing the indecisive wealthy merchant, the shop owner added more fuel to the fire.

“Today during the daytime, three or four elegantly dressed customers have already been here. I heard they will participate in the medal-awarding ceremony at the City Lord’s mansion tomorrow. Once they buy them, you might not have the chance.”

After hearing this, the wealthy merchant paced back and forth on the green stone brick floor of the shop. Finally, he gritted his teeth and decided to invest.

Money could be earned again, but the dream of becoming a supernatural expert only came once. If he missed it, who knew when the next chance would come.

Although he was approaching middle age and had become a bit portly, it should be known that he had dreams when he was young too, wanting to be a handsome and dashing hero.

How could a man give up on his dreams?

Picking up his personal belongings and bringing along his attendant, he quickly walked towards the City Lord’s mansion.

That night, the City Lord’s mansion was brightly lit, filled with the sound of voices, and remained sleepless throughout the night.