She Is Not a Witch

In the maple wood cottage of the Maple Leaf Courtyard.

The girl sat at the dressing table by her bed, tending to her long hair that cascaded down to her waist.

First, she used a comb to smooth out her long hair, draping it over her shoulders. Then she gathered two side bangs and pulled them back, holding them with one hand while reaching for a light red hairband on the table with the other.

She used the hairband to tie the two strands of hair, then adjusted it to form a slightly large red bow.

The mirror now reflected a dreamlike girl. Her silver hair flowed like a waterfall down to her waist. She wore an elegant long dress with a three-tiered skirt in pomegranate red, light red, and pure white. The dress was adorned with seven deep red roses diagonally arranged. Beneath the dress, she wore white silk stockings, perfectly accentuating her slender and youthful figure.

Her scarlet eyes were like clear, transparent crystals. The seemingly incompatible qualities of innocence and allure found perfect harmony in her.

Since switching to the Demon Sequence, Loranhil’s eyes had changed from light blue to scarlet. At first, this startled her, but after experimenting a few times, she found that whenever she switched back to Nature Sequence 2 · Zephyr Tree Artisan, her eyes would return to light blue.

Today, all the rabbit-eared tribes in the Tisilan Mountain Range would gather to hold a grand ceremony, pledging their allegiance to her, despite her insistence that it wasn’t necessary.

However, the old tribal chief said that without a grand ceremony, it would be difficult to change many of the tribe members’ outdated concepts and habits.

Only a grand, memorable ceremony for everyone could break previous habits and numbness, tear away the burdens on their hearts, and start anew.

At the same time, such a grand ceremony would better establish Loranhil’s status and authority.

In this era of imperfect order and lacking laws, a leader’s authority was, in a sense, a potent form of order.

It radiated from the center outward, with everyone following the same will, the same voice, the same command, thus breaking down the barriers between villages and merging to form a brand new system.

So, for the sake of the ceremony, the girl had to prepare a set of formal attire, using the madder from the Maple Leaf Courtyard to dye part of the fabric red as material.

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That evening, the grand banquet began.

First, numerous large bonfires were set up on the original hill. One by one, the fires were lit, flames leaping three to five meters high. Around the fires were circles of rabbit-eared people from various parts of the mountain range. Some had received the news and traveled for a long time, only arriving that evening.

These rabbits excitedly chatted around the bonfires. Such a grand event hadn’t occurred in a long time. Some rabbits began to sing, while others beat small drums, keeping rhythm.

By the fires, skewers of meat were roasting. Snake meat slowly turned golden brown, reflecting a faint oily sheen in the firelight. After sprinkling some salt, the enticing aroma of meat began to spread around the bonfires.

Among the arriving rabbits, many hadn’t seen Loranhil before. Some were initially skeptical, but when they saw the terrifying giant snake’s carcass being continuously divided into skewers, a sense of admiration slowly rose in their hearts.

Powerful and able to provide food—these two points won over the hearts and stomachs of many rabbits. Who doesn’t want to survive? Even pledging allegiance to a human became acceptable.

The continuous bonfires illuminated the mountains. In the center of a flat clearing surrounded by five hills, a huge stone platform was erected.

At this time, an old gray-eared rabbit wearing a white robe ascended the stone platform. Behind him were the leaders and representatives from various rabbit-eared villages, all uniformly dressed in white robes.

Two large drums were placed on either side of the stone platform, now being struck by several strong rabbit-eared tribe members.

Boom——

Boom——

Boom——

The powerful drumbeats echoed through the mountains, startling countless night birds and beasts.

In the distant dark forest, shadows shifted, and occasional sparse sounds could be heard, as if huge creatures were slowly moving through.

“Fellow tribesmen, today, I stand here with representatives from each village to announce an important matter.”

Below the stone platform, thousands of rabbit-eared tribe members stood silently, watching their leader, waiting for his speech. Countless more rabbits stood on the surrounding hillsides, gazing toward the central platform.

“The scattered villages and kindred in the wilderness and mountains will, from today, once again be united as a single tribe.”

“For hundreds of years, we have wandered, crossing countless mountains east of the Sigh Mountain Range to reach this land, all for a place of rest.”

“But this dream has shattered. The Western Wind Kingdom is no longer the enlightened nation it once was, and the Wild Fang Empire that belonged to the beast-folk has long been buried in the sands of time.”

“Our tribe’s population has gradually decreased from 500,000 when we migrated here to the current 200,000.”

“Every year, we hear of our kinsmen’s settlements being destroyed, some by magical beast attacks, others by the Western Wind Kingdom’s captures.”

“Why must we endure such hardship?”

“Because we are too weak and lack fighting spirit!”

The old rabbit’s thunderous voice awakened many of the numb rabbits present. The dignity and hope long buried began to slowly awaken.

“Being weak is not a sin. What’s tragic is that we wallow in this weakness, with no thought of rising up.”

“Constantly retreating and compromising will never satisfy greedy enemies. Choosing humiliation over war only leads to more war later.”

“I know some learned kinsmen remember the lost history from a thousand years ago and are unwilling to mention it, no longer confident.”

“Well then, I shall tell this shameful history to our young kinsmen now.”

“In the year 8143 of the First Era, the allied army of 182 tribes of the Wild Fang Empire, totaling 3.1 million, faced off against the Mercury Dynasty on the extended battle line of the Godan Plains. Our rabbit-eared tribe’s 300,000 troops were mainly responsible for transporting provisions. During a small enemy raid, our ancestors shamefully fled. 300,000 troops offered no resistance, resulting in the granaries being burned and the empire’s subsequent defeat.”

“From then on, our tribe has been despised and spurned by all other beast-folk!”

“Do you feel ashamed? Yes, deeply ashamed!”

“Having lost our dignity, we went on to lose even more.”

“This is why we can only curl up in this forest and slowly await death. From our peak of over 60 million back then, we have dwindled to less than 200,000 kindred now.”

“Is this the price we must pay for our past humiliation? I think, even if it is, it should be enough.”

“A week ago, a hero descended upon this forgotten forest. She bravely killed the giant snake that had been terrorizing the area, saving several nearby villages.”

“Not only that, but she also taught us methods to cultivate supernatural sequences, imparting various survival skills, agriculture, animal husbandry, and ironworking. She is a kind and great being.”